Chapter 74: Eikou's Holy Grail War
The calendar flipped to a new day.
[May 28th, morning.]
[Only two days left until the midterm exams.]
[Early in the morning, you were dragged off by Scathach for training, and got beaten down miserably by her brutal physical drills until morning classes.]
[You once again started to doubt that Scathach actually doesn't like you at all, she's just having another bout of her sadistic tendencies.]
[Make a Disaster With Women check.]
[Great success check!]
[Today, there's a high chance you'll encounter a major disaster involving women.]
[...]
[Because of the great success result of Disaster With Women, you spent the entire day on edge — the moment any girl near you spoke up, you immediately went into high alert, ready to run at the first sign of trouble.]
[But the terrifying incident you imagined never happened. Not only was there no Disaster, even the girls who usually pester you suddenly went quiet today.]
[This unusual silence made you even more anxious — the quieter it gets, the more dangerous it is. What if it turns into a wild party of chaos afterward!]
[...]
[But after spending the whole day battling your own paranoia, you realized it was all just useless panic, and gradually relaxed.]
[Once again, you focused entirely on studying.]
[Charlemagne and Roland invited you to play with the spinning top, that childish game made you want to join in, but since studying was more important, you declined.]
[Meanwhile, unbeknownst to you, a much bigger problem seemed to be quietly brewing...]
...
That noon, in France class.
As usual, Jeanne Alter sat lazily on her chair eating lunch, her long legs wrapped in black stockings crossed, scrolling through her phone while eating a Swiss roll.
Nearby, the voices of several girls talking could be heard.
It seemed Charlotte wanted to invite Jeanne White to try the new dish at the cafeteria.
"Charlott-san, thank you so much for inviting me, but maybe next time..."
Jeanne White kept a polite, slightly apologetic smile as she refused:
"I've got a bit of club activity at noon, um… I'll be going ahead..."
"Eh, what kind of club has activities during lunch break?" Charlotte asked in surprise.
"Haha, it's the kind that… you know, involves lunch..."
Jeanne White gave a strained laugh, apologized, and hurriedly left the classroom,
"I can't talk now, Charlotte-san, I've really been a bit busy lately!"
Jeanne Alter quietly listened to their conversation and bit into her Swiss roll.
Her golden eyes glanced toward the direction Jeanne White left.
That crazy woman again… what is she up to lately, looking obviously suspicious.
But one thing she could say for sure — Jeanne White was lying.
Because no matter how airheaded she might normally be, she was ultimately a serious, model student who wasn't good at pretending or lying, so the signs of her lying were way too obvious.
But what does Saint-sama lying have to do with her anyway.
Jeanne Alter decided not to care and focused on her lunch.
But somewhere deep inside, she still vaguely paid attention, so she continued listening to the girls' conversation.
"Jeanne seems really busy these days, it's so hard to make plans with her..."
Charlotte said to her close friend from another class:
"It's not just Jeanne, even Princess Marie too. Ever since the two of them got their parents called to the library, I've had the feeling they're hiding something from everyone. And lately, they've been way too close with the Britain class..."
Got their parents called to the library last time?
Jeanne Alter thought for a moment.
Ah, that was during the study group session — the girls were fighting over who got to sit next to Eikou, caused a huge scene, and got their parents summoned together.
But what does that have to do with Jeanne White? She wasn't even there.
Jeanne Alter frowned slightly, feeling even more suspicious.
"Hmm..."
She popped the last bite of cake into her mouth, suddenly stood up, and decided to go check things out.
People often say, "family shame shouldn't be aired in public."
Before that airheaded sister of hers causes another embarrassing scene outside, she has to stop it first.
She said it was a club activity, so the first step was to check the club building.
...
Chaldea Academy, Club Building.
It wasn't class time, nor was it club activity time, so the hallways in the building were completely empty.
Following the direction Jeanne White had gone, Jeanne Alter hurried after her, reaching the club room area.
She passed by several empty club rooms, and at the end of the hallway — there she was, Jeanne White, looking sneaky and suspicious.
This person was never good at hiding herself, nor did she even intend to, so finding her was easy.
The moment Jeanne Alter saw Jeanne White's figure, she charged forward and questioned her with overwhelming momentum:
"Hey, you crazy woman, what the hell have you been doing lately?"
"Kyaa!"
Jeanne White screamed softly, hugging her chest with both hands.
"Oh, i-it's you, little sister..."
"First of all, I have never once acknowledged you as my sister. Next, what are you doing here?"
Jeanne Alter asked coldly,
"And finally, what the hell have you been up to lately? Who runs to a club at noon like this? What kind of shady club are you even in?"
"Um… it's a Onee-san Club, like… a club full of Servants with an onee-san vibe?"
Jeanne White forced out a half-hearted smile, one that looked sincere but wasn't convincing at all.
"I have no idea what the hell you're talking about!" Jeanne Alter shouted.
"Haizz..."
Jeanne White sighed softly, looking exactly like someone admitting, "I really can't lie."
"Alright, Alter, I know there's no point hiding it from you... Honestly, lately I've become a judge of the Eikou Holy Grail War, okay?"
"What the hell is an Eikou Holy Grail War? That sounds even more nonsense than your stupid Onee-san Club excuse! Keep spouting crap like this and I swear I'll burn you!"
Jeanne White looked surprised, "Huh, don't tell me you haven't joined this Holy Grail War yet?"
"???"
Jeanne Alter's mind was full of question marks. She wanted to yell at her, but wait — is there really something called a Holy Grail War like that?
"Why the hell does that man even have a Holy Grail War? I seriously don't get it!"
Jeanne White started explaining, "Everything started with a haunted house video——"
"Enough! You think saying that makes it any clearer? The more you talk, the less I understand! What kind of ridiculous crap is this!"
Fuming, Jeanne Alter stormed straight into the club room.
She had to find out — what exactly was being hidden behind this so-called "Eikou Holy Grail War" club!