Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Chapter Twenty-Two: Open and aboveboard infiltration members

"Have you heard? The residential area in the North District was razed to the ground overnight!"

"I heard that someone over there angered the gods, and divine punishment has been unleashed!"

"No, no, no, I heard it from a rumor. The authorities were researching a new weapon, but they didn't control it well and it leaked out!"

"Could it be the work of a ghost?"

The first three people looked at the fourth person with disdain.

His eyes clearly revealed—what was this person up to?

"Hey, should we go take a look?"

"Forget it, if this gets involved, your side will suddenly disappear too."

"Hey! Don't say that. I heard that the hundreds of people who disappeared over there still haven't been found. Luckily, most of the courtesans were parading around here last night, otherwise, there might have been thousands missing."

After giving the fourth person a disdainful look, they ignored him and continued their discussion as if he were nothing.

Meanwhile, in the restaurant where there were hardly any customers due to this incident, Emiya, who was serving the dishes, also heard about it from them.

Normally, Emiya would stay in the kitchen, but because there were far fewer customers today, he took on the role of a waiter and served the dishes, something he hadn't done in a long time.

A ghost?

Emiya took off his work clothes, packed them up, and prepared to head towards the North District.

The incident didn't happen that long ago, so there might be some clues left at the scene.

Furthermore, those people have only disappeared; it cannot be concluded that they are dead. If we act quickly, there may still be hope of saving them.

Hundreds of people—those are all precious lives!

Emiya couldn't imagine how those defenseless people would be treated by demons.

Ghosts never see humans as human beings; to them, humans are merely food.

"It has to be done as soon as possible!"

Emiya was extremely anxious. Every second counted; the sooner they found them, the more people they could rescue.

Perhaps all those hundreds of people died last night, but at this stage they are only missing. People should always have a glimmer of hope, shouldn't they?

Ignoring his boss's attempts to stop him, he rushed out of the store and headed towards the north area.

Although Emiya's main living area was near Yuuka, the town was not very big, much smaller than Fuyuki City. Emiya spent three days exploring the entire town and even drew a map himself.

After all, there's no mobile navigation here, so you have to ask for directions to get to many places.

Emiya controlled his breathing as he jogged. There was still some distance between Yu Guo and the North District, and he needed to conserve his energy to deal with any unexpected situations.

During this time, Emiya also took the opportunity to activate his magic circuits, as he had been troubled by the problem of activating his magic circuits.

If he were to encounter a ghost again, as suddenly as before, he might not even have a chance to activate his magic circuits before being killed by the ghost.

These disgusting creatures are incredibly fast; until Emiya projects his Nichirin Blade, he can only defend passively, and he must find the right opportunity to launch an attack.

"Hina, Hinatsuru, was this really caused by a demon? Is it the Upper Moon that Lord Uzui spoke of?"

Suma stood beside the hollow, her legs feeling weak, unable to believe the sight before her.

Such a large area has simply vanished. If she had been there, she might have disappeared without a trace, just like those other residents.

"This really is—"

Standing next to Suma was a woman in a kimono with purple eyes, black hair in a single ponytail, and a beauty mark under her left eye, her hands clenched tightly into fists.

Such a massive formation unfolded before their eyes, yet they remained completely unaware. For ninjas, this was nothing short of an insult.

"Pass the information here to my husband. He will make his own judgment. We still need to investigate more."

Hina Tsuru slammed her tightly clenched hand down. She now desperately wanted to dig three feet into the ground and kill the ghost that had caused this place to disappear.

But she knew she didn't have that ability, and besides, there were more important things waiting for her now. The safest thing to do was to find out the Upper Moon demon by some means and hand it over to the Demon Slayer Corps.

We must not let momentary anger cause us to neglect the right things.

"Let's go. We need to work even harder to gather intelligence, or more people will get hurt!"

Suppressing his anger, the young crane prepared to return to Youguo.

But at that moment, Suma, who was standing to the side, exclaimed in surprise.

"It's that boy!"

Suma seemed to remember what happened yesterday, pointing to Emiya Shirou who was rushing over at high speed.

"Emiya Shirou?"

Standing on the other side of Hinatsuru, a woman with a single ponytail, blonde bangs, and black hair, dressed in a kimono, looked at her with a questioning gaze.

"Hey! Makio, do you know that child?"

Suma was very surprised.

Maki, however, shook her head, holding her head, indicating her utter helplessness at Suma's words.

"Now, who in the country doesn't know Emiya Shirou?"

"He is a celebrity in Youguo. Not only is he a great cook, but he is also a kind and helpful person who asks for nothing in return. Basically, anyone who has lived in Youguo for a while knows him."

"And it seems you ate a lot of the sushi he made!"

Hina Tsuru pinched Suma's cheek.

"Back then, you kept asking me when I could eat such delicious sushi again."

"Hey! Did he make that sushi?"

Suma was surprised once again.

"But what is Shirou Emiya doing here? Does he have a relative living here?"

Maki was stroking his chin, deep in thought.

"No, he came from elsewhere and has no relatives living in this area."

The young crane shook its head in rejection.

"However, judging from the way he breathes, he might be a member of the Demon Slayer Corps."

Maki, half-bent over, observed Emiya as he ran continuously.

The young crane also observed while half-bending over, but quickly came to a conclusion.

"No, he's not a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. He probably just learned the breathing technique by chance. His current breathing method is not perfect, so it's impossible for him to use breathing techniques."

"Forget it, why should we care about these things? Let's hurry up and get this information to the Demon Slayer Corps!"

Maki shrugged and prepared to jump off the roof.

"Maki, Maki-o, did he see us?"

Suma pointed somewhat fearfully at Emiya in the distance.

"That's impossible. We're more than ten streets away from him. He sees us like sparrows. How could he possibly see us?"

"But, but"

"Relax, he's just a kid, how could he have such eyesight!"

Maki patted Suma on the shoulder, indicating that this was impossible.

"clang!"

A bamboo knife was stuck very hard into the tiles 10 meters away from them.

Then they looked towards Emiya's location again.

At this moment, Emiya had stopped in his tracks, standing in the middle of the street as if no one around him existed, facing them in a posture as if he were drawing a bow and shooting.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Devouring Demons - Asakusa Kae (Part 1)

Whether it was a conditioned reflex or Shirou's own heightened senses, Shirou, who was running, suddenly turned his head toward Suma and the others.

It's like when you're looking at someone, and they suddenly turn around and look at you.

He probably didn't even feel anyone staring at him, but for some reason he suddenly turned to look at the person who had been watching him.

This abrupt turn also allowed Emiya to see three figures standing on the rooftop.

Although they were quite far apart, as an archer, his eyesight was superb, and he could easily make out the appearances of the three people standing on the roof.

One of them was the woman who had collided with Emiya earlier.

Even though only one night had passed, Emiya still vividly remembered the woman who had soaked him to the bone.

But why was she standing on the roof?

Most people don't have the skill to climb onto the roof.

Moreover, given their composed stance, they must have met on the rooftop more than once.

On this intricate and bustling street, almost no ordinary person would notice what's on the rooftops, and even if they did, they could hardly hear what the people on the rooftops were saying.

This is also a very simple yet practical place to exchange information. After all, it's not like we're undercover agents infiltrating an enemy country, and it's not like we're ghosts who can't see the daytime.

The more spacious the place, the better for conversation.

When did he take out the bow?

Maki pulled out the bamboo sword that had been driven into the brickwork not far away, his eyes filled with doubt.

When Shirou Emiya was running, there was no bow on his body anywhere.

However, she also noticed a note attached to the bamboo knife.

"Please don't leave! I have some questions for you!"

This was the first time Emiya had projected a bow, and he hadn't expected that, aside from his sword, the projected bow would consume so little magic power.