Chapter 24: AOE Without Discrimination
"The sparkling, radiant moments"
"I experienced them with everyone"
"But I don't know since when, I've been left all alone"
"Those moments are irreplaceable""Now all I can do is reminisce about those beautiful days"
"I will embrace the feeling"
The vinyl record on the music player kept spinning slowly and steadily.
Meanwhile, at the banquet table of the afterparty, the Queen Game had reached its most intense phase.
"..."
"..."
Both sides were locked in silence, neither daring to make a move.
Mochizuki Eikou could, at most, down another shot of water of life.
Morgan's situation wasn't any better—although she had support skills from Baobhan Sith, they only bought her one more turn.
"Damn it, Baobhan Sith's skill set is actually pretty damn useful."
Eikou muttered under his breath:
"Not only can she seal all of the enemy's Noble Phantasm and skills, but she can also provide evade support to allies... If only I could somehow copy that, it'd be great."
With that thought, pursuing a romantic path with Baobhan Sith seemed more and more necessary.
[Another round of drawing lots begins.]
[Which stick do you choose? 1. Closest to you; 2. Farthest from you; 3. In the middle.]
This time, Eikou chose number two.
[Unfortunately, you still did not draw the Queen stick.]
[Your number is One.]
"Mother-sama, Mother-sama, I'm the Queen!"
This time it was Baobhan Sith's turn.
She beamed brightly, showing off the Queen stick in her hand like she'd just accomplished some earth-shaking feat—just like a little girl excitedly showing off to her mother.
"Well done," Morgan nodded in approval. "Now give them your order."
"Ahem ahem..."
Baobhan Sith put on a serious face, mimicking her mother's demeanor. Summoning queenly authority from nowhere, she arrogantly issued her command:
"In the name of the Queen's heir—Number One, Number Two, and Number Three, all of you drink for me!"
What the hell?!
Eikou stared in horror at the number one stick in his hand.
Could it be that Baobhan Sith also had Fairy Eyes and could see the numbers the guys picked?
She already had such a powerful skill set—if she also had Fairy Eyes, that'd be totally OP!
"..."
A moment later, Morgan silently raised her wine glass.
Next, Mordred glared at Baobhan Sith with a look full of resentment, then reluctantly raised her own glass.
"Mother-sama! How the hell did I end up picking your number?!"
Seeing Morgan raise her glass, Baobhan Sith started to panic.
"..."
Eikou was stunned.
"Naruhodo..."
He had almost died of fright, thinking Baobhan Sith really had some cheat skill like Fairy Eyes—turns out she was just copying her mother out of admiration and randomly dished out a huge move for fun.
Hurting the enemy a thousand while damaging allies by eight hundred might still be acceptable, but dragging her own mother into the crossfire too? That's just plain embarrassing.
Honestly, Eikou felt like Morgan's own "devoted daughters" were more than enough to bring her down, even without his intervention.
It was just unfortunate that he got caught in the crossfire too.
"Hang in there, Sir Eikou! We're almost winning!"
The two Knights of the Round Table anxiously cheered him on.
They both realized Eikou had taken multiple shots of water of life, all his defensive measures had already been used up—he was now like a fully drawn bow with barely any strength left.
"Don't panic… Watch me handle this."
As soon as he finished speaking, Eikou downed another glass of water of life.
[You've consumed strong liquor multiple times; your body can no longer handle it.]
[This Endurance check will now be a very-hard check, equivalent to the probability of a great success.]
[Initiating one very-hard Endurance check.]
A die rolled before his eyes.
Must succeed, must succeed, must succeed...
His heart pounded with tension as he kept praying for the Dice God to be merciful this time.
Whether he could send the two great Knights of the Round Table home fully clothed—and protect his own chastity (not that it really mattered)—all depended on this one die!
[Very-hard Endurance check—Success!]
[A wave of intoxication crashes over you like a storm, but you grit your teeth and miraculously remain sober.]
[If you continue drinking, the next round will automatically fail without any check.]
Damn, seriously?! He actually pulled it off!
"Thud!"
Amid the admiring gazes of everyone, Eikou placed the empty glass on the table, his posture still perfectly upright—completely unfazed.
But in truth, he was hanging by a thread—his mind was turning into a blurry mess, his body burning up, and even his vision had started overlapping with multiple images.
Just as the system message had warned, if he drank again, he would definitely collapse.
"How are you doing, Eikou-san? You don't look so good," Queen Morgan tried to stay composed, but her gaze was no longer as calm and relaxed as before. "You're close to your limit, aren't you? I'll allow you to surrender."
Eikou wiped the liquor from the corner of his mouth and laughed:"Morgan-san, you're the one who's cornered—though most of the credit goes to your daughters—right now, you've got no defenses left, do you? Hahahaha."
"Mochizuki Eikou… are you speaking to me?"
"I… I'm talking to the third Morgan in the front row…"
Shit, he drank too much—he was seeing three Morgans.
"You two are seriously strong…"
Gawain mumbled from the side:
"This is the first time I've seen someone at a social party who's managed to hold their ground against Mother-sama… Who knows, maybe we really can win this!"
Gawain had a feeling that the next round would be the last.
Because both sides were nearly drained—whether it was Endurance or skills, everything had already been used up.
[Another round of drawing lots begins.]
[Which stick do you choose? 1. Closest to you; 2. Farthest from you; 3. In the middle.]
Eikou immediately chose the closest stick.
And that just happened to be the one Morgan was about to reach for.
Seeing this, he didn't hesitate and snatched it up first, then glanced at the symbol on it—it clearly bore the queen's crown.
[You have drawn the Queen stick!]
[Issue your command.]
"..."
Hope was in his hands!
Eikou was both nervous and excited. His alcohol-clouded mind reeled, and he had to grip the stick with both hands just to keep it from slipping through his violently trembling fingers.
This was the final, decisive move.
But if he randomly called a number, he might not hit Morgan—and might even hit an ally by mistake.
The cruel twist: his Instinct skill was temporarily sealed, so he couldn't lock onto Morgan's number.
Should he play it safe and just guess?
No… that won't work. He had no room left for error. Luck wouldn't be on his side forever. He had to end it here.
So maybe… time for one huge gamble?
"Hey Eikou, can you hurry up already?!" Mordred urged impatiently.
"Alright, I've got a great idea."
Eikou raised the Queen stick high.
"In the name of the 'Queen,' I command—everyone present here, drink for me!!!"
Morgan: "???"