Chapter 6: Murasaki Shikibu
[To make Artoria believe that you were fine, you chose to finish eating that Sun Knight–brand mashed potatoes.]
[Hard to swallow, the taste so mysterious it defied comment…]
[For the first time you realized that eating could be this difficult…]
[It felt as if you had lost something important…]
"Truly impressive, you actually finished Sir Gawain's mashed potatoes."
The fair, elegant face of the King of Knights showed surprise,
"Even among the Round Table Knights, you might be one of the strongest. So, does your stomach feel a little better?"
"My stomach just experienced the feeling of a few potatoes being punched to pulp by an orangutan…"
Eikou said bitterly.
So this was the 'Disaster' he had to endure—practically a calamity Gawain had inflicted upon him.
But if the misfortune ended here, this punishment was still rather cute.
No, he still couldn't let his guard down…
The boomerang of Disaster With Women could strike from anywhere without warning.
"There's no escape. I just have to finish the assignment quickly and end the tutoring session, then hide in the boys' dorm until the debuff disappears."
With this debuff, staying with Artoria-sensei might lead to unexpected incidents.
Especially since Artoria didn't understand matters between men and women—her innocence only made serious trouble more likely, so he had to stay even farther away.
Though in his heart a devil's voice echoed: 「Hehe, whatever, I absolutely have to stay with the 'super big cup' of the Ahoge King, muahahahaha!」
But by now he had already tangled with enough women, not to mention she was the mortal enemy of Morgan.
If Morgan found out about this?
He was doomed.
At times like this, he had to stay calm and avoid mistakes.
"Artoria-sensei, let's start the tutoring quickly! Let's finish this at once!"
Eikou spoke with determined eyes.
[You begin receiving private instruction from Artoria Lancer.]
[The two of you start with the homework.]
[You try to use "High-Speed Divine Words" to finish everything in one breath, but because of declining academic ability the accuracy is disastrously low.]
[After seeing this, Artoria becomes extremely angry.]
"Eikou, you need to be more serious when doing your homework!"
Seeing his pitiful, unbearable assignment, the blonde knight frowned, her voice stern.
She lightly shifted her chair, sitting close beside him, using her pen to point out the mistakes while giving strict guidance.
The full figure of the Lion King pressed against him.
He could almost feel two incredibly soft shapes pressing on his arm, warmth and exquisite softness seeping through the fabric, along with the alluring fragrance of a mature woman.
"!"
Eikou's heart instantly pounded wildly.
"Eikou, Eikou, are you listening carefully to what I'm saying?"
Because Artoria sat so close, her beautiful, delicate face was right before his eyes.
She clearly looked noble and divine like a goddess, yet carried the fatal allure of a mature woman. Her soft rosy lips made one want to touch them, her fair symmetrical cheeks, and those long thick lashes seemed as if they could brush against his face.
"Focus on the textbook, don't get distracted," Artoria said seriously.
'You're pressing this close—how can I possibly concentrate?'
Eikou drew a deep breath.
[You have activated the skill "Lion of Cigarettes B"]
[Check successful. Your mind becomes calm and clear, as if entering a sage's state.]
[You can now barely resist the allure of Artoria's body.]
[However, the power of Disaster With Women obviously will not be subdued so easily...]
At that moment, Shikibu quietly took a few books from the shelf.
Through the gap between the books, she could clearly see the situation on the other side.
It seemed Mochizuki Eikou was receiving private tutoring from a tall, dignified blonde woman.
"!"
Shikibu pushed up her glasses, a spark flashing in her beautiful violet eyes.
A beautiful mature woman carefully caring for a younger boy, nurturing him into an ideal partner (even if that wasn't really happening), and that very boy was the one she wanted to depict in her novel.
Wasn't this precisely the reference material she needed most right now?
Although the blonde beauty named Artoria didn't seem to notice much, his flushed face as her chest pressed close showed that Eikou clearly felt her feminine charm.
"Kyaa, this boy is just too adorable..."
"For some reason, I get the feeling he's like Ariwara no Narihira (who was involved with over 3000 women)..."
Seeing the boy's flushed face, Shikibu, secretly watching at the side, couldn't help but feel her own heart race.
Like a young maiden in spring with a fawn's heartbeat.
But only a moment later,
She suddenly shook her head hard, showing a resolute seriousness.
"Calm down, Fujiwara Kaoruko, now is not the time for daydreaming!"
This was a golden opportunity—she absolutely had to record this scene as perfect material for "Eigu: Reverse Genji Plan"!
Though peeking at others wasn't polite, in essence this was also a kind of "human observation" in Andersen's style.
So, it wasn't a problem at all!
She only hoped she could restrain herself this time and not have the manuscript sent back again for overly excessive descriptions.
"Fujiwara Kaoruko-san."
Artoria suddenly lifted her head, her gentle clear voice unexpectedly calling toward the bookshelf.
"Kyaaa!"
Shikibu let out a startled cry, pushing up her glasses as she flusteredly stepped out from behind the shelf.
"Y-you… do you need something?"
"Nothing, I just noticed you peeking at us behind the shelf. Do you have something you'd like to say to us? Being watched in secret makes me very uncomfortable."
Beautifully said!
Eikou beside her almost clapped in praise—well done, that was exactly what he wanted to say!
Artoria-sensei, please quickly tell her not to keep spying on us, and especially not to turn me into material for that bizarre Reverse Genji thing.
"So, don't continue spying on us..."
Artoria said calmly,
"If you also want to teach, then step forward openly and teach with me. As it happens, I'm not good at teaching classical literature."
What kind of thought process was that, heaven help him—Eikou screamed inwardly. Could it be her Instinct skill had rolled a great failure on the dice, to misunderstand to this degree!
Not only Eikou, even Shikibu was stunned by this suggestion.
Teach together?
Awawaa, wasn't this… saying she could join them?
Not just observing the boy from afar, but directly approaching him under the pretext of tutoring? Creating material with her own hands?
"Y-y-yes… yes, of course..."
The fair face of the library's sheltered bookish girl flushed with a shy blush.
"I… I, Fujiwara Kaoruko, Itadakimasu!"
Shikibu's face turned crimson as she stammered.
Why did you say "Itadakimasu"—just what exactly does you intend to eat! Eikou screamed inwardly.