Chapter 166: Treasure It
"Can we… make peace?"
Marie Alter wiped the sweat on her beautiful face, looking somewhat troubled.
"Now you want to make peace? Are you kidding me?!"
Jeanne Alter, face red, pointed directly at Marie's nose and snapped angrily,
"Do you have any idea in what state of mind I said all that? Since I've said it, I absolutely have to do it! That's that!"
"..."
"Hey, say something! You damn Cow Queen!"
"..."
Marie Alter pressed a hand to her forehead helplessly.
Truly troublesome — this shy, talkative girl… once cornered, she dares to do anything.
She finally managed to lure Eikou into a love hotel, and the goal was just one step away — why does Jeanne Alter always ruin it?
Or maybe… just go all the way tonight, drag Jeanne Alter in too, enjoy first and deal with the fallout later…?
If it were before, Marie Alter wouldn't have been this anxious, but she didn't dare underestimate the power of Eikou's "Disaster With Women."
In just a few short days, Bradamante and Tomoe Gozen had already joined the club, and the gazes the girls gave Eikou were no longer innocent.
Anyone with eyes could see that Eikou's pure body wouldn't stay untouched for long.
If she didn't claim him tonight, another woman would!
But…
Marie Alter looked at the Dragon Witch before her with melancholy eyes.
Even if the situation forced her… why on earth did she have to become "bed-sharing sisters" with Jeanne Alter?
Ah mou, whatever. At this point there's no choice — let her join too! Whoever gets flustered first loses!
"You think I wouldn't dare…"
Marie Alter smiled coldly,
"Three people then — threesome. It's nothing."
"…Hmph!"
Jeanne Alter tried to act unfazed as she swallowed hard, still lacking confidence inside.
The reason she dared to say all that earlier was based on one thing: her understanding of Eikou.
Jeanne Alter knew—A naive and conservative man like Eikou…How could he possibly agree to have his first experience in such an extreme way?
Therefore, from the very beginning, a three-person plan was impossible.
But…
What exactly might happen? Who knows?
Eikou is still a man after all; if he really can't resist temptation and lets "the lower head" control "the upper head," that would be completely normal.
Before, that would've been impossible,but now his preferences have already been polluted by "My Love is Eternal," and his self-control has weakened a lot.
"..."
"..."
Jeanne Alter and Marie Alter stared at each other intently, both anxious yet unwilling to surrender the advantage they had.
Both understood crystal clear:
Whoever backs down first… could very well become the loser in this battle!
"Umm…"
As the two were locked in stalemate, they suddenly heard a familiar voice.
They saw Jeanne White appear, head lowered, face red, her two index fingers shyly touching each other.
"I heard you two wanted to bring Eikou here…"
"???"
Even now—someone still wants to join?!
The two Alter Servants stared at the suddenly appearing Saint of France with wide, trembling eyes, even the corners of their lips twitching.
Could it be…She wants a share too?!
The three looked at each other.
"…Where's Lily?" Jeanne Alter asked.
"I happened to run into Miss Atalante earlier. Since the little ones were there too, Lily wanted to spend the night at Atalante's house. I couldn't stop her, so I asked Atalante to take care of her tonight."
"Don't let her casually sleep over at someone else's place!"
"It's fine. Compared to Lily… the problem over here seems a bit more serious…"
Jeanne White's snow-white face flushed red, she wanted to say something but felt too embarrassed to voice it.
But her attitude was already unmistakable.
"I'm not here to stop you two. I'm here to join you."
"..."
Jeanne Alter felt a headache rising.
In her heart she complained—Didn't this woman say she was the referee?Why does she love jumping in to ruin the players' game herself?!
"Haa…"
Jeanne Alter and Marie Alter exchanged a glance and both sighed helplessly.
"Looks like… this time we really can call a truce..."
Retreat for now and fight again another day.
No matter what, they absolutely couldn't actually start a four-person raid all at once.Even if Eikou agreed, they themselves weren't mentally prepared for such a thing yet!
"W-We're… not doing it...?" Jeanne White asked, sounding honestly disappointed.
How could they still do it now?!This Saint is completely in her own love-brain world—Was she the only one who genuinely wanted to try that kind of Play?!
"…What are you girls doing now?"
Eikou's voice suddenly came from afar.
All three girls instantly turned around alertly, realizing he had somehow returned without them noticing.
"When I headed back, I realized it wasn't safe going alone, so I thought I should come discuss things with Marie," Eikou said, looking at them in confusion, "What is this situation? Are you planning some kind of summer event or something?"
[...]
[After a long while, they finally explained the entire story to you from beginning to end.]
[Although you found it very strange, you weren't surprised at all.]
[Indeed, this is exactly the type of thing they would do.]
"Are you girls stupid or something..."
After hearing everything, Eikou let out a defeated sigh.
"Don't sigh like that—makes me want to set you on fire!" Jeanne Alter snapped angrily.
"I didn't do anything wrong," Marie Alter said, radiating harmless purity, "I only wanted to take you to eat 'French cuisine' (Me)."
Tap! Tap!
He lightly tapped both of their foreheads—like hitting two "brain reset" switches.
"Both of you—one with impure motives, the other not trusting me," Eikou said, "I'm not that shameless. On the first date with a girl, I wouldn't already be thinking about going to a love hotel. There's something wrong with your brains."
"..."
Both Alters covered their foreheads, faces full of grievance.
"Little brother, aren't you going to hit me once too?" Jeanne White put on a sorrowful expression at being ignored.
"?"
Why does it feel like every time this Saint speaks, she's on a completely different wavelength from everyone else?!
"And after that..."
Eikou spoke seriously,
"Right now I really want to have a French cuisine meal, a real one that probably doesn't require bringing an ID to enter, right? Want to go together?"
[...]
[Even though you're not actually angry, you should take the chance—before they cause some earth-shattering trouble again—to use your presence to suppress them.]
[Originally this was a two-person date between you and Marie Alter, but since she wasn't sincere and tried to use the excuse of French cuisine to trick you into going to a love hotel, as a small punishment, this time you also invite the Jeanne sisters along, so Marie Alter can't do anything suspicious.]
[All of you went together to a nearby French cuisine restaurant, ordering many dishes you wanted to try.]
[Salt-grilled snails, foie gras, French-style stewed chicken, Provence ratatouille, macaron and caramel pudding...]
[Although you enjoyed the meal, the bill will probably "hurt your wallet" for at least half a month.]
[After that, time gradually passed until around 9:30 PM.]
[Since it's vacation time, Chaldea dormitory doesn't turn off the lights or lock the doors, but there were fewer people walking around, so it's better to find a place to rest early.]
[You escorted Marie Alter all the way to the women's dorm entrance and said goodbye to her considerately.]
[Although her plan didn't truly succeed, you still felt the relationship between you two getting a little closer.]
[Aside from Jeanne Alter causing trouble, Marie Alter was quite satisfied with this date.]
[Sensing the increased closeness, you also received new power!]
[Your skill "My Love is Eternal B+" has been upgraded to "My Love is Eternal A"!]
"Why is it still this skill?!"
Every time they get closer it only increases My Love is Eternal—does she only have this one skill?
It's called My Love is Eternal, yet the skill is anything but pure, completely luring him down a bad path!
[Anyway, you have seen off the Queen of France, putting a period to the promise between the two of you.]
[After that, you call out to the Dragon Witch, who was about to leave.]
"Jeanne Alter,"
Eikou, rarely serious, suddenly called her back.
"...What is it?"
Jeanne Alter turned her head warily, seeming very sensitive to his voice calling her.
Eikou looked at Jeanne White, then smiled: "Let me borrow your younger sister for a bit, I have something to tell her."
"Go ahead."
"I'm not her sister..." Jeanne Alter shot her a look, then shook her head, "Fine, whatever, that doesn't matter. Say what you need to say."
[But what you want to tell her isn't something that can be explained in a few words.]
[You lead Jeanne Alter to the quiet flowerbed, where only the two of you are present.]
[She seems slightly tense and anxious.]
The moonlight—light and thin like a veil—gently draped over the winding cobblestone path.
From afar came the faint chirping of insects, the dew-kissed flowers swaying softly in the night breeze, releasing a fragrance blending rose and lily.
Eikou sat beside her on the bench by the flowerbed.
The night wind blew, petals rustled, and her delicate strands of white hair swayed with it.
The Dragon Witch seemed affected by the atmosphere, gripping her coat hem nervously, barely daring to breathe.
Meanwhile, Eikou rubbed his hands nervously, taking a deep breath as if gathering all his courage.
"We..."
Eikou asked with utmost seriousness,
"Next time… shall we go on a date?"
A… date?!
Jeanne Alter was startled, her golden eyes flashing in surprise.
"Is that okay, Jeanne Alter?"
Seeing her remain silent, Eikou couldn't help but ask again.
"Ah, um, sure."
Jeanne Alter tucked her hair back, expressionless, and said,
"You—why do you suddenly want to go on a date with me?"
"Do you even need to ask," Eikou answered earnestly, "Of course it's because I like you. I want a lovers-style date with you."
"Ah..."
Jeanne Alter's delicate face flushed instantly, her ears heating up as if they might start steaming.
So from the very beginning… it was already a straightforward confession like this?!
"But,"
Eikou did not take the chance to move forward; instead, he looked extremely heavy-hearted.
"But because of that, I have to be honest with you about something very important..."
He was a bit uneasy, even his hands trembled slightly, but he still chose to tell the truth:
"It may be hard for you to believe... but right now, there are actually already a lot of women involved with me..."
"..."
Sorry, I've known this for a long time already, I even know more than he does! Jeanne Alter screamed inside. You think you're hiding it so well? At this point, you're the only one being kept in the dark!
Eikou Club, then Eikou Holy Grail War, you know absolutely nothing about those!
Those backstabbing Fairy Knights are practically your subordinates, and even Scathach—the one who agreed to establish the club—you think I don't know that?
I really thought he was going to tell me something earth-shattering, and in the end he called me out just to say… this?
"So that's why… I'm probably even more of a jerk than you thought..." Eikou said, looking deeply apologetic.
Jerk my ass! Aren't you just some kid who doesn't even have any real experience yet!
You said you're involved with a lot of women, so why the hell are you still a virgin?! How exactly are you 'terrible'?!
There were too many things she wanted to spit out—Jeanne Alter could barely keep up.
It's just… she did admire his courage a little.
Not wanting to play dumb, not wanting to pretend—just honestly laying out all the things involving women.
"I know that pursuing you in this situation is terrible… to put it bluntly, it's wanting both this and that..."
"But..."
Eikou's face turned bright red—careful, nervous, but still gathering all his courage to move closer.
Slowly, but firmly, he took her slender white hand.
"Listen, Jeanne Alter..."
Eikou looked at her with deep seriousness, moonlight gently draping across his determined eyes:
"Listen carefully, I am a very greedy and selfish man! Once I like you, I must have you, I must make you my girlfriend!"
"Even if you don't agree, I'll cling to you forever, until you give in and willingly let yourself be conquered by me..."
"So, so, what I'm saying is..."
At the crucial moment, Eikou was both nervous and excited, his words a bit chaotic, but he still shouted with all his strength:
"I! Like! You!"
[Her tsundere attitude, her desire to monopolize you, the foolish things she does only because of you, liking you but never daring to say it...]
[You like all of that.]
"Uwaa..."
Jeanne Alter's face turned so red it looked like it might burst into flames; she was so stunned by his confession she couldn't speak.
After a long while, she lowered her head slightly, as if wanting to hide her burning face inside her collar.
"I-if..." Her voice was so quiet it was almost inaudible.
"'If'?"
Eikou couldn't hear what she was saying.
"If it's already like this, t-then there's no helping it..."
Jeanne Alter didn't dare look at his face anymore, lowering her head as she answered with a flushed face:
"Since you've already set your sights on me, no matter how I refuse, you'll keep clinging to me, right? I don't have the patience to drag things out with you, and I'm too lazy to argue with you..."
"You mean..."
Eikou swallowed dryly, waiting for her final answer.
"Idiot, my meaning is already that obvious and you still don't get it?"
Saying this, the Dragon Witch lifted her head, her golden eyes full of shy tears meeting his gaze, then poked his cheek with a finger:
"You better be grateful, a beauty like me is willing to lower myself to be your girlfriend. You… you better cherish me properly!"
[Your relationship with Jeanne Alter has advanced another step.]
[There is no turning back now...]
...
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