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

Hearing Hilda's words, the most bewildered was undoubtedly Alice, who had been suddenly kicked out of her home; she was practically numb.

Hilda didn't hesitate to speak up: "Alice! Is there anything you're unhappy about regarding our Shirou?"

"No way! You're just treating Shirou like your own son?"

"Yes, Shirou is such a well-behaved and sensible child, that's right, he is my only child."

"???"

"So go marry Shirou, Alice, if you still want to be a child of this family."

"But I'm only twelve years old..."

"Age is not a problem at all! Stop making excuses and focus on cultivating your feminine charm!"

"I……"

Alice tried to argue back against the out-of-control Hilda, but to no avail.

Hilda was determined to make the engagement happen and wouldn't listen to anyone's advice.

This stubborn style is very similar to that of Sauros.

This also made Shirou realize why Alice, the daughter of the quiet and calm Philip and Hilda, was so irritable; it turned out that it was due to her mother's genes.

"Hilda, calm down."

Philip had just seen Sauros off when he returned to find that his wife had also gone berserk, and he could only manage a helpless, bitter smile.

He tried his best to reassure her, but found that Hilda's attitude was not a joke, nor was it a sudden impulse, but rather a very firm decision.

Philip then began to think about what benefits would come from having Shirou and Alice marry.

At the very least, the ties between the Boreas family and the Paul family will become even closer.

In this way, the Boreas family could use the pretext of helping the Paul family return to the capital to formally challenge the Nottos family, and even completely regain control of the Nottos family, allowing the Boreas family to rightfully return to the capital.

Moreover, Shirou's own combat strength is quite considerable. His opponent already possesses great strength, and in the future, he will likely at least reach the level of Kyrie Irwin.

Philip, as a father, undoubtedly hoped that his daughter would marry such a powerful man.

Because there are too many benefits.

Philip suddenly went from being an opponent to a supporter, and began to hesitate about whether he should just go through with the charade, make it a fait accompli, and get things done.

As for the others at the scene...

Most people felt that Hilda's idea was not wrong, and many people thought that Shirou and Alice were indeed a good match. Even if Hilda didn't mention it, many people would have had similar thoughts.

After all, everyone knows Alice's situation; it's true that most people can't tame this volatile girl.

If Shirou doesn't marry Alice, she'll probably live a lonely life until the end.

"..."

While everyone present was considering things from their own perspective and increasingly felt that the engagement had many advantages, Shirou showed a helpless expression.

He had no interest in the engagement.

At least he doesn't feel he's qualified to get married right now.

Shirou always believed that he was not strong enough. He would only consider such a thing when he was strong enough to protect everyone he wanted to protect.

Of course, Shirou also knew the Boreas family's thoughts; most of them were probably thinking of Alice, which was why they supported the engagement.

Shirou, however, had a different opinion.

That is, he did not believe that Alice should be forcibly tied to his side.

Alice is very strong.

The opponent not only has outstanding talent, but also a firm will.

Alice is definitely not someone's appendage, nor is she like most women of this era whose purpose is simply to get married and have children.

Alice is Alice; she has her own life and the ability to fly to higher places.

Therefore, Shirou rejected the ideas of most of the Boreas family, and rejected their decision that they made for Alice's good.

As for Philip and Hilda...

Putting aside Philip's thoughts for the moment, the other party's overly dark political ideology would probably immediately lead him to think of many things involving collusion.

Shirou has never liked this kind of thing.

As for Hilda, he felt that Hilda had a misconception that, as a mother, she was ignoring her daughter's thoughts.

What the other party did just now was tantamount to ignoring Alice's own feelings and forcing her to marry a man she might not even like.

Perhaps this kind of thing is quite common in this era.

However, Shirou, being someone not born in this era, cannot accept this so-called normal thing due to his values.

Alice can only marry a man she is truly willing to marry.

Based on the above thoughts, Shirou completely rejected the engagement. He took a deep breath and tried to speak steadily: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept this engagement. Whether for Alice's sake or for the Boreas family's sake, this hasty decision is wrong."

Shirou's words were quite apt.

Even Hilda calmed down somewhat after hearing his words.

But Alice...

For some reason, Shirou's words were basically spoken from Alice's perspective, and he believed that he had made the best decision for Alice.

But as soon as he finished speaking, he inexplicably saw tears in the corner of the girl's eyes, and she suddenly turned around and left the scene without looking back.

"Alice!?"

Shirou cried out in surprise, but he couldn't stop the girl from leaving at all.

He was completely bewildered and had no idea what was going on.

The people in the banquet hall were also very confused, not understanding what had happened to Alice.

Philip, on the other hand, walked over with a smile, looking completely unperturbed, and handed Shirou a glass of wine.

Shirou wanted to refuse, but found that Philip forcefully shoved the glass into his hand and said, "Sometimes, it's good to get drunk. People who are too sober can always make the right decisions, but they often do a lot of hurtful things."

"Hurt someone? Me?"

Shirou held the sake glass, looking on with suspicion.

He felt that all his thoughts were based on Alice's perspective and were entirely for Alice's good, so how could they be hurtful?

Seeing Shirou's bewildered expression, Philip, with the air of a seasoned lover, smiled and said, "Yes, Shirou, your idea is good. You made the right judgment for Alice, but the right judgment doesn't mean the right thing to do. After all, you can never truly understand a girl's heart. My daughter Alice, even with her personality, is still a girl at heart... What girl doesn't harbor vague desires, doesn't yearn for a handsome man to appear before her? Not to mention, for Alice, you have indeed been her hero several times."

"I'm hardly a hero..."

Shirou shook his head. He never considered himself a hero, because in his view, what he did was no different from that of a butcher.

A hero is someone who saves people.

He was just a murderous butcher.

Philip looked at Shirou, seemingly surprised by his stubbornness, and could only smile wryly, "Fine, then consider you not a hero. But Alice definitely has feelings for you. After what Hilda said, she might have even fantasized about marrying you... While that might not be the best outcome, it's certainly not a bad one. However, Shirou, your answer has completely shattered that fantasy before it even happened, crushing the girl's hazy wish before it even blossomed. Do you think what you did was right or wrong?"

"I……"

Philip's incisive analysis made Shirou instantly realize the error of his actions.

He suddenly realized how terrible, even sinful, his actions had been.

But Shirou really didn't think he and Alice should get married, as it wouldn't be a good outcome for either of them.

Since that's the case, Shirou realized that he only had one thing to do.

That is to be open and honest, and to thoroughly explain your thoughts to Alice.

Only in this way can their relationship take another step forward.

However, doing so also carries huge risks. The relationship between the two people will undergo a significant change, and they may either become strangers or become more closely connected with the past.

Shirou was unsure whether the change was for the better or for the worse.

That's why he hadn't dared to make up his mind before.

But this time, he knew he had no choice. If he wanted to repair the relationship, he had to do everything in his power to have a complete showdown with Alice.

Chapter 170 Please let Alice sleep with you!

Shirou wanted to leave the banquet hall to find Alice.

But before he could make a move, Philip stopped him, saying he wanted to have a final heart-to-heart talk with him.

The lively banquet had ended, leaving only the two of them in the almost silent banquet hall. Philip quietly drank his wine and poured a glass for Shirou.

But Shirou obviously doesn't drink alcohol.

Even when he drinks, he basically only drinks wine.

Even in very rare cases.

Philip showed no displeasure, simply allowing Shirou to abstain from alcohol while swaying and muttering to himself:

"I... lost the battle to inherit the family business, so now I only have Alice as my child."

"..."

Philip's words were strange.

At least those were words that Shirou couldn't understand.

Because he couldn't understand why losing the inheritance of the family business would be causally related to having only one child, Alice.

Philip calmly explained, "Aren't you bothered by the fact that Alice doesn't have any siblings?"

"Isn't this normal?"

The moment Shirou finished speaking, he realized he had said the wrong thing again.

Because he is still perceiving things according to modern people's thinking.

In modern society where material resources are abundant, having only one child is very common. However, this is the Middle Ages, an era with relatively low productivity and a less affluent standard of living. Families generally had several children, and people relied on having more children to minimize the risks of life.

As the lords, the Boreas family could have as many children as they wanted, since it wouldn't affect the family's reputation no matter what.

However, considering the inheritance of a large family, having more children can obviously improve the quality of the heirs and ensure that no fool inherits such a large family.

Shirou already had an instinctive understanding of these things.

Now that Philip had spoken, he immediately realized the perplexing situation facing the Boreas family.

"Ahem... I misspoke earlier. What I meant was, why is this happening?"

Shirou immediately changed his tune, trying his best not to act too strangely.

Although Philip was confused, he obviously wouldn't connect the idea that Shirou was a time traveler.

Philip assumed that Shirou simply didn't understand the lifestyle of a large family and didn't pay much attention. He slowly said, "Alice has siblings. She has an older brother and a younger brother. Her older brother is probably the same age as you, right?"

"Alice has a brother? Why haven't I seen him? Could it be that he died in an accident?"

Shirou instinctively spoke.

He couldn't imagine the two brothers disappearing into thin air and instinctively thought of Alice's kidnapping incident.

But Philip interrupted his thoughts and said, "There was no accident, or rather, the accident happened from the very beginning. Those two children were taken away by my brother who lives in the capital from the moment they were born."

"Take away? Philip, your brother?"

"Yes, I have an older brother named James Boreas Grellat. He is the eldest son of the Boreas family and has the right to inherit the Boreas family. However, he has a bad relationship with my father, which led to the division of the family into the Boreas family in the capital and the Boreas family in the territory of Fituia."

Philip spoke in seemingly casual but actually contradictory words, "As for why you took my children away, the ostensible reason was to make them adopted so they could study in the capital, but in reality..."

Philip did not continue speaking.

But anyone with eyes can imagine it.

Philip's elder brother, James, inherited the true Boreas family and gained considerable power and connections in the capital.

In this way, the reason he took away Philip's child was twofold: to use it to blackmail Philip and prevent him from secretly developing and rising again to take his position, and also to deprive Philip of male offspring, thus ensuring that the next generation of the Boreas family's inheritance rights would remain in his own hands.

Of course, James would never say such dark things on the surface; he would use various excuses to gloss over the matter, or even fabricate a lame but plausible reason.

Even so, Shirou never imagined that something so domineering would happen.

"They actually forcibly took Alice's brother away; this is simply too barbaric and unreasonable..."