Emiya Shirou Doesn't Want to Work Overtime [229]

“Forgive me, Master! I couldn’t stop the Flame-Haired, Blazing-Eyed Hunter from approaching!”

A clear, crisp female voice came from Friagne’s side.

Along with the eruption of pale-white flames, an exquisitely crafted doll appeared next to him.

Given the blazing speed of the girl who had appeared before Shirou Emiya, it was clear she could have reached any location within this city within mere moments.

Yet she'd arrived only after Shirou Emiya and Friagne had fought to such an extent. This delay was naturally due to Friagne’s own planning.

But even including Shirou Emiya’s battle with Friagne and the time spent destroying the dolls, the entire conflict lasted no more than five minutes.

Within such a short span, she'd swiftly defeated the Rinne Friagne had dispatched to delay her. Her strength was clearly extraordinary.

After all, the Rinne sent to face her weren't like the weak dolls Shirou Emiya had encountered. Some of them were colossal and devastatingly powerful.

Those Rinne could topple entire buildings with just a gentle strike—yet even such formidable foes hadn't lasted long against the girl.

Moreover, that battlefield had even featured Friagne’s beloved Marianne; it had been no small deployment.

Of course, Friagne never intended to easily eliminate the Flame-Haired, Blazing-Eyed Hunter. From the start, his purpose was merely to stall the girl.

The fact that she'd dispatched the Rinne so quickly had been entirely within Friagne’s expectations.

The only unforeseen factor was that armor-clad human.

Five minutes, yet a Crimson Lord couldn’t deal with one mere human?

If Friagne heard such a story, even he would mock the Crimson Lord who had failed so miserably.

Yet this humiliating scenario had happened to him personally—and not only had he failed to defeat the human within five minutes, he’d nearly been killed by him instead.

How utterly absurd this was.

At this moment, Friagne’s heart filled not just with shame but even more so with anger—yet how could he blame Marianne, who had already fulfilled her task?

“It's our first meeting, Flame-Haired, Blazing-Eyed Hunter,” Friagne said, rising from the ground, once again floating calmly into midair. He suppressed the turbulent emotions inside, addressing the brilliant-haired girl with deliberate composure.

One of his hands had quietly moved behind his back, unnoticed.

“You’ve finally shown yourself…”

The flame-haired girl fixed her burning eyes upon the elegant man. Her blazing gaze flashed like flames as she slowly spoke.

She seemed utterly unconcerned by Shirou Emiya, who stood just behind her. Fierce flames swirled around her extraordinarily long katana, an intense aura erupting from her small frame.

“Be careful,” a deep, mature voice warned from the gem glowing crimson upon her chest. “He isn’t an ordinary Crimson Denizen, but a Crimson Lord. If you don’t fight at your utmost, you will die.”

That voice was extremely mature—just like an anxious father.

Although the girl already knew the elegant man before her was the infamous Hunter, the gemstone couldn't help but issue another warning as she prepared to rush forward.

Even though she'd fought Rinne whose power matched ordinary Denizens, facing a Crimson Lord was still a difference between heaven and earth.

Besides, she'd never formally battled a powerful Crimson Lord before, which was precisely why the gemstone reminded her so cautiously now.

But the girl's expression merely sharpened further, her blazing eyes flaring brilliantly.

“I'd dearly love to converse more with the famed Flame of Heaven, Alastor, but that human behind you seems unwilling to permit such pleasantries,” Friagne remarked lightly, seemingly unconcerned by the advancing flame-haired girl. Smiling faintly, he shifted his gaze toward the human behind her.

Only then did the girl suddenly turn to look at Shirou Emiya, whom she'd previously ignored entirely.

At some point, Shirou Emiya had already drawn a simple brown bow.

It was the bow once wielded by his temporary mentor, the teacher of heroes—Chiron. Yet it wasn’t exactly identical; it seemed subtly altered, simplified to better suit Shirou’s own archery techniques.

“[Trace—On]!”

As Shirou’s voice fell, dozens of silver beams erupted outward, surpassing the speed of bullets, transforming into a multitude of phantom blades that blasted directly toward Friagne.

In an instant, the crimson lord was entirely enveloped by the terrifyingly sharp silver beams, with absolutely nowhere to evade.

Pft—pft—pft—pft—!

One blade after another mercilessly pierced Friagne’s body, pale-white flames bursting out like a fountain.

“Aaaaaaargh——!”

A shrill scream echoed through the air.

He plummeted heavily to the ground, like a bird struck down in flight.

BOOM!

The heavy crash resonated loudly upon impact.

Immediately, pale-white flames surged over Friagne’s fallen form, and in mere seconds he was consumed utterly.

Silence reclaimed the space.

“He’s…dead?” the flame-haired girl whispered incredulously. Had a Crimson Lord, powerful enough that even her gemstone needed to warn her to be on guard, really been so easily killed by a mere human?

“No, he escaped!” The mature voice swiftly corrected her, making a rapid judgment.

This judgment wasn’t due to mere experience; rather, it was derived from a simple observation—the Fūzetsu enveloping the city remained intact.

If Friagne had truly died, the Fūzetsu would have instantly destabilized and vanished with him.

Yet since the barrier remained perfectly stable, there was only one possibility: the fallen Friagne they'd witnessed was merely another doll.

“Human——”

Friagne made no effort to hide his false death; his voice resounded through the crimson-colored space, carrying faint traces of anger.

“This time, I was careless and impulsive. But next time, you won’t be so lucky——”

Before he could finish, a sound of something being pierced rang sharply through the entire space.

Pft—!

The flame-haired girl swiftly turned her head once more, her pupils contracting sharply in shock.

Shirou Emiya was no longer standing behind her. Almost the very instant he'd released those blade-arrows, he'd dashed to the highest nearby building.

He hadn't seemed the least concerned whether his initial volley would strike Friagne, nor if it would kill him outright.

Standing atop the highest building nearby, Shirou Emiya calmly raised his bow, aiming carefully toward a specific location just as Friagne pronounced the word, “Human—.”

Then—

Whoosh——!

A sword-arrow, like a shooting star, streaked brilliantly across the crimson sky.

---

T/N: okay Archer i mean EMIYA i mean Shirou

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!