Chapter 57: "Goodbye Here, My Friends"
"I'll charge straight out through the main gate!"
Hearing that, both Gawain and Tristan were stunned.
"What are you saying, Sir Eikou! Just climbing the wall to escape is already hard enough, and now you want to charge through the main gate—how is that even possible!"
"Not climbing the wall to run away, but facing them head-on? You've got some guts!"
"You guys don't understand…"
Eikou spoke softly, his voice calm,
"I'm not like you two. I have a lot of support skills. As long as I use them flexibly, maybe I really can pull it off."
He had Agility rank B, Luck rank A, plus a bunch of tricky skills, so his survival probability was a bit higher than the other two.
If they really had to choose one person to stay behind, then it could only be him.
"Besides, I'm not a Round Table Knight. Even if I get caught, it won't disgrace the Round Table or Artoria. So, I'm the most suitable one to stay."
"Sir Eikou, you…"
"Tristan, don't ever say that I owe you anything, and don't blame me for not being loyal as a brother, because this time I'm betting this old life of mine, and that's plenty of loyalty already, right?"
"How can we let it end like this!"
Tristan objected strongly, hurriedly picking up the towel floating on the water,
"Sir Eikou, I understand your feelings, but please take your towel. You shouldn't have to pay for my mistake."
"Sir Tristan is right," Gawain said with a serious expression, "If we really have to choose someone to stay, then let it be me. A mistake made by a Round Table Knight should be borne by a Round Table Knight. Besides, I'm better at talking than Sir Tristan, so let me do it!"
As he said that, Gawain also started to take off his towel.
Eikou screamed inwardly, for God's sake, what is this, some sort of 'show-off your cuckoo' club? Why is everyone taking their towels off like this?
Sigh, these Round Table Knights really are way too loyal, but because they're so loyal, they become so damn long-winded at critical moments.
Do we really need to keep arguing about this?
"How about this, I have a good idea,"
Eikou calmly waved them over,
"Come on, you two, get a little closer to me."
"What for?"
The two Round Table Knights didn't understand what he was up to, but obediently stepped closer.
Then, Eikou grabbed both of their wrists.
[You have activated the skill "A Knight Does Not Die with Empty Hands EX"]
[You have obtained the temporary weapon "The Sorrow of Tristan"]
[You have obtained the temporary weapon "Holy Sword of the Gorilla"]
"When you two get outside, make sure you find a way to pull me out later."
"?"
Gawain showed an expression of utter disbelief.
"Sir Eikou, don't tell me you're planning to..."
"No way, we can't just leave you behind!"
"What a short-lived friendship this was. You two, see you again!"
As he said that, Eikou tightened his grip on their wrists, mustered all his strength, clenched his teeth, and with his full Strength B+, threw them like objects.
The two Round Table Knights, like shooting stars, traced a beautiful arc across the sky, being magnificently hurled over the high wall.
"Well, that's finally done,"
Eikou dusted off his hands.
"Or rather, it's only done for those two. My own situation is far from done."
Having taken care of those two troublemakers, the next step was to figure out how to escape this dragon's lair.
Although he had said earlier that he had tons of skills, in reality, he had no idea what the best move was in this situation.
Most of the skills he had learned were supportive ones like "Hero Creation", "Charisma", which were basically useless right now.
"..."
And to be honest, after throwing the two Round Table Knights away, he felt even more afraid now.
So this is what fighting alone feels like?
Eikou carefully hid behind a rock, so tense he didn't even dare breathe too loudly.
"Unless it's absolutely necessary, I'd better not charge through the main gate..."
Hiding in the hot spring for so long, the 'shield' protecting his manly dignity had already been passed to Tristan. In this state, if he got caught, there would be absolutely no way to explain it clearly.
It was either live or die.
He could only silently pray here, hoping these French girls wouldn't deliberately come behind this rock, hoping that after they finished bathing, they would obediently leave.
If that happened, then maybe Eikou still had a sliver of hope to survive.
Completely opposite to his anxiety and unease was the carefree laughter of the girls as they played in the water.
At that moment, Marie suddenly exclaimed:
"Well, well, I finally found you!"
Eikou instantly stiffened, feeling a chill of fear shoot through his heart.
Damn it, exposed already?!
He quickly turned around, but saw no one looking his way, no eyes fixed on him.
"Kyaaaa!"
From behind the rock came a sudden startled scream from Jeanne.
"Jeanne's figure, hmm, really is big, huh!" Marie said with a loud laugh.
"I told you not to suddenly flip my towel! Marie-sama!"
Jeanne shouted, embarrassed and angry.
Phew, he thought he was exposed—turns out it was White Jeanne who got exposed… in the most literal sense.
"..."
Hearing their conversation, Eikou's heart suddenly beat faster for no reason.
"Let me see Bradamante's too!"
Marie Alter laughed mischievously like a naughty child, then turned and pulled away Bradamante's towel.
Eikou thought to himself, Marie, why did you turn into such a pervy old man after being blackened!
"Uwaaah! Please don't do that!"
Bradamante's scream was even more flustered than usual.
"Oh, oh, this part seems even more impressive. So Bradamante is the type who looks slimmer when dressed, huh..." Marie exclaimed, "Both of your figures are amazing, much better than mine."
Eikou, hiding behind the rock, couldn't take it anymore. Just listening to this conversation was enough to almost make him get a nosebleed.
Bradamante normally dresses so scantily, and she's still the type that looks slimmer in clothes?
Marie-san, please stop talking! Aren't you afraid the walls have ears?!
And don't be so self-conscious either—your mature figure is way more explosive than the others!
Honestly, if they catch me, will they skip judicial process and just execute me on the spot?
Eikou's heartbeat grew faster and faster, and he even began to fear the sound of it might be heard by the girls.
He could only pray that these French girls would just shut up and leave quickly, and stop talking about embarrassing things like this—just listening to them was making him blush on their behalf!
"With bodies as beautiful as yours and such pretty faces, I'm sure you have plenty of boys chasing after you~"
Marie's soft laugh drifted over.
"So, do you have any boys you like?"
Damn it, and now she just threw out an even more private topic!