We head to the next city by carriage. Just teleporting lacks charm, you know.
A carriage? Simple. Shiki is omnipotent. Of course, we bought the horse and carriage itself from what was available in the city, the whole thing.
We head to the next city in a stylish carriage by carriage. You know those freight wagons adventurers ride? This is that. Ah, so romantic.
Since we only have one Saint Quartz right now, we need to catch Phantom or Sanson-type Servants. But who should I really summon...
First, given the atmosphere of summoning, I realized I'm quite a hopeless guy.
So, I need a Servant to act as a deterrent... Or should I create a common enemy? In the end, I'd be the one sacrificed... At least I won't cause trouble for others. Some might see me as an idiot who oppresses our girls while being conscious of others' eyes, but?
I'm not going to be some dictator, I'm just living a social life. And I want to get along well with Ritsuka's group and Chaldea too. Well, I am an idiot. So I asked someone who could give me an objective opinion.
"What kind of person do I seem like to you?"
"Huh? What's this all of a sudden?"
I asked Jeanne Alter. She seemed like she'd be the ~most objective. Actually, I was just curious what a kid like her would think.
"I'm a bit confident in my face. But compared to the Doctor, it's nothing special... My voice? I can't sing well. Athletic ability? Perfectly average. I'm not smart, and I don't have anything special. The only decent thing about me is this face."
"You're a bit annoying."
"Haha, but I was a virgin? Anyway... I think I'm receiving too much love."
The fundamental reason I ask for restraint is that it's burdensome. Seeing people who are too good for me express their love for me and act for my sake... feels really strange. I believe I'm not worthy of it myself.
Being loved is good. But, you know that feeling? When you give a poor person a Lamborghini and luxury goods all of a sudden, it's so burdensome they can't use them. If they received a gift like an old Matiz, they'd at least use it. The example is a bit weird but...
Anyway, a person who knows their place knows what suits them. These women are too good for me. All I did was...
Just play a game that everyone in the world played the same way, and receiving excessive treatment because my bond level is high... I usually brushed it off without thinking, but it weighs on my mind a bit. Part of it is post-nut clarity, but...
"Too much love... well, that's true."
"Ugh..."
"But, why not just accept and enjoy it? It's not like they're offering it to some human like Cardinal Richelieu, right?"
"I don't have that kind of taste..."
"Then just accept it. You're not going to refuse, so why say so much? Why worry about that? Just enjoy it. I too, when I was chosen by God, had a time when I thought the treatment was too much."
"..."
Even though it's not her own memory or experience, she says that. It's scary to think about when she learns the truth later.
"Is that so."
"Still, I know you're a good person. A good adult. I heard you talking to that cold-blooded woman and saw you step in. At the very least, you might be weak, but you're not a pitiful human. If you ask if you're charming... Hmm? I don't particularly think so."
"Haha..."
That's the problem. That I'm not a charming guy. That's why I was a virgin with this face. I'm not popular, just an average person whose only good point is his face.
It makes me happy that they give me excessive love and affection... but it's a bit burdensome.
"Or think of it this way."
"What?"
"Think of it as repayment. They're doing all this because they like you... It's something they did because they like you, like trash! Instead of just receiving, you should repay them too. Looking at them, they don't seem to want anything grand."
"Maybe... But seeing them act so excessively worries me. I can't control it either. I think I need to stop them from going too overboard. Showing the kids someone being boiled in soup right before their eyes was a bit much..."
"That's true. It's not like beating them like I do, but boiling them to death? What do you call that... Boiling punishment? Yeah, that's it."
It reminds me of that samurai-flavored oden soup from somewhere. The oden soup that received good anime glorification.
"Hmm, is that so... I think I'm a frustrating person too, but having lived like that for over 20 years, it's hard to fix right away. I should try to fix this pathetic, socially awkward mindset of mine."
"What's 'socially awkward'?"
"It's a thing..."
I should actively give them affection... The kids were watching from behind, and when I turned my head to look, they hurriedly turned away pretending not to have seen. They look so well-behaved and cute only at times like this... I'm worried when they act. They might break the Singularity at this rate.
I thought about summoning a male Servant to act as a deterrent... But if someone like Emiya comes out, will he really be able to stop them? I'd probably just get beaten and be unable to do anything. As for Bunyan... I think I'd suffer. I'm scared of Mr. Jack the Ripper too.
Who should I do... Or, should I really press them down with a bigger problem so everyone unites...? Last night, I thought I was going to be dismembered. My body is only one. Shiki or Kebab can make clones, but they say they won't do it because they like that I'm just one.
"I wonder where this city will be..."
"Let's see, looking at the map, where we're going... Ah, I remember. It's Lyon. Where the dragon-slayer was."
If it's Lyon, that's the place with Siegfried. Would someone like Siegfried help me? No way, he's the type to become a shield and explode. I'm sorry...!
We gradually approach Lyon, which has become a ghost town, by carriage.
"That's..."
[Servant response. One weakened reaction and three normal ones. And Living Dead have also been detected.]
"Got it, lolicon maniac."
[I am not!]
Haha, he's fun to tease. First, we get off the carriage and survey the situation in Lyon. The sound of metal clashing. Let's go forward, Siegfried was fighting desperately against Sanson, Phantom, and Atalanta. Atalanta is rampaging while wearing a boar's hide. Was it like that in the comics version?
"Let's go too!"
Ritsuka steps forward proactively, first targeting the relatively weak-looking Sanson. Should we move too...
Clang!!!
"You are...?"
"I'm the strongest."
Thud!!!!
And in an instant, Melusine pierces the spiritual cores of Phantom and Atalanta with the blades on both arms. Phantom falls immediately, but Atalanta, having lost her spiritual core due to her Noble Phantasm's regenerative power, rampages for a while.
Of course, she soon falls to Taiga's club and retreats. Looking at Sanson's side, they safely defeated someone of Sanson's level. Alter got caught by Sanson's Noble Phantasm in the middle, but Jeanne Alter and Kiyohime's flames saved her, ending it safely.
Two Saint Quartz came in.
"Oh, Saint Quartz."
And Ritsuka picks up a separate Saint Quartz. So it wasn't only visible to me. Since we have three now, I should just give one.
With this, three are filled... I'll suppress them with something bigger. Even I think it's stupid and crazy... Well, I won't summon right now. There's no enemy, right?
"Ah, Jeanne. I am sad."
Why is Gilles de Rais there...?
"Gil... That side...?"
And on the hippocampus next to Gilles de Rais, Jeanne was captured. That's a turtle shell tie... You damn pervert, done right.
"To be captured like this... How deplorable..."
"Gil, you..."
Afterward, Gilles de Rais's confession continues. The lines he says about how Jeanne Alter was created and such. As Jeanne Alter listens to his story, she bows her head as if she had somewhat anticipated this. Soon, Gilles de Rais's magic book opens, revealing the massive form of Dagon. He brought the grotesqueness of the comics version, as if fused with a Demon Pillar...
"Master, shall I cut him down?"
"It's okay to kill him, right?"
Shiki and Kebab ask...
Has this time, come...
"I'm always grateful to you all. And I'm very thankful that you love me. I'm a bit dissatisfied with being squeezed like mayonnaise, but..."
"Saying that so suddenly is embarrassing~"
"And I wish you all had a common deterrent. If I am sacrificed, it might complete a world where everyone is happy."
"What are you talking about, Master?"
Melusine tilts her head and looks at me... Isn't there a saying that violence should be suppressed with greater violence? I see a similar case here.
There's a saying in the world.
Let's all explode together.
Whoosh!!!
"M-Master!? Have you gone mad!?"
"Hahahaha! That's right, I'm mad!"
I believe in you, that you'll unite in the face of a greater evil.
"Ah, you have summoned me? Master..."
Effectively my second Bond Level 15 Servant...
"Yes."
Sesshōin Kiara
Suppress lust with greater lust. Even I think it's a crazy move. Hmph, abnormal things should be met with abnormality.
Now, go wild to your heart's content, Kiara! Of course, without harming Ritsuka's group.
"When this is over... could you read me a fairy tale?"
"... A fairy tale?"
This is different from the atmosphere I expected. Kiara speaks to me somewhat shyly. This isn't the atmosphere I was thinking of, this is like...
"A formidable enemy has arrived..."
"A pure maiden who ended up like a fairy tale writer to someone with Bond Level 15 has arrived."
... Kiara is pure? What is this nonsensical bullshit?
My head hurts... I did something crazy, but it seems to have gotten more twisted and weird. What choice did I make?