novelhk Page 228
Page 228
However, turning insights into reality still requires time and refinement.
Most importantly, in order to improve his sword magic, he needs a forge to forge weapons.
After all, sword magic is essentially the materialization of forging, and the ability to forge is directly linked to the power of sword magic.
Therefore, Shirou found Principal Genius the next day to inquire about the production status of the forging workshop.
Principal Genius did not disappoint him, indicating that the forging workshop was essentially complete.
The reason it is described as "basically" is because the forging workshop currently only has a prototype and an outer shell, lacking a crucial component: the apprentices who will assist in the work.
A typical forging workshop, due to its numerous complex processes, is usually composed of a forger and many apprentices.
Apprentices assist the blacksmiths while learning the craft, hoping to inherit the trade or open their own blacksmithing workshop in the future, thus passing on the knowledge and skills.
Shirou had little interest in taking on apprentices because he didn't think he was qualified to teach others forging.
But he did need some help to handle the many odds and ends of the forging workshop.
He therefore asked Principal Genius for help, but the latter was undoubtedly very troubled.
Since this is a magic university, not a swordsmanship university, most students don't use weapons or armor, so there's no need for a forging workshop.
The entire magic university might not have a single blacksmith within a radius of several kilometers, let alone a professional apprentice who knows blacksmithing.
However, Principal Genius eventually gave Shirou an idea: to buy slaves and personally teach them forging skills to train apprentices.
Shirou fell silent at Principal Genius's idea.
He had never really wanted to get involved with anything related to slavery.
Shirou has always known that slavery is a fundamental system that has always existed in this world, an integral part of an era that cannot be changed by individual power. However, Shirou is also deeply influenced by the Heroic Spirit Emiya, and his deep-seated sense of justice makes it impossible for him to ignore this oppressive system of slavery.
Faced with the conflict between the two, Shirou's final choice was to ignore it.
As long as the system of slavery is pretended not to exist, one will not be tormented by the soul of the Heroic Spirit Emiya.
Now, Principal Genius tells Shirou about buying slaves. While this is essentially to solve Shirou's problem of manpower shortage in the blacksmith's workshop, it also forces Shirou to confront the reality that slavery still exists in the world.
Even if Shirou wanted to continue ignoring all of this as before, he couldn't do it anymore.
"Fine, I'll give it a try."
To Principal Genius, Shirou's words sounded like an attempt to buy slaves from the slave market.
But for Shirou himself, he planned to personally confront the slave market to see if he could withstand the righteous interrogation from the Heroic Spirit Emiya, and to see if his heart could bear the righteousness deep within his soul.
……
The next day, Shirou set off for the slave market.
Rudeus wanted to go with him, but Shirou refused.
After all, Shirou was worried that he might be influenced by the Heroic Spirit Emiya and do something impulsive, which would implicate Rudeus and cause a mess.
For this reason, Shirou went to the slave market alone.
Before coming to the country, Shirou did his homework all night and learned about the state of the slave trade in the world.
Simply put, slavery is extremely common in this world.
Due to the limitations of the times and productivity, the slave trade was somewhat restrained in the central and southern parts of the fertile Central Continent and on the continent of Milis, which adhered to the Milis religion. However, on this northern continent, the slave trade was completely legal in almost all countries, and some countries even rewarded the promotion of the slave trade.
Because on this barren land, the only thing left to sell is people.
The slave trade was one of the most important commercial activities in the northern continental countries, to the point that the country could not survive without it.
There are many reasons why people become slaves.
For example, people who became orphans during wartime, children who were sold by their parents due to crop failures and heavy debts, or people who sold themselves to save their families. There were also rumors that thieves' guilds secretly established places similar to slave farms, and that some villages would regularly sell their children to slave traders.
In this northern continent, slavery arose because of the inherent inequality in the world; people could not survive there and thus voluntarily became slaves.
In contrast, some countries are perfectly capable of denying the existence of slavery, but due to various interests, slavery has become deeply entrenched.
The most typical example is the Kingdom of Asura. Despite its unimaginably abundant national strength and resources, it still produced a continuous stream of slaves. This tragedy was created by the interests of those within the country itself.
After learning all this, Shirou was finally able to treat slaves with a more normal attitude.
Leaving aside the situation in the Kingdom of Asura where people were forcibly enslaved, slaves in the Northern Continent were generally enslaved because they could not survive.
This is not a problem that can be solved by a mere sense of justice.
Or rather, basic justice often fails completely when it comes to issues concerning fundamental logic.
Because a society that cannibalizes people is the root cause of all tragedies.
Shirou then tried to remain calm as he entered the gates of the slave trading company. It was an ordinary building, with bonfires burning inside.
Upon entering the room, you are immediately enveloped in a wave of heat.
Then, you can see about eight display stands, each with rows of naked slaves.
Upon witnessing the slaves' tragic fate, the spirit of Emiya, deep within Shirou's heart, suddenly surged forth.
The sense of justice surging deep within his soul nearly tore Shirou himself apart completely.
Fortunately, Shirou managed to control himself and maintain his rationality, preventing him from doing anything too outrageous.
Even so, he still felt extremely uncomfortable. The stinging pain from the depths of his soul was relentless, making it hard for him to breathe, and he even had the urge to completely destroy the entire slave merchant guild.
Chapter 305 Shirou: Kiritsugu, I can finally understand you.
Emiya is the embodiment of the pursuit of justice.
Although this is something that the Heroic Spirit Emiya himself denied, as a guardian who made a contract with the Counter Force, he could not escape the bondage of this chain.
Throughout his long career as a guardian, the justice of the Heroic Spirit Emiya has been distorted into an obsession with killing a few to save many.
In order to achieve its goal of protecting human civilization through the restraining force, it kills anything that might threaten human reason.
After Shirou obtained the power of the Heroic Spirit Emiya and saved his sister Miyu, he himself was also strongly influenced by the Heroic Spirit Emiya.
That is a deep-rooted conviction in justice.
Even now, he still hasn't been able to escape the influence of the Heroic Spirit Emiya, and unknowingly, the influence is becoming increasingly profound.
This can be seen from the fact that after witnessing the actions of the slave traders, he couldn't suppress his desire to uphold justice and kill the slave traders.
But Shirou himself would never do such a thing. He exists to protect his family and cannot be swayed by his obsession with justice to commit meaningless acts of harm.
Moreover, slavery is something that already exists in this world, something that cannot be changed by human power due to the limitations of the times.
Even if he causes a scene at the slave trader's guild, he won't change anything; instead, he'll only cause trouble for everyone.
"Please, be quiet..."
Shirou pressed his hand to his chest, pleading for the restlessness deep within his soul to subside.
But Emiya's soul beat even more violently, as if conveying the thought that if one sees suffering people and remains indifferent, what kind of ally of justice is that?
Shirou was unable to respond and could only try his best to suppress it.
This made him look as if he were suffering from some kind of illness.
"what happened to you?"
The clerks from the slave trading company next to him looked at him with puzzled expressions, not understanding why this young man was behaving so strangely as soon as he entered the company.
To prevent the slaves from catching a cold, the Mingming Chamber of Commerce had prepared many braziers, which were much warmer inside than outside.
Shirou didn't say much about the reaction of the shopkeepers. He just tried to suppress the almost terrifying thought that was surging in his mind: to kill everyone here and free the slaves.
This idea undoubtedly stems from the influence of Emiya's spirit.
Heroic Spirit Emiya once killed some people to ensure the safety of others, under the pressure of the Counter Force.
This influence still lingers in the soul of the Heroic Spirit Emiya.
Shirou would never do something so crazy. He tried his best to control his inner turmoil, put on a normal expression, and said, "It's nothing. Can I wander around by myself?"
"of course can."
The shop assistant didn't seem to pay much attention to Shirou and simply nodded.
Shirou breathed a sigh of relief and began moving around inside the slave trading company.
The slave trading guild was bustling with activity, as a large number of people dressed in fine clothes came to buy slaves. Among them were not only nobles, but also merchants, citizens, commoners, and even students from magic universities.
At least in this northern continent, buying slaves is a very normal, even commonplace, thing.
Shirou tried his best to convince himself that it was all normal, but the spirit of Emiya remained burning hot.
After all, the slaves' situation was indeed quite dire. Not only were they naked, but many of them also had marks from being whipped, clearly indicating that they had undergone some kind of cruel training beforehand.
To suppress his inner turmoil, Shirou walked wearily into the depths of the slave trading guild.
He then realized that the surrounding slave meeting place had been changed from human race to mine race.
Slaves of the Miner Tribe are rare in the northern continent.
Because the environment here is too dangerous, most people who buy slaves hope to buy strong and sturdy warriors, but the Miners are known for their short stature but dexterous fingers, and rarely meet the requirements of buyers.
Shirou doesn't care about being a slave, or rather, he can't even care about buying slaves right now; he's constantly tormented by mental anguish.
He concealed his pain as he walked to the end of the road.
He had only wanted to find a secluded place to calm himself down from the shock that had just struck him so deeply, and not let himself be consumed by the will of the Heroic Spirit Emiya to carry out justice. But to his surprise, the place he arrived at was a huge iron cage, and inside the cage was a slave.
Unlike ordinary slaves, most slaves are carefully packaged and cared for in order to fetch a good price until they are bought by a buyer.
But the slave in the cage was filthy and smelled pungent.
Shirou looked over and saw a little girl with empty eyes sitting in the iron cage. The girl was wearing tattered clothes that were barely enough to cover her emaciated body. Her orange hair was dirty and messy, with a few strands of white hair mixed in.
As a slave, his hands and feet were bound by chains, so he could only sit with his knees drawn up to his chest, staring at the dark walls.
"You are……?"
Hearing the noise from Shirou, the girl looked up.
In those eyes, Shirou seemed to see nothingness.
It is an empty shell that does not even understand the meaning of life and has not yet given birth to a soul.
Shirou is very familiar with this kind of empty shell, because Miyu was just such a child when she was young.
As Shirou recalled Miyu, the sting in his heart gradually subsided, and the uncontrollable heat began to subside.
He then looked at the girl in front of him with even greater concern.
Despite being a child, the girl showed absolutely no fear of him, or rather, he had no idea what fear was.
The two just stared at each other.
After a while, Shirou spoke up, "Do you want to live?"
"..."
"If you want to live, hold my hand. Although living is a thousand times more painful than dying, it is still something that countless people can only dream of."
As Shirou spoke, he recalled the great fire he experienced as a child.
It was in that fire that he realized how simple death was, and at the same time, he received a once-in-a-million blessing: salvation from Kiritsugu Emiya.
However, it was both a redemption and a curse, causing Shirou to wander along the path of justice his entire life, never straying far from it.
Heroic Spirit Emiya even fell into regret, wondering if it would have been better if he had died in that fire.
This is an instinctive escape that arises after making the wrong choices in a life that is too tragic.
So right now, facing a girl like this, Shirou instinctively wants to see what she chooses.
Even if it is meaningless in itself.
Upon hearing Shirou's words, the girl's eyes slowly focused on him.
She felt confused and fearful, unable to trust the possible future.
Shirou didn't say much about it. He wasn't that keen on saving the girl, because saving one person wouldn't change anything.
For the Heroic Spirit Emiya, only saving all the slaves in this slave trading guild can be considered a realization of justice.
But Shirou is destined not to do that.
That's why he's in so much pain...
The reason Shirou is giving the other party a chance right now is that he hopes the other party will reject him, giving him a legitimate reason to give up his obsession with being a righteous partner.