Emiya Shirou Doesn't Want to Work Overtime [239]

On the street, Shana walked behind Shirou Emiya, sulking.

She had lost. Lost to a human. Lost to a human who hadn’t even fought with his full strength.

Shana replayed the battle in her mind. It wasn’t as if she had fought at her full power either—many of her Unrestricted Spells had gone unused.

But in a real fight, no one would ever give her the chance to unleash a powerful Unrestricted Spell at her leisure.

Just like Friagne—who, when facing Shirou Emiya, had nearly been cut down before he could even activate his Treasure Tool.

No matter how many tricks you possessed, the enemy would never allow you to use them all.

And in that moment, Shana had truly run out of options—there was no way she could have defended against that spinning scissor strike.

Not to mention, Shirou Emiya clearly still had ways to subdue her beyond that.

In combat experience and technique, the gap between them was vast.

His way of thinking, his battle sense—he had read her approach the instant they clashed. She could only thank the heavens that Shirou Emiya wasn’t a Crimson Lord, but merely human—otherwise, the Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter would’ve fallen right there.

Still… was it really impossible for Shana to defeat Shirou Emiya?

Not necessarily. That burning flame within her—that was the greatest threat to Shirou, and the reason it had taken him so long to win.

Those searing flames were something humans found difficult to withstand. For Shirou, they were particularly troublesome.

“Wait—!”

Shana suddenly called out to him.

“What is it?”

Shirou, carrying a small bag of meats, turned around in mild surprise at her voice.

He had planned to buy ingredients first before searching for Friagne’s whereabouts—but truth be told, he had no clear idea where to begin.

Still, doing something was better than nothing. Even he didn’t believe he could find Friagne easily.

“That sword you struck at me with—can you take it out and show me?”

She had suddenly recalled that blade—the one that hadn’t melted in her flames. Its appearance, its length… it had looked nearly identical to Nietono no Shana.

She hadn’t thought much about it during the fight, her focus wholly on defeating Shirou. But now, thinking back, she realized something didn’t add up.

“This one?”

Shirou glanced around—seeing no one nearby—and quickly projected Nietono no Shana into his hand.

“This—! How did you do that!?”

Even Shana, who prided herself on composure, couldn’t keep calm at that.
Not just her—Alastor’s deep, resonant voice wavered with disbelief.

Shana snatched the blade from Shirou’s hand and began examining it closely, running her fingers along the hilt and edge.

Then she gave it a few test swings through the air.

Boom—!

A burst of crimson flame roared from the sword’s edge—then quickly died away.

“Well?”

Alastor’s voice asked, heavy with tension.

“The feel, the appearance, even its power—it’s exactly the same as mine.”

Shana stared down at the sword in her hand, disbelief flickering in her crimson eyes—then up at Shirou Emiya himself, as if he were something incomprehensible.

When Shirou had given her the Reiji Maigo, neither she nor Alastor had seen him perform the projection process.

After all, when Shirou had handed it over, his arm had been lowered—not extended before them.

And their attention at the time had been entirely fixed on the Reiji Maigo in Shana’s hand—and on their own doubts that such a powerful Treasure Tool could be handed over so easily.

Before they even had time to notice what Shirou was doing, he had already produced it.

They hadn’t known how long he had possessed the Reiji Maigo—so they had simply assumed he was in some mysterious way carrying it all along. The thought that a human could duplicate a Crimson Denizen’s Treasure Tool had been astonishing enough.

But now, after witnessing Nietono no Shana appear before them—“astonished” no longer described what they felt. “World-shattering” was closer.

“You—how did you do that?”

Shana’s voice trembled slightly. This time, the question carried something deeper than shock—almost fear.

“Projection... Unrestricted Spell?”

Shirou tilted his head as he said it, uncertain himself.

If one drew a parallel, Power of Existence corresponded to mana, while Unrestricted Spells corresponded to magecraft.

So in Shirou’s mind, the equation completed itself naturally:

Power of Existence = Mana;
Unrestricted Spell = Magecraft;
Projection Magecraft = Projection Unrestricted Spell.

“Projection… Unrestricted Spell?”

Shana echoed blankly. Alastor, too, fell silent for a moment—he had never heard of such a bizarre Unrestricted Spell.

Then he suddenly remembered: after their battle, Shirou had told Shana to destroy the scissor-shaped weapon.

At the time, Alastor had found that strange—why destroy something if it would vanish once its spell was released?

He hadn’t asked then; Shana had been too upset to care.

“Since it’s an Unrestricted Spell, the weapons should disappear when the spell’s lifted. Why did you have Shana destroy them?”

“Projections are… a little different,” Shirou explained without hesitation. “As long as they aren’t broken, they can exist permanently.”

Alastor fell silent.

In the world of demons, Shirou had never needed to retrieve his weapons—others could use them freely.

In the Empire, most of his weapons had simply exploded in battle—no chance to recover them.

During the Holy Grail War, the Yggdmillennia magi and Homunculi had cleaned up the battlefields themselves.

But here, in this peaceful city—Shirou had to deal with them.

Because these weapons could truly harm people. If left lying around and picked up by someone… who knew what might happen?

Nor could Shirou exactly walk around town carrying swords on his back—one glimpse, and the neighbors would probably call the police.

So he destroyed every weapon he projected.

After hearing that, Alastor fell completely silent.

He didn’t know what to say anymore.

A being like this, appearing in their world—what kind of chaos would it unleash upon the Crimson Realm?

Projection Unrestricted Spell? No—this wasn’t some odd little spell.

This was an armament broker. A human-shaped Treasure Tool forge.

Didn’t people covet Treasure Tools precisely because they were unique—because of their power and rarity?

And yet this man… could make them no longer unique.

If the Crimson Denizens ever learned of Shirou Emiya—if they discovered he could create Treasure Tools—the balance between Flame Hazes and Crimson Lords would collapse overnight.

Alastor could already imagine it: a swarm of Crimson Denizens, each wielding a Nietono no Shana.

That world would burn.

And the value of Shirou Emiya… would surpass even the greatest of the Treasure Tools themselves.

More than guarding the artifacts from being stolen by Crimson Lords—what truly mattered now was ensuring Shirou Emiya himself never fell into their hands.

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T/N: hehehe this shirous projection is buiilt different from archers

This is a fan translation of 卫宫士郎不想加班 by 此世无存. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!