Esdeath didn't pause for even a moment at Shirou's challenge.
"My father was strong, and isn't it natural that the strong make the rules?"
Her response was unwavering.
"Survival of the fittest is absolute. No one can change this. If you weren't strong yourself, do you think we'd even be sitting here talking so peacefully?"
"All rules are built on strength."
Her tone brooked no argument; Esdeath had never once hesitated about her beliefs.
"Then—"
Before Shirou could continue, Esdeath interrupted sharply.
"You were going to ask why my father protected the weak?"
"It was merely a rule set by my father. He was strong, so we followed his rule. It's as simple as that."
Esdeath's father, as the strongest in their clan, commanded obedience without question—exactly as he had taught Esdeath to believe.
Though his actions aligned with Shirou's ideals, at their core, they remained rooted in the brutal reality of strength above all else.
"The strong make the rules; the weak follow them. He decided that everyone should protect the vulnerable, and the weak obeyed that rule."
"My father protected the weak, and this doesn't contradict survival of the fittest at all."
Indeed, from a broader perspective, protecting the weak and the law of the jungle were not contradictory. Esdeath herself was generous toward her subordinates, freely distributing rewards and resources among them.
Though these soldiers and subordinates were technically weak, Esdeath willingly took care of them.
Similarly, Shirou's belief that Esdeath shouldn't kill indiscriminately was itself rooted in the fact he was strong enough to influence her rules.
Strong people protected the weak purely because they chose to—not because the weak had demanded it.
Shirou himself chose to protect the innocent precisely because his strength allowed him the freedom to act.
If he had lacked strength, Esdeath would have killed him during their first encounter.
It was Shirou's choice to protect others, not theirs.
"Your belief that the strong should protect the weak is merely your own wishful thinking. If someone stronger defeats you, what do you think will happen to those you protect?"
Esdeath pressed Shirou with sharpness born of personal experience.
Her father had been strong, certainly, but someone stronger had appeared, completely ignoring her father's rules and destroying Esdeath's home.
From that moment, Esdeath had clearly understood: only by becoming stronger could one transcend rules. Only by standing at the very top could one create their own rules.
This time, Shirou was the one left speechless.
His own neighborhood had no delinquents precisely because he was strong enough to enforce rules that abolished theirs.
He had secured peace and safety for many students by overpowering their bullies.
If Shirou hadn't been strong, he himself would have been endlessly bullied and beaten.
At this moment, Shirou understood clearly that he couldn't change Esdeath's beliefs. Her ideals were too deeply ingrained.
She could even adapt his arguments effortlessly and turn them back against him.
He lacked any strength to counter her argument. When debating philosophy, the strongest fists always spoke loudest.
If your fists weren't strong enough, no argument mattered.
"And you? Why are you so twisted?"
Noticing Shirou's silence and inability to rebut, Esdeath pressed her advantage, leaning closer with genuine curiosity.
If her own twisted worldview could be attributed to the Empire's corruption, Shirou's behavior remained utterly baffling to Esdeath.
She couldn't fathom what he was thinking.
Even the members of Night Raid, who risked their lives for others, did so because those people mattered more than their own lives or because those people would willingly die for them in return.
Esdeath could understand such individuals—she'd seen countless examples in her long history of warfare.
She'd even encountered a prisoner who endured gruesome torture silently until death, purely because he refused to risk harm coming to his beloved in the Northern Tribe's capital.
Yet Shirou differed completely. He would willingly give his life for a complete stranger he had just met.
Initially, Esdeath had believed Shirou intervened simply because he couldn't tolerate her indiscriminate slaughter.
But after numerous battles, Esdeath's confusion had only deepened.
If he truly opposed violence, why fight with such ferocity and determination? Why battle her so desperately, despite harboring no personal hatred?
Esdeath still couldn't decipher Shirou's true motivations—revenge for fallen soldiers? Ending the war? Or was he, like the revolutionary army, trying to topple the Empire itself?
None of those purposes resonated in Shirou's sword.
Swordsmen usually carried their convictions within their blades, giving their swings purpose and meaning.
Yet Shirou could swiftly kill enemy soldiers to survive one moment, and in the next moment sacrifice himself to save those very same soldiers who'd intended to kill him.
Those people were complete strangers who'd openly sought his death, yet he risked his life for theirs.
Despite Esdeath's vast experience with countless individuals, she had never encountered someone as paradoxical as Shirou.
Moreover, she sensed neither innocence nor ignorance from him.
Typically, someone who emerged from isolated communities would be naïve and innocent, like a blank sheet of paper waiting to be filled, not distorted and contradictory like Shirou.
His soul bore colors Esdeath couldn't begin to understand.
Thus, Esdeath wished to learn Shirou's past. What kind of life could possibly produce someone this conflicted?
"My past?"
Shirou hesitated, unsure whether to share the truth with Esdeath. After all, he wasn't even from this world. His experiences had come from a completely different environment—a modern city with radically different values.
Their values differed so greatly that Shirou doubted Esdeath would be emotionally affected even if she heard his story.
Originally, he'd planned to use his past to persuade her to reconsider her views, but hearing her arguments had made it clear:
He had no chance of changing her.
Now Shirou was caught in a bind, unsure how to proceed.
"It began with a fire."
Shirou's thoughts drifted back, returning to the very first moment of his life's true beginning.