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

Before that, he could only rely on disguise to avoid being discovered and to protect the people he wanted to protect in secret.

Chapter 157 The princess has been captured.

Ariel has decided to leave Bereas Castle.

After staying at Boreas Castle for a long time, Ariel finally achieved her goal and met the legendary blacksmith Muramasa.

After hearing Muramasa's words, Ariel finally realized the problem she was facing and understood what she lacked to become a queen.

In order to obtain what he truly needed, and even to meet Muramasa's conditions, he sought the other party's assistance.

Ariel made a decision: she would return to the capital to find the answer to the question Muramasa had asked her and to discover the true reason why she longed to become queen.

The Boreas family undoubtedly breathed a sigh of relief upon Ariel's departure.

They had long felt intense unease about Ariel's prolonged stay.

After all, Ariel, as the second princess, attracted the attention of many people and forces. As a result, many people paid close attention to the Boreas family, which brought a lot of unnecessary trouble to Boreas.

If it weren't for the fact that the other party was a princess, the second princess of the Kingdom of Asura, the Boreas family would probably have already kicked her out.

Of course, while the adults' attitudes were complicated, Alice's attitude towards Ariel was quite ordinary.

To Alice, Ariel was just a princess with a rather interesting personality who often bothered Shirou, which annoyed her.

Now that she knows Ariel is leaving, Alice is naturally very supportive and can't wait for him to leave so he won't get close to Shirou anymore.

And it seems that he knew what Alice was thinking.

On the day she was to leave, Ariel did not simply walk away. Instead, she went to the Boreas family's training ground and asked Shirou, who was training Iris, "Shirou, would you be interested in going to the royal capital with me?"

"what?"

I never expected Princess Ariel to say something like that.

Shirou, who had just breathed a sigh of relief at the princess's departure, now showed a confused expression.

Before Shirou could answer, Alice suddenly stepped between the two. Although she was shorter than Ariel, Alice still spoke without backing down: "Don't joke around. Shirou is part of my family, and you will never take him away!"

"Huh? When did Shirou's surname become Boreas?"

Ariel spoke with a smile, as if she had already figured out Alice's intentions.

"This……"

Seeing this, Alice was speechless and unable to refute Ariel's words.

Seeing this, Ariel smiled and continued, "For Shirou, going to the capital with me is definitely better than staying with the Boreas family! The capital is a place where you can meet more important people and have a wider stage. I can even introduce you to the Water God and have him teach you swordsmanship."

Ariel made a proposal to Shirou that would be very appealing to a normal person.

Ariel had clearly been thinking about how to win Shirou over all this time.

While it's unlikely that a blacksmith of Muramasa's caliber could be easily poached, Shirou is just an ordinary swordsmanship teacher, so even if he were recruited, there shouldn't be any problems.

At least Ariel herself was confident enough to offer Shirou a price that would tempt him.

However, before Ariel could offer any further terms, Shirou spoke first: "I'm sorry, Princess Ariel, I have no intention of going to the capital with you. No matter what conditions you propose, it will be the same to me. I have no intention of getting involved in the struggles between nobles; I just want to protect the people I want to protect."

"To protect those you want to protect..."

Upon hearing Shirou's words, Ariel was suddenly stunned.

Because she suddenly remembered what Muramasa had said to her before, as if she had been enlightened, a large number of thoughts flooded Ariel's mind.

For a moment, her eyes were filled with regret as she looked at Shirou.

She became even more eager to win over Shirou than before, and even tried to forcibly keep him by her side.

However, Shirou's attitude was extremely firm. Ariel had a strong ability to judge people, and she could tell at a glance that someone like Shirou would not be swayed by things like profit, wealth, or status. He was not the kind of vulture that could be easily lured with bait, but rather an eagle destined to soar through the sky.

"I understand, but even if you don't want to come with me, we can still be friends, right?"

Ariel gave Shirou a deep look, her expression seemingly unchanged, but beneath the surface, a turbulent undercurrent was brewing.

"Of course."

Shirou smiled and nodded.

He had a high opinion of Princess Ariel, and if she could truly ascend the throne, it would certainly reduce the number of villains like Darius.

If Shirou hadn't known that he currently lacked sufficient ability, he might have actually tried to help Ariel and provide her with assistance.

However, he is far from enough at this stage.

Putting everything else aside, the water goddess Reda alone is far beyond Shirou's current capabilities to challenge.

If you want to achieve the justice in your heart, you must further improve your strength!

Ariel and Shirou smiled at each other and then parted ways.

Accompanied by Luke and Dirichlet, Ariel boarded the carriage prepared by the Boreas family, embarking on her journey from the castle back to the turbulent and chaotic capital.

"Hehe, that guy's finally gone!"

Alice couldn't help but laugh when she saw Ariel leave.

She had clearly disliked Ariel for a long time, finding the princess extremely annoying and getting far too close to Shirou.

Since Ariel arrived, Alice has hardly seen Shirou except when she's practicing her swordsmanship, which has made her feel a little lonely.

Of course, Alice herself would never admit that she was lonely.

"The capital..."

Shirou watched the carriage slowly depart, his expression instinctively complex.

He knew that he would eventually go to the capital, but that would be a very long time from now.

At least until Shirou has mastered the Sword God Style to the King level, or has mastered the Unlimited Blade Works of the Heroic Spirit Emiya and possesses the ability to fight the Water God, he probably won't go there on his own initiative.

Once Shirou sets off for the royal capital, that will surely be the time when the final battle begins.

At that time, the unfinished battle between him and the Water God will finally be decided.

……

Since Ariel's departure, the Boreas family has once again fallen into peace and tranquility.

Human habits are truly powerful.

Ariel had only been gone for less than a day, and most people had already forgotten what had happened before, as if Ariel had never been there at all.

Shirou got used to it and returned to his daily routine of practicing swordsmanship during the day and forging swords at night.

Everyone originally thought that time would just pass by gradually.

But less than half a day later, something unexpected happened.

Ariel was kidnapped on her way back to the capital!

The person who reported this was Luke, Ariel's servant. Less than half a day after setting off, he rushed to Bereas Castle in a panic, saying that they had just set off and were about to leave the territory of Bereas when they encountered a trap and ambush. Dirich was seriously injured in the process while protecting Ariel, and although Luke was only slightly injured, he was completely unable to save Ariel's safety, which resulted in her being captured by assassins.

This incident shocked the entire Boreas family.

After all, Ariel was kidnapped in Boreas' territory, and Boreas cannot escape responsibility and liability for this, no matter how it happened.

It can be said that whoever kidnapped Ariel was extremely vicious.

Their actions, on the one hand, captured Ariel, the second princess, and on the other hand, tantamount to pushing the Boreas family into a fire pit.

If Ariel is truly missing, Sholos, as the head of the Boreas family, might even have to atone with his death.

This is the rule among nobles!

In an instant, faced with such an outrageous event, the entire Boreas family sprang into action, even mobilizing all their private armies and adventurers, eager to find the person who had kidnapped Ariel and rescue Princess Ariel.

Shirou was equally surprised by the news.

But unlike the others, he didn't panic. Instead, his first thought was to figure out who had kidnapped Ariel.

First of all, as a princess, Ariel has a lot of enemies, and other princes could all potentially harm her.

However, the old king is still alive, and the struggle for the throne in this country has not yet intensified to the point of mutual slaughter. It seems unlikely that a fight would be launched at this time.

What intrigued Shirou even more was why the murderer had Ariel captured on the Boreas family's territory.

The other side could have waited until Ariel left the territory of Boreas before making their move to capture her. That would have not only increased their chances of success but also reduced the risk of retaliation.

With that in mind, the answer is almost obvious.

The enemy's target is not Ariel, or rather, the main target is not Ariel, but Boreas!

The other party did this in an attempt to frame Bereas and even bring down the Bereas family.

The person who harbors such hatred for the Boreas family, even going so far as to kidnap the princess to cause trouble, can only be targeting one person—

Darius Silvaganza!

There is a very high probability that he was the one who did all of this!

Of course, even if the mastermind behind it has been identified, the focus now is still on Ariel, who has been captured.

If Ariel is captured or even killed, regardless of whether the mastermind is found, the Boreas clan will not escape punishment, or even destruction.

With this in mind, Shirou didn't dare waste any time and immediately went to find Luke and Dirichlet.

Compared to the seriously injured and unconscious Dilik, Luke is still rational at the moment, but his rationality is also collapsing little by little with the fact that Ariel has been captured.

"Luke."

"..."

Shirou rushed over to ask what was wrong, only to find the other person's eyes were lifeless, and he stood there blankly, as if he had lost his soul.

He sighed silently, realizing that Luke had completely broken down because of Ariel's capture.

Chapter 158 What's the difference between this and suicide?!

The news of Ariel's capture was undoubtedly a huge blow to Luke.

As Ariel's guardian knight, he should have taken on the responsibility of protecting the princess. However, in the end, he not only failed to protect Princess Ariel, but he also failed to get injured while protecting Ariel, just like Dirichlet. He completely lost his qualifications as a guardian knight.

Now, the thought of Ariel's possible fate and his own incompetence plunged Luke into indescribable regret and despair.

At this moment, he kept his head down, looking troubled, and didn't even notice Shirou's arrival.

"..."

Shirou could completely understand Luke's despair and helplessness.

He had noticed before that although Luke was a bit petty and dull-witted, or to put it nicely, simple-minded, or to put it bluntly, slow-witted, his greatest strength was undoubtedly his loyalty to Ariel.

Although it's unclear why Ariel has earned his unwavering loyalty, Luke's current sincerity towards her is something anyone can sense.

That's why, when Ariel was kidnapped and he was unable to stop her, Luke must have felt an indescribable sense of regret.

However, Shirou clearly cannot allow Luke to continue wallowing in self-pity like a complaining woman.

Ariel's safety is not only a matter for Ariel herself, but also for the safety of the entire Boreas family.

If Ariel truly disappears without a trace, the Boreas clan will undoubtedly pay an unspeakable and terrible price.

Therefore, whether for Ariel or for Boreas, Shirou will do everything in his power to find the culprit who kidnapped Ariel and rescue the princess.

"Snapped!"

Shirou then went straight up to Luke and stood in front of him, looking down at him.

I stood there for quite a while.

Seeing that Luke still hadn't reacted, Shirou had no choice but to speak up: "Luke, do you want to rescue Princess Ariel?"

"……What?!"

Upon hearing the words "rescue the princess," Luke, who had been completely unresponsive as if his brain had shut down, suddenly snapped back to reality.

He stared blankly at Shirou in front of him, and it took him a while to realize what the other was saying.

But Luke was somewhat dismissive; he simply didn't believe that Shirou, a mere blacksmith, could possibly save the princess.

Rather than relying on the other party, it's better to place our hopes on the extensive search conducted by the Boreas clan.

However, Luke dared not draw any conclusions.

His concern for Ariel surpassed everything else, even the most baseless lifeline, which he felt compelled to grasp at the moment.

So Luke stared intently at Shirou, as if to say, "If you're joking with me, I'll never let you get away with this."