After explosively unleashing a string of profanity, Nian felt her violent emotions settle down quite a bit.
The situation was probably similar to someone who normally liked spending a little money collecting figurines they loved.
Every time they bought one, they would carefully clean it and display it neatly, believing that was the greatest form of respect for the figurines.
Then one day, after visiting a friend's house, they discovered the desk covered with huge numbers of extremely rare figurines—
Yet none of them had been properly stored in display cases, and they clearly had not been maintained either.
The most heartbreaking part was that the owner had even stacked them on top of one another.
At this moment, when Nian turned back to look at the pile of swords stacked on Shirou's desk, that was exactly what she felt.
Well, saying it like that was not entirely accurate either. Shirou actually kept things fairly clean.
Some of the swords were lined up neatly in orderly rows.
While another portion of them had been piled together at the edge of the desk like defective blades from a blacksmith's workshop.
Only the dragon sword hanging on the wall had been properly displayed and regularly cleaned.
Looking at Chi Xiao, Nian's mind instantly filled with question marks.
If she remembered correctly, this sword should currently have been with that little girl from the Guard Department, should it not?
So why was it here?
Or had Shirou's relationship with her already progressed to this level?
No, no.
The sword in front of her resembled Chi Xiao, but it also did not seem to be the exact same sword.
It was more like…
A mirrored copy?
So this was Shirou's ability?
How fascinating.
Looking at the Chi Xiao hanging on the wall, Nian fell deep into thought.
"What happened? Did a fight break out?"
Hearing someone suddenly curse loudly, the people in the kitchen immediately poked their heads out again to watch the excitement.
"No. Also, I smell something burning!"
Looking at the way the four of them had stacked their heads along the doorframe, Shirou initially found it funny.
But after catching the smell of something scorched in the air, he stopped laughing immediately.
"Ah! My toast!"
The moment Exusiai heard Shirou's words, the girl at the top of the stack instantly abandoned the formation and rushed back to save her toast.
Following closely behind was Croissant, since she was in charge of the stove section, which was also capable of catching fire.
"Did something happen just now?"
Texas and Sora exchanged glances before ultimately deciding to abandon their kitchen teammates and move forward to spectate—
No, to understand the situation.
Then the two of them saw Nian inside Shirou's room.
At that moment, she had both arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes never once left the swords.
Chi Xiao?
Sorry. She was not interested.
The casually piled swords on the desk were obviously far more interesting.
She even muttered to herself from time to time:
"Hmm… what material are these even made from? I have never seen anything like it before! And what is with this strange feeling?"
As she continuously voiced her thoughts aloud, Nian still did not make any move to touch the swords.
It was not because she did not want to touch them.
It was because casually handling someone else's belongings without permission from the owner was extremely rude.
"...I think I understand how she feels now."
Watching Nian look like she desperately wanted to organize the swords, Texas placed a Pocky stick into her mouth and wore an expression that seemed to have seen through life itself.
As someone who also used bladed weapons, she had plenty of complaints the moment she saw that pile of swords too.
But after remembering that those were merely Shirou's practice pieces, and realizing that she was seemingly the only one in Penguin Logistics who cared about this sort of thing, she stopped bothering to think about it.
"???"
Both Shirou and Sora ended up with question marks practically floating above their heads, completely unable to understand why Texas suddenly looked like she had attained enlightenment.
For a brief moment, the scene fell into awkward silence.
Fortunately, the awkwardness was quickly broken.
"Hey! Shirou! Can I touch them?"
Inside the room, Nian finally could not resist the urge any longer and prepared to stretch out her claws toward the Noble Phantasms.
Still, her remaining rationality made her ask Shirou for permission first.
"Uh… aside from the one on the wall, do whatever you want with the others."
Seeing her expression, Shirou thought for a moment before deciding not to refuse.
Though he still reminded her not to touch the one hanging on the wall.
After all, that Chi Xiao was currently the only thing he absolutely could not project.
Or rather, the cost of projecting it was simply too great.
If the price was increasing the markings spreading across his body, then Shirou would much rather use that burden for treating Oripathy instead.
So to him, that Chi Xiao was more like a decorative display piece.
"Do not worry, do not worry! I have no interest in that one!"
The moment she received permission, Nian became excited like a child. She carefully lifted up the still undeformed pseudo-spiral sword with both hands and examined it.
This was the very thing that had caused such a huge sensation throughout Lungmen earlier.
Seriously, this was unforgivable!
He was actually treating something this precious as a disposable item!
While handling the Noble Phantasms, Nian also reorganized the weapons according to her own preferences, trying her best to arrange everything neatly.
Naturally, the complaints never stopped either.
The three people standing at the doorway watching for a long time could all feel the immense resentment radiating from Nian.
Especially Shirou himself.
Eventually, breakfast was brought out from the kitchen.
And the three people at the doorway…
Became five people.
Shirou stayed because he could not exactly leave a guest alone in his room reorganizing his belongings.
As for why he did not step forward to help, it was because every time Nian's fingers brushed dust off one of the Noble Phantasms, the look in her eyes made it seem like she wanted to tie him down and force-feed him chili water.
As for the other four?
They simply found the whole thing entertaining.
Watching Shirou suffer in person was surprisingly good for the appetite.
"Hah…perfect. If only I could take that Chi Xiao down too. I really do not understand why Shirou put that sword in such a position."
After quite some time, Nian clapped her hands together in satisfaction while admiring the results before her.
The swords that had originally been piled around somewhat messily were now neatly arranged in rows across the table. Some of them were even propped carefully against the desk. No matter how one looked at it, things were far tidier than before.
Still, compared to the Chi Xiao hanging above, Nian would have preferred to hang up the black-and-white twin blades or the spiral sword instead.
It was not that she disliked Chi Xiao.
It was simply her personal opinion.
Of course, this was Shirou's room, so she respected his preferences.
Turning around, she found five pairs of eyes staring at her from outside the door, while all of them were munching on sandwiches.
"Ah! Sorry, sorry! I got too absorbed in it!"
Remembering her earlier behavior, Nian laughed awkwardly a few times.
"It is fine. Come eat breakfast first!"
The others did not really mind her behavior.
After all, from the way Nian carefully picked up the swords and cautiously rearranged them on the table, it was easy to understand what she was thinking.
And since she was someone Shirou knew personally, there obviously was no problem.
Although it would have been nice if she toned down the obsession with spicy food a little.
The moment Nian bit into the extra-spicy sandwich specially made by Croissant, Shirou and the others immediately smelled a blazing wave of heat filling the air.
It felt like their noses were being scorched.
The five of them collectively retreated, putting a safe distance between themselves and Nian, who was happily enjoying her ultra-spicy breakfast on the sofa.
"Not bad at all! If I remember correctly, this is a secret family recipe from some alleyway shop, right? I never expected you all to actually have this here!"
Nian ate enthusiastically, completely unaware that the others had already started distancing themselves from her.
Though even if she knew, she probably would not care.
She was already used to it.
All she could say was that these people simply did not understand spicy food.
This breakfast honestly was not even that spicy.
The real strength was the rich fragrance of the chili itself, which made the food incredibly appetizing.
Unfortunately, she usually could not buy any from that particular store.
Which made discovering it here all the more surprising.
This was wonderful!
The joy of enjoying delicious food after working.
The joy of personally reorganizing a pile of weapons.
The joy of finding something she had been searching for.
All those joys combined together made the meal taste even better.
"I spent quite a bit of effort getting these! Miss Nian, if you are interested, I still have some stock left that I can sell you. Would you like some? Only one hundred Lungmen dollars per bottle!"
The moment Croissant heard Nian's praise, her eyes practically sparkled.
Ignoring the chili-filled air around Nian, she shot into the kitchen and immediately returned with two unopened jars of chili sauce, which she placed onto the table.
Then she stared at Nian who was currently licking chili sauce off her fingers with an extremely sincere expression.
The others: "..."
If they remembered correctly, Croissant originally bought six bottles for three hundred Lungmen dollars total, right?
And now she was trying to sell two bottles for two hundred?
Seeing this scene, Shirou immediately covered his face with a headache.
The other three had long since gotten used to Croissant's behavior, so none of them looked particularly surprised.
"Oho! Sure, sure! Do you have any other spicy seasonings for sale too?"
Looking at the two bottles in front of her, Nian immediately pulled out money and bought them without hesitation.
The speed at which Croissant was making money left Exusiai incredibly jealous.
And after hearing Nian's question, Croissant instantly rushed upstairs to retrieve her treasured collection of chili jars.
Treasured chili sauces?
How could they possibly compare to Lungmen dollars!
These things could only truly shine in the hands of someone who actually appreciated spicy food!
Keeping them herself only meant using them to prank people!
Now was the perfect moment to send these treasures where they truly belonged!
At the same time, her little savings fund would also grow enormously!
Before she could fully indulge in this beautiful future, however, Croissant suddenly noticed Shirou narrowing his eyes at her, silently reminding her what she should and should not do next.
Croissant: "..."
That evil demon king Shirou was actually trying to stop her from making money!
But she, the heroic Croissant warrior, would never back down!
"Ahem, ahem. This here is one of my treasured chili jars. Only seven hundred and fifty Lungmen dollars!"
After coughing twice, Croissant proudly introduced the large jar of chili sauce she was hugging.
Her original purchase price had been five hundred.
Selling it for seven hundred and fifty was not excessive, right?
She was only making a profit of two hundred and fifty!
Besides, this stuff was extremely hard to get!
Sneaking another glance toward Shirou, Croissant realized he had already withdrawn the death-stare-like gaze from earlier.
At that moment, she knew she had successfully escaped the clutches of Demon King Shirou.
Victory was hers!
"Bought!"
Looking at the jar of chili sauce, Nian purchased it instantly without even hesitating.
"Should I go make an apple pie to sell too? The kind stuffed with chili peppers."
Watching Croissant sell jar after jar of chili sauce, Exusiai suddenly wanted to join in as well.
For the sake of profit, she was even willing to painfully sacrifice herself by stuffing chili peppers into an apple pie for sale.
It was not as though she had never done it before.
Using it to prank people had always been pretty entertaining.
"Come on, think clearly. You would be better off researching a hotpot soup base recipe and selling that to her instead."
Hearing Exusiai muttering to herself, Shirou could not help but complain.
Putting aside whether Nian would even be willing to eat such a horrifying creation, mixing together completely unrelated cuisines, was that not exactly the kind of thing Exusiai and Texas hated the most?
And now they were abandoning their principles just for Lungmen dollars?
At least hold out a little longer!
"I can handle desserts, but hotpot soup bases are beyond me. If I really had to make one, the only thing I could do would probably be a milk hotpot."
Hearing Shirou's suggestion, Exusiai could only lower her head helplessly and abandon the terrifying idea.
"Alright, alright. I will take you to buy apple pie later, okay?"
Seeing her dejected appearance, Shirou sighed and said so.
"Nice! You are not allowed to go back on your word!"
Exusiai had been waiting for exactly those words. The instant she received Shirou's promise, she immediately revived on the spot at full health.
"I will not. Do I look like the kind of person who goes back on his promises?"
Facing Exusiai's reaction, Shirou replied with a smile.
After all, he only said he would take her to buy apple pie.
He never said he would be the one paying.
So naturally, his heart did not ache at all.
He had been taking care of these people for so long already. Did they really think he still could not see through these little tricks?
"Um… did Shirou just trick Exusiai again?"
Watching the interaction between the two redheads, Sora felt like something was off.
"Remove the question mark."
Texas, who interacted with Exusiai the most often, answered immediately.
At this point, it could only be said that Exusiai never learned her lesson.
She had been tricked so many times already, yet she still happily jumped straight into every trap.
Though to be fair, it was only because the traps had been laid by Shirou.
If it were a stranger, Exusiai would definitely be far more suspicious.
"I see… they really do have a good relationship."
After hearing Texas's explanation, Sora seemed to understand something.
This was probably just the unique way those two interacted with each other.
Thinking back to how she herself had always interacted with Shirou, it still felt mostly the same as before.
Although she wanted to change that somewhat, unfortunately her schedule often conflicted with Shirou's.
"…Speaking of which, yesterday's Remembrance day plans got interrupted. Are there any plans to make up for it later?"
After thinking for a moment, Texas smoothly changed the topic.
She was a little worried that Sora might start following Exusiai's example and begin causing trouble for Shirou too.
Having just Croissant and Exusiai was already more than enough.
They absolutely did not need a third one.
Both she and Shirou agreed on that point.
It had to be stopped before it could even begin.
"The Remembrance day, huh? I honestly do not know."
Texas's tactical diversion worked perfectly, immediately pulling Sora's attention away from the chaotic battle between the two redheads in front of her.
"If we hold it later, it will not really have the same atmosphere anymore. And if we do it during another holiday, that would feel strange too. So why not save it for next year?"
After thinking for quite a while, Sora felt that hosting a replacement Remembrance day party outside of the actual Remembrance day would feel too weird.
So she proposed postponing it until next year's Souls Festival instead, making the next celebration even bigger and grander.
"Mm, that is a good suggestion."
Seeing Sora's confident expression, Texas nodded in agreement.
At the same time, she pulled out another Pocky stick and placed it into her mouth while watching the lively scene unfolding in the living room.
It was just…
Nice.
This kind of everyday life.