Chapter 3
"Here you go, it's good as new." Shirou handed a bronze shield to the brown-haired young woman, "That is a very well crafted shield. And from the looks it, you have taken good care of it."
The brown-haired young woman smiled softly, "Not as good as I'd like. She wouldn't have been damaged if I took good care of her."
"Her conditions says otherwise." Shirou smiled, "I don't even have to work that hard to fix her."
She gave a thankful nod before taking out a card, "How much is it?"
"1,500 Lien," Shirou said as the young woman swiped her card on the payment terminal, "Thank you. I wish you have a good day, Miss Luna."
The brown-haired girl, Luna, nodded at him and smiled, "Thank you for fixing my shield. I will recommend my friends this place whenever their weapons needed repairing."
With that, Luna walked out of the store as Shirou went back to his seat.
"Stressed?"
Shirou tilted his head and saw Sella - a beautiful woman with white hair tied over her shoulder, wearing a white long sleeves with light brown skirt and an apron - carrying a tray with a cup of coffee on it.
"Not really," Shirou sighed and took the coffee from the tray took a sip, "Well, not that much anyway."
"Mind talking about it?" Sella sat down next to him. "Maybe It can help."
"Well, you know Rin gave me the tasked on gathering information through people's weapons, hoping that we might find a way back or something. You could say looking at all those histories can be quite mentally exhausting. Not to mention EMIYA's memories are flooding my mind. Those massacres, those atrocious and hideous acts he committed are really starting to affect me."
"I see." Sella nodded in understanding, "I'm sure this is not the first time this happens, am I correct?"
"Yeah. Happened quite a lot back in our home world. But all of them were only flashes and glimpses, but what I experienced now is like a movie in first person POV."
"How did you deal with it back then?"
Shirou sighed and massaged his forehead, "Meditation helps a lot. Alcohol too. A spar with Saber. Doing missions with Bazett and sometimes just cooking."
Sella hummed, "How about sex? Having an intercourse is the best way to relieve stress."
"That too." He was a bit embarrassed to mention that, but since Sella already mentioned it then that's fine.
"Truthfully, whenever I'm stress I do chores to relax my mind. But it seems to me that doing it won't help you in your current situation."
"Yeah. Tried that too."
"Hmmm, well I only know one way to help you relieve stress. Liz can join in too if you want."
Shirou softly chuckled before shaking his head. "No need. I can deal with it on my own."
"Come on. It's not like it's the first time we did it." Sella chuckled as she leaned forward to Shirou.
Shirou smiled, "I remember you're the one who couldn't take a teasing that you'd blush bright red every time someone mentioned something sexual."
Sella blushed as she leaned back, "D-Don't mention that. Now that I look back at my past self, I couldn't help but feel embarrassed."
Shirou was about to continue teasing her when the bell on the door rang as it opened, a young man with shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes walked in nervously.
Sella immediately regained her calm as she stood up, and walked towards the young man, "Welcome to Unlimited Blade Works, are you here for repair, maintenance, or for a new weapon?"
"Oh, um," the young man hurriedly took out the sword and sheath on his waist, "C-Can you see what's wrong with my shield?"
He unsheathed the sword and flicked the sheath....nothing, "Y-You see, my sheath can turn into a shield, but earlier it wouldn't work. It was still okay when I used it yesterday."
Sella hummed, "May I?" She asked the young man, motioning at his sheath.
The blond nodded as Sella took the sheath and observed it before walking towards Shirou, "Hey Shir—....Shirou?"
Sella stared at Shirou in confusion. The redhead was staring at the blond in a daze. He only snapped out of it when Sella patted his shoulder.
"Are you alright?" She asked worriedly.
Shirou nodded before staring at the young man. Earlier, when his eyes landed on him, Shirou felt something stir within the depths of his soul.
"Can I ask your name?" Asked Shirou to the blond.
"J-Jaune Arc." He replied.
"Arc." Shirou hummed, before he went to observe the world in his soul. It wasn't as barren as before, now it has grasslands, flowers, and the lone hill has a tall tree on top of it.
Of course, weapons were still on the ground. But instead of looking like a graveyard, his soul now looks like a "memorial", a place that tells the stories of every heroes recorded.
He scanned his reality marble, and there, on top of the hill, a white flag was trembling slightly as if wanting to burst out.
'Jeanne d'Arc's flag...I see, could he be this world's version of her? But I thought this is another world entirely, and not just a parallel timeline. They should have different myths and history....how come?'
"U-Um, sir? M-My shield?" Jaune asked.
Shirou turned to look at the sheath on Sella's hands and caressed it, using his "structural analysis" to check it.
Sheath of Crocea Mors - a sword forged by a wizard and given to Aestus Arc who then used it to conquer territories for Vale and defend it from invaders.
The sword is the closest thing Shirou have ever seen to a Noble Phantasm.
"May I see your sword?" Asked Shirou.
Jaune hesitated for a moment before handing it to him.
Shirou carefully traced his hands on the sword, and once again, Shirou felt another stirr within the depths of his soul.
He knew without checking that it was the "Crocea Mors" used by Julius Caesar.
He can also feel this Crocea Mors in his hands was resonating with THE Crocea Mors in his reality marble.
Shirou handed back the sword to Jaune, "That is a very good sword. Unfortunately, it seem you weren't recognized as its owner yet. When you can say its "name", I assure you that you'd be no less than a hero."
"T-Thank you?" Jaune stared at Shirou. He feels like this man is a little strange, what does he mean by 'when I can say its name'? Jaune can already say his sword's name.
"Anyway," Shirou stood up from his seat, "I can fix your shield within an hour at most. You can wait it out here or you can come back later."
"I-I think I'll wait here." Jaune said. "It won't take that long anyway."
"Up to you." Shirou stood up and turned towards Sella, "I'll be heading to the workshop, take care of the place for me."
"Understood, master." Sella smiled.
She watched as Shirou went at the back of the counter before turning towards Jaune, "You can look around if you want. Unlimited Blade Works only sells high-quality weapons. They will surely satisfy you."
"N-No need. I-I don't really know anything about weapons so..." Jaune rubbed the back of his neck.
Sella raised a brow, "Considering you have a weapon, you're a hunter-in-training right? Shouldn't you know about weapons...or is it not part in your curriculum?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Huh? So they're training hunters who uses weapons, but doesn't have a subject related to weapons?" Sella couldn't believe. How would they know how to maintain their wepons if they don't have subjects for it?
What if their weapons suddenly jammed while they're out on the wilds?
"Well, you really should learn more about weapons. Your sword, for example, is extremely valuable. Not only as a collection but for combat as well." Sella eyed the weapon on Jaune's hands.
"I-It's a hand-me-down. M-My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the Great War. I don't think it's as good as you made it to be. I mean, a friend of mine uses a scythe that can turn into a high-impact sniper rifle. And mine is just...well, this sword."
Sella smiled a little, "Believe me when I say this Jaune, but a weapon that was backed up by a legend and time, is far stronger than any modern weapons that isn't. Shirou is a good example."
Jaune nodded, but didn't really take it to heart. How could an old sword compete with an advance hunter weaponry? Even a kid knows that a scythe that can mecha-shift into a sniper rifle is way better than a plain old iron sword.
He appreciates her words though.