Shinji Matou at Your Service-Chapter 1009: Responsible?

To be honest, Shinji wasn't particularly surprised by the idea of forming an alliance. After all, this was a basic strategy in the Holy Grail War.

He and Luvia already had some foundation for cooperation. With Karna and Scathach—two Servants with god-like combat abilities and insight—on their side, it pretty much eliminated any chance of that smiling on the surface, while stabbing you in the back situation.

Besides, both of them had the attitude that while obtaining the Holy Grail would be great, it wasn't a necessity. There was no fundamental conflict of interest between them, so most issues could be resolved through negotiation, compromise, and concession. If they could form an alliance, the cooperation would undoubtedly be smooth and agreeable.

While Luvia and Rin were in the midst of their usual confrontation, Shinji was already thinking about the details of the alliance and how they could proceed. For instance, they could work together to take down Hercules—look, Karna had even taken off his armor, and the spear that kills gods was already out. Not using it would be such a waste. Even without releasing its true name, the anti-divinity attribute it had was enough to make Hercules suffer.

Of course, I wouldn't expect you to work for free. That spear you gave me back then, I could return it to you. If you don't want a duplicate, we could trade it for Indra's thunderbolt. Maybe it could even combine with the spear for a joint attack. And if you're still not satisfied, we can negotiate further.

But no matter how much Shinji thought about it, he never imagined that Luvia would pull something like this.

A shy, bashful expression? What's going on? Since when did the lady Luvia ever make such an expression?

And what do you mean by, I did something like that to you? What exactly is that? Be careful, I could accuse you of slander.

Since Shinji had no intention of breaking off the potential alliance at this point, he didn't immediately retort. Instead, he asked, slightly confused but still maintaining decorum, "Well, um... what exactly did I do to you?"

"You, you—"

Luvia's eyes widened in disbelief, her hand trembling as she raised it. "You... you don't even remember?"

Whoa, that reaction. It's like I used her and then abandoned her. Shinji silently commented in his mind.

But the most shocking words were yet to come.

"That night, you, you barged into my room and... and with me..."

"Wait, that night—what exactly did you guys do? So impure, so disgraceful!"

Rin crossed her arms, glaring at Shinji as if he were the lowest of scum.

At this point, Shinji finally pieced together what Luvia was talking about.

Barging into her room—she must be referring to that time at the Separation Castle. When Shinji kicked the chimera so hard that it broke through the wall of Luvia's room. To prevent her from being affected by the beast's abilities, he rushed into her room and carried her out. Sure, he may have gotten an eyeful in the process, but for Iris women, that shouldn't be a big deal, right? It's not like he did anything to her.

"Hey, don't make it sound so misleading," Shinji said defensively.

"First of all, that was an accident. Second, I was trying to save you. And finally, I didn't do anything inappropriate to you. I only saw you in your pajamas. Given your customs and cultural background, that shouldn't be a big deal, right?"

Luvia, whose act had been exposed, slapped her cheeks lightly, quickly transitioning from a shy girl to a mature and composed noble lady—just as Shinji suspected, she had been putting on an act. This also explains why Karna and Gilgamesh hadn't reacted at all.

"But according to some culture, that's a huge deal. Since you did that to me, you should marry me. You have to take responsibility."

Rin couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. "What kind of outdated culture is that? Where did you even learn this stuff?"

"Isn't it true?"

Luvia tilted her head in confusion.

"My friend Fiore told me about it. She even showed me many literary works on the subject."

Fiore—another familiar name. Just like Karna, who wasn't far away, it felt both familiar and distant.

Looking at Caules' situation, it didn't seem like there had been significant changes in the Forvedge family, and Fiore had likely grown up in a similar environment.

Choosing to abandon magecraft and leave her family made sense. After all, Fiore had always longed to walk on her own two legs. Without the Holy Grail—a wish-granting device—her decision to forge a different path was understandable.

But what's with reading classical literature? And then recommending it to her friends? That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it?

This is even more exaggerated than how Caules and Waver turned out to be otaku... Could it be that this entire family has an innate tendency toward geekiness? Do they awaken special attributes without realizing it? And now Luvia's been affected too—by the wrong influences, no less.

"Um, Luvia—if you don't mind me calling you that."

After receiving a nod from the girl in blue, Shinji explained.

"That kind of thinking belongs to a long-past feudal era. With technological advancement and cultural integration, everyone has become much more open. Japan may even be more open than the West in some respects. At least, from what I know, certain social circles in Japan have even messier relationships than those in the West."

"I see." Luvia nodded thoughtfully.

"So, is that the kind of relationship you have with this country girl?"

"Ugh... cough, cough..."

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Rin, who had been enjoying the show, was suddenly dragged into the conversation. She choked on her saliva and nearly passed out.

"Stop spouting nonsense! I have no relationship with this guy! No, I haven't had any relationship with any man! I've never even had a boyfriend!"

In her panic, Rin blurted out something big!—For Japanese schoolgirls, especially pretty ones, not having a boyfriend at this age could be seen as a bit of a social embarrassment.

"Oh? So you've never had a boyfriend," Luvia said, her voice dripping with superiority and disdain.

"Maybe you're just too plain, and no one wants you."

Furious, Rin shot back, "And what about you, Miss Nouveau Riche? How many boyfriends have you had?"

"Well... at least more than you," Luvia hesitated for a moment before biting her lip and replying.

But that brief hesitation didn't escape Rin's sharp eyes, and a smirk crept across her face.

"So how many more than me? One? Two? Or maybe... none at all!"

"T-that's none of your business!"

Luvia's poised expression faltered.

"It wasn't my business, but I recall someone mocking me just now. Turns out we're both in the same boat."

"Grr..."

Perhaps unable to bear Rin's disdainful gaze, or maybe just caught up in their usual rivalry, Luvia suddenly grabbed the arm of the man next to her—namely, Shinji.

"Well, it might have been the same before, but it's not anymore. I've decided to make him my boyfriend."

Why am I being dragged into this again? Author, did you hand out the wrong script or something?

Shinji was utterly dumbfounded.