Chapter 79: The Gift from Sigma
The reply was cryptic, but Shirou didn't overthink it; his attention was pulled elsewhere.
'Fine, fine, so you're a Master too, right?'
Even if Sigma claimed to be hiding something, there was still a line of basic common sense. For instance, it was impossible for Sigma to be a Class Servant, right? Therefore, calling Sigma a Master shouldn't be much of a problem.
Another strange Master added to the tally. Shirou couldn't help but look up at the sky and sigh.
[Shirou: Whether you're a Master or not doesn't change anything. However, the fact that you were willing to trust me and tell me the truth means I actually owe you a favor. I'll pay it back when I have the chance.]
Since the three of them were sticking together, seeing any one of them was equivalent to seeing them all. After clarifying his stance, Shirou received another message of ambiguous meaning.
[Sigma: Emiya, sorry. What I'm about to say might be a bit hard to understand.]
He suddenly said, out of nowhere:
[Did my statement just now count as "trusting" you?]
This wasn't just "hard to understand"—it had reached the level of a "riddle." Not knowing what kind of thing Sigma was trying to ask, Shirou couldn't possibly know how to answer; he could only wait for Sigma to provide a follow-up.
But no new reply arrived.
After waiting for about ten minutes, Shirou instinctively felt something was wrong. Even if Sigma hadn't intended to explain, it was unlikely he would leave this awkward status quo for so long without replying. This felt more like something had interrupted their communication midway.
[Shirou: Did something happen?]
About another ten minutes passed before a new message appeared.
[Sigma: I and the others in this house are surrounded. A unit is outside the house we're in, monitoring us.]
Shirou frowned. He glanced ahead, where the hotel building was still not in sight, then cross-referenced the direction toward the edge of the city. After weighing his options, Shirou finally stopped walking entirely and decisively changed his tone:
[Tell me your location. I'm coming over now.]
Since they were surrounded, the other side could launch an attack at any moment. If a faction employing Servants had discovered Sigma's leak, his current situation was dangerous. Moreover, a war between Servants could break out at the scene at any time. Not just Sigma—Ayaka nearby wouldn't be safe either. If Shirou were there to observe, he could act as a "fuse," preventing the situation from spiraling out of control.
Just as Shirou intended to start walking in the opposite direction, his thought was dismissed by Sigma.
[Sigma: Emiya, you don't need to come. The opposition is a human unit. To you, they are very weak—not strong enough to require you to come over.]
'I see... but why does "the opposition is human" mean "they are very weak to me"? Am I not a human?'
After a moment's hesitation, he added: [In fact, if you came over, I feel the opposition would be startled instead.]
'What do you mean, I'm actually a rejected "exploding gift box"?' Shirou was full of question marks regarding this.
[Shirou: What do you mean? In terms of combat power, Saber isn't weaker than me, right?]
If it was about scaring people with combat power, Saber could do that. Why on earth would seeing Shirou cause them to be "startled"?
[Sigma: No, the opposition is an operational unit called "Thorns." Four people in it were reassigned yesterday afternoon to participate in a sniping operation. It seems their psychological trauma hasn't healed yet.]
Shirou: "..."
"So it's my fault!?"
It was Shirou's mistake to forget that yelling directly wouldn't allow Sigma to hear him. His facial muscles twitching, Shirou reminded him persistently: [Diction. Watch your diction.]
Sigma seemed to say quite seriously:
[I've already been very careful with my diction.]
'You're quite the comedian, Sigma.'
The atmosphere of "black clouds pressing down on the city" vanished. The situation turned into simple small talk built upon the foundation of Shirou's injury—mental injury, that is.
Shirou walked and stopped, feeling like he was wasting time yet feeling utterly helpless. The person on the other side was typing lightheartedly—as if he had never had anyone to chat with like this before.
[Shirou: Understood. I won't come over. Be careful yourself, and help me look out for Miss Ayaka's safety.]
[Mhm. There's no need for you to step in, Emiya.]
He sent a separate line:
[Thank you.]
After a brief communication, the two decided to return to their own situations. Shirou continued his journey, and Sigma would handle the issue of being surrounded by the military himself. Just as Shirou thought it was truly over, Sigma sent a surprising message:
[I truly feel bad about hiding the matter of my Heroic Spirit from you. I will offer information as an apology.]
[Sigma: It's an impertinent request, but I hope you won't ask how I obtained this information.]
Facing his solemn phrasing, Shirou went silent for a moment before saying:
[I promise you.]
Sigma seemed to breathe a sigh of relief on the other side. Then, a new email appeared on the phone.
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Time continued to flow forward. Human lives moved forward in parallel. No one stops because someone else is treading water. While preparing within one's own world, abnormal incidents in other places will chase past on their own accord.
To use a video game analogy: information is cluttered, and there are no relevant "on-screen prompts" in one's field of vision. If one isn't careful, a major game "Event" will be missed. Even Shirou was not exempt from this.
So, what exactly did that make Sigma—who could retrospectively review things happening from other perspectives?
The answer was: he didn't know.
He couldn't understand the meaning of this uniqueness that made him different from everyone else—a trait even the most hardworking people didn't possess. Sigma, who was more mediocre than anyone and wasn't even working hard, was assigned the label of "Special." He could only view it as irony.
—And is using my ability for someone else's sake also an interference from the Watcher?
Sigma's confused thought was immediately met with a grumpy shrug from the "Shadow": "Nothing to do with me."
Although this wasn't exactly to help him—just a chip found to build good relations—Sigma, drawing on Shirou's experiences, questioned the "Shadow" and proactively "occupied" a piece of news he cared about that was visible within the Watcher's observation range.
The result concerned the current status of the Heroic Spirit he hadn't met, but had heard Shirou had fought against.
[Sigma: True Archer and a white-haired woman have engaged in battle at the Snowfield meat processing plant. The meat processing plant has been destroyed. True Berserker appeared at the same location and is believed to be in the same faction as the white-haired woman.]
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