Shirou Emiya Stands on Terra Chapter 14

Even a normal natural gas explosion is still an explosion, but he dodged in time and didn't suffer much damage, just got a little dusty.

It was a miracle that he was unharmed, but the fire was spreading, and if this continued, the whole store could burn down.

"Is the interior decoration all made of wood? No... how can I see?"

Shirou glanced inside the store. Although the fire and smoke were immense, he could still easily see the interior.

This made him confused; his eyesight shouldn't be that good.

Before Shirou could ponder further, a voice reached his ears.

"Is anyone there..."

The voice was very faint, almost inaudible if one didn't listen carefully.

Shirou stopped and looked around, listening intently for the source of the sound.

The crackling of the fire, the voices of the onlookers, the sound of cars on the road...

"Is anyone outside... cough cough..."

This time, the voice was a little clearer. Shirou confirmed it was coming from inside the burning building, and the person's voice was already weak.

Without hesitation, Shirou dropped his shopping bags and rushed into the inferno.

Before he could even think about whether to save them or how to save them, his body had already acted.

"Hey! What are you doing!"

Perro, a store employee, saw Shirou rush in and tried to stop him, but Shirou zipped into the fire.

"Trace on."

The moment Shirou entered the fire, he placed his hand on the ground and used magic to analyze the building's structure.

Floors, walls, support structures...

The instant he analyzed a person, Shirou didn't stop the analysis but continued until the entire building was parsed.

It took about tens of seconds for Shirou to analyze the entire building and confirm that there was only one person in the restroom.

Shirou estimated that the fire would reach the restroom directly in about another minute, as the restroom door was also made of wood.

However, there was likely already smoke in the restroom, and the person's already faint calls for help were accompanied by a few coughs.

Pulling up his collar to cover his nose and mouth, Shirou walked along the path revealed by his analysis.

Carefully avoiding the burning areas and structures weakened by the fire, Shirou quickly reached the restroom.

"Hey! Can you hear me!"

Shirou shouted, hoping for a response from inside.

"Cough cough... I... I'm here!"

As the voice came out, the person seeking help opened the restroom door.

The moment it opened, thick smoke rushed in, filling the space with even more dense fog. Fortunately, the fire outside wasn't too intense, so it didn't cause a secondary explosion—a flashover.

Shirou saw the person's appearance: a very young Liberi female. Her face was smudged with ash, and she looked very weak. It was likely she had inhaled a lot of smoke while calling for help. The moment she saw Shirou, the anxious look on her face eased considerably.

"Don't talk, wet your clothes."

Seeing that the person seemed about to speak again, Shirou quickly interrupted her. In a fire like this, without proper equipment, it was best not to talk, as it would lead to inhaling more smoke and heat.

Fire itself wasn't the most terrifying thing; it was the unconsciousness caused by smoke and the explosions triggered by intense heat.

The Liberi nodded, then turned on the sink and splashed water onto her clothes.

Shirou also dampened his clothes. His jacket already had some holes burned through on the way here.

"Follow me."

Shirou grabbed her arm and intended to retrace their steps. The Liberi followed obediently without being difficult.

Or rather, she didn't know what else to do. She had just stopped by for a meal because the food here was particularly cheap. After ordering, she went to the restroom, and when she came out, she saw large flames engulfing the place. Terrified, she quickly retreated to the restroom and locked the door.

After several calls for help went unanswered, she thought she was going to die there. She never expected someone to come to her rescue!

At that moment, she felt as if a savior had descended.

However, the rescuer didn't look too good either, lacking professional equipment and with his clothes and pants burned in many places.

But he didn't panic in the face of the fire; instead, he calmly instructed her to wet her clothes, cover her mouth and nose, and then led her through the inferno.

For some reason... seeing this person in front of her gave her a great sense of security.

Miss Liberi thought to herself.

17 Axia, Snow Pheasant

"It's already collapsed? We can't get through here."

Shirou looked at the blocked path, contemplating the building's layout.

He and the Liberi were currently in the dining area, the most open space in the building, but it was now engulfed in flames.

"Cough cough..."

The Liberi behind them made sounds of choking on thick smoke, prompting Shirou to immediately decide on a different route.

He pulled the other person towards the stairs behind them. On the second floor, there was a glass window facing outwards, from which they should be able to get out directly.

It was just relatively more dangerous. After all, the storefront on the first floor was a bit high, so the height of the second floor was actually about the same as the third floor.

There were no obstructions on the stairs between the first and second floors, so the second floor was actually filled with smoke, with much lower visibility than the first floor.

The Liberi could no longer open her eyes and could only rely on Shirou pulling her hand to determine where to go.

"Hang in there."

Shirou clearly felt the other person's speed decreasing. He turned his head and saw that she was already crying from the thick smoke. After reminding her, he directly picked her up.

One hand went behind her back, and the other went behind her knees.

The Liberi, unable to see, suddenly felt someone pick her up. Based on the feel of his back and the touch around her legs.

She judged that she was being carried in a princess carry.

"Ugh... Sorry..."

She didn't feel shy, but rather felt like she was a burden to him. She guessed he had chosen to do this after noticing her speed had decreased.

"Keep covering your mouth and nose. We're going to jump from the second floor in a moment."

Shirou didn't give her time to feel guilty and quickened his pace. He felt the woman in his arms speaking weakly, already showing signs of oxygen deprivation.

He leaped over any obstacles and kicked open any doors.

Before long, Shirou reached the window. There were no iron bars outside, but there was a safety lock on the window that prevented it from being opened, so the window could only be opened by three to four tenths, making it impossible to get out.

Shirou adjusted his center of gravity slightly and kicked the window's locking mechanism with his foot.

Simply breaking the glass wouldn't be effective; it would be better for him to just smash through it, but he would definitely get injured by the glass.

He didn't mind, but there was another person here.

So what he had to do now was to kick the entire window open!

With the first kick, the window deformed slightly. With the second kick, the entire window flew out and smashed onto the ground, the glass shattering into countless fragments from the impact.

The people downstairs had been evacuated far away by the firefighters who were watching, so they weren't hit by the window.

"There's someone inside! They seem to be preparing to jump down. Please prepare a cushioning mat, an oxygen mask, and find a doctor to come over!"

A petite figure directed the crowd, speaking very quickly.

The onlookers didn't clearly hear what she said, only that there was someone inside and that they needed a doctor.

But the onlookers didn't need to understand; as long as the firefighters understood, it was fine. Several firefighters immediately took out an air cushion from the fire truck.

The stave in one of the firefighter's hands flickered, and the air cushion was instantly partially inflated. Although it wasn't fully inflated, it was enough to cushion the impact from that height. From the shout to the air cushion being brought over, it took a total of ten seconds.

But ten seconds was enough for Shirou to adjust his posture, sprint, and jump out.

So when Shirou jumped out, what he saw were the firefighters dragging the air cushion over.

"Catch her!"

Shirou didn't hesitate. Confirming that his landing spot wasn't on the air cushion, he quickly tossed the Liberi in his arms onto the air cushion and landed on his back, rolling a few times on the ground.

The firefighters dragging the air cushion steadily caught the Liberi and arranged for a doctor to treat her.

"So it ended up like this in the end?"

Shirou was momentarily dazed after landing, but it was quickly interrupted.

"Are you alright? Are you conscious? Are you injured? Do you need to be sent to the hospital for emergency treatment?"

"I'm fine."

Facing the barrage of questions, Shirou stood up straight and indicated that he was fine.

Apart from his jacket, pants, and backpack being burned with many holes, and the soles of his shoes being burned off due to the high heat, he wasn't actually very injured.

Even his back, which received the violent impact in the end, felt about the same as being hit by Taiga's fan during a scolding.

However, his pathetic appearance didn't seem to convince the RAP firefighter, so Shirou was still pulled aside for an examination.

After confirming that there was no one else inside, the firefighters quickly extinguished the fire.

Under the doctor's simple diagnosis, Shirou was confirmed to only have his appearance covered in ash and to have inhaled some smoke. He was basically fine.

He took the shopping bag that the Perro store clerk had picked up for him. After confirming that nothing had fallen out of his backpack, he wanted to leave, but was stopped by the RAP firefighter.

"Thanks to Mr. Shirou, Miss Axia did not suffer any serious injuries, but she still inhaled a lot of smoke and needs rest. Although the outcome is good, as the Longmen Fire Department, I still have to tell you that such behavior is not good. Please do not rush into a fire scene like this again in the future. It is very dangerous..."

Shirou looked at the petite firefighter in front of him speaking at a very fast pace.

Hmm... or rather, lecturing?

From her words, he could confirm that the Liberi he just saved was named Axia, and she hadn't been too badly injured.

He listened to her lecture for about five minutes.

The RAP firefighter, or rather Axia, introduced herself briefly to Shirou before leaving. She repeatedly warned Shirou not to repeat such actions before letting him go.

"Her tongue didn't even get tied. That's amazing. I wonder if she can recite tongue twisters at that speed."

This was Shirou's realization after being lectured for a full five minutes, completely unable to interrupt the other person.

Shirou didn't leave immediately. Instead, he went to check on Snow Pheasant, who was using an oxygen mask on the other side.

Snow Pheasant's complexion had improved significantly. When she saw Shirou approaching, she quickly removed the oxygen mask and jogged over to him, expressing her gratitude.

"Th-thank you so much for saving me! I just heard from others that you specifically went in to rescue me. Thank you so much!"

Snow Pheasant was immediately sent for treatment after being brought out. Thanks to Shirou's timely rescue, she had only inhaled a lot of smoke and had no other major issues.

The medical staff nearby were chatting with her while she used the oxygen mask, which is how she learned that Shirou had specifically entered the burning building for rescue.

"I'm just glad you're okay. If you're fine, I'll be going now..."

Before Shirou could finish speaking, Snow Pheasant interrupted him.

"Please... please wait a moment! I still don't know your name! And because of me, your clothes became all tattered. I'll find a way to compensate you!"

18 Pan-fried Dumplings

Under Snow Pheasant's somewhat insistent, though not overly forceful, request, Shirou still left his name and phone number before being allowed to depart.

"It's really great that no one was injured..."

Looking at Snow Pheasant, safe and sound, Shirou suddenly felt that his impulsive action hadn't been so bad after all.

At least the outcome was good.

Carrying his shopping bag and enduring the suspicious glances of others, Shirou returned to his dorm.

After putting his groceries in the fridge, Shirou took a shower and changed his clothes.

"These are beyond repair... I really liked this jacket, and it's a shame I can't buy it here anymore."

Looking at his now tattered jacket, Shirou could only reluctantly discard it.