Because Su Enxi had never anticipated Wa Lord's jealousy flaring up, she looked calm on the surface while panicking like hell inside.
Come to think of it, she had been the one to take on the job in the first place, running around to safeguard Wa Lord's date, all so Wa Lord would be satisfied and Young Hero Emiya would have nothing to complain about...
Tsk, wasn't this basically lifting a stone only to smash her own foot?
She had set the mood too well. Wa Lord's feelings for Young Hero Emiya had heated up far too quickly, making her even more hostile toward women who approached him... Well, who could blame her? The Trio of nursemaids were all stunning beauties in their own ways.
Beauty was a woman's greatest original sin!
At that thought, Su Enxi's vanity kicked in again, leaving her both nervous and smug.
Hehe, we've got mature, loli, and innocent-sexy types all covered among the three of us. Compared to our invincible trio, a mere little girl—especially one with that unconventional childlike snake-girl appeal—must be feeling inferior now, right?
Wa Lord suddenly felt inexplicably irritated. The snake tail behind her whipped forward nimbly and slammed onto the desk with the force of a judge striking a gavel—
"Bang!"
The fragile tabletop cracked at once. Su Enxi immediately surrendered and reined in her thoughts. Cooperatively, she made her body tremble twice, then looked around. Seeing that such a huge commotion had drawn no reaction from the police station, she put on a terrified expression.
"Waaah! Wa Lord, what incredible official authority!?"
"Hmph. Are you looking down on our Zhou Family?" Wa Lord's slender body coiled like a snake atop the desk, now webbed with cracks.
"Stop pretending to be scared and pathetic. You're trying to fish for information about the Zhou Family," Wa Lord said, completely unmoved by Su Enxi's performance.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop. This isn't fun anymore... Let me guess. You didn't get any useful information from Long-Legs or Three-No Girl."
"Quit talking nonsense... Tell me, who sent you to get close to us?"
Su Enxi blinked. Some genuine information was bound into the Blood Contract and could not be revealed, so she crossed her hands before her chest in a large X.
"I'm just a worker serving my boss. I can't say more than that—you understand. We're both from this side of the world. Certain measures can ensure that we can never reveal the secrets people want to know."
"Then tell me something valuable—for example, which one of us you came looking for."
Wa Lord narrowed her eyes. Her small body's imposing presence surged sharply, as though the moment Su Enxi uttered Shirou Emiya's name, Wa Lord would swat her dead like some filthy fox spirit.
This time, Su Enxi was genuinely afraid. But she had no intention of obediently jumping into the pit Wa Lord had dug for her. Slippery as an eel, she slipped past it and said:
"...Ahem. Our main purpose in approaching you is to establish cooperation for the coming operation." Su Enxi glanced at Emiya beside her, then dropped a bombshell. "My superiors gave me intelligence concerning a research base where the Chen Family produces Death Servants!"
Su Enxi instantly felt a tangible gaze pinning her down. Wa Lord spoke coldly, enunciating each word.
"So you have already determined that the Chen Family is producing Death Servants, rather than transferring them in from somewhere else?"
Wa Lord was not surprised that they had brought such intelligence to the Zhou Family. After all, Emiya had drawn Dragon Severing Platform and gone all out to wipe out the Death Servants that day, leaving behind massive traces of destruction.
Over the following days, members of the great families of Shenzhou had gathered there because of the relic excavation. Anyone paying even a little attention would have noticed something unusual.
Faced with Wa Lord's pressure, Su Enxi felt bitterness flood her heart like an endless river. This had all been assigned by that damn boss who loved speaking in riddles. What did she know about any of this? Ugh, and now she had to make things up on the spot.
"Let me make this clear first... We haven't confirmed it. This is merely an inference based on the intelligence we currently have. The other side is producing Death Servants at that base, or some other product closely related to Death Servants."
"...We also know that your Zhou Family has a grudge against the Chen Family, so you're naturally a potential ally in this operation. Of course we had to make an effort to win you over."
"So, when we learned that Wa Lord seemed to be looking forward to an intimate date with your little butler, we rushed over and specially delivered a deluxe date-event package to your door. Who knew you'd be so impatient and refuse to follow the script, starting off with an ambush from all sides and an interrogation?"
"Hmph! Who knows what you people have arranged behind the scenes?" Wa Lord said stubbornly, realizing that she might have been overly suspicious. She looked at Shirou Emiya. "Wait, you seem to value Shirou highly too? He was among those you intended to invite, wasn't he?"
"Ah, yes, yes, yes." The original invitation had actually been directed only at Emiya, but Su Enxi did not dare mention it, lest she provoke the little girl again. "Anyone Wa Lord has taken a liking to must have exceptional qualities. We also ask that you spare him for us and let Young Hero Emiya lend us a hand!"
Wa Lord frowned with some hesitation. In her view, this was an internal dispute between the Chen Family and the Zhou Family. Although Emiya was serving as her butler, he had already helped save Zhou Yuxuan before. Dragging him into this again of her own accord...
"Mm, I agree," Emiya said instead, far less conflicted. The date service arranged by Chips and his team had been very thoughtful. At the very least, he could tell that Wa Lord had been in an excellent mood the entire time, so helping them would not hurt.
"Besides, I was the one who destroyed the Chen Family's Death Servants before. They should have noticed me. Since we know they may still be making them, I can't stand by and watch."
Besides, his projection techniques had made obvious progress lately. Combat would also help him test and consolidate them.
"Hehe, thank you, Shirou!" Wa Lord's face brightened, and she happily slithered up Shirou Emiya's back. Resting against his shoulder, she spoke in a soft, sweet voice beside his ear. "As my butler, you're still as considerate as ever."
Aaaaaah—! Su Enxi, who had watched the entire exchange, painfully lowered her head. Help, stop it already! Did they know how much damage their blatant public display of affection was doing to a single shut-in woman like her!?
She suddenly envied Zero and Jiu De Mayi, who had been left in the next room the whole time. Presumably, they had nothing to do except stare blankly into space.
"Oh, right." Wa Lord seemed to finally notice Su Enxi's presence. "As for the plan to infiltrate the Chen Family's base, I have a bold idea."
"Huh?" Su Enxi suddenly had a bad feeling. This was not over yet?
Wa Lord was gentle with her own butler, but her tone toward Su Enxi was forceful. With every word, she became the imposing family head again.
"Our Zhou Family had also been planning an operation against the Chen Family in cooperation with the other great families. Since you invited the Zhou Family, why not expand the scale and coordinate with us in a joint operation? So, revise your action plan as quickly as possible."
"Ahh!!" When Su Enxi heard that her overtime was nowhere near over, her vision went black. She let out a miserable cry, tilted her head, kicked out her legs, and fainted.
Thanks to @Jiuchun Snowy Day @Heart of the Fantasy Sword @Yan5201314 for the monthly tickets!
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