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

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Moreover, Alice's appearance was completely different from before. Today, she was wearing a more formal dress. The black dress perfectly accentuated her slender and curvaceous figure. Her long red hair was tied into a neat single ponytail and adorned with an exquisite hair clip. Her temperament was no less than that of Ariel, who is now the queen. One glance was enough to draw people's attention.

This kind of outfit is clearly not a common style for Alice.

Despite her exquisite attire, she appeared visibly uneasy. When Shirou suddenly grabbed her shoulder, she was terrified, like a wary stray cat, instantly baring her fangs.

However, upon realizing that the person in front of her was Shirou, she immediately retracted her fangs. Moreover, her expression was noticeably more uneasy than before, and she appeared to be in obvious confusion.

"Brother?! No, Shirou!!"

Seeing Alice's appearance, Shirou looked clearly confused and couldn't help but ask, "Alice? Why are you hiding here? Why don't you just go in?"

"This……"

As Shirou inquired, Alice's unease deepened.

She pursed her lips and tilted them downwards, spread her legs to shoulder width, and raised her chin slightly, looking like a cat arching its back as if sensing danger.

But compared to wild beasts that might attack humans out of fear, Alice now possesses the understanding of a normal human and would never lay a hand on Shirou. Therefore, she is currently like a helpless little dog, squatting there with tears in her eyes, without saying a word.

Seeing Alice's appearance, Shirou was completely baffled. He hurriedly let go of Alice's shoulder, then awkwardly scratched his head and said, "Well, how about we go sit in my room?"

"Ah."

Alice nodded in agreement upon hearing Shirou's suggestion.

Her overly obedient attitude made Shirou realize that she was unusual today, and his expression gradually became serious.

After leading Alice into his room, Shirou asked her to sit down while he went to get some tea and snacks.

"Well, there's nothing good to offer here, so you'll have to make do."

"I do not mind."

After the Great Transfer, Alice was no longer the spoiled and willful young lady of the Boreas family. She had experienced even the harshest living conditions and had undergone hellish training in the Holy Land of Swords. She didn't care about material possessions at all.

Shirou knew this too, but seeing Alice's current attire, which suited her noblewoman image, he somewhat realized her current identity.

Although many things have changed, the Boreas family has now regained its former status. In fact, due to its great help in Ariel's rise to power, its contribution to the rise of Ariel is enough to make the Boreas family the highest-ranking family among the four lords.

As the eldest daughter and sole heir of the Boreas family, Alice's status and position are now vastly different from the past, making her a top-tier noblewoman on par with Princess Ariel.

Thinking of Ariel, Shirou vaguely realized why Alice had come to find him.

Despite not knowing if it was right or wrong, he still asked, "Alice, do you want me to join the Boreas clan?"

Shirou's judgment was based on Ariel's previous attempts to recruit him into the Kingdom of Asura, and even to make him a general in that country.

Although Alice is not Ariel, the Boreas family has political figures like Philip, so naturally they would try to win her over.

Furthermore, Shirou had previously served as a swordsmanship instructor for the Boreas family, so it's only natural that they would try to recruit him again.

"Join our clan? I guess so..."

Alice hesitated before nodding after hearing Shirou's words.

But she clearly misunderstood Shirou's meaning. She came to see Shirou today because her family had encouraged her to propose to him.

Although Alice herself was not ready to get married at all, the thought that she might be separated from Shirou if she didn't marry him made her grit her teeth and come over anyway.

The dress she was wearing was specially prepared for her by her family, and Alice was even wearing the engagement ring. It can be said that all the preparations were made.

The only problem is that Alice herself is not ready and does not dare to tell Shirou what's in her heart, which is why she is lingering outside the inn where the Grellard family lives.

This state was clearly unacceptable to Alice, who was always outspoken. She found it hard to accept that she had become so weak that she couldn't even utter a simple confession.

In this situation, her expression began to show obvious anger.

Although Alice herself knew she was angry at her own incompetence, Shirou saw things differently. After all, Shirou didn't know Alice's thoughts; he thought Alice had come to win him over on behalf of the Boreas family.

Now that the other party is showing this dissatisfaction, they must feel that their hesitant attitude is unacceptable.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. Shirou received a lot of help from the Boreas family a long time ago, and Ariel was able to ascend the throne this time thanks to the Boreas family and Iris's desperate battle.

It's rather irresponsible of him to leave the Kingdom of Asura without offering anything in return.

But Shirou had no choice but to sincerely say, "I'm sorry, Alice, I can't go back to the Boreas family. I still have people I need to protect."

"You mean you're going to reject me?"

Hearing Shirou's response, Alice suddenly clenched her fist. "Don't you want to be with me?"

"I can't stay in the Kingdom of Asura right now; there are things I need to do."

Shirou tried his best to speak sincerely, expressing his determination to protect his family.

Upon hearing his words, Alice immediately showed a sad expression, and even glistening tears could be seen in the corners of her eyes.

Seeing Alice shed tears, Shirou was startled. He touched the girl's head, trying to comfort her.

"Brother, do you... hate me now?"

Alice wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, but still couldn't suppress the sadness in her heart, and asked a question.

Shirou quickly replied, "How could that be? How could I possibly hate you, Alice?"

"Then why don't you want to be with me?"

"This……"

Even Shirou had noticed something was off about the other person's tone by now.

The conversation seemed to have started with a misunderstanding at some point, causing the two to be unable to communicate on the same wavelength.

To clear up the misunderstanding, Shirou immediately looked at Alice's face and hesitated before asking, "Alice, do you want me to join the Boreas family, or do you want to be with me?"

"Of course I am..."

The moment Alice spoke, she suddenly realized something.

From the very beginning, all her ideas were encouraged by her family. Because she wanted to be with Shirou, she went along with her family's suggestion that Shirou marry into the Boreas family.

But that idea undoubtedly involved the interests of the Boreas family, and was a consideration of interests by a group of politicians represented by Philippe.

Even if Alice herself didn't have those thoughts, once emotional issues were mixed with interests, they became difficult to think about and impossible to sort out.

That's why she's never been able to properly convey her feelings to Shirou, nor has she been able to tell him her truest thoughts.

Having grasped this, Alice closed her eyes, striving to prepare herself and banishing those irrelevant thoughts from her mind, finally resolving to speak:

"Shirou, I love you. I don't just see you as an older brother, but I also hope that we can be lovers!"

Alice blushed deeply.

She mustered her courage and finally managed to send her confession through the cracks.

"..."

Shirou was surprisingly not too surprised by the sudden confession. Perhaps he had been affected by Ariel and Izuru's feelings for him and had been thinking about this matter recently, or perhaps he had noticed Alice's feelings for him a long time ago but had been pretending not to notice.

Now that Alice has so openly expressed her feelings, he can no longer escape and must confront her feelings for him.

But how should I answer that?

Deep down, Shirou has always regarded Alice as a younger sister, just like Miyu did back then, seeing her as an important family member he must protect.

Shirou could never possibly develop romantic feelings for Miyu; such a thing is simply impossible.

But Alice is quite different.

Because Alice has never just interacted with him as a younger sister. In fact, Alice has spent a lot of time trying to become stronger and constantly improve her strength, trying to break free from the role of being protected and to interact with Shirou on a more equal footing.

And indeed, the opponent succeeded. After raising his strength to the level of Sword King in the Holy Land of Swords, he made a name for himself in this battle for the throne and helped Shirou a lot.

Now that things have come to this, Shirou can no longer regard Alice as a younger sister who needs his protection.

So, should I agree?

At this critical juncture, with such an unspeakable and immense terror looming, and with no one knowing whether they will live or die tomorrow,

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Shirou immediately understood what he needed to do.

He first removed his hand from Alice's head, ignoring the girl's disappointed look, and then sat down opposite her with a stern face.

"..."

Seeing Shirou's actions, Alice was undoubtedly quite flustered.

She was like a student waiting for their college entrance exam results, as if everything in her life would be revealed in the response to that test, showing great unease.

But she was still strong enough, and even at this moment, she still looked Shirou straight in the eyes.

Shirou did not ignore Alice's serious attitude. After organizing his thoughts, he slowly said, "I'm sorry, Alice, I cannot respond to you."

"..."

Alice's appearance immediately wilted, and she looked like a dried-up plant that had lost its moisture.

Seeing this, Shirou quickly added, "But this is not because I'm rejecting you, it's just that at this moment, I can't give you a serious enough answer."

"What does this mean?"

"You may be surprised to hear this, but I am about to challenge the Dragon God Orsteed, which may involve a bloody battle of life and death. So until that battle is over, I will not have time to think about my own affairs and therefore will not be able to give you a proper response."

Shirou earnestly expressed his truest thoughts.

Although his words sounded like a simple excuse to most people, Alice immediately smiled upon hearing them, and her eyes regained their brilliance, no longer resembling a stray kitten, but revealing their claws once more.

"Take me with you, Shirou!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Alice replied, "I will go with you to challenge the Dragon God!"

"Well... I never said I would accept you after the battle."

Although these words sound like something a jerk would say, Shirou still wanted Alice to think it over carefully and not make a hasty decision.

Alice, without hesitation, said, "Rather than becoming your lover, I'd much rather fight alongside you! That's right, as long as we can fight like before, that's enough!"

As Alice spoke, her eyes shone brightly, as if she had received a long-awaited candy, or as if she had achieved a very important goal.

She completely shed her confusion, leaving only the formidable strength of Alice Boreas and a burning determination and resolve!

Chapter 374 Revisiting the Holy Land of Swords! The Sword God, the Northern God, and the Water God Arrive Together!

"...Are you sure? What about the Boreas family?"

Shirou was surprised that Alice was so determined to fight alongside him. He was initially moved, but then he also asked a practical question.

After all, Alice is no ordinary person now, but the sole heir of the Boreas family. Her status and identity do not allow her to leave the Kingdom of Asura at will, let alone go with him to challenge the Dragon God Orsteed, something that is obviously a one-way trip.

Putting aside other people, Alice's parents and family would definitely object to this.

"Hmph, I'll convince them."

Alice didn't care at all about this, and didn't care about her family's attitude at all. "At worst, I'll just run away from home and follow you, Shirou!"

"This……"

Shirou was somewhat helpless at Alice's suggestion that she wanted to elope with him, but he could also sense the girl's determination and knew that it would be difficult to change her mind.

After some consideration, he decided to personally discuss the matter with the Boreas family, at least to have a proper talk with them.

He then quickly took Alice to the Boreas family's mansion in the capital.

Upon arriving at the Boreas house, Shirou was immediately given the grandest welcome. Philip and Hilda, a married couple, looked at him and Alice with great excitement, as if they were already considering where to hold their wedding ceremony.

The two men's overly explicit attitude undoubtedly made Alice both ashamed and angry.

It wasn't until Shirou silently explained everything that the Boreas family finally calmed down from their excessive excitement.

When they learned that Alice wanted to fight the Dragon God Orsteed with Shirou, Philip and Hilda were undoubtedly very hesitant.

It wasn't that the two were unwilling to support Shirou; they also hoped to provide enough help to Shirou, who had saved the Boreas family. However, they absolutely did not want to see their daughter involved in such a hopeless battle.

The Dragon God Orsteed, ranked second among the seven great powers and arguably the strongest being of this era, exerted immense pressure on ordinary people.

No one can imagine what the outcome of challenging the Dragon God would be; it would most likely be a one-way trip.

While Philip and Hilda hesitated, Alice remained unwavering, stating that she would follow Shirou to challenge the Dragon God no matter what.

Her attitude clashed with that of Philip and his wife, and a conflict seemed imminent.

At a crucial moment, Soros's appearance prevented the argument from taking place.

Compared to before, Sauros is now much more taciturn. His face is always etched with the seriousness brought on by the hardships of life, but he also shows a rare gentleness when facing his family.

When Sauros appeared, even someone as strong as Alice couldn't help but show a look of panic and tension, clearly showing her awe of the head of the Boreas family.

Philip and Hilda remained silent, waiting for Sauros to speak.