Chapter 212: Karna Awakens a Strange Hobby
"Left! A little more to the left! Ah, too far right, it should go back just a bit!"
At a claw machine, the King of Knights Artoria stared seriously at the mechanical arm moving above the machine. Beside her, Irisviel kept giving advice.
"Here it is!"
Hesitating for a moment, Artoria's ahoge suddenly stood straight up. She waved her hand and pressed the downward button.
"Vrrr…"
With a low hum, the mechanical claw slowly descended, hooking the lion plush she desired. In addition, the claw also snagged a rabbit plush on its outer edge.
"Wow, Saber, amazing!"
Seeing Artoria grab two toys at once, Irisviel excitedly hugged her from behind.
"Uh, th-that, Irisviel…"
Feeling the softness against her back, Artoria, also a woman, instantly blushed.
"…"
Suddenly, Artoria felt a gaze on her. She spun her head around and saw Karna pretending to casually look away.
-Staring…
Fixing her eyes on Karna, Artoria gripped the lion plush in her hands and stepped closer to him.
"Is there something you need?"
Artoria approached within a distance where he couldn't escape. Karna let out a resigned breath and looked at her.
"You were smiling just now, weren't you?"
Recalling her expression moments ago, Artoria felt embarrassed. The King of Knights, seduced by such a trivial thing…
"No, I wasn't."
Karna denied her guess in a flat tone.
"I see… Please forgive my rudeness just now."
Seeing that questioning yielded no results, Artoria returned to Irisviel's side, resuming the same stoic expression as Karna. However, when her gaze inadvertently fell on the plush in her hands, a faint expression of delight appeared.
The group stayed in the arcade until past six in the evening.
"Ah, I've never played this much in my life…"
Basking in the sunset, Irisviel stretched and said as they left the arcade.
"Indeed, very enjoyable…"
Following behind her, Hikigaya Hachiman twitched the corner of his mouth.
Honestly, he had seen adults spend an entire afternoon in an arcade. But an adult who spent 100,000 yen in one afternoon, forcing the owner to plead for them to stop playing—Irisviel was definitely the only one he had ever seen do that.
Originally, Hachiman had thought Irisviel was simply bad at games. But who would've thought her learning ability was monstrous?
After watching how others played a few times, she had completely mastered the technique.
When that woman in a suit once grabbed two toys at once, every time Irisviel used a claw machine, she grabbed no less than two toys!
In twenty attempts, she managed to pull out 47 toys!
After finishing with the claw machines, Irisviel set her sights on the slot machines and coin pushers. The sounds of coins spilling never stopped, nearly causing the owner to faint!
.
.
.
"Then today's activities come to an end."
After walking a distance down the street and seeing her family's car, Irisviel turned to Hachiman and his group to bid farewell.
"Ah, indeed."
Hachiman silently sighed as he heard her words, and his previously soft gaze sharpened again.
"Apologies, but the Holy Grail War is like this. I advise you, if you don't want this child to get involved, send her out of Fuyuki City as soon as possible."
After saying this, Irisviel waved at the three of them and got into the car with Artoria, disappearing at the end of the street.
"Onii-chan…"
On the way back to the inn, Sakura, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
"What is it?"
Hachiman was contemplating how to avoid being affected by other participants' battles during the Holy Grail War. Curious, he looked down at Sakura.
"Do we have to fight that lady?"
Holding her hands close to herself, Sakura asked cautiously.
"You like Lady Irisviel?"
"No, I just think she's a good person. I don't want to see her die…"
"…"
"Are you angry, Onii-chan?"
Seeing Hachiman not respond, Sakura grew uneasy.
"I'm not… I'm just wondering if they can really make it to the end."
Recalling Irisviel's kind smile, and the seemingly rigid yet subtly cute knight beside her, Hachiman shook his head.
If it were a fair fight, they might have a chance. But the Holy Grail War uses the entire city of Fuyuki as the battlefield, with no restrictions…
Moreover, if Irisviel and her companion make it to the end, it means their hands would be stained with the blood of at least five other participants.
By that time, if only two teams remain, would the other side let them go?
Thinking about the inevitable bloodshed in the Holy Grail War, Hachiman's expression darkened. Although he wasn't one to hesitate to strike, he truly found this game of life and death over a "wish-granting cup" disgusting.
.
.
.
Back at the inn where they were temporarily staying, after dinner with Sakura and Karna, Hachiman began studying a map of Fuyuki City to analyze potential strongholds and battle locations.
Sakura lay on the bed flipping through her own books, while Karna sat quietly at the table, remaining alert while eating his ice cream.
Everything seemed perfectly normal and harmonious…
Wait! Ice cream?!
Hachiman, studying the map, suddenly looked up at Karna.
"What is it, Master?"
Karna looked at him, puzzled, fiddling with the ice cream in his hands.
"No, nothing…"
Hachiman stared at the half-eaten ice cream in Karna's hand, his expression instantly turning odd. He opened his mouth to speak, but a massive spiritual—or magical—shock suddenly swept through their residence.
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