Chapter 26 Afternoon, Shirou Emiya, Sigma
"Excuse me, are you Shirou Emiya?"
When he heard those words, Shirou was confused. If he had to give a reason, it was because it was too jarring. To use an inappropriate metaphor: it was like being in the middle of a battlefield under a hail of bullets when a phone suddenly rings; you pick it up, and the person on the other end says, "Hello, is this Mr. Shirou Emiya? Would you like to buy insurance?"
Most importantly...
'When did I get discovered?'
Of course, Shirou had seen many irrational things up to this point. Although he could tell instinctively that there was a hidden story here, it didn't cause him to lose his cool.
Exchanging a glance with the petite Saber, who had poked her head out from behind him to watch silently, Shirou raised his hand and admitted:
"I am indeed named Shirou Emiya."
The black-haired youth opposite him was someone Shirou had never met. His appearance was so young that he didn't quite look like a young man, but could instead be mistaken for a boy; he had a certain air of innocence. Shirou's own image was reflected in those black eyes, which were otherwise as still as a lake.
The youth stood frozen ten steps away from Shirou, his lips pursed, thinking of who-knows-what. After a long while, the black-haired youth spoke:
"Do you know the name 'Maiya Hisau'?"
Shirou's expression shifted slightly.
Shirou knew almost nothing about "Maiya Hisau," so he recalled the impressions left from his travels. She was the assistant who was always by Kiritsugu's side. The old man himself had never mentioned her, but when Shirou traveled the world and learned of his father's reputation as the "Magus Killer," he learned of her as well. The person before him was likely associated with the "Magus Killer"; making excuses was pointless, and Shirou didn't intend to do so.
"If I remember correctly, she was a friend of Kiritsugu. And that name is..."
"...An alias, right."
The black-haired youth answered first. "She died in the Fourth Holy Grail War."
The way the youth wore his trench coat and goggles was exceptionally professional. If he had to give an impression—it was like a well-trained "soldier." Yet, Shirou still couldn't feel the slightest hint of danger from him; he only felt that the youth's surroundings were eerily quiet.
He lacked the fluctuations of existence far too much. Like a youth who had walked a path starting as an ordinary soldier and ending as a nameless pawn whom no one would ever know, he said:
"I am Maiya Hisau's child. ...Please call me 'Sigma'."
Shirou heard the sound of a gun being cocked.
Sigma pulled a semi-automatic handgun from the trench coat where Shirou already knew something was hidden, and the muzzle gradually rose.
"Shirou!"
Saber shouted, preparing to rush forward to stop him, but Shirou shook his head to calm the girl down. The black hole of the muzzle was aimed directly at Shirou.
"I see. Kiritsugu, as a Magus, you really shouldn't have left this kind of mess behind..."
The karma of the past was still chasing him. Shirou recalled the silhouette of someone he would never see again and gave a wry smile.
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"Soldier A" could never become anyone. Sigma had known this for a long time.
"Soldier A" could not show a smile from the bottom of his heart. He had no meaning for his existence. Nor did he have any existential value as far as the public was concerned.
Sigma thought to himself. His hand holding the gun remained level with his shoulder, using both hands to brace the pistol and offset the recoil—a grip that could be called orthodox, or even abnormally common. He had heard that the "Magus Killer" could master a high-capacity submachine gun with one hand without using magecraft, but the mediocre Sigma didn't believe he could do such a thing.
—Shirou Emiya didn't dodge at all. He just stood by and watched as Sigma raised the muzzle and aimed it at him.
To be honest, before raising the gun, Sigma had imagined a future where he was cut down by a single strike. Sigma knew very well that the man before him possessed sufficient strength. Even the girl beside him, the one of the Saber class, wanted to cut down Sigma's gun-wielding hand first, but she was stopped by Shirou Emiya. He truly possessed an unbelievable kindness.
—Ah, he gave a wry smile.
Sigma didn't understand what element of this was worth a wry smile. Perhaps the scene before him looked a bit like a comedy to the man. A person so weak as to be not worth
mentioning, overestimating his own strength, raising an ordinary handgun against someone who could be an army unto himself. It was quite reasonable to view it as a comedy; Sigma had no desire to point that out.
Sigma met the eyes of the red-haired youth. For some reason, he looked very young. There were no marks of the passage of time on his baby face. The bangs of his fire-red hair showed no sign of obscuring his eyes, and his piercing gaze held a straightforward light. His well-trained physique was even taller than Sigma's, creating a sense of pressure for the youth.
From a public viewpoint, this guy was probably a handsome man. Sigma knew that. But what made Sigma feel the most conflicted was that Shirou Emiya didn't change his expression even when pointed at by a gun; there wasn't even any emotion like killing intent or resentment.
'—This vessel... the stories the Shadows told were indeed true.'
Because this man was so upright, just looking at him was enough to know the authenticity of his anecdotes. Sigma had rarely seen such a human being.
Therefore... harboring an emotion he himself didn't understand, Sigma pulled the trigger.
The sound of a gunshot rang out in the alley.
Shirou Emiya stood his ground, maintaining a normal standing posture with his arms hanging naturally at his sides. Only the very top of the shirt on his right shoulder had been slightly singed.
"Why didn't you move?"
Sigma froze, falling into confusion.
"Because you had no killing intent. Not only was your muzzle not aimed at a vital spot, but you raised it higher from the very beginning."
Shirou Emiya let his thoughts spill out meditatively:
"It would be too arrogant to say it was out of trust... it's more appropriate to say I have confidence in my eyes."
Instead, he wore a confused expression that seemed to say, "If anything, I'm the one who wants to know why you held back."
—Even on the premise of completely failing to understand the situation, this man still faced Sigma in such a manner.
Sigma fell silent. He didn't know what kind of answer he was pursuing, nor did he know what he really wanted to see in the pupils of the man before him.
Finally, he simply told the truth: "The reason I fired a shot at you is because someone asked me to fire one shot at you. So, I fired."
Shirou Emiya fell into thought.
"That logic is a bit strange... If you were commissioned to fire, your client definitely didn't want me to be unharmed. Creating a situation that might dissatisfy a client isn't exactly the style of someone who works for money."
Shirou tilted his head.
"Can I guess that someone coerced you into firing a shot at me? If that's the case, I might be able to help you."
Even knowing that being an "Ally of Justice" is just an unreachable shadow. Even knowing he cannot save everyone.
And yet, he still gave a wry smile from the bottom of his heart and asked the question.
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