A Dimensional Journey Begins with the Dragon Clan

"?"

This was the first time he heard of it.

It seems that Toosaka Rin didn't join any clubs because of family matters. She refused to recommend her to the student council for the same reason, so he thought she would go home directly after school.

"Never mind, it's okay sometimes. He's a very arrogant guy, so maybe it's okay for him to have a bad experience. Should I say it's a pity or an apology?"

Meizhui said something that sounded dangerous.

  Come to think of it, it is said that Tōsaka Rin has many enemies. Is Mizutsu one of them?

"Hey, Meizhui, no matter what, that's still..."

"Ah, it's about time. Goodbye Emiya, come watch me shoot archery next time!"

Meizhui ran away in a hurry.

"That guy hasn't changed."

However, Emiya Shirou has always liked that guy's straightforward personality.

Feeling that his mood had stabilized, he walked towards the classroom.

lunch break.

Their school has a luxurious restaurant, and most students have lunch in the restaurant.

However, there were also some older people who brought their own lunch boxes, one of whom was Shirou Emiya, and the student council president in front of them.

"Emiya, can you give me one of those fried chicken nuggets? There's not enough meat in my bento."

"Yes, you can. But why is your lunch box so plain, Issei? Even in a temple, there wouldn't be any rules against eating and drinking, right?"

"What are you saying? It's anachronistic. This is just my dad's hobby. He said there's nothing extra for the little monk to waste, so if you don't want to, you can find a way yourself. I'm also thinking about whether I should just start cooking for myself now."

"Ah—that's exactly what my uncle is like."

Issei's father is the abbot of Ryudo-ji Temple, and he and Fuji-nee's father are heroes who have known each other for a long time.

Since he shares similar sentiments with the grandfather of the Fujimura family, we can't expect him to have a normal personality.

"Oh my. Well, then, let's just consider this as one of the things that will be repaid one day."

Emiya Shirou held out his lunch box.

"Oh, thank you. This is also a form of practice for begging for alms."

Yicheng thanked him solemnly.

  How should I put it, how come I realized again that Kazunari is the son of the temple because of this incident?

"Ah, right, Emiya. Did you know there was a commotion in Ni-chome this morning? It happened to be at the intersection where Emiya and I separated."

"Intersection?"

Speaking of the intersection this morning, it seemed like there were a few patrol cars parked there causing some commotion.

"It looks like there was a murder case. Although I don't know the details, it seems that out of a family of four, only the child was saved. Both parents and older sister were stabbed to death, but the murder weapon was not a kitchen knife or a short knife, but a long knife, which is unusual."

"!?"

Long sword? Like a Japanese sword or something like that?

A murder case, and the murder of both parents and sister.

Imagine it.

Someone breaking in late at night. Undue violence. Traffic accidents are examples of one-sided robbery.

The parents were hacked to death. The sister who died without knowing the reason. The child was drenched in the blood of his family.

"Issei. In that case, have you caught the culprit?"

"It seems like they didn't catch anything. The one in Shinto was an accident due to shoddy workmanship, and this one was a random killing of passersby. It's only natural that the school would close early──What's wrong, Emiya? Is there something stuck in your throat?"

"? It's okay, why are you asking this suddenly?"

"No, it's because Emiya looked so serious. I was a little scared. Sorry, this is not something you should say during a meal."

Yicheng tried to ease the atmosphere as if he was very apologetic.

No, although it really was nothing, was his expression really that serious? Emiya Shirou was puzzled.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door of the quiet student union room.

"Sorry. Is Ryudo in?"

"Huh? Ah, yes. What's up, teacher?"

Yicheng was talking to Kuzuki who came in.

Is this just a simple arrangement by the student union? Yicheng seems to be very relaxed.

"Hey."

This is a sight not often seen.

Although he looks like that, Kazunari is very shy and reserved. He is the boy who draws a line between his classmates and teachers, and he trusts Kuzuki, the student council advisor.

"Maybe the serious part is pretty compatible."

Soichirō Kuzuki, the instructor of Class 2-A, is a very serious and honest person.

Perhaps this is consistent with the 10% emphasis on rules.

"────────"

The two continued talking.

As I watched them, for some reason, the murder I had just heard about could not leave my mind.

The class is over and it's time to go home.

I have a part-time job today so I can't just wander around.

  There is nothing to do at school, so I have to go directly to the neighboring town, but────

She was concerned about what Mizue said this morning, and by the time Emiya Shirou noticed her, she had already arrived at the archery grounds.

“────Ahhh, what am I doing?”

From what Mizue said, it seems that Tōsaka Rin comes here often.

So──Even though he doesn't need to care, I think it would be a problem if Shinji attacked Tōsaka.

"That guy Shinji, once he gets angry, he can't stop."

It's not okay for Shinji to resort to violence after being rejected by Tōsaka.

No, I don’t know what’s wrong, but it’s not right.

I feel unhappy just imagining that kind of scene, and I must prevent it as much as possible.

"───What? Toosaka isn't here."

There is no Tosaka to be seen around the dojo.

Meizhubai was worried.

"Hey, who's not here?"

"!"

Emiya Shirou turned around suddenly.

"I--I--ah--, who are you saying is not here?"

It’s the 10% that just separated.

“Yes, it’s you, Issei. Don’t scare me.”

"No, it's because Emiya was looking at the dojo suspiciously. Now, who did you say wasn't there?"

"Who is it, Tousaka? It seems like she had a fight with Shinji. So I just stopped by to see what was going on."

"Oh, that's suspicious. You told me the reason even though I didn't ask you. I was just asking who was missing, okay?"

“────! What, what’s the matter? It doesn’t matter. I can do whatever I want.”

"Yeah, that's true. But it's no use, Emiya. Tōsaka isn't here. He skipped school."

"what?"

  Truancy means absence?

"Is that so? You're absent? Wait a minute, Issei. Why would Tousaka skip school? That guy wouldn't do something like that, right?"

"Even if they did, is it possible that they caught a cold? In my opinion, that guy is a bad person. If you are deceived by appearances, you will be eaten up in one bite, Emiya."

“────Hmm.”

For some reason, Issei's words made Emiya Shirou feel a little unhappy.

He certainly didn't know Tohsaka, but he didn't think that guy was a bad person.

"You're exaggerating, Issei. Tōsaka isn't that kind of guy, is he?"

"Hmm? What? Emiya is going to chase after Tōsaka too? Ah, sorry, let's just forget about what I just heard."

“────!”

Who, who wants to chase after Tohsaka───! "No, don't decide for yourself! I just think it would be bad if Shinji got into an argument with her────"

"You're trying to stop Shinji from fighting Tōsaka? You're doing something thankless again. I don't mind, but your interest is really poor, Emiya?"

"I didn't do it, so I'm not rude. But it's only 10%. Did you just say something weird?"

"Hmm? Do you have a low interest in chasing after Tohsaka?"

"Yes. Isn't Tohsaka very popular? I haven't heard anything bad about him, have I?"

"Ah, I haven't heard of it. That makes me even more uncomfortable."

Yicheng snorted and turned to the side.

"I can't stand it, what is it?"

"That's all. She's a female fox. A female demon. She's a monster. In short, I just can't stand her physically. I won't say anything nonsense, and Emiya shouldn't like her!"

"Issei. It's not good to speak ill of others behind their backs. Isn't that your motto?"

"Idiot. That's not even talking behind someone's back. I said it so that others could hear it."

Ah, no wonder I could feel the sight from the archery field.

Great.

It was great that Tōsaka was absent today.

“Please, Isekai. I’m sorry, but could you please make it the back part?”

"Hmm, since Emiya said so, I understand. But I'm not slandering her. I just said that Yanagido Kazunari was on guard against Tōsaka Rin. It's just a matter of personal preference, right?"

"But it did mention monsters and female foxes, didn't it?"

Come to think of it, isn’t “banshee” an obviously discriminatory word?

"No, that's a compliment. There are good people among fox girls and monsters. I just chose the one that can show Tōsaka's values. Haha."

Yicheng smiled generously.

"Then I'm leaving. I need to go back to the student council room. Emiya needs to work, right? We don't have time to hang around here."

Did he feel refreshed after saying what he wanted to say? Yicheng walked away calmly.

Even though they had known each other for two years, to be honest, he still didn't fully understand Issei's personality.

It takes 20 minutes by bus from school.

After crossing the bridge, we arrived at the neighboring town of Shinto.

"Why, it's not even five o'clock yet. There's still some time."

Although there are no part-time job opportunities like in the residential area of ​​Miyama-cho, there is no shortage of people in the development area of ​​Shinto.

Also because school rules allowed part-time work, he accepted the simple job.

What I like most is manual labor, because it is hard work and can be finished in a short time as long as I try my best.

Getting exercise for the body and making money at the same time is killing two birds with one stone.

Today's job is from five to eight, simple cargo delivery.

Although it's only three hours long, the content is as dense as six hours. After all, it's all running back and forth without a break.

  So, even if it's only ten minutes, you should take a break when you can, right?

It's a waste of energy to hang around until work time, so go to the park and take a rest.

The park in the center of the commercial street looks like a large square covered by forests and grasslands.

If it were a holiday, there would be families or couples in this bustling park, but there were not many people at this time.

No───Actually, even in the park, this is the only place where there is no one at any time.

"It still hasn't changed here."

Emiya Shirou was a little surprised.

The ground left to waste looks too rough compared to the surrounding area which has been well maintained.

Maybe it’s because we’re passing through this desolate land, but the wind is also cold.

This is the remains of the great fire ten years ago, and it is also the place where I was saved even though I should have been burned to death.

"Why don't you plant some grass? It's a shame to keep it like this."

With such a vast land, the park can become bigger if the land is well cultivated.

While thinking about this blankly, Emiya Shirou found a bench and sat down.

"────────"

Killing time looking at the burnt earth.

He didn't think about what happened here in the past.

I can’t remember it because I was a child at the time, and also because it wasn’t a simple scene that I could remember.

What I remember is that it was very hot and I couldn't breathe.

Also, when you were trying to help someone, that person died.

"Why, is that so?"

For example, an adult who was trying to rescue a child from a burned-down house died in place of the child.

It was like, there was a group of people with dry throats, and because the only remaining water was drunk by one person, the others all died.

It was as if one person was planning to escape from the fire as quickly as possible, but without exception, none of the people left behind were able to escape.

Also, like...

A person who died of exhaustion after giving away something that could have helped himself in order to help someone who had nothing to do with him.

“──────”

Emiya Shirou didn't like that.

He is upset about the sacrifices made by hard-working people.

  Is it too greedy to hope that everyone can be saved and smile happily?

He just wanted to see people breathing normally and peacefully, so why couldn't he even accomplish that?

"That's difficult. Because what Shirou said was to save everyone."

This is how Kiritsugu answered his question when he was a child.

Of course, he refused to accept it when he was a child.

Because Kiritsugu saved him. He also knew that Kiritsugu was a magician who could do anything.

I also learned that Kiritsugu was a righteous ally who helped others without asking for anything in return, simply because he couldn’t ignore the suffering of others.

So────he believed that if it was Kiritsugu, he would be able to help everyone at that time.

Kiritsugu showed a troubled expression as he told him this, and said something that he had only said once, but it still left a deep impression on him.

"Shirou. Choosing who to help means choosing who to abandon. Listen carefully, those who can be saved by the allies of justice can only be saved by the allies of justice. It's a matter of course, but this is the definition of an allies of justice."

Emiya Shirou knew this.

Of course, this is to be said.

Suppose there are robbers and hostages now, and the robber intends to kill the hostage.

Using the usual methods, most of the hostages would be killed.

At this time, even if you are a righteous ally, the only thing you can do is to kill the robber.

Rescued the hostages and killed the robbers.

It couldn't be any better.

A peaceful solution is obviously impossible.

Therefore, even God cannot save everyone.

"It wouldn't matter if it was a natural disaster. No matter who it is, they can't save everyone."

That was what happened in the fire ten years ago. That was not what Shirou Emiya, who was saved miraculously, could say now.

"But I don't like it."

He doesn't like that kind of helpless situation.

He shouldn't decide at the outset how many people he can rescue.

No matter how impossible it is, you have to take action.

He couldn't bear to see strangers dying around him like he had done back then.

So, if he were like this ten years ago, he would have rushed into the fire even if it was impossible────(End of this chapter)