Chapter 72: "Ally of Justice" and "You All Are Justice"
The frozen time and space thawed.
The young man breathed a sigh of relief, lowering his amber-brown eyes apologetically while his hands fluidly retracted their movements. When he opened his eyes again, his single hand hanging by his side, his gaze had returned to tranquility.
The invisible pressure vanished along with it.
The Chief hadn't actually fully grasped what the young man had just done; he could only recall the imagery of that moment—the instant the radiance of magical energy flooded the entire hall. A reason hadn't even surfaced in the Chief's consciousness, yet there was a terror akin to a creature realizing that what looked like prey was, in fact, a predator.
At the center of the wind pressure, behind the flame-like light of those pupils, the heaven and earth seemed reflected; however, when the Chief tried to confirm it clearly, he was obstructed by his physical retina and could only assume it was an illusion.
No matter what cards Shirou held, they were a type of large-scale destructive skill sufficient to make the fingertips of the Caster camp go numb. For the Chief and his men... fighting him was too agonizing. By now, the Chief had more or less admitted that this person simply could not be defeated.
At least, with the Chief's intellect, he couldn't conceive of a way to fight him. Could anyone think of a plan for the Chief to beat him using only Clan Calatin?
However, the Chief didn't soften his stance out of mere fear.
—'Just when did I start colluding with those people?'
The Chief shook his head. The idea of providing cover for those shadowy figures behind the scenes was, in fact, nonsense. The Chief had no wish to entrust to the Holy Grail. His only wish was to dispense justice, maintain the situation in Snowfield, and protect its residents.
That being the case, there was originally no reason to refuse Shirou. Yet, the Chief had begun a long hesitation due to a chain reaction of concerns—he worried that Shirou's battle with Faldeus and Francesca would cause Faldeus to react impulsively, causing even greater chaos in Snowfield, and...
The Chief was worried that something would happen to Emiya Shirou.
The Clan Calatin simply needed to believe in the Chief's actions and act accordingly. The Chief, however, had to make the correct judgment. Perhaps getting too old makes one prone to overthinking and looking over one's shoulder.
Faldeus and Francesca were individuals the Chief wanted to stop but lacked the power to do so. Now, someone wanted to step in on his behalf, but when this once-in-a-lifetime moment arrived, the Chief himself felt like shrinking back—or rather, he became overly fussy.
With a sense of absurd irony, a bitter taste spread in his mouth and stung his throat.
"Is it because you possess great power that you can have that mindset?"
"?"
"No, it's nothing."
The Chief asked the other question he cared about most: "Are you not bringing that blonde young lady with you? Her strength is at the level of a Heroic Spirit. If she came along, it would leave us even less room to resist."
Shirou shook his head. He was likely saying he didn't need her; he alone was enough.
Regarding this expected view of looking down on the Caster camp, the Chief dryly began to prepare himself mentally. But then he saw the young man look up sincerely and utter words of ambiguous meaning:
"I believe what you want to see is not a Heroic Spirit, but a human who has fought against Heroic Spirits."
He paused, facing the Chief directly, and said bit by bit: "I believe that the idea of a human body challenging a Heroic Spirit is very respectable. Anyone who can do that by betting their resolve and taking the risk is absolutely not an object to be looked down upon."
'Hm?'
The Chief heard a clack.
It was like the sound of a component shifting within his heart. Or like the sound of a hammer striking iron.
"How did you know we wanted to..."
"I told you, I can read the structural philosophy of weapons. That is to say, I know what thoughts and what wishes a weapon was created with. My apologies for invading your privacy, but I think this makes us even for the initial surveillance."
The Chief's face stiffened, immediately cross-referencing this with the feeling of being seen through yesterday.
"If that's the case, then why..."
"I believe this is a form of sincerity. Problems between humans should be solved by humans. Probably because you are very respectable, I didn't want to bring Saber. Instead, I intended to negotiate with you directly."
The young man's face, though cool, was not distant. His gaze was as solid as dark iron.
"Betting one's life to personally challenge a hero—there is absolutely nothing laughable about that ambition."
The answer had actually come from his mouth.
The Chief was speechless, yet a certain part of his heart throbbed uncontrollably of its own accord, as if in resonance. Even if he could control his emotions, he couldn't forcibly suppress this magnetic-like resonance—born subconsciously from a similar lifestyle and found through the recognition of one who understands.
Not a single member of Clan Calatin spoke, but the atmosphere was clearly stirred. The Chief maintained his poker face, though the muscles by his hand contracted slightly.
Emiya Shirou, who had hit the mark, did not notice that his words had gathered everyone's attention. Instead, he let out a breath.
"I want to become an Ally of Justice."
Shirou stated simply. The Chief was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened.
"I hereby promise: You all are Justice."
Before the Holy Grail War began, the Chief had said these words. His smile caused the Chief's chest to throb with a strange, uneasy restlessness.
It was the first time the Chief realized Shirou was of the same kind. Yet, something felt different. In the white hall, the young man who spoke these words seemed like a child—clear and bright.
Shirou was far younger than the Chief. Even if he looked quite tall and mature, he still did not belong to the side of "adults." ...Precisely because of this, he walked a different path from the Chief. Having seen the genuine Saber, the Chief understood that this person did not belong to any faction. He did not belong to a Master. He did not belong to this Holy Grail War. He had come from outside the stagnant city of Snowfield.
He was just a very powerful, nameless human outsider.
"You are willing to risk your lives to proactively fight heroes, and just yesterday you were running around for a shooting case. With such a clear philosophy, I don't think you are evil. I confirmed this when I saw you had no killing intent toward me. Although I'm not a very discerning person, I believe our goals are aligned."
Shirou explained. Having only met once, he expressed a willingness to believe in the conviction of the Police Department. He was willing to believe in that conviction of the Clan Calatin—one that no one else had cared about until now.
Without giving the twenty-nine people even a moment to breathe from his overwhelming firepower, he was still stealing the words that should have originally been said by the Police Department.
"To say 'Ally of Justice' is too vague... Regardless, I don't want to see anything happen to anyone in this city, and I hope no one in Snowfield gets hurt. At the very least, I hope everyone
I've met can remain safe. So, I am looking for a way to protect this city—but my power is indeed insufficient. So, can I cooperate with you?"
He had no other hidden motives. He had delivered a set of words that best understood their needs—practically seeing through the Clan Calatin to the point of a "terrible" pitch they couldn't refuse.
With the expression of one seeking comrades, Shirou asked the Chief and the others:
"As an individual, I wish to seek help from this city's Police Department."
This way of phrasing it was the worst.
Because until we agree... we are the villains.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting