"Bored?"
Kirei Kotomine set down his wineglass.
"Are you dissatisfied with Master Tokiomi's plans?"
"Hmph."
Gilgamesh let out a quiet snort, a trace of melancholy flickering through his crimson eyes.
"To reach the Root (Akasha)? What a tediously dull wish."
"The pursuit of the Root is something every magus longs for. One could even say it is the very purpose and meaning of a magus's existence. It isn't something outsiders are qualified to judge."
Kirei explained patiently.
"The journey toward the Root is, in essence, a transcendence beyond the world itself—to reach what lies outside it. Those of us whose concerns remain within the world can only perceive such a wish as... boring."
"I see."
Gilgamesh chuckled softly.
He gently swirled the wine remaining in his crystal goblet. The crimson liquid reflected the warm amber light, creating an almost dreamlike beauty.
"Indeed. Merely cherishing this universe—my own garden—is enough to satisfy me. I have no interest whatsoever in realms beyond my reach, nor any fascination with this so-called Root."
He drained the rest of the wine in a single swallow.
Kirei silently refilled his glass until the bottle was emptied.
"Even so..."
"The Holy Grail was never created solely as a device for reaching the Root. Since it is called omnipotent, it possesses limitless potential to reshape the world itself."
"Wealth. Status. Power. Beauty. Slaughter. Chaos. Peace..."
"Whatever their desire may be, the Holy Grail promises to fulfill it."
Opening another bottle, Kirei poured himself a fresh glass but made no move to drink.
"So the other Masters seek the Holy Grail for reasons different from Tokiomi's?"
Interest appeared on Gilgamesh's face.
"Exactly."
Kirei nodded expressionlessly.
"Master Tokiomi is the quintessential magus—perhaps even the most conservative and traditional among them."
"To be honest, even I cannot fully understand why he is so obsessed with reaching the Root."
"Viewed through the eyes of ordinary people, he already possesses immense wealth, high status, a distinguished household, and a loving family."
"He has everything."
"Much like you, Gilgamesh."
"You are a king who once stood at the very pinnacle of the mortal world. Even the Root itself would not necessarily be beyond your reach, yet you pursue it only if it happens to interest you."
"That only makes my teacher all the more difficult to understand."
"That does sound rather fanatical," Gilgamesh said with a faint smile.
"Almost like the thinking of a zealot... or a madman."
He looked meaningfully at Kirei.
"So tell me..."
"What do you think of Tokiomi?"
"Me?"
Kirei frowned.
The emptiness inside him left him uncertain how to answer, so he replied almost mechanically.
"Tohsaka Tokiomi is my teacher."
"I respect him."
"Respect?"
Gilgamesh suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahahahaha!"
"What's so amusing?"
Kirei frowned even more deeply.
It wasn't irritation toward Gilgamesh.
He simply couldn't understand him.
"Very well."
Gilgamesh took another sip of wine.
"Then let me ask you something else."
"Kirei..."
"What wish do you seek from the Holy Grail?"
"I..."
"I have no wish."
"Impossible."
Gilgamesh rejected the answer without hesitation.
"Does the Holy Grail not summon only those who are qualified to obtain it?"
"In other words, only those who desire the Grail are chosen by it."
"That should be true."
Kirei lowered his eyes.
"And yet... even I don't understand."
"Why was someone like me—someone with neither ideals nor lifelong ambitions—chosen to participate in this war?"
The question was directed toward Gilgamesh.
But even more so...
It was directed at himself.
His heart was an empty void.
Concepts such as wishes and desires seemed completely alien to him.
Perhaps...
His purpose in life was simply to help his father and his teacher obtain the Holy Grail.
He didn't need dreams of his own.
Their dreams could become his.
He wanted to convince himself of that.
Yet...
He instinctively rejected the answer.
As Kirei's thoughts warred against themselves, Gilgamesh finally spoke.
"If you have neither ideals nor ambitions..."
"Then seek pleasure."
"Isn't that what life is?"
"To pursue the people you love."
"To eat the food you enjoy."
"To live in the home you desire."
"Or, put simply..."
"To do whatever brings you joy."
"What kind of absurdity is that?"
"Pleasure?"
"You would have me embrace such sinful corruption?"
Kirei's face revealed instinctive resistance and discomfort.
Yet...
Even he couldn't tell whether that reaction truly came from his own heart.
"Sin?"
"Corruption?"
Gilgamesh looked genuinely puzzled.
"Your thinking is remarkably twisted."
"Those are nothing more than ordinary human desires."
"Why must they be associated with sin?"
"By your logic..."
"Every human being in the world is guilty."
For perhaps the first time in a long while, Gilgamesh found himself at a loss for words.
The existence known as Kirei Kotomine was even more stubborn—and more deeply hypocritical—than he had imagined.
The man had deceived...
Even himself.
Gilgamesh didn't need Sha Naqba Imuru, his omniscient vision, to see through Kirei's true nature.
One glance was enough.
That was precisely why he had sought Kirei out.
To strip away the layers of hypocrisy covering Kirei's soul...
That process itself was a rare source of amusement.
Far more entertaining than the Holy Grail itself.
"I..."
Gilgamesh's question had already reached the depths of Kirei's soul.
For the first time, he found himself unable to answer according to the rigid doctrines and expectations that had always guided him.
"I understand now."
Gilgamesh had completely seen through the emptiness that formed Kirei's identity.
Satisfied, he drained another nearly full glass of wine before continuing.
"The pleasure derived from evil deeds may indeed be sinful."
"But people also experience joy through acts of kindness."
"They find happiness in virtue."
"Surely you wouldn't call that a crime."
"So why insist that pleasure itself is evil?"
He leaned forward slightly.
"Or perhaps..."
"Kirei..."
"Have you become so arrogant that you believe you alone can define All the World's Evil?"
"No."
A vague unease welled up within Kirei.
It felt as though something buried deep inside him was slowly beginning to surface.
Interlacing his fingers, he answered solemnly,
"There is no pleasure within my heart."
"Nor arrogance."
"I have searched all my life..."
"...yet I have never found the meaning of my own existence."
"Kirei Kotomine..."
Gilgamesh smiled.
"You interest me far more than Tokiomi ever could."
"...What do you mean?"
Kirei couldn't understand.
"I mean exactly what I said."
Setting down his wineglass, Gilgamesh straightened from his relaxed lounging posture into a proper seated position and gestured for Kirei to come closer.
Kirei obeyed, though he did not presume to sit beside the King of Heroes.
Instead, he took the single armchair nearest to Gilgamesh.
Now fully intrigued, Gilgamesh assumed the role of a teacher.
Speaking from the perspective of one who was both king and demigod—one whose vision rivaled that of the gods themselves—he began his lesson.
"Listen carefully."
"What people call pleasure..."
"...is the very shape of the soul."
"It is not a question of whether it exists or not."
"It is a question of whether one recognizes it."
"Kirei..."
"You have yet to perceive the true shape of your own soul."
"That is why you believe there is no pleasure within you."
"You remain in a state of ignorance."
"There are countless fools in this world who fail to recognize themselves."
"They never discover what truly brings them joy."
"That is why most people drift through life accomplishing nothing."
"A person's worth is not determined by how great a contribution he makes."
"If even he himself has never experienced genuine joy..."
"...how can he truly call himself human?"
"In that case..."
"How is he any different from the weeds growing by the roadside..."
"...or a beast that has lived its entire life without ever blooming?"
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