For a government building, the town hall of [Gusnansel] was quite luxurious. The walls were painted a light cream color, and precious metal ornaments decorated the walls. Each employee at the town hall worked quietly at their counters.

After passing the reception desk, Shirou followed Gusnansel's city secretary, Tyler Henry, toward the Mayor's office. "After you, Emiya-san," Tyler gestured for Shirou to enter first.

Politely, Shirou stepped into the room.

"Excuse me..."

Tyler followed behind, closing the door to the office.

Inside, a middle-aged man sat behind a desk in the center of the office. When he saw guests entering his room, he stood to greet them. His rather large body was covered by his official uniform.

"You must be Emiya Shirou, right? Tyler has told me about you," the man smiled as he extended his hand.

While shaking his hand, the man continued, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Arvin Henry, the mayor of this town. Please, have a seat."

Shirou sat on a small sofa on the right side of the room, while the mayor sat directly across from him. They were separated by a black glass table.

Noticing that there was no refreshment for his guest, Arvin instructed his secretary, "Tyler, go make some drinks and bring some snacks over."

"Yes, sir." Tyler obediently left to carry out his superior's orders.

Shirou noticed that both men had the same last name. Arvin-san also had (almost bald) brown hair and a thin mustache, the same color as the secretary's.

Shirou had never been invited by a regional leader before. However, this didn't compare to his adoptive grandfather, who was the leader of the Yakuza in his area, or even the former King of Britain, Arturia Pendragon. Calmly, Shirou began the conversation.

"Sorry, may I ask why you wanted to meet with me?"

Raising an eyebrow, the mayor replied, "Straight to the point, huh? That's fine, I don't dislike that quality."

Placing both hands on the table in a dramatic fashion, the Mayor continued, "Okay, we'd like to hire your services."

"My services? What kind of services?"

While stroking his mustache, the mayor answered, "Don't be so modest. I know you're not an ordinary person. Tyler has told me how you summoned a sword with your magic."

Hearing his magic mentioned, Shirou straightened his back, starting to feel tense.

"With magic like that, it's clear you've been blessed by a god. And hearing how you skillfully used that sword to fight monsters, I wonder—are you a former adventurer on a journey?" Arvin asked, presenting his analysis.

Shirou knew his magic was unusual, but there were still many things he didn't know, such as what the mayor meant by "adventurer."

Taking the safe route, Shirou changed the subject. "My background isn't important. I'd like to know what you mean by hiring my services?"

"Hoo... how mysterious," the mayor replied mockingly.

Shirou narrowed his eyes, unimpressed with Arvin's lack of seriousness.

Noticing Shirou's disapproving expression, the mayor cleared his throat and straightened his jacket. "Ahem, in short, I, as the representative of Gusnansel, want to hire you to exterminate some monsters."

"Alright, I'm listening."

"As you may know, monsters have been attacking the road leading to this town. Some eyewitnesses saw that they came from the hills by the road. I want you to wipe them out, all the way to their lair, so no more lives are lost."

Shirou was interested in the job. However, he wasn't sure if he would have enough time to continue his journey to [Silverleaf Academy] or accompany Saria to [Altena]. He didn't want to miss the school enrollment deadline.

While Shirou was weighing his options, the office door opened. Tyler entered, carrying a tray with a bottle of syrup, two glasses, and some cookies, which he placed on the table.

"Excuse me," Tyler said as he poured syrup for both Shirou and Arvin.

"Oho, please enjoy," Arvin said as he began eating without hesitation.

Shirou also began eating the cookies. The crunchy sensation and the variety of flavors from the cookies spread across Shirou's tongue.

"So, what do you think? Are you interested? It's rare to have adventurers like you in this town. By exterminating the monsters, you'll be saving many lives," the mayor asked, holding a glass of syrup.

Shirou, who had been hesitant, lost his doubt upon hearing the mayor's words. Even if he missed the school deadline, or didn't go at all, Shirou preferred to save others.

"Alright, I'll do it. When can I start?" Shirou asked, his voice filled with determination.

Hearing Shirou's response, the mayor smiled broadly. "Hoho, the sooner, the better. Tomorrow morning would be perfect. As for your payment, would you prefer cash or something else?"

"Cash is fine." Shirou hadn't thought much about payment for his services.

"Okay... How does 100,000 Valis sound? You can keep any [Magic Stones] or [Drop Items] you find." Arvin began negotiating.

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"I'll take it, but I'd like to hire a guide and buy a horse first."

"For a guide, take this kid." Arvin pointed to Tyler, who was standing beside the sofa. "As for the horse, you can find one in town."

"Would you be willing to join us, Tyler-san?" Shirou wanted to ensure Tyler wasn't being forced.

"It would be my pleasure, Emiya-san," Tyler answered without hesitation.

"Alright, I'll meet you at the city gate tomorrow morning," Shirou said.

"Understood."

After Tyler replied, the mayor stood up. "Wait here for a moment," he said, walking over to his desk.

Shirou also stood, curious about what the mayor was doing. However, his attention was drawn to a longsword hanging on the wall behind the mayor's desk.

The sword had a black hilt and a long, double-edged red blade that emitted an aura of burning fire. With his magic, Shirou knew it wasn't an ordinary sword.

The sword was a [Magic Sword] with the fire element and strong explosive power. From the information the sword gave him, Shirou knew that [Magic Swords] would shatter after being used. Displaying such a sword in a room was like hanging a missile ready to explode.

Arvin returned from his desk, carrying a pouch of money. He walked over to Shirou and handed him the pouch. "Here's 20,000 Valis upfront. You'll get the rest after you finish exterminating the monsters."

Shirou accepted the pouch and asked, "Why do you have an active [Magic Sword] on display? If it's triggered, this whole town hall could burn down."

"Eh, really? That sword's been hanging there for ages. It was made by the Crozzo ancestors to kill powerful monsters. No wonder it's still active." Arvin scratched his mustache, pondering the situation.

"But I guess it's fine hanging there, since it hasn't exploded yet," Arvin replied nonchalantly.

Swallowing the mayor's logic, Shirou gave a wry smile. "If you think so, alright, but it's better to be cautious."

Arvin just nodded at Shirou's advice.

"If that's all, I'll be on my way," Shirou said, bowing his head.

As Shirou opened the office door to leave, he heard Tyler say, "Take care, Emiya-san."

Leaving the town hall, Shirou walked toward the inn directly across the street. Along the way, he thought about how to tell Saria that he couldn't go with her.

Shirou didn't want Saria waiting for him to finish the job, especially since it involved going to dangerous places.

Shirou decided to bid her farewell.

Upon entering the inn, Shirou approached a young man sitting at the reception desk. "Excuse me, do you have a room reserved under the name Shirou Emiya?"

The receptionist replied, "Just a moment." After checking, he answered, "Yes, your room was reserved by Saria Balsys, number 202. Here's your key."

"Err... May I know the room number she reserved?" Shirou felt awkward asking for the room number of a girl he had just met.

"Saria Balsys reserved room number 201, right next to yours."

"Thank you."

Shirou headed to his room on the second floor. He climbed the wooden stairs and found his room, located right next to room 201.

The room Shirou had was medium-sized for an inn. It was equipped with a bathroom and a small bed in the corner.

Shirou placed his belongings beside the bed, then took a bath and changed his clothes. As he was changing, Shirou suddenly remembered the small bell he had projected, tied to the side of his pants.

Using the spell [Structural Analysis, Shirou could tell that the particles making up the bell were no longer stable. The bell was nearly dissipating into mana in the air. With a simple analysis, Shirou concluded that objects he created with [Projection] wouldn't last more than three to four days without direct contact with him.

Satisfied with the conclusion, Shirou dispelled the bell back into magical energy

Since Shirou didn't have any spare clothes, he used the same outfit as before, only this time it was created by his magic projection.

'Man, [Projection] is really useful.'

For most [Magus, [Projection, or as they call it, [Gradation Air, isn't very useful because it's far inferior to the original item.

This is because [Gradation Air] is the result of a mental image of an object in the [Magus]'s mind. However, most [Magus] cannot perfectly recreate an item due to their limited ability to understand and visualize the structure of the object. The result is an inferior object that quickly dissolves into mana.

But Shirou Emiya, an amateur [Magus, had perfected the basic spell of [Structural Analysis, allowing him to fully understand an object. Especially when it came to swords or weapons in general, he could even grasp their history. This spell, performed simultaneously with [Structural Analysis, was called [Tracing].

With perfect understanding, Shirou was able to upgrade [Gradation Air] to [Projection, which allowed him to project an object with high accuracy. As long as Shirou understood the object, he could replicate it. Even legendary crystallizations of someone's essence, known as [Noble Phantasms, could be easily faked by him.

'No wonder they call me [Faker,' Shirou thought, recalling the ironic nickname that perfectly described him.

After changing clothes, Shirou left his room and knocked on the door of room 201.

Knock, knock.

"Saria, are you in there?"

No answer.

"Sariaaa," he called out a little louder.

'Maybe she's asleep.'

Not wanting to disturb her, Shirou decided to look for lunch and buy a horse for tomorrow's journey.

For lunch, Shirou ate at the same inn where he had breakfast. However, finding a horse proved to be more difficult.

At first, he searched the central market. After several rounds, Shirou couldn't find any horses. The only live animals he found were livestock like chickens, ducks, goats, and so on.

After asking one of the livestock sellers, Shirou received a suggestion to go directly to a stable and the location of one of them.

The stable was far on the right side of the city. From the market, Shirou had to take a detour. He arrived there in the late afternoon, as the evening sun shone in the distance.

Choosing a horse was not as hard as finding the stable.

Shirou petted each horse available for sale. There was a reason behind this: Shirou was using [Structural Analysis] on each horse he touched.

Unlike swords, armor, or other inanimate objects that Shirou could analyze with a glance, living beings had a natural [Magic Resistance] in their bodies. This resistance made it difficult for Shirou to use his magic on the horses.

To reduce the resistance, Shirou needed to physically touch the living creature he was targeting.

"Trace On."

Strong leg muscles.

A powerful heart.

Long-lasting stamina.

Hard hooves.

No defects.

Shirou made his choice.

A stallion with a sleek black mane and coat was led out of the stable by Shirou.

He projected a saddle, reins, and bridle onto the black horse. All of the riding equipment came from one of the Rider-class Servants, making it easier for Shirou to tame the horse for riding.

After a few test rides, Shirou decided that the black stallion was his choice. He reserved the horse for pick-up the next day. After paying a 2,000 Valis down payment out of the total 5,000 Valis, Shirou returned to the inn.

Shirou arrived back at the inn late at night. The stable he visited was quite a distance away, requiring a long detour to get back to the inn.

To rest his body before tomorrow's expedition, Shirou went straight to his room and lay down to sleep.

In that half-conscious state where one is between being awake and asleep, Shirou reconsidered his decision.

'I'm sure this is the right choice, but I also don't want to disappoint Saria or Arther-san, who saved me.'

Saria, who was happy to have found a travel companion, would be disappointed to hear that he would part ways with her after such a short time.

Shirou hardened his resolve.

Arther-san, who believed that Shirou would continue his education, would one day discover that the young man he saved didn't meet his expectations.

Shirou closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

'To save one person means not saving another.'

Shirou recalled the words of his adoptive father.

Even if it meant disappointing others, Shirou believed that by wiping out the monster lair, he would save many lives.

He regulated his breathing, forcing himself to calm down.

After a while, all of his worries began to fade, and the dream world started to take him away.

That night, Shirou dreamed of a young man who dreamed of becoming a hero. A dream very similar to his own past, not too long ago.

A dream about the [Holy Grail War].