Chapter 19: Queen Game
[The great knight, Sir Gawain, had thrown away all dignity, perhaps even forfeiting his right to reside on Earth,]
[Yet his actions not only failed to liven up the atmosphere, but instead made things even more awkward as he was labeled a pervert.]
[What a pity. It seems that if you want to get closer to Baobhan Sith, you still need some kind of opportunity...]
Failure!
Eikou slammed his hand on the table.
Sorry, Gawain, our passionate combo move was completely useless!
The system said it seemed like an important element was still missing, but he had absolutely no clue what it could be.
Could it be that he just had to accept failure...?
But doing so would be too unfair to Gawain. He really couldn't bring himself to give up. Even if not for his own benefit, he had to help Gawain restore his honor.
"Seriously, why am I clinging so desperately to that tree named Baobhan Sith anyway?"
Getting close to Baobhan Sith would allow him to obtain her Noble Phantasm, but if he got closer to more Servants, what he could gain might be even greater.
That had been the original goal of coming to this party—so why let that red-haired girl mess with his head?
It's just a Noble Phantasm, who cares if he doesn't get it! The important thing is not letting Gawain's noble sacrifice go to waste!
What he needed to do was: don't focus solely on Baobhan Sith. He had to find a way to energize the atmosphere and naturally create some ambiguous tension among everyone.
"The sun... my sunlight has no effect at all..." Gawain muttered in deep disappointment.
"Gawain, you've already done your best."
Eikou earnestly patted Gawain on the shoulder, who had just suffered a string of failures and was clearly disheartened.
"Next, let me take over. I swear, in the name of a knight, I will wash away all the frustration and injustice you've endured."
"Sir Eikou, you…"
The counterattack officially begins!
"Alright, now that everyone's done introducing themselves,"
Eikou suddenly raised his hand, loudly announcing to the awkward room:
"Next, we should play a social game to get to know each other better, right?"
"Social game?" Gareth immediately perked up, "Does that mean we're finally going to start a jousting match?!"
Eikou thought to himself, is she misunderstanding the concept of a social party, or just completely misinterpreting what a social game is?
"No, we're going to play—"
He pulled out a bundle of sticks.
"King Game!"
The rules of King Game are simple:
First, prepare a number of sticks, one of which is marked "King", and the others are numbered. Then everyone draws a stick.
Whoever draws the "King" stick gets to issue an absolute command and can order any number to perform any task.
The person whose number is called must obey the King's order without question or refusal.
It's a social party game filled with luck, boldness, and all sorts of desires.
"What? You can be the King?!" Mordred immediately got excited.
"So boring..." Baobhan Sith only scoffed coldly, saying disdainfully:
"Mother-sama and I are already supreme beings—playing this game is beneath us, don't you think?"
"Fine, don't play then," Eikou turned to look at Morgan, who had been silent until now. "Morgan-san, do you want to join?"
Morgan's blue eyes quietly locked onto the stick marked "King", then glanced at Eikou.
If she drew the King stick, wouldn't she have control over Eikou?
Which meant—she would definitely want to play.
But Morgan said instead:
"I'm not playing."
"?"
"Unless... we rename it 'Queen Game'."
Uh… even if you rename it, it's basically the same game, but damn, her thirst for dominance really isn't subtle!
"Aaah, if Mother-sama's playing, then of course I have to play too~" As soon as she heard her mother was joining, Baobhan Sith instantly changed her mind.
As for Gareth, she hesitated for a long while. This slightly shy girl was still too embarrassed to play something like that, and in the end could only watch from a distance.
Eikou glanced around the room.
Gareth chose to sit out, leaving six people to compete for the title of "Queen":
Eikou, Morgan, Baobhan Sith, Gawain, Tristan, and Mordred.
"Sir Eikou, what exactly are you planning?" Gawain whispered. "It's true that playing a game can help warm up the atmosphere, but you've got something else in mind, don't you?"
"Umu."
Eikou thought, luck is also a part of a Servant's power. Some people are born to lose at games like this, while others seem to be favored by Lady Luck herself.
If he remembered correctly, Morgan's Luck stat was B, while Baobhan Sith and Mordred had it worse — just D.
As for Eikou and Gawain, both had Luck rank A!
In other words, the two of them had a significant natural advantage in this "Queen" game.
It was time to sound the horn of counterattack — the boys had to reclaim the initiative in this party!
As for Tristan, with Luck rank E… well, he was just playing for fun.
They could help Gawain wash away his shame — and while they're at it, maybe earn a few more skills from the Servants!
[The first drawing round begins.]
[Which stick do you choose? 1. The one closest to you; 2. The one farthest; 3. The one in the middle.]
Eikou chose number 1.
[Unfortunately, you did not draw the "Queen" stick.]
[Your number is 3.]
He quickly glanced at Gawain, but his companion only shook his head regretfully — Gawain didn't get the Queen stick either.
A slender finger with blue-painted nails slowly rose.
In her hand was the stick marked Queen.
"The one who's Queen is me." Morgan leaned back in her chair, calmly announcing.
Damn it, she really got it?
"...Queen, please give your command." Eikou played along with the act.
Morgan's dazzlingly beautiful face showed no expression whatsoever as she nonchalantly said:
"Have number 3 sit next to me."
Number 3… that was Eikou.
And Morgan picked him right on the mark?
Thankfully, she didn't give any outrageous order. Eikou accepted his loss and happily stood up to sit beside her.
As soon as he got close, he caught a whiff of a seductive fragrance from Morgan's body — gentle like roses, sweet enough to pull a man's soul right out of his body.
The moment Eikou sat down, her jade-smooth hand gently rested on his.
He gave her a suspicious glance.
Morgan maintained a nonchalant expression, her hand casually pressing against his beneath the table, while above the table she still held the strict air of a parent in front of her children.
Was she doing this on purpose, or was it unintentional?
"Morgan-san, your hand…" Eikou cautiously hinted, "I think it's in the wrong place."
"Ah, how careless of me…" Morgan replied with the same blank expression:
"That's true. My hand is in the wrong place. Eikou-san, please don't mind it."
"Ahaha, it's fine…"
Before he could finish…
Morgan's soft hand didn't stop misbehaving. This time, she directly slid it under the table and rested it squarely on Eikou's thigh.
"There, this time it's not in the wrong place."
What do you mean "not in the wrong place"? You just took it a step further and are openly groping my thigh now?!
Doing something like this in front of her own children — is that really okay?!
But in this situation, he didn't know what to say anymore. His heart was pounding, his face a little red, and Eikou quickly tried to change the subject:
"L-Let's start the next round!"