Chapter 100: The Eikou Perfection Plan!
["Last Surprise!" (Enemy encounter music)]
[You've been ambushed by members of the 'Eikou Club,' the situation is extremely dangerous!]
"Eikou Club?!"
He looked at the words floating above their heads in disbelief.
"What kind of crazy, obsessed group is this supposed to be? How come I've never heard of such a club before?"
"'The Eikou Club' is a villain organization in this game. If I had to compare, their role is similar to Team Rocket in Pokémon." — Gawain explained.
"Uh…"
Eikou was dumbfounded — this counts as a criminal organization? What kind of ideal are these people chasing? Don't tell me the 'Eikou' they worship is some sort of evil god?
"You don't get it, do you, Sir Eikou,"
Sensing his confusion, Tristan earnestly explained the villain group's background setting:
"... Their ultimate goal is to defeat all Masters, win the Holy Grail League championship, and use the Champion's Holy Grail to summon countless Eikous. Every member of the club will have their own personal Eikou, creating an ideal world — a world where everyone has an Eikou. They call that ambition——"
Tristan's eyes suddenly sharpened, filled with reverence as he declared:
"'The Eikou Perfection Plan!'"
"What kind of meaningless 'plan' is that?! The Holy Grail isn't meant for such nonsense! Even if I used the Grail to wish for graduating with my chastity intact, that'd still make more sense!"
Eikou sighed deeply, utterly exasperated.
He thought to himself: there's no way I can let them achieve that ambition. Otherwise, I'll end up like Artoria — where just one person is enough to start an entire Holy Grail War.
"... And what's with that line 'Eikou Club with no Eikou'? What kind of hellish joke is that supposed to be?"
"What's wrong with that? There's also a 'Married Woman Club' with a married woman ratio of 0%, but it has Sir Eikou in it." — Tristan declared proudly.
I never said I wanted to join your stupid married woman club in the first place?!
"Those weird clubs of yours, the farther away from me, the better…"
Eikou shook his head helplessly.
"But thankfully, this is just a fantasy game. If such an organization really existed in real life, I'd probably be trembling in fear…"
"..."
Melusine, who was lying face-down on the sofa, and Barghest, sitting properly beside her, exchanged glances.
The two Fairy Knights, who normally couldn't stand each other — at this very moment, came to a shared realization: "Indeed, it's better not to tell him."
Meanwhile, Eikou continued his game.
[Master of Shadow Land, leader of the Eikou Club — Scathach — challenges you to a Servant battle!]
"Why the hell is Scathach the leader of the Eikou Club? How can she act like a first wife like that? Has she become this overbearing just because of her age?!"
That said, Eikou had already begun to feel fear rising inside him as he looked at Scathach on the game screen.
He couldn't shake the feeling that, in just the next second, she would force him into spartan training and relentlessly mold him into the kind of "ideal man" she envisioned.
Oh god, the immersion of this game is way too strong — he was actually starting to feel scared for real!
Ambushed and completely overwhelmed by their presence — not to mention the fact that the enemies were all powerful, mature women — this kind of formation was clearly something a newbie like him couldn't possibly handle.
Retreating would definitely be the wiser choice.
[You realize that those people came with bad intentions and attempt to flee.]
[...Damn, escape failed!]
[Your escape success rate is 0%.]
"Why? Is it because their Agility stats are too high, or because you can't escape from a Master battle?"
[When facing married women, you are not allowed to flee midway.]
"Just say you can't escape from a Master-vs-Master battle, why do you have to emphasize 'married women'? In this game world, what the hell kind of creatures are 'married women' supposed to be?!"
Grumbling, Eikou reluctantly pressed the button to issue a battle command.
Fine, if there's no way out, then the only choice left is to fight to the end.
His team consisted of France's Twelve Paladins, the Fairy Knight Tristan, and his trump card — Lostbelt King Morgan. Even if it came down to a serious fight, was he really supposed to fear a bunch of married women?
[You summon Berserker — Ash.]
[The Master of Shadow Land summons Assassin — Yu Ji.]
[Ash activates her Noble Phantasm: "Roadless Camelot: The Now Unreachable Utopia EX."]
[It's super effective! Heavy damage inflicted on Yu Ji.]
[Yu Ji has fallen.]
"One hit KO… Yu Ji, you're as weak as ever — even in the game you're no different from real life!"
But considering that her opponent was a Lostbelt King, the difference in Spirit Origin class was simply too great — losing wasn't exactly unfair.
That also made it clear — Morgan really was incredibly strong, just as expected of a boss-tier Servant playing the role of Professor Oak in this game!
The next battle began.
Morgan took down her opponent in a single strike again, filling Eikou with confidence.
Though he was just a rookie Master, the Servants under his command were absurdly powerful.
Among the enemy team, only if Scathach herself entered the battle could there possibly be someone who could stand on equal ground with Morgan.
[Scathach summons a reserve Servant — Caster Murasaki Shikibu.]
"Murasaki Shikibu, huh…"
Judging by her appearance and presence alone, she didn't look any stronger than Yu Ji, and being a Caster — one of the least combat-suited of the seven main classes — she shouldn't be that difficult to deal with.
He had to finish her off in one blow and wrap up this fight quickly.
Eikou pushed the controller and issued an attack command.
[...]
[Murasaki Shikibu suddenly throws out an item.]
[What, that's...]
["Eigu: Reverse Genji Plan"!]
"What the hell is that?!"
Why does something like that even exist in the game too? Don't tell me they actually modeled her behavior exactly like her real-life counterpart?!
[Ash is deeply engrossed by the book...]
[Ash skips her action this turn.]
"Can you stop reading already and focus on the damn battle?!"
Eikou shouted at the game screen, thinking to himself — who the hell starts reading some shady book in the middle of a fight?!
He issued another attack command.
[...]
[Ash is reading the book intently.]
Damn it, completely ignoring the Master's orders — just what's so fascinating about that book?! It's like she got hit by a status effect in Pokémon — "too absorbed in reading to act!"
[Murasaki Shikibu throws out another item.]
When he saw what it was, Eikou's eyes widened in disbelief.
It was a copy of the haunted house video before!
Why the hell would she bring out something so pointless — does that thing even have any positive effect on the battle at all?!