Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 972: The Cabin in the Mountains

After taking down yet another wave of attacking beasts, Shiki was finally at her limit. She was struggling to even remain standing, and her kimono was in tatters, torn in several places from the beasts' bites and claws.

"Phew~ At least they're dealt with. But weren't these stronger than the last lot? That took way more effort."

"But Mom still won," Mana, who had been hiding nearby, ran over and used her tiny body to support her mother.

"Of course, because I'm your mother," Shiki said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"But if they come again, I really might not make it. How much farther is the place you mentioned?"

"It's close now," Mana reassured her, helping Shiki as they stumbled forward.

"Ah, I can already see the light! I can also hear some strange noises."

Shiki raised her head, her unfocused eyes beginning to clear. Sure enough, at the edge of her blurry vision, there was a faint glimmer of light.

It was already dark when they started heading back, and after running for so long, the night had grown even darker. This was a remote, desolate forest, and any change in light was particularly noticeable.

After a few more steps, the sounds became clearer.

Clang, clang, clang—a rhythmic, faint noise echoed something not typically heard in nature.

The mother and daughter felt a surge of relief. With light and sound to guide them, the path became easier, and their heavy footsteps naturally lightened.

In just a few minutes, they found the source of the light—it came from a window. The bright glow of firelight shone through a wooden window, and the rhythmic clang clang clang was coming from inside.

"Someone lives here?"

Shiki's eyes widened in surprise. Even though she trusted Mana's abilities, seeing it for herself was still shocking.

Where there's a window, there's a house. The house, like the window, was made of wood. It resembled the traditional Japanese architecture of the Ryougi family estate but was much smaller—perhaps only a tenth of its size, if that.

The house was surrounded by a bamboo fence, and in the yard, there were wooden tables and chairs. A small vegetable garden had even been planted. It was clear that the owner had put a lot of care into maintaining the place.

"Excuse me, is anyone there?"

Mana called out as Shiki was still observing.

The clang clang clang came to an abrupt stop, followed by a man's voice.

"Master, I think someone's here."

"Who could be out here, in this remote wilderness, and at this time? Don't lose focus, we're almost done."

The first voice was youthful, while the second was older, but both shared the same robust tone.

The younger man replied, "Yeah, you're probably right. Maybe I just imagined it."

Upon hearing this, Mana shouted again, "Sorry to disturb you!"

"No, no, Master, there is someone here!"

"Hm, I heard it too. Go see what's going on."

"Yes, Master."

The clang clang clang started up again.

A few seconds later, the door opened, and a rather peculiar young man stepped out.

He was quite handsome, with reddish-brown hair and eyes, giving off a warm and approachable aura. However, his body was far from soft—his sharp features and muscular frame were striking, the very image of someone described as handsome, yet built like a bear.

Why was this so easy to notice? Because the young man was only wearing a pair of shorts. Every other part of his body was exposed, even though it was a freezing winter night with temperatures well below zero. To make things even more bizarre, his chest and forehead were drenched in sweat, and the contrast between his body heat and the cold air created visible steam rising off of him. Truly, he was a peculiar sight.

Perhaps due to the drastic temperature difference between the warm house and the cold outdoors, the young man shivered slightly as he asked, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"My mom and I are being chased by wild beasts. Could we take shelter here for a while?"

Shiki got straight to the point.

"Beasts? Around here? That can't be... huh?"

The young man's first reaction was disbelief, but before he could finish, he noticed the claw marks and bite wounds on Shiki's clothing.

"That's strange. There shouldn't be any dangerous animals around here."

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"It's true. Ah, I think they're coming again—I can hear them," Mana chimed in.

"Wait, there are beasts?"

The young man tilted his head and listened closely. Sure enough, faint beastly growls could be heard in the distance. Realizing the situation was serious, he quickly addressed them.

"Hurry inside. Beasts are afraid of light, so they shouldn't come near while you're here. You can rest easy. I'll go get you some water and food."

"Wait," Shiki interrupted him.

"These aren't ordinary beasts. They might not be afraid of the light. You and your master—"

"Even if they aren't afraid of the light, it's fine. They're just beasts. If they come, I'll kill them and turn them into a late-night snack."

The young man waved nonchalantly, but just then, he felt something poke at his leg. Looking down, he saw that it was Mana's finger.

"What's up, little girl?"

Mana didn't say a word. She simply pointed beyond the fence. In the distance, they could already see several pairs of bloodthirsty red eyes approaching.

"W-What, so many of them?!"

The young man's confident expression froze.

"Master, Master, come out quick! There are beasts—lots of beasts!"

"They're just beasts. What's the big deal? You can handle them yourself. It'll be a good extra meal," came the master's indifferent reply. The similarity in their reactions made it clear they were master and apprentice.

"No, Master, there are too many of them! I can't kill them all!"

The young man started to panic.

"Then just guard the door and hold them off for five minutes. I'm just finishing up the last step. If I stop now, the last two days will have been a waste."

"Five minutes?"

The young man glanced at the approaching beasts again and then fell silent.

Seeing him hesitate, Shiki clenched her left hand into a fist, digging her nails into her leg to stay awake, while her right hand gripped her dagger tightly as she forced herself to stand.

"Maam, you—"

The young man looked at her, surprised.

"There are too many beasts. I'll distract them. While I do, please take Mana and run," Shiki had already steeled herself for the worst.

"Run? No, no, you've misunderstood. I wasn't planning on running. I was just deciding which blade to use."

The young man said this as he walked over to a corner of the yard, where a large wooden tub covered by a black cloth sat. He pulled off the cloth to reveal a chaotic pile of various blades.

There were long swords, naginatas, great swords, katanas, tachi, iaito, wakizashi, tanto—every type of Japanese blade imaginable. The glittering edges of the blades reflected the light, dazzling Shiki's eyes.

"This... this is..."

"I'm a swordsmith who specializes in forging blades—though I'm still just an apprentice."

The young man casually selected a katana and two wakizashi, then slowly made his way toward the yard's entrance.

"I am Shirou, The 27th-generation Senji Muramasa, Shirou."

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