When Emiya Shirou listened to Nuwa-hime explain who Su Enxi really was, he immediately sensed something ridiculous about it—
A young financial legend, nicknamed the Black Swan of Wall Street, dropping everything to personally run a couple's date planning business in a third-tier Chinese city? That was like someone at the peak of their field deciding to go relive entry-level grunt work just for fun.
No way. She had to have some hidden agenda…!
Shirou wasn't an idiot. He'd only recently gained Nuwa-hime's trust as her young house steward. Before that, he had no background, no influence—nothing worth noting. So either they were after his talents… or more likely, they were using him as a backdoor to approach the Zhou family. It had nothing to do with actual "date services."
He turned the thought over in his head, feeling more and more convinced that the responsibility was on him. He had agreed to that shady promotion. He had allowed this to happen...
"Shirou, I've already sent someone over. She probably hasn't realized she's about to be surrounded," Nuwa-hime murmured, her breath warm, her lips curling. "Whoever tries to move in Xiangyang without us noticing... heh, they're dreaming."
You're so aggressive and domineering... Shirou scratched his head, overwhelmed.
He had originally planned to go confront the issue himself. Now he saw he'd been too cautious.
He could've brought Old Tang, sure. But Shirou could already picture Tang grumbling along the way:
"Damn, someone dared lay a hand on my bro and my future sis-in-law? Don't they know I'm the Pure Love God of War, who can summon a firestorm strong enough to burn from Nantianmen to Penglai East Road!?"
...According to Tang, he had once again—yes, again—experienced some bizarre "dream encounter." A mysterious voice had scolded him, and when he woke, he had unlocked flame-based magecraft.
From Shirou's perspective, that fire spell was way more powerful than Tokiomi Tohsaka's little flame stick. Tang could easily BBQ enemies mid-battle. Shirou jokingly dubbed him the "Budget Little Sun."
...But seriously, how does Tang keep having these freak awakenings? Judging by his symptoms, it's almost like there's someone else living inside him.
Multiple personalities weren't that rare in the Moon World. Henry Jekyll, the Ryougi family—they all had ways of creating such personas.
The rumored Atlas Institute used ancient alchemy instead of modern magecraft. They had a "thought partition" technique that could create at least three, sometimes up to eight distinct minds.
Maybe Tang had a background even he wasn't aware of?
Definitely need to have a chat with him later...
Back outside, Su Enxi had already braced herself for the worst, bringing along Long Legs girl Sakagami Mai and the deadpan Emotionless girl Zero.
After all, they were now in Zhou family territory—a family with over a thousand years of history entrenched in Xiangyang. If they really wanted to find a lost needle in the city, they'd just mobilize half the population for a sweep.
Not to mention… three distinctly eye-catching outsiders like them stood no chance of going unnoticed.
Su Enxi took a deep breath. Whatever—whether she ran or stayed, it was going to be a knife to the neck either way. The boss forbade resistance, so... might as well surrender.
If they were in Tokyo and had a run-in with the Snake-Eight clans, she could've used her shares to force negotiations. But here? She had no leverage with the Zhou family.
"Enxi, what now?" Sakagami Mai's voice was tense as faint engine noises echoed in the distance. "Are they surrounding us already? We just gonna stand here?"
"Yep, I've got a plan. Follow my lead. In a moment—raise your hands above your head."
"Wait—why are we surrendering!?"
Mai could feel her blood pressure spike. She glanced at Zero—who was already calmly raising her hands. She had no ideas of her own. She couldn't defy the boss, either.
Su Enxi yawned. She'd been working herself to the bone for those lovebirds' perfect date. She was running on fumes. Her brain was starting to refuse all higher function.
Meh. Jail might be comfy. At least I can nap there. "zzzzz..."
A second later, Mai slapped her arm.
"HEY—what was that for!?"
"How the hell are you sleeping standing up?! WAKE UP, the cops are here! Zhou family must've reported us!"
"Huh?"
Su Enxi blinked blearily. A convoy of police cars approached silently, red and blue lights pulsing across the street. No sirens—it was too late at night for that.
Wha—how are they actually here?
Weirdly, the moment grounded her. She stepped forward, straightened her coat, and prepared to greet the officers… with the best surrender posture she could muster.
"Enxi, have you lost your mind!? We can't let the police find out who we are!"
"Relax. They're not cops. I'll bet you a thousand percent—Zhou family operatives. Chill. Once we're inside, we'll be interrogated separately. Let me teach you the ultimate tip—sincerity is your trump card! If you don't know something, say you don't know!"
With that, Su Enxi confidently stepped forward and waved—like she was hailing a cab, not getting arrested. Her long trench coat fluttered in the wind, making her look like a smooth-talking con artist returning from a victory.
Thirty minutes later. Inside the station.
Su Enxi sat upright, well-behaved and composed as a female officer began the questioning.
"Name?"
"Su Enxi."
"Gender?"
"...Female."
"Occupation?"
"Executive Director of the Transatlantic Education Advancement Foundation."
"...?"
"Founding Member of the Hong Kong Emerald Jade Trade Alliance," she added smoothly.
The officer paused, clearly communicating through an earpiece. A few seconds later, she looked up again. "That's not what we're asking."
"Oh, then... Special Advisor to the East Asia Child Welfare Research Center under the UN Anti-Poverty Commission."
Su Enxi calmly glanced toward the one-way mirror in the interrogation room. "All of those are real. My bag has the name cards and documents. You'll find I have over two hundred identities."
As the officer received new instructions from her headset, Su Enxi raised an eyebrow. "If you really want answers, maybe your superiors should come in personally—unless you really want me to dump it all on this officer."
The officer quickly left.
Moments later, the door opened—and the first face Su Enxi saw was Emiya Shirou...
With Nuwa-hime glaring over his shoulder, looking like a venomous snake ready to bite.
Crap. She's not gonna think we're here to seduce her man, is she!?
(End of Chapter)
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