Chapter 75: The Holy Grail War only takes place in the dark
[Today is strangely peaceful for you.]
[In class, neither Melusine nor Barghest came to bother you, Jeanne White and Marie from the neighboring class also didn't invite you to lunch.]
[You kind of miss Jeanne Alter, but you have no idea where she ran off to today.]
[Busy, everyone's busy, being busy is fine anyway.]
[A calm day, almost boring.]
[During lunch break, you and Gawain diligently review, your academic ability has shown significant improvement.]
...
At the club building of Chaldea Academy, inside the club activity room.
In front of the desks in the room, the girls from the two Britain–France classes sit facing each other, the atmosphere is strange and extremely awkward.
On the Britain class side are Barghest – Black Dog Fairy Knight, and Melusine – the remnant of the Albion Dragon.
On the France class side are Marie Antoinette, Dragon Witch Jeanne Alter,
And the one in charge of managing the club activities – Orleans Saint – Jeanne d'Arc, Ruler-class Servant.
"Very well, everyone is here,"
Jeanne White stands on the podium, lightly tapping the file stuck on the blackboard.
"Then let's begin today's club activity. First, the requirements to establish a club——"
"Wait, stop for a second!"
Jeanne Alter suddenly jumps up and shouts.
"What is it, sister?" Jeanne White asks in surprise.
"Before starting whatever club activity of yours, can you explain clearly what the hell everyone is doing here?" — she asks angrily.
"This is the Eikou Holy Grail War, of course we're discussing matters related to Eikou." Jeanne White answers seriously.
"..."
Jeanne Alter looks around, but doesn't see the person they're talking about anywhere.
"Then where's Eikou, I have something to say to him."
"The Eikou Holy Grail War doesn't have Eikou in it, you know."
Great, so this so-called Eikou Holy Grail War doesn't even have Eikou, just a bunch of girls obsessed with him gathering together?
Exactly like some kind of "Club Married Woman" that doesn't have a single married woman, just a group of perverts drooling over married people!
"Jeanne Alter, it's better if I'm the one to explain to you."
Barghest — the blonde female knight, tall and solidly built, radiating a strong mature woman's charm — suddenly stands up and says,
"I am Saber, Fairy Knight Gawain, you can also call me Barghest. Melusine and I are Fairy Knights sent by Her Majesty the Queen, carrying the great mission assigned to us from above — to protect Eikou at all costs, not allowing other women to touch him."
…And who exactly is your superior? From what I can see, you two are the ones most capable of "touching" Eikou! — Jeanne Alter thinks to herself.
"First, let me explain the formation process of the Eikou Holy Grail War."
Barghest turns on the projector in the clubroom, a PPT file appears, and she begins to lecture with extreme seriousness.
What the hell, they even made a PPT slide? Joking but actually doing it?! — Jeanne Alter groans inside.
"On May 22, we went through a fierce battle for seats and were then forced by the teachers to apologize. After that incident, we entered tense negotiations between the Britain faction and the France faction, with neither side willing to yield. In other words——"
Barghest's heterochromatic eyes suddenly gleam fiercely.
"—everyone present here is a rival!"
The room immediately falls silent. Everyone understands it clearly, no need to say it out loud.
Not me though! — Jeanne Alter screams inside. I never said I liked that guy, why the hell are you all assuming that?!
"Originally, at this stage, we should have unleashed a crazy slaughter, fighting until only one person crawls out of a pile of corpses, and that victor would earn the right to approach Eikou."
"But during our discussions, we discovered a serious threat——"
"Eikou's Skill — Disaster With Women——is rank EX!"
"If we don't unite, then none of us will be able to win."
The PPT slide quickly switches to the next page — "Recent Situation Report of Eikou."
"This information is the result of sharing each person's relationship network."
"May 20, Eikou stayed overnight at the library. That night, those who stayed with him included my superior, Artoria Lancer and Murasaki Shikibu Caster."
"May 21, someone saw Eikou skipping class and going on a date with a certain blonde twin-braided witch."
"May 25, Eikou joined a party with the male group of the France class and didn't come back the entire night."
"May 26, while Melusine overslept, the seat next to Eikou was taken by someone else."
"From this activity record, it can be seen that Eikou is very well-liked — especially by girls. Moreover, he's extremely sociable, so his range of activity is very wide and hard to grasp."
"The girls who have interacted with or coincidentally appeared next to him——without a doubt, are extremely dangerous rivals!"
You all investigated this thoroughly? You women are clearly the most dangerous ones here!
Jeanne Alter grumbles inwardly.
Come to think of it, aren't you supposed to be knights sent by your superior to protect him? Why are you putting your own superior into the enemy camp?!
Your superior is truly pitiful, the defense line built by their subordinates isn't even as good as the French Maginot Line. You're digging a pit for your superior yourselves.
Barghest continues her explanation:
"Furthermore, everyone here needs to know one thing: Eikou's skill is Disaster With Women EX, and on top of that, he has a personality that's bad at refusing others. In this situation, he's highly likely to get into trouble. If we keep fighting amongst ourselves for half a day, are we just going to let someone else reap the benefits?"
"That's why we decided to form the Britain–France Alliance, to share information, set rules, eliminate outsiders, exchange experiences, and compete for Eikou fairly and righteously — at the very least, to help Her Majesty the Queen eliminate potential threats outside of us."
"This is the reason why our Eikou Holy Grail War was founded!"
In other words, these people formed this seemingly united "Britain–France Alliance" just because they don't want other women interfering?
For a fool like him, they actually organized an entire contest — are these people too stupid, or just too free with nothing to do?
Jeanne Alter is momentarily speechless, resting her head wearily on the desk.
This bunch will definitely amount to nothing. Whatever mess they want to make, let them make it.
"In other words, this is a war centered around Eikou, and everyone here is a rival. This point will not change no matter what."
Barghest speaks seriously:
"But we cannot fight internally or cross the line. Everything must be conducted according to rules like upright and honorable knights, setting a minimum standard for this chaotic battle."
As she finishes speaking, the PPT slides to the next page.
This page introduces the profile of Jeanne White.
"And Miss Jeanne will be the referee we specially invited. As a noble, righteous, and incorruptible Saint — Ruler, she will be responsible for judging our competition. All the rules will be set by her. Now we can finally be at ease."
"Hehe…"
Jeanne White beams brightly:
"Leave the task of coordinating this match to me~ I'll carefully supervise everyone's battle, and before you decide the victor, I'll take good care of Eikou~."
"???"
Jeanne Alter screams inwardly: Are you all blind? She's obviously a cheating referee! You're bringing a wolf into your house without even realizing it!
In a Holy Grail War, the one who breaks the rules the most is this crazy woman! She'll just wait for you to tear each other apart and then claim the sweet fruit of victory herself.
You must know, when she enters "love-brain" mode, she's terrifying!
"Haizz…"
Jeanne Alter is completely in despair.
This Holy Grail War… from the very root, is already rotten to the core, isn't it?
The PPT slide flips to the next page, the one recorded under the name Melusine.
"This part was prepared by our Melusine. She has listed a few simple possibilities of how Eikou might be taken by other women, and these are the areas we need to pay particular attention to."
"『Possibilities of Mochizuki Eikou Being Taken by Other Women』
『1. Forced love』
『2. Assaulted』
『3. Threatened with money or violence』"
Why are these all so filthy, low methods? And looking closely, all three of them are basically the same thing!
This isn't something other girls would do — only people like you would ever pull something like this!
"Is there really no option like 'falling in love with the intent to marry'?" — Jeanne Alter sarcastically comments.
Melusine is startled: "I'm sorry, that was my oversight. I never even thought of that possibility!"
Of course, because all she ever thinks about is how to snatch him away, right? Just what exactly is your relationship with Lancelot from my class?
"Jeanne Alter is right, I'll add that possibility right away…"
Melusine quickly adds another line.
『3. When he is 'in love with someone else with the intent to marry', I too will love him with the intent to marry.』
"You're just making it worse, that's still cheating in the end! Do you really want to marry Eikou that badly?"
"You've misunderstood, Jeanne Alter," Melusine explains seriously,
"I never had such a bold intention. I just want to become his lover, not marry him. He won't be my husband — he'll be my lover."
"That's even worse! That's the 'bold intention of a bold intention'!"
Jeanne Alter angrily yells.
This isn't a Holy Grail War at all — it's just a bunch of idle women fighting over a man. What's inside this Grail isn't wishes, but a black mud of overflowing desire.
To put it bluntly, these women are just using the shell of a "Holy Grail War" to set up rules that benefit themselves, while binding their rivals. On the surface, they act united to exclude outsiders, but in reality, they're just sharpening their knives to stab each other in the back.
Aside from Barghest, who might honestly want to follow the rules, what they have here is just a love-brained Saint abusing power, a lewd dragon who knows nothing of common decency, and a pink-colored French queen who's black as coal on the inside.
Eikou, you bastard, what the hell did you do to attract a horde of crazy women like this!