Lungmen, Guard Department interrogation room.
"Name."
Swire took a sip of coffee and questioned the person in front of her— Shirou.
"Emiya Shirou."
Sitting across from her, Shirou felt a little nervous. It was his first time ever being in a place like this. How should he put it… it was not as scary as he had imagined?
"Gender?"
Swire tapped on her tablet and continued.
"…Male."
Shirou did not understand why she was asking something so obvious, but he answered anyway, sticking to the mindset of responding to whatever the Guard Department asked.
"Age."
"Sev… twenty."
He had originally wanted to say seventeen, but then remembered that the identity his boss arranged for him listed him as twenty. So he corrected himself mid-sentence to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.
"Race."
Swire did not mind the hesitation.
"Aegir."
Aegir did not have obvious physical traits, and Shirou just happened to fit that description. So the boss had simply assigned him that race. After all, Shirou had no distinguishing features, and even the boss did not know what race he actually was.
"First, why were you at the Mall?"
Swire did not dwell on his race. Shirou did not look suspicious, nor was he the criminal, so there was no need to press further.
"Um… I went to buy something."
Shirou had expected to be grilled immediately about confronting the suspect, but instead the first question was about why he was at the mall. He answered honestly.
"You bought a bag? Do you have the receipt?"
Swire glanced at the brand-new shoulder bag he was wearing. She recognized it, it was from a store in the Mall.
"Yes, here."
Shirou rummaged through his bag, pulled out the receipt, and handed it over.
"…It matches."
Swire casually took a photo of it with her tablet, then returned it.
"Then why did you rush straight at the suspect?"
She placed the tablet in front of Shirou. On it was surveillance footage of Shirou charging toward the suspect just as the suspect threw a fire attack.
"Because I saw him targeting a mother and child."
"So you charged an infected criminal with your bare hands? Should I say you're bold or just ignorant? Even if you are not afraid of dying, there's a limit!"
Hearing his answer, Swire felt a headache coming on. He seemed exactly like the type to put himself last in everything.
People like that… usually did not live long.
"…I will be more careful next time."
Shirou admitted fault. After all, he had interfered in a Guard Department operation as a civilian.
"Next time?!"
Swire slammed the table and raised her voice.
"Ugh—"
Shirou's ears rang from the sudden outburst.
"Hmph. So you saw the suspect from the second floor and jumped down, right?"
She leaned back in her chair.
"Yes."
Shirou rubbed his still-aching ears, silently complaining about how loud she was.
Swire tapped the tablet again and showed him another clip.
It was the exact moment he blocked the flames head-on with his right hand.
"Even though the check shows no serious injury, you have got guts, taking a spell like that head-on. What, is your brain made of muscle? You could not dodge?!"
She smiled as she said it but there were clearly veins popping on her forehead.
"Haha…"
Shirou could only laugh awkwardly. Explaining was not an option.
"And the cloth wrapped around your right hand, you said it's something important, right?"
Swire took a deep breath and continued.
During the medical check, that cloth had caused quite a stir. For a moment, Shirou had even been suspected of hiding an infection. Fortunately, there was nothing under it—he just insisted it was something important he needed to carry.
Then put it in your bag!
She really wanted to shout that. Wearing it like that was asking for misunderstandings. But she held it in.
"Yes. I'll find another way to carry it from now on. I will not wrap it around my hand anymore."
Shirou had not expected it to be such a big deal. He had only been carrying the Holy Shroud in the most convenient way.
At home, it got in the way of chores, so he left it in his room. Outside, he always wrapped it around his right hand.
Even Penguin Logistics had not noticed this yet. If they did, they would probably tell him to carry it differently.
"Good. That about covers it."
Swire tapped her tablet a few times, confirming there were no major issues. The rest was just routine.
This was mostly procedural, so she had not dug too deep, like why his landing posture from the second floor looked like a squat, or why his legs did not seem to hurt.
Or how a strip of cloth could block a spell.
There were plenty of questions she could ask, but Shirou was not a criminal, so she respected his privacy.
"That's it?"
Shirou finally relaxed a little.
Even though Swire's tone had been more conversational than interrogative, he still was not used to the atmosphere.
"Not yet. Just finishing up your basic information."
She tapped the table lightly, bringing his attention back.
"You arrived in Lungmen about a month ago, right? What made an Aegir come all the way here?"
"For work."
The boss had specifically told him that if anyone asked why he came to Lungmen, just say it was for work. Everything else would be handled.
"Oh? Then where are you employed?"
Swire's gaze sharpened. His file did not list an occupation.
So either his job was problematic… or he was lying.
"I currently work at Penguin Logistics."
The moment Shirou said that, he noticed all the nearby officers and Swire herself turned to look at him.
And their expressions… were complicated.