Emiya Shirou Doesn't Want to Work Overtime [234]

In a dimly lit space, the large courtyard bonsai continued to glow faintly, illuminating the lifeless faces of dolls arranged all around. The eerie air, heavy with unease, remained unchanged.

Friagne floated silently in midair, holding Marianne gently in his arms, eyes fixed upon the miniature garden below.

“Master…” The doll gazed up at Friagne from his embrace, voice trembling slightly with concern.

“No need to worry, Marianne. I was merely thinking about how to deal with that human.”

Compared to the Flame-Haired, Blazing-Eyed Hunter, Friagne had suddenly realized that the human was even more troublesome.

Perhaps it was precisely because he was human that he was such a difficult opponent.

Most of Friagne's Treasure Tools were specifically designed to counter Flame Hazes, proving completely useless against humans—especially his favorite trump cards, which might as well be toys when used against that person.

“Azure”—a ring-shaped Treasure Tool that extinguishes and nullifies all flame-based attacks, no matter how powerful, once its barrier is active.

“Trigger Happy”—a pistol-type Treasure Tool designed specifically to fight Flame Hazes. It has unlimited ammunition, and any Flame Haze hit by it would have their human vessel shattered, forcing the contracted Crimson Lord to manifest physically. Most Crimson Lords, unwilling to bear the immense consumption of manifesting, would swiftly retreat to the Crimson Realm.

“Handcuffs”—used to seal a Flame Haze’s abilities.

All these tools in Friagne's possession severely limited Flame Hazes, yet were utterly ineffective against humans.

When facing Shirou Emiya, over half his arsenal became worthless—and on top of that, he could barely defend himself against Shirou’s violent, relentless attacks.

Had Friagne not been a Crimson Lord, able to quickly repair his wounds using the Power of Existence, he would’ve long since lost all ability to fight, awaiting death’s approach.

Now that the Flame Haze seemed to have allied herself with the human, defeating them both would be even more difficult.

It was already challenging enough to deal with the human alone, but now with a Flame Haze joining the fray, Friagne couldn't think of any effective strategy to break this stalemate.

Actually, there was one option: quietly absorbing humans' Power of Existence little by little, secretly creating Torches until a critical mass was reached.

Once enough Torches existed in this city, he could complete his plan.

But this method would drag out for too long. Making an appearance just to produce Torches would eventually reveal his true intentions.

Anyone paying attention could easily guess his scheme. After all, this very same plan had caused quite a stir many years ago. Any Flame Haze with careful observation would immediately realize his intentions, as their contracted Crimson Lords all possessed such knowledge—only their reaction speed varied.

“Looks like I have no choice but to request help from that guy.”

“Who?” the doll asked quietly.

“Sabrac, the Destructive Blade.”

Sabrac was an exceptionally powerful Crimson Lord, belonging to no organization, freely accepting assassination jobs from others.

More importantly, Sabrac was an avid collector of swords and blades—his only accepted form of payment.

Conveniently, the weapon wielded by the Flame-Haired, Blazing-Eyed Hunter was precisely a blade.

Additionally, the human possessed Treasure Tools in the form of swords. Friagne had no doubt that the serrated blades capable of easily ripping apart his dolls were exceptional weapons themselves.

He could essentially pay nothing upfront, offering these valuable blades he didn't yet possess as payment. He would acquire the swords from his enemies’ corpses once Sabrac killed them.

Moreover, the blade wielded by the Flame-Haired, Blazing-Eyed Hunter was already famous enough worldwide that Sabrac would undoubtedly find it irresistible.

For now, Friagne simply needed to wait patiently until Sabrac arrived. Perhaps he wouldn't even need to lift a finger—the human and Flame Haze might perish easily at Sabrac’s hands.

Friagne himself had once personally witnessed the fearsome strength and terror of Sabrac. A strategist like himself stood absolutely no chance against such overwhelming power.

...

The next morning—

None of those cliché, predictable scenarios actually occurred with Shirou Emiya. Or perhaps they had, but when Shana awoke, she saw only a blurry image of Shirou busying himself in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

Shana's sleeping schedule aligned with normal students, waking typically around seven o'clock. However, Shirou—if he didn’t spend his evenings practicing Projection or Reinforcement Magecraft—usually woke much earlier.

Moreover, Shirou's body constantly throbbed with dull pain, and sleeping normally through the night was already a luxury he rarely experienced nowadays.

The injuries to his soul hadn't been fully healed by the Holy Grail. In his final battle against Shirou Kotomine, Shirou’s soul had nearly been annihilated—far more severe than the injuries he'd suffered against Esdeath.

Though the Holy Grail had reassembled his dissipating soul and rebuilt his physical body, it had only done the bare minimum required to restore consciousness.

It never intended to fully heal Shirou completely.

After Amakusa Shirou Tokisada’s modifications, the only way to grant a wish was to physically enter the Greater Grail. Other than Shirou Emiya himself, the Grail couldn't imagine anyone else capable of doing so.

Heroic Spirits, despite their strong wills, would instantly dissolve into pure mana upon entering, absorbed entirely by the Grail—no matter how strong their willpower might be.

As for the Masters outside, none were qualified or capable of reaching the Grail. Even if one could, the Grail refused to gamble on that chance.

Unable to endure the vast quantities of accumulated magical energy indefinitely, the Holy Grail needed a method of release—and Shirou Emiya became the Grail's chosen candidate to fulfill its wish-granting purpose.

Thus, it reshaped Shirou's physical body and restored his consciousness.

Simply repairing his soul would’ve left him vulnerable to the Grail's influence again, hence the necessity of rebuilding his body as well.

Yet upon awakening, Shirou hadn't wished for his own full recovery. He had briefly considered using his wish to terminate the Holy Grail War forever.

In the end, however, he chose not to erase future Holy Grail Wars.

Because future events could still be prevented, but tragedies that had already happened couldn't be reversed.

Those innocent lives should never have been sacrificed in such a war.

Thinking of the small town that had been razed to the ground, thinking of the artificial humans reduced to ashes upon the plains, Shirou Emiya had made his wish to the Holy Grail clearly:

"Restore all damage caused by this Holy Grail War."

The moment Shirou made this wish, that simple, unadorned door had appeared silently behind him.

---

T/N: wowmy brother

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!