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

He devoted himself to honing his swordsmanship, but the swordsmanship did not give him, a mere mortal, the corresponding reward. Every day, swinging his sword was like having a conversation with a silent statue. No matter how passionate Shirou's words were, the swordsmanship never gave him any extra response.

This made Shirou realize that he might indeed not be able to make any breakthroughs in the Sword God style in the short term.

The only way to help a mortal like him improve his swordsmanship is to find a more powerful swordsman to guide him.

Sword Queen Kyrie I must become her apprentice and learn from her, no matter what!

Shirou silently made up his mind.

But he didn't do much about it; at least until Paul's letter to Gilead received a response, all he could do was wait patiently.

……

"The essence of cooking is the heart. Only by putting your heart into making the people who eat the food feel good can you make truly excellent dishes."

Shirou patiently explained the cooking process to Sylphie in the kitchen.

Although he had taught her a lot of basic cooking knowledge, he would repeat the same things to Sylphie every day, focusing on the essence of cooking: the expression of one's heart.

The essence of cooking lies in the chef's dedication and effort. Only by putting love and hope into cooking can one create food that allows the diner to experience its beauty.

"Ah."

Hilfi nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

It was obviously impossible for a child as young as her to understand Shirou's words immediately, but she was very patient, feeling that Shirou's words, like the other person's cooking, were full of emotion and warmth, making one want to keep listening.

As Shirou continued to teach Silphie the basics of cooking, and incidentally taught her some of his own unique cooking techniques through practice, there was a sudden knock on the door of the Grellard's house.

Shirou curiously went to open the door and found that the rest of the Grellard family, including Senis, Rudeus, Paul, and Lilia, were all gathered in the living room, indicating that there was a guest outside the house.

Rudeus volunteered to open the door and found standing outside was the blond half-elf Roltz.

A thick layer of snow had accumulated on the shoulders of his coat, and he looked somewhat hurried. He showed no intention of entering the room; instead, he appeared eager.

"Father, why are you here?"

Hilfi was taken aback, completely unprepared for Roltz's sudden appearance at the Greirat's house. "Are you here to call me home today?"

In the past, Roltz was very comfortable with Silphie staying at the Grellatt's house, and sometimes even allowed her to stay overnight. There had never been such a sudden visit as today.

Looking at Hilfi, Roltz was also inexplicably moved. Not long ago, Hilfi was timid and hesitant when talking to him. But now she had become so confident and cheerful, even more so than him and his wife.

It's all thanks to Shirou; under his subtle influence, Sylphie's personality has also become more lively and outgoing.

While pondering these matters, Roltz glanced at Paul in the hall. He paused for a moment upon seeing him, noticing that the knight lord seemed inexplicably颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a sense of listlessness, apathy, and a lack of motivation) compared to the past. However, he didn't have time to think too much and quickly said, "Mr. Paul, the monsters in the forest have become much more active recently, and it seems they might attack the village. In order for the spring planting to proceed smoothly, it would be best to hunt monsters before the end of winter and eliminate all the monsters in the forest."

Upon hearing Roltz's words, the members of the Grerat family nodded in agreement, feeling that they should indeed begin monster hunting earlier to eliminate the threat to the village.

And this was naturally Paul's duty as lord.

However, after hearing this, Paul took a sip of his drink and said rather impatiently, "Hunting monsters in winter is too risky. The snow severely obscures visibility, making it easy to be ambushed by monsters. Let's wait until spring."

"This……"

Although Paul's words were reasonable and flawless, Roltz still felt that the other party's attitude was somewhat strange.

If it were Paul in the past, even if there were certain risks, he would have made some preparations in advance to solve the village's problems.

Roltz then looked curiously at the rest of the Greirat family, wondering why such a change had occurred in Paul.

The rest of the Grellatt family were also puzzled and did not understand the reason for Paul's change.

Shirou was somewhat aware of this, as he had been observing his family's situation.

Paul's transformation seemed to have occurred after his confrontation with his opponent that day, where he demonstrated the strength of a superior swordsman.

Before that day, Paul was as diligent and conscientious as ever, trying his best to fulfill his duties as a father.

However, perhaps due to Shirou catching up with him in swordsmanship, Paul began to lose confidence as a father.

This is understandable, as both of the Grellard children, Shirou and Rudeus, are exceptionally intelligent and well-behaved.

They each displayed extraordinary talent in swordsmanship and magic, even becoming high-level swordsmen and water saint-level mages at a young age, catching up with the achievements Paul had spent half his life attaining.

This is undoubtedly unacceptable to a father, and may even lead to feelings of desolation.

So ever since Shirou revealed the Silent Sword, Paul has become less and less like a father. He has not only lost his dignity, but has also become more emotional than before, often drinking heavily and becoming degenerate.

Of course, because Paul maintained his habits and did a good enough job of putting on a show, others did not notice that he had started to slack off, but Shirou's overly keen observation still made him sense the change in Paul.

And the thought that he was the one who caused all of this filled Shirou with uncontrollable guilt...

"Roltz, let's go to the forest and exterminate the monsters."

Shirou took the initiative to speak, suggesting, "I'm already a high-level swordsman, enough to eliminate most monsters."

"Shirou, have you been promoted yet?"

Roltz clicked his tongue slightly upon hearing this, but then felt it was somewhat natural, as if he wouldn't be too surprised by anything Shirou did.

The rest of the Grellard family were thrown into disarray when they heard that Shirou was going to deal with the monsters alone.

Senis immediately said, "This is too dangerous. Forests in winter are not safe."

Rudeus and Sylphie also remained skeptical, not wanting Shirou to take such a great risk.

"Let him go."

Paul, however, reacted quite differently, saying, "With this kid's abilities, dealing with monsters would be a piece of cake."

"Honey, what are you saying?!"

Senis was shocked and never expected her husband to say such a thing.

Seeing that the couple was about to argue, Shirou quickly reassured them, "Don't worry, Senis, I'll be fine. I've participated in several monster hunts with Paul before, and there haven't been any problems."

"This……"

Seeing Shirou's insistence, Senis had no way to stop him.

She then sighed and accepted it all.

Shirou then left the Grellard family with Roltz to gather militia in the village and go into the forest to hunt monsters.

Paul watched Shirou leave, his fists clenching and unclenching, but in the end he didn't choose to chase after him.

He simply picked up the wine glass on the table without a word and poured it down his throat one glass after another until he was completely out of it and dizzy.

"Damn it, that brat Shirou... can't he let me show more of my responsibilities as a father..."

Paul spoke indistinctly and silently went up to the second floor late at night.

He intended to return to his own room, but because he was too drunk and confused, he took a few extra steps and ended up in the maid Lilia's room.

In a state of extreme depression, Paul just wanted to hug his wife and vent his frustration.

Lilia was startled when Paul suddenly hugged her, but seeing the weariness on the man's face and the tears in the corners of his eyes, she softened and couldn't take any forceful action.

A sleepless night...

Chapter 69 Paul's infidelity leads to a rift between father and son!

"Kacha!"

In the dark forest, Shirou's longsword, like a beam of moonlight, traced an arc through the air.

When the sword returned to its sheath, a monster mutated by the accumulation of magic power lay fallen before him.

After a whole afternoon and evening of hunting, he led Roltz and the others to wipe out dozens of monsters that roamed the forest.

This number far exceeds the amount of monsters that the Buena Village forest produced in the past.

This made Shirou feel uneasy. He felt that the emergence of so many monsters was obviously abnormal, and the source of these anomalies could not be ignored.

"There shouldn't be any more monsters ahead."

Using his Eagle Eyes, Shirou surveyed the forest environment and, finding no signs of magical energy accumulation, slowly ended the hunt.

"Thank you for your hard work, Shirou."

Rolz and several villagers from Bouyena came forward, their expressions showing approval.

Shirou is not only a highly skilled swordsman with the strength of a superior swordsman, but he is also calm and has a keen eye for detail, never missing a single clue.

Therefore, when Shirou leads the team, they are almost never attacked by any monsters, as they can anticipate the monsters' actions and take appropriate countermeasures.

Although they wouldn't say it, they already respected Shirou more than the easygoing Paul, even though he was just a child, and regarded him as a more reliable knight.

On the other side, Shirou looked at the monster corpses lying on the ground and couldn't help but ask, "Are there really that many monsters in the forest? Isn't the number gathered this time a bit too exaggerated?"

"This……"

Roltz was also puzzled by Shirou's words. "Logically speaking, there shouldn't be so many monsters in the Kingdom of Asura. The magical power here is far less concentrated than that of the Demon Continent. Even in areas with severe magical power accumulation, there should only be a few monsters at most."

"So, the current situation isn't normal, is that right?"

"Yes."

Roltz nodded.

Shirou frowned slightly at this, finding the whole thing too strange.

He felt he had to discuss it with Paul, and if necessary, even seek support from the higher-ranking nobles.

After all, Buena Village was just a small place, and Paul was the only knight guarding the area.

If a monster attack of too magnitude occurs, it will be impossible to respond at all.

Although Shirou and Rudeus possess considerable fighting ability, they are ultimately just children, and their physical strength cannot sustain such a high-intensity battle.

……

After the hunt, Shirou returned to the Grerat family home the next day.

As soon as he got home, he immediately went to Paul and brought up the fact that the number of monsters in the forest had increased, suggesting that something unusual had happened.

He had assumed Paul would take this very seriously and at least immediately think of a solution.

Paul, however, completely ignored him and said impatiently, "It's just a few more monsters in the forest. Since you, Shirou, have already easily eliminated them, what could be the problem?"

"..."

Shirou was stunned into silence when he heard Paul's unexpected response.

With his quick wit, he naturally noticed the dissatisfaction Paul was conveying in his tone.

Moreover, Paul is most likely unhappy because he is too capable as a son, which makes him, as a father, lose his rightful place.

This is human nature.

Parents always hope to guide their children and be a role model for them, rather than being surpassed or lectured by them.

Paul is now in a state of near-retirement because Shirou's growth has been too rapid, which has damaged his self-esteem.

Although Shirou knew this principle, he couldn't think of a good way to solve the problem.

Because Paul's idea was too obvious, unless Shirou suddenly became a cripple and could no longer use his superior swordsmanship, it was highly unlikely that he would be able to pull himself together...

Under normal circumstances, it would be fine if the other party just kept giving up.

But Shirou is now very worried about the situation in the Buena Forest. If the monsters become more rampant and cause unknown effects, no one knows what kind of disaster will befall the village.

"call……"

Shirou took a deep breath. He made up his mind that even if his words would displease Paul and make him angry, he had to make him understand the seriousness of the problem.

"Paul, you..."

Before Shirou could finish speaking, the blonde woman, Senis, came down from the second floor. She was in a good mood and even said excitedly, "Darling, I had morning sickness today. I might be pregnant!"

"Really, really?"

Senis's sudden news surprised everyone in the Grellatt family, followed by a constant stream of joy.

After all, Senis's pregnancy means the Grellatt family will have a new child, further increasing the family's size.

"Is she really pregnant?"

In contrast, Paul, as the husband, seemed inexplicably hesitant, as if he were afraid of something, his expression inexplicably uncertain.

"Of course."

Senis, oblivious to Paul's strange unease, smiled and said, "After Rudy was born, we couldn't conceive a second child. Now our wish has finally come true."

"Oh, yes."

"Rudy, Shirou, you two might be getting a younger brother or sister!"