Shirou was silent. He didn't expect Paul to want him to join the search team.
If he left everything behind now and went with Paul to find his family, it would mean he was going back on his promise with Eris and wouldn't be able to send her back to her hometown.
Although Ruijerd could definitely protect Eris in his place and fulfill his duty, the feeling of giving up halfway made him very unhappy.
Of course, Shirou knew that wasn't what bothered him the most.
The moment he had to choose and couldn't make an instant decision, he realized something very clearly.
That was, in Shirou's heart, Eris already held the same, or even a higher, place than the Greyrat family.
He cared about Eris more, which was why he was hesitating and willing to keep protecting her, resisting joining the search team.
"..."
While Shirou was struggling internally, not expecting to be in such a situation again, Paul had no idea what Shirou was thinking.
He was lost in his own fantasies about the future.
Yes, Shirou's arrival had greatly encouraged Paul.
For Paul, who was always unreliable, he hadn't done many successful things in his life.
So he generally lacked confidence in himself and didn't think he could achieve much.
He felt the same way about finding his family. Before starting, he already knew his limits, what he could and couldn't do.
When he couldn't find his family on the Millis Continent or the Central Continent, he didn't have the courage to look for them on the Demon Continent or the Begaritt Continent.
Although he said it was to protect his daughter Norn from danger, he knew he was actually afraid of those dangerous places.
Paul was well aware of his own weakness.
That's why he had such high hopes for Shirou.
Since Shirou was a child, Paul sensed that his adopted son was different. Over time, he confirmed that Shirou wasn't ordinary, and this idea reached its peak during the Red Dragon War.
He even felt that there was nothing Shirou couldn't do.
That's why, when the family disappeared, Paul instinctively went to the Boreas family to find Shirou. He pretended to be looking for his family, but he was actually just relying on Shirou's power.
However, he didn't find him.
How should he put it?
The moment he learned that Shirou had also disappeared in the Teleportation Incident, Paul felt even more despair than before. It was the feeling of all hope being lost.
Shirou's existence meant that much to the Greyrat family.
So, when Shirou reappeared, and was clearly stronger than before, Paul naturally started relying on his son.
He felt that with Shirou's power, he could definitely set up a search team on the Demon Continent, and even the Begaritt Continent, to look for clues about his family in those dangerous places.
Shirou was someone he could trust to have that power.
"Shirou, hurry up and come with me to find Zenith and the others. Lilia and Aisha too, and Rudy... I haven't heard from them in so long, because I'm so useless. But if you help me, we can do things we could never do before!"
Paul said with anticipation, looking at Shirou with hopeful eyes.
Shirou didn't respond at all.
His attitude was silence.
Choosing between his family and Eris was too hard for him...
So, to avoid reality, Shirou changed the subject, "Paul, I actually have some leads on Zenith and the others' situation."
"Huh?"
Paul was stunned, not expecting Shirou to say that.
Shirou quickly described all the scenes he had seen with the Clairvoyance ability given to him by the Demon Emperor.
"Clairvoyance? The highest level of magic eye? You have that?"
Paul listened to Shirou with disbelief.
If anyone else said that, he wouldn't believe it, but since it was Shirou, he wasn't surprised at all.
"That's great!"
Paul was excited. "According to your description, Lilia and Aisha must have ended up in some small, out-of-the-way country. I've been looking in the big countries like the Holy Kingdom of Millis and the Asura Kingdom, and haven't checked the smaller ones. That was my mistake. And according to you, Rudeus is at the Magic University? Why hasn't he written back to me?"
"The main thing is Zenith. If what you saw is true, she's probably been teleported to some labyrinth and triggered its traps. It doesn't seem dangerous now, but we don't know how long the labyrinth's energy will last. If it runs out..."
Paul didn't finish, his face turning pale. He didn't want such a tragedy to happen.
He became even more anxious than before, and eagerly grabbed his weapon.
"Shirou, let's go now. With the two of us, we can take on most opponents and find Zenith and the others!"
"Wait, Paul..."
Shirou was hesitant, not expecting him to be so eager.
Seeing Shirou's expression, Paul, even though he was a bit slow, realized that Shirou might have different ideas.
After a moment of silence.
Paul asked seriously, "Hey, Shirou, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Don't you want to come with me to find Zenith and the others? Don't you want to find our family?"
"..."
Paul's pointed question made Shirou unable to look up. He remained silent, standing in place, without responding.
Without a doubt.
He was wavering on this.
However, Shirou also defended himself, "I don't think we need to rush. Now that we know where they might be, we can take our time..."
"Take our time? You mean you're going to watch Zenith be in danger, possibly die at any moment?! Lilia and Aisha being bullied? And we're just going to stand by and do nothing?!"
Paul exploded in anger.
This reaction reminded Shirou of a long time ago, when he told his father, Emiya Kiritsugu, that he wanted Miyu to live a normal life. Emiya Kiritsugu shouted at him the same way.
When faced with a difficult choice, and he made the wrong one, someone would always scold him like this.
Shirou was used to it.
But he couldn't help it.
He was always like this, always getting the priorities wrong at critical moments.
A hero of justice was just half-baked.
Protecting his family was just half-baked.
His was just a half-baked life.
A half-baked fake...
Shirou couldn't respond to Paul.
Paul, seeing his silence, got even angrier and shouted, "You, you wouldn't have fallen for that cute young lady you're traveling with and are ignoring your family for a woman, would you? Thinking about it, that's got to be it. You're living an adventurer's life with that cute young lady, with a strong guard following you. You've probably forgotten Zenith completely after all these years, let alone me!"
"You're wrong, Paul!"
"What did I get wrong!"
Paul was furious, grabbing a bottle of alcohol from the table beside him.
He drank half the bottle in one go.
Then he spat and looked down on Shirou.
Shirou couldn't argue, but he didn't think he was as bad as Paul made him out to be. Paul was clearly drunk.
Paul continued to criticize Shirou.
"That girl Eris is Philip's daughter, right? I haven't met her, but she must be a cute girl. It's nice, isn't it, flirting with a girl your age all day long, not thinking about how much your family is suffering. I shouldn't have saved you with Zenith in the first place, you heartless bastard!"
"Paul, shut up!"
Shirou couldn't hold back his anger.
He wouldn't be affected by anything Paul said, but he couldn't stand him dismissing his concern for his family.
He had many flaws, and even prioritized Eris's safety over his family now.
But he had never given up on finding his family. He had always been trying.
"You telling me to shut up? You think you can do anything now that you're a Sword Saint!"
Paul was furious and even tried to draw his sword from his waist.
"Commander, isn't this enough?"
The female knight couldn't watch anymore and tried to stop Paul's outburst.
Shirou took a deep breath, stopped the female knight, and slowly stood up from his seat, drawing Wind Break from his waist.
"There's nothing more to say at this point, Paul. You remember how we used to settle our arguments, right?"
"Hmph, you think you can beat me? I'm not the only one who's been working hard all these years!"
Paul was completely drunk. He drew his longsword without hesitation, the same magic sword that radiated an incredible pressure.
Shirou didn't say anything more, and silently followed Paul outside the tavern.
They didn't get so angry that they fought inside the tavern.
That would cause too many problems.
The members of the investigation team looked at each other, not expecting things to turn out this way. What was supposed to be a joyous reunion between father and son had turned into such a chaotic scene, which was truly regrettable.
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