Chapter 25: Memories of You
Morgan's sparkling blue eyes finally showed a trace of confusion.
"If you do that, your allies might get caught in the blast too."
Eikou simply smiled and shook his head.
"The chance of that happening is low. The Knights of the Round Table are physically strong—most of them will pass the Endurance check.
"But you're different, Morgan-san. Your Endurance is only ranked E—just taking a sip will guarantee your defeat! To put it plainly, those two are just sacrifices for my strategy. It's their honor to drag you down with them!"
"What a scumbag," Tristan sighed in dismay.
"But a respectable and valiant scumbag!" Gawain said earnestly.
Seeing that she could no longer sway her opponent's resolve, the proud queen Morgan bit her soft pink lip in unwillingness.
Just as Eikou had said earlier, Morgan and her daughters had already used up every skill at their disposal. At this point, she had no defense left.
"Mm… have I really been pushed this far…"
Queen Morgan picked up the glass of water of life—a liquor with 96% alcohol content.
"..."
Eikou hesitated for a moment, then gently placed his hand on her wrist, the one holding the glass.
"...However, I'm a gentleman. Forcing a lady to drink is not my style. How about we both compromise a little: you return our clothes, and in exchange, I'll drink this glass of water of life in your place. Gawain and Tristan can leave the party fully dressed, and once I've sobered up, I'll face you again in round two. How about it?"
Eikou felt this was the right moment to show some manly dignity—there was no need to push Morgan too hard. Forcing a woman to drink herself unconscious wasn't something a man should do.
Besides, no matter what, the other party genuinely liked him, so he was willing to make a small concession.
"Eikou..."
[Morgan feels your kindness and gentlemanly conduct. Her affection for you has increased.]
[You can sense the intense and fiery feelings Morgan holds for you.]
[If it weren't for her daughters being present, what was about to happen next… might be a little unsuitable for minors.]
[But in response to your well-meaning offer, she simply smiles. A queen needs neither pity nor sympathy from anyone. Thus, she does not hesitate and downs the strong liquor in one go.]
"I am a queen."
Morgan slowly set the now-empty glass on the table.
Her face was flushed red, yet she did not fall. On the contrary, she still maintained the dignified bearing of royalty.
"A little alcohol like that—means nothing to me."
Eikou was stunned—she wasn't drunk? Could it be she lucked out and passed the Endurance check?
Damn it, the Queen Game had to continue into another round? Looks like he'd be the one to pay next!
Morgan stood up from her seat, her deep blue eyes now dazed, misted over like morning fog.
"The misty clouds of Orkney… please—"
Before she could finish, Morgan, face blazing red, collapsed forward.
Startled, Eikou quickly rushed in to catch her before the Fairy Queen could fall to the floor in an undignified heap.
"So in the end… she still collapsed..."
Eikou wore a wry smile.
To keep up her royal composure all the way until the end—even after drinking that much—she really gave it her all.
"We…"
The two Knights of the Round Table—clad only in their underwear—looked at each other, then cheered in unison:
"We won! We finally get our clothes back!"
[You have defeated Morgan—Fairy Queen. Reward: 3 Encouragement Dice.]
["Encouragement Dice": Can be used to re-roll a result.]
[Current Encouragement Dice count: 3]
[You led the boys' team to victory and earned the admiring respect of those around you.]
["Charisma E" has been upgraded to "Charisma B."]
Encouragement Dice, huh?
So that means he had three chances to correct mistakes?
"Take your mother to rest."
Eikou gently laid the now-unconscious Morgan onto a chair. The distance between them was close—he could clearly smell the warm, sweet scent of alcohol rising from her.
"Hey… you guys don't mind that I got your mom this drunk, right…?"
"Haha, don't worry, Sir Eikou."
Gawain grinned brightly. "It was just a fun party game—we wouldn't take offense at something like that."
"You're saying that while standing there in just your underwear? That makes it oddly convincing..."
"Besides, Mother-sama had a great time," Gareth said, observing from the side. "She may look cold on the outside, but when she really gets into it, she's extremely serious. That just shows how much she genuinely wanted to win."
"No… more like, she genuinely wanted to play with Sir Eikou."
"That so."
Baobhan Sith: "..."
Suddenly sensing a sharp gaze from behind, Eikou turned around, only to see Baobhan Sith silently sipping her drink, head lowered.
Eikou glanced at her thoughtfully.
He suddenly remembered the original reason he came to this party—to get closer to Baobhan Sith. But from start to finish, he'd been entirely focused on dueling with Morgan…
Oh well. At least he managed to defeat Morgan. The next step now was figuring out how to strike up a conversation with Baobhan Sith.
"Ahem, ahem..."
Eikou suddenly felt his mouth dry and parched. All those water of life shots earlier had nearly choked him to death—his tongue still tingled with that bitter, numbing burn.
He casually reached for the glass of water on the table and took a sip, hoping to wash away the lingering taste.
"Oh, Sir Eikou,"
Tristan looked at the glass in Eikou's hand.
"Didn't know you liked drinking that much."
"Huh?"
"After everything you've already had, you still want more—impressive."
"??"
Oh shit!
He grabbed the wrong glass! What he'd just drunk wasn't water at all—it was that flammable "water"—vodka!
Damn it, why hadn't someone taken the vodka away already?!
Even crazier—after being force-fed who knows how many shots of water of life, this vodka now actually tasted like plain water… He hadn't even noticed anything odd with that first sip…
[You've once again consumed strong liquor.]
[You have severely overdrunk—your metabolism can no longer keep pace with your alcohol intake.]
[Your brain can no longer maintain consciousness…]
"Pfft—!"
It was over. After all the rounds he'd survived—not even Encouragement Dice could save him now!
"..."
Eikou's consciousness suddenly went blank. His body went limp and slumped straight back.
Thud!—He collapsed into the chair, completely unconscious.
Seeing both Eikou and Morgan passed out drunk, everyone in the room couldn't help but sigh.
"Those two went full crazy…"
Mordred looked at Eikou's peacefully sleeping face and suddenly asked:
"I have a question. Haven't I met this Eikou guy a long time ago?"
"We only met after school started, right? Why are you asking?" —Tristan replied.
"No, it's nothing… it's just that I only now realized—he fits in with us too naturally. There's no sense of distance at all, like we've known him forever. Don't you guys feel that?"
Gawain stood off to the side, slightly furrowing his brows.
He had never put much stock in Mordred's seriousness—but he'd never doubted her initial instincts either. After all, it was a skill she shared with Artoria: Instinct.
"Actually, I've felt something similar… Sir Eikou really is the kind of person you can talk to so easily."
Gawain said, "No, maybe we really have met Sir Eikou somewhere a long time ago… We should ask him when he wakes up."
"Anyway, this party was seriously fun. It's the first time I've seen Mother-sama enjoy herself this much—it's definitely a memory to remember. But…"
Gareth glanced at Eikou slumped on the chair, looking like a literal corpse.
"For Eikou-san, this afterparty might be more like a memory that's… 'hard to remember.'"
—
The vinyl player continued to spin softly as the song reached its final lines:
"These arms will gently hold you"
"May your slumber be complete"
"We laughed, we cried, we were angry together"
"I remember everything about you"
"Even as time turns, I will never forget"
"Until my life is exhausted"