Chapter 27 – Taking It Out on Someone
"You said you're Level 1?"
Hearing Shirou's response, question marks instantly popped up above Ryuu's head.
The blond elf girl frowned as she looked at Shirou, clearly taking him as a liar.
However, Ryuu didn't get too angry about it.
After all, hiding one's level was not uncommon among adventurers in Orario.
Some even went as far as learning skills specifically to conceal their level.
The purpose of this was undoubtedly to hide one's strength and prevent hostile familias or factions from attacking once their information was leaked.
In a city like Orario, which lacked any police-like security organization, numerous familia members died every day—not just at the hands of monsters in the dungeon, but also by other familias, and usually without any repercussions.
Therefore, everyone in Orario had to stay cautious at all times in order to survive in such a dangerous place.
In a sense, Ryuu herself was also concealing her own strength. Her true power exceeded what her displayed level would suggest, so she completely understood Shirou's reason for hiding his level.
"Alright, I'll just take your word for it that you're Level 1."
Ryuu spoke quietly, with the attitude of someone who wouldn't push if Shirou didn't want to talk.
Shirou honestly didn't know what to say to that—because the truth was, his status sheet really did show that he was Level 1. He wasn't lying.
While Shirou and Ryuu were talking, Syr had already run into the tavern. A short while later, she came running back out with a basket in her arms.
"Um, Mr. Emiya, this is a bento I made while practicing before. It's kind of plain, but I hope you'll accept it as a thank-you gift…"
"A bento, huh?"
Faced with Syr's gift, Shirou couldn't help but be a little surprised.
"Do… do you not want it?"
Seeing Shirou freeze up, Syr looked disappointed.
"No, I'm happy. Compared to other things, I can at least accept a homemade lunchbox."
As he spoke, Shirou took the basket from Syr's hands.
Syr instantly broke into a smile, looking at Shirou with great anticipation, as if eager to see his reaction after eating the food.
Seeing the girl act like this, Shirou helplessly opened the bento in front of her. Inside were sandwich-like foods.
They looked decent on the outside, so Shirou took a bite with some expectation—but the moment he tasted it, he realized it was far from as good as it looked. In fact, it was quite terrible.
"This cooking…"
Shirou hesitated, unsure whether or not he should be honest.
But his reaction already said everything, and Syr's face fell. She looked like she was about to cry.
"Hurry up and say it tastes good!" Ryuu, watching from the side, suddenly became agitated. She glared fiercely at Shirou, as if she wouldn't let him go without a compliment.
"..."
Shirou really couldn't comply with this kind of forced flattery.
As someone skilled in cooking, he truly didn't want to lie when it came to food.
"Even if you are Syr's savior, if you dare say her cooking is bad, I won't forgive you!"
"Uh… but I didn't say it yet. You're the one who said it first."
"Wha…"
Ryuu only then realized the mistake she'd made.
She quickly turned to Syr beside her, only to find tears already falling from the gray-haired girl's eyes.
"F-Fine! My cooking is just terrible, okay!"
Crying, Syr ran back into the tavern, leaving Shirou and Ryuu standing there awkwardly.
"Emiya Shirou… seems like you're my enemy now."
Ryuu turned to look at Shirou, her face full of hostility.
But Shirou felt this was nothing more than her taking it out on him.
Ryuu herself seemed to realize that her reaction was a bit unreasonable.
She took a deep breath to calm herself, then without even glancing at Shirou, rushed into the tavern—clearly to apologize to Syr.
.
.
.
After returning from the tavern, Shirou went back to the Hestia Familia's base.
Hestia and Bell had already returned earlier and were currently eating dinner at the only table in the basement.
At the same time, Bell was asking Hestia questions about leveling up.
"Lady Goddess, when will I be able to reach Level 2?"
Bell seemed to care a lot about leveling up.
Due to Shirou's bet with the Loki Familia, Bell had to challenge Bete from Loki Familia within five years. But Bete was already a Level 5 adventurer, which meant Bell also had to reach Level 5 within five years in order to have a chance at victory.
"According to Orario's records, the fastest person to reach Level 2 so far is the [Sword Princess] from Loki Familia. She only took a single year to break through to Level 2."
"Huh? One year?"
Bell looked uneasy at that number.
Even someone like the Sword Princess, with the fastest leveling speed, took a whole year. Didn't that mean he might need two or even three years just to reach Level 2?
If that happened, how could he ever surpass Bete?
Hestia had no good answer to Bell's concern, and only then noticed Shirou had returned. She asked, "How did it go with Hephaestus? Did she teach you forging techniques?"
"Yeah, I've basically learned the essentials."
Shirou nodded slowly, then turned to Bell, who looked surprised, and asked, "Bell, is there any weapon you want? I might be able to forge a fitting weapon for you."
"Huh? Really?"
Bell's eyes lit up with surprise.
The weapon he was using now was a beginner dagger distributed by the Adventurers' Guild to all newcomers. It only cost 7,000 valis—basically the lowest tier possible.
If he could, of course Bell wanted a high-quality weapon.
"I just started learning, but I can forge a weapon for you while I practice," Shirou said quietly. "Tell me what kind of weapon you want."
"I-I want a dagger."
Bell answered cautiously. He'd always used a dagger as his weapon because its lightness allowed him to make use of his speed advantage.
"A dagger, huh?"
Hearing that, Shirou recalled his Unlimited Blade Works arsenal and realized that this kind of weapon was also categorized as a "sword"—so there were plenty of them in his collection.
He agreed to forge a suitable weapon for Bell.
But Shirou also warned him: even if he got an excellent weapon, he shouldn't rely on it too much.
He must continue to hone his own skills.
After all, weapons were just external tools—not true strength.