"It's already collapsed… we can not go through here."
Looking at the blocked path, Shirou quickly reconsidered the building's layout.
He and the Liberi girl were currently in the dining area, the most open space in the building but now it was engulfed in flames.
"Cough cough…"
The girl behind him choked on the thick smoke, forcing Shirou to immediately choose another route.
Pulling her along, he headed for the stairs at the back. On the second floor, there was a window facing outside and they could escape from there.
It was riskier, though. The first floor was already elevated, so the second floor was effectively as high as a third floor.
The staircase had no separation between floors, so the second floor was filled with even thicker smoke than the first, making visibility extremely poor.
The Liberi girl could no longer open her eyes at all, she could only rely on Shirou's grip to follow him.
"Hang in there."
Noticing her slowing down, Shirou turned back and saw tears streaming from her eyes due to the smoke. After a brief warning, he picked her up directly.
One arm under her back, the other beneath her knees.
The Liberi girl could not see anything, she only felt herself suddenly lifted. Judging from the contact, she realized she was being carried in a princess carry.
"Ugh… I'm sorry…"
She did not feel embarrassed but only guilty for slowing him down.
"Keep covering your mouth and nose. We are jumping from the second floor."
Shirou did not give her time to dwell on it. He sped up, her voice had already grown weak showing signs of oxygen deprivation.
If something blocked the way, he jumped over it.
If there was a door, he kicked it open.
In no time, he reached the window.
There were no bars outside, but the window had a safety lock, it could only open about 30–40%, not nearly enough to escape.
Adjusting his balance, Shirou kicked at the lock.
Simply breaking the glass would not help, it would only cause injuries. He did not mind for himself, but there was someone else with him.
So—
He kicked the entire window frame.
The first kick bent it.
The second kick sent the whole window flying outward, shattering into countless fragments upon hitting the ground.
Below, the crowd had already been pushed back by firefighters, so no one was injured.
"There's someone inside! Looks like they're about to jump, prepare a cushion, oxygen mask, and get a medic ready!"
A small figure shouted rapid-fire instructions.
The bystanders barely understood her, catching only bits like "someone inside" and "doctor."
But the firefighters understood perfectly.
Within seconds, several of them dragged out an air cushion from the fire truck.
One firefighter's staff flashed briefly the cushion inflated partway instantly. It was not fully inflated, but enough to absorb the impact.
From the initial command to deployment it took only ten seconds.
But ten seconds was enough for Shirou.
He adjusted his stance, took a running start and jumped.
What he saw mid-air was the firefighters rushing in with the cushion.
"Catch her!"
Without hesitation, realizing his landing point would not reach the cushion, Shirou threw the Liberi girl toward it.
Then he hit the ground back-first, rolling several times.
The firefighters caught her safely on the cushion and immediately handed her over for medical treatment.
"So it still turned out like this…"
Shirou lay there briefly, dazed, before being interrupted.
"Sir are you alright, are you conscious, are you injured, do you need emergency medical attention—"
"I'm fine."
Facing the rapid barrage of questions, Shirou stood up calmly.
Aside from his coat, pants, and bag being riddled with burn holes and the soles of his shoes partially melted he was mostly unharmed.
Even the heavy impact on his back felt no worse than being smacked by Taiga's paper fan.
Still, his ragged appearance did not convince the fast-talking firefighter, so he was pulled aside for inspection.
After confirming no one else remained inside, the firefighters quickly extinguished the flames.
The medic's examination concluded that Shirou was merely covered in soot and had inhaled a bit of smoke, nothing serious.
He retrieved his shopping bag kindly picked up by the Perro employee and checked that nothing inside was missing. Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped.
"Thanks to you Miss Snowsant did not suffer serious injuries but she did inhale a lot of smoke and needs rest and even though the outcome is good as a Lungmen firefighter I must tell you that rushing into a fire like that is dangerous and you must not do it again—"
Shirou stared at the small firefighter speaking at incredible speed.
…Was this a lecture?
From her words, he gathered that the girl he rescued was named Snowsant, and that she was not seriously hurt.
He listened for about five full minutes.
The rapid-fire firefighter who introduced herself as Shaw finally let him go after repeatedly warning him not to do something so dangerous again.
"Her tongue did not even get tied… impressive. I wonder if she can do tongue twisters at that speed."
That was Shirou's takeaway after enduring five uninterrupted minutes.
Instead of leaving right away, he went to check on Snowsant, who was using an oxygen mask nearby.
Her complexion had improved significantly.
The moment she saw him, she quickly removed the mask and ran up to him.
"Th-thank you so much for saving me! I heard from the others, you went in just to rescue me. Thank you, really!"
After being brought out, she had been treated immediately. Thanks to Shirou's timely rescue, she had only inhaled smoke, nothing more serious.
The medical staff had been chatting with her while she used the oxygen mask, which was how she learned he had specifically gone in to save her.
"I'm just glad you're okay. If that's the case, I will be going—"
Before he could finish, she interrupted him.
"P-please wait! I do not even know your name yet! And because of me, your clothes are all ruined, I will find a way to compensate you!"