Chapter 175: Thank You
"Oh, who would have thought that our contestant Mochizuki has such an innocent side!"
Commentator Finn grinned as he watched the broadcast.
"For some reason, I quite like this boy. It feels as though I've met him somewhere before. I don't know why, but the feelings of affection and the urge to punch him overlap. Why is that, Diarmuid?"
"? I don't know, My King. Perhaps you should bite a few more times into the fingers of your own wisdom."
...
At this Singularity, in the stands filled with Servant couples watching the Holy Grail War, there was a captivating beauty sitting alone, quietly observing the battle.
Her face was elegant and serene, like a gentle, loving mother, noble and full of compassion. Though dressed in the plain, conservative habit of a nun, it perfectly outlined an overly voluptuous figure—at once holy and forgiving like the Virgin Mary, yet at the same time igniting the sinful flames of desire in the hearts of onlookers.
"Hohoho, what a cute little boy..."
Her dazzling golden eyes locked onto the image of the young man in the broadcast, so heated it seemed they might burst forth with a breath full of desire.
"It really has been a long time since we met, Mochizuki Eikou. So you did come to this Singularity after all...
"Honestly, I'm clearly still in a period of abstinence, so why are you stirring my heart once again?"
...
Three minutes later,
Eikou, who had just been frightened half to death, gradually calmed down.
More precisely, he quickly returned to the "in for a penny, in for a pound" state he'd had a moment ago.
"Senpai, you really gave me a scare,"
Eikou crossed his arms, pretending to seriously tease,
"But thinking about it, it's only natural. Don't be fooled by how I look—at school I'm actually pretty popular. It's reasonable for you to see me as a member of the opposite sex worth choosing. Don't worry, I won't look at you in a bad way."
"I already said I have no interest in you. That so-called 'truth' was just picking you in a hypothetical situation. In reality I would never do something like that."
Yu Ji explained, both shy and angry.
"Don't get worked up, I get it. If I were in the same situation, I'd call your name too. Nothing to be embarrassed about."
With that, Eikou smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.
"So, does that make you feel a little better?"
"I don't need that weird kind of comfort," Yu Ji bared her adorable little fangs and growled, "and besides, you just went through a similar situation yourself. You rattled off the names of three women—Minamoto no Raikou, Lion King, Ibuki-Douji—without even saying a single syllable of my name! No matter how I look at it, I was never a priority for you! Not that I need you to choose me anyway!"
"Hahaha!"
Eikou couldn't help but laugh. This senpai was so fiery and adorable it made him feel like he was teasing Jeanne Alter!
Still, he felt Yu Ji really should switch into a swimsuit to tweak her Luck stat.
Not because he worried she might be eliminated from the match, but because he didn't think Yu Ji should be forced to answer these shameless questions while being so stubborn.
It felt like tying her to a spit over a fire to roast her...
Hang in there, Yu Ji-senpai, don't get called again.
[Your teammate Yu Ji makes a Luck check.]
[Result: EX, great failure!]
"Gahhh! Why is it me again! WRYYYY!"
Yu Ji clutched her head, shouting in frustration.
"Because in this game, you have the lowest Luck. Even other people's lowest is at least D-rank."
Eikou turned his head and said:
"Kriemhild, how about you take out Volumen Hydrargyrum and use its 'Grants one ally Invincibility' trait to shield Yu Ji-senpai three times? I feel sorry for her getting picked over and over."
Before Kriemhild could respond, Yu Ji stretched out her hand to stop her: "No need. The Jenga tower isn't showing signs of collapsing yet. It's just Truth or Dare; I can still play. Don't treat me so delicately. Who do you think I am?"
"Uh… all right then, go ahead."
Yu Ji extended her slender finger and carefully pulled another Jenga block.
Please, anything but something involving him!
She thought so, nervously reading the words on the block: 「Please say to your partner beside you one sentence you normally wouldn't deliberately say.」
Partner…
Given the current context, that probably meant Mochizuki Eikou, who was pretending to be her lover.
"A sentence I normally wouldn't specifically say to him…"
She let out a small breath. Compared to the previous question, this was much more normal.
Of course, actually saying it aloud was still extremely embarrassing.
After hesitating for a long while, she finally parted her cherry lips slightly and, in a somewhat awkward voice, said to Eikou: "…Thank you."
His eyes widened slightly.
"What?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to thank you a little, that's all."
Yu Ji, though not entirely at ease, still obediently said:
"In this enormous trash heap called humanity, you are a very special existence to me. Until now, it has always been you who tolerated me one-sidedly; even if I wanted to drive you away, I couldn't. You are willing to understand someone as troublesome as me, and it isn't out of lust or for some gain, but because you genuinely wish to help others. I fear you truly are a very kind and upright person."
"This is something I would never normally say, and in my entire life I will only say it this once, so you must remember it well."
"Senpai, you…"
Eikou asked seriously:
"Did you pull a Dare this time, with the challenge to embarrass someone?"
"Idiot, you really aren't cute at all!"
She held the wooden block out for him to see:
"Though it is a Dare… every word I said is sincere. I'm not like you humans, sly and changeable, saying anything you please."
Eikou showed a gentle smile. "I see. Then I accept your thanks."
"No need to thank me, I only spoke the truth," Yu Ji turned her head slightly. "Seriously… don't make me play such an embarrassing game again."
"So jealous of you. Even if I wanted to say something like that, I'd never have the chance," he blurted.
[Next turn begins.]
[Please conduct a Luck Check.]
A die rolled.
[Result: EX, great failure.]
Damn it, how did that boomerang come back so fast…