The needle, which usually swayed slightly, was now spinning rapidly.
It was the first time she had seen such a phenomenon.
The hand's chaotic performance, like a frightened small animal, suddenly cast a shadow over Rin's heart.
But standing alone wasn't an option. Rin began to take steps and try to walk some distance ahead to see if the magic pointer would indicate a new direction.
"It is a deserted street... In the past, there were people who... at such times."
Rin was a little frightened by the silence of the street at that moment. In the absolute silence and darkness, even the slightest movement of the wind could make Rin's heart beat faster.
"Is it because of the curfew...?"
Rin remembered the report she had seen earlier.
Recently, a curfew had been issued in Fuyuki City due to the recent murders and abductions.
"Ah, sure enough."
The red police lights came on in front of her, and Rin was afraid, hiding in the shadows of a building.
Patrol police cars slowly drove by to see if there were any citizens walking alone on the street.
If they saw her, the police would not let her go.
In that case, I won't be able to save Kotone.
As the lights faded away, Rin could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, there was a noise ahead, the sound of cans being kicked over.
Rin was so frightened that she almost screamed, but a hand reached out from behind her slender neck and covered her lips just as they were about to open.
"Woo woo woo ————?"
The moment she was hugged tightly from behind and had her mouth covered, Rin immediately resisted frantically.
"Don't scream, I'm not a bad person."
The girl, hearing this, went silent but was still trembling with nervousness.
Shirou grabbed Rin by the shoulders and turned her around.
"I'm a student at the same school as you, and my name is Fujimaru Shirou."
With red hair, amber eyes, and a delicate face, he was slightly taller than Rin.
When Rin saw Shirou, her eyes immediately widened, and she exclaimed in a low voice.
"You're the one from before... you!"
"?"
A question mark appeared over Shirou's head.
Suddenly, he understood why the girl who was walking well at that time chose to leave in a car.
But it didn't matter, as long as the person was okay in the end.
Shirou didn't think too much about it and let the page turn in his mind.
"I was just following you along. By the way, what's your name?"
Shirou explained casually, and then asked.
Rin was suddenly asked for her name. She glanced back at the front of the street where the noise was heard, and only after seeing that there was no one there did she reply with red cheeks.
"My name is... Rin... Tohsaka Rin..."
"Well, good evening, Rin."
Shirou nodded and then asked directly.
"So, why are you here in the middle of the night?"
Being called by her first name, Rin felt her little face heat up a bit.
"I..."
Rin wanted to say that she was here to save her good friend Kotone, but she couldn't say anything.
Because of this incident, Rin could feel that it was dangerous. Rin herself was an excellent magus (self-admitted), so she naturally came here with some preparation, but Fujimaru Shirou was different, and the chance encounter didn't mean anything.
While Rin was hesitating, Shirou suddenly spoke.
"I mean, it's probably because of the murderer who recently appeared nearby. Are you trying to save people?"
Hearing this, Rin, who was still deep in thought, suddenly opened her blue eyes, which were full of surprise.
"You—how do you know ————"
"You don't care how I know. Anyway, you're going to save people now, right?"
Shirou continued to ask without giving Rin a chance to question him.
"... Well."
Rin was silent for a few seconds, then nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
Now that the other party already knew, she had nothing to hide. Rin then took off the magic pointer hanging around her neck.
"This pointer will lead me to places where strong magic is emitted."
Rin said as she stared at the pointer indicating the street ahead.
"If there's anything out of the ordinary, this is the most useful tool."
Her expression looked very calm, but it always gave people the feeling that she was pretending to be an adult.
The slender legs, covered by high-quality black over-the-knee socks that reflected their luster in the light of the street lamp, were shifting restlessly.
"Going that way?"
Shirou asked, looking at the pointer Rin was holding in her hand.
"Huh?" Rin was stunned when she heard Shirou's words.
"Do you want to come too?"
"Of course."
Shirou's answer made Rin feel very complicated for a while, with three points of surprise, five points of shock, and two points of nervousness.
"In that case, you will be allowed to come along, but follow me."
I have to take responsibility to protect Fujimaru-san.
Rin, who thought of herself as a good magus, thought so in her heart.
"Then, let's go!"
Rin, who was stared at by Shirou and felt that her cheeks were slightly hot, quickly turned her face and looked ahead.
After following the pointer for about ten minutes, they came to a house where a hallway stretched out.
As they walked down the stained staircase, there was an unpleasant smell that made people's expressions change.
In addition to the stench of mold and decay, there was also a strong smell of blood.
Shirou couldn't help but frown.
That murderer is still an abductor, and I don't know how many people he has mutilated.
It wasn't just the victims killed in the first place; after thinking of the fact that he didn't know how many single-digit-aged children had died at his hands, Shirou felt the urge to kill.
Rin, who was walking beside him, glanced down at the magic pointer in her hand, and then gasped.
"Stopped..."
The pointer remained motionless, as if frozen, pointing to the depths of the deep, dark hallway below the stairs.
There was something out there unleashing strange magic.
There was no doubt that this was the hiding place of Uryuu Ryunosuke.
"This is it."
Shirou looked into the deep darkness ahead.
Shirou, who was about to move forward, suddenly noticed that Rin hadn't followed, and immediately looked back.
He saw Rin, whose face was pale, standing in place, trembling slightly.
Even if the location was confirmed, her heart was still afraid, and the appearance of an adult that she had pretended to be before was shattered by the reality of fear at this moment.
She was afraid that there was a clue to Kotone here, and she was even more afraid that what she might see was Kotone's body.
"Don't..."
Something seemed to breathe from the depths of the dark corridor, as if an indescribable terror awaited them.
Rin finally realized that this quest to save her best friend was not something that could be completed with determination alone.
It's not a kid's game; it's not a show.