Chapter 209: The Romance of JRPGs.
"What, rejecting us again? Sir Eikou, you mean you no longer need your good brothers?!"
Tristan made an expression of utter disbelief.
"If this were any other time, I would absolutely agree to go with the two of you…"
Eikou gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"But right now, I have a reason that forces me to turn you down…"
"What reason?"
"Because we're still competitors. Sooner or later, we'll have to battle each other. If we get too close now, I'm afraid I won't be able to bring myself to fight you later…"
Finishing his words, Eikou sighed regretfully.
"So that's how it is…"
The two Knights of the Round Table sighed together, then lifted their heads to seriously ask: "Then, what is your honest reason?"
Eikou's eyes suddenly sharpened, filled with righteous conviction:
"Sorry to say this so bluntly, but what I want next is to build a Servant harem of Jade Beauties centered around myself. I don't want any men appearing in my team!"
"That's a perverted declaration, yet extremely straightforward, MEN!"
Tristan nodded seriously in admiration.
"If it's so hard to say, then don't say it so firmly…"
Gawain put his hand on his hip. "Sir Eikou's patriarchy is acting up again."
"You two can say whatever you want,"
Eikou turned his head with a free and easy attitude, showing zero intention of backing down.
"I'm absolutely unshakable on this point. Creating an all-girl party around the male protagonist, excluding men from the team, is the highest form of JRPG romance. As a simp for JRPGs, how could I let you two ruin that romance?!"
Whether Pokémon counts as a JRPG is debatable, but Eikou firmly believes that it is.
[You bid farewell to Red-haired Bard T.]
[Since Artoria is in your team, Tristan gives you the cartridge of the game Love Sleeping he has been keeping. If you find the right buyer in the game, it can be sold for a good amount of QP.]
[Since cartridge games can be exchanged for QP, you temporarily accept it.]
[Gawain gifts your team a box of instant mashed potatoes, hoping you can stay full on your journey.]
[By unanimous vote of your team, once Gawain and Tristan are far away, you throw the box of mashed potatoes into a non-burnable trash bin on the roadside.]
[You continue onward on your adventure.]
[As time passes, the sun tilts toward the west, the flaming pink light burning across layers of endless clouds. The colors of dusk grow deeper, and the sun quickly disappears beneath the horizon.]
[The first day of your journey is about to end here.]
[That night, you arrive at the first town.]
[Even though you want to speed up and capture the Divine Servant without a Master, considering that you've only just arrived and recklessly traveling at night would be too impulsive, you decide that it's better to rest for tonight.]
[That's the plan, but your plans never keep up with the changes…]
[You all found a suitable restaurant and had a delicious dinner there. Anna seemed to really like sweets, with preferences no different from a child's.]
[As for Artoria Lancer, she seemed to eat anything, and at a terrifyingly fast speed. Whatever dish you placed in front of her—just turning your head for a moment would make it disappear. The only difference between her and a certain Wild Boar Caster was perhaps her more elegant eating posture, but her efficiency was in no way inferior.]
[Even though you were mentally prepared, the cost of this dinner still exceeded your budget severely. The 1000 QP you had just received from Tristan was eaten clean by her in an instant.]
[With a sliver of hope, all of you visited the local inn.]
[Unfortunately, although this Singularity imitates Pokémon, it does not have a Pokémon Center or Servant Center that allows free rest. Money still has to be paid.]
[You suggested using the cartridge game to pay for the room.]
[Unexpectedly, the innkeeper turned out to be a Pure Love Warrior, claiming to be a loyal follower of Eikoucles, and he kicked all of you out.]
[It seems you can only use the money left to buy camping gear; tonight you can only continue on the road.]
"Sorry…"
Artoria blushed, gently touching her stomach.
"It's all my fault. If I could control my portions, everyone wouldn't have to worry about the room fee."
"Oh, so this place actually has a follower of mine."
Eikou touched his chin, still thinking about what had just happened.
"No need to blame yourself, Artoria. If it were only me, I probably wouldn't even have made it to the first town. With you around, at least I still have the strength to worry about the room."
"But… as a King, making everyone run into trouble like this is truly disgraceful…"
Artoria clenched her teeth, her face full of shame. The pride of a Knight King did not allow her to behave so discourteously.
"It's fine, it's fine. Actually, continuing on the road tonight may be the best choice."
Eikou comforted her: "Didn't Tristan say it already? On the way to the next town, there's a Divine Servant without a Master. Maybe many Trainers have already departed. We need to hurry as well."
Moreover, truthfully, he was also very curious to know who exactly that [Legendary] was.
"Mm… thank you, Eikou…"
Hearing this explanation, Artoria's expression finally softened noticeably.
Eikou smiled reassuringly, then turned toward Anna. He leaned down slightly and gently patted the girl's head.
"Sorry, Anna, for making you follow us and suffer like this."
But the girl reacted as if electrocuted, stepping back several steps and tugging tightly on her cat-ear hood to hide her face.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Her gaze shifted away, her voice cold:
"You can make me walk however long you want, but I don't like humans touching me like that."
"Oh… sorry…"
Eikou was a little surprised and immediately withdrew his hand.
Based on the trait of [My Love is Eternal], he originally thought it would be easy for him to build a good relationship with this girl.
Alright, it seemed Medusa's personality was even gloomier than he expected, and being a Greek Goddess, becoming close immediately was simply unrealistic.
"..."
Next to them, Artoria used Instinct and sensed that something seemed off.
Anna looked like she had coldly rejected him, but judging from her tightly pressed lips, her slightly unnatural body language, and her averted gaze under the hood—those details felt somewhat familiar.
Rather than dislike, the feeling looked more like…
Beyond Instinct, there was another very important reason Artoria noticed it so quickly.
Because every time Eikou talked to some full-bodied, charming woman, he always avoided eye contact in exactly the same awkward way…