Back at the tavern where Paul's research group was staying, Shirou was finally able to take off the Muramasa disguise and return to his original appearance.
Paul didn't say anything about Shirou acting as Muramasa.
This was because Paul hadn't really seen Shirou interacting with the church directly.
Most of what he knew was from Paul's father-in-law, Claire.
Even just hearing that Shirou had met with important people from the entire Holy Kingdom of Millis alone was already surprising. But for some reason, Paul didn't think Shirou couldn't do it. Or rather, in his view, it was only natural that Shirou could do such a thing.
After returning to their base, Shirou discussed leaving the Holy Kingdom of Millis with Paul.
Shirou still needed to escort Eris back to the Asura Kingdom.
Staying here as Muramasa had wasted a lot of time, and he needed to leave as soon as possible to avoid wasting any more time.
Paul tried to give him money to help.
But Shirou refused immediately.
The research group would need a lot of money in the future, and he didn't want Paul to spend unnecessarily.
Instead, Shirou gave Paul a lot of money. This was the fee the Millis Church had paid him for forging weapons. He had received quite a bit of money from the Millis Church.
Paul was very grateful for Shirou's help.
But he didn't say much, and certainly didn't say any words of thanks.
Everything was understood without saying a word.
By the way, since reconciling with Shirou, Paul had stopped being drunk every day. He no longer drank heavily and tried his best to be productive, returning to his old self.
He clearly wanted to impress Shirou.
Shirou didn't want to bother Paul while he was working, so he decided to wait until Paul finished work to discuss more details.
Because of this, Shirou thought that since he was free, he might as well cook dinner for the research group.
He also told Eris and Ruijerd to come and eat dinner together.
Having finally escaped from being busy and in danger, it was best to have a lively meal together.
Shirou went to the kitchen, and when he opened the door, he unexpectedly saw someone he hadn't expected to see.
The blonde girl Norn was carefully tidying things in the kitchen. Even though she was only five years old, she seemed to have learned to be independent and was trying to help the research group in any way she could.
This scene made Shirou remember his own past.
Back then, he had learned to be independent and took care of all the housework because Emiya Kiritsugu was unreliable and drunk all the time.
Now, seeing Norn following the same path he had taken, Shirou felt sorry for Paul's unreliability while also going forward to help.
"Don't come over!!!"
However, Shirou's help didn't seem to be welcomed.
When Shirou approached, Norn looked shocked and glared at him fiercely, as if he were a dangerous person.
Shirou stood there, surprised. But he quickly realized that to Norn, he wasn't a close person, but a stranger who had just appeared.
Most importantly, Norn had seen him fighting Paul.
Young children can't understand the complicated problems between adults. She simply thought Shirou was a bad person who was fighting Paul.
So, naturally, she was instinctively wary.
"I'm sorry, if you're scared, I won't come any closer."
Shirou knew he couldn't force anything at this time. He quickly took a step back, leaving enough space between himself and Norn.
Then, after seeing Norn's attitude gradually calm down, he breathed a sigh of relief. But he didn't know how to become close to his little sister.
With no other choice, Shirou pretended Norn wasn't there and started cooking with the kitchen tools.
Shirou's cooking skills had improved further after his trip to the Demon Continent.
After learning special cooking knowledge from the Demon Continent, he could now cook without being limited by ingredients or tools. He could make delicious dishes even with the worst ingredients and the worst tools.
The tavern where the research group stayed had a stable supply of ingredients. So Shirou was able to put all his effort into cooking for the first time in a while. This made him feel like he had finally taken off his chains and his skills had improved.
"..."
While he was completely focused on cooking, Norn stayed beside him, watching his movements with a confused expression.
From Norn's perspective, Shirou was an older brother who had suddenly appeared and made her feel a lot of pressure.
She had only heard about him from her father Paul.
According to Paul, he was a very talented person.
Not just Shirou, but also another older brother named Rudeus.
Paul would occasionally talk about them, telling her how great her two older brothers were.
Because of these descriptions, Norn naturally thought that Shirou was a very serious and extremely talented person.
Such a person was like a star in the sky, something you could look at but couldn't touch.
At least when she first met Shirou, Norn did feel instinctively nervous and felt a lot of pressure.
However, strangely, her talented older brother was now cooking.
And from his movements, it wasn't just a random idea. He really had great cooking skills.
This fact, which completely broke her image of him, gave Norn a strange feeling. The pressure she had felt inside gradually disappeared.
She just watched Shirou cook, and without realizing it, she became completely absorbed in it.
...
Evening.
After Paul and the research group finished discussing further investigations into the missing people in the Fittoa Territory, the group was finally tired after the meeting.
When they came out of the meeting room, they smelled an almost indescribable aroma.
It was a smell that was rarely smelled in the Holy Kingdom of Millis, which promoted vegetarian meals.
"It smells so good? Which restaurant made such a big deal?"
Vera from the research group asked, confused.
The other members also looked puzzled, and many of them were drooling from the smell.
Paul was stunned when he smelled the aroma. Then he suddenly remembered something and said happily, "It must be Shirou making dinner for us! Wow, after all these years, I can still eat Shirou's cooking. I'd be happy to die right now just for a bite!"
"That's an exaggeration?"
Vera and the other research group members all looked doubtful.
Most importantly, they didn't believe Shirou could cook at all.
After all, Shirou was such a powerful Sword Saint. They couldn't imagine him being a great chef.
However, reality quickly told them the truth.
Shirou brought out the dishes he had personally made and placed a large table in the center of the tavern to treat everyone.
"Did your meeting end? Perfect timing, I've finished making dinner. Everyone, eat it while it's hot."
"This..."
Seeing Shirou skillfully carrying plates, the research group members were undoubtedly confused.
Most importantly, they found that Shirou's dishes not only smelled great, but also looked colorful.
Shirou's cooking had become more and more suited to the tastes of the people in this world.
Right now, it even combined different types of food from all over the world, from folk dishes from the Asura Kingdom to dishes with flavors from the Demon Continent, as well as special seafood dishes from various ports and vegetarian sets from the Holy Kingdom of Millis...
Many people had never even dreamed of seeing such a complete feast.
In extreme confusion, and even thinking it was a dream, the research group members started eating.
In an instant, everyone was conquered by the food!
"It's so delicious! I've never eaten anything so good in my life!"
Vera was the first to speak after taking a bite.
Her sister, Cera, didn't even have time to speak and was just stuffing food into her mouth.
The other members were the same, so shocked by the food that they didn't even have time to talk.
"What, are we late?!"
Eris and Ruijerd walked in from outside.
After getting Shirou's message, they had come as soon as possible. But they didn't expect to be late. Everyone else had already started eating.
Without saying a word, they started eating Shirou's dinner.
"Eat slowly, everyone. I'll make more if there's not enough."
Shirou smiled when he saw this.
Seeing people enjoy his cooking always made him feel incredibly happy.
Of course, the research group members were the truly happy ones. They had been wandering in foreign lands since the Displacement Incident and hadn't returned to the Asura Kingdom for a long time.
Shirou's cooking was full of flavors and memories of the Asura Kingdom, which naturally reminded the members of their homeland. Some people even started crying while eating.
Many people asked Shirou to make this kind of food for the people in the refugee camp.
Shirou agreed.
It was only then that Shirou learned that Paul and the others were focused on sending the refugees from the Fittoa Territory, who had been found all over the world, back to the Asura Kingdom.
This was very difficult, but Paul didn't want to ask Shirou for help and planned to handle everything himself.
Shirou understood Paul's thoughts and didn't interfere.
But at least he would cook as much as possible for everyone in the refugee camp.
He was so busy in the kitchen that he almost couldn't keep going several times.
It was also at this time that he often found a glass of water on his desk, placed there by someone.
At first, he thought it was Paul or someone from the research group. But one day, he accidentally saw Norn's little head appear in the corner of the kitchen and learned the truth.
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