Chapter 176: Mysterious Spirit Origin Reaction
Damn it, how did that boomerang come back so fast…
The other teams hadn't even drawn yet, only the two of them were pulling Jenga blocks so eagerly.
"..."
Eikou drew another block from the Jenga tower.
He glanced at the writing on the block—this time it was Truth:
「Do you feel a strong sexual attraction toward your partner?」
Partner? Which partner?
Could it mean Yu Ji—the one allied with him in the Holy Grail War?
Eikou furrowed his brow, then immediately sucked in a cold breath as he realized how serious this question was.
"What the hell kind of question is this!"
There was absolutely no way he could answer yes!
From a rational and moral standpoint, he would never touch Yu Ji, nor had he ever regarded her as his own.
Eikou's view of love was actually very conservative, his motives pure; he simply saw Yu Ji as "someone who needed help."
So then, wouldn't it be fine to just answer "no"?
Of course not.
Because he really had, at times, looked at Yu Ji with a slightly "dark" gaze…
No matter how you looked at her, this woman was a stunning beauty—her face seemingly cool but flushed with the soft warmth of a young girl, a perfect figure both slender and elegant yet full and alluring, glasses lending her an intellectual air, combined with an overwhelming girlfriend vibe and a lofty, haughty aura that seemed easy to bully—an explosive attraction to any man.
It was just that he had always tried his best to ignore it.
Knowing he must never lay a hand on her and merely finding her attractive as the opposite sex were completely different things!
If someone faced such a breathtaking beauty and felt no spark at all, they'd have to be an emotionless block of steel.
"But how could I possibly say something like that right in front of her? Damn it—wrong time, wrong place, and I'd have to say it to the wrong person. She'd absolutely misunderstand!"
"If I answer 'yes,' wouldn't that make it look like I really have designs on her…"
Especially since Yu Ji had just sincerely thanked him—if he turned around and answered like this, wouldn't it be utterly shameless?
It would make his kindness toward Yu Ji seem like it carried ulterior motives.
「Filthy human, so you were truly after my body all along?」
She'd nine times out of ten say something like that…
A bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
No way. She would definitely despise him!
"Kriemhild… um, could you lend me Volumen Hydrargyrum once, no questions asked? I need to dodge this question."
The very next second, Yu Ji tightly gripped his hand.
Through her glasses, he caught a flash of killing intent flickering in her crimson eyes.
"Let me be clear first, kouhai… I've already answered two utterly humiliating questions in a row, and now you plan to use Volumen Hydrargyrum to run away? Where would that leave my pride?"
"No matter what the question is, you must answer it!"
But this one is a hundred times more humiliating than hers!
You said it yourself, so don't get mad and jump at me after hearing it.
Eikou sighed, a little resigned, and replied with a hint of wishful luck:
"…I think not, at least not to any overwhelming degree."
Deng~.
"Holy Grail detects suspicious deception, first warning. Please think carefully and answer honestly," Finn said seriously.
What's that supposed to mean—could her charm toward me really be that strong, even more than I realize myself?!
"Fine then, consider it a yes…"
Eikou let out a sigh, as if surrendering.
"So in the end it's a yes to what exactly?"
Yu Ji arched her elegant brows, then glanced at the Truth question on the wooden block in his hand.
Eikou's heart immediately leapt into his throat.
"I see…"
The light reflected off her glasses, hiding her eyes so he couldn't read them, but after finishing the question, she maintained a blank expression.
"You're not angry?" Eikou asked.
Yu Ji merely gave a casual shrug. "Mm, should I be? You're a guy—having that kind of thought is perfectly normal, isn't it?"
"Well, when you put it that way… that's not wrong."
She shot him a sideways glance. "Boring. What do a human's thoughts or eyes have to do with me?"
"Is that so? It's good you think that way."
Inside, Eikou quietly exhaled in relief.
Unlike him, this was the unique composure of a truly mature person.
After all that, it turned out this clueless virgin had only been waging an inner battle against thin air.
Yet right after, she slowly stood up, and behind those glasses her eyes showed a faint trace of awkwardness.
"How boring. There's no ripple in my heart at all… But suddenly I feel very cold. I'm going to the clothing shop next door to grab a few warm outfits first, sayona-bye!!!"
With that, she covered her chest with one hand and headed for the door, almost rushing out.
"Hey!! What's that supposed to mean? Stop right there! Why are you suddenly changing clothes?"
Eikou shouted.
He thought to himself, We're still in the middle of a match, why the extra layers? Does a millennia-old JK really need to act this innocently pure? Has she spent thousands of years hibernating or something?
Then again, why was her first reaction to cover her chest—did she think I'd secretly peek? Are you labeling me with such a stereotypical fetish?!
"You seriously…"
He let out a small sigh.
"Sorry, everyone, give me a few minutes, I'll bring her back!"
Eikou quickly said to the group, then immediately chased after her.
But barely a minute after he left,
Outside suddenly came two sharp, urgent footsteps, like high heels striking marble with proud force.
It wasn't Eikou and Yu Ji, but a noblewoman wielding a massive spear, alongside another noblewoman carrying a leather whip.
It was Brynhildr and Queen Medb.
"Ara~, everyone's here already, I see…"
Queen Medb smiled sweetly, lightly cracking her whip.
"Brave warriors, for the sake of your beautiful queen, hand over all the Holy Grail Shards at once."
…
At the same time.
Though Chaldea couldn't see the exact situation of the Holy Grail War, they could still monitor Eikou's vital signs and the surrounding Spirit Origin reactions.
"Yu Ji's Spirit Origin suddenly left Eikou's side, and he's chasing after her."
"What's strange is that within the Holy Grail War arena, several new Spirit Origin reactions have suddenly appeared…"
"Why would Spirit Origin signatures suspected to be Medb and Brynhildr suddenly emerge out of nowhere in this Singularity—just how were they summoned?"
"Spirit Origin reaction suspected to be Medb and Brynhildr seems to have entered from the previous battlefield, but in addition, another Spirit Origin reaction suddenly appeared right beside Eikou!"
Looking at the Chaldea staff report, Director Da Vinci was a little surprised and immediately asked, "You mean Eikou suddenly summoned a Servant?"
"No, it probably wasn't summoned by him… But this Spirit Origin really has been by his side all along, using some method to evade Chaldea's detection, secretly slipping into this Singularity with him, only now revealing itself."
"Moreover, this Spirit Origin reaction is extremely weak, with no combat capability, like some remnant left behind by a Servant in some way. It may disappear before long…"
The Chaldea staff member spoke thus.
…
Romance Prison Singularity, inside the chessboard shopping mall.
In an instant, Yu Ji had vanished, fully exploiting the advantage of an Assassin.
Eikou roughly searched through several floors of clothing stores, but he still couldn't find which shop Yu Ji had entered.
"Haizz, that woman… running off at a time like this, truly both stubborn and willful."
"No, wait…"
"Maybe she's really angry."
Thinking it over, she'd been asked unpleasant questions during the game, holding back her irritation. He had noticed but still tossed out a few jokes, thinking they might ease the mood.
And then he'd let her misunderstand, thinking he might be approaching her with ill intent.
「Your body, your love, none of that matters to me. I only hope you can fight alongside me.」
"To let her misunderstand, to waste her trust…"
「I need your help, and I will always stay by your side through these dark trials.」
"Failing to grasp her discomfort…"
「I help others not to please anyone, but simply to realize my own self-worth.」
"So it was all just empty words."
He suddenly felt very tired.
"Wanting to be a man handsome in spirit, yet ending up just a fool inside and out."
With the Holy Grail battle looming, he still couldn't handle relationships properly.
With their relationship so strained, winning the Holy Grail War was almost impossible.
If he tried to talk to her properly again, would it even help?
The most important thing was figuring out how not to repeat the same mistake.
At that moment, a voice sounded: "Need some help?"
Eikou turned his head and was met by a tall man with thick hair and beard, strikingly handsome. His long hair was tied back, he wore a shopping-mall staff uniform, and at a glance his features clearly marked him as East Asian.
Normally, only Servants could appear here, yet Eikou had never seen any Servant in Chaldea with this appearance.
The man looked imposing and dignified, but Eikou felt no fear.
On the contrary, there was a strange sense of familiarity.
Moreover, the other party seemed free of malice, even approaching with natural courtesy.
"I'm looking for a young girl with glasses and twin braids. Have you seen her?" Eikou asked.
"Umu, I have seen her," the man said softly.
"Where did she go? Could you take me to her?" Eikou asked.
"No need to hurry," the man said calmly. "You just need to sit here and wait; in two minutes you'll naturally meet her at that corner."
"Really?"
"Umu, Eikou, please trust me."
Eikou froze—how did this person know his name?
But before he could ask, the man pointed to the nearby rest bench.
"Even if your time is surely urgent… forgive me, but could you sit and talk with me for a moment? I want to hear your thoughts, and I also have something very important to tell you."
[You receive an invitation from a stranger.]
[For some reason, from him you sense a very complex aura. You unconsciously accept this invitation.]