Jobless Reincarnation: Emiya the Great Hero Must Show His True Skills

Page 186

One step, two steps...

Suddenly, a double footstep sound came from the lower jaw of the red dragon on the single path.

They walked at different paces than Shirou and the others, and the sound of two sets of footsteps slowly rose from the other end of the road.

"..."

Shirou and Rigel were both wary of this sudden encounter, but they didn't panic. After all, the Red Dragon's Jaw was a route that most caravans would take, so encountering passing merchants was to be expected.

However, they soon realized that something was wrong.

At the far end of the road, only two figures appeared. The two people were neither riding horses nor traveling by carriage, but were walking on foot.

As the distance closed, Shirou was able to see the appearance of the person who had come.

It was a couple, a man and a woman.

The man was extremely tall, with silver hair and golden eyes. He wasn't wearing any special armor, but rather a rough white coat made of some kind of leather. His most striking feature was his extremely solemn gaze. He didn't say a word, yet he exuded an unusually powerful sense of oppression.

The man was accompanied by a young girl with black hair and a white mask on her face. It was a pure white mask without any patterns or decorations. Even in this world, ordinary people would not wear such a mask, making her stand out at first glance.

As Shirou observed the man and woman in front of him, he suddenly noticed that Rigel and Alice were in a very unusual state.

Alice's face turned pale, as if she had encountered some kind of terrifying curse. Her whole body trembled uncontrollably, and even her legs felt weak.

Rijrud was slightly better off than Alice, but he was still extremely nervous and had even instinctively drawn the Demon-Slaying Spear from his back.

"This is what you are doing?"

Shirou couldn't understand why the two people beside him were behaving so strangely.

Why show hostility when you've just encountered a couple of strangers?

Rigel and Alice were completely lost in a daze, and didn't even have the strength to respond to Shirou.

Just then, the silver-haired man suddenly looked at Rijerud and said, "Hmm...? I say, are you a Spelud?"

"..."

When faced with the silver-haired man's question, Rachel Rudd's attitude was extremely urgent, even flustered.

He spoke in a trembling voice, "Shirou, Alice, do not act rashly!"

You could hear his voice trembling.

Shirou couldn't understand why Rigel was in this state.

Although he found the silver-haired man unusual, he did not sense any hostility. However, unlike him, Rijerud and Alice's hostility towards the silver-haired man was almost overflowing.

Do they know who this man is?

Based on this thinking, Shirou also showed hostility towards the silver-haired man.

The silver-haired man then spoke to himself, "Hmm? Judging from that voice, you're Rigellude Speludia? I didn't recognize you at first because you're bald. Why are you in a place like this? And isn't that red-haired girl over there Alice Bereas Greirat? Oh, I see. Rigellude, you who like children, you're the one who escorted the children who were forcibly sent to the Demon Continent back here, aren't you?"

The silver-haired man spoke calmly.

For some reason, Shirou sensed a feeling of meeting an old friend from the other person's words, not only towards Rigel, but also towards Alice.

However, Alice spoke with an almost terrifying tone: "You... how do you know my name!"

Rachel Rudd also spoke up warily, "Who are you! How do you know my name!"

The two men's attitudes left Shirou completely bewildered.

He didn't understand why there was such a near-disagreement between the two sides' attitudes.

It's like talking to a brick wall.

There seems to be some kind of invisible information gap between Ridge Rudd, Alice, and the silver-haired man in front of them.

"Although it's strange to meet you in such a strange place... it's good that you seem to be doing well."

The silver-haired man ignored their hostility and spoke gently.

His gaze quickly shifted to the third person, Shirou.

The next second, a look of confusion appeared in his fierce eyes for the first time, and he said, "Hmm? Red hair, and a strand of white hair? What's that strange sword on your body? Kid, who exactly are you?"

Chapter 252 Showdown with Dragon God Orsteed!

"..."

Seeing the silver-haired man staring at him with indifferent eyes, most people would probably have fallen into panic at this point.

Shirou, however, did not react in this way. He simply looked at the other person calmly and replied, "We are strangers. Do I need to answer your question?"

"That's true... I apologize for disturbing you."

The silver-haired man was surprisingly easy to talk to. After hearing Shirou's words, he nodded in agreement and then actually looked like he was about to leave.

Upon hearing his actions, the girl wearing the white mask couldn't help but whisper, "Is he just leaving like that?"

"It's not advisable to have too much contact with other people right now, so let's leave it at that."

The silver-haired man uttered incomprehensible, subjectless words before turning to leave without looking back.

The black-haired girl followed behind him.

As the two sides were about to part ways, the atmosphere relaxed slightly, at least it was no longer as tense as before.

Shirou glanced at Alice and Rigel beside him and noticed that their attitudes were noticeably more relaxed than before, clearly because the silver-haired man had moved away and they were gradually letting their guard down.

"You will understand about me soon enough."

The silver-haired man spoke words that seemed to have profound meaning.

Shirou watched the other man's departing figure, feeling that there was something extremely special about this man that he couldn't ignore.

If I had to explain it, it would be like the deity who frequently appears in his dreams...

As Shirou fell into thought, the silver-haired man suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The black-haired girl beside him suddenly spoke up: "By the way, Alsterd, have you noticed that the red-haired boy has never seemed afraid of you? Is he unaffected by the curse?"

"..."

As soon as the black-haired girl finished speaking, the silver-haired man known as Alsteid abruptly stopped moving.

He turned around with a cold expression, his gaze fixed on the direction where Shirou was.

This time, Shirou could even clearly feel an astonishing pressure, and he instinctively retreated, but he managed to keep his footing and did not fall into a chaotic situation due to the opponent's aura.

However, although Shirou withstood Orsteed's aura, Rigel and Alice beside him showed obvious signs of panic at this moment.

Not only the weaker Alice, but even the Emperor-level Rijrud was unable to steady his steps due to extreme trembling.

Seeing this, Shirou finally realized that something seemed subtly wrong.

The enormous impact of certain information gaps is having a profound effect on reality without him even realizing it.

But it was too late for him to change his mind; he could only watch helplessly as the wrong thing happened.

Because Alsted was already walking straight toward him.

"As expected, you were indeed unaffected by the curse."

Auersted looked at Shirou with surprise and scrutiny. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask you one more time. Who exactly are you?"

"..."

Seeing the imposing aura of the silver-haired man before him, who seemed poised to start a fight at any moment, Shirou realized he could no longer run away, and silently spoke:

"Shouldn't you give your name before asking me?"

"I'm sorry, I overlooked that."

The silver-haired man actually apologized very seriously, and then said, "My name is Auersted, and as for my identity, just consider me a passerby."

Seeing the other party's sincerity, Shirou relaxed his guard slightly and replied:

"My name is Shirou Grellard."

"I've never heard of that name before... But since you're Grerat, what are your parents' names?"

“Paul Grellatt and Senis Grellatt, I am their adopted son.”

“…Hmm? Paul? Paul shouldn’t have any sons, only two daughters.”

Hearing Auersted's strange-sounding words, Shirou couldn't help but ask, "Do you know my adoptive parents?"

"I guess so, I've had some interactions with them by chance."

Alsteed spoke incoherently.

This made Shirou wary.

It wasn't that he had any doubts about Olsteed; he simply knew Paul's temperament.

As the head of the Grellatt family, Paul is the most unreliable one. He often attracts inexplicable threats and has made countless enemies in the past.

If this Alsteid is also an enemy Paul made in the past, then he needs to be careful.

However, Alsted did not seem to show any hostility towards him, but simply said with confusion, "Hmm... that's strange, I have no memory of seeing you."

"Is that so strange? We shouldn't have met before."

"Just because we haven't met now doesn't mean we haven't met before, but just because we haven't met before means we shouldn't meet now either."

"……what are you saying?"

Orstide's words confused Shirou.

The latter increasingly felt a sense of unease, as if talking to someone through a mirror, but because of the various barriers in the world reflected in the mirror, the conclusions drawn from the conversation were infinitely distorted.

Compared to Shirou's confusion, Orsteed seemed to have drawn some conclusion from the conversation just now.

He nodded calmly, as if confirming an answer, and silently asked Shirou, "Hey, you haven't heard of the term 'human god,' have you?"

"...A god? What are you talking about..."

Because he didn't want anyone to know that he was a time traveler, Shirou's first reaction was to deny Orstide's words.

But his denial did pause briefly.

Because no matter what, it is impossible for a person to deceive their own instincts.

When Orsteed suddenly asks a question that directly addresses that unsettling truth, even the most cunning being will falter due to a lack of timely reaction.

Shirou's reaction revealed a flaw.

But he never imagined that one of his flaws would lead to such terrible consequences.

In the next instant, an extremely terrifying aura suddenly erupted from Alsteid, and he raised his right hand with an unbelievable exaggerated movement.

Just how fast is that?

Not only could they not keep up with the naked eye, but even their physical instincts couldn't keep up with Alster's actions.

The only reaction Shirou had time to make was to draw the demon sword Muramasa from his waist and unleash his fastest sword strike to block the attack.

"Snapped!"

The air crackled.

Shirou couldn't keep up with Orsteed's movements.

The silver-haired man's hand chops reached him first.

But Shirou was not hit by that chop.

Before that, Rajirud rushed to his side, shoved him aside, and swung his spear to block Alster's attack.

"Oh my god!!!!"

Rachel Rudd's movements were incredibly fast.

His strength as an Emperor-level expert was erupting at near-limit levels, representing the pinnacle of Rijrud's martial arts, a level he had rarely displayed throughout the entire journey.

However, despite being so powerful, every shot Rachel Rudd fired was easily caught by Alsteid.

In the end, even the tip of the gun ended up in Alster's fingertips.

“This gun…”

Alsted stared at the weapon in Rijrud's hand, a clear look of surprise in his eyes. He asked, puzzled, "What kind of weapon is this? The forging technique is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's almost like something that guy named Muramasa, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, forged..."

Auersted's words made Shirou's heart skip a beat.