Chapter 4: When It Rains, It Pours
Looking at Babbage's current condition, the hearts of everyone present felt as if they had sunk into deathly stillness.
Eikou even imagined the scene of the Tyrant of Uruk flying into a rage after learning that Babbage-sensei was absent.
"Calm down first…"
The eldest brother, Gawain, spoke in a decisive tone.
"Don't you find this scene very familiar? When we worked under the table at the factory, it was exactly the same, and it was also Tristan who personally took down Babbage-sensei."
"You mean…"
"Since last time we were able to retreat with our lives intact, there's no reason we can't do it this time."
Gawain continued calmly.
"The difference is that this time we have more experience dealing with sudden crises, so we can definitely turn danger into safety!"
"Alright, what you say makes sense…"
Eikou nodded, forcing himself to calm down.
He began thinking at high speed about how to deal with the scene.
"…While the others haven't arrived yet and the Open Class hasn't started, let's quickly move Babbage-sensei to the warehouse next door."
"After that,"
Gawain picked up the thread,
"using the Round Table welding techniques we pride ourselves on, we repair Babbage back to his original form once again."
"Finally, we bring the repaired Babbage-sensei together to attend the Open Class of the King of Heroes Gilgamesh. That settles everything. The class ends smoothly, Gilgamesh and the other teachers won't notice anything, and Tristan won't be held accountable either!"
Eikou spoke with a face full of hope, as if he had already seen the possibility of everything returning to normal.
That's right, this method was completely feasible.
"Brothers…"
Tristan looked at his two good brothers who were desperately thinking of ways to help him, so moved that tears were about to well up.
Gawain and Eikou only smiled reassuringly, then gave his back a hard pat.
"Come on, after all we're brothers,"
Eikou said in a softened tone.
"How could we possibly stand by and watch. Bros are supposed to suffer together and enjoy blessings together!"
Gawain also laughed heartily:
"That's right, for our brothers, we'll even wade into fire."
"That is the unbreakable bond of the three of us!"
All three shouted together.
Most importantly, if anything went wrong with the Open Class, the whole class would never have a peaceful day again in the future!
The trouble Tristan caused—whether they wanted to help or not, they were forced to help.
"There's no time left, hurry and move Babbage-sensei,"
Eikou grabbed one side of the iron mass. The other two Round Table Knights immediately followed suit, lifting the heavy giant robot together.
"Three, two, one!"
At the very moment they lifted Babbage, it seemed that something beneath the iron mass entered their field of vision.
"Huh, what is Babbage-sensei pressing down on underneath…"
Eikou bent down to look, and instantly felt a chill run through his entire body.
"What the hell—?"
Under that enormous, heavy robot, there was actually another victim being crushed beneath it!
A suit that looked extremely high-end, dazzling blond hair, a handsome yet slightly sharp-looking man's face. Whether it was affected by the explosion, or accidentally crushed by Babbage-sensei, this person was now completely unconscious.
No matter how one looked at it, this victim looked exactly like that person…
The King of Heroes Gilgamesh?!
He… was he dead?
"..."
Eikou could not utter a single word, only continuously sucked in cold air, while the other two Round Table Knights were also completely silent.
Damn it, the Open Class had directly turned into a crime scene with two victims!
Tristan, you really are my living ancestor. Not only did you send Babbage-sensei off, you even conveniently sent the King of Heroes who came to observe the class along with him?!
Silence. A deadly silence.
That suffocating silence lasted a full ten seconds.
"GAAAAAA!"
At this moment, Eikou and Gawain finally realized the severity of the situation and, without the slightest hesitation, turned around and ran.
"Wait—"
But Tristan reacted extremely fast. Without thinking, he tightly grabbed the back collars of the two.
"Don't abandon me! I don't want to go to prison!"
"You bastard, let go of me right now!"
Eikou screamed in panic like a chick.
"I don't want to be seen appearing at the scene together with you! If Gawain and I get dragged into a lawsuit, we're done for—let go immediately!"
"Sir Eikou, right now let's align our statements on the spot and just let Tristan shoulder all the blame alone."
Gawain said with an extremely serious expression.
"I'm so sad… weren't we a three-man team?!"
Tristan howled.
"That only applies when you haven't committed acts that violate common standards,"
Gawain said as he exerted all his strength trying to run forward.
"But it's fine, after all we're brothers. When Yuki-onna 3 is released, I'll send a copy into the prison for you."
"Don't! And besides, Sir Eikou, you also bear responsibility for this! You were the one who suggested throwing shot put in the first place!"
"Did I tell you to kill Gilgamesh?! If I told you to eat shit, would you eat that too?!"
Eikou shouted with a pale face.
Now that he thought about it, since when had Tristan become this strong? A single Noble Phantasm taking down two Servants?!
Damn it, at this rate, what Open Class was there to attend. Chaldea could probably just hold Gilgamesh's funeral directly, and then conveniently drag the three of them along to be buried together!
[After that, you finally learned the entire sequence of events.]
[Recalling earlier, Finn had casually mentioned that King Gilgamesh mainly came here to discuss new energy technology with Babbage.]
[And Tristan's Noble Phantasm had struck precisely the energy compartment that Gilgamesh was carrying, causing the violent explosion. That was why the scene you just witnessed came to be.]
[You and Gawain were about to run away, but at that life-or-death moment, Tristan suddenly erupted with unprecedented strength, forcibly dragging the two of you with Strength Rank A back to the scene.]
[Only at this point did you realize that, in special situations involving life and death, Tristan's Strength is actually slightly higher!]
[...]
[In the end, there was no choice but to think of a way to clean up the aftermath for Tristan.]
[The three of you looked at Babbage, who had turned into a pile of scrap iron, then looked again at Gilgamesh lying unconscious, and could not help but fall into deep despair.]
[...This mess is directly related to the future of Chaldea Academy, it absolutely must be dealt with properly.]
"The next period is Open Class. Can we really still hold class smoothly…"
Tristan looked at his own "masterpiece" and said sorrowfully.
"Haiz…"
The three of them lowered their heads to look at Gilgamesh foaming at the mouth, and sighed heavily in unison.
"Babbage-sensei can still be fixed with electric welding, but Gilgamesh—what are we supposed to use to fix him?"
Even though he did not want to at all, Eikou still bent down and carefully examined the body of the King of Heroes.
"Wait, although he's badly injured, it seems he hasn't completely 'gone cold' yet…"
He let out a sigh of relief.
"If that's the case, then things are still a bit easier to handle."
"Sir Eikou, do you have an idea…?"
Eikou suddenly revealed a serious look, raising one finger.
"I have a plan! Let me pull off this magnificent turnaround!"
...