"So, Sho-san, are you not going to summon any new girls?"
After we finished eating and were relaxing, Kurumi whispered into my ear. The other three girls were cleaning up after dinner. Wait, that's not right. Looking closely, Kurumi is cleaning up too! She must be using her powers.
"You can summon two with the Emergency Mission and Vlad, can't you?"
"I guess you saw right through me."
She was right. We'd exchanged information and had a moment to catch our breath. It was probably a good time now.
As she suggested, I tried the gacha.
---------
You have obtained 'Artoria Pendragon'.
You have obtained 'Artoria Pendragon (Alter)'.
---------
My luck is so strong it's not even funny.
To pull them so easily, it feels like my power has grown even more fundamentally since I went to the past. Not just simple strength, but a more root-level power.
As I was lost in thought, I heard the hurried footsteps of two people thudding down the stairs. I had a bad feeling about this.
Even the girls who were cleaning up looked puzzled by the sound. That's not how a king should walk. It's like a kid in the middle of playtime.
"Sho!!"
The two Artorias tumbled into the living room, vying to be first. They couldn't have been that far from the room they were summoned in, yet they were both out of breath.
The fact that they came here at full speed after being summoned showed their joy. Even Alter's face was relaxed with happiness. If I'm lucky enough to assume the reason is me, it makes me very happy.
"Ow. Ow, Kurumi."
"Your face was getting all sloppy. You'll be disliked by girls if you make a face like that."
Kurumi pinched my cheek with a smile. Was my expression really that bad?
"S-Saber-san? Why... no, how did you get here!?"
"Another new girl..."
"Whoa! Twin girls! Two for the price of one!"
That's not right, Riko. "Two for the price of one" is for things like multiple personalities.
No, this isn't the time for that.
"...!"
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through the back of my right hand. I looked down to see a red crest glowing there.
"Sho-kun? What in the world is going on? Why is Saber-san here?"
"A girl I don't know is suddenly in our house?! Sho-kun is way too smooth!!"
"Oh, my, what is going on here? Their reactions certainly don't look like they're meeting for the first time."
"This is what an affair looks like, isn't it? And this is the climactic scene. I saw it on TV... I'm learning a lot."
"Sho... it's been a long time...!"
"Honestly, you made me wait a long time."
The scene was pure chaos. Kurumi's clone, who had been by my side, was gone. The four girls in the kitchen and the two girls in the living room formed a barricade around me. There was no escape, and everyone's power was too strong for me to handle them one by one.
Everyone was talking to me at once! I'm not Prince Shotoku, so please, one at a time! I'm not a comedian, so I can only react to one person at a time!
---------
~30 minutes later~
"It's good that everyone has calmed down..."
I'm exhausted. It seems that when I leveled up by going to the past, it was only my combat abilities. I still have a lot to learn about handling women.
Once everyone had introduced themselves, it was time for an explanation.
"So, why is Saber-san here? Do you have any idea, Sho-kun?"
"It's obvious he ran into her outside and took her captive."
Riko, stop imitating my voice! You're really good at it! Tina's starting to believe you!
"Hmph!"
"Owwwww!"
I gave Riko a good knuckle-punch for now. She acted like it hurt a lot, but I knew she moved just before to lessen the impact.
"Look at this."
I held up my right hand. A red, tattoo-like pattern was visible on it. It wasn't just for show. It was radiating a powerful magical energy.
"Is that a Command Seal...? Don't tell me, another Holy Grail War?!"
Sakura reacted first. It's a sore subject for her. But this time, it should be fine. After all, this was something that conveniently appeared when I summoned Saber and the others.
"I wonder about that... The Holy Grail was properly dismantled, right?"
"Of course! The Fuyuki Grail no longer exists in this world!"
"Are there other Holy Grails?"
"Kiritsugu-san and Maiya-san are keeping a close eye on the world, so we'd know right away if one was found."
"Then one hasn't been found, right? In that case, we're okay."
"But... if that's the case, it doesn't explain why a Servant was suddenly summoned. There was no catalyst either."
Sakura's question was a valid one.
"That's obviously due to the power of our love."
"Huh?"
"My strong love connected me and that guy to the Throne. A catalyst wasn't necessary."
Alter, wearing a modern outfit (the one from Shinjuku) she procured from who knows where, said this with a dignified air, sitting with her legs crossed. Just by her attitude, she was on par with Gilgamesh. And how did she become so assimilated with the modern world?
Artoria, on the other hand, was wearing the outfit from the original story.
"You're just as inconsiderate of Sho-kun as ever, aren't you? The power of love? Whether that's true or not, it doesn't change the fact that you're a nuisance to Sho-kun."
"Hmph, so the little girl from back then has a mouth on her now. Or was she always like that? I was too busy to even notice her back then."
"You've become quite the fantasist, Alter-san. Overly obsessive women are heavy and get disliked, you know. You should be careful."
---------
—Piki
Oh no! These two get along terribly! What happened while I was gone?
"Sho, I'm sorry. After you left and before we returned to the Throne, those two would fight over every little thing."
"Was it about Sho-san?"
"Yes. Both of them won't back down when it comes to Sho... I understand how they feel, but..."
Riko poked me in the side with a teasing smirk. Her face said she understood everything. I raised my fist to give her another punch—but Riko wrapped her arms around mine. My bicep was squeezed by her bountiful chest, which pushed against her uniform.
"Ah..."
"Come on, even if there are more people, you'll still pay attention to me, right? You can do anything you want."
"I get it. But not now. We've got a ticking bomb here. And next to me is—"
Then, someone else hugged my other arm.
"Artoria."
"Oh! Calling me by my name is a big plus!"
Quiet, Riko. Right now, I'm more focused on this girl who's clinging to my arm.
"I-Is it a problem?"
"It's not that..."
The grip on my arm tightened, and her face softened. How cute.
Poff. Tina sat on my lap and leaned against me.
"Tina."
"Is this okay?"
"Of course."
"Thank you. Yawwwwn... sleepy, sleepy."
Tina started to doze off right away. She must have gotten sleepy after eating. She was a night owl anyway.
"Keehee. As I expected, it's gotten lively. What will happen when the people who are in the hospital return?"
"I'd like to think the number of people who can get things back on track will increase, and I'll be able to relax."
"I wonder. The ones in the hospital are surprisingly quite lecherous."
"I guess you're right about that..."
Kurumi's voice sounded very close. My ear tickled. My consciousness started to get fuzzy. As she stroked my head, it felt so nice that the strength in my body seemed to just drain away.
Wrapped in a warm, soft, and perfect cushion, all the built-up fatigue came flooding out.
I couldn't keep my eyelids open anymore. The sound of Sakura and Alter arguing grew distant—
---------
"Awww..."
"You look sleepy, Senpai?"
"Did you stay up late last night?"
The next day, I was participating in morning training for the first time in a long while. I had fallen asleep without realizing it the night before. When I woke up, we were all sleeping on the sofa, piled on top of each other. Everyone was either holding onto me or hugging me. I wondered how lucky I was to be sleeping in a bed of girls. Only a few people in this world, like Issei Hyodo, me, and a few others, could experience such a sweet situation.
Well, I had been fighting Gilgamesh and hadn't rested properly, so of course I'd fall asleep in such a luxurious environment.
"I was just tired."
"Then maybe we should go with a lighter menu?"
"I agree... If you push yourself when you're tired, you could get hurt."
That's a valid point. In sports, you're more likely to get hurt if you're tired and can't focus.
Maybe it would have been better to skip morning practice today if I was going to worry the two of them. It was Saturday, so there was no school. As a young person, a full day's rest would let me face tomorrow's investigation with full energy.
"Then I'll call it a day. You two can continue."
"Okay."
"Got it!"
I gradually slowed my pace. Eventually, I was walking. The two of them didn't slow down at all and ran past me.
"Youth is great."
I'm young too, but when I see people younger than me, I can't help but say that.
Well, I think my grand adventure is on par with Indiana Jones. A Holy Grail War is something you can use as material for a lifetime after experiencing it just once.
---------
"Good work."
I handed water and a towel to the two who had finished their run. I'll say this first: the towels are mine. I didn't rummage through their bags. The water is on me, too! And these towels will go straight into the washing machine when I get home. I won't use them for anything weird.
"Thank you!!"
Even after finishing a tough workout, they were both full of energy. The sweat running down their cheeks was dazzling.
Their bags with their towels and changes of clothes were on a bench in the park. Since there weren't many people, I hadn't taken any precautions, but I figured it would be fine at this hour. But then I had a thought...
"Thinking about it, it's definitely dangerous."
"You mean they might get stolen?"
"Yeah."
Even if they weren't the personal belongings of cute girls, a bag left on its own could easily be taken.
"If only someone could hold our stuff for us—"
Should I ask someone from home? No, it would be too much to ask them to wake up early just to watch our things. And I don't know what they'd demand later.
"—Ah."
There was someone. A coach for the little kids who was conveniently here.
"It might be a good idea to talk to that person."
"That person?"
"Noi-san. You know—"
"—The coach of Vivio-san and the others. It's true, it might not be a bad idea to participate with them."
"Right? I'll talk to her next time I see her. Until then, maybe we shouldn't do morning practice here."
"Huh?"
"It's better than having our stuff stolen. Oh, I'll watch the bags then. I can allow that."
When I said that, the two of them looked relieved.
"Okay, let's end it here for today."
"Ah, wait a minute!"
Kirin called out. Einhart looked surprised. But it was more of a "Are you really going to do that?" look than a surprise.
"K-Kirin-san? Are you really going to say it? Maybe you shouldn't..."
"No! I'm going to say it!"
Kirin looked determined.
"Um, Senpai! I know you must be tired, but if you have time today, would you go shopping with me?"
It was an invitation to go shopping.
"Sure."
"Really?!"
I didn't mind at all. I wasn't so tired that I couldn't go shopping. I didn't mind, but...
"There are other people coming, though. Is that okay?"
"Huh?"
I actually had a conflicting schedule.
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