While Officer Chen was away arranging additional personnel, Shirou took the opportunity to ask Hoshiguma why they were looking for Nian.
The recent Originium explosive incident had something to do with her. The people responsible had obtained the Originium explosives by using one of the import channels that Nian had previously used.
This did not mean that Nian was the mastermind behind the criminals. She had originally acquired those explosives solely for film production. However, when she first imported them, someone with ulterior motives happened to notice the route she used. Later, they exploited that same channel to bring in a much larger quantity.
The difference was that Nian had properly declared everything and used the explosives under the supervision of Lungmen's relevant authorities. Those criminals, however, broke the shipments into smaller batches and transported them through various logistics companies, especially Penguin Logistics.
The result...
Their headquarters ended up being destroyed by the petty Emperor and a Shirou who had been forced to work overtime.
"Hmm... It sounds like she is rather innocent in all this."
After hearing Hoshiguma's explanation, Shirou gave his opinion.
"She really is. That is why Old Chen has not taken such a hardline approach. We just have a few questions that we would like to ask Miss Nian. It is nothing serious, so there is no need to worry."
Hoshiguma nodded in complete agreement.
Even so, regardless of how innocent Nian was, she had still been caught up in the incident. They needed to verify whether the information they had received was accurate.
"I understand."
Shirou nodded to show that he had understood.
"By the way, were all of those over there your doing?"
Now that the subject had come to an end, Hoshiguma looked toward the filming set and asked.
She had wanted to ask this earlier, but the conversation had interrupted her.
The two enormous swords alone were eye-catching enough, and there were countless other swords flying around them. It was unmistakably Shirou's style.
It was just that his usual fighting style was not quite so... conspicuous.
Then again, his normal combat style already attracted plenty of attention, but compared to the spectacle before them, it was on an entirely different level.
"Yes. I promised to help them finish this final filming scene. What I do not understand is why they decided to introduce such an overwhelmingly powerful enemy after the entire story had already concluded, and then had no intention of letting the protagonist win."
Following Hoshiguma's gaze, Shirou confirmed that all of the Noble Phantasms were still flying properly. Even without any computer-generated special effects, the scene was already quite breathtaking.
"That is one of Director Nian's trademark characteristics. To this day, nobody has been able to figure out what she is thinking. Combined with the plots of her movies... you understand. There are not many people who bother discussing them."
Hearing Shirou's question, Hoshiguma offered an explanation.
"Indeed."
Although he had already guessed the answer, hearing someone else confirm it still made Shirou want to laugh.
There was no deeper meaning behind it.
He had simply thought of something amusing.
"Nian's films have visuals. Their plots consist of visuals. Their substance consists of visuals. Their acting consists of visuals. In short, she is a director who places tremendous emphasis on visuals."
Seeing Shirou still struggling to suppress his laughter, Hoshiguma added another comment.
"...Do not let Nian hear you say that, or she will definitely invite you to have hot pot."
Hearing Hoshiguma's remark, Shirou nearly burst out laughing. He quickly regained his composure and gave her a friendly warning.
"Oh? Is that so? She will treat me to hot pot?"
Hoshiguma looked surprised. She had never imagined that speaking ill of someone could earn her a free hot pot meal.
"I would advise against trying it. She has sampled nearly every spicy hot pot restaurant in Lungmen, and not a single one met her standards. In the end, she prepared the broth herself before she finally produced a level of spiciness that she considered barely acceptable."
Seeing that Hoshiguma appeared somewhat tempted, Shirou warned her.
"That does sound vaguely familiar... In that case, I will pass. Moderate spice is fine, but I cannot handle anything that extreme."
After Shirou reminded her, Hoshiguma vaguely remembered hearing about someone like that in Lungmen.
That was definitely not someone she wanted to challenge.
Although she could eat spicy food, she was nowhere near that level. If she ever competed against someone of such legendary status, she would undoubtedly be the first to collapse.
"As long as you avoid talking about films, hot pot, or blacksmithing, Nian is actually quite easy to get along with. Gathering information from her should not be difficult."
Seeing Hoshiguma's reaction, Shirou simply smiled.
He could push Exusiai and Croissant into that abyss without hesitation, but he could not bring himself to do the same to anyone else. Instead, he would drag them as far away from it as possible.
As for the reason...
Those who knew, knew.
"That is good to hear," Hoshiguma said.
After all, it was much easier to get things done when dealing with someone who was easygoing. It saved everyone a great deal of trouble.
"You have had a difficult time. Having to deal with all of this right before the New Year."
Since the conversation had reached its conclusion, Shirou did not ask any further questions about the investigation.
After working for the Lungmen Guard Department for so long, he understood perfectly well which matters could be discussed and which could not.
If it was something that could be talked about, Hoshiguma would tell him everything as though she were casually sharing gossip.
If it was confidential, she would act as though the matter had never happened and would not mention it at all.
Of course, if the incident involved Shirou himself or anyone close to him, he would certainly investigate it on his own initiative.
"It is not too bad. Things are actually fairly relaxed at the moment... Wait, is that Governor Wei?"
Hoshiguma had been about to continue chatting with Shirou when she noticed a group of people crossing the security cordon around the film set and walking toward them.
Among the group was Wei Yenwu.
The moment Hoshiguma spotted him, her mind began working at full speed before she spoke.
"Ahem. Shirou, take care of yourself. I shall be leaving first."
The timing, the location, and the direction of his gaze...
He was definitely here to see Shirou.
Even in the unlikely event that he was not looking for Shirou, he was probably looking for Old Chen. In any case, he certainly was not here for her.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been fine. However, the three red-robed figures accompanying Wei Yenwu looked like nothing but trouble, and she had no desire to get involved with people like them.
It was better to leave troublesome matters like this to Old Chen or Shirou himself. She was merely an ordinary officer of the Lungmen Guard Department and had no need to insert herself into such affairs.
"Huh?"
Before Shirou could react, Hoshiguma skillfully and naturally waved toward the members of Penguin Logistics before walking over to join them.
She left Shirou standing there alone, staring blankly at her retreating figure before turning his attention to Wei Yenwu and the others, whose presence was even more intimidating than Officer Chen's had been earlier.
Did I forget to check the almanac before leaving the house today? Why is everything happening at once?
While grumbling inwardly in a style worthy of Croissant, Shirou raised a hand and greeted Wei Yenwu.
There was no helping it. The man was staring directly at him. Pretending not to notice him, as Hoshiguma had done, was simply impossible.
After all, Wei Yenwu knew perfectly well just how sharp Shirou's eyesight was.
There was no escaping now.
All he could do was wait and see what Wei Yenwu wanted.
Judging from the current situation, however, it was almost certainly nothing good.
After all, this was Wei Yenwu.
If the man was not thinking about how to exploit him, then he was thinking about how to maximize Shirou's usefulness.
No, no. I almost let my boss's way of talking rub off on me. I absolutely cannot say something like that out loud, or things will become very awkward.
Thoughts like these were better left as internal complaints.
Besides, Shirou was hardly the first person to think this way about Wei Yenwu.
The man really had taken advantage of him several times before, so Shirou felt absolutely no guilt about criticizing him in his own mind.
"Ahem. I have some business with Nian. Would it be convenient for you to take us to her?"
Once Wei Yenwu approached and saw the expression on Shirou's face, he spoke with a hint of awkwardness.
Having survived for so many years in a world full of schemes and deception, he had long since developed the ability to read people's thoughts from their expressions.
He could not accurately guess everything someone was thinking with a single glance.
However, Shirou had practically written the words "I dislike you" across his face, making it impossible to miss.
Back then, Shirou had always been polite and respectful whenever they met.
How had things ended up like this?
It had to be the fault of that unscrupulous penguin.
To think that Emperor had managed to corrupt such an honest young man into becoming like this.
Your Majesty, you really are quite despicable!
"You are looking for Nian? All of you?... I will go inside first and ask how her filming is progressing."
Shirou looked surprised after hearing Wei Yenwu's request.
Perhaps the one who had failed to check the almanac before leaving home today was Nian rather than himself.
Being visited by the Lungmen Guard Department was one thing.
Now Wei Yenwu had shown up as well.
Moreover, the three people standing behind him certainly did not look like individuals of low status.
Out of the friendship they had built over countless hot pot meals, Shirou felt it would be better to give Nian some advance warning.
At the very least, from everything he had experienced so far, he did not believe she was a bad person.
On the contrary, she was an exceptionally kind one.
Otherwise, she would not have spent so much time lecturing him about life and trying to help him broaden his perspective.
"Very well. We shall wait here."
Wei Yenwu naturally saw straight through Shirou's little plan.
However, he did not expose it, nor did he need to.
In fact, this was exactly what he wanted.
Originally, he had fully expected Shirou to escort them directly inside.
To his surprise, the young man had suddenly started thinking ahead...
Wait.
Surely this boy is not worried that I am planning to take advantage of Nian, so he is going ahead to warn her?
"It might take a while. Once she starts filming, she tends to ignore everything happening around her."
After saying that, Shirou nodded and headed toward the film set.
He completely failed to notice Wei Yenwu's expression changing from one of satisfaction to one of profound self-doubt.
"Well?"
After Shirou had walked some distance away, one of the red-robed figures suddenly spoke.
"I did not sense any unusual aura. Perhaps someone from the Sui regulators would be able to detect something, but at least I have not discovered anything out of the ordinary."
Another of the red-robed figures shook his head.
Even though countless swords filled the sky, he did not sense the Authority of the Sui Beast from them.
Given the scale of such an ability, there should have been at least some trace or clue.
Yet he had detected absolutely nothing.
Either it meant that this person's abilities had absolutely nothing to do with Nian...
Or he had already mastered those powers completely.
The red-robed man leaned toward the former conclusion.
After all, Shirou was far too young. He looked to be only in his early twenties.
Still, it was impossible to rule out the possibility that he was simply extraordinarily gifted and had mastered such abilities in only a few years...
In the end, it would be better to leave that headache to the people of the Sui regulators.
"But from the conversation he just had with that member of the Guard Department, it sounded as though they wanted to ask Nian about the Originium explosives. I think we should pay attention to that."
The third red-robed figure finally spoke.
Although he had been standing some distance away, he had managed to understand their conversation by reading their lips.
The only problem was that Wei Yenwu occasionally blocked his line of sight as he walked, preventing him from seeing the entire exchange.
Even so, he had managed to piece together part of what they had discussed.
"The fragments of the Sui Beast using Originium explosives? That is certainly an unusual combination..."
After hearing his colleague's report, another red-robed man hesitated.
Before they could continue their discussion, Shirou interrupted them.
"Governor Wei Yenwu, Nian has invited you inside."
Although Nian found Wei Yenwu's unexpected visit somewhat bothersome, she was neither particularly resistant nor worried.
She had always conducted herself openly and honestly in Lungmen.
Why should she fear a visit from Wei Yenwu?
If she had done anything worth mentioning...
At most, she had persuaded Shirou to project two enormous swords.
Surely not.
Could such a minor disturbance really justify the Governor of Lungmen coming to see her personally?
"Once we go inside, please try not to touch anything else. The filming is almost finished. If something is accidentally damaged, it will cause quite a bit of trouble."
As he led the group toward Nian's location, Shirou gave them a reminder.
Those were Nian's own instructions.
She could tolerate Wei Yenwu showing up without warning.
However, if anyone interfered with her movie production, she would not be so accommodating.
"Of course. Although... are you certain we could even reach any of those things?"
The request itself was not unreasonable, but Wei Yenwu still could not resist making a remark.
The only objects they were likely to touch were the swords floating overhead.
However, those swords were suspended quite high in the air. Even Wei Yenwu, who was one of the taller people present, did not think he could reach them.
"Nian was referring to her filming equipment. As for these swords, she does not really mind."
Hearing Wei Yenwu's comment, Shirou suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and make a sarcastic reply. Instead, he simply explained.
"Compared to those electronic devices, these swords should be far more valuable, should they not?"
One of the red-robed figures seemed to think of something and asked the question.
Wei Yenwu: "..."
These people really knew how to seize an opportunity.
He had merely made an offhand remark, yet they had immediately turned it into an opportunity to gather information.
Fortunately, the question was not particularly sensitive.
Sooner or later, they would have asked Shirou this anyway.
It was well within his expectations.
"Hmm... Strictly speaking, these are all just replicas. As long as I have enough time and energy, I can reproduce them again."
Faced with the red-robed man's question, Shirou first glanced at Wei Yenwu. Seeing no reaction from him, he carefully chose his words before answering.
After all, these people were Wei Yenwu's guests.
He still had to be courteous in public and avoid damaging the relationship between himself and his employer.
"Replicas... is that so? Even so, the spectacle is still truly magnificent."
Even though the red-robed figures already possessed some information about Shirou, they still could not help expressing their admiration.
Watching from outside, all they had seen were countless swords floating in the sky.
It had certainly looked impressive.
But standing inside...
Surrounded by the blades...
Watching them arranged into formation by Nian, one of Yan's greatest master blacksmiths...
Even someone who had never been particularly interested in swords could, at that moment, appreciate the unique beauty and presence they displayed.