ind his words, but she couldn't comprehend it. She could tell from a glance that Shirou was human, therefore he had no obligation to aid the three factions in Kuoh. It was incomprehensible and not something that just anyone would do.

"Why help them?" She couldn't stop the words from escaping out of her mouth; her body sprinting forward and intercepting Shirou's path.

He paused in his steps, staring at her once more with his back straight and determination set. She would only continue to hinder him unless he gave her a reason that she could accept. Very well, then he would give her one regardless of the future outcome.

He couldn't care less anymore.

The minutes were going by and perhaps at any second, more individuals would die. It was true that he now placed more value in his own life, but he still took the lives of others as greater than his own. Thus, he didn't hesitate to sacrifice his own peaceful future. Besides, it was time to face the consequences of his past actions, for it would save those who were still grieving for a man that wasn't dead.

"You don't need a reason to save others," he said evenly, placing a hand on her shoulder and causing her to stiffen and then bristle.

She would have had sliced that hand off it were anyone else, but at this point, and at such a close proximity, she finally realized why this masked individual's voice sounded so familiar.

Its gentle hum.

Its patience.

Tears suddenly began to well in her eyes.

T-This was-

"Because little Adelina, that's the duty of a Lord. A Guardian Nobility of the Seventy-Two Pillars."