Fate/Asterism Liner
Chapter 9: One Odd Day
"Owowowowow! Geez do you have to apply so much?!"
"Oh stop whining. You're the one who was injured the most, so of course you'd need to be patched up more."
Eil let out a hissing grumble as he leaned on a hand. Rin was applying some things to his injuries from the previous fight, and she stopped amid wrapping his back.
"So, tell me, why would a Zvezda even take the risk of going to the Clocktower? Doesn't your family have a sealing designation on them?" Rin's remark got Eil to sigh again.
"Again, it was Zelretch's idea. I was in America at the time, studying how to use Creation with the Colthearts. They're a branch family, and they keep under the Association's radar since it was derived from Projection. Which as far as the Association is concerned, is a "useless" magecraft since it doesn't help in getting to the Root."
"Okay, and?"
"And, he figured I'd be better off actually being around other magi my age rather than staying cooped up in mansions for a good part of my life." Eil responded, rolling one hand's fingers on his knee, "So, I went there under the Coltheart name to avoid suspicion, and kept practicing Asterism in secret with supervision from Zelretch and Lord El Melloi. There's not really much more to it than that."
"Honestly I was expecting something more complicated than that." Rin said, tearing the bandage roll to then pin it in place, "You know, the whole "heretic" thing and all that."
"We were only called heretics because we gave up on looking for the Root and developed a powerful form of magecraft anyway. It's not exactly our fault sometime in the past a Sorcery Trait developed that allowed us to do that in the first place. And not like they can just throw people at an heir to produce more people with that trait. So, rather than deal with it, the Association figured it'd be best to slap a sealing designation on my bloodline and try to keep us contained. That obviously didn't work out."
"Yeah no kidding, considering it's near impossible to know where the Zvezda's go our base themselves." Rin added, patting the bandages once she was finished, "There. All wrapped up and good to go."
"Thanks." Eil said, pulling on a black shirt to cover the bandages, "So, anything else, or you gonna do more? Also, just be aware, if this gets out somehow, I'm coming for your head."
"Relax, I'm not so petty I'd report you. Besides, I don't wanna get cracked down on by Zelretch himself, if that would even happen. I'm simply not gonna take the risk." Rin leaned back as she messed with a bit of her hair, then jabbing a finger at Eil, "And don't forget, you owe me for that mana transfer during the fight. I had to give up my first kiss to do that!"
"Alright alright, I'll make it up to ya' somehow. But first, we've got two Cards left, so we're gonna have to plan. It's only Berserker and Assassin now… which means our next go has a 50/50 chance of either being in our favor, or we're going to have one hell of a fight on our hands, again." Eil threw on the blazer of his uniform as he spoke, already heading for the door, "I'll be back after class or whatever… might check on Illya afterwards to see how she's doing."
"Good idea. I mean she should be fine, but better to be safe than sorry, right?" Rin remarked, Eil nodding as he trotted out of the door, Rin then sighing, "Who'd've thought it'd turn out this way huh? Geez, how do I end up on the case where the Zvezda heir is involved?"
"Well, pretty convenient I now have a bit of an extra excuse for stopping by… two sets of notes eh Taiga? Geez… I get Illya taking the day off, but why Miyu too? Lluvia most likely."
Eil glanced back at the mansion behind him and then sighed, instead turning on his heel and stepping up to the door of the Einzbern house, pressing the door bell then waiting.
"Hold on a moment!" Sella's voice came through, and a moment later, the woman opened the door, her eyes going wide as she saw Eil, who gave a small wave, "Huh? You're Illya's friend from school right? The transfer student?"
"Uh, yeah. The teacher asked me to bring some of today's classwork to Illya. Is uh, is it fine if I come in? I kind of have something I need to talk to her about too." When he saw the suddenly shocked look on Sella's face, the boy sighed, "I promise, it's nothing strange. I guess it's… tutoring? Yeah, tutoring. Illya asked me to help her out with some things so that's why!"
"Ah… j-just tutoring? Okay then… h-her room is upstairs. Her name is on the door."
"Thank you. And pardon me." Eil followed Sella in and, recalling Japanese etiquette, removed his shoes at the entryway. As he entered past the main hall, he peered into the main room. It was a rather quaint little home if he had to remark on anything. Though he'd spent most of his life living in expansive mansions with room to spare, so this felt a bit cramped to him.
On the couch of the living room was another woman who looked quite a bit like Sella, but with shorter, wavier hair, and dressed in a lazier fashion of short shorts and a top that quite clearly lacked anything under it. His immediate comparison was that it was clearly this one who got the good genes for body type.
"Leys, this is one of Illya's friends from school. Uh… what's your name?" Sella said, Eil putting a hand behind his head.
"Eil Coltheart. Nice to meet you." Eil's response got a hum from Leys, who then titled her head.
"Well, least Illya finally made friends with a hot guy." Leys' remark then got Sella to yelp, Eil bringing his hand to his face.
"Leys don't say things like that! It's just tutoring!"
"I didn't say anything like that. You're the one who's face is red. Which means you're the one thinking dirty thoughts."
"Yeah I'll just… be upstairs." Eil was quick to retreat as the two women began arguing… well, more Sella was arguing, and Leys was giving deadpan responses. It didn't take long for him to find the room with Illya's name on it, marked on a hanging plaque, "Hey Illya? It's Eil! I brought some notes from class, you awake?"
He heard a rustling noise, a few crashes, and then something slam into the door. A moment of silence passed, and then the door slowly opened, Illya's head coming into view. She looked more than a little ruffled and her face had a red tint to it, not to mention her night clothes looked to have been just recently thrown on. For what reason he had no idea.
"Maybe Illya is the type who doesn't wear much to sleep."
"A-Ahhh… hey Eil? What brings you here?" Illya asked, tilting her head, and Eil caught her kicking Ruby to the side.
"Again, notes from class. And also checking in after last night and all. Mana overuse can be kinda draining." Eil leaned on the doorframe, Illya giving an awkward chuckle, her heel grinding into Ruby.
"Right right! Don't worry though, I'm fine. I had a bit of a fever this morning but I'm fine. Sella's just kind of overprotective, so I've been cooped up for a while now." Illya remarked, a move of her foot sliding Ruby along the floor and under the bed, "Uhm… c-come on in."
"Aight." Eil said, the door downright slamming once he was in the room, Eil only raising a brow. Illya on the other hand looked downright rigid as she went to sit on the bed. What did somewhat bother Eil though was the fact her shirt was in no way fully buttoned (odds being because she couldn't button it all the way, the sorry cloth looked like it was barely holding on), and his face gained a red tint. Especially when he thought about last night. "I cannot reveal I carried her home after she passed out… dammit, that played merry hell on me! I didn't know girls were that soft!"
"So… notes?"
"Right! Taiga wanted me to drop them off. I've also got some for Miyu, but I'll handle that later." Eil reached into his school bag and produced the folder, placing it on Illya's desk, then taking the chair for himself, "But uh… You're really fine after last night? Again I just wanna be sure."
"Yeah, totally fine now. I just needed some extra rest is all." Illya said, waving her hand casually, Eil coughing into a hand as he notedly folded his legs, "What about you guys? With what happened, you're not hurt are you?"
"A bit. I got kind roughed up, but I'm a fast healer. Rin changed out the bandages this morning, to be safe." Eil remarked, tugging his shirt up to show the bandages on his torso, though moving it back down… though Illya didn't really move her eyes. Heck he could swear her eyes were scanning him now.
"Right…. I see." Illya murmured, "What does Eil look like when he's shirtless? He looks thin but… maybe he's fit? AHHH! Why am I thinking this right now?! But… I want to know! It's gonna haunt me!"
"So… what do you remember about last night?" Eil asked, his tone serious, but clearly also of someone trying to divert the topic to something else.
"Ah, well… let's see… I remember trying to find you guys after Saber used her Noble Phantasm… but then there's just a point where it goes blank. Ahh, I can't remember at all but, we're here so, that means you finished it right? You and Miyu?"
"Ah… y-yeah… we did." Eil's response was awkward to say the least, but that brought another thing to mind, "So she doesn't remember… Miyu told me the entire story about Illya using the Card… something called an Install. A kind of psudeo-summoning… but then, why would Illya not remember that at all? Maybe… maybe it has to do with her being an Einzbern. She seems like a perfectly normal girl, and she was totally unaware about the world of mages until recently… then that happened. Her dad is the freaking Magus Killer himself though! That means something has to be going on here, something nobody else knows about."
"Ahh… it's 0-2-1 then." Illya remarked, her eyes going to the Archer Card on her desk, "I haven't gotten a single card, while you and Miyu have managed to finish them each time."
"It's 1-1-1 actually…" Eil thought, just sighing as he leaned on a hand, "Wonder what Miyu's doing right now, speaking of her."
"Let's ask her directly!" Ruby shot up from under the bed as if she'd been queued to appear at last.
"Weren't you unconscious?!" Illya yelped, then shouting when Ruby suddenly changed form, producing a speaker and an antenna to boot, "What's that form?!"
"The old man kinda gave the sticks a lot of weird functions." Eil remarked, Illya looking at him with wide eyes, "This is one of many."
"Your mentor's weird!"
"You don't know the half of it."
"This is Telephone Mode! One of my many secret devices!" Ruby answered, Eil sighing heavily as the stick began ringing, "Hello? Sapphire-chan? Are you awake?"
"What is it, Nee-san?"
"Whoa, you got through!" Illya said, suddenly looking excited.
"What was that voice, Sapphire?" They were then met by Miyu's voice coming over the line.
"Sup Miyu?" Eil said, the girl on the other end giving a hum.
"Eilwyn? Illyasviel?"
"H-Hello. Sorry for the sudden call." Illya said.
"Did you need something?"
"Ah… No, I didn't need anything, but… I was wondering what you were doing."
"Right now, I'm at home. Lluvia-nee-san insisted I take the day off."
"Called it!" Eil remarked, Illya giving a small chuckle.
"So, we're in the same boat huh?" Illya said, "Bored with nothing to do?"
"Yes." And then a silence pervaded the room for a good few moments, "Are you physically all right? You aren't feeling sick from using too much mana or anything?"
"Ah yeah I'm fine. Eil-san checked in one me earlier, so don't worry about it. Well, he's still here, actually." Illya said.
"I see."
"Yeah."
"Why does it feel so awkward?" Eil hung his head as he sighed again…
"Argh! Jeez this is irritating! What's with this awkwardness?!" Ruby seemed to share the same sentiment as Eil did.
"W-Well what should I say?!" Illya yelped, Eil leaning the chair back as he put his feet on the desk.
"All right, in that case, I'll switch it to video call! If you can see each other, it should be easier to talk to each other." Ruby said, hovering a bit closer to the wall, and with a chunk sound, a projector popped out of her.
"Something else came out?!" Illya yelled, Eil just shaking his head.
"It's a projector. This can display in real time whatever Sapphire-chan currently sees." Ruby said, the projected image now on the wall more like a loading screen at the moment.
"You really have a lot of inconsequential functions huh?" Illya remarked.
"Again, you don't even know the half of it." Eil stated.
"Eh? Video chat? Wait, are you… h-hold on!" Miyu sounded downright panicked on the other end of the line, though like that would stop Ruby.
"Here we go!" The stick cheerfully said, a countdown sounding as one could hear Miyu panicking.
"H-Huh?! Wh-What is this?! Wait-" The image changed to Miyu, the girl desperately trying to grab Sapphire. And in a scene that made Eil and Illya freeze, she was in a maid outfit. And to further the surprise, Miyu began shuffling about, her face almost as red as a beet and clearly embarrassed, showing something other than her usual deadpan expression for once.
"A maid… a maid outfit?!" Illya went from shocked to ecstatic in seconds. Eil however, seemed frozen in place as he just stared at the projection. Or, more precisely, at Miyu and how she was acting.
"My, my… what lovely taste you have!" Ruby remarked, Miyu letting out an embarrassed whine.
"Eh? This isn't what you think!" Miyu said, her face getting even redder, Eil feeling even more shock to his system at the display, "Um, I-I'm not wearing this because I want it… Lluvia-nee-san forced me to wear it!"
"I think I just learned I've got a thing for gap moe…" Eil could almost swear he felt some kind of switch click to "on" in his brain as Miyu covered her face with her hands as her voice cracked. And a glance over to Illya showed a similar phenomenon… except Eil could swear he really did see a switch on her chest flip on.
"Miyu-san… I want to see you now." Illya then grabbed Ruby, downright crushing the stick in her hands, her eyes wild swirls at best.
"Huh? What?!" Miyu yelped.
"I really want to see you!" Illya shouted, her voice downright manic, "I really want to see you in person! Come over, come over right now! And keep that outfit on!"
"H-Hold on…"
"You're right across the street aren't you?! MOVE IT!"
"HUH?!"
"Something weird is bound to happen, I feel it." Eil muttered, waving his arms and yelping when his feet suddenly slipped, leaving him to come crashing down onto the floor as the chair fell back, "Ow…"
A few moments later, after a silence fell over the room, the door-knob turned and opened, Miyu immediately coming into view, and as demanded, still in the maid outfit.
"Pardon me…" Miyu murmured, a terrified expression coming to her face when Illya suddenly pounced at her, the glomp causing Illya to spin as her voice rang with joy.
"Welcome!" Illya cheered, Eil having one rather confused expression as Illya then started hopping about, not helped by the other kind of bouncing going on with her. Miyu just looked downright terrified. "Wow! You're really in a maid outfit! It looks like a nice material, and it's well-tailored too!"
"What's going on?" Eil muttered, sitting back up and fixing the chair. Illya pounced again, grabbing Miyu by the shoulders. The urge to try and hold her back was something Eil had no idea if he should act on at the time either.
"Are you real?! Are you a real high-school maid?!" Illya yelped, her eyes wild swirls again, "Wait, say "master" for me!"
"Eh? Wouldn't normally be "my lady" though?" Miyu replied, Illya's look going from expectant to flat, and back to wild again in seconds.
"JUST SAY IT!"
"M-Master?!"
"And here comes the mess…" Eil's hand just met his forehead, to which he promptly flopped back onto the bed. "What am I even doing right now?"
After that debacle had finally calmed down, the trio was seated around the small table Illya had pulled out, Sella awkwardly leaving the room with the now empty tray of the snacks she'd brought up for the teenagers.
"Enjoy yourselves…" Sella said, though as she left, Eil could swear he heard the woman starting to scream.
"S-Sorry I got weird…" Illya murmured, Ruby and Sapphire drifting out from hiding behind their respective contractors.
"No, it's all right." Miyu said, but her face was still downright burning. Eil made a mental note to remember that expression for another time.
"Illya-san's a latent S isn't she?" Ruby murmured.
"More importantly… the other lady in the house looked at me strangely." Miyu said, looking to the side, "And she was also being pinned by the other lady for some reason."
"Can't imagine why." Eil dryly said, shaking his head as he leaned back.
"Oh, sorry, I hadn't thought about that." Illya said, her face then getting red as well, "And… maybe Leys was keeping Sella from doing something… since there is a boy here after all."
"There's nothing to be ashamed of, kind of." Sapphire said, "Lluvia-sama kind of likes dressing Miyu-sama up every now and again, sadly."
"Eh? So it really is a cosplay?" Illya asked. "It's pretty well made."
"It's actually a real maid uniform." Miyu's response got Illya to perk up again, "When Lluvia-nee-san first took me in, I did serve as a maid for her though, and helped take care of her. Before Lluvia-nee-san took me in, I didn't have anyone to rely on… I've been grateful for her providing for my livelihood for the past five years, but I've wanted to pay her back. So I still occasionally work as a maid, and now I help collect the Cards."
"Doesn't she have family elsewhere? Though she said five years… so, did something happen then for Miyu to end up in the Edelfelt's care? What could that have been though? AGH! Man, now I've got two girls with mysterious pasts to figure out!" Eil pinched the bridge of his nose as a breath passed through his lips.
"I think it's best not to touch on those subjects." Ruby advised, addressing it to both Eil and Illya.
"Alright." Eil murmured, "Still, pretty interesting story that must be."
"Yeah! It's kind of amazing." Illya said, going to the sliding door and opening it, allowing the breeze to blow into the room, "Both a maid and a magical girl. That's a rare type of character! And you even defeated that second enemy with Eil yesterday."
"Huh?" Miyu looked at Eil, and he shook his head, silently communicating that Illya didn't remember what happened that night to her, "Oh."
"I think you're both pretty amazing. Eil doesn't even need one of the sticks to fight those Servants either." Illya's words were honest ones, though Eil felt a pang of guilt shoot through him like an arrow. He and Miyu knew the truth of the matter, but now they had to lie to Illya about it because they had no clue how she would react to learning about what she did to defeat Saber. It was a hard choice, but one they made nonetheless."
"Yeah, well, it was a tough one but, hey, we gotta do what we gotta do, right?" Eil awkward laughed as he put a hand behind his head, then giving a sigh. He caught Sapphire and Ruby drifting out to the veranda, but he decided not to question it. Odds were that Sapphire was going to tell Ruby what really happened. "But it does make me wonder… using a Card to become a Heroic Spirit… maybe that's how they're actually used? It makes too much sense to pass up as being the truth. If they can make those kinds of mana distortions and hold that kind of power… these things are more dangerous than we thought."
FWUMP!
"Huh?" The sound got Eil to come back out of his thoughts and look over. A sudden twitch came to his brow as he saw that Illya had now shoved Miyu to the bed and mounted the poor girl, Illya's eyes wide while Miyu looked far too embarrassed for her own good. "What."
"I-It's not what it looks like!" Illya yelped.
"Help, please." Miyu said.
"Ugh… I don't even know but… come Illya, let her go!" Eil stepped forward and grabbed Illya by the torso, biting his lip a bit as one of his arms ended up under her chest, the feeling way to soft for him to feel okay about it. The sudden yank also seemed to snap Illya out of it, her face then starting to turn red as Eil pulled her away so Miyu could get up, the girl readjusting herself. "Yeah this is awkward…"
"I'm sorry!" Illya yelped, bowing on the floor, "Uhm, I got excited… though I maybe would've liked to been held a bit longer."
"Eh?"
"NOTHING!"
"Seriously. You shouldn't do lewd things to maids! That isn't in their job description!" Ruby said, her and Sapphire back in the room, then Ruby hummed, "Well… maybe it depends on the situation. Butlers are open game for healthy young laides."
"Don't say weird things." Eil said, gripping Ruby in a death vice.
"I'm sorry… it was that weird switch's fault!" Illya said, bowing even further.
"No, it's… you didn't mean any harm, Illyasviel." Miyu said, Eil catching her glance over to him while he dropped Ruby like a rock.
"Uhm… I've wondered for a while, but… isn't Illyasviel too long to say?" Illya asked, Miyu looking back to her in turn.
"Yeah and Eilwyn is kinda hard for somebody unfamiliar with it, isn't it?" Eil responded, "I mean, it has a "vin" sound, now a "win" sound."
"Illya is fine. All my friends call me that." Illya said, "Being called by my full name is kind of embarrassing."
"I prefer Eil myself. Easier to say and snappier. I like being to the point about it. Besides, everyone I know calls me that, so feel free to do the same." Eil added, Miyu looking between both white-haired teens smiling at her now.
"Friends?" Miyu murmured, Illya yelping.
"Am I wrong?! I certainly thought we were! Was I the only one who did?!" Illya said, Eil shaking his head as he chuckled.
"Oh, no, I didn't mean that." Miyu said, laying her hands on her lap, "You can just use my first name too. Both of you."
"Sure! It's nice too know you, Miyu." Illya said, Eil chuckling.
"I kinda use them for everyone anyway, but, sure." Eil stated.
"N-Nice to know you, Illya." Miyu replied, she and Illya joining hands, which Eil felt finally cemented the idea the two were friends at last.
"Okay! Now let's have you wipe my body down!" Illya said, Eil's face becoming one of flat shocked… especially after Illya casually threw off her shirt and pants.
"What."
"Where did that come from!?" Miyu was back to panicking as Illya was back to a wild expression.
"Isn't it a maid's job to care for the sick? Serve me!"
"Illya hold on!" Eil yelped, stepping off from the wall and grabbing Illya again, though to his immediate shock, his attempt to grab her torso wound up with him finding himself fondling Illya's breasts instead, the shocked moment having the reaction being he squeezed her a couple times, which made it worse by eliciting soft, surprised moans from Illya. "GYAHHHHHHHHHHHH! What the hell what the hell what the hell?! How did this end up happening!?"
"E-Eil… th-they're sensitive please… ah!" Illya let out a yelp again, and Eil was too frozen to move, "S-Something's against my butt… it's hot…"
"Don't move your hips! Eil yelped, his face a burning shade of red, "GAAAAAHHH! Seriously what the hell?!"
"Don't you have any shame?" Miyu yelped, stuck between Illya's arms as she supported herself, though she almost looked more… amazed, mainly because of Illya's expression.
"Don't make it worse!" Eil snapped, "If I just move back a bit… then…"
BAM!
And to the absolutely misfortune of the three, who to appear just then but Illya's friends from school, all making declarations as they entered… only for everything to become silent as they saw the mess happening before them, Eil and Illya being the most red faced as they became locked in place… and to say the position they were in wasn't helpful was an understatement, because from the angle the school bunch was seeing it from… it looked like what one could expect.
"THIS ISN'T WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" Eil and Illya shouted at the same time, the friends from school all reacting differently to this.
"N-Naked?! With a maid outfit?! And a boy too?!"
"Sorry to intrude!"
"I just said it wasn't…" Illya whined.
"Sex play? Some kind of sex play?!"
"Let me take a picture!"
"DON'T YOU DARE!" Eil snapped, but the shutter snapping sound came anyway.
"S-Stop it!" Illya yelled to the sky for help, Eil just letting out a groan.
"How the hell did I get caught up in this?! Why did this end up happening?!" Eil thought, wanting to scream himself for all the good it'd do him.
"Well, I guess there's worse ways to become friends with people." Eil sighed to himself as he approached the church for the third time now. He again slowly entered the main chapel, wary for any possible pranks, but it was silent again, with no signs of Caren being around, "Maybe she's in the study right now?"
"No, I'm actually right here."
"AGH?!" Eil yelped and shot around, finding Caren had appeared behind him, and the girl gave a scoff at his jumpy reaction, "Jeez, don't sneak up on me! Today was weird."
"Sure. So, the next Card?" Caren said, leading Eil back into the study. Once there, he produced the Saber Card, Caren taking it and giving a hum, "So, who was the Servant."
"King Arthur. It was one hell of a tough fight, but, well, obviously we made it through safely." Eil stated, then looking to the side, "Should I tell her about Illya and how she used Archer?... nah, let's keep that under wraps for now."
"I see. And let me guess, you had to use that magic of yours, eh?" Caren smirked again when Eil just looked to the side, though he didn't deny her claim, "Well it was surely bound to happen. But the mission comes first after all. Now let's see… that only leaves you lot with Assassin and Berserker. One easy fight, and another tough one. It'll be interesting I bet."
"Yeah, if we don't get the hell beat out of us along the way." Eil muttered, Caren giving a hum, "I get the feeling there's other things you want to add on top of this."
"There isn't much to say regarding the Cards anymore for now. Unless there actually is something else to mention." Eil stayed silent as Caren fell silent, then the girl just chuckled, "Not like I care that much though. I'm more interested in what happened after you had to use that star magic of yours."
"Not much surprisingly. Only had to threaten one of my seniors with keeping quiet about it." Eil stated, folding his arms, Caren giving a chuckle to the remark, "At the least now it shouldn't be an issue when we go against Assassin and Berserker since I won't have to hold back."
"Of course. So, any new, potentially interesting injuries?"
"No. You have an odd fascination for that. Not that I don't get why by this point… as weird as it is." Eil sighed again as he adjusted his position. He then promptly flinched when Caren got in his face again, "Cane you please not? I've had enough weird things happen to me for one day."
"There's something you're not telling me about what happened against Saber." Caren noted, Eil flinching again, "Again, I don't really care. Even if it's for records… or, would you rather I kept this off the record? Because I can do that."
"Really?"
"Probably not."
"Of course." Eil sighed again, though Caren didn't budge at all, "I'll at least say the Cards can do more than we thought. We don't know enough about it though, so I won't say much more than that, alright?"
"Fine by me."
"So can you stop straddling me, please?"
"It's surprisingly comfortable. Besides, it's amusing seeing you struggle not to be embarrassed."
"Are you an S?!"
"A bit."
"Not even an attempt to deny it?!" Eil thought, an eye twitching as a grumble left his throat, "Dammit, she smells nice too… this is bad."
"So, wanna tell me what was so weird today that you're being this jumpy? Or are you just weak to a pretty girl being this close to you?" Caren's deadpan tone was definitely what made the remark worse. It was like a bizarre mix of teasing and an honest question.
"Like hell I will! Those details do not need to be said!" Eil snapped, really wishing he wasn't pretty much trapped at the moment.
"Worth a shot. But you're not denying that being around a pretty girl gets to you."
"Shove it! It's more the fact you're sitting on me that doesn't help!"
"Oh? Are you perhaps a bit of an M?"
"Hell no!" Eil snapped, then his face went flat, "Wait a sec… this girl is smaller than me, can't I just lift her up?! Wait… she has that shroud though. She'd probably just snare me with it."
"By the way, if you try anything I'll use the Shroud on you."
"I knew it!" Eil thought, a long sigh coming form him, "Can I at least go now?"
"You only had to ask."
"Fuck you!"
"You're free to if you want."
"NOT WHAT I MEANT!" Eil shouted, letting out a growl, "Why am I having a sudden bout of women troubles?!"
A/N
Because you are a protagonist in a Nasuverse based fanfiction that is why! You're fated (ha) to be burdened with the "Harem Protagonist: EX" Skill as long as it runs, be there routes or none at all! Ahh, be glad you ain't you're Grand Order Alternative version, he's gonna have it WAY worse… and what's with this kind of AN today? Hmm, felt snappier. We get closer to 2wei with each chapter… and closer to the mess getting bigger and weirder. Oh what fun it will be.
