Chapter 49: The Killer Ping-Pong Match
[Check great success!]
[Perhaps due to her frequent attendance at drinking parties, Queen Medb showed no signs of discomfort after finishing the bottle.]
"???"
Medb finished the Water of Life.
Just as the system-slash-narrator had declared, her expression remained perfectly calm — not the slightest hint of being affected by alcohol.
Seeing Eikou's stunned look, she seductively licked the last drop of liquor from her lips.
"The drink's done… now it's my turn to have a taste of you~"
"Why?!"
Eikou clutched his head in despair — he couldn't believe it.
Medb's Endurance was only E-rank, the kind that should have gone down after a single drink. Even a D-roll would've secured his victory.
But of all times, she had to roll a great success, flipping the situation completely — as if Medb were destiny's spoiled favorite!
Smack!
"Damn it…"
Eikou slammed the table in frustration.
"I finally managed to win a round, and it gets overturned at the most crucial moment!"
"Don't lose heart. We still have a chance."
Charlemagne patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"No, it's over. That last move… was everything I had."
He shook his head.
"A strike that strong — I can't pull it off again. If even that couldn't take Medb down, then it's completely hopeless."
"But look, Scathach-sensei seems to be getting drunk. If she plays in that condition, her performance might be affected."
Eikou followed Charlemagne's gaze and saw that the cold, elegant face of Scathach had been tinged with a faint, alluring blush from the alcohol.
Her crimson eyes shimmered with a faint dreamy haze, making the Queen of the Shadow Land exude an unexpectedly adorable, innocent charm.
"If we're determined to help Roland, then let's fight coolly until the very last second!"
Charlemagne spoke seriously, encouraging him.
"Alright then…"
Eikou replied without much confidence.
No, in fact, if he had to say it, he still had one more skill — 'Disaster With Women EX'.
But every time he relied on that skill, it always ended with even bigger trouble.
"No, I need to have my limits. I can't keep depending on 'Disaster With Women' to solve problems every time they show up."
His eyes became resolute as he quickly analyzed the situation in his head:
"Charlemagne, with our current firepower, it's impossible to go on the offensive. We'll have to switch to defense. You still have one or two defensive skills left, right? Try to hold out for one or two more rounds, wait until Roland finishes over there."
"That's right."
Charlemagne smiled confidently, showing his bright white teeth, his eyes curving playfully,
"I've activated 'Over the Royal Road,' granting myself two turns of Invincible status. For the next two rounds, they absolutely won't be able to break through this defense. After that, if we just hang on a little longer, we can at least hold out for two or three minutes!"
Eikou let out a slow breath, thinking to himself — as expected of the class president of the France class, Charles the Great, truly reliable.
"Alright, then let's give it one more shot together…"
Both of them tightly gripped their ping-pong paddles, seriously preparing to face the two mature women before them.
This time, it was Scathach's turn to serve.
Though her beautiful face was already flushed with a rosy tint of intoxication, that didn't affect her masterful serve technique in the slightest. She tossed the ball up, then swung her paddle down powerfully.
Her body swayed slightly, but the force in that swing didn't weaken even a bit.
Pop!
The ping-pong ball shot forward like a blur, and in an instant, it flew straight toward Charlemagne.
A flash of light gleamed in Charlemagne's eyes — the look of someone who had already prepared.
Over the Royal Road — activated!
Two turns of Invincible, enough to endure two consecutive attacks — initiated!
Neither Scathach nor Queen Medb possessed any Invincible Piercing skill, so it was absolutely impossible for them to break through his defense.
Yet, the ball hit him straight on.
At that very moment, two words suddenly appeared above Charlemagne's head:
[Instant Death]
Oh my god, what the hell — isn't this supposed to be ping-pong!?
How could a ping-pong ball from Scathach possibly have an Instant Death property — this was practically at the level of a Noble Phantasm!
Could it be that Scathach really was drunk, and this was her full-power strike with her limiters removed!?
And against Instant Death, Invincible was completely useless.
Dead!
Pfft!
Charlemagne was struck by the ball, sent flying backward in a miserable posture, slammed hard into the floor, and immediately lost consciousness.
The ping-pong ball rolled across the floor.
"Charlemagne! Wake up! Wake up, damn it!"
Eikou caught the unconscious Charlemagne, shouting in anguish:
"What the hell, is this really a murderous ping-pong match!?"
"Well then, it seems you've lost all your teammates."
Medb smiled playfully, her expression both charming and sharp,
"So tell me, how do you plan to fight the two of us all by yourself now? Not only have you lost your partner, but your skills are probably all used up, right? While you're still clear-headed, you'd better start listening to me obediently — of course, that's if you're still sober after taking your punishment for this round."
"I…"
Eikou fell into deep thought.
What a blunder. Lady Luck had completely abandoned him — the enemy rolled great success, while his ally got struck by an extremely low-probability Instant Death.
Utterly cursed!
[You have lost this round and must drink an entire bottle of Water of Life.]
[Please perform an Endurance check.]
[Endurance check successful. Thanks to your strong willpower, you resisted the high alcohol content and managed to remain barely conscious.]
[Due to intoxication, the success rate of all checks will be reduced.]
[If you drink Water of Life again, the difficulty of the check will increase.]
He barely made it through the first drinking round.
But the fundamental problem still hadn't been solved — how could he possibly deal with two women at once on his own?
Especially when one of them was Scathach — winning against her would be nothing short of a miracle.
"..."
His eyes darted around the group, searching for anyone he could possibly drag in as a teammate.
Roland was obviously out of the question, and though Artoria might agree to help, Eikou really didn't want to involve the King of Knights in a game that required drinking Water of Life.
"..."
Finally, Eikou's gaze landed on Murasaki Shikibu.
A dangerously reckless idea flashed through his mind — like a wild horse breaking loose, galloping uncontrollably in his thoughts.
"Alright then… even though I really don't want to do this…"
Eikou sighed softly to himself, realizing he had no better option left.
He quickly walked toward the Servant who looked every bit the gentle, elegant wife.
"Eikou…"
Perhaps realizing that he was heading straight toward her with a very clear purpose, Murasaki Shikibu suddenly became flustered, as if she had just been caught doing something shameful.
She pushed up her glasses slightly, her voice tinged with unease:
"Y-you… what is it that you want?"
"Yes, Murasaki-sensei, actually there's something very important I need to tell you."
Eikou put on a serious expression, his attitude completely formal.
That solemn look made it hard not to think… could it be that he was about to confess?
Murasaki Shikibu nervously swallowed a dry gulp.
"Murasaki-sensei, actually, I…"
Eikou bent down slightly, leaning close to her cheek, and whispered into her ear.
The voluptuous widow's body trembled lightly.
He blew a warm breath against Murasaki Shikibu's flushed ear, his voice filled with a suggestive undertone:
"I'm the one you met online — 'Miyao didn't you say you'd walk with me till the end', K-ko-san!"
"???"
Upon hearing that familiar online alias, Murasaki Shikibu's purple eyes widened in sheer shock.
"K… K-Ko?"
She stared at Eikou in disbelief, then quickly turned her head away,
"I… Kaoruko doesn't know anyone by that name at all!"
"Really, really,"
Eikou smiled slyly, eyes narrowing as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone,
"Then I guess I'll just call Morgan right now and ask which authors she's been helping publish lately. Oh right, what was that title again — 'Eigu: Reverse Genji Plan,' wasn't it?"
"Don't!"
The fair-skinned beauty's face, which had already been pale, now turned bright red as if about to emit steam.
"Then come with me, Murasaki-sensei. You wouldn't want anyone to find out you've been secretly in love and writing novels about it, right?"
Saying that, Eikou boldly took her hand, intending to pull her out into the hallway to talk in private.
"Hey, hey, are you two seriously trying to stall for time?" Medb asked impatiently.
"Just give us one minute to talk," Eikou replied. "I only need one minute. Surely you can wait that long, right?"
With that, he pulled Murasaki Shikibu out of the banquet room, heading for the outer hallway of Enma-tei.