Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

However, what she received shocked her once again, a reply that Soma simply couldn't understand.

"Then why——"

Before the girl could even ask a question, Emiya Shirou gave her the answer.

"Is it that feeling of being embraced, with warmth covering your entire body, an indescribable sense of happiness permeating everything, a feeling of complete relaxation after lying down, a dreamlike state, even more beautiful than a dream, a feeling that makes you never want to leave?"

The girl was stunned upon hearing Shirou Emiya's description.

"Yes, that's exactly how it feels, you felt it?"

"Correct!"

Emiya Shirou nodded.

"but--"

"Maybe it's because I'm not good enough!"

Chapter 452 The Changes in the Underground City

"Not worthy?"

The girl muttered to herself, not understanding.

But the moment he felt that happiness, Shirou Emiya snapped back to reality.

This kind of happiness shouldn't belong to me.

Even with just a slight touch, while feeling happiness, Shirou Emiya was also overwhelmed by an unimaginable sense of guilt.

How can someone like me find happiness?

In the fire, so many people were seeking help, yet only he was saved.

On the red-light district, because he hadn't noticed the missing girl, the entire street was almost destroyed.

On the battlefield, one can leave without harming a single person simply by silently enduring the pain, yet one's hands are stained with countless dropes of blood.

In the town, Saber's poor decision-making led to a battle between Saber and Berserker, resulting in the destruction of the entire town.

In the city, the failure to eliminate Fariagni in the shortest possible time allowed the Crimson Lord to arrive, turning the entire city into a bloodbath.

In the capital, those who constantly begged for his help still died there.

With each step forward, Shirou Emiya could feel the guilt weighing down on him.

Why didn't I consider more factors back then? Why didn't I work a little harder?

Emiya Shirou kept questioning himself.

Therefore, he could only keep striving and making progress, just to do something for others and for the rest of the world.

Now that I have survived, I should dedicate my utmost strength.

It's unclear when exactly, but Shirou Emiya had long since completely abandoned his own happiness.

Shirou Emiya never believed he deserved happiness.

Emiya Shirou didn't explain anything; these were the things he carried, and the things he would continue to carry.

Soma seemed to understand something, but he became even more puzzled.

Divine wine can bestow upon its drinker an indescribable sense of happiness.

All wishes will be fulfilled, all regrets will be resolved, and even all aspects of life, including love, family, and happiness, will be amplified.

People with emotional trauma are more likely to become deeply immersed in it.

Because of regret and remorse, this sense of happiness is even more direct and powerful than simply constructing the illusion of one's greatest desires.

Emiya Shirou was able to escape this feeling of happiness not only because of his emotional trauma, but also because of his unwavering will.

But his will was one that Soma could not comprehend.

If a person has experienced profound emotional trauma in the past, the correct approach should be to have regrets and remorse for the past, but not to dwell on it; one should look forward.

Remember the past, look to the future.

However, Shirou Emiya was completely different; he not only felt regret and remorse, but was even immersed in the past.

They were trapped in that fire forever.

Even so, Shirou Emiya only managed to break free from the shackles of happiness for a fleeting moment.

Despite being the person most likely to be immersed in happiness, he was not immersed in it at all.

distortion--

contradiction--

Besides being twisted and contradictory, Soma didn't know what words could describe Emiya Shirou.

Soma peered through his disheveled hair and carefully observed Emiya Shirou once more. This human, who lacked even a single gift, was someone he, as a god, could not understand.

In all these thousands of years, he had never seen anyone like this.

I will keep my promise—

Soma looked at Shirou Emiya and nodded slightly, signaling Sannes and the chestnut-haired girl to follow.

They then headed directly into the mansion.

"Um, may I know your name?"

As the girl followed Soma inside, she seemed to suddenly remember something and turned back to look at Emiya Shirou.

Previously, she despised adventurers the most and had no desire to know anything about them. Moreover, Shirou Emiya's reputation hadn't reached the level of the Sword Princess. This was the first time the girl had met Shirou Emiya, an adventurer like him.

"Emiya Shirou——"

"Lilyluka Erd, just call me Lily!"

After saying that, Lily stared intently at Shirou Emiya as if she wanted to imprint his appearance into her mind, and slowly backed away.

"It's truly amazing!"

Even the man with yellow-orange hair and orange eyes in the shadows couldn't help but admire it.

"He single-handedly defeated hundreds of adventurers, annihilated the entire Apollo Familia, and even beat up the sun god Apollo."

"I imagine Shirou Emiya's fame will resound throughout Orario the next day."

"It's a pity we have to go to that so-called divine assembly again!"

The man seemed quite dissatisfied with the religious order, and he complained about it.

"Lord Hermes, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now. The tavern is still quite busy and needs some help!"

The cloaked girl bowed slightly to Hermes and prepared to leave.

"Don't go! I came here to talk to you!"

Hermes quickly appeared in front of her and stopped her.

"My purpose in coming here is twofold. First, I'm afraid Shirou Emiya might act recklessly, so I'm ready to intervene and stop this fight at any time. Second, I need you to help me investigate something."

When it came to serious matters, Hermes' expression also became serious.

"I'm just an ordinary maid now, and besides, I have a lot to do tomorrow—"

Hermes interrupted the girl before she could finish speaking.

"It's related to the dungeon you and Shirou Emiya are going to tomorrow—"

"?"

This girl is Ryu, who had previously made a promise with Shirou Emiya to explore the dungeon the next day.

She didn't want to ask him how he knew she was going to explore the deeper parts of the dungeon with Emiya the next day.

Although the Hermes Familia is registered as an exploration-type guild, they are actually involved in various fields such as commerce, mail, and intelligence.

And since she was someone he was paying close attention to, and she had been talking to Emiya Shirou in a public place, it wasn't surprising that he knew.

However, Ryu is still unsure whether Emiya Shirou will be able to explore the dungeon normally after such a big event.

They should bring Shirou Emiya to the courtroom the next morning.

However, since Hermes said so, it is very likely that the gods have reached an agreement on Shirou Emiya's situation.

"Something's really wrong with the dungeons lately. According to adventurers, the number and quality of the monsters inside are better than ever before."

"Then it should be adventurer teams that can go to the deeper levels to explore, why is it me, someone who hasn't been to a dungeon in five years, who's going?"

Ryu clearly did not want to accept the commission that Hermes had given him.

"No, the main point is the timeframe of this special event—the time when Shirou Emiya entered the dungeon—"

Chapter 453 Divine Assembly

"Hey! You little brat, you've finally stopped hiding in Hephaestus's house and being a freeloader?"

A slightly high-pitched voice came from a woman dressed in a somewhat androgynous style, with a scarlet ponytail and squinty eyes.

"Huh? Who are you calling a brat? And Hephaestus isn't as petty as you think! Hephaestus is my dearest friend!"

Accompanied by a delicate and clear voice, a petite girl with jet-black hair tied in pigtails glared fiercely at the woman with crimson hair.

"Although I received such praise, I'm not happy at all—"

Hephaestus, standing to the side, covered her face and complained as if she couldn't bear to watch.

"Hmph! A poor god like you who just loafs around all day waiting to die, you might as well go back to the Heavenly Realm!"

"Huh?! I was just a little late to the mortal realm. Once I find my own clan, I'll be able to easily leave yours behind!"

The moment the two met, a strong sense of tension immediately flared up.

"Still left behind? We'll talk about finding your own clan when you're finally able to! With your poor, pathetic appearance, I bet you wouldn't find one even in a thousand years!"