"Hmm, it really suits you," Rin said, holding Kotone, with a hint of admiration. Whether she was sincere or not, no one knew.
"Heh heh heh…! Not bad, right? After seeing Saber last night, a thought suddenly struck me: if I wore modern clothes, I could walk around on the streets in physical form without any problems, right? And the pattern on this clothing deeply pleases me. A world map drawn on my chest—that's the kind of ambition I want to project, embracing the world!"
Rin nodded in agreement, smiling, and wiped a bead of cold sweat with her free hand.
Seeing the King of Conquerors fetching water here, Rin realized that the idea of using the magical residue in the river water to locate Caster's workshop was actually Waver's.
He had marked dozens of points along the Weiyuan River on a map, collected a bottle of river water at each point, and then used Alchemy to test for the presence of magical residue.
The location of Caster's base would then be between the last point with residue and the first point without.
Although somewhat timid and still a bit old-fashioned in his thinking, Waver Velvet indeed possessed sufficient intelligence, understanding of the Holy Grail, and resolve.
He knew that the Holy Grail War he was participating in was a cruel slaughter, and without preparing himself for a landscape littered with corpses, there was no hope of victory.
In this regard alone, he was a hundred times stronger than Kayneth.
And his encounter with Iskandar might have been a fated meeting. Guided by the dreams of this rough-but-meticulous, ambitious King, he would, in the future, step into a realm no one had ever reached before.
"Rider, if your Master sent you to fetch water to find Caster's base, then there's no need. I've already found and breached Caster's Magic Workshop. Unfortunately, Caster wasn't there, but with his workshop destroyed, he'll have nowhere to hide and will soon expose his whereabouts."
Rin explained to Rider, hoping he wouldn't waste his afternoon by the river. Rider looked at Rin in surprise, stroking his short-bearded chin.
"I didn't expect you to find Caster's base so quickly. It seems you're truly extraordinary, little girl. Since Caster wasn't there, did you find anything else?"
Rin pointed to Kotone in her arms.
"This is the only discovery. Also, Caster's Master has already been eliminated by me. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, Caster possesses a noble phantasm that can provide him with infinite magical power. Even killing his Master is useless; it only makes him a completely unrestrained disaster, though there wasn't much difference to begin with."
Upon receiving Rin's information, Rider solemnly closed his eyes and communicated mentally with Waver for a moment, then smiled contentedly and nodded.
He then asked Rin, "Yosh! Berserker's Master, do you have any plans for the rest of today?"
"Tonight…" Rin recalled, immediately realizing the important plot event of the night.
"I'll probably go to Einzbern Castle after nightfall. That's Saber's base, and Caster mistook Saber for the object of his pursuit. He's very likely to appear there."
"Oh! You plan to go to Saber's place too?! That truly is great minds thinking alike!" Rider excitedly thumped his chest and said to Rin, "I heard Saber lives in a castle in a dense forest, and I plan to go find Saber tonight to drink with her and compare our ways of kingship!
If I remember correctly, you also said you wouldn't make a move against Saber and Lancer until a victor was decided between them, right?"
"Mm," Rin nodded.
Indeed, the Banquet of Kings.
"Yosh! In that case, little girl, would you be interested in sitting down and having a drink with us?" Rider smiled and extended an invitation to Rin, who was quite surprised.
The Banquet of Kings could be said to be the most spectacular part of the Fourth Holy Grail War. The spectacle here didn't refer to battle scenes or the brilliance of divine noble phantasms, but rather the clash of ideas and philosophies.
Three kings from different eras and regions gathered, and the clash of their royal paths, beliefs, and thoughts sparked a fire that could be called the most magnificent battle of the Fourth Holy Grail War!
However, a banquet between kings—why would they invite her, a modern Magus, a mere girl? Although she had certainly been an underground queen of the underworld in Misaki City for a time, that couldn't be considered a king, could it?
Originally, although she really wanted to attend, considering her own circumstances, Rin had planned to just watch the excitement from the castle rooftop when the time came.
Being able to observe that contest of royal beliefs would have been satisfying enough.
That was not an occasion for weapons and swords, but a Banquet of Kings who had once led nations in certain eras; mere military strength was not enough.
Regarding Rin's question, Rider laughed heartily and said, "No matter! Although it is a discussion among kings of various eras, there should also be sufficiently qualified people from later generations to witness it, and I believe only you have the capacity to sit at the same table with me."
"Good! I'll definitely be there."
"Ah ha ha ha…! That's the spirit I'm looking for! I'll go buy some wine now."
After speaking, he threw the bottle into the river and turned to head towards the city. Seeing him like this, Rin couldn't help but speak up to remind him, "Rider, do you… have money?"
The excited big man immediately froze, and a look of distress instantly spread across his face. A single coin can humble a hero.
Even though Iskandar had always been accustomed to taking what he liked, that wasn't bullying the weak. Robbing merchants' goods was something street thugs did.
"And leaving your little Master at home isn't appropriate, is it? Even if his location hasn't been exposed, who can say what might happen? Is it really okay not to have him with you?" Rin further reminded him.
"Hmm—you have a point," Rider nodded seriously. "I truly can't rest assured with that boy alone."
"Then, Rider…" Rin thought about her next move and then suggested, "Excuse me, is this the Macaige family?"
"Yes, that's right."
"So, is Waver Velvet at home?"
"Oh, you're looking for that child Waver, you are…"
"Ah, I'm Waver's friend from England. I heard he suddenly came to Japan to see his grandparents, so I rushed over from England…"
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