Chapter 359: Arrival at Shimousa Province
Inside Shirou's bundle were the remaining unburned belongings from the village. He had personally buried the villagers, and since this money would be used for the upbringing of the village's own Atsu and Tasuke, he took it with a clear conscience.
The few houses in the village that hadn't been burned were all located in remote corners, so they naturally didn't belong to wealthy families. All he could find were some loose change and a few pieces of women's gold and silver jewelry.
To convert these into cash, he needed to find a place to sell them. After some thought, he decided he had to make a trip to a castle town in Shimousa Province; conveniently, he could also gather some information there.
Taking Atsu and Tasuke along, he realized that a child's pace is naturally slow. If they had to walk such a long distance, Atsu likely wouldn't be able to handle it. Thus, Shirou simply took Tasuke from the girl's arms and held him to his chest. Because the infant's neck bones hadn't fully developed yet, he carefully supported the back of the neck with his arm to let him lie comfortably.
Then, he bent down and hoisted Atsu up, letting her sit upon his shoulder, and began sprinting rapidly toward the town.
"Wow! So high! So fast!" Atsu cried out in excitement.
"Ya ya!" Tasuke also let out a cheerful cry.
Shirou used his magical energy to generate an invisible barrier to protect them, ensuring that the cold wind hitting them head-on during his run was transformed into a comfortable breeze.
An hour later, Shirou arrived with the children at a jewelry shop in Shimousa Province, which also functioned as a pawnshop.
As soon as Shirou stepped over the threshold, a welcoming shop assistant came forward with immense enthusiasm to greet him.
"Guest, are you looking to buy jewelry? Whether it's a jade pendant befitting a dignified gentleman like yourself, or a precious pearl to gift to a lover, we have it all!"
"No, I'm here to sell jewelry," Shirou interrupted, getting straight to the point.
Upon hearing he wasn't a customer, the greeter's expression instantly soured. He gestured casually toward the right and said, "Selling jewelry? Go to the side hall. See that screen? It's just inside."
Seeing Shirou with two small children, looking to sell off gold and silver jewelry, the people nearby naturally misunderstood and began to whisper among themselves. Shirou was seemingly treated as a fallen man of means, a destitute soul forced to sell his wife's jewelry; usually, the type of person who did such a thing was either a drunkard or a gambler.
'What poor children... they are so well-behaved, they've been quiet and obedient since entering the shop...' The people around looked at Atsu and the swaddled Tasuke with pity.
'To think they have a father like this... even though he looks quite decent and is tall and strong...'
Shirou's sensitive ears caught the whispers from the outer hall, and his heart suffered a heavy blow. He now felt a bit of regret; back in Mikawa Province, it would have been better if he had accepted the reward from the Lord of Matsudaira before leaving.
Behind the screen was a traditional pawnshop. The counter window was built very high—at least 1.8 meters—and the window was fitted with bars. For the people of Wa (Japan) in this era, who were quite short—with the national average height for men being less than 160 cm—one would have to stand on tiptoe and raise both hands high to pass items to the counter.
This was designed to allow the pawnshop manager to maintain a literal "look down" upon those hocking items, using a superior stance to suppress the price.
The manager tallied the gold and silver jewelry, setting aside the valuable pieces. Finally, he left a hairpin with gold edging carved in the likeness of a phoenix and pushed it back toward Shirou, saying:
"We don't take this one. It's not worth much anyway; better keep it for your wife. It can serve as a memento, at least."
"No..." Though he wanted to explain, being under the assault of the surrounding gazes, Shirou decided it was best to say as little as possible. He honestly tucked the hairpin back away.
"Hm? Fine, I'll settle your bill. Since it's a permanent pawn, I'll calculate an extra ten percent for you. This is the amount—no bargaining!" The manager said, spreading his hands.
"Alright, deal." Shirou accepted two gold koban (small gold coins), along with over ten silver coins and some scattered copper change. After stowing them away, he took Atsu and Tasuke and left that place of gossip.
In the town of Shimousa, there was actually a somewhat strange and cute princess. She seemed to be looking for a suitable partner to engage in a passionate, blazing, life-consuming, soul-smoking romance. Today, she had also given her servants the slip and run out onto the streets alone to scout for candidates.
"Tch... he already has two children," said the long-haired girl with dragon horns, dressed in a luxurious kimono, as she pursed her lips.
"Atsu, let's leave quickly." Shirou took Tasuke and grabbed Atsu's small hand, leading them hurriedly away from this den of trouble.
"Mm-hmm! To think he's walking down the street holding a little girl's hand... seeing such a manly back showing such tenderness, if he were single, I'd almost want him to take my hand and elope together."
"Princess! So you were here! Honestly! How many times have I told you not to suddenly run off? Quick! The Master might return today. We must return to the estate!" A retainer dressed as a samurai ran over, hoisted the princess up, and dragged her toward the other side.
"As expected of the city, the people here are completely different from the countryside! Right, Tasuke?"
"Ya ya!" The infant seemed to agree.
"No, no... that person would be considered strange no matter where you put her." Shirou felt he should leave here soon; the influence of this city was not exactly good for a child's education.
At that moment, a crowd had gathered in a circle by the roadside, and the sound of music was playing within. Walking up to take a look, he saw it was a dancer performing a dance piece.
The dancer at the center was like a brilliant butterfly, dancing gracefully. A blue silhouette, a lithe figure, and a pretty face—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her a beauty that could topple nations. However, looking closely at this dancer, she actually had animal ears and a tail on her head. The people around didn't seem surprised, likely because she used some kind of illusion to hide them from the others.
However, this was a familiar face. Seeing how she enjoyed the applause, she didn't seem to be doing evil in this life, so Shirou wasn't worried.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, it's a dancer! So pretty!" Atsu said, her eyes shining.
"Hmm..." Shirou thought for a moment, then pulled out the hairpin that hadn't been pawned earlier and tossed it as a tip into the tray the dancer had placed on the ground.
"..." When the dancer saw the hairpin tossed in, she paused and gave Shirou a fierce glare.
Once the dance ended, the blue-robed dancer picked up the hairpin and walked straight toward Shirou's group.
"The dancer is coming over!" Atsu said in surprise.
"Mikon! That's right! I am the dancer from Izu!" The fox dancer smiled at the child.
Then, she turned her head, changed her expression, and stared straight at Shirou. Her pretty face was scrunched in a frown, and she pointed her index finger quite rudely at the tip of Shirou's nose, saying: "You, unknown gentleman! You clearly already have two small children, yet you have the nerve to try and pester me? Do you really think being handsome means you can do whatever you want? Even a dancer of low status who makes a living through performance has her dignity! Mikon!"
"Um... is it possible you've misunderstood?" At first, Shirou thought the other person recognized a version of himself from a certain world, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.
The dancer angrily thrust the hairpin back into Shirou's hand and said, "No! Take this hairpin back! I truly feel bad for your wife! Hmph!"
Shirou took two steps back before catching the tossed hairpin. Facing this sudden accusation, he was truly baffled. He said in confusion, "No, I didn't mean it that way. It's just that the hairpin was hard to sell, and your dancing was indeed very beautiful, so I decided to give it to you."
"This is a 'Phoenix Seeking Phoenix' hairpin used for courtship! Even as a dancer from outside, I know the locals use this to propose marriage! As long as the woman accepts it, it means she accepts the proposal. You beast! You are practically a predator among beasts! Do you also have a tail hidden behind you?" The fox dancer had spent her whole life pursuing true love, so the thing she could least accept was a man who played around like this.
"If you think you can take liberties with me just because I'm a dancer, you're wrong! Regrettably! I no longer wish to be a concubine! Even if you have a very handsome soul, I will not agree!" The blue-robed fox-eared dancer puffed out her cheeks in anger.
"..." Shirou was speechless.
He didn't know which time-period's avatar this fox currently was. However, Shirou possessed the memories of multiple Emiya Shirous. This passionate fox beauty had many unspeakable dark histories; later on the Moon she wanted to be a wise wife, and then there was Gudako at Chaldea.
Especially with the experiences in the Mooncell, Shirou was truly not a stranger to this fox beauty. It was fine to be friends, but if it involved romantic feelings, he begged to be excused.
"Grandpa isn't a bad person. Grandpa adopted us and brought Atsu and Tasuke to the city. He's a very good person!" At that moment, the little girl ran forward to stand up for Shirou.
The dancer's eyes widened, and her large ears twitched excitedly several times. She shouted in her mind: 'Mikon!!! So they are adopted children!'
'Even though they're adopted, the atmosphere is very good. A considerable bond has been established between the adult and children's souls; it seems he truly cares for them. If that's the case, everything makes sense! This is indeed a noble and handsome soul!'
"Actually, it's not like I hate children that much..." The fox dancer turned red in the face. She turned her back to Shirou, tapping her index fingers together and speaking in a small voice.
However, when she turned her head back, she found the spot was already empty. Her tail stood up from the shock.
"Mikon! He ran away!"
At this time, Shirou was carrying the infant Tasuke in one arm and holding Atsu at his waist with the other, rushing toward the outskirts. It wasn't until they turned several corners that he finally stopped.
"Grandpa? Where are we going now?" Atsu asked in confusion.
"Ya ya?" Tasuke also let out a sound, his large eyes wide open.
"Alright, we'll buy a few more things and then find a place to stay for now. We'll leave the city tomorrow," Shirou said, looking at the color of the sky.
"Really! That's great! Tasuke! This is our first time staying in the city. We're city people tonight!" Atsu said very happily.
"Ya ya~!" the infant also laughed.
"Heh, you two haven't even been inside a city before this," Shirou was also moved to laughter by their endearing innocence.
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