Shirou had no idea what to do when he found that Sylphy wasn't interested in magic and swordsmanship because of his fight with Rudeus.
Saving someone from their own inner closed-off state requires more than just outside help and rescue. The person being saved needs to develop a belief in saving themselves.
However, this belief usually doesn't come from others; it often requires a specific opportunity.
So, Shirou simply stopped trying to do anything special. He treated Sylphy normally and calmly, and focused on his own things.
One day, Shirou was practicing swordsmanship in the yard.
He spent a lot of time practicing the Sword God Style every day. Although his progress was terrible because he didn't have much talent for it, his steady efforts gradually led to breakthroughs. His swordsmanship foundation became stronger.
As he kept repeating the actions of swinging the sword, drawing it back, swinging the sword, drawing it back… he suddenly noticed Sylphy walking out of the house.
The girl seemed embarrassed to be there. She didn't come directly to bother Shirou, but quietly sat in the corner of the yard, secretly watching him.
"..."
Shirou didn't know what Sylphy meant by this. He didn't want to speak directly, so he chose to continue practicing his sword.
When he finished and turned around, he found that Sylphy had disappeared.
"What does she mean by this?"
Shirou was confused, not understanding why Sylphy would specifically come to watch him practice sword.
Since he had so many things to do every day, Shirou couldn't focus too much on Sylphy's state. He turned his attention to studying magic and patrolling the village.
The next day, Shirou started practicing swordsmanship in the yard at the usual time.
While swinging his sword, he noticed that Sylphy was once again quietly squatting by the edge of the yard, secretly watching him.
This continued until the fourth day, when Shirou finally couldn't help himself. He looked at Sylphy while swinging his sword and walked straight towards her.
"Umm, well..."
Sylphy didn't expect to be discovered. She stood there awkwardly, as if worried that Shirou would scold her.
Shirou didn't scold her. Instead, he touched her head and said:
"Sylphy, do you want to learn swordsmanship from me?"
Sylphy had been watching him practice sword for several days in a row. Even if Shirou was slow to understand, he had gradually realized what Sylphy was thinking.
Sylphy didn't expect Shirou to see through her thoughts so easily. She was very flustered, but she seemed to have been thinking about it for a long time. Suddenly, she made up her mind and said, "Yes, that day's fight was really cool. I... I want to fight like you guys..."
"I see."
Shirou was surprised and happy that his initial plan had actually worked, sparking Sylphy's interest in swordsmanship and magic.
As long as Sylphy was willing to learn magic or swordsmanship and spend her time on something meaningful, it probably wouldn't be a problem if she continued to be withdrawn.
He immediately called Rudeus over, and the three of them gathered in the yard.
"Sylphy wants to learn swordsmanship?"
Rudeus was surprised when he heard Shirou's explanation. "She looks so weak, can she even hold a sword?"
"That's..."
Shirou realized the problem with Rudeus's words.
Although women could become swordsmen, the difference in physical strength gave most women a natural disadvantage in swordsmanship. Unless they had a special talent or ability, like that Saber Servant in Servant Emiya's memories...
Shirou carefully observed Sylphy and didn't think she looked like she had any talent for swordsmanship.
On the other hand, as the daughter of Laws, with elven blood, she might be very talented in magic.
"Sylphy, why don't you learn magic from Rudeus? Swordsmanship might not be suitable for you."
After thinking it over, Shirou gave his opinion.
"Can't I learn swordsmanship?"
Sylphy seemed a little disappointed when she heard this. After watching Shirou and Rudeus's fight that day, she was clearly more interested in Shirou's swordsmanship and didn't have as strong a desire for magic.
"Are you looking down on my magic!"
Rudeus couldn't help but feel dissatisfied with Sylphy's attitude. "Although I couldn't beat Shirou, that's just because Shirou is too strong. If I met an ordinary swordsman, my magic could easily blow them away!"
"Umm..."
Sylphy seemed scared by Rudeus's forceful attitude and shrank behind Shirou.
This made Rudeus even more unhappy. He didn't expect this random kid to act closer to Shirou than his own brother.
Shirou didn't notice the conflict between the two children. After thinking for a moment, he slowly said: "In that case, why don't you learn swordsmanship and magic from both me and Rudeus, Sylphy? Whichever one you do better in, you can focus on that one. How about it?"
"Okay..."
Sylphy nodded.
Rudeus was still unhappy and complained, "Someone like her can't be good at magic. She looks so weak. She should learn how to do housework with Lilia."
"You..."
Sylphy was angered by Rudeus's words, and tears even welled up in her eyes.
This reaction startled Rudeus. His arrogant attitude disappeared, replaced by a look of panic.
"W-Why is she crying? Did I say something?"
Rudeus looked at Shirou with a helpless expression, clearly having no idea what to do.
Shirou smiled when he saw this. He didn't think Sylphy crying was a bad thing. On the contrary, her emotional reaction showed that she was opening up to them little by little, coming out of her closed-off state.
...
In the following days, Sylphy officially started learning swordsmanship and magic from Shirou and Rudeus.
Since Roxy had only left less than half a year ago, Shirou and Rudeus still kept their previous schedule.
They used this time to teach Sylphy the basics of swordsmanship and magic.
As Shirou had expected, Sylphy really didn't have any talent for swordsmanship. Her small body and weak arms made it difficult for her to even lift a practice sword, let alone maintain the correct posture when practicing.
Although Sylphy tried very hard, desperately wanting to meet Shirou's requirements, talent is often the cruelest and most merciless thing in the world.
There was no doubt that Sylphy had no talent for swordsmanship.
But as the saying goes, when God closes a door, he always opens a window.
Although Sylphy wasn't good at swordsmanship, she showed great talent in magic. She learned magic so quickly that she was able to cast basic water magic after only a few days of practice. Her speed was almost as fast as Rudeus when he was self-taught.
In addition to her high adaptability to magic, Sylphy also had the talent for silent casting.
Although her silent casting success rate was inconsistent because she had just started, it was still much better than Shirou, who could only do silent casting with sword magic.
Her high talent made Rudeus feel threatened. While teaching Sylphy, he also practiced magic harder himself, determined not to be easily surpassed by Sylphy.
It's worth mentioning that after trying Shirou's cooking, Sylphy found it so delicious that she begged Shirou to teach her how to cook.
Although Shirou didn't want such a young child to be in the kitchen, he couldn't refuse her. He let Sylphy follow him and do simple tasks to gain cooking experience.
Sylphy was very serious. Although she was clumsy, she made up for her lack of talent with her attitude. Her skills gradually improved, and even Lilia praised Sylphy, saying that she might have the talent to be a maid.
In short, Sylphy's life in the Greyrat household was gradually getting on track.
No one in the Greyrat family discriminated against her because of her hair color. Although Rudeus had some complaints about her, it was only because he was worried that his position as the younger brother might be shaken. He still cared about Sylphy, who had experienced bullying and suffered greatly.
With the care of the Greyrat family, Sylphy gradually came out of her previous shadow. She was no longer so gloomy and withdrawn, and sometimes even showed a smile on her face.
Shirou was happy about Sylphy's changes and felt that if things continued like this, Sylphy would be able to completely overcome the trauma of being bullied.
However, hope and despair always follow each other, and happiness and pain are often inseparable...
One day, while Shirou was patrolling the village as usual, keeping an eye on the forest to make sure no monsters were lurking nearby.
After finishing his patrol, he started walking home.
On the way, he suddenly heard children talking by the roadside.
Because it was just children talking, Shirou didn't want to pay too much attention. But when the content of the conversation reached his ears, his expression changed.
"Did you hear? Somar saw that green-haired kid at the knight's house!"
"Oh?! They finally found the location of that Superd Race!"
"So she's been hiding in the knight's house all this time!"
"The knight's family has fallen too, taking in an evil Superd Race!"
"It seems the knight's family is in league with the demon race!"
"..."
Although it sounded like innocent words from children, Shirou knew that sometimes it was this kind of attitude, devoid of good or evil intent, that was more likely to cause harm.
A feeling of unease arose within him, and he began to move quickly.
Shirou rushed back to the Greyrat house and immediately searched for Sylphy, but he couldn't find her anywhere.
Instead, Rudeus ran over in a panic and said, "Shirou, some kids from the village came to our house earlier. After Sylphy said something to them, she hurriedly left."
"What?"
The uneasy feeling suddenly became reality. Shirou clenched his fists, feeling an uncontrollable anger rising within him!
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