It was a new day. Or perhaps not. Shirou went out to buy groceries as usual, but when he returned, he found his front door wide open.
Shirou immediately ruled out the possibility of a burglary. This was a magus's house, after all, with every necessary boundary field in place. Important ones, such as warding off idlers, had been set up by an expert magus like Touko Aozaki. If thieves could still break in, then nowhere in this world would be safe from burglary.
Who was it, Enjou or Shiki?
There were only two other people living in his house. Other than himself, only those two could have done it. Enjou was unlikely—he was not careless enough for that, and locking the door was a habit for him. Then it had to be Shiki. Even if there was no danger of burglars, she should not leave the door open. The air-conditioning would escape, and mosquitoes would get in.
Grumbling inwardly, Shirou stepped into the entryway, when a sudden sense of foreboding washed over him. Two pairs of shoes sat by the entrance, but both were men's shoes.
Who could it be?
Shirou entered the living room. Mikiya and Enjou sat solemnly on the brand-name sofa he had bought not long ago. When it came to living, the most important thing was to treat yourself well!
"What is wrong with you two? You look like Shiki got kidnapped. You both look half-dead," Shirou said half-jokingly, though he already had a rough idea of the answer.
Neither of them replied. Shirou's expression darkened, though he was not surprised in the slightest. "Hey, did I accidentally guess the truth again?"
He had seen this scene in the movie version of The Garden of Sinners. If he was not mistaken, today was the day Shiki took Enjou Tomoe back to Ogawa Apartment and ran into Souren Araya.
The two had fought, but Shiki had been no match for Souren Araya. After being completely overwhelmed, she had been taken away by him.
At Shirou's words, Enjou Tomoe's eyes lit up. Right—if it was someone as powerful as Emiya, he would surely be able to defeat that man and rescue Ryougi.
With that thought, Enjou Tomoe abruptly raised his head and said to Shirou earnestly, "Emiya, I have a request. You have to agree to it!"
"I probably know what you want to ask. Tell me what happened first," Shirou said, neither clearly agreeing nor refusing.
Hearing that, Enjou Tomoe calmly recounted what had happened at Ogawa Apartment to Shirou.
"So it really was that Mapo priest, Souren Araya?" Shirou nodded, then said to Enjou Tomoe, "Don't worry, Enjou. Shiki will be fine. If he wanted to kill her, Souren Araya would not have gone to so much trouble to take her away. Rather than worrying about her, you should worry about yourself."
"You must already understand that you're just a replica, and a mass-produced one at that. Your lifespan is far worse than that of other dolls. I know Mikiya's boss. She's an exceptional dollmaker. So you have a choice now: obtain a better body, or wait to weather away."
"With a new body, I'll have the power to rescue Ryougi, right?" Enjou Tomoe asked.
"Though I hate to crush your confidence, I still have to say it: absolutely not." Shirou poured cold water over Enjou Tomoe. "That way, you can continue living, but don't even think about taking on Souren Araya. Among the humans who have fought me, he is nearly the strongest. He isn't someone you can deal with just by saying, 'I won't be human anymore.'"
"I... understand. Only by living can I experience more of this world. I choose to keep living."
Snap! Shirou snapped his fingers and said to Mikiya, "Good. We're friends, more or less. Since you've made your choice—Mikiya, take Enjou to see Touko Aozaki."
"What about you?" Mikiya asked.
"Of course I'm getting ready to rescue Shiki. Do you expect me to leave her with Souren Araya forever?"
"I understand." Mikiya was a man of action as well. Once he had made a choice, he acted on it. Emiya Residence was once again left with only Shirou.
"So it was finally beginning, Spiral of Paradox. And Souren Araya, it was time to settle this nuisance once and for all. Well, even if I said that, Shiki would be the one making the move this time."
Come to think of it, I can't just sit around either. I should go see Touko Aozaki!
"So Araya abducted Shiki?" In Touko Aozaki's temporary workshop, she continued working with her hands as she asked the question.
"Yes. Shirou said he had a plan, but I'm still worried. Miss Touko Aozaki, do you have any better ideas?" Mikiya looked calm, but inwardly, he was panicking badly. After all, his girlfriend had been captured.
"That brat..." Touko Aozaki paused her work. Mikiya and Enjou did not have much time, and making a doll was simply unrealistic, even if she herself was a romantic.
Still, although that was true, she could make a small item that acted as a preservative—that was not difficult, at least not for Grand Dollmaker Touko Aozaki.
"Then do as he said." Having finished her work, Touko Aozaki put her glasses back on and regained her white-collar air. "After all, that guy's surname is Emiya."
"Emiya?"
"Ah, both Emiya Shirou and his adoptive father, Kiritsugu Emiya, carried their own justice in their hearts. For example, Kiritsugu Emiya's justice had once been rational: slaughtering the few for the sake of the many. That man was fully capable of doing that."
The deeds of the Magus Killer were not difficult to uncover. With Touko Aozaki's abilities, naturally, she could piece them together.
"Wouldn't that be too extreme?" Mikiya recalled the middle-aged man he had met only once and asked in confusion, "And Mr. Emiya doesn't seem like that sort of person!"
"Extreme?" Touko Aozaki smiled dismissively. "If that counts as extreme, then what does that brat count as? Don't let the fact that he shares some of your good-natured disposition fool you. That's only in ordinary times.
His justice exists entirely for the people around him. Mystery always attracts mystery, but the moment anyone dares lay a hand on someone close to him, what awaits them will surely be a monster—in every sense of the word."
Touko Aozaki's words were not baseless. Take herself, for example: she had not seen a single Sealed Designation enforcer in over three years. Though Touko Aozaki had taught them a sufficient lesson, having none come after her at all was still rather excessive.
She had once grown curious and investigated. What she found was a flash of light; under that single attack, the Sealed Designation enforcers had not even left behind ashes.
Well, at least it saved on cremation costs.
"Oh? You understand him quite thoroughly, Touko Aozaki. Looks like you've put some effort into studying that too!" Shirou suddenly appeared behind the two of them.
It had to be said, although they were both workshops, Touko Aozaki's temporary workshop was far better than Shirou's. Or rather, Shirou's so-called workshop was just an empty warehouse.