Chapter 35: This... Isn't a Cursed Spirit?
"So that's how it is. Emiya-kun is the type of person who is willing to exert effort to help others..." Yotsuya Miko felt a sense of relief, yet at the same time, a feeling of unease surged up, making her feel somewhat conflicted.
If only she could also be of some help, she would definitely feel much more at ease, right? That's what Yotsuya Miko thought.
"Well, I guess it is well within my ability, right?" The current Emiya didn't think his ideal was particularly grand. He had almost lost that distant aspiration of making the entire world peaceful; all he was doing was making everything right in front of him more stable. He should still be capable of achieving such a simple ideal.
"Honestly, sometimes you shouldn't only think about others; you should take care of yourself too," Yotsuya Miko replied with some helplessness.
She couldn't understand Emiya's philosophy of wanting to help others even at the cost of sacrificing a part of himself, because while she did feel compassion for people in difficulty, she was still entirely within the realm of normal human emotions.
Most ordinary people feel a certain emotion when they see others in trouble, but many still choose to stand by due to rational, real-world considerations. In her eyes, Emiya having this kind of thought was already very admirable.
However, if he truly lived by the principle of helping others, it would be far too exhausting. Even if his own problems were intertwined with those of others, wouldn't this guy choose to prioritize helping them? Hmm... Yotsuya Miko thought carefully for a moment and realized that Emiya genuinely seemed capable of doing such a thing.
Then she knew what she should do!
"After becoming a Sorcerer, you must have earned a lot of money, right?" Yotsuya Miko suddenly asked Emiya.
"The theoretical salary is correct, but it hasn't actually been paid out yet..."
"Daijoubu, daijoubu (It's fine, it's fine). Let's go buy you some new clothes. I can cover the cost for now; consider it a loan!"
"Now? But..." Emiya subconsciously wanted to object, but Yotsuya Miko's slender finger had already pulled open the tear in his shirt at the chest, and she even poked inside.
"I've been meaning to say this: you've been wearing this same outfit since the day before yesterday, right? Even here on your chest, it's already torn open. Are you still going to insist on wearing it?"
Emiya: "...."
It really didn't look good, apparently.
And so, Emiya was ultimately dragged by Yotsuya Miko into a nearby clothing store, where he was handed one piece of novel clothing after another.
Regardless of whether he was happy trying on the clothes, Miko certainly seemed to enjoy watching. It turned out that the quality of the clothes was secondary; truly good-looking people look great in any clothes, as long as they aren't overly eccentric.
Yotsuya Miko was satisfied with almost every piece he tried on, but Emiya said one replacement set was enough.
It was the quick-witted Yotsuya Miko who decisively used the excellent tactic of checking out immediately, successfully leading Emiya out of the store wearing a new outfit and carrying three more sets for rotation. Whether Emiya himself was happy or not, the sales clerk who saw them off was clearly quite delighted.
In fact, Emiya himself didn't have many demands regarding clothing; otherwise, he wouldn't have been wearing the same kind of jacket all this time.
At least the clothes were practical, and Miko was happy choosing them. That was enough.
Emiya was just wondering where he should put all these things. Should he ask Gojo-san to take him in, or would it be better to rent an apartment first?
"Emiya-kun... what is that?" Emiya was in the middle of his thoughts when he suddenly heard Yotsuya Miko speak up beside him, pointing toward a nearby alleyway.
A faint, flickering black mist was floating there.
"This is... Residual Cursed Energy?" But why was it so obvious? It looked as if someone had deliberately left it there.
"Residual Cursed Energy? What's that?" Yotsuya Miko asked curiously.
"Simply put, it's the trace left behind after a Cursed Spirit passes through, but usually, it requires considerable concentration to notice... I have to go see what happened!" If it were just a common Cursed Spirit passing by, the Residual Cursed Energy left behind would be minimal, and it would likely disappear completely within a few hours.
But such a large mass of Residual Cursed Energy... The most likely scenario Emiya could think of was that someone had just used a Cursed Technique here moments ago.
Casually placing the clothes he was carrying onto a roadside bench, Emiya followed the trace of Residual Cursed Energy without even having time to give Yotsuya Miko instructions.
The traces were so distinct that Emiya followed them directly and ran into a certain abandoned building. He knew this situation was highly unusual, but if Cursed Spirits had truly appeared here, they wouldn't stop to debate logic with you.
Perhaps they did have a certain goal, and the traces on the ground were fake, but the very real possibility that someone could be harmed because of it was undeniable.
The moment he entered the abandoned building, a chilling, eerie atmosphere immediately rushed over him.
Negative emotions were probably abundant in a place like this, as in the age of urbanization, many people's greatest goal is to own their own home. Yet, some people have bad luck, and some unscrupulous individuals are too malicious; they take someone's life savings and the only thing they deliver in the end is a set of abandoned buildings like this.
Under the crushing weight of such despair, the number of people who choose to end their lives here is not small.
"The trace of Residual Cursed Energy... disappeared?" After entering the abandoned building, the conspicuous black mist on the ground was gone.
Emiya was just about to head upstairs to investigate when a shadow suddenly lunged out of the darkness, charging at him with fierce momentum.
"Trace on!" He turned to dodge the attack, then gripped his twin blades and simultaneously swung them down toward the location of the unknown assailant.
Scratch—
The sound of sharp blades slicing through flesh was clearly audible in the empty building. The figure mid-lunge instantly lost balance due to the pain, fell to the ground, tumbled a few times, and crashed into an exposed concrete pillar.
"Ahhh—————!"
It let out a meaningless roar, pushed itself up despite the wound on its flank, and charged at Emiya again, but how could such a clumsy attack possibly harm him?
Having gauged the attacker's strength, Emiya subtly stepped aside to dodge, then slammed the assailant's body down with an elbow strike. It slammed hard into the bare ground once more, completely losing the ability to move for the moment.
"Ah————!"
The meaningless cries continued. Emiya was about to bring his blade down to finish the opponent, but his descending arm suddenly froze halfway.
"This... isn't a Cursed Spirit?"
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