Shirou Emiya Stands on Terra: Chapter 6

After waking up and sensing something was wrong, he then used sweeping to numb himself, then he joined a strange company and had a welcome banquet. Only after everyone had left did Shirou Emiya feel an indescribable emotion.

Was he lonely? He didn't know.

Looking at the palm of his right hand, Shirou Emiya said softly, "Trace on."

Lines like circuits appeared, spreading from his right hand to his right arm, then to his neck and cheeks.

Shirou Emiya's consciousness was interrupted.

His entire being felt like it had sunk into the ocean.

"Ah, that's so like you."

He said this while gazing at the setting sun in the distance.

Sinking.

"Is your weapon inventory sufficient, King of Heroes?"

He was in a world filled with countless swords, holding a sword and pointing it at a Golden Flash.

Sinking.

"It's going to hurt a bit, so you have to grit your teeth and bear it!"

He held up a left hand that was clearly not his own, gripping a strangely shaped sword, with many swords piercing out from his body, yet he still ran towards the girl in front of him with determination.

Sinking.

"What kind of scene does this world, filled with countless swords, look like to you? To me, they are all tombstones."

Standing in a snowfield filled with swords, he asked the woman in golden armor.

Sinking.

"Hey, this is not a place you should be right now."

A deep male voice said, and then a red cloth wrapped around his hand, pulling him up.

He woke up lying in the bathtub and quickly sat up.

"Cough... cough cough..."

After catching his breath, Shirou Emiya looked at the Holy Shroud in his right hand, still shaken.

"What were those just now?"

Shirou Emiya took a deep breath, then got out of the bathtub.

He changed his clothes and sat on the bed.

Laying the Holy Shroud flat in front of him, Shirou Emiya organized the similar-yet-different scenes he had just seen.

He understood the theory of parallel worlds, because that guy—the existence that was Shirou Emiya walking to the end of his ideals—was the same yet different from him.

Their essence was both Shirou Emiya, but they differed based on their experiences and choices.

The problem now was, why did he have these memories?

"If I want to confirm, do I have to do it again?"

Shirou Emiya looked at his right hand, contemplating whether to do it again.

After hesitating for a moment, Shirou Emiya placed his hand on the Holy Shroud and concentrated his mind.

"Trace on!"

Magic circuits appeared on his right arm and cheek, crackling.

Shirou Emiya's consciousness did not interrupt this time, but he could clearly feel the circuits being squeezed, the stinging and pain stimulating his body and consciousness.

Shirou Emiya endured without crying out, sweat dripping continuously.

He had a premonition that if he could endure this period, there would be no more such problems later.

The magic circuits, like circuits, had spread throughout his entire body, and the pain intensified.

"Just a little longer..."

Shirou Emiya gritted his teeth and endured. The lines formed by the magic circuits reached a certain point and then rapidly retreated, and the pain in Shirou Emiya's body instantly disappeared.

He broke out in a cold sweat, but the pain throughout his body made him unable to get out of bed to wash. He could only lie on the bed, looking at the ceiling.

The moment the circuits retreated, some strange things appeared in his mind.

It was a bit difficult to describe, but it seemed like he could choose those things.

Adjusting his lying position, Shirou Emiya delved deeper with his consciousness.

He looked at the doors in front of him, colored gold, red, purple, and black.

Shirou Emiya thought for a moment, then pushed open the golden door.

There was no special reason; it was simply closer.

Upon opening it, parts of the memories surged into his mind.

The earlier memories matched up, and the faces and names of people he had forgotten were also answered here.

That night, he was drawn into a ritual called the Holy Grail War, and at the brink of death, he summoned Saber.

Afterward, the two participated in many battles, and he also learned the correct way to use his magic from Archer.

In the end, he had Saber destroy the Holy Grail, and she disappeared after its destruction. This led to a memory fragment he had just seen, where he looked at the setting sun in the distance and spoke.

Saber had been standing there originally...

After that, it was ordinary daily life. Watching Illya and Taiga bicker with each other, Shirou smiled as he watched them argue, and then his consciousness was forcibly removed.

After leaving, Shirou woke up directly in his bed, rather than remaining in that space.

He couldn't re-enter it now, as if everything he had just experienced was merely a dream.

However, the memory fragments he had seen were all retained.

"Not a user, but a creator?" Shirou found the phrase very familiar, as if someone had said something similar to him.

Shirou clenched his fists, not immediately using magic.

After all, his body felt like it was protesting, with aches all over.

He should rest moderately now. His past self might have pushed through and practiced, but he couldn't do that now. He was in an unfamiliar place and couldn't bother others.

Although he was sore, it was only to the extent of overexertion, not so bad that he couldn't get out of bed.

Shirou stretched by his bed and then went to the living room. He found several books on the table, with a small stack of cash and two cards next to them. A note was attached to the cash: "Deducted from your future salary, spend it freely."

Shirou looked at the cards. One was his identification in Longmen, and the other was his Penguin Logistics employee ID. The photo had been taken last night.

After putting the cards and cash in the cabinet in his room and changing his clothes simply, Shirou took a glass of water and the leftover bread from yesterday for breakfast, then began absorbing the knowledge of this world.

05 May Reality Be As Beautiful As Imagination

Shirou opened a very simple picture book in his hand, which taught children how to distinguish between common races.

Upon opening it, Shirou discovered a problem. The text wasn't what he was familiar with, but rather characters he had never seen before, yet he could still understand them.

Closing the book, Shirou tried to write the characters directly but found he couldn't recall how to write them.

Opening the book again, the moment he saw the characters, he knew how to read them.

"What's going on? This feeling of having knowledge implanted... is it the Holy Grail?"

Shirou thought about it every which way but couldn't figure out why. Finally, he recalled information about Servants being granted modern knowledge during the Holy Grail War.

With that thought, Shirou opened the book and read a paragraph, after which he understood one thing.

That is, he only had knowledge of the written language; it seemed he didn't have any other knowledge.

"They really went all out!" Shirou scratched his head. He had thought he could save time on reading and do other things, but it seemed he still had to study diligently.

However, having knowledge of the written language was good; at least it saved him the trouble of learning the alphabet, as learning languages was one of his weaknesses.

After finishing the picture book and using similar animals he knew to make connections, he quickly learned about some common races.

For example, the people at Penguin Logistics.

Exusiai is a Sarkaz, characterized by the halo above her head. She is said to particularly love sweets, and all Sarkaz are skilled bakers.

Croissant is a Dolypod, characterized by the pair of horns on her head and the whip-like tail behind her. Most of them seem to have considerable endurance.

Sora and Texas are Lupos, commonly known as wolves, characterized by the ears and tail on their heads. Their sense of smell and hearing are sharper.

However, it's important to note that Lupos are often confused with Perros. The difference can be distinguished by their ears and tails, but Shirou couldn't differentiate them at the moment. He remembered them as Lupos because the group had briefly explained their races yesterday.

And Emperor, his new boss, seems to belong to the Ancients.

Ancients are a bit more complex. To describe them using Shirou's memory, they would be like the common beastmen found in games.

Shirou closed the book, carefully thinking about a few of the knowledge points, then got up and put all the books back on the bookshelf. He placed the picture book slightly to the side, indicating he had read it.

Knock, knock, knock, the door was knocked, followed by Exusiai's voice.

"If no one's there, I'm opening the door."

Then the door was opened. It took less than three seconds from knocking to opening the door, giving Shirou no time to react.

"Ah, you're awake. We'll take you out on the town to get you familiar with the area, and see if there's anything you want to buy."

Exusiai was wearing casual clothes, and Texas, standing outside the door, was also in casual clothes, although her black coat added quite a bit of... underworld vibe?

But that was a bit rude, so Shirou quickly dismissed the thought.

"Then please wait a moment, you two come in and sit down first."

Shirou invited the two in to sit and poured two cups of instant coffee. Knowing Exusiai's race, he added some Lactate and sugar. He also added some Lactate to Texas's cup.

Lactate was generally similar to the milk Shirou was familiar with, just called Lactate here. For some reason, when Shirou saw the name, he thought of some strange-looking things.

"Thanks. Remember to make a list of what you want to buy."

Exusiai took the coffee Shirou handed her, took a sip, and her eyes lit up.

Texas also took the coffee, nodded slightly, and took a sip.

A faint milky taste, not bad. Much better than what Exusiai made.

Shirou walked to his room and changed into his original clothes, which he had washed last night. Fortunately, there was a dryer function. Although Texas had helped him buy clothes, they were more like loungewear. It was better to change into something else for going out.

After changing clothes, Shirou put his money and ID in pockets on different sides.

He glanced at the Holy Shroud by the bed. Shirou thought for a moment before wrapping it around his right arm and then putting on his jacket.

Walking out of the room, he saw Exusiai and Texas had finished their coffee and put the cups in the sink.

"Ready?"

Hearing the door open, Exusiai jumped up from her chair and turned around to ask.

"Almost. I'll decide what to buy when I actually see it."

Shirou closed the door and then felt the money in his pocket.

It should be enough, right? He didn't know the purchasing power of this money, but it should be enough to buy some essentials.

I hope reality is as good as I imagine.

"Then let's go."

Texas put her hands in her pockets and walked ahead with a swagger.

"Should we go look at clothes first?"

Exusiai followed, suggesting their first stop.

Shirou closed the door behind him and then caught up with the two.

Shirou walked along the main streets of Longmen, looking at the text on the signs around him as he went.