Chapter 29: Monsterphilia
The weapon Shirou intended to forge was a dagger named Hassan's Dagger.
Hassan was a hostile Servant Shirou encountered during his battle against the Ainsworth family.
Strictly speaking, Hassan was not a singular Heroic Spirit, but a name shared by multiple Servants.
The Hassan that Shirou had fought was merely one of the many, specifically known as "Cursed Arm."
This Hassan's true Noble Phantasm was called Zabaniya, a power rooted in sorcery that manifested as the demon arm of Zayd al-Samit. By crushing a target's heart, it could curse and kill the enemy — even a fabricated "false heart" would suffice, with the victim appearing uninjured on the surface while only the heart was destroyed, resulting in death.
Because this Noble Phantasm wasn't a blade or weapon, Shirou couldn't project it, and Unlimited Blade Works held no record or knowledge of it.
However, the dagger wielded by Cursed Arm Hassan, unlike the Noble Phantasm Zabaniya, had been witnessed once by Shirou — thus, a record of it existed in Unlimited Blade Works.
Compared to the Noble Phantasm, the dagger was quite plain, even simple, not particularly remarkable.
Still, since it was a tool used by a Heroic Spirit, it naturally couldn't be entirely ordinary — it must have possessed qualities beyond normal weapons.
For that very reason, Shirou chose to forge this weapon as a gift for Bell, who was still a novice adventurer.
"Phew…"
Taking a deep breath, Shirou sat silently in the center of the forge, calming his mind to a state of total stillness, undisturbed by even a single ripple.
In front of him, iron ore had been smelting in the furnace at high heat for some time and now glowed bright red with heat.
At the perfect moment, Shirou picked up a simple, unadorned hammer built for function, and began to strike the glowing ore that had become as red as flame.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Though the material was simple, under Shirou's hammer strikes it underwent a seemingly magical transformation, shining with a brilliant light.
Still, Shirou remained emotionally unaffected. As if unaware of the change happening beneath his hammer, he continued to strike with a calm expression.
With every swing, the image of the weapon he sought to forge vividly surfaced in his mind.
As he repeated the image in his imagination countless times, the lump of iron began to shape itself to match that vision — slowly forming into a jet-black dagger.
Shirou then followed every single step of the forging method taught to him by Hephaestus — not skipping even one — using the most basic techniques to temper and forge the weapon.
The result was a dagger nearly identical to the one once used by the Assassin known as Hassan, as remembered by Shirou.
Though the dagger itself was nameless, Shirou named it Hassan's Dagger, in honor of its original owner.
"…That went surprisingly well."
Looking at the finished dagger, Shirou was honestly surprised by how smoothly the forging process had gone.
This was only his second time forging anything, yet his body had moved on its own as if it already possessed all the necessary knowledge, instinctively taking the most optimal actions.
It forced Shirou to admit that perhaps he did possess something called "talent."
That realization was hard for him to accept, especially since he had spent years struggling just to master reinforcement magic due to his lack of magical aptitude in the past.
Shirou then began to study the dagger he had forged.
It was grayish-black overall, and didn't appear particularly sharp. Yet, the moment Shirou picked it up, he clearly felt his own presence diminish.
Though the effect was faint, it clearly enhanced stealth capabilities — seemingly due to inheriting the Presence Concealment skill from the original Heroic Spirit.
Aside from Presence Concealment, the dagger appeared to have other traits as well. However, since Shirou lacked appraisal skills, he couldn't identify them immediately.
Regardless of any hidden traits, the dagger's base stats alone far surpassed the standard-issue daggers provided by the Guild — it would serve Bell well even until he reached Level 2.
After that, Shirou quietly left the forge, noticing it was just noon.
Because it was only a dagger, forging hadn't taken the whole day. He still had the afternoon free for other things.
That said, he didn't have anything in particular to do.
He couldn't exactly go dungeon diving on his own, could he?
Though the thought of exploring the Dungeon had crossed his mind, Shirou decided it would be wiser to wait until the whole "Sword Demon" incident blew over.
If he went into the Dungeon now and revealed his power, he'd likely cause a major stir throughout Orario.
Considering that, Shirou decided to take a long-overdue walk to clear his head, get familiar with the city, and maybe check out Monsterphilia, where Bell and Hestia might be.
With that in mind, Shirou wandered the streets of Orario.
The city was vast — though it had a distinctly medieval feel, it felt just as large as his hometown, Fuyuki City.
The many horse-drawn carriages traversing the streets were further evidence of the city's massive scale.
As he strolled around, Shirou gradually became more aware of how enormous the labyrinth city truly was. Eventually, he noticed a particularly crowded area.
There was no mistaking it — that was where the Monsterphilia was being held.
Shirou found a high vantage point to observe from a distance. He had no intention of diving into the crowd, only wanting to watch the festival from afar.
However, he suddenly felt a gaze on him from nearby.
Instinctively turning toward it, he spotted a woman in the bustling crowd — wearing a deep blue robe — looking straight at him. Her silver hair peeked from under her hood, and her graceful stance made it nearly impossible to tear one's eyes away from her.
This sensation… could she be a deity?
Before Shirou could determine her identity, the tall silver-haired woman disappeared. But just before vanishing, she left him with a meaningful smile.
"Who was that…?"
Shirou couldn't shake the memory of that strange woman. Most of all, it was the unique feeling she gave him.
It wasn't quite fear — more like a deep-seated rejection. His entire body had broken out in goosebumps.
Shirou shook his head, trying to dispel the lingering discomfort. He then turned his attention back to the Monsterphilia and, by chance, spotted Bell and Hestia happily enjoying the festivities.
Seeing them so cheerful lifted Shirou's spirits as well.
"What are you doing here?"
Just as Shirou was about to pass more time, a voice suddenly sounded beside him.
Turning his head, he saw a blonde-haired girl standing there.
It was the Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein, who had appeared beside him without warning — and was now looking at him with a particularly intrigued expression.
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Emiya Shirou (now called Hikigaya Shirou) reincarnated in a peacefull world.
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