Chapter 66: Kotomine Kirei, Cu Chulainn and EMIYA.
[June 25, 5 days remaining until Gil Fest begins.]
[On the third day of the seaside special training, everyone begins practicing Beach Volleyball. This is a special training session arranged by Finn for you.]
[As long as you defeat your opponents during the special training, you can easily learn skills.]
[But very quickly, you discovered a problem...]
[No one wants to form a team with you.]
"This is actually quite normal. After the two classes are divided into teams, the total number of teams is odd, so there will definitely be one team that can't get matched with an opponent."
When Eikou went to ask for help, Finn explained it like this.
"Is that so…"
He felt a little puzzled, thinking to himself that his relationships were usually pretty good, so how did it end up like this, with no one willing to form a team with him?
"I myself am not particularly talented, but I can still roughly analyze a few reasons why no one wants to team up with you…"
Finn-sensei wore sunglasses, leaned back on a beach chair, looking relaxed like an old man enjoying retirement, lying down and sunbathing at the same time.
"First, and most importantly, Heroic Spirits who already have wives, or already have female teammates, will definitely not choose to play against you, because they're afraid that after the match, the women on their team will end up running off after you. On the other hand, the beautiful dark-skinned girl standing next to you looks very hard to mess with, so no one wants to proactively start a conflict with her."
"But our team also has the cute and gentle Medea Lily, right?"
"She's exactly the biggest problem. If you beat her, there's nothing to be proud of, and if you lose, it's even more embarrassing."
"…Alright, I understand now."
Eikou showed an expression as if he had suddenly grasped the truth.
No wonder this time no one was willing to team up with them to play beach volleyball, especially even the Knights of the Round Table, who were famous for their courtesy.
But if that was the case, wouldn't that mean he wouldn't be able to learn any new skills?
"Sensei, hurry up and think of something,"
Eikou shook his beach chair, "You can't just stand by and watch your student be unable to participate in group activities, right? As the Leader of the Fianna Knights, the genius praised as the wisest person in mythology, you'll definitely come up with a way, right?"
"Ha ha, don't say that, flattery like that doesn't work on me! Ha ha ha!"
Finn-sensei said as he immediately stood up, a dazzlingly bright smile hanging on his face.
"But since you are my student after all, I'll go to the other classes and help you find suitable opponents! By the way, what kind of opponents do you want to choose?"
Eikou hoped to find an opponent strong enough, so that there would be a high chance of learning a very powerful Skill.
Speaking of strong opponents, Chaldea surely wasn't lacking in them…
He thought for a moment and then gave his answer: "How about Solomon?"
"Of course that's fine."
Eikou was stunned: "Seriously? You can even invite Solomon?!"
"Do you think I can invite him? If I really had that kind of ability, would I still be getting cuck?"
Finn-sensei shot him a glance. "Alright, keep it reasonable. I'm going to ask the other classes now and see if anyone is willing to play a match against you."
[Finn-sensei contacted the other classes to help you find suitable opponents.]
[Under his proactive coordination, the figures of three Servants quickly appeared on the beach.]
One of them stood upright, broad-shouldered, wearing a cross around his neck, a brown-haired priest.
The second had white hair slicked back, dark skin, and looked like a very calm, mature man.
The last one was a Lancer wearing a tight-fitting blue outfit.
Alterego Father Kotomine Kirei, Archer EMIYA, and Lancer Cu Chulainn.
"Meeting again, shounen."
Kotomine Kirei spoke slowly, his low voice carrying a faint tremor of pleasure.
The moment he saw the three of them appear, Eikou immediately felt his scalp go numb.
Hey, these people were clearly not the kind of characters who could casually show up in beach volleyball. No matter how you looked at it, they seemed like terrifying enemies who should only appear in a Holy Grail War instead, didn't they?!
"Are you guys… really here to play volleyball?"
Eikou asked, not very convinced.
"That's right. As someone who follows God, one must know how to love the people around them. When neighbors encounter difficulties, how could one possibly stand by and do nothing?"
The priest smiled faintly. "I heard that you were lacking opponents, so we specifically rushed over here."
"I heard there was fighting here, so I came."
Cu Chulainn said.
"I also received a request from Finn-sensei,"
EMIYA let out a sigh. "I originally thought I'd just help if I could, but who would've thought I'd end up having to play volleyball together with a suspicious priest like this, plus a Lancer wearing skin-tight clothes. The feeling is really hard to describe…"
"Speaking of suspicious, isn't your own identity the same?"
Kotomine Kirei glanced at EMIYA with a thoughtful look, as if he had already seen through his essence.
"I—"
"No need to say more. I've already sensed the aura on you. You're not a Pseudo Servant like me, nor are you a standard Heroic Spirit, but rather an anonymous Guardian chosen by the invisible Human Order. However, your true self should be…"
"Shut up."
Having his identity exposed without the slightest mercy, EMIYA's expression immediately stiffened.
Kotomine Kirei smiled faintly and continued: "You are someone who once crossed paths with me in different worldlines, the child adopted by Emiya Kiritsugu after the disaster of the Fourth Holy Grail War, and the one who stood in opposition to me at the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War. In other words, your true identity is…"
"Emiya Kuro, right?"
"Who the hell is Emiya Kuro?! The character you remembered this time is completely wrong! Which worldline's priest are you, anyway?!"
EMIYA shouted loudly.
"Ahem, my apologies. Once you reach middle age, your memory isn't very reliable anymore."
"You clearly have a bias against me, don't you? You're deliberately smearing my image, right? Why? Because I'm black?"
EMIYA said with a headache. "Forget it, I'm too lazy to argue with you. As long as you bastards cooperate seriously and finish this beach volleyball match, that's all that matters!"
"Sorry to trouble you all so much…"
Eikou kept sighing, speaking against his true feelings. "You really did help me out a lot…"
"That doesn't sound grateful at all. You're clearly treating the three of us as some annoying roles nobody likes!"
Cu Chulainn complained.
[Your match begins.]
[This match is a two-person volleyball match. The use of Skills and Noble Phantasms is allowed, and only the most basic volleyball rules are applied.]
[Considering that Medea Lily is not good at physical activity, with both Strength and Endurance at E, she will temporarily not enter the field and will instead act as a substitute member cheering for you.]
[Your teammate is Caenis Lancer.]
[Your opponents are——]
[Alterego Kotomine Kirei, Lancer Cu Chulainn, with substitute member Archer EMIYA.]
Breaking out in a cold sweat here, brothers.
Eikou could very clearly feel the powerful pressure radiating from the two opponents in front of him.
A priest who lived an ascetic and impoverished life, with inner darkness taken to the extreme, together with the Hound of Culann — Cu Chulainn, battle-hungry and possessing terrifying strength.
"Not bad... the opponents look pretty strong."
Caenis carried her spear over her shoulder, her muscular lines beautifully defined. Looking at the two who were emitting the aura of the strong, she revealed an arrogant, combative smile.
"In that case... let's start the match already!"
…