Chapter 31: Mental Preparation
Under the table, the two French beauties quietly brought their beautiful feet closer.
The rounded legs wrapped in black stockings, with an irresistibly alluring appearance, gently stirred Eikou's willpower to endure.
"..."
Eikou unconsciously blushed, then glanced at the owners of those two pairs of feet.
If it were before, he might have grabbed one of those mischievous feet and secretly squeezed the sole hard to punish the teasing behavior.
But while playing Cheating Moth, the players' hands were forbidden from leaving the tabletop.
In other words, it had now become a completely passive situation, with no way to resist.
"Hiss…"
Seeing that the situation was quite awkward, Eikou softly inhaled a breath and tightened his grip on the cards in his hand.
What exactly do these people want to play, could it be that to them, a Board Game is also just part of the Play?
Save me, Gawain!
He threw a pleading look toward the Sun Knight sitting beside him.
"Hmm…"
However, Gawain, who should have understood him best at this moment, was instead staring intently at the cards in his hand, seemingly thinking about how to cheat.
Completely paying no attention to what was happening on Eikou's side.
Eikou was startled.
Could it be that my will… didn't get conveyed to you?
He truly couldn't understand why. In his heart, he thought that the three of them should be brothers on the same side, yet today it had turned into everyone fighting for themselves, a personal battle full of calculations.
Where exactly had he miscalculated?
But immediately afterward, he suddenly realized something, and cold sweat instantly broke out.
Could it be…
That Gawain had begun to suspect the relationship between him and Morgan, and that was why he was so distracted?
If that were the case, then he could understand the other party's state of mind.
No one wants their good brother to become their stepfather!!
Just as Eikou was thinking about how to deal with this situation, the two feet under the table once again became restless and stretched toward him.
This time they were even bolder than before, no longer stopping at teasing around his ankles, but those soft and smooth feet slowly slid up his thighs inch by inch.
And Marie's delicate foot was clearly trying to reach…
"??"
Eikou was so frightened that he sharply sucked in a breath of cold air, hurriedly adjusted his sitting posture, and only then avoided this Board Game round falling into the worst possible situation.
But unexpectedly, at the exact moment he leaned back, Marie Alter immediately played a card from her hand.
"Effect Card."
[Marie Alter plays an Effect Card.]
[At the instant she plays the Effect Card, all players must immediately slap their hands onto that card; the slowest to react will receive a punishment.]
[Please perform an Agility Check.]
[Because you were distracted by the two pairs of feet wrapped in black stockings harassing you, and also because you couldn't bear it and moved away from your seat, your Agility Check is adjusted to Hard.]
[The two beauties launched a foot-based attack while simultaneously activating an Effect Card—this is the passionate Combo of the French best-friend pair!]
A die fell.
[Check failed, you are the slowest to react.]
[Punishment: you must draw one card from each player's hand.]
[You immediately gain four additional cards in your hand.]
Smack.
Watching the number of cards in his hand keep increasing, Eikou couldn't help but slam his hand hard onto the tabletop.
Damn it, the more you play, the more cards you get—how the hell are you supposed to win like this?!
Who would have thought that these two obsessed girls were deliberately trying to distract his attention, rather than just simply fooling around.
Eikou glanced at the two French girls who were firmly holding the winning advantage, and his heart immediately turned cold.
Was there… really no way left to counter them anymore?
Completely different from the boys' side, where morale was falling apart, this France Best Friends pair was clearly going all out to devour him.
[The France best-friend pair used their beautiful feet wrapped in black stockings to harass you under the table, while also exploiting all kinds of Item Cards to restrain and directly target you.]
[Very quickly, the British Bro Team loses another round.]
[Marie Alter issues a new order: Gawain must also drink an entire crate of Water of Life.]
[Gawain, OUT.]
"NOOO! GORILLAAAA!"
Eikou screamed miserably.
[Reason tells you that at this moment, you should cut your losses and run away, otherwise the ending will be extremely tragic.]
[But the great cause has not yet been accomplished, Golden Rule and Boar-chan with bunny ears—not a single dream has been realized—running away with your tail between your legs like this would be far too disgraceful. Especially Golden Rule, the dream of getting rich overnight is right in front of you, can you really not seize it?]
[Therefore, the game continues!]
"Artoria…"
Before the next round began, Eikou hurriedly called out to the Boar Princess sitting beside him.
He revealed a look of grim resolve.
"Next will be a battle between me and the France people, the situation will be very dangerous, you should leave quickly!"
If he lost the next round, it was very likely that Artoria would also become the next victim.
Eikou did not want to drag the innocent Boar-chan into this terrifying conflict.
"But…"
Artoria pondered for a moment.
"Come to think of it… what was it that you people originally pulled me into this game for again?"
"…Don't worry about that for now, just go!"
Eikou shook his head and hurriedly cut her off.
In his heart, he thought this must be the retribution of Lust—just because the boys wanted to see Artoria with bunny ears, they had been targeted by these other crazy women!
Everyone bears their own responsibility. This retribution of Lust, the brothers each went their own way; this sin—let All Evil of The World like him bear it alone.
"!"
Faced with Eikou's advice, Artoria decisively fled.
Originally, she didn't understand what they wanted to do anyway, and after consecutively witnessing two Knights of the Round Table suddenly fall, she had long since been scared to the point of trembling.
Why risk your life just to play a game—run first, talk later!
"Then farewell, Mochizuki Eikou…"
She clasped her hands together and left these idiots behind without the slightest hesitation.
"Please allow me to keep you all here, along with all of your memories!"
[Artoria leaves the battlefield.]
[Only you and the France Best Friends remain on the field.]
[The next round of the game, very likely also the final round, officially begins.]
"Alright, all the troublesome ones have left, now there are only the three of us left…"
Marie Alter dealt the cards to everyone, wearing a gentle and sweet smile.
Looking at Eikou sitting opposite her, she licked her lips lightly in a seductive and greedy manner, as if the other party was already firmly in their grasp.
"Have you prepared yourself mentally for the upcoming Punishment Game? We won't go easy on you. No matter what happens, don't complain that we're being despicable."
Eikou swallowed nervously and said:
"There are no outsiders left here anymore, just say it straight—what exactly do you want to do."
When asked that, Jeanne d'Arc beside her blushed and lowered her head, shy and not knowing how to answer.
As for Marie Alter, she revealed a sly smile and said while dealing him cards:
"Of course… the three of us together, fufu~~."
As expected.
At this point, Eikou no longer knew what kind of expression he should even make.