The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

What is this?

After strolling around the clothing stores on the street with Hachiman Hikigaya and Sakura, Irisviel's attention was drawn to the arcade on the street.

The dazzling array of game consoles instantly caught Irisviel's eye.

Like a little child, Irisviel cheered and ran into the arcade. After looking at a claw machine for a while, she turned to Ye Qiu behind her and asked.

"Oh, this is a claw machine. You see, you just need to put the coins in here..."

While explaining how to use the claw machine, Hachiman Hikigaya took a 500 yen coin from his pocket and put it into the coin slot.

He then precisely manipulated the mechanical claw to pull out a small crocodile toy.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

Seeing that Hachiman Hikigaya had easily snatched the doll, Irisviel, who thought it was a simple matter, immediately looked at Artoria expectantly.

"All right...."

Noticing Irisviel's gaze, Artoria reluctantly stepped forward, took out a ten-thousand-yuan bill from her pocket, and prepared to insert it into the machine.

"Please wait a moment!"

Seeing Artoria's actions, Hachiman Hikigaya's eyelids twitched and he quickly spoke up to stop her.

"what happened?"

Upon hearing this, Artoria stared at him in confusion and asked.

Seeing that Artoria hadn't reacted yet, Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't help but cover his face with his hands.

It seems that although the Holy Grail grants Heroic Spirits basic modern knowledge after they are summoned, things like coin tosses are not included in this.

"Do you think this kind of banknote can fit through this opening?"

Hachiman Hikigaya pointed to the small coin slot of the claw machine, then to the slightly crumpled banknote in Artoria's hand.

"But didn't Mr. Hachiman just insert his coin here too?"

Artoria frowned upon hearing Hachiman Hikigaya's words.

"I just put in these kinds of coins! You can't put in paper money!"

As he spoke, Hachiman Hikigaya took out a 500-yen coin from his pocket again, waved it in front of Artoria, and then put it into the claw machine.

"Consider this my treat, but please remember to flip a coin next time."

"Thank you for reminding me, I will take your advice!"

Artoria nodded solemnly, then gestured for Irisviel, who had been waiting expectantly, to proceed.

Irisviel immediately pounced on the claw machine, mimicking Hachiman Hikigaya by manipulating the mechanical claw to grab the plush toy in front of the glass.

As expected, Irisviel returned empty-handed after her first time playing this machine.

“Saber...”

Unable to get the claw machine to its limit herself, Irisviel immediately looked at Artoria, who was standing to the side with a tense face and pretending to be serious, and sent out a distress signal.

"There's really no other way..."

With a helpless expression on her face, but her eyes fixed on the little lion plush toy at the back of the claw machine, Artoria, at Hachiman Hikigaya's suggestion, exchanged 20 500-yen coins at the counter and then stood in front of the claw machine, rolling up her sleeves.

Chapter 212 Karna Awakens a Strange Hobby

"To the left! A little more to the left! Ah, too far to the right, we should go back a little!"

In front of a claw machine, Knight King Artoria stared intently at the moving mechanical arm on top of the machine, while Irisviel offered suggestions from the side.

"right here!"

Artoria, who was hesitating, suddenly stood up with her ahoge (cowlick) on her head, and then she swung her hand and pressed the down button.

"Buzz..."

With a low rumble, the mechanical arm slowly descended, precisely hooking onto the lion plush toy she desired, while the protruding part of the mechanical claw also hooked onto another rabbit plush toy.

"Wow, Saber is amazing!"

Seeing Artoria grab two dolls at once, Irisviel excitedly hugged her from behind.

"Um, Alice..."

Feeling the softness against her back, Artoria, being a woman herself, blushed instantly.

"......"

Suddenly, Artoria felt a gaze fixed on her. She turned her head sharply and saw Karna pretending to look away as if nothing was wrong.

"stare........"

With her eyes fixed on Karna, Artoria approached him while pulling on the lion doll she was holding.

"can I help you?"

Artoria approached to a certain distance, and Karna, realizing he couldn't dodge, let out a helpless sigh and looked at Artoria, who was now standing in front of him.

You were laughing just now, weren't you?

Looking back on her behavior just now, Artoria felt ashamed of herself.

A dignified knight king could be tempted by such vulgar things.

"No, not really."

Karna dismissed Artoria's conjecture in a calm tone.

"Is that so? Then please forgive my rudeness earlier..."

Seeing that her questioning was fruitless, Artoria returned to Irisviel's side, just like Karna, with a blank expression.

However, when her eyes inadvertently glance at the doll in her hand, a hint of joy would appear on her face.

The group stayed in the arcade until after 6 p.m.

"Ah, this is the first time I've ever had so much fun..."

As Irisviel walked out of the arcade, yawning in the setting sun, she said this.

"It was indeed quite enjoyable..."

Following behind Irisviel, Hachiman Hikigaya's lips twitched slightly upon hearing her words.

To be honest, he had seen adults who could spend an entire afternoon in an arcade before.

But the only adult he had ever seen who spent an afternoon at an arcade, spending 100,000 yen to force the owner out and beg them to stop playing, was definitely Irisviel.

Hachiman Hikigaya originally thought that Irisviel was just a simple gaming newbie.

But who would have thought that her learning ability could only be described as monstrous?

She had already mastered all the techniques after watching others play the game a few times.

After that woman in the suit grabbed two plush toys at once, Irisviel always grabbed at least two plush toys from the claw machine every time!

She managed to win 47 plush toys out of 20 chances to try her luck at the claw machine!

Especially after the claw machine game ended, Irisviel set her sights on the slot machines and coin pushers in the arcade.

The machine kept spitting out coins non-stop, and the boss almost fainted!

"That concludes today's activities."

After walking a distance down the street, Irisviel turned to Hachiman Hikigaya and the other two and said goodbye when she saw her family's car.

"Ah, that's true."

Upon hearing Irisviel's words, Hachiman Hikigaya sighed inwardly, his previously gentle gaze sharpening once more.

"I'm sorry, but that's how the Holy Grail War is. My advice is, if you don't want this child to get involved, please send her out of Fuyuki City as soon as possible."

After saying that, Irisviel waved to the three of them, then got into the car with Artoria and disappeared at the end of the street.

"elder brother...."

On the way back to the hotel, Sakura, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

"what happened?"

Hachiman Hikigaya was pondering what he should do during the Holy Grail War so as not to be caught in the crossfire of the other players' battles.

Hearing Sakura call him, he lowered his head and asked curiously.

Are we definitely going to fight with that auntie?

Holding her chest in one hand, Sakura asked cautiously.

"Does Sakura really like Mrs. Alice?"

"No, I just think that auntie is a good person, and I don't want to see her die..."

"..........."

"Is my brother angry?"

Seeing that Hachiman Hikigaya didn't answer, Sakura instantly became uneasy.

"No, I'm just wondering if they can really win in the end?"

Recalling Alice's kind smile and the seemingly rigid yet otherwise endearing female knight beside her, Hachiman Hikigaya shook his head.

If it were a fair fight, those two might still have a chance of winning.

However, the Holy Grail War is a war fought across the entire city of Fuyuki, a war without any restrictions...

Furthermore, if Irisviel and her team can win in the end, it would mean that they have the blood of at least five groups of contestants on their hands, right?

When they are left with only the two teams, will the other side let them off the hook?

The thought that the Holy Grail War might inevitably involve bloodshed made Hachiman Hikigaya's expression somewhat somber.

Although he wasn't the kind of guy who hesitated to take action, he found it disgusting that someone had to kill another person just because of a ridiculous "all-powerful wishing cup," a game that toyed with life!

............

Back at the inn where they were staying, after having dinner with Sakura and Karna, Hachiman Hikigaya began studying the map of Fuyuki City to see where others might have set up bases and where battles might take place.