The exploration of the transfer maze was completely over.
When Paul and the others brought the unconscious Zenith out of the transfer maze, everyone's face showed an expression of being reborn.
After all, no one expected that this exploration of the transfer maze would be so full of twists and turns. The battle with the God of North was even more beyond everyone's imagination. Until the final victory, no one clearly felt the reality of the victory.
Only the disappearance of the Third God of North and the still-sleeping Zenith proved that the efforts of everyone had not been in vain.
After arriving in the town, Shirou suddenly felt a violent dizziness. A certain imbalance in his body made him feel light and floating, as if he was in a dream. In extreme confusion, his consciousness suddenly broke. Before he could react, he fainted directly on the street.
This scene scared Paul and the others. They quickly took him and Zenith to the doctor in the maze city.
After examination, the doctor confirmed that Shirou's condition was simply exhaustion. His overstretched state had completely exceeded the limits of the human body, so he lost consciousness the moment he relaxed. He only needed a period of rest to recover.
Paul and Rudeus were relieved.
But they didn't relax. After all, in addition to Shirou, Zenith's condition was also worrying.
She had been in the maze for so long, it was hard to guarantee that there wouldn't be any abnormal problems with her body.
Finally, Paul, as the leader, decided to disband the rescue team on the spot and planned to take Shirou and Zenith to the Kingdom of Ranoa to reunite with Norn and Aisha, who were staying at the Magic University.
No one questioned this.
Because the rescue team was essentially established to rescue Zenith. Now that Zenith had been successfully rescued, the team naturally had no more meaning to exist.
Roxy was the first to speak, expressing her desire to accompany Paul and the others, because she also wanted to see her former teachers at the Magic University.
Although this wasn't the only reason, and Roxy herself wanted to continue to stay by Shirou's side for her own reasons, at least on the surface, she was indeed going to the Magic University for this reason alone, so naturally no one questioned it.
Thus, many years after the Great Transfer, the Greyrat family officially embarked on their journey home.
…
Shirou felt like he was dreaming.
Generally speaking, people are not aware that they are dreaming, but Shirou was clearly aware that he was dreaming.
In the dream, he returned to the long-ago Emiya residence, and saw Emiya Kiritsugu, who should have died long ago, and also saw his sister Miyu.
Although he knew it was a dream, Shirou still actively immersed himself in it, chatting with Kiritsugu about everything that had happened after his death, and even told him the story of his time-traveling. Regarding his experiences and his abandonment of the path of being a hero, Kiritsugu smiled and didn't make too many comments, as if saying that it was good this way, good indeed…
Shirou didn't know if it was really good that way, but he didn't doubt his actions, and firmly believed that his choices were correct.
Miyu in the dream seemed to have changed a lot from his memory. She looked taller than before, and more sturdy.
Shirou even felt that she had become more mature than him, and more discerning.
Compared to himself, who couldn't even tell the right path for being a hero, Shirou even felt that Miyu had become more reliable than him, and had become an excellent person.
The siblings also talked for a long time, but Shirou, unlike Kiritsugu, didn't talk much about himself, but asked about Miyu's affairs.
Even though it seemed like they had a conversation, possibly because it was a dream, Shirou had no idea what Miyu said to him.
In short, in the end, he cooked a rich dinner for his family.
Shirou and Kiritsugu drank and talked happily, while Miyu silently sat by their side, watching them both, listening to Shirou and Kiritsugu's stories with an adoring look.
Everything was so beautiful.
Until Shirou completely understood that this was just a beautiful dream that could never happen.
A sound like a mirror shattering rang out. Shirou found that the surrounding environment was empty, and only he was left.
So he slowly stood up, walked to the door, and slowly pushed open the door of the Emiya residence, then closed it completely from the outside.
"Goodbye."
Shirou said silently, then a light suddenly appeared, and his consciousness floated from the bottom of the water to the surface, and he opened his eyes.
Shirou first realized that he was lying on a bumpy carriage, which was moving along a foreign road.
Shirou quietly sat up and found a sleeping woman lying next to him. On closer inspection, he found that it was Zenith.
He immediately realized his situation.
He had successfully rescued Zenith, and now he should have been with Zenith, being taken back to the Kingdom of Ranoa by Paul and the others.
Shirou's thoughts were soon confirmed.
He opened the window of the carriage and saw Rudeus sitting in front of the carriage, driving it boredly.
Seeing Shirou wake up, a look of excitement appeared on Rudeus's face. He excitedly called Paul and Roxy over, and told Shirou what had happened after he fainted.
In short, since Zenith had been successfully rescued, Paul completely gave up on the search team and no longer wasted manpower to form unnecessary exploration teams.
For this reason, Paul's former subordinates were sent back to the Asura Kingdom.
Geese, Talhand, and Elinalise, these former Black Wolf's Fang teammates, went their separate ways again.
Now on the carriage were only Paul, Rudeus, Lilia, Shirou, Zenith, who were members of the Greyrat family, and Roxy, who was heading to the Magic University along the way.
Hearing Rudeus's words, Shirou nodded, feeling an unbelievable feeling in his heart.
Even though he didn't understand what this feeling was, a smile had already appeared on his lips.
After all, in his previous life, he had failed to protect those who were important to him. He hadn't been able to fully protect even one of his important family members. It was a complete failure.
But this time, he succeeded. He didn't lose a single important person, and he had protected all his family members with his own hands.
This was undoubtedly a huge relief for him.
The faces of Emiya Kiritsugu and Miyu in the dream also gradually disappeared from his mind. The attachments of the past were being released little by little.
"Are we going home?"
Shirou seemed still somewhat unsure, and asked.
"Yes."
Paul smiled at Shirou from across the carriage. "Shirou, you did it. We can finally go home."
"...Haha..."
For a moment, Shirou's heart was filled with uncontrollable emotion.
Rudeus and Lilia had already been unable to control their tears.
After who knows how many years, the Greyrat family would reunite once again.
This was not something that could be easily dismissed for anyone in this family.
…
Because they had a transfer magic circle, the road back and forth between the Kingdom of Ranoa and the Begaritt Continent wasn't very far, and it only took a month or two to arrive.
During the journey, Shirou was unable to fight because he had used too much energy in the battle with the Third God of North.
So Paul and Rudeus took on the work of defense.
Roxy also participated to help, contributing her own strength.
With a Saint-level Swordsman and two King-level magicians present, ordinary monsters couldn't threaten the safety of the group at all.
The group quickly completed their journey across the Begaritt Continent, instantly arrived in the north of the Central Continent from the transfer maze, and successfully reached the Kingdom of Ranoa.
The moment they arrived in the Kingdom of Ranoa, signs of relief appeared on everyone's faces.
What followed was the genuine joy of feeling alive.
Paul was visiting the Kingdom of Ranoa for the first time. When he lived as an adventurer, he had never been to this northern land. So he showed a curious expression and asked Rudeus, who had lived here for many years, about everything, not at all like a normal father.
Although Rudeus had stayed at the Magic University for a long time, he had actually spent more time in seclusion, so his knowledge of the northern land was quite limited. Therefore, his answers were very stiff, and he even secretly gave Shirou eye signals several times, asking the latter to help him get out of the situation.
During the trip, Zenith remained unconscious, but because her breathing was still steady, it was somewhat reassuring.
Paul said that when they arrived at the Magic University, they would try their best to find famous doctors to cure Zenith's illness.
This was also agreed upon by Shirou and Rudeus.
So, on the way to the Magic University, they found famous doctors in various towns along the way to treat Zenith's illness.
However, even the most famous doctors showed distress and helplessness in the face of Zenith's condition, and many couldn't even find the cause.
Until they met a magician who was very knowledgeable about curses.
The magician was an S-rank member of the Magician's Guild and was willing to provide help after hearing that Shirou was Principal Jinas's disciple.
After making a diagnosis for Zenith, the magician made a judgment:
"This lady's condition should be affected by some kind of curse. Of course, it's not entirely accurate to call it a curse, but the lady's body has no problems and no aftereffects. The so-called curse is more like a sudden physical change that the human body cannot adapt to."
"This... what exactly does that mean?"
The magician's words were too abstract, and Paul was completely confused.
So the magician spoke again: "To describe it more vividly, you have heard of the existence of God's Child and Cursed Child, right? In fact, most God's Children and Cursed Children are affected by curses. Of course, curses are not only bad, but also good, which is why there is a distinction between God's Child and Cursed Child. The lady's condition is like being turned into a God's Child or Cursed Child after birth, but the body of a mortal has not received suitable modifications, so it cannot adapt to the special power."
"This... is there any way to treat her?"
"The worst option is to leave it alone and wait for the lady's body to adapt to that power, and maybe she will recover, but it depends purely on luck. The middle option is to find a way to erase the power of the curse. The Magician's Guild has some research in this area, but it may cause damage to her soul, because curses are closely related to the soul. The best option is to find a way to isolate the curse on the lady's body from her body, but research in this area has only just begun..."
Although the magician said three methods in one breath, each method had limitations and certain disadvantages.
Shirou, Rudeus, and Paul discussed it for a long time and couldn't make a decision immediately. They could only express their gratitude and take Zenith back.
Next, the group continued on their way, but they unexpectedly heard an interesting rumor.
The rumor was about the Seven Great Powers' Stone Tablet. It was said that the names on the Seven Great Powers' Stone Tablet, which hadn't changed for decades, had changed.
After hearing this news, Shirou vaguely realized something.
When he found the nearby Seven Great Powers' Stone Tablet along the way, he immediately realized the situation—
He saw that the first six names on the Seven Great Powers' Stone Tablet hadn't changed, but the seventh name had changed, from the original [God of North] to Shirou's name.
This was the first change on the Seven Great Powers' Stone Tablet in decades, and it was also the first time that the name on it was no longer a fixed title, but directly showed a person's name.
This was because Shirou himself wasn't a direct successor of any school, so he hadn't inherited any title passed down from a God-level figure. The Seven Great Powers' Stone Tablet chose to directly carve his name on the stone tablet because it couldn't extract a title.
Although Shirou had vaguely sensed that this would happen the moment he defeated the Third God of North, it was only when it actually happened that Shirou realized that he had really reached this point and become a well-known existence on the Seven Great Powers list.
Although he was only ranked at the bottom, this was enough to show its value, showing that he had become one of the top experts in this world.
Thinking back to when he was practicing swordsmanship every day in Buena Village, desperately trying to reach the goal of an Advanced level, his current achievements really gave him a feeling of being reborn.
Of course, Shirou didn't become proud and complacent because of this.
He knew very well that he still hadn't reached where he should be. Becoming one of the Seven Great Powers didn't mean that his road had come to an end. In a sense, it was just the beginning of the next journey and battle.
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