Putting aside the reporting issue, Shirou and the others returned to the adventurers' guild after returning the pet Mimi to its owner.
After reporting the completed request, they received the reward from the requester, successfully completing their first request.
This was originally a very happy thing.
However, when most of the people inside the adventurers' guild were looking at them with hostility, any normal person would undoubtedly be confused.
But Shirou didn't show any dissatisfaction. He calmly met the gazes of the demon adventurers and prepared to take on the next quest with Ruijerd and Eris.
"You guys really attract attention."
Arriving in front of the notice board, Shirou found the horse-headed man he had met before had reappeared.
It felt like the guy was always in the guild whenever they saw him. Was he there all day?
While Shirou was thinking, he quietly said, "You helped us settle the disturbance before. Thanks for that."
"Heh, no need to thank me."
The horse-headed man unceremoniously accepted Shirou's gratitude, but then said in a sinister tone, "However, I think your gratitude is a bit premature. Do you really think I'm a good person?"
"Whether you're good or bad, it's right to express gratitude to people who help you."
"Right... your personality is really interesting."
The horse-headed man showed a complicated expression, seemingly surprised that Shirou was so straightforward. But he quickly revealed a nasty sneer, and quietly said, "So, you reported those pet-snatching guys to the guild because of what you think is right, huh?"
"That's right. It's wrong to profit from bad behavior. If it's wrong, it should be corrected."
Shirou said calmly. He had just seen the tears in the requester's eyes when the pet returned, further confirming that his actions were right.
Many people like to use the saying "the world is gray" to cover up their sins, but Shirou wasn't willing to follow the crowd. He firmly believed that absolute justice existed.
"...Have you ever heard the saying 'the strongest tree is the first to fall'?"
The horse-headed man looked at Shirou with cold eyes, as if looking at a stupid fool.
"The reason the strongest tree is the first to fall is because it's not strong enough. And I'll become stronger than everyone."
Shirou simply replied calmly. He had heard people mention the horse-headed man's words before, but he had already decided to act according to the wishes of his heart.
His sense of justice wouldn't be clouded by external factors.
"Kid... do you think you can fight the whole world?"
The horse-headed man was speechless at Shirou. He had never seen such a straightforward guy who wouldn't listen to advice. Finally, he could only say directly, "Okay, okay, I'll be blunt. I'm here on behalf of the adventurers of Rikarisu Town to talk to you. Kid, your previous actions have seriously affected the interests of the adventurers in our town. Now you have two choices: either leave right now, and we'll pretend nothing happened, or don't go too far. We adventurers are just trying to make a living. Don't break everyone's bowls!"
"If it's a bowl made with evil deeds, then it's fine to break it."
Shirou said coldly, "And we haven't collected enough money for the trip to the next town yet, so we won't be leaving anytime soon."
"..."
Shirou's reaction made the horse-headed man's expression completely serious.
He completely dropped his carefree appearance and looked at Shirou with the eyes of an enemy, coldly saying, "So, you're prepared to be enemies with all of us, right?"
"It's not that I want to be enemies with you. As long as you stop doing evil things, there won't be any conflict between us."
"This world isn't as simple as you think, you little brat!!!"
The horse-headed man was completely angry. He said rudely, and then spoke forcefully, "Right, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Nokubara, and I'm a C-rank adventurer. Don't forget to call me 'Senior' when you F-rank guys see me later!"
"Sure, as long as you don't come looking for trouble in the future, Senior!"
Shirou's reaction made the horse-headed man even more annoyed. He spat on the ground and left while yelling.
After that, Shirou and the others took on some new requests and then went straight out of the adventurers' guild and back to the inn.
After entering the inn, Eris stopped Shirou.
"Is this okay?"
"What?"
Eris was a little helpless with Shirou's reaction, and quietly said, "Our previous actions made those adventurers very angry, right? What if they come after us next?"
"It's okay. I'm the one who stirred up trouble, so they'll mainly come after me. If you are scared, then let Ruijerd protect you."
"...Aren't you scared, Shirou?"
"Why should I be scared?"
"Because there are so many of them..."
"Having a lot of people isn't a reason to be afraid. And I'm only doing this for the justice in my heart."
"Justice in your heart..."
Eris never knew Shirou's view of justice, so she showed an attitude of not understanding.
But Ruijerd said very calmly, "Don't worry, they're just a bunch of crooks. Even if we killed them all, it wouldn't take much time."
Ruijerd liked children a lot.
So he cared a lot about the requester's child from before.
The adventurers of Rikarisu Town intentionally capturing pets and making the requesters worry undoubtedly stepped on Ruijerd's landmine.
His anger was no less than Shirou's.
"No, killing people isn't necessary."
Shirou looked at Ruijerd and said seriously, "Even if this is the Demon Continent, we still have to talk about the law. We can just catch the criminals and send them to prison."
"Prison can't stop them from doing bad things. They might even become worse after they get out. Killing them is the only way to end it."
"That... that's true, I guess."
Shirou was a little persuaded by Ruijerd.
Eris saw the conversation between the two overly stubborn justice partners and couldn't join the conversation at all, so she could only show a helpless expression.
...
After dinner.
Shirou and Eris returned to their room.
Because of what happened during the day, Eris was very tired, even a little down. She fell asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed.
Shirou didn't do much either. He was just thinking about a plan to make money next, and gradually fell asleep.
He really wanted to find a place in the Demon Continent to forge weapons.
If he could forge weapons and sell them, he would probably earn the money from doing adventurer tasks for several years, or even a lifetime, all at once.
But Shirou didn't want to reveal his identity as Muramasa.
And the weapons he forged might attract the attention of some dangerous people.
Shirou had to make sure it was as safe as possible before trying to forge weapons.
Thinking about these things, Shirou fell asleep without realizing it.
But not long after he fell asleep, that white and empty place reappeared, and he turned into Servant Emiya again.
"Here we go again..."
He realized where he was in an instant, and, as expected, he saw that lewd white figure in front of him.
Shirou couldn't help but sigh.
"Do you have a habit of peeking at other people, Hitogami?"
"Ehh, don't say that. I'm just kindly trying to give you some advice, to point out the risks."
"There's no need. I said I won't listen to any of your advice."
"Why? You trust Ruijerd so much, and he's also someone who just appeared. Why aren't you willing to trust me too?"
"No one would trust a guy who comes from nowhere."
"Waaah, I'm so sad, Shirou-kun..."
"..."
Shirou really didn't want to respond to this blatant fake crying. He even wanted to punch the guy in the face directly.
Hitogami seemed to see Shirou's reaction and quietly said, "Okay, okay, since you're not willing to listen to my advice, don't come to me for help no matter what trouble you encounter next."
"Of course. No matter what trouble I encounter, I can solve it on my own."
"Hehe, you're really confident."
"Projection, start..."
"Wait! Let's talk this out. Don't attack!"
Hitogami immediately admitted defeat, not wanting to fight Shirou.
Shirou said without hesitation, "Let me leave, and don't let me see you again in the future."
"I'm so sad, so upset, waaaah..."
"Projection!!"
"Okay, okay, goodbye, goodbye."
Hitogami ended the dream with a helpless look.
Shirou was able to return from the white space, and found that it was only the middle of the night when he woke up.
He couldn't help but let out a sigh from the bottom of his heart. He was truly wary of Hitogami. Servant Emiya's resistance to the Counter Force was also affecting him.
So Shirou planned to go to the bathroom first. But unexpectedly, he heard a slight crying sound from the bed next to him.
"Father... Mother... Grandpa..."
Eris seemed to be missing Boreas Castle in her sleep.
Although she had been well-behaved all day, never doing anything willful, her normal attitude clearly showed that Eris lacked a sense of security in her heart.
Shirou couldn't help but show a look of self-blame for this, not expecting that he hadn't paid attention to this.
But Shirou knew that it couldn't be helped.
When he needed to do things for justice, he would often instinctively ignore the people around him.
Justice and family.
Whether it was Emiya Kiritsugu, Servant Emiya, or Emiya Shirou himself, they had never escaped the difficult choice between these two things...
Different Emiyas had made different choices.
But now that Shirou had come to this world, under the influence of Servant Emiya, he still didn't know clearly what choice he had to make.
So Shirou quietly came to Eris's side, gently wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulders, and comforted Eris with the same actions he used to take care of Miyu.
Even in her dreams, the girl instinctively leaned her head into his arms.
"I'll take you home, Eris."
Shirou declared.
He also made himself a little more normal in his heart, and not let the obsession with justice lead him too far astray.
At least this time, he would protect both justice and family!
---
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