The banquet was held by the flowerbed in the castle's inner courtyard.
It was fortunate that the previous battles, whether with Rin or Kayneth, had taken place within the castle and had not affected this area; at least it didn't seem too shabby for entertaining guests.
King of Conquerors brought the wine barrel to the inner courtyard, and the two Servants sat facing each other, calmly confronting each other.
Irisviel and Waver sat on opposite sides of the flowerbed behind their respective Servants, guessing at the situation's development, and realizing that this meant a temporary truce; they just had to watch from the side.
King of Conquerors's huge fist shattered the barrel lid, and the rich aroma of red wine immediately filled the air in the inner courtyard.
"Although its shape is strange, this is a unique wine vessel of this country."
King of Conquerors said as he casually scooped a ladle of wine with a bamboo-handled spoon, making a speechless error. Unfortunately, no one present was a local, so no one could point out his common sense mistake.
This burly giant first drank the wine in the ladle in one gulp, then spoke.
"Before coming here, I had already thought about it. I heard that only those who are worthy can obtain the Holy Grail."
The serious tone calmed the atmosphere, but—
It always felt wrong for this man to speak in such a tone; or rather, in the eyes of many, this guy was never quite right.
"And the ritual to select that worthy person is this war taking place in Fuyuki, but if we, as fellow Heroic Spirits, can recognize each other's abilities, then there's no need for bloodshed. After that, I don't need to say more, do I?" King of Conquerors continued, offering the wine ladle to the young girl opposite him.
Saber took it without hesitation, scooped up a ladle of wine, and then gulped it down.
The girl's slender frame always made one worry if she could truly drink, but seeing her drink so boldly, she was no less impressive than a burly man like King of Conquerors, who couldn't help but laugh in admiration.
"So, first, are you going to challenge me to see who is stronger, Rider?" The girl's sharp gaze shot towards the giant man opposite, her challenge obvious.
"Exactly. A true contest in the name of Kings. However, if it were like that, it wouldn't be called the Holy Grail War, but rather the Holy Grail Q&A. Ultimately, between the king of knights and the King of Conquerors, who will become the King of the Holy Grail? Such a question is perfectly suited for a wine cup."
"Enough with the jokes, bastard." As if responding to King of Conquerors' words, a dazzling golden dust swirled before everyone. That sound and the shimmering dust immediately tensed Saber's and Irisviel's bodies. It was the handsome, red-eyed young man, shining with supreme gold.
"Archer, why are you here?!" Saber stood up directly, asking sharply, but it was the calm King of Conquerors opposite her who replied.
"Ah, I happened to run into him on the street and invited him to drink with us, but he's still late. However, unlike me, he came on foot, so I can't blame him. Speaking of which, I also invited someone else to join, who should have arrived before me."
Gilgamesh scanned his surroundings with a disdainful, dismissive gaze.
"It's a wonder you picked such a shabby place. Holding a Banquet of Kings in a place like this has made this King come in vain. How do you intend to atone for it, bastard?"
But Saber was clearly more attentive to the meaning of King of Conquerors' latter words, watching the giant man sitting leisurely with serious vigilance.
"Rider, who else did you invite?"
At this moment, the empty air behind Gilgamesh suddenly rippled like a water surface, and a deep red female figure emerged from it.
"Archer, if you consider yourself a King, then every piece of land in this world should be recognized as your own courtyard. Can't you sit down in your own courtyard?"
As the girl spoke, she walked directly past Gilgamesh, sitting down casually beside Saber, completely disregarding Saber's wary gaze and Gilgamesh's displeased look behind her. She took the wine vessel from the smiling King of Conquerors' hand and helped herself to a scoop.
However, seeing a bamboo-handled ladle used for red wine, even though she knew it was so, the girl couldn't help but chuckle at King of Conquerors' lack of understanding of local customs. She tilted her head back and drank it all, even more boldly than Saber.
Compared to her usual elegant and graceful demeanor, Rin, now on the battlefield, exuded the spirit of a heroine. Unlike Saber's proper and strict posture, Rin simply sat down casually on the ground. Rather than a noble young lady, she resembled a female knight-errant.
When Saber saw Rin, her beautiful and dignified face immediately clouded with anger and indignation. She questioned Rin, who was sitting in front of her:
"Rin, why did you attack Irisviel?!"
Regarding Saber's angry questioning, Rin's expression remained calm and undisturbed, showing no trace of shame, regret, or embarrassment. She scooped another ladle of red wine as if to quench her thirst, and only after drinking it did she respond to Saber:
"Saber, the very fact that you're asking that question is problematic. You, Irisviel, and I are inherently competitors in this Holy Grail War, meant to fight and kill each other. And isn't the method of confrontation in the Holy Grail War itself Servant versus Servant, Master versus Master? Do I have to engage a Servant just because of my own strength?"
Saber clearly could not accept Rin's explanation and continued to argue angrily with Rin. After all, Irisviel wasn't even a Master; she was completely a destined victim of tragedy.
"But the strong should not use their power to bully the weak!"
"Is that so? Then, Saber, your strength is truly meaningless."
Rin retorted to Saber without changing her expression.
"Only cowards wield swords against the weak."
"But to be unable to use force against an enemy because they are weak is foolish."
Rin sat on the ground, her gaze like a sharp sword meeting Saber's eyes.
"Saber, put away your chivalry, and don't try to impose such ideas on anyone. I'm not trying to belittle your honor as a knight; this is just a piece of advice from me to you. I hope you understand one thing: this is a battlefield, and now is war. You and I are enemies at this moment. Although I have a good impression of Irisviel, if she stands in my way, I can only respond with force. Are you planning to hold me accountable for this now?"
Not to mention Saber, the impressions of King of Conquerors Iskandar and King of Heroes Gilgamesh deepened subtly in their eyes when they looked at Rin.
Saber had understood Rin's meaning. She sat back down properly, quietly looking at the ground in front of her, as if deep in thought.
Rin scooped another ladle of red wine, raised her arm, and with a slight smile, looked towards Gilgamesh behind her.
"Do you not have the magnanimity to sit down and converse with me, Archer, an enemy you once fought?"
"Interesting."
Gilgamesh, far from being angry, laughed. He calmly took the red wine Rin offered, lowering his head to look at Rin, who was sitting comfortably with Saber and King of Conquerors.
"Tokiomi's daughter, this King remembers this is a Banquet of Kings. Why are you sitting here?"
At this point, King of Conquerors, who initiated the banquet, spoke again.
"I invited her. Berserker's Master is the only one I admire in this war, a modern person from later generations with the qualification and magnanimity to converse with Heroic Spirits like us. Regardless of what age we died in our former lives, we are ultimately ancient figures whose names are etched in history. I thought that if it's a conversation among Kings from history, there should be a representative of the present age attending."
Gilgamesh raised no objections to King of Conquerors placing Rin on par with Heroic Spirits. He merely looked deeply at Rin, who sat there composed, then suddenly smiled.
"Interesting, truly interesting. It's beyond this King's expectation that such an interesting person could be born in this boring era."
He promptly drank the wine in the ladle.
Irisviel recalled Saber's earlier challenge.
Archer, this Heroic Spirit of unknown identity, claiming himself a King, could not possibly refuse this offered ladle of wine.
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