"From each of our respective positions, arguing over who deserves the Holy Grail is meaningless."
"What truly matters is what each of us seeks from the Grail."
"Gentlemen, this is a war, not some theoretical debate."
Gilgamesh and Iskandar both turned their eyes toward Leon. After a brief pause, they looked away again. As they drained their cups of divine wine, they silently acknowledged his point.
The lighthearted atmosphere gradually gave way to something more solemn.
"...Indeed."
As expected, Iskandar was the first to speak. His cheeks were already slightly flushed from the alcohol as he scratched his head awkwardly.
"I want a body."
"Huh?"
Such a simple, straightforward wish left even Gilgamesh momentarily speechless. Leon merely raised an eyebrow, offering no comment.
Having been eavesdropping from the side, Waver looked utterly dumbfounded. He rushed over, grabbed Iskandar by the shoulders, and demanded,
"I thought your wish was to conquer the world?!"
Smack!
Without even looking back, Iskandar swung an arm behind him.
Waver's scrawny body flew through the air like a rubber ball, bounced across the ground several times, and somehow rolled perfectly back to where he had been standing.
He landed headfirst, legs sticking straight up in an embarrassingly undignified pose.
The spectacle left Irisviel and Artoria staring in stunned silence.
"Idiot!"
Iskandar barked.
"What meaning is there in letting a cup conquer the world for me? Conquest is something I must accomplish with my own hands!"
He clenched his fist, the muscles in his arm swelling as overwhelming confidence radiated from him.
"The Holy Grail is merely the first step toward making that dream possible."
"You mongrel."
Gilgamesh looked at him as though the idea were absurd.
"You would challenge me over something so trivial?"
Iskandar sighed.
"Though we've manifested through magical energy, we're still Servants. That fact cannot be changed. Only the Holy Grail can grant what I seek."
"I want to be reborn into this world as a true living being. To put down roots... to grow once more into a towering tree whose branches cover the sky—and conquer the world again."
"That is what 'conquest' truly means."
"To begin... to advance... and finally achieve it with my own hands."
"That is my kingly path."
He lifted the massive wine barrel—large enough to serve as a bathtub—and drained it in one gulp.
Then he hurled the empty barrel high into the air.
When it crashed back to the ground, it exploded into countless wooden splinters.
Not a single drop of wine remained.
"I've decided, Rider."
Gilgamesh smiled.
"I shall kill you with my own hands."
"Hahaha! At this point, I don't think that needs saying."
Iskandar laughed heartily.
"And I'd very much like to plunder every treasure in your vault."
"You'd better watch yourself."
"So your wish is to add the Holy Grail to the Gate of Babylon, while mine is to obtain a real body and once again walk the path of conquest."
He then looked toward Leon.
"What about you, Saber?"
"Me?"
"That's right."
Iskandar grinned.
"You occasionally throw in a few comments that muddy the waters, but you've never once spoken honestly about your own wish."
"That's rather sly."
Gilgamesh nodded in agreement.
"Saber."
"The holy sword you wield is unquestionably genuine... is it not?"
"Besides the Holy Grail, I fully intend to add it to my treasury as well."
"But before that..."
"What is your wish?"
"Why do you seek the Holy Grail?"
"My wish..."
Faced with the overwhelming gazes of both the King of Heroes and the King of Conquerors, Leon calmly took another sip of divine wine as though he felt no pressure whatsoever.
Then he beckoned toward Artoria.
"Artoria."
"Come here."
"Huh?"
Although puzzled, Artoria obediently walked over.
Immediately, the two kings shifted their attention to the young blonde girl with emerald-green eyes who looked remarkably similar to Saber.
Then—
To everyone's complete surprise—
Leon wrapped an arm around Artoria and gently pulled her into his embrace, letting her sit on his lap like a delicate doll.
A bright, genuine smile spread across his face.
"I don't have a wish."
"But I've fallen in love with this girl."
"So... making her wish come true is my wish."
"L-Le... Le... Le..."
Artoria's face turned scarlet.
She was so flustered she couldn't even form a complete sentence.
Under the piercing gazes of Gilgamesh and Iskandar, she felt as though she were being pricked by countless needles.
In the end...
She didn't say a single word.
Instead, she buried her burning face deep in Leon's chest, refusing to meet either king's eyes.
"My~"
Irisviel covered her cheeks with both hands, wearing the delighted smile of someone witnessing an irresistibly juicy romance.
"How bold."
"So Saber really is surprisingly straightforward."
"As expected of the legendary King of Knights, renowned for such nobility."
"It seems history and reality aren't quite the same after all."
Even farther away, Tohsaka Tokiomi , Kayneth, Sola-Ui, and the others had all turned their attention toward them.
"...King Arthur."
Sola-Ui's brown eyes shimmered slightly.
To her, Saber's radiant smile shone like the sun itself.
Its charm was no less potent than Diarmuid's Love Spot.
"Saber."
Gilgamesh looked utterly disappointed.
"You're an unimaginably boring man."
He had thought he'd finally found a worthy rival.
Instead, each one proved more disappointing than the last.
Iskandar, however, was intrigued.
He laughed and asked Artoria,
"And you, little lady?"
"What is your wish?"
"If you don't want to answer, that's perfectly fine too! Hahaha!"
Hearing that, Artoria looked up at Leon.
Leon simply smiled and gave her an encouraging nod.
Taking a quiet breath, Artoria faced the two kings once more.
For a brief moment, the composure befitting a king returned to her expression.
"My wish..."
"...is to change the fate of my homeland."
"I wish to use the Holy Grail to alter Britain's doomed destiny."
After speaking, she instinctively looked back at Leon.
Leon gently stroked her head, his expression filled with warmth and quiet pride.
To Gilgamesh and Iskandar...
The two of them seemed to be saying the same thing.
"Her wish is my wish."
"And my wish is hers."
Gilgamesh's response was simple.
"How dull."
Iskandar's was equally brief.
"How interesting."
"So... Miss Artoria is actually British?"
Waver asked from the sidelines.
Irisviel smiled and nodded.
"That's right."
Thus, the famous debate among the Three Kings concerning the Holy Grail came to an unexpectedly abrupt conclusion...
...buried beneath Leon and Artoria's unabashed display of affection.
Originally, both the King of Heroes and the King of Conquerors would have mocked the King of Knights for pursuing such a narrow-minded wish.
But because Leon was currently the one recognized as the King of Knights, while Artoria appeared to everyone else as nothing more than a young British girl experiencing her first love, neither Gilgamesh nor Iskandar found it appropriate to ridicule her dream.
The difference in identity naturally led to a difference in attitude.
At that moment—
"What?!"
"Rin...!"
Tohsaka Tokiomi had just answered a phone call.
The color immediately drained from his face.
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