Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

She never doubted the correctness of what she did.

Because she represents justice!

"So, you concluded that all those people were criminals without any investigation?"

Emiya suddenly took a few steps forward and stood in front of her, questioning her with extreme agitation.

"The laws of the Empire dictate that those who bully others shall be executed! Justice shall not be violated!"

Without taking a step back, she put down the white puppy in her hand, strode forward, and faced directly into Emiya's eyes.

"Law?"

Does the empire have such a thing?

Emiya hadn't expected that the girl in front of him would directly quote the laws of the Empire.

He really didn't know what the laws of the empire were like. After all, the nobles here were all so wicked that the laws were practically nonexistent.

Oh no.

Faced with the scene before him, Emiya suddenly understood.

These just laws are merely weapons used by those in power to oppress the common people.

Only ordinary people without power or influence are required to abide by these extremely "just" laws.

"Should every bully, regardless of the circumstances, be executed?"

At this moment, Emiya calmed down. The Empire itself was a twisted entity, and arguing with her like this was pointless.

Emiya only wanted to know how the girl in front of him understood such laws, whether she was punishing those people out of her own will, or whether she was acting on orders from above.

Furthermore, he felt extremely uncomfortable with the girl in front of him constantly talking about the empire's so-called justice.

An empire? Does it even have a concept of justice?

Emiya could only see filth in it!

"Yes! Justice will be served!"

With an extremely confident posture, as if making an oath, she shouted loudly at Emiya.

"If your judgment is wrong—"

"No, my judgment cannot be wrong! Justice is justice, and evil is evil! This is something that will never change."

Before Emiya could finish speaking, she interrupted him with an extremely sharp voice.

"Isn't dragging innocent people into a disaster a crime?"

"They are merely necessary sacrifices on the path of justice. The path of justice is never perfectly smooth, and sacrifices are never unavoidable!"

Why must they become victims of your path to justice? Can justice that sacrifices innocent people still be considered justice?

"If you don't even have the courage to face the injustices involved, how can you uphold the righteousness of justice? What would you do if you had to choose between 10 people and 10000 people?"

On this dusty street, a man and a woman argued with each other in a tense atmosphere, as if they were about to fight.

But none of them made a move, even though the atmosphere was so tense.

While violence can solve many problems, there are many more that violence cannot solve.

Emiya is unwilling to use violence unless absolutely necessary.

Therefore, he will not attack the girl in front of him.

As for that girl...

Emiya harbored no hostility towards her, nor was he a wanted criminal from the picture book. The girl simply regarded Emiya as an ordinary resident who did not understand the laws of the Empire's justice.

She has always been very kind to residents of good character, because her sense of justice is for the purpose of protecting these citizens of the empire.

Lubbock, meanwhile, hid behind the bookstore door, listening intently to their argument.

He suppressed his murderous intent towards the girl, not daring to reveal a single trace of it.

Lubbock now knows that he cannot reveal his identity here, and he must be patient.

Moreover, he wasn't a dedicated combatant in night raids, and his own combat ability was far inferior to those of the professionals; he always provided them with support.

However, he can also possess considerable combat power when necessary.

If he were to confront her here, he might not even have a chance to return alive.

Keep in mind that she was the one who killed Hill, even when facing both Hill and Mine.

Chapter Seventy: An Inescapable Conspiracy

Emiya and the girl did not end up fighting.

Both sides exercised extreme restraint. The streets were already so ravaged; Emiya didn't want to add any more scars to them.

He suddenly remembered that many people were still trapped under the rubble. With regret and guilt on his face, he quickly ran to the other side of the rubble to search for those who were still alive.

The girl wasn't idle either; she quickly joined the rescue effort.

Even though she was the one who caused this disaster.

Even though she participated in the rescue operation, she showed no remorse whatsoever.

She believes that her actions causing them suffering and her actions rescuing them are essentially the same thing.

The justice of punishing criminals and the salvation of the empire's people from disaster are both for the purpose of upholding justice.

There is no conflict between the two.

Emiya couldn't possibly prevent her from carrying out the rescue because of a conflict between his own and her ideals.

In rescue operations, every additional person contributes to the effort.

After Emiya and the general were rescued, the Imperial Guard arrived at the scene.

Having read through the history of the Empire, Emiya also knew exactly what the Imperial Guard was all about.

However, for now, they are merely weapons wielded by those royal ministers against the common people.

Emiya couldn't believe that there wasn't something fishy going on behind the scenes, considering how long it took him to arrive.

"Captain Seryu, I'm late!"

At the very front of the group, a young man saluted the girl with utmost respect.

"No, the position of captain has always belonged to my mentor. I am only temporarily acting in his place. There is no need to address him as such."

Seleu responded, waving his hand as if hoping they wouldn't use such a formal address and would refer to him instead.

"team leader?"

Emiya recalled that Lubbock had mentioned this person during their previous conversation.

It is said that he was punished by night raid because he framed many people.

After all, it was an exchange with Lubbock, who was always very good at smuggling in his own agenda. Emiya also received a lot of intelligence about the current state of the Empire, as well as his praise for Night Raid.

As the intelligence chief of Night Raid, he had access to top-notch intelligence, but he wouldn't tell Emiya everything.

He simply shared some things with Emiya that were known to everyone in the upper echelons of the empire.

As for the common people, they couldn't even solve their basic needs for food and clothing, so why would they care about the life or death of the Imperial Guard Captain? These things were none of their concern anyway.

Compared to the fate of the Imperial Guard captain, many people would be left to rot in the streets tomorrow if they didn't find food.

However, Emiya doesn't develop any goodwill towards Night Raid because of this. It's an assassin organization that kills people when they receive a reward; it just so happens that the person they killed was a scumbag who framed an innocent person.

Moreover, Emiya never believes one-sided accounts.

Liva also told him about the indiscriminate massacres of some mansions during night raids.

Never believe everything you hear from others.

Emiya also had his own judgment; seeing is believing.

"May I have your name!"

Just as Emiya was pondering, Seryu's voice came from in front of him.

"Emiya Shirou."

Seryu suddenly pressed her face close to Emiya's, staring intently into his eyes.

"The moment you hesitate about whether to execute those sinners, you have already lost the right to be righteous! I am pure justice!"

After saying that, she left without looking back.

Many of the guards looked at Emiya with mocking expressions before following Seryu away.

"hesitate?"

Emiya found Seryu's words both amusing and exasperating.

It was precisely because of Seleu's decisiveness that such a terrifying disaster was caused.

Those perpetrators were just poor civilians who lacked food and clothing; even the guards who arrived earlier could easily have captured them.

It wouldn't cause such a huge commotion as it did in Seleucia.

It would not have caused such a large number of innocent casualties.

"10 people versus 10000 people?"

Emiya suddenly remembered the question she had mentioned. Emiya had no answer to this question and did not know how to answer it.

If he really had to choose, he would probably choose to do everything in his power to save everyone, rather than make a choice here.

He has no right to decide the lives of others at will; he can only do his utmost to save others.

Emiya suddenly understood where the awkward sense of justice in Seryu came from.

If it were the same argument as before, Emiya thought she would choose 10000 people without hesitation, but if we add another condition...

Those 10 people are from the Empire, while those 10000 are from other races. She will decisively choose the 10 people.

Her sense of justice was limited to the justice of the empire.