Chapter 126: Suppression by Two Divine Authorities, Shirou VS Hermes Familia!
Wiene's sudden arrival interrupted Shirou's instruction, but he soon resumed teaching Ais and Lefiya.
Thus, the morning passed, and the two girls were drenched in sweat.
In order not to expose Shirou's identity, they couldn't return directly to the Loki Familia. Instead, they had to clean their post-training bodies at a public bathhouse, making sure nothing seemed off before going back to the Familia.
Shirou planned to take Wiene back to the Familia first.
But he hadn't expected Wiene to show interest in the bathhouse and want to go have a look.
Although, as an Xenos, Wiene couldn't bathe inside, just bringing her over to look around wouldn't be a problem.
Shirou brought Wiene to the entrance of the bathhouse. Since it was early morning, there were almost no guests.
Ais and Lefiya had already entered the changing room, so Shirou took Wiene to browse the lobby.
"Now that I think about it, the Hestia Familia still doesn't have a dedicated bath area," Shirou muttered to himself. "Even though the church expansion is complete and it's suitable for living now, there still aren't any restrooms or bathing areas.
Familia members still have to use public facilities, which is a bit of a hassle.
Maybe I should build a private bathroom and bath space later..."
Shirou spoke to himself, planning the future development of the Familia.
Meanwhile, Wiene, perhaps feeling a bit bored, began wandering around the lobby and unknowingly entered the bathhouse interior.
When Shirou came to his senses and noticed Wiene was gone, he was startled.
He quickly searched around and found a half-open door.
Worried that Wiene's identity as an Xenos might be exposed, he didn't have time to think and rushed into the half-open doorway—only to witness something he definitely wasn't supposed to see.
"Ah."
"KYAA!!!"
Ais and Lefiya, who had just finished undressing and were about to enter the bath, appeared clearly in front of Shirou's eyes, their slender figures unobstructed.
Such a sight, for any man, would be full of allure.
But the problem was, this situation was also a guaranteed path to social death for any man!
"G-Get out right now!!"
Lefiya's scream echoed.
"Sorry!!"
Shirou didn't have time to think. He hurriedly backed out.
Realizing he had accidentally entered the women's side of the bathhouse, he quickly ran to the men's side to search for Wiene—and sure enough, found her there.
And not only was Wiene present, but another unexpected figure was there as well—God Miach.
"Huh? Isn't this Emiya?"
Seeing Shirou, Miach gave his signature gentle smile.
As he greeted Shirou, he also looked over at Wiene beside him, his expression showing slight confusion when his gaze fell on the girl.
Of course, he quickly concealed his confusion and spoke to Shirou instead, "Is this child with you? Don't tell me she's your daughter, Emiya?"
"Come on, Miach-sama, don't joke around. How could I have a daughter this big?"
"Hahaha, true enough."
Miach chuckled and nodded, then handed Wiene back to him.
During this, Shirou asked Miach why he was at the bathhouse so early in the morning. Miach explained that it was his routine—he liked to come for a morning soak.
Because there were few people at this hour, his overly handsome appearance wouldn't attract much attention.
As for why he came to a public bathhouse—it was no doubt because Miach Familia was extremely poor and, like the Hestia Familia, didn't have a private bath.
Miach himself was a frugal god who tried to reduce the burden on his Familia as much as possible.
"By the way, Emiya, you haven't come to the Azure Pharmacy for a follow-up lately," Miach said with interest. "Has that divine injury on your body already healed?"
"..."
Shirou was a bit embarrassed by Miach's words.
Although the divine injury had sealed his Unlimited Blade Works, it hadn't affected him in any other significant way.
If Miach hadn't brought it up, he might have forgotten about it entirely.
Moreover, there were currently no opponents in Orario that Shirou couldn't handle. Even without Unlimited Blade Works, it wasn't a problem.
The only thing to possibly worry about would be fighting gods—but since divine power wasn't allowed to be used in Genkai, Shirou didn't need to be overly concerned.
Still, a divine injury was a wound nonetheless, and Shirou hoped to heal it eventually.
So he made an agreement with Miach: he would go for a follow-up at the Azure Pharmacy when he had some free time.
However, Miach quietly mentioned that if Shirou had enough money saved up, it would be best to go to the Dian Cecht Familia and seek treatment from the "Saint of the Battlefield," Armid.
In all of Orario, only Armid might be capable of healing Shirou's divine wound.
Shirou felt quite appreciative of Miach's attitude—after all, few would willingly hand over a money-making opportunity to another Familia.
Miach's kindness and uprightness were well-known among the gods of Orario.
"Well then, I'll take my leave, Emiya." After finishing the conversation, Miach smiled. "I won't interrupt your date."
"Date?"
Shirou looked at Miach, confused by his words.
When he turned around, he saw Ais and Lefiya, now freshly bathed, standing in front of him.
"I'm sorry!"
Seeing Lefiya's flushed cheeks, Shirou immediately apologized.
But Ais calmly said, "It's fine. You just saw us naked—it's not a big deal."
"No, no, no—that's a huge problem!" Lefiya turned and looked at Ais in shock, then awkwardly added, "If it was just me, I could accept it, but even Ais-senpai was seen completely naked—this is terrible!"
"Huh? It's fine if he saw only you?"
Shirou stared blankly at Lefiya.
"N-No, that's not what I meant!" Lefiya frantically waved her hands, her face bright red. "I just mean... someone like me doesn't have a body worth seeing, but Ais-senpai is different."
"Lefiya, don't say that." Shirou's expression grew serious. "As a woman, your body is also attractive. You shouldn't belittle yourself like that."
"M-My body is... attractive?" Lefiya was stunned by Shirou's words. Then, the girl couldn't help but softly mutter, "Should I have... joined him in the bath earlier...?"
"What?"
Because Lefiya's voice was too soft, Shirou didn't catch the last part.
"It's nothing, nothing! I was just talking to myself!" Lefiya replied in a panic. "Anyway, Ais-senpai and I will head back first!"
With that, too embarrassed to linger, she quickly pulled Ais along and dashed out of the bathhouse.
.
.
.
After parting ways with Ais and Lefiya, Shirou returned once more to the Hephaestus Familia and resumed focusing on forging.
His smithing skills had greatly improved by now.
During the Divine Game against the death god Thanatos, it was through the numerous weapons he forged in advance that he had helped the Loki Familia reverse the situation and achieve victory in the end.
However, despite Shirou's already considerable skill, he was still far from forging first-grade weapons—that is, divine-class armaments.
Currently, Shirou had no way of forging divine weapons and couldn't even understand what it would take to do so.
So, he sought guidance from Hephaestus.
As the goddess of smithing, Hephaestus didn't seem to have a clear answer either.
She said quietly, "Back in Tenkai, other smithing gods and I could easily forge divine weapons. We didn't even need to infuse divine power—they just came out as divine weapons. But after descending to Genkai, something seems to be missing. Even infusing divine power doesn't guarantee success."
"Even with divine power, it's not possible?"
"Yeah. Maybe it's the difference between Genkai and Tenkai—or perhaps something has changed within me as the goddess of smithing. In short, forging divine weapons in Genkai is something no god or mortal has managed to do."
Hephaestus continued quietly, "The golden blade you once forged is the closest thing I've seen to a divine weapon. If you can refine it further, perhaps you might reach the threshold and achieve something no one has in Genkai."
"To further refine Caliburn..."
Shirou could think of only one method—forging the true holy sword of ultimate strength: Excalibur.
As a divine armament, if Shirou could forge Excalibur, it would undoubtedly count as achieving the feat of forging a divine weapon.
However, the difficulty of forging a divine armament was the same as forging a divine weapon.
Shirou couldn't even project a divine armament, let alone understand its structure—so how could he forge one?
While Shirou was lost in thought, Hephaestus said, "Perhaps you could consult Welf.
As someone who inherited the power of the spirit race, he and his ancestors have essentially always used divine power to forge weapons.
Maybe he's touched the edge of forging divine weapons before and can offer help."
"Welf, huh."
Shirou nodded. He remembered that Hephaestus had previously mentioned persuading Welf to forge magic swords.
At the time, Welf had gone to the dungeon to level up, so Shirou hadn't had the chance to speak to him. But now, Welf had returned from the dungeon and advanced to Level 2, having acquired the development ability [Blacksmith]. That meant Shirou now had the opportunity to meet with him.
So Shirou promptly took his leave from Hephaestus and went to meet Welf.
.
.
.
"You want me to teach you how to forge magic swords?"
In Welf's forge.
Shirou didn't immediately ask Welf to forge magic swords. Instead, he first asked if Welf could teach him how to forge them.
While Shirou could forge any weapon he could project, magic swords weren't replicas of existing items—in fact, each magic sword was unique.
For Shirou, if he had never seen a weapon before, he couldn't forge it. Naturally, this meant he couldn't forge magic swords.
So, he sought Welf's instruction.
Maybe the other party could tell him how to forge a magic sword.
In the process, Welf might even rekindle his passion for forging magic swords. You could say it was a plan to kill two birds with one stone.
However, things didn't go as Shirou had hoped—Welf did not nod and agree.
With a complex expression, Welf said, "It's not that I don't want to teach you how to forge magic swords—it's just that this isn't something ordinary people can learn.
The forging techniques of the Crozzo family are based on the bloodline of the spirit race. Without that bloodline, it's impossible to use the Crozzo family's forging methods to make magic swords."
"What do you mean? What's so special about the Crozzo family's magic sword forging method?"
Shirou asked curiously.
Welf hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke: "I wouldn't tell anyone else, but since it's you, Emiya, I can tell you the reason.
The reason the Crozzo family can forge magic swords is because we infuse our weapons with our essence blood.
Essence blood isn't just regular blood—it's a special energy that fuses soul and will.
Only when someone of the Crozzo bloodline enters a forging frenzy and resonates with the weapon can a magic sword be forged."
"Essence blood... soul and will…"
Hearing Welf's explanation, Shirou hadn't expected it to be something so mystical.
Judging by Welf's expression, he didn't seem to be lying.
Shirou realized that the Crozzo family's forging techniques were indeed useless to him.
So, he gave a helpless smile and changed the topic: "Then Welf, are you still unwilling to forge magic swords? Even though you have this talent?"
"What, have you been influenced by other people in your Familia too?" Welf smiled at Shirou. "I want to forge a sword that is uniquely mine. You should be able to understand that perfectly. Until I reach the peak of blacksmithing with my own strength, I won't rely on the false power of magic swords."
"..."
Seeing that Welf couldn't be persuaded, Shirou didn't press further.
He decided to report this back to Hephaestus and turned to leave the Hephaestus Familia's base.
Just as Shirou was preparing to return to the Hestia Familia, he suddenly noticed a black shadow flashing at the far end of the street. It looked casual, but was clearly observing him in secret.
"I think that's one of Ouranos's black-robed followers? Has he set his sights on me?"
Shirou hadn't expected Ouranos's men to be secretly watching him.
While growing more vigilant inside, he acted as though nothing had happened and quietly walked back to the Familia base.
Once Shirou returned, the black-robed figure completely vanished. Shirou was now certain that someone had been following him—Ouranos had indeed set his eyes on him.
Shirou didn't know the reason—or rather, there were too many possible reasons.
Whether it was his identity as the "Sword Demon," the existence of the Xenos girl Wiene, or his collaboration with Thanatos—any one of them was enough to make the supreme god take interest in him.
Even though this development was inevitable, Shirou still felt enormous pressure. After all, Ouranos, as the highest authority in Orario, possessed unimaginable influence.
Even if Shirou wanted to resist, there was no telling what dangers might come.
That's why Shirou suddenly felt an urgent desire to heal his divine injury—so he'd have more ways to respond when danger struck. He decided to go immediately and seek treatment from Armid, the Saint of the Battlefield.
Thanks to forging and dungeon exploration, Shirou had earned a great deal of money by now, enough to pay for Armid's expensive healing techniques.
He had originally planned to go to the Dian Cecht Familia the next day, but for some unknown reason, he suddenly developed a severe fever that same night.
Since the Familia didn't have medicine for high fevers, Shirou figured he might as well seek out a healer in advance.
Not wanting to trouble the others in the Familia, he told no one and quietly left on his own, heading toward the Apothecary District.
Along the way, he felt a growing sense of urgency for reasons he couldn't explain.
A deep inner anxiety pushed him forward.
He even took an obscure, narrow path he wouldn't normally walk just to get there faster.
"I have to… I have to get there quickly!"
Burning with fever and a splitting headache, Shirou's mind was filled with just one thought—get to the Apothecary District.
However, just as he was about to arrive, a strange feeling suddenly spread through his heart.
Why was he so desperate to get to the Apothecary District?
With his physical constitution, even a severe fever should be something he could recover from after a night's rest.
So where was this intense sense of urgency coming from?
In that moment, his rational thinking returned, and he suddenly stopped in his tracks, realizing he might be doing something he shouldn't be doing.
But he had no idea why he was like this.
Had his thoughts been manipulated by someone?
The moment that idea surfaced, a flurry of crossbow bolts shot out from the darkness.
They came from all directions, but all aimed at one target—Shirou's body!
"Clang!"
Due to the worsening fever, Shirou couldn't immediately complete a projection.
He barely managed to roll aside, dodging the incoming attack.
"He dodged it?" A shadow in the darkness sounded mildly surprised. "You really aren't a low-level adventurer, are you, Emiya Shirou."
"Who are you? Why are you attacking me?"
Shirou clutched his aching head and looked toward the shadows.
There, he saw a blue-haired, glasses-wearing girl, along with a large group of adventurers.
All of the adventurers bore the same emblem—a winged traveler's cap. And there was only one Familia with that symbol: Hermes Familia!
"Why is the Hermes Familia...?"
Shirou looked at the girl in front of him. Although it was their first meeting, he quickly guessed her identity—Asfi, the captain of Hermes Familia.
Known as the top producer of magical tools in all of Orario, Asfi was a mysterious presence who often moved behind the scenes.
Shirou had never imagined she would appear before him—let alone lead a direct assault.
"Unfortunately, you don't have the right to know, Emiya Shirou," Asfi said coolly as she stared at his weakened state. "Just know this—today is the day you die."
As she spoke, Asfi and the Hermes Familia members moved to surround him.
In the face of such an attack, if Shirou had been in top condition, he could have easily handled them—even without projection techniques.
But today, he was in terrible shape.
The pounding headache, the burning fever, and a strange influence clouded his thoughts—just like how earlier he had been consumed by the obsession to go to the Apothecary District.
This bizarre feeling was clearly not natural.
Normal adventurers absolutely wouldn't have the kind of power to cause this. Even if it were a cursed item, it shouldn't have affected Shirou so drastically.
Therefore, Shirou strongly suspected he was under the influence of divine authorities!
Moreover, he had a vague sense that the headache and the obsessive compulsion came from two different types of divine powers.
It was highly likely that he was being targeted by two different gods, and was simultaneously being suppressed by two divine authorities!
"This is really bad."
Shirou took a deep breath, dodging a sudden sneak attack from one of the Hermes Familia members.
He could have taken the opportunity to counterattack, but the excruciating headache made it impossible. He could only retreat in embarrassment, avoiding more incoming attacks.
To deflect the rain of bolts shooting from the shadows, Shirou was forced to draw Caliburnfrom his back and use the blade to parry.
"That's the legendary top-tier magic sword, isn't it?" Asfi seemed to recognize his weapon. "Good thing I came prepared."
As she spoke, Asfi unleashed a cursed dagger.
The power of the curse instantly sealed the Golden Blade, dimming its holy light.
"A magic sword curse...? You guys have that too?"
"No, no. I invented this technique. The Dark Faction just bought cursed weapons from me." Asfi said bluntly.
"I'm sorry, but everything today has been meticulously prepared to ensure your death. If you don't want to suffer more pain, surrender and give up."
As she spoke, the members of Hermes Familia closed in again.
Shirou glanced around—there were nearly twenty of them.
Asfi herself was Level 4, and the man standing beside her was also Level 4. The rest ranged from Level 3 to Level 2 adventurers.
"So, you're the ones who've come to kill me?"
Shirou forced himself to stay standing despite the worsening discomfort and spoke slowly.
"That's right. I don't care how many levels you've hidden—whether you're Level 4, Level 5, or even Level 6—it doesn't matter," Asfi said calmly. "Now that you've fallen into our trap, you won't be leaving here alive."
"Is that so? If you're so confident... then I'll just have to destroy your confidence with my own hands."
Shirou's gaze turned cold. Gritting through the pain that felt like it would split his skull, he unleashed his full power.
"Trace On."
"Destroy him!"
In an instant, countless swords appeared behind Shirou—like the scythe of death itself—and slammed into the ground!
The Hermes Familia members hadn't expected such an attack and were completely caught off guard. Several of them were struck by the barrage of swords and were heavily injured on the spot.
"This kind of attack—don't tell me you're…?"
Asfi's eyes widened in shock.
She stared at Shirou and exclaimed in disbelief:
"Emiya Shirou… you're the Sword Demon from the Dungeon!!"
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