When Yan Feng Qili opened the door of his own room on the first floor, he suddenly felt a sense of incongruity as if he had entered the wrong person's room.

Neither the smell nor the temperature changed, but the overall feeling in the room changed a lot. The original pristine room is now filled with the luxurious and elegant feeling of the palace.

There was no change in the furnishings and lighting in the room. The only difference was that there was a man sitting next to him on a bench in the middle of the room.

The man who occupied someone else's house for no reason was a figure that surprised Qili slightly. He frowned slightly in surprise.

「——Archer?」

Let go of the burning blonde hair and the ruby eyes. It was none other than Tosaka Tokitomi's Servant, the hero King Gilgamesh. Instead of his original gold armor, the spirit wore a modern patent leather jacket and leather pants with a fur twist.

Since being summoned, this heroic spirit, who has been willfully traveling around with the ability to act alone, has recently suddenly become tired of visiting the spirit form, and simply appeared to change into a "play suit" and stride through the streets at night. Although Archer's idiotic behavior had been heard of by Shi Chen, Qili had no idea that he would appear in his room.

Archer was not only not the slightest embarrassed by his casual entry into other people's rooms, but took out a bottle of red wine from the closet casually, opened the pouring glass, and took a sip elegantly.

"It's not a lot, but yours is even more superb than Shichen's collection. What a disciple who doesn't talk like that. 」

「……」

Qili, who didn't know what Archer's visit meant, looked at the empty wine bottles placed side by side on the table.

It seemed that Archer had taken out all the wines in his house and tasted them one by one.

While it may seem surprising at first, it's not surprising when you think about it. Qili has a habit of buying the best wine whenever he hears about it.

Wine, if you look closely, is an esoteric world with no end. In other words, wine can fill the emptiness of the heart through taste. It's also a good idea to use alcohol to get yourself drunk when you're empty—the seeker in the middle of a dead end thinks with half seriousness.

But so far, he hasn't tasted it once. It's just that the number of fine wines is constantly increasing. Even when I was entertaining guests, I never thought to take out these fine wines. Not to mention the drunkard who casually drank all the wine collected by others, no matter how much he praised his own wine, Qili did not have any welcoming attitude towards him.

"What the hell is the matter with you?"

Faced with Qili's inquiry without any emotion. Archer raised his glass and looked at Qili with a meaningful gaze.

"If you're bored, it seems that there's someone else besides me. 」

"Bored?"

Hearing this, Qili immediately noticed Arche. The meaning contained in the words -

It is unknown when Archer knew, but the Heroic Spirit already knew about the fact that Qili had acted alone against the will of the ministers last night.

"What's the matter, Qili, do you feel that you can't be satisfied with just following the orders of the minister?"

「…… Are you not satisfied with the contract until now? 」

Instead of answering Archer's question, she asked rhetorically, a little upset. Although the other party is a legendary hero king, there is nothing to be afraid of for Qili. Regardless of Shi Chen's personal opinion, the Servant is the master's servant. Even if this Heroic Spirit is anyone, it is just an existence subordinate to the Servant as a Servant.Archer. Compared with himself as a direct disciple of Shi Chen, they are equal to each other. There is no need to worry too much about him.

Archer didn't care about Qili's attitude. Just snorted in his nose and took another sip of the wine in the glass.

"It was Shi Chen who summoned me here, and he was the one who provided me with my magic. So no matter what, I will treat him with the courtesy of a servant. 」

Just after this unexpected speech, a melancholy haze flashed in Gilgamesh's red pupils.

"But frankly, he's such a boring man, and there's nothing interesting about it. 」

「…… I really shouldn't have said that out of your mouth as a Servant. 」

In Qili's heart, which was a little surprised, there was some anger at Archer's impoliteness to his teacher, and at the same time, he also felt a little bit of Archer's purpose for coming to him this time. In a slightly soothing atmosphere, Qili gradually accepted the fact that Archer was in her room.

"Is it that boring? 」

"Ahh What do you say about achieving the "root vortex" of the almighty wish machine? This is simply a wishing that has no meaning at all. 」

All the things that magicians dream of were brought by the hero king with a smile. But for Qili, it is understandable.

"The desire for 'roots' is unique to magicians. So it's incomprehensible to others. 」

"If that's the case, you're someone else, Qili. As far as I know, you're in opposition to the magician, right?"

It seems that Archer has heard of Qili's complex position. Although this man looks like a self-respecting man all day long, he has surprisingly sharp ears.

Qili crossed her hands and thought in silence. If you don't look at it from the standpoint of Tosaka Tokitomi's disciples, but from the standpoint of the Templar Church and the Eighth Secret Council's deputy, what is the significance of Toshitomi's Holy Grail War?

「…… The path to the 'roots' can be said to lead to the 'outside' of the world. In other words, it cannot have any effect on the 'inside', that is, the world. So for a church that only focuses on the 'inside', the pursuit of magicians is simply meaningless. We can only understand such acts as meaningless attempts. 」

"I see. Indeed, I am only interested in this universe that is my garden. 」

A declaration as if the whole world is something of its own. is worthy of being a hero king, with such an arrogant attitude.

"I don't have any interest in areas that I don't control. So I don't care about the root cause at all. 」

Qili smiled bitterly. This Archer is literally in opposition to the magician. And for Tosaka Tokitomi, who is an authentic magician, it is not unreasonable for him to feel helpless.

"If Fuyuki's Holy Grail exists only as a specialized device to explore the 'roots', the Templar Church will sit idly by, no matter how red-eyed the magicians try to fight for it. Unfortunately, the wish that the Holy Grail can fulfill is 'omnipotent'. The Holy Grail has an infinite mystical power that can change even the 'inside' of the world. If this powerful power falls into the hands of heretics, it becomes a threat to our faith. That's why the Templar Church chose Tosaka. Rather than let it fall into the hands of heretics, it should be wasted on 'boring and pointless' things - though, it seems that my father had some other purpose in the beginning. 」

"So that means that the masters other than the Shichen are competing for the Holy Grail for a different purpose than the Shichen?"

In response to Archer's inquiry, Qili nodded.

"As a typical representative of magicians, Shichen is also the most right-wing magician. In this day and age, there are no more people who pursue pure magic like him. The rest of the guys are just looking for the glitzy bounty of the world. Prestige, Desire, Power...... All of this can be achieved on the 'inside' of the world. 」

"Isn't that great? 」

"You're just the king of these worldly things, Gilgamesh. 」

Archer smiled noncommittally and drank down the wine. It seems that he didn't feel any insult to Qili's evaluation.

"And what about you, Kirley, what wish do you want to receive the Holy Grail?"

Asked like this, Qili hesitated for the first time from the beginning of the conversation.

"I—"

Yes, this is the biggest question, why is Yan Feng Qili's left hand engraved with a mantra?

"I...... There are no special wishes. 」

In response to Qili's vague answer, Archer's red pupils glowed with a bewitching light.

"How is that possible. Doesn't the Holy Grail only summon those who have wishes?"

"That's how it should be. But...... I don't know why. Why did the Holy Grail choose me to participate in this battle without any ideals or desires that I wanted to fulfill?"

"Is this kind of thing that confusing?"

Looking at Qili's solemn expression, Archer couldn't help but laugh.

"It's not for ideals, it's not for any wish. Isn't it just a matter of pleasure?"

"Bastard!"

Qili's angry voice was basically made unconsciously.

"As a servant of God, I should pursue pleasure?—— how can I do such sinful and depraved things?"

"Sin, depravity?"

Looking at Qili with a serious look in front of him, Archer felt more and more interesting. Then he smiled maliciously.

"It's a kind of leaping thinking, Qili. Why do you associate pleasure with sin?"

"It's because ......"

Qili didn't know how to answer. And Qili didn't know why she was in such an embarrassing situation that she had never been in before.

Looking at the silent Qili in front of him, Archer said with a more and more triumphant expression.

"It is really wrong to get pleasure by sinning. But human beings can also be happy through good deeds. What is the point of saying that pleasure is a sin in itself?"

It's just a question of this magnitude, why can't she answer it herself? Qili didn't know why. It's as if an unknown realm in my heart is imprisoned with indifferent uneasiness.

"—pleasure or anything, there is no such thing in my heart. So I don't want to pursue it either. 」

Qili was finally able to open his mouth to answer, but the voice of the answer was not like what he usually spoke, but he seemed very unconfident. It's as if I can't find a suitable answer and can only find a random sentence to deal with.

Archer's red pupils stared at him as if they were carefully savoring Qili, and then smirked.

"Yan Feng Qili - I suddenly became interested in you. 」

「…… What do you mean?"

"Just talk, don't care. 」

Archer poured the wine back into his glass, leaned back back on the couch again, and said aloud.

"Pleasure is fundamentally part of the soul. There is no 'have' or 'no'. There is only the difference between 'aware' and 'unaware'. Qili, you just haven't discovered what is deep in your soul yet. To realize that pleasure is first and foremost. 」

"Is the Servant nosy—educate me. 」

"This is no ordinary education. Rather, it is the experience of having enjoyed the luxury and pleasure of the whole world. You listen honestly to me. 」

Although Qili said this, she had been carefully analyzing Archer's words in her heart.

The arrogant words spoken by this servant of the time, for some reason, tugged at Qili's nerves.

"Anyway, Qili. You should first have an understanding of such a thing as entertainment. 」

"Entertainment?"

"Ahh It's not enough to just look inside. Broaden your horizons...... By the way, let's start with my entertainment and let you experience it, how about it?"

"For me now, there's no time to play. 」

I'm not like you. Qili thought to herself.

"Hey, don't say that. As long as the task of Shichen is completed, it will take a long time. Qili, your mission is to send spies to spy on the other five masters, right?"

「…… Indeed it is. 」

"Then you should not only understand their intentions and strategies, but also investigate their purpose for obtaining the Holy Grail? It's not that hard, is it?"

Indeed, this level of investigation is not much different from the task that Qili is currently responsible for.

Assassins, who conduct daily surveillance missions around the monitored subject, are able to completely record the target's conversations. And as long as you can infer from the content of their conversations, you can roughly judge the purpose of the other party's seizure of the Holy Grail. All it is enough to inform the Assassins to keep an eye out for conversations about this and to record them.

"—But Archer, why do you know these things?"

"I said it, right? I'm interested in human action. And among the five people competing for the Holy Grail, there must be one or two interesting guys, right? At the very least, it should be more interesting than Shi Chen. 」

Qili thought about it as calmly as she could. For him, he didn't pay attention to the other masters except Emiya Kiritsugu, and he didn't have any obligation to accede to Archer's request. However, for this Servant, who is not fully controlled by Shi Chen, if he can exert some influence on him, then he may have a positive impact on Shi Chen's camp in the future.

「…… Well, Archer, I promise you. However, this will take some time. 」

"No problem, I'll be patient. 」

After draining the glass again, Archer got up from the couch. Not only did the man's movements shake the air, but even the lighting in the room changed with him. This heroic spirit, who controls everything in the world, seems to emit an invisible light all over his body.

"Ah, I'll come back to taste your wine in the future. Your collection is even comparable to the best wines in the sky. It would be a shame to just leave them in the monk's warehouse and let them fall to dust. 」

Qili was expressionless, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, perhaps Archer took this as a tacit approval. So he walked out with a satisfied smile.

The moment Archer stepped out, the luxurious atmosphere in the Qili room disappeared and was replaced by the usual atmosphere of the past.

Qili, who was finally able to stay quietly by herself, began to think about the strange conversation she had with the strange guest just now.

This is the first time I have spoken so positively with Archer.

Come to think of it, both the Master and the Servant who participated in this Holy Grail War did their best to win the Holy Grail and fulfill their wishes. But the unruly Hero King didn't seem to have the slightest interest in the Holy Grail. Among the Servants gathered in Fuyuki City, I am afraid that there is no Heroic Spirit with a weaker sense of battle than him. In this sense, there is something similar to Qili - I'm afraid I'm the only Master who doesn't know the reason for participating in the Holy Grail War.

No, maybe there's some reason for it. It's just that Qili himself doesn't realize it now, and somewhere in his heart, there may also be a deep desire to obtain the Holy Grail and achieve miracles.

However, even then, this is definitely not what Archer calls "pleasure".

The one who knows the real answer is not Archer, but someone else.

This person is Emiya Kiritsugu. The conversation with Archer just now would be nice to be able to ask and answer questions with Emiya Kiritsugu—Kiri must have thought so.

Of course, the positions of the two of them are completely different. Such two people must communicate not through words, but only through weapons. But even so, Qili only wants to fight this person who is called Kiritsugu. It's a conversation between men.

Thinking about this in her heart, Qili picked up the wine bottle that Archer had drunk and thrown aside.