Chapter 32: The Courage Challenge Club
[That night, you and Baobhan Sith exchanged contact information.]
[From now on, you can reach out to Baobhan Sith at any time—even ask her out.]
[You don't let this golden opportunity slip by, and plan to invite her out as often as possible.]
Based on previous experience,
To deepen bonds and learn skills, the most effective way is to encounter special events.
For example, when he helped Babbage-sensei reassemble his body, or the Queen Game during the party—those rare special events were prime chances for acquiring new skills.
[You start asking around, searching for anything unusual in school life.]
[Just as you're struggling to find anything worthwhile, Tristan comes bouncing in with a flyer about a "Haunted House."]
[Printed boldly on it: "The most desperate Courage Challenge Club event! The scariest haunted house in Academy City! Even Chaldea wet themselves in fear!"]
Eikou wasn't particularly excited.
While the flyer did ooze that extraordinary vibe he was looking for, he didn't have the guts for scary stuff. Embarrassing himself in front of a girl would be game over.
"Hold on, Sir Eikou, check the back," Tristan reminded him.
Flipping it over, he saw another line: "Each person who completes the haunted house will receive a generous reward of 500 QP!"
500 QP was enough to treat two Knights of the Round Table to barbecue twice at the dorm cafeteria; or it could buy the deluxe edition of the upcoming "Black Monkey" game.
The reward was so tempting it actually made him anxious.
"But if the reward's that high, this challenge must be terrifying—it's not gonna be easy money…"
"No worries! Only great rewards bring out true heroes!" Tristan declared confidently.
"Even if you don't go, Gawain and I are dead set on earning that prize. One trip through this haunted house is worth two or three days of part-time work!"
"What if it really is scary?"
"Nothing to fear," Gawain added logically. "We're Servants, after all—spiritual beings. But I've never seen you afraid of us."
"…Wait a sec."
Eikou realized Gawain had a point.
It was a special event, a chance to make money, and could even trigger the "suspension bridge effect"—the perfect setup for a dream date!
After some thought, he decided to invite Baobhan Sith to the haunted house.
Moments later, she replied.
「You idiot, did your brain get fermented by Gawain's mashed potatoes or something? Like hell I'd waste time doing something this stupid with you!」
As expected—sharp-tongued, ruthless.
Eikou fired back instantly:
「Wanna know how close your mom and I usually get with each other?」
Baobhan Sith: 「...」
Baobhan Sith: 「You seriously think just mentioning my mother is enough to manipulate me, huh?」
...
[30 minutes later, the two of you are standing in front of the haunted house's main gate.]
[The moment you arrive, you immediately understand why the 500 QP reward is so hard to earn.]
[This haunted house was transformed from an old abandoned school building at Chaldea Academy. It radiated a chilling, lonely aura as if it had been forgotten by the entire world. It looked plain enough on the outside, but every cold gust of wind seemed to carry a whisper of resentment. No one who had entered made it through—every single person had been scared out of their minds, fleeing in tears.]
[This place truly seemed cursed.]
[As for Baobhan Sith, even though she'd insisted she didn't want to come, in the end, she obediently tagged along.]
"..."
Tonight, Baobhan Sith dressed extremely simply and elegantly. She wasn't wearing her usual dazzling red dress, nor was she heavily made up—instead, she had on a dark, neatly tailored one-piece dress. Her red hair was tied into a tidy braid, and she wore a pair of round-framed glasses—giving her a calm, intellectual appearance.
Stripped of her usual glamor, she suddenly looked just like a friendly girl-next-door.
Only her high heels remained in their usual luxurious style.
"You called me out for something this stupid… Do you have any idea how valuable my time is?" she said irritably.
"Sorry, but I might really need your help later," Eikou replied as he turned his head, pointing toward the crowd of people fleeing in panic from the haunted house—these Servants seemed to resent their parents for not giving them more legs, running away in a total panic without a shred of dignity befitting Heroic Spirits.
You couldn't blame them for being scared. The haunted house seemed to be the embodiment of every possible nightmare. A freezing wind cut through the air, accompanied by constant groans—unclear whether it was just the wind whistling through cracks in the walls or something actually screaming inside.
Even Eikou started to regret coming here.
But he had no choice—it was all for Baobhan Sith's skill set… and the 500 QP.
"…Whatever's in there might be really terrifying. I seriously need your skill set. Please, come in with us. I'll pay you 5 QP."
"Just 5 QP to hire me?!" Baobhan Sith snapped, then let out a sigh.
"Fine… since we're partners, I'll help you this once. But only this once."
Umu. Surprisingly reasonable, huh?
"Sir Eikou, what on earth did you do? Baobhan Sith actually agreed to come just from one phone call?" Gawain looked at the red-haired girl in astonishment.
"Nothing much, just some mutually beneficial cooperation—"
"O heroes of the Argo, charge! O radiant ship that splits the sky!"
Before Eikou could even finish his sentence, a group of students from the Greece class came storming into the haunted house.
Leading the charge was Jason, arrogantly walking at the center, flanked by Heracles and other familiar crewmates. He wasn't scared of the haunted house at all—if anything, his crew might be scarier than the ghosts themselves.
Especially Heracles—his massive build and savage appearance gave his teammates a sense of absolute security.
The moment they stepped through the haunted house gates, their momentum was like triumphant warriors returning home.
"Today, we're gonna clean out all the prize money! Not a single coin for outsiders! Wealth, fame, glory—all of it belongs to the Argo! Heracles, clear the way for us!!!"
"ROAAAARRRR!!!!"
Heracles let out an earth-shaking roar.
Good god, that roar… even if someone wasn't afraid of ghosts, the ghosts themselves might be terrified into fleeing when they see such a musclebound monster like Heracles! — Eikou couldn't help but think.
But there was no time to waste. If they didn't get inside quickly, the Greek class students would snatch up all the rewards.
No choice—just grit your teeth and go in.
Today, he had to see for himself what kind of haunted house could terrify so many Servants!
"Baobhan Sith, let's go."
Eikou turned to red-haired girl.
"Just so you know… that whole suspension bridge effect thing doesn't work on me," Baobhan Sith muttered under her breath.
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