After explosively unleashing a string of profanity, Nian felt her violent emotions settle down quite a bit.
The situation was probably similar to soone who normally liked spending a little money collecting figurines they loved.
Every ti 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 extrely 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 mont, 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.
So 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 rembered correctly, this sword should currently have been with that little girl from the Guard Departnt, 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 sa 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 soone suddenly curse loudly, the people in the kitchen imdiately poked their heads out again to watch the excitent.
"No. Also, I sll sothing burning!"
Looking at the way the four of them had stacked their heads along the doorfra, Shirou initially found it funny.
But after catching the sll of sothing scorched in the air, he stopped laughing imdiately.
"Ah! My toast!"
The mont 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 sothing 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 mont, 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 ti to ti:
"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 soone else's belongings without permission from the owner was extrely 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 seed to have seen through life itself.
As soone who also used bladed weapons, she had plenty of complaints the mont she saw that pile of swords too.
But after rembering that those were rely 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 enlightennt.
For a brief mont, 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 mont 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 mont she received permission, Nian beca excited like a child. She carefully lifted up the still undeford pseudo-spiral sword with both hands and examined it.
This was the very thing that had caused such a huge sensation throughout Lungn earlier.
Seriously, this was unforgivable!
He was actually treating sothing 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 ti could all feel the imnse resentnt radiating from Nian.
Especially Shirou himself.
Eventually, breakfast was brought out from the kitchen.
And the three people at the doorway…
Beca 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 ti 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 so ti, Nian clapped her hands together in satisfaction while admiring the results before her.
The swords that had originally been piled around sowhat ssily were now neatly arranged in rows across the table. So 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!"
Rembering her earlier behavior, Nian laughed awkwardly a few tis.
"It is fine. Co 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 soone 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 mont Nian bit into the extra-spicy sandwich specially made by Croissant, Shirou and the others imdiately slled 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 rember correctly, this is a secret family recipe from so 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 sothing she had been searching for.
All those joys combined together made the al taste even better.
"I spent quite a bit of effort getting these! Miss Nian, if you are interested, I still have so stock left that I can sell you. Would you like so? Only one hundred Lungn dollars per bottle!"
The mont Croissant heard Nian's praise, her eyes practically sparkled.
Ignoring the chili-filled air around Nian, she shot into the kitchen and imdiately 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 extrely sincere expression.
The others: "..."
If they rembered correctly, Croissant originally bought six bottles for three hundred Lungn dollars total, right?
And now she was trying to sell two bottles for two hundred?
Seeing this scene, Shirou imdiately 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 imdiately 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 Lungn dollars!
These things could only truly shine in the hands of soone who actually appreciated spicy food!
Keeping them herself only ant using them to prank people!
Now was the perfect mont to send these treasures where they truly belonged!
At the sa ti, 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 Lungn 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 extrely hard to get!
Sneaking another glance toward Shirou, Croissant realized he had already withdrawn the death-stare-like gaze from earlier.
At that mont, 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.
"Co 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 Lungn dollars?
At least hold out a little longer!
"I can handle desserts, but hotpot soup bases are beyond . 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 imdiately 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 sothing was off.
"Remove the question mark."
Texas, who interacted with Exusiai the most often, answered imdiately.
At this point, it could only be said that Exusiai never learned her lesson.
She had been tricked so many tis 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 seed to understand sothing.
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 sa as before.
Although she wanted to change that sowhat, unfortunately her schedule often conflicted with Shirou's.
"…Speaking of which, yesterday's Rembrance day plans got interrupted. Are there any plans to make up for it later?"
After thinking for a mont, 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 Rembrance day, huh? I honestly do not know."
Texas's tactical diversion worked perfectly, imdiately 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 sa 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 replacent Rembrance day party outside of the actual Rembrance 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 agreent.
At the sa ti, 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.
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