Shirou Emiya — Doesn't Want to Work Overtime!

Several days had passed since the Final Selection, and Shirou finally received his Nichirin blade.

However, to both Shirou's and the swordsmith's great disappointment, the color-changing blade showed no reaction at all when Shirou grasped it.

Even when Shirou used his unique Sword Breathing style, employing various breathing forms, the Nichirin blade stubbornly remained unchanged.

He could only watch apologetically as the crestfallen swordsmith departed in despair.

Although Shirou didn't strictly need a Nichirin blade—given his projection magecraft—having a real sword ready at hand was undoubtedly more convenient than projecting one every single battle.

Compared to mere [Projection], Sword Breathing felt more like Shirou's personalized interpretation. [Projection] relied mostly on replicating weapons and techniques from others, with minimal personal touches. Sword Breathing, in contrast, was largely built on his own insights, supplemented by borrowed techniques.

It was like the difference between performing [Nine Lives Blade Works] with a crude stone axe or [with Kanshou and Bakuya. The technique itself remained the same, yet its essence varied greatly depending on the weapon and Shirou's understanding of it.

"Caw! Caw! Caw!"

Just a few days after receiving his sword, a Kasugai Crow landed on Shirou's shoulder.

It was the communication device given to him after completing Final Selection.

"Emiya Shirou! I have instructions! Head immediately to the town in the southeast! Residents near the fields report hearing something feeding every night, and people have begun mysteriously disappearing!"

"Eh—? The crow talked?!"

Shirou had assumed the missions would be delivered like carrier pigeons; he never imagined they'd relay instructions by actually speaking.

"If they're certain there's a demon there, I better hurry."

Since the selection ended, Shirou had nowhere particular to go, so he'd temporarily settled in a small-town inn nearby, waiting for his blade and new missions.

Quickly gathering his belongings, Shirou set off toward the location indicated by his Kasugai Crow.

Rather than aimlessly wandering about searching for demons, it was clearly more efficient to follow the Corps' assignments.

Back in the pleasure district, Shirou had searched fruitlessly for over a month without discovering a demon's hiding spot. Yet when trouble had actually occurred, the Demon Slayer Corps had arrived within a single day, swiftly resolving the situation.

He didn't believe he'd contributed much during that fight, either. Even without him, Rengoku-san alone would have easily handled it. The demon had troublesome abilities but was fundamentally no match for the Flame Hashira, incapable of even harming him significantly.

Lost in such thoughts, Shirou soon arrived at the town indicated by his Kasugai Crow.

It was approaching noon, and the streets bustled with lively vendors calling out their wares. The crowd flowing through the market gave the town a prosperous atmosphere.

But after experiencing the extravagant liveliness of Yoshiwara, this town's modest bustling felt rather ordinary to Shirou—at least it wasn't so crowded he couldn't move freely.

"The crow said villagers heard feeding noises near the fields. The demon's hideout should be somewhere close to that area."

With limited clues, Shirou could only roughly estimate the demon's location.

At that moment, he found himself somewhat envious of Zenitsu and Tanjirou.

One could pinpoint a demon's position through hearing alone, while the other could track a demon's scent with unmatched precision.

If only Shirou possessed similar talents, he wouldn't need to wander blindly around searching for a trace.

He spent several hours inspecting the fields and questioning villagers, but his efforts yielded no results.

Still, that was expected.

Sunlight was a demon's absolute weakness, fatal to any exposed demon. They acted boldly at night, arrogantly considering themselves above humanity, casually preying on anyone except the Demon Slayer Corps.

In contrast, during daylight, demons became extremely cautious, carefully selecting hiding spots to evade discovery. It was rare for Demon Slayers to find their lairs during the day, even those with heightened senses like Tanjirou, who might spend an entire day hunting just to locate a demon by nightfall.

But this didn't mean Demon Slayers could simply wait idly until nightfall. Demons preyed primarily on civilians—not Slayers. Without daytime reconnaissance, it would be difficult to pinpoint their exact locations at night, risking further civilian casualties.

Tragedy had already occurred; Demon Slayers existed precisely to prevent more such tragedies.

After thoroughly searching, Shirou narrowed down the demon's likely location based on villager testimonies about suspicious noises in the fields.

Night eventually fell, and villagers gradually returned to their homes.

In that instant, a chilling sensation shot up Shirou's spine, momentarily freezing him in place.

"Are you...looking for me?"

A sinister shadow abruptly burst from the ground, a terrifying aura enveloping it.

Its speed was blindingly fast.

In the blink of an eye, the shadow appeared right beside Shirou, launching a brutal punch toward him.

The violent strike generated fierce wind pressure aimed directly at Shirou's body.

Yet Shirou's reaction was just as swift. The moment the attack was unleashed, he propelled himself sideways, narrowly avoiding the fist that grazed past his cheek.

So it really was hiding underground.

Shirou had already guessed possible demon hiding spots. If a demon wished to avoid sunlight completely, there were limited options: caves, buildings, underground, underwater, or dense forests—any permanently dark place would suffice.

Given the attacks were centered around fields, only one possibility made sense—the demon had hidden underground.

Shirou had already investigated nearby houses, finding no trace of demons or signs of the rare "sun disease" some demons used to trick kindhearted villagers into sheltering them.

"Your skills aren't bad at all."

Turning toward the voice, Shirou finally saw clearly under the moonlight: the demon was a woman.

She had short white hair, two sharp horns protruding from her forehead, striking red sclera framing purple irises, and symmetrical red markings painted across her face.

But what truly caught Shirou's attention were the distinct characters etched in her pupils—characters he'd never seen clearly before in any other demon's eyes:

Lower Moon Four.