The journey back to the town from the outskirts was not too far away. In about ten minutes, Emiya Shirou saw the buildings on both sides of the street becoming dense again.
A small part of the vehicles in the convoy stopped at the entrance and exit of the town, and most of the jeeps turned immediately when they reached the intersection and drove towards other entrances and exits of the town.
Soldiers swarmed out of several jeeps parked at the intersection in an orderly manner and quickly pulled up the separation barrier and the yellow blockade in the middle of the road. Himiko turned her head to look at Emiya Shirou: "I forgot to ask you, where is your home's exact location in the town? Do you need us to send you back?"
"No, just help us put it down here," Emiya Shirou shook his head. "Our two homes are not far ahead, and we will be there in a few minutes if we walk. You should have something to do next, so we won't delay your work."
"Okay, then you should pay attention to safety." Himiko opened the door and got out of the car. "Please don't go out wandering into the countryside for the time being. Once we remove the blockade, you're free to explore without any restrictions. Just remember to prioritize your safety while enjoying your time outside."
Elysia leaned forward and jumped out of the car door gently, followed by Emiya Shirou. After standing firmly on the ground, Emiya Shirou raised his head slightly and nodded politely to Himiko. "I see, thank you for your suggestion, but... can you tell us why you want to block this town?"
"This kind of thing is not something that children like you should worry about." Himiko folded her hands on her chest and made a serious face, as if she wanted to warn the two of them.
But then she thought about it. It wasn't easy for these two dependent children to live alone without their parents to take care of them. In addition, although the closure of the city seemed a bit extreme, nothing serious had happened.
To ensure the two children could live in peace, her face softened a little for the first time, and her tone of voice softened a little too. "Don't worry, nothing big happened. We are just looking for something that was lost a long time ago."
"So it's like this..." Emiya Shirou nodded and was silent for a moment. "Is that thing important to you?"
"It's not so important. It might be better to say that it might be a little bit dangerous." Himiko shrugged, her expression suddenly became serious. "Maybe someone who is not paying attention will eat you up in one bite."
Elysia's small face turned pale, and she exclaimed, "Is there such a scary thing hidden in the town, Emiya? Let's not go out for the next few days."
"Don't believe it so quickly," Emiya Shirou said, with a perplexed expression. "And Officer, if you want to scare children, at least make up a reason that doesn't sound so old-fashioned and ridiculous."
"But I wasn't kidding," Himiko shrugged lightly and said helplessly.
"Really?" Emiya Shirou snorted coldly and suddenly launched an attack without warning. "If you're not joking with us and there really is something dangerous lurking in the town, shouldn't the military, as well as the political systems of this country, announce the specific information about the 'dangerous' situation immediately and evacuate the residents as soon as possible?"
"Or is it that the military and political systems of this country have become so corrupt that they don't even care about the safety of the citizens?"
His questioning was sharp and well-organized. After hearing Emiya Shirou's words, the soldiers who were pulling up the barricade all turned their heads in unison and glanced at him with a little hostility.
Elysia looked blankly at Emiya Shirou's back, with a strange look in her pink pupils. This was the first time she saw Emiya Shirou questioning others so seriously. Seeing the boy showing such a tough posture with a body smaller than himself and without fear, an indescribable sense of security surged from the depths of her heart involuntarily.
Himiko put away the smile on her face. She looked at Emiya Shirou's serious expression and rubbed the center of her brow with a little headache. This child was difficult to deal with.
But that's right, judging from the way he interacted with that little girl, this seemingly younger boy took the initiative to assume the role of "elder." To be honest, Himiko didn't know the past of Shirou Emiya and Elysia, nor did she know their family status. But judging from the boy's behavior, she could tell at a glance how much this boy had worked hard for their family.
But...Even so, Himiko couldn't reveal everything she knew to them.
"Do you really want to know what danger we need to face?" She narrowed her eyes, and a biting coldness and killing intent flowed from Himiko's body without any cover.
In an instant, an indescribable chill enveloped the environment at the intersection. The soldiers who were blocking the road froze in place as if they had fallen into an ice cave. Although she looked like a young woman in her early twenties, there was no doubt that Himiko was also a warrior who had experienced many battles and had a brilliant record. If she wanted to, she could release the energy honed while fighting against the Houkai. The chilling aura she emitted made most people's knees involuntarily weak, even standing in front of her.
However, in the face of this overwhelming presence that even made other fifth team fighters stiff, Emiya Shirou merely frowned slightly. He walked to Elysia's side without expression, accepting all the aura emitted by Himiko. He raised his head and looked at her with unyielding eyes.
Now, it was Himiko who froze. Of course, she couldn't seriously show hostility to these children, nor could she really do anything to them. The reason why Himiko tried to overwhelm Shirou Emiya with her aura was that she hoped the child would back down from the very beginning.
As the captain of the fifth team, it was impossible for Himiko to stay in this small town all the time. In her eyes, the intersection between herself and the boy was an extremely coincidental accident. As long as she found a way to deceive this boy for the time being, she would probably be separated from him after completing the task, and there would be no second chance to meet.
But she never expected that the boy's tenacity far exceeded her expectations.
