Chapter 201: Idol, Appears Once Again!
["It's Rin! My Waifu!!"]
["Finally! The best tsundere has arrived!!!"]
["All Hail Tsundere Queen!!"]
["Gotta say, those thighs of hers... must be perfect for a chokehold..."]
["Bro above, you are definitely a man of culture."]
["Meh, I still think Tsundere Jalter is better."]
["Umu, one shoots you with Gandr, the other burns you with Hell Flame. Both are great."]
["LOL, the way she issued the challenge is totally like a Pokémon trainer."]
["Ethan: Kouhai-chan, use Shield Attack!"]
...
[System: 'WantsToBeThighChokedByRin' has sent 1,000 Saint Quartz!]
[Message: Even though this world's Rin has a different identity, her tsundere energy is still the same. I live for that vibe!]
...
Following behind Tohsaka Rin, Ethan and Mash left the gymnasium.
"Senpai, what exactly is going on…"
Mash still wore a puzzled expression.
That woman who looked like a butler continued to follow close behind Tohsaka Rin.
"Ojou-sama, if you keep wandering around like this—"
"Go back first. I'm just going to chat a bit with my new friends here and I'll return shortly."
"But if you do that—"
"Then let me say it again. I'll return later."
Tohsaka Rin's expression turned serious.
It was just an ordinary sentence, yet the butler immediately nodded and changed her attitude.
"Understood. Then I shall take my leave first."
The butler bowed slightly to Tohsaka Rin, then promptly walked away.
"Having an NPC maid to help out is pretty convenient, but sometimes being too rigid is a flaw too, y'know."
Tohsaka Rin said that while watching the departing figure.
NPC…
As expected, this Tohsaka Rin wasn't just some hollow puppet created by Mooncell's data.
"Alright, if you've got a Command Spell, that means you've got a Servant too, right?"
Her gaze shifted to Mash, who was standing next to Ethan.
"This girl, huh? Could she be a well-known Heroic Spirit from somewhere?"
However, she quickly gave up trying to probe Mash's identity.
"But it doesn't matter anyway. Even if I knew who she was, it wouldn't mean a thing. Come forth, Lancer!!!"
With a flick of her hand, a figure began to materialize behind her.
"Rin, summoning me in a place like this… don't tell me you want me to fight that fox girl again?"
The figure behind her slowly came into full view.
"Listen to me—this whole place is just filled with useless piglets. Might as well drain them dry for more power. If you help me get stronger, then Mooncell itself will be in the palm of our hands."
As she said those words, the girl came into clear view before Ethan and Mash.
On her head were a pair of pink dragon horns. She wore an extravagant outfit in red and black.
A dazzling black flared skirt, along with a lance that looked like a microphone—no matter how you looked at her, she resembled an idol.
The dragon tail swaying behind her proved that she wasn't human, but a Servant, summoned by Tohsaka Rin.
This sudden summoning made Ethan and Mash immediately go on alert.
But the moment they clearly saw the Servant's face—both Mash and Ethan were momentarily stunned!
"Ahahaha, what do you think? Shocked, right? My Lancer is super strong!!!"
Tohsaka Rin crossed her arms smugly as she looked at Ethan and Mash's dumbfounded expressions.
"Even if you try to forfeit now, I absolutely won't allow it!"
"Isn't that Elizabeth-san?!"
Mash immediately stepped forward, calling out cheerfully.
Hearing someone call her name, Elizabeth quickly turned her head.
"Hmm? Looking closely… aren't you that Demi-Servant and the manager I met in France?!"
Elizabeth widened her eyes in surprise.
"So it really is Elizabeth-san!!!"
Mash spoke to her joyfully and in disbelief.
"When you were fighting that Caster, we were caught up in our own mess. We're really sorry for leaving you to face him alone!"
"That damn Caster!!!"
At the mention of Gilles de Rais, Elizabeth stomped her foot and clenched her fists.
"If I ever run into him here, I'm locking him in the torture room and making him scream his lungs out!!!"
After saying that, Elizabeth turned her gaze to Ethan.
"But if even the manager is here, then that means you two managed to get through that so-called Singularity, right? What about that annoying Witch? Did you take her out already???"
"If you're referring to Jeanne Alter-san, then…"
Mash hesitated, unsure where to even begin.
"Wait, wait just a second!!!"
Tohsaka Rin quickly threw her arms out to block Elizabeth.
"Lancer, why are you getting all friendly with the enemy?! And what's this about 'France'?! When did that happen?! Why didn't I know anything?!"
Pressed by Rin's barrage of questions, Elizabeth paused and said:
"Even though I wasn't the one who experienced it directly… it feels like reading a book or something. Somehow I just… know some of it?"
"To think you already figured out my Lancer's identity… not bad, transfer student!!"
Tohsaka Rin bit her lip in frustration, glaring furiously at Ethan.
"Wait… what does this have to do with me…"
Ethan was completely helpless.
She had just appeared, and her affection level for him had already dropped to zero?!
"Lancer, I don't care what kind of relationship you had with this sneaky cat before, but now you're my Servant!!"
Tohsaka Rin tried to assert her position with Elizabeth.
"Remember what we said? We were going to become the queens of Mooncell together! Rule over everything in this place!"
Stirred by Rin's words, Elizabeth seemed to snap back to herself.
"Ahem ahem… R-Right! That's right! As expected of Rin, your razor-sharp mind is scary—even to me, your ally."
Elizabeth immediately pointed her magical spear at Ethan and Mash.
"I almost got led around by the nose there. Even if I formed a temporary contract with you elsewhere, here I'm the queen who'll take Mooncell for herself!"
"Elizabeth-san?!"
Mash looked at Elizabeth, now brimming with bloodlust, in utter confusion.
"Do we… really have to fight?"
"Of course! What do you think this place is? This is SE.RA.PH., the arena Mooncell created for magi to slaughter each other."
Elizabeth aimed her Csejte Spear directly at Ethan and Mash.
"Before we can negotiate, we'll have to speak with strength first. And this time, I won't go easy just because you were once my manager!!!"
Seeing that there was no room left for talk, Ethan sighed lightly and called out:
"Mash, prepare for battle!!!"
"Roger that, Senpai!!!"
Mash's massive shield materialized in her hands.
"Hmph, now that's more like it. Let's see what transfer students from another realm are capable of!"
Tohsaka Rin threw her hand forward with force.
"Lancer! Take them down!!!"
"OK~? Leave it to me~~~"
Elizabeth lunged forward with her magic spear!
Mash immediately raised her shield to block!
"CLAAAAANG————————!!"
The sound of the impact echoed throughout the schoolyard.
Although Elizabeth's spear technique wasn't particularly refined, she seemed to have a special fondness for the thrusting motion— perhaps a direct result of her being summoned in the Lancer class.
"Pierce~?"
A sharp thrust aimed right for Mash's upper arm.
Mash didn't plan on blocking it head-on—she twisted to the side to dodge, then went in for a counterattack, swinging her shield toward Elizabeth's flank!
"How clever~~~"
Suddenly, something flashed past Mash's eyes at terrifying speed.
Reacting purely on instinct, she raised her shield to guard!
"BOOOOOOM————————!!"
The violent blow sent Mash skidding back several meters.
From where he stood, Ethan could clearly see the source of the attack—it was Elizabeth's dragon tail.
Despite often being nicknamed "lizard girl," Elizabeth was undeniably a dragon girl.
"Mash!!!"
"I'm fine, Senpai."
Mash planted her shield and stabilized herself. She then clenched her fists and charged forward once again!
"Haaah————————!!!"
Pouring her strength into her shield, Mash slammed it straight into Elizabeth's body!
"Attacks like that won't work on me~~~"
Elizabeth met the strike head-on with her magic spear, then once again countered with a whip of her tail!
"WHACK————————!!"
The heavy blow forced Mash back another step, but this time, she gritted her teeth and dug in, pressing forward with both hands!
Elizabeth clearly hadn't expected that, and quickly realized she was being overpowered.
"To think a mere Demi-Servant could overpower me... Looks like I'll have to take this seriously!"
Immediately, Elizabeth stabbed her spear toward the unguarded area beneath Mash's shield!
Sensing the danger, Mash sprang back, then quickly darted to the left.
"You're not getting away~~~"
Elizabeth inhaled deeply and sang out at full volume:
"Laaa~~~?"
A sharp sonic blast hit the ground right in front of Mash!
The impact was enormous—sending dust and debris flying everywhere in a thick cloud.
"Oya, now I can't even see if I hit or not."
Elizabeth pouted slightly, a bit dissatisfied with her own move.
Ethan watched the swirling dust anxiously, unconsciously tightening his fist.
"Hey, Ethan."
Tohsaka Rin, arms crossed and looking pleased with herself as she spectated, casually called out to him.
"Looks like just having your Servant isn't enough to beat my Lancer. If you kneel right now like a little puppy and beg at my feet, I might—might—consider sparing you just this once."
"Did you say the same thing to Matou Shinji?"
Ethan didn't answer her directly—instead, he posed a question of his own.
"That arrogant idiot doesn't deserve even a speck of mercy from me."
Rin clicked her tongue.
"You've met him already, haven't you? Always bragging about being some champion gamer, always showing off—can't even control his Servant properly."
Clearly, Tohsaka Rin had little respect for Matou Shinji.
"But you're different from that childish loser. Both you and that girl—neither of you fight like first-timers. So, if you agree to submit to me now, I'll have Lancer stop immediately."
"Is there a chance… that we might win?"
Ethan asked calmly.
"Hah?! What kind of nonsense are you spouting now???"
Rin's expression twisted in irritation.
"Fine then! If that's what you want, don't expect me to hold back! And when the time comes, even if you come crawling with tears and money, begging for forgiveness— I'll never! EVER! Forgive you!!!"
...
At the same time, the battle on the other side was also reaching its climax.
After several rounds of direct clashes, it was clear that Mash was beginning to fall into a disadvantageous position.
"Haa——————!!!"
Faced with Elizabeth's increasingly fierce attacks, Mash continued to look for opportunities to counter. Rather than backing down, she surged forward to meet the attacks head-on!
"Brave of you! But it's useless."
Elizabeth once again inhaled deeply—just like she was about to sing—and unleashed another sonic blast!
"Laaaa~~~~~?"
The intense shockwave surged straight toward Mash!!!
"Whoosh————————!!"
In that critical moment, Mash hurled her shield straight ahead!
Just as the shield made contact with the sonic wave—it suddenly disappeared?!
Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock—only to see that Mash had already launched herself high into the air!
"Haaa——————!!!"
Her shield reappeared in her hands, and using the momentum of her leap, Mash brought it crashing down!
"La— kh-kh!—huh?!"
Elizabeth scrambled to counter with her spear—but ended up choking mid-performance, throwing off her coordination. Mash's attack landed before she could react!
"BOOOOM————————!!!"
A violent shockwave erupted across the schoolyard!
"Uwaa!!!"
Tohsaka Rin instinctively threw her arm up to shield herself, barely managing to stay on her feet.
When the dust cleared, the ground had been gouged into a deep crater.
"…That… that wasn't how it went in rehearsals…"
Elizabeth lay at the bottom of the pit, dazed, eyes spinning, her spear flung far to the side—she was completely incapacitated.
"Phew…"
Mash slowly stood up and picked up her shield from the ground.
"Senpai, the battle is over."
Ethan met her confident smile with a look of quiet approval.
"Well fought."
"Why did it turn out like this?! My Lancer was supposed to be strong!!!"
Tohsaka Rin cried out in disbelief.
"She is strong—at least within Tsukumihara Academy."
"But unfortunately for you, we've been through countless brutal battles. Our combat experience is on a completely different level."
While Tohsaka Rin may have been formidable within this peaceful simulation, her Lancer's current state was far from the battle-hardened champion that could've survived a 128-Master elimination round.
"A world that's too peaceful dulls your instincts and makes you complacent."
"No way…"
Rin stood frozen, staring blankly at her defeated Servant lying in the dirt.
"Alright, like we agreed at the beginning—hand over the Key."
Ethan took a step forward, flashing a mischievous smile.
"Or… should I come take it myself?"