"Officer Swire, this is the place."
After Swire explained things, Shirou finally understood that she had only wanted him to lead the way and the whole "date" thing was just her joking around.
The place Swire wanted to go to was familiar to Shirou as well, it was the restaurant that had caught fire last time. Just leading the way was not a big deal, so of course he did not refuse.
"Hmm… it's already being renovated? Then it will probably be hard to find anything."
After being led there by Shirou, Swire looked at the building in front of her. It was indeed the same one as in the photos, but the interior had already been cleared out and renovation work was underway. That meant there were not many clues left to find.
"Well, most of the interior was wooden. That fire basically burned everything down."
Hearing Swire's comment, Shirou explained the situation inside the shop.
"You come here often?"
"Not really. I just happened to be passing by when the fire broke out a few days ago."
"What a coincidence. Then did you see the person who rushed into the fire to save people? I heard they ignored their own safety, ran into the flames, and even jumped out from the second floor with someone!"
Hearing that Shirou had been at the scene, Swire became interested. According to the information she had, someone had rushed into the burning building and carried people out, even jumping down from the second floor.
It sounded incredibly cool, but she had not been able to find any information about that person.
"…That person was probably me."
Thinking back on that day, Shirou figured the person Swire was talking about had to be him.
After all, he had been the only one who got lectured for quite a while by that firefighter afterward and he had even started worrying the firefighter might run out of breath mid-lecture.
"..."
Swire fell silent for a moment.
That… actually made sense. Shirou had been taken in by her before for acting bravely in public and if he had been there, rushing into the fire to save people was perfectly in character.
"Are you interested in joining the Guard Department? We really need talents like you."
On behalf of the Guard Department, Swire attempted to recruit him.
"No thanks. Everyone at Penguin Logistics is pretty great."
Her attempt at recruitment failed.
Shirou refused the offer. If he had been invited before receiving help from Penguin Logistics, he might have agreed but not now.
"I see. Looks like you really like Penguin Logistics."
Swire was not upset by the rejection. From their first interaction, she already knew Shirou had his own reasons for staying there. This was just a casual attempt.
After all, trying did not cost anything and what if it worked?
"Everyone at Penguin Logistics is really nice. And when I was at my lowest, they were the ones who helped me."
"…I really can not tell. Those people from Penguin Logistics actually help others?"
Hearing Shirou's words, Swire fell into thought.
The same Penguin Logistics that caused explosions, street racing, and fights in Lungmen on a regular basis… actually helped people?
And they even pulled an SSR-level stroke of luck? That was some Lungmen-level profanity kind of luck.
"I can kind of imagine what image Penguin Logistics has in the Guard Department… but everyone really is a good person."
After thinking for a moment, Shirou decided to put in a good word for Penguin Logistics, hoping to salvage their reputation a bit.
Of course, if he ever found out what they usually got up to, he would probably choose to keep quiet instead.
"Penguin Logistics… good people… I just can not picture it. Anyway, let's drop that. Shirou, did you notice any suspicious people at the scene back then?"
Unable to connect "Penguin Logistics" with "good people" no matter how hard she tried, Swire changed the topic and asked Shirou if he had seen anything unusual at the fire scene.
"Suspicious people? Not really. I did not pay much attention at the time."
Thinking back, Shirou had not noticed anything around him, he had just rushed in the moment he heard someone calling for help.
"I see…"
With no leads to follow, Swire's hopes fell through.
She was certain that the person who caused trouble at the Mall had someone backing them. The only problem was that the culprit said nothing, and there were no clues at all.
Without evidence or leads, her theories could only remain speculation and she could not take the next step.
"Though… I remember hearing some people at the market say that there were gunshots and explosions at night near the lower districts."
Seeing Swire's disappointment, Shirou recalled overhearing some women talking while he was grocery shopping that day.
He had not paid much attention at the time, though.
"The lower districts… the slums? Interesting. The market you are talking about, is it the one near that area?"
Hearing Shirou refer to it as the "lower districts," Swire's impression of him improved slightly.
She had always wanted to improve that area, but reality never allowed it.
Meeting someone who did not call it "the slums" made her feel a bit more at ease.
"Yeah, that's the one."
Shirou nodded.
"That might be worth checking out. Do you have anything to do later?"
After thinking about the area, Swire felt it was worth a visit.
If it really was in the slums, things could get tricky, she was not suited to showing herself there openly.
But she did not know anyone there, so she had to ask Shirou. If he was not available, she would have to put it on hold and ask Hoshiguma later.
"Nothing really. Why?"
"If you're free, could you come with me to the market? There's something I want to check out."
Swire did not beat around the bush. After a few exchanges, she had already realized that with Shirou, it was best to get straight to the point.
As for potential danger? She was part of the Guard Department. And Shirou, being with Penguin Logistics, could not possibly be weak given their tendency to fight three times a day.
"…Yeah, that should be fine. But I need to head back first to grab some things and change clothes."
After thinking it over, Shirou did not see any issue with it. Since they were going to the market anyway, he might as well buy ingredients for the day, especially since he had cleared out the fridge that morning.
The fish he bought last time had been pretty good.
"Alright, I'll wait for you at that café over there. And don't you dare go home and not come back out, if I catch you next time, I will bite you."
Looking around, Swire picked a nearby café as their meeting point and casually threw in a verbal threat to make sure Shirou did not run off.
"Got it, got it. I will be there soon."
Shirou was not bothered at all by her threat, he had not planned on ditching her in the first place.