Under Shirou's "table manners," this volcanic hotpot gathering proceeded with remarkable calm.
Of course, that was only if one ignored the waiters and the restaurant owner, who knew the power of this hotpot and kept nervously checking on them.
Looking at the complimentary drinks the owner had provided, Shirou felt warmth.
He just was not sure whether that warmth came from human kindness or from the burning sensation caused by all the chili peppers he had just eaten.
"Ah, right, right. Hotpot really tastes best when shared with others."
By the time Shirou had finished eating and was desperately pouring water down his throat in an attempt to soothe his esophagus, which felt as though it had been scorched by fire, Nian finally put down her chopsticks and spoke.
It was not because she was full. She had merely finished one round, while the ingredients for the next round were still cooking in the broth. She had decided to use the opportunity to chat with him.
There was no helping it. He had forbidden her from talking while eating.
"I think any normal person would find this level of spiciness hard to accept."
The corner of Shirou's eyes twitched as he could not help but complain.
"So are you saying that you yourself are not normal?"
Nian immediately seized upon the flaw in his wording and fired back.
"If we are being honest, that is not exactly wrong."
Shirou shrugged and casually poured more drink into her empty cup.
"Do not admit it so readily! Does that not just make me even less normal?"
Seeing how cheerfully Shirou admitted his own abnormality, the smile on Nian's face froze.
After all, she herself fell within the range of his statement.
Faced with her question, Shirou merely gave an awkward yet polite smile.
Those who understood would understand. There was no need to spell it out.
"Seriously, you even attack yourself."
Seeing his smile, Nian had plenty of rebuttals in mind, but in the end, she gave up.
Truthfully, she could not really be considered a "normal person."
And viewed from certain angles, neither could Shirou.
At the very least, the reason she had recognized him was because of that unique aura of swords and blades surrounding him.
Not the aura of someone who had spent years mastering the sword.
No, his very existence itself resembled a Sword.
That had been the main reason she had approached him in the first place.
Judging from that alone, Shirou definitely was not normal.
He was not.
She was not.
None of them were normal.
And that was precisely why they were sitting here eating hotpot together.
Everything made perfect sense.
"Likewise."
Seeing that Nian had stopped arguing, Shirou replied.
Though they had only met a few times, he had to admit that her personality was quite distinctive.
She felt like the sort of person who could get along with almost anyone.
A high-EQ way of putting it would be that she got along with everybody.
A low-EQ way would be to say that she was absurdly friendly with strangers.
Do not ask him how he knew another way to phrase it.
Taiga's fists had done an excellent job educating him.
"By the way, you still have not answered my question. Did something happen recently? I feel like your whole... mindset has changed quite a bit."
Clearly, Nian did not wish to linger on the previous topic. After pondering for a moment, she brought up the question Shirou had avoided earlier.
This time, however, she had learned her lesson.
Rather than speaking in incomprehensible riddles rivaling Kal'tsit's, she simply asked if something had happened recently.
Such a drastic change had to mean that he had experienced something and either come to terms with it or gained a better understanding of himself.
At the very least, she could tell that the change was positive, which was why she felt comfortable asking.
"My mindset? I suppose I did resolve something that had been weighing on my mind recently. Maybe that is why."
After Nian simplified her question, Shirou finally understood what those mysterious remarks about being "sharper" and "tougher" had actually meant.
Seriously, who could understand phrases like that?
"That is good. Much better than before. As for your previous state... how should I put it? You looked like the kind of person who would suddenly start shouting things like friendship, conviction, and ideals before rushing forward and getting yourself killed."
Now that she had adjusted herself to Shirou's conversational wavelength, Nian spoke much more directly.
She had brought this up with him before.
There was nothing inherently wrong with a Sword that pursued only sharpness.
But after enough clashes, such a sword would eventually snap.
Humans, however, were not like swords.
Once broken, they could not simply be repaired or replaced.
That was why she had kept reminding him.
As for how she knew Shirou was the sort of person who would shout those things and charge ahead anyway?
...
After all, she had met countless people over the years, and she had also been observing Shirou for some time. Piecing together his personality was not particularly difficult.
Especially when he was the sort of person whose inner self matched his outward appearance.
"Although I really want to complain about something, I cannot exactly say you are wrong."
Hearing Nian's words, Shirou rubbed his forehead.
Mainly because she had hit the nail right on the head.
Much as he hated to admit it, he really was the kind of person who would shout about ideals and rush into battle.
Not thinking about it was one thing, but once the topic came up, Shirou remembered his own reckless younger self. The embarrassment made him want to find an excuse and run off somewhere quiet and empty.
Unfortunately, Nian clearly had no intention of letting him leave.
At least not before she finished this hotpot.
"Do not be shy. I have seen plenty of people like you, and I have met people who were even more stubborn and extreme. Some became righteous heroes, praised by everyone, while others sank too deep and became executioners feared by all."
Seeing Shirou's awkward expression, Nian smiled kindly as she spoke.
Youth really was wonderful.
If Shirou had been older, he probably would have put on a straight face and ignored the topic entirely, or simply changed the subject.
Then again, if he were capable of that, she probably would not have been able to drag him into this hotpot dinner in the first place.
As for why she was sharing stories about people similar to him?
Talking about such things over a meal was only natural.
If there were no topics and no stories to share, then eating together would be boring.
Though rather than sharing stories, she was more subtly warning him from another angle.
"Executioner...?"
That was more or less how Archer described himself.
"Most people would instinctively assume they are the righteous hero. How come you skipped straight to the final stage? You are making it really hard for me to continue this conversation."
Hearing Shirou mutter to himself, Nian found herself speechless.
Most people would naturally believe they belonged on the side of justice.
Why was Shirou reacting more strongly to the latter?
"Because while I have some understanding of the former, the latter is easier to grasp."
After giving the matter some serious thought, Shirou answered honestly.
Since it was genuinely what he believed, he said it with complete confidence. Nian could not find any fault with his reasoning.
"Fine."
Nian quickly accepted the explanation.
Besides, all of that had merely been an introduction.
It did not matter whether Shirou had chosen the former or the latter.
Of course, if he had leaned toward the heroic side, she could have brought up plenty of examples to serve as warnings.
But since he leaned toward the latter, there was no need to warn him.
What he needed more was reassurance.
"To be honest, some of those so-called executioners were dealing with truly vile criminals. The sort who would be locked up for life even if they were handed over to somewhere like the Guard Department. But how would people know that? To them, these people are simply executioners who kill others without restraint.
"And before becoming the executioners feared by everyone, they were once heroic figures admired by all.
"They became intoxicated by the cheers they received from helping others and delivering justice.
"They gradually came to believe that everything they did was right, and their methods became increasingly severe. Eventually, they crossed that line and became executioners feared by everyone."
As she stirred the contents of the hotpot with her chopsticks, Nian expressed her thoughts.
Naturally, she was speaking with Shirou's circumstances in mind. Personally, she did not really care all that much about the distinction between the two.
As long as nobody targeted her or those around her, it had nothing to do with her.
"..."
Shirou remained silent, his gaze fixed upon the bubbling hotpot.
Her words were practically calling him out by name.
He had personally taken many lives.
But most of those times had been situations where killing was unavoidable.
Usually on battlefields, or in moments of extreme danger.
If he had not acted, then he or the people around him would have been the ones hurt.
But he had long since prepared himself for fighting and death.
He simply did not want to become like Archer or Nameless, placing the lives of others upon scales and endlessly making choices.
At least up to now, he had never encountered such situations.
And he hoped he never would.
His current state was simply because Nian's words had stirred his emotions.
"Do you feel like I am practically calling you out by name? Do not overthink it. Compared to the people I have met before, you are already surprisingly normal."
This was exactly the reaction Nian had been hoping for.
She had lived for a very long time, and thanks to some personal interests, she had observed many people.
Among them, Shirou was already considered one of the normal ones.
The truly abnormal ones would have started arguing with her long before this point, explaining their beliefs and desperately trying to justify their actions.
As long as he could still reflect on whether his actions or thoughts were mistaken, it meant that Shirou had not reached that stage yet.
"Ha ha—"
Hearing the other person say that he was still normal, Shirou could not help laughing, but he quickly suppressed it.
The reason was simple. Nian had already pointed the chopsticks she had been using to stir the hotpot at him, and the expression on her face was extremely serious.
His reason for stopping was equally simple. A few drops of hotpot broth had splashed onto his face from the chopsticks. In that brief instant, he felt the scorching heat they carried and hurriedly grabbed a tissue from the side to wipe the broth off his forehead.
If that stuff got into his eyes, they would be done for.
"Although I expected something, I did not think it would be this serious. Are you looking down on yourself too much, kid?"
Did Nian not know that using the chopsticks like this would send broth flying?
Of course she knew. But her control was exquisite. She would absolutely not hit fragile areas like his nose or eyes. Aside from the heat of the hotpot itself, the chili oil would also give the skin a slight burning sensation.
After all, she could not exactly start a fight in the hotpot restaurant. She still wanted to come back and eat here later.
Besides that, she had a tiny desire to teach Shirou a lesson.
It was common for people to underestimate or belittle themselves, but Shirou had reached a level that was far from normal.
As she had said, Shirou had not yet become as bad as what she described earlier, but he himself clearly did not think so. He even seemed to believe he was already one of those people.
If he continued with this mentality, then even if he reflected on these issues from time to time, it would only be a matter of time before he sank into them.
After all, he had already assigned himself that identity deep down, and his behavior would naturally begin to move in that direction.
Thinking this, Nian pushed the chopsticks forward another inch and said:
"Do not only focus on the surface of things. Look deeper. Your perspective is limited by those two points. Have you never considered other possibilities?"
"Other possibilities?"
With nowhere left to retreat, Shirou stared at the chopsticks touching the tip of his nose and was forced to think about what Nian had just said.
Other possibilities?
Sorry, he truly could not think of any.
"All of my arguments just now were basically made from the perspective of an ordinary person. Do you think you are an ordinary person?"
Seeing that Shirou still had not caught on, Nian sighed helplessly.
Still, she could understand. After all, Shirou was young and had not seen much of the world.
"Of course—not."
Shirou had originally intended to nod, but after seeing the chopsticks move another millimeter closer to him, he gave up the idea.
He had just argued that he was not normal, and now his own words had come back to hit him in the face.
"Heh, you do not seriously think that the people from Penguin Logistics, the slums, and the Lungman Guard Department are ordinary people, do you? Leaving aside the people you know in Lungmen, Rhodes Island is also a pretty massive organization. Being able to move among these groups and even be valued by them means that you have already said goodbye to the word 'ordinary'!"
Nian bluntly pointed out Shirou's current situation. She did not know what kind of life he had lived before, but from the information she had gathered so far, the forces behind Shirou were genuinely extensive and complicated.
Leaving aside the middle and lower ranks of the Lungman Guard Department, the identities of those at the top were anything but simple.
Without the Rat King in the slums, that shop would have disappeared long ago.
As for that penguin from Penguin Logistics, he himself was a Beast Lord. Staying in Lungmen to dabble in music and logistics was merely a hobby for him.
As for Rhodes Island, there was even less to say. She had already heard some information about it recently and had become somewhat interested. She planned to pay it a visit after some time.
"It is not that exaggerated, is it...?"
Carefully pushing Nian's hand downward, Shirou felt like he had regained his footing.
He could understand Rhodes Island, but were the others really that special?
Especially Penguin Logistics. Although its reputation among the Lungman Guard Department and ordinary citizens had never been great, things should have improved a little recently... right?
Thinking of this, Shirou hesitated before continuing:
"Perhaps Penguin Logistics and Rhodes Island really are not that ordinary?"
Although everyone at Penguin Logistics had one or two traits that set them apart from ordinary people, Shirou was certain that they were all genuinely good people. They just occasionally caused trouble for others.
Yes, that was exactly it.
"You really are too deep inside it to see what it actually is!"
Seeing Shirou like this, Nian could roughly guess that he probably did not fully understand the identities of the people around him.
Or perhaps he knew, but did not understand what those identities actually represented.
Simple-minded. Foolishly simple.
She finally understood why Emperor had given him that evaluation in the first place.
He was incredibly capable when it came to fighting and household chores, so how did he become so hopeless in this area?