The first thing Arno did upon arriving in Orth was to go to the adventurer's guild. Shirou followed along so that he could start familiarizing the city layout.
It was an unusual one. The big gaping crevice was the center and the city stretched away from the hole. It was difficult to get an eye view from ground level and Shirou didn't want to attract attention by scaling the highest building in the area just to scout the place.
No, that one he would do at night.
Shirou followed Arno through bustling streets. From there, he was able to glean much information about the city and its people. He didn't see extravagantly cloaked aristocrats, but what he did see were strong adventurers decked out in fine equipment. On their way to the guild, Shirou spotted numerous stores selling armor, weapons, potions, and other dungeon necessities.
The city seemed heavily geared towards exploration and dungeoneering.
Arno stopped in front of a large five-story building towering over the entire street. Shirou couldn't read the engraved sign over the entrance but assumed it was an adventurer's guild based on the crowd inside.
Nobody paid them any attention as they walked up to one of the guild assistants managing the front desk. Arno flashed some sort of identification at the girl who marked it down on her record while greeting his return.
Some sort of log then- maybe to keep track of adventurers?
Shirou nodded at the thought. This line of work was dangerous, and keeping track of adventurers was one way of helping them in their field.
They held a conversation, Arno showing the maps and the girl nodding at his request. Afterward, Arno beckoned for Shirou to keep following him. The two traversed the streets until they reached some sort of shop that caught Shirou's attention.
He could hear people speaking different languages inside.
Translators?
They entered the establishment and Arno quickly spoke with one of the mages. They turned to Shirou and mimicked speaking.
"You're trying to know which language I speak?" Shirou answered.
The mage nodded at Arno then pointed them to another wizened mage busy translating for two customers. A few minutes later, it was their turn. Again, they were asked to speak before the mage casted a spell.
Shirou observed the process carefully.
"Interesting. Is it possible to learn this spell?"
Arno shot Shirou a look as the words registered on him. After mimicking to each other for so long, it was jarring to finally understand the 14-year old.
"It's not as easy as casting and understanding the other person. You need rudimentary fundamentals like learning two different languages and becoming fluent in them. I know yours and his, so I am acting as the conduit between you both. He speaks- I understand him- and my understanding is translated into your language, then vice versa. The real conversion happens in my mind." The old man explained.
Shirou frowned. Looks like he'd have to learn the hard way then. He was staying until he found the objective Zelretch left him.
Whatever it was must've been that important to be mentioned to him. Not that there were many things that would be useful to Shirou.
"Shirou, what do you plan to do? Now that you've returned out here." Arno asked.
"I think I will stay for a bit. I don't really have anywhere to go." -except West. But Shirou didn't need to tell anyone about his true objective. "I'll probably find work here while I find my footing."
Arno jumped at the opportunity.
"Some parties want to invite you. They reached out to me if I can pass along the message."
That was one of the options Shirou considered- but the idea of having to limit his exploration with the party's limits would slow him down in the long run.
"I have no plans to go underground any time soon."
"O-oh. I'm sorry for not considering what you went through." Arno scratched his head awkwardly. He knew that Shirou had been stuck underground for some time. Asking the young kid to go back was too hasty on his part. "I'll give them your answer."
Shirou nodded, knowing Arno came to the conclusion he wanted.
"Thank you…sorry about declining."
"It's fine. I'm sure they will understand. Since you're staying, I can help put you up in the adventurer guild's dorm until you can find a job."
Shirou smiled.
"You have my thanks, Arno."
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That night, Shirou crept up to the roof of the guild.
It was one of many establishments for adventurers to convene at. It was part of a larger group of neutral guilds that act as the support infrastructure for the adventurers who explored the Abyss. There were other private guilds, but those were exclusive to members of that certain guild. Not just anyone could join any guild, requirements differed- but the minimum needed was the achievement of B-rank.
Not that Shirou planned to go that route.
No, what he needed was information. Shirou was here for an objective- and the past month had borne no fruit. Scouting underground didn't prove to be successful, so Shirou would have to resort to other means of collecting information. He couldn't buy them- not without forging money out of nowhere- which he didn't agree with.
So he was going to have to earn it.
Shirou was good at combat, cooking, and weapons. Of the three, combat was out of the equation. Most of those jobs would require him to waste time underground doing menial tasks. Not to mention all the time wasted traveling back and forth.
Cooking was an option, but one that Shirou didn't feel was efficient. He loved cooking no doubt, and while working at a restaurant could attract all sorts of customers- Shirou would be swamped with too much work with too little reward. He needed information from adventurers about the discoveries underground- not about the daily gossip from civilians.
Which led him to his final option: weapons. Shirou was great with swords- and other bladed weapons to a degree. He could apprentice under one of the local blacksmiths to learn about the craft. Not only would he learn a new skill, but he would also build an alibi from the ground up. Adventurers needed equipment- which Shirou would craft with the assistance of his reality marble. They would flock to him- and so would the latest news about the Abyss.
It was foolproof.
But for that to happen, Shirou needed to find himself a teacher.
Shirou jumped on top of the roof and scanned the cityscape around him. The guild would assume he was tired after being saved from Abyss- as recounted by Arno. This gave him the entire night to familiarize the city, scout locations of interest, and plan an approach for the following day.
Shirou closed his eyes, focused prana into them, and reinforced eyes opened to a city ready to be explored. Compared to the boring underground caves he had been in; the cityscape was a fresh sight to behold.
He jumped from roof to roof, sticking to shadows and behind cover to avoid being sighted. It helped that his tenure at Akatsuki taught him to sneak against ninja, but against civilians and fighters who didn't train in reconnaissance?
Shirou was practically a ghost in the night.
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The next day, Arno came to visit Shirou.
Shirou had asked to be given a tour of the city- at least the more work-related parts. Arno learned that Shirou was not one for tourism- and just wanted to learn more about the city. They hired the same translator from the day before so that they could converse easily.
At the same time, Shirou also used the opportunity to talk with the old mage about Orth.
"I want to learn how to speak a little. Would you recommend any books here?" Shirou asked while perusing a bookstore they passed by. It was his request and Arno was willing to go along with it.
"Let me scan through a few books." The translator picked one off the shelf while Shirou looked at others. Thankfully, the translation spell extended to visual comprehension and Shirou could read the titles that the mage had seen. As for the contents within them, they remained incomprehensible to him because they hadn't been read. It helped that Shirou spotted a book he could read- which meant that the language of Nihonn (his home continent) had reached this place.
Worst case scenario was that Shirou would have to learn the local language from trial and error.
"I don't think I can recommend any. Most are too complex. There are no books for translating either."
So dictionaries were not sold in the bookstore.
How unfortunate.
"Thank you for trying."
"If you really want, I can write down the words for objects and read them to you." Arno offered.
"Only for daily objects and activities. I need to learn enough to get by at least." As for the rest, Shirou could cobble together a basic understanding if the same word was heard enough times.
He just needed to learn their alphabet first.
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"This is one of the best smithies in Orth." The translator- Jing as he introduced himself- showed Shirou to one of the most popular destinations of the Abyss adventurers. Arno and Jing found themselves confused why Shirou asked to be toured among the forges.
"Are you interested in learning to smith?" Arno asked.
Shirou nodded quietly while watching the exterior of the prominent forge. It looked larger than the other buildings around, but what stood out was the numerous adventurers streaming in and out of the establishment.
He wanted to learn to smith, but Shirou didn't want to just learn from anybody.
Shirou's eyes traced the shiny new weapons being carried by excited adventurers along with the others being brought inside for repairs. He watched their histories, from materials to manufacturing. From there, he was able to cobble together an impression of the smith working inside.
No, the smith here won't do.
"Do you want to meet the blacksmith?" Jing inquired of him.
"I think I want to see others first." Shirou didn't have to enter nor meet the master smith anymore. He had grasped the ability and character of the individual just from tracing the numerous weapons he had forged.
If the others didn't have what Shirou wanted, then he'd have to pick the closest he could find.
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"That's all the best smiths in the city."
They spent the entire day touring the city and stopping by the forges. Shirou checked out each one shortly before moving to the next. For a city this large, he had hoped to find at least one that matched his needs.
Most of the smiths he saw created their works with both mundane and magical material from the start before molding them into blades. From there, adventurers would bring them to enchanters who would augment the weapons by carving magical codes into them.
What Shirou looked for was a smith who blended materials together. Shirou's tracing was many things- but constructing new material was not part of its ability. Weirdly enough, combining materials counted as new for Unlimited Blade Works and Shirou became interested
Essentially, most smiths "shaped" the blades without really changing their properties. Shirou wanted to change the very foundation of the blade itself.
It was a research project he undertook in his previous life. Back then, Shirou was heavily limited with the number of materials he could work with. The Clocktower mages hoarded materials for their research and Shirou couldn't source new ones for his project. So he had traced them from his own reality marble, but those didn't really count as true material because they would deconstruct after some time.
But here? With a thriving market of loot and Abyss materials?
It was like hitting two birds with one stone. While Shirou stayed in Orth to complete Zelretch's objective, he would be learning to create swords!
Guess I'll have to apprentice with one of the smiths before I go and do my own projects.
Shirou sighed. That was going to take a while. He was starting from scratch after all.
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That night, Shirou snuck out of the guild dormitory to scout the city once again.
There hadn't been enough time that day to tour all the smithies, but Shirou picked up on a recognizable pattern to distinguish smithies from the other buildings.
Shirou scanned the peaceful landscape below him. The city had lulled into the night as the people retreated to their homes after a busy day. Still, a few areas were awake and teeming with nightlife.
Shirou would avoid those. Xian, the language of this continent, was still beyond him.
After scanning the horizon, Shirou picked a random direction and began his search.
…
It was early into the morning when Shirou stumbled across it.
A small smelting hut.
It wasn't anything special compared to other more impressive smithies, but a brief trace of the forge showed him something invaluable.
Composite materials. Or rather, traces of them.
The other blacksmith hearths also had traces of different materials, but those were leftover smudges from other works that remained inside. Which meant that while the smithy used different materials, they were kept separated from each other when smithing. Here, it was different. Shirou's tracing allowed him to scan the small metal composites being stored inside the stockroom behind the forge.
Whoever was working here was mixing different metals. Small amounts of them, and not to the point there would be enough for a whole weapon, but just enough to experiment.
It was exactly what Shirou wanted.
The hearth had just been used the other day, so Shirou knew that whoever worked here would return soon. He had a cover to maintain, so Shirou couldn't stay around and wait. Instead, he would have to return to the guild and act the part before making his way back.
Shirou looked up at the sky. Darkness was slowly giving way to violet as the sun crept closer. In an hour, it would peak over the horizon, and sneaking around would be difficult. Shirou leaped off the roof and started heading for the guild.
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After a small breakfast- courtesy of half the sum from Arno's sale of Shirou's maps- and he was off to track down the chosen forge.
Shirou stuck to the side of the streets to avoid getting swept. The foreign 14-year-old was ignored by the populace as they bustled about their daily lives.
Arno offered to guide him around again with the help of Jing, but Shirou declined. He didn't want to take too much of Arno's time and also reminded that he needed to sell their maps to make money. Shirou explained that it would help them more if Arno could sell them faster.
Shirou stepped into the branching street where the smelting forge was. It was empty compared to other streets, proving that it wasn't as profitable. Half the street were homes so it made sense that it wouldn't be much of a hub.
The sound of steel ringing started to be heard when Shirou got closer. It seemed that the smith was already at work.
Shirou took deep breaths before ringing the large bell in front of the smithy…
When the ringing of steel inside didn't stop, Shirou rang the bell again. Yet, the blacksmith didn't stop at his work. So, Shirou decided to wait before ringing the bell again after some time. He understood that smiths couldn't abandon the ingot they were working on or else they would lose the time spent bringing it up to temperature.
So, Shirou waited.
The smith didn't stop working for a quarter of an hour. When he finally did, it took a few more minutes before the door opened.
Shirou wasn't able to speak Xian, but he was able to devise a plan.
You'd assume it was smart.
You'd assume it was foolproof.
No, it was everything but.
The buff old man, likely to be in his early 50s judging from the graying hair- sweaty and matted from working the forge- looked down at the young boy holding a handwritten sign.
It had the words "Will work for coin" except the word coin had been crossed out and a hastily written "food" took its place.
Shirou didn't have to make it too complex. He just needed it to be believable. His outfit also reflected that image, a damaged cloak, and worn clothes from his time underground.
The bearded senior narrowed his eyes while scrutinizing Shirou before grunting and waving him inside. Shirou followed suit, entering the interior as the hot air washed over him.
"I need someone to clean up this place while I'm working. Do it well and I'll pay you."
When Shirou didn't react, the man slapped his face with a groan.
"Great. Either you're deaf or you can't understand me."
The blacksmith walked off and brought back a broom and dustpan. Shirou quickly picked up on what he needed to do. The tools were handed to him and was pointed to a messy section of the forge where numerous metallic shrapnel and other bits and pieces lay.
Shirou had his work cut out for him.
Luckily, it was his type of job.
Shirou quickly started by arranging important-looking tools and materials scattered about on his side. In a few minutes, he was sweating from the heat of the forge but all that was ignored in favor of completing his task. He busied around his side quickly and efficiently. Sweeping shrapnel and slag from the floor and arranging them in separate piles for disposal.
During his cleaning, Shirou froze. A familiar scent had entered his nose- magic. Shirou turned around and snuck a glance at the only possible source. Sure enough, the grizzled smith was using a small trace of mana, pouring the stream into the mold he was working on. Then suddenly, the man cast some spell on himself before slipping his hands directly into the hearth to handle the forging process personally.
Fire Immunity along with another spell.
Shirou stared at the action in surprise. How had he missed such an important clue earlier? Looking at it now, the magic being used was extremely small and subtle. He would've found it difficult to find in the first place.
Shirou paused from cleaning the shed to watch the smith attempt to combine two different materials- one a regular iron ingot and the other a unique ore. Shirou's eyes traced their histories and found that the ore was an extract found at mineral nerves in the Abyss. Over the course of half an hour, the two slowly molded together into one imperfect piece- as seen by the material bonds Shirou could analyze from his tracing.
When the man grunted and pulled the superheated mold out, Shirou jerked back to his cleaning. Hopefully, the man had been too focused to keep an eye on Shirou while he worked.
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It was already late in the afternoon, the sun touching the tip of the horizon on the west when JIANG finished his day's work.
Aside from testing a couple of materials, he had also prepared another fraction of the week's iron quota before selling them off that weekend.
But most importantly…
Was the sight of his workshop.
Jiang blinked.
He could see the foreign kid nervously standing at the side while he took in the sight.
His forge had been cluttered for years. Jiang wasn't much for cleaning except when he needed to. So it came as a nice surprise to see all his tools carefully lined up on the racks and a neat little pile of scrap swept to a corner of the room. Not only that, but the floor seemed slightly less sooty than it was that morning.
It was a good job.
Especially when it made the forge look nice.
Jiang shot the kid a look. The young teen froze up before the smithy grinned widely and showed him a big thumbs up. The sigh of relief from the child was audible before he burst into laughter and slapped the kid's back heartily. Seeing his workplace in good condition put him in a great mood.
The kid may not understand Xian, but JIANG could see a hard worker from the results. Keeping him around would be a good change if his forge looked this nice all the time.
Jiang fished some coins out of his pocket and handed them to the young teen. In addition, he also grabbed a loaf of bread from the food stash he brought with him and passed it along with the money. It was a small sign of his gratitude, but the aged smith couldn't give too much due to how tight he was on funds.
Buying material from the Abyss was expensive, and he was forking out his own coin for it. Jiang believed that the results of his tests would prove worthy once he succeeded.
Shortly before evening, he sent the young teen away as he closed the forge.
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Shirou's mind whirred as he nibbled on the loaf of bread. It was hard and coarse, as expected of cheaply-made bread.
His day at the forge had been eventful.
There was more to the smithy than what meets the eye. He made just enough to get by, with the change being used for the variety of materials Shirou saw. His magic was not anything extravagant, but it certainly helped him in ways Shirou couldn't see.
Putting aside his thoughts on the forge, Shirou switched focus.
He needed dinner and although he finally had some coin on him, it would be better used elsewhere. His own spatial ring of earnings during his Akatsuki tenure was left in his reality marble to avoid an accident should people attempt to rob him.
A nobody walking around with a spatial ring of that quality would start ringing alarm bells.
So, Shirou had to put up with keeping up his cover- and that meant starting from nothing.
The money he earned was still bronze, albeit with different markings compared to those in Nihonn. Using it smartly would save him trouble in the long run.
And that meant that he would cut costs elsewhere.
The first thing that came to mind was food.
Shirou would rather hunt rather than spend unnecessarily. Especially when he could cook better than what was offered on the street.
Once Shirou broke sight of the street through an alley, he jumped on the wall and headed for the roofs. From there, he would make his way outside the city for a quick hunt and dinner.
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The next few days passed by in a flash, Shirou slowly acclimatizing himself to the extreme heat of the forge. He also made progress on cleaning up other areas in the forge aside from the workshop. The stockroom of material took a day to clean, and another to rearrange. The rear of the forge was some sort of collection and drop-off area for material and Shirou did small repairs on the wooden crates there. He didn't fix everything though, keeping up the illusion that he was not that skilled.
It hurt to leave some of the damages alone, but Shirou could do them later once he spent a long time around.
This time, Shirou was sweeping the front porch of the blacksmith when a woman appeared. He assumed she was a customer because she entered the forge. Shirou could hear her and his employer talking inside while he accomplished his task.
How wrong he was.
…
Inside the workshop, Jiang grinned widely as his wife let out an excited eep.
He could understand why.
"What happened? What's going on?" Ye gushed while looking around the clean forge. The place looked wonderful compared to how it normally looked.
"Haha, I found myself a very good assistant!" Jiang smiled. "He impressed me on the first day and he's done a lot of work cleaning up the place!"
"I can see that! Is he the kid sweeping out front?"
"Yep! After asking him to organize the stockroom and the back, I wanted my front to look nice! Hopefully, I get more customers if the forge looked better!"
Much of Jiang's work was to refine materials before they were sent to the popular forges. Since the best blacksmiths were always busy supplying the city, they needed a support system of smaller forges to send them refined ingots. Jiang's forge was one of those smaller forges whose role was to keep the supply line pumping much-needed material into the bigger forges.
"I'm sure you will! Even other smiths would envy your workplace! I would happily give up my job to move here for work!" Ye admitted.
Ye was also a blacksmith, one of the rare female ones in the industry. She was among the best in the city- and her skill was highly valued that one of the big forges hired her to work for them. Jiang was equally skilled- but decided to retire from creating weapons and switched to focusing on his dream project. The couple made more than enough to live comfortably, so Ye was fine with Jiang's decision.
"Yeah, but it's not as profitable as working in the big forges."
Their son, Chi, was busy studying for administration in another city and needed the money. They supported him through his tuition, and Chi wanted to return the favor once he was hired by the kingdom. Administration was an elite occupation, one that was highly sought after by the monarchy. Landing a role overseeing an industry or region for a lord was extremely lucrative.
"Beats working in a dirty workshop." Ye sighed.
"Anyway, what's the visit for? Don't they need you at work?" Jiang inquired while inserting another batch of coal into the hearth.
"I requested a day off. The workload today is light so it was granted. So today- I'm going to help you." Ye glanced at the raw iron ore piled up in the stockroom.
"You don't have to."
"I want to. Besides, it gives you more time to play around with new material." Ye insisted.
Jiang smiled. His wife didn't like being coddled. She was just as tough as any blacksmith.
"Fine. As thanks, I'll cook for lunch."
"Nope. Your cooking is horrendous. Leave it to me."
…
When Shirou returned after cleaning the front, he found the answer to his question. He was curious why the woman from earlier stayed, and upon walking in, saw Ye working on the second forge.
He had wondered why there was a second hearth in the workshop but stayed silent on the matter. It wasn't his place to ask questions, only to do his job.
Since there was nothing else to do, Shirou watched them work from the side. He observed the techniques and magic the blacksmiths used to mold the ingots before cooling the heated iron. From there, Shirou took on the job of collecting the completed bars and placing them in a stack on the other side of the room. Progress was slow- but with two of them working- it moved faster than the previous day's speed.
After about two hours, the woman stopped her work and talked with his employer before leaving.
Shirou soon found out why.
She returned carrying a pot filled with cooking utensils and some ingredients.
What?
Ye disappeared out the back and Shirou was left working with Jing inside the forge. He kept shooting glances at the door, which Jing noticed.
Jing knew that Shirou was not accustomed to the heat. Naturally, he came to the conclusion that the young teen wanted to stay outside where it was cooler. He waved his hand at the door and nodded when Shirou gave him a questioning look.
Shirou interpreted it as an order to help her cook.
At the back of the forge, Shirou arrived to see Ye propping up the pot over a makeshift campfire. One of the wooden tables had been dragged closer to assemble the makeshift kitchen, on its top was the ingredients and cooking utensils.
"Oh? Did Jing send you to help me?" Ye glanced at his arrival.
Shirou mimicked that he could not understand Xian.
"Hmmm. Well that's no good." Ye frowned.
She moved over to the table and set up the cutting board along with the ingredients. Ye needed to start a fire and decided to designate the chopping to Shirou. The ingredients were a simple batch of vegetables and greens aside from one cut of salted beef. She took the knife and showcased chopping up one vegetable before nudging the knife in Shirou's hands to try.
Shirou didn't mean to flex his skill.
If there was one thing he would be proud of, it would be his culinary talent. Not enough to boast about it, but enough to never purposely hide it.
Ye gaped as the following ingredients were cubed and minced into different proportions with speed and skill, the meat followed next- cut into small bite-sized pieces with the knife. She was so entranced by the sight that she forgot to prepare the fire. Shirou took care of that, manually starting the campfire with two rocks. He quickly handed back the knife and stepped back while scratching his cheek. He hadn't meant to take over the entire thing, but his hands moved automatically once handed the tool.
Between the married couple, Ye was the better cook. Seeing Shirou's eye-catching talent only sparked fascination deep within her.
Ye smiled and handed back the knife while she gestured to the pot.
She wanted to see how he would cook.
Shirou's eyes switched between the knife and the ingredients before taking it. Right away, he continued the preparation. Ye watched avidly as Shirou washed his hands from the well before manually grinding down the herbs and spices into a near powder-like texture. Shirou put the small cuts of meat in the middle of the powder and started mixing them. Once the herbs and spices were thoroughly worked into the meat, Shirou tossed the cuts into the bottom of the heated pot. He disappeared inside the forge and then returned with a thin copper plate. There, he spread some of the vegetables then placed them over the pot, covering the opening and at the same time, using the heat inside to warm the plate. After a few minutes, the pre-heated veggies were dropped in, along with the rest of the ingredients. Shirou finished off the preparation by filling the pot with water and using the same copper plate as cover.
It was different compared to what Ye did. She usually prepared stew with a slight mix of herbs and spices they were familiar with. Simply tossing the meat and vegetables inside with the seasonings and letting the individual ingredients bleed out their flavor into the stew.
Shirou's style was different. He traced the ingredients early on and noted similarities between those he knew about. From there, he quickly adjusted the steps of the stew- the only realistic option with the small amount of ingredients there was.
Another trip to the well cleaned Shirou's hands and the two settled to watch the food simmer.
It cooked faster than Ye expected, though the idea of covering the pot was not new- it was not a method she practiced much of. She quickly caught on that covering the pot sped up the process since the heat was contained within rather than letting it escape into the air.
While Ye fetched her husband, Shirou laid out the three bowls she brought. The third one must've been for him, but Shirou would just wait until it was confirmed. Ye pulled Jing along excitedly, said husband confused.
"Wait, he cooked lunch?" Jinn blinked while glancing at the steaming pot.
"You won't believe how good he is! I doubt anyone can be so skilled with a knife without making good food!" Ye whispered while scooping some of the stew into each bowl. She handed Shirou and Jing their shares and quickly dived into hers.
Shirou held his bowl quietly while the husband and wife took their first bites…
Then completely froze.
Shirou gulped when they didn't move for half a minute.
Did I make a mistake in my cooking?
A few days after Shirou and Arno's departure from the sixth layer.
…
A scream cut through the air as the last few of their group fell.
Xinyuan watched as the dark blur cut through his party's martial artist like paper, stabbing through his heart with a spear. The shout turned into a wet gurgle as blood was coughed out of her mouth before the unknown warrior yanked back her spear, the girl's body dropping to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.
That bastard mapmaker- Arno- sold them a map leading to this location. Much of the other areas were empty, and this was the last section they haven't explored.
It was a trap.
Their A-ranked party had been wiped out in less than a minute.
The black-armored knight tore through them like paper. Their armor proved useless, pierced through effortlessly. Magic was ineffective, their effects negligent. Attacks were intercepted and redirected to each other.
It was a bloodbath.
Xinyuan tripped while backpedaling, falling to the floor in his panic. His life flashed before his eyes, the next instant his chest had been pierced with a spear.
…was that a flag wrapped around the shaft?
Xinyuan looked up in the dying torchlight to see his assailant's pale face looking at him blankly.
How…beautiful.
And death claimed him.
His eyes dulled as life departed from his body, the spear yanked out and spun. Blood splattered the floor and the weapon was cleansed clean from stain.
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"There was no need for bloodshed! We're only supposed to ward them away!"
"Tsk."
The pale blonde gritted her teeth in annoyance as her counterpart appeared while chastising her.
"We were ordered to deal with the intruders. It saw us fit to make our own decision."
"Yes! But that doesn't mean we couldn't handle it peacefully!"
The silver-armored knight stomped in front of her with a frown, expressing her disagreement with her methods.
"I bet they were here because of that guy." She hissed. "They'll keep coming back now after finding out about the Grail."
"We have no idea if he learned about the Holy Grail or not. He was chased off by shadow beasts far before coming anywhere close."
"Doesn't matter. They'll find out about the disappearances sooner or later. Then more will come here. The Grail has not finished the construction of its Greater form, much less the Lesser. That is why we have been summoned."
Her counterpart sighed. She made a reasonable point and there wasn't any way to avoid the incoming wave of threats once more scouting parties were sent.
"Couldn't we just talk with them…?"
"You cannot trust people. They will betray you once they find out what we are protecting." Her counterpart hissed. "You of all people should know that."
"You can't judge a person's character from one meeting alone…"
"And you can't trust them either. Greed is a powerful enemy and people are easily swayed. Enough of this talk! You're pissing me off." The pale twin growled and headed off to patrol another area.
"Jeanne…" The woman raised her hand to reach out to her counterpart before she disappeared. Her words were ignored by the flagbearer as she rounded the corner.
…leaving the woman alone sighing to herself.
Author's Note
Hehe. Yes, I changed the story slightly again. Not only do we buy one, we get the other for free!
Give me some time to flesh out Shirou's introduction to Orth. He's staying for quite a while for this volume.
