"Hey, Knight King! I'm here to meet you, come out, huh? ”

The voice came from the hall, and it seemed that the other party had already stepped through the main entrance. There was no doubt that the enemy was Iskandar, the king of conquest, and listening to his hearty shout, it did not look like a warrior about to fight.

But Saber didn't dare to slack off, and she materialized the silver armor as she ran.

When she saw the enemy servant standing tall in the hall, she didn't know what to say.

“”

"Yo, Saber. When I heard about the castle, I wanted to come and see - how did this happen, huh? ”

Rider grinned unashamedly and bared his teeth, and then he moved his neck in a deliberate manner.

"Hey Knight King, aren't you going to change into a modern outfit tonight? Don't wear that stiff armor all the time. ”

If Saber's appearance in armor is said to be rigid, then what should be said about Rider's jeans and T-shirt? If you think of this armor as Saber's pride, the cracks in the thick breastplate seem to hint at its fragility. Here, perhaps, it can only be said that "the ignorant are invincible".

Webb half-hid on the ride. Behind his huge body looked up at Alice Phil, looking at his expression whether he was hostile or frightened. Needless to say, his face clearly reads "I want to go home" and "hurry up".

Once, King Iskandar, because of his interest in the culture of the invaded territory, was the first to wear Asian-style clothing, which made his entourage shy away from him. Alice Phil had heard the story, but she certainly hadn't thought of what had led to the rider in front of her to change into modern clothes. Actually, it's on Saber in a suit.

What made them even more strange was that the rider was not holding a weapon or other thing to use in combat.

It's a bucket.

No matter how you look at it. It was all a wooden wine bottle. The rider, who easily clipped the sake bottle under his arm, is like a sake brewery owner who has come to deliver the goods.

"You"

Saber took a deep breath as he was speechless again. Said calmly.

"Rider, what are you doing here?"

"Still don't understand? I'm coming for you to drink—hey, don't be there, lead the way, doesn't this castle even have a place for a banquet?" ”

Saber sighed helplessly, and the anger that had been stored in his chest disappeared. Looking at this seemingly innocent opponent, she couldn't maintain her fighting spirit.

Immediately, Saber seemed to think of something, and suddenly his fighting spirit was high, "Rider." Are you trying to challenge me? ”

"Challenge?"

"Yes, you are the king, and I am also the king, didn't you come here this time to have a bloodless 'battle' with me at the wine table?"

Hearing Saber's words, the King of Conquest smiled and nodded.

"Hehe, it's good to understand. Since you can't fight each other with swords, let's use wine to fight it out. Knight King, I won't let you go tonight, get ready. ”

"Interesting. I accept. ”

Saber, who resolutely responded, exuded a fighting spirit as if he were on the battlefield.

It's not a joke. Rather, it is a real "battle"!

The banquet was held by the flower bed in the atrium of the castle. The environment is elegant. The venue is spacious, and it is the perfect place to have a banquet when the two sides are hostile to each other.

And it doesn't look shabby when used to entertain guests.

As for the cold outside, in this battle between kings and kings, who has no qualifications to intervene.

Rider brought the wine bottle to the atrium, and the two servants sat down face-to-face and confronted each other leisurely.

Kiritsugu Emiya, who was peeping through clairvoyant magic, and Webb, who was following rider, speculated about the development of the situation. Realizing that this meant a temporary truce, he just had to watch from the sidelines.

Rider smashed the lid of the barrel with his fist, and the mellow aroma of red wine suddenly filled the air in the atrium.

"It's a strange shape though. But this is a wine vessel that is unique to this country. ”

As he spoke, Rider proudly slapped a spoon of wine with a bamboo handle. Unfortunately, no one on the spot could point out his common-sense mistake.

Rider first drank the wine from the spoon in one gulp. Then he spoke.

"I've heard that only those who are qualified can get the Holy Grail."

Yan Sù's tone calmed the surrounding atmosphere. This man actually spoke in such a tone, and he always felt that something was wrong.

And the ceremony of choosing the one who is qualified. It's the war that was fought in Fuyuki - but if you just watched from the sidelines, then you didn't have to shed blood. If we can recognize each other's abilities, then I don't need to talk about it. ”

Without hesitation, Saber took the handle from the rider and scooped a spoonful of wine as well.

Her thin body will always make people worry about whether she can really drink, but looking at her boldness in drinking, she is not inferior to the giant rider at all. Seeing this, the rider let out a pleasant compliment.

"So, first of all, are you going to compete with me to see who is stronger? rider。 ”

"Exactly, there is a real contest in the name of the 'king', but in this case, it is not called the 'Holy Grail War', it is better to call it the 'Holy Grail Q&A' Well, in the end, who can become the 'Holy Grail King' among the knight kings and the conquering kings? It's a fitting question to ask a wine glass. ”

Rider changed his tone from just now and smiled mischievously. Then he spoke as if to himself.

"Ah, speaking of which, there are still two 'kings' who haven't come."

"--That's the end of the joke, mongrel."

"Who said we weren't coming?"

As soon as Rider finished speaking, two different voices came together, as if in response to Rider's words of unknown meaning.

Following the sound, there were two figures, one large and one small, standing on the roof of the courtyard. After seeing the two comers clearly by the moonlight, Saber's body immediately froze.

“archer。 And the Sword King, why are you here?"

Saber asked sharply. And it was the rider who answered her calmly.

"Ah, when I was shopping, I met these two and they were about to go for a drink. I'm hungry for a while, so I want to have a good time together. However, I suddenly remembered that there was one less 'king' who participated in this Holy Grail War, and I always felt a little regretful, so I asked them to come with me. You wouldn't mind, would you? Knight King. ”

“”

Saber didn't speak, just stared at Nightstar and Gilgamesh with a wary gaze. In Saber's intuition, these two were the weirdest and most dangerous of the Holy Grail War.

"You two, you're late! But I can't blame you, who told you to walk. ”

Armored Archer looked proudly at Rider with ruby eyes.

"It's really a shame that you chose such a shabby place to hold a banquet, so that's all you can taste. I came here on purpose. How are you going to apologize? ”

"Don't say that, come on, have a drink first."

Rider smiled and handed the spoon full of wine to Archer.

I thought he would be angered by Rider's attitude, but he simply took the spoon and drank the wine inside.

Weber realized what Saber had called "the challenge" before.

Archer, the unknown Golden Heroic Spirit, who calls himself "King", is unlikely to refuse the wine handed by Rider.

While Archer was drinking, Rider looked around the night star and asked curiously, "What about those two strange women next to you?" If I'm not mistaken. One of them is your servant, right? Is it really good not to bring it? ”

"Hehe, men are socializing outside, how can they bring women with them? Besides, you and Jin Shining are both 'kings', and neither you nor Jin Shining have any guards. Wouldn't it be too petty for me to take them with me?! ”

"Hahahaha, well said, enough for you!"

Rider listened to Night Star's explanation. I couldn't help but laugh. Saber was a little displeased, but she didn't say anything.

Archer, who drained the wine handed over by Rider, said with a look of disgust, "What kind of bad wine is this?" Actually use this wine for hero-to-hero battles? ”

"Really? I bought it from the market here, and it's a good wine. ”

"I think that because you don't know anything about alcohol. You bastard. ”

A swirl of imaginary space appeared around the scoffing Archer. It was a precursor to the strange phenomenon that could summon the treasure, and Webber only felt a chill on his body.

But tonight Archer was surrounded not by equipment, but by a series of barbers encrusted with dazzling gemstones. The heavy gold bottle was filled with a colorless, clear liquid.

"Look, this is the 'King's Wine.'"

"Oh, that's so impressive."

Rider didn't mind Archer's tone and happily poured the new wine into four glasses.

Saber was still quite wary of the unknown Archer, and she looked at the wine in the golden bottle with some hesitation, but still took the glass that was handed to her.

"Oh, delicious!!"

Rider took a sip and immediately widened his eyes in praise. Even Saber was piqued with curiosity. Originally, this was not a competition to see who was more decent, but a competition with wine.

When the wine flowed into her throat, Saber felt a strong swelling sensation in her brain. This is indeed a good wine she has never tasted, strong and pure, mellow and refreshing, with a strong fragrance filling the nasal cavity, and the whole person has a sense of drift.

Among these kings, I'm afraid that only Ye Tianxing didn't know how to drink, so he just took a sip and felt that his throat was burning badly. Although I felt pretty good when I first drank it, as soon as the wine reached my stomach, it was like a fire, and a stream of heat rushed straight to my brain, and my head was a little dizzy.

Seeing his blushing face and thick neck, the other three couldn't help but chuckle.

After all, no matter how you look at Ye Tianxing's body, he is just a little kid who has not yet developed, and the drink of wine is too irritating for him.

"Hey, I said Sword King, isn't it the first time you've had a bar?"

Rider looked at him with a smile on his face, and Night Skystar, who knew that he was out of trouble, shook his head, "Although it wasn't the first time, I rarely drink alcohol. It is only interesting when necessary, but most of the time it is only a light taste. This wine is so fragrant from what I usually drink that I can't help but drink a little more. ”

"Hehe, once raw and twice cooked, drink it a few more times, and get used to it."

After saying that, Rider laughed and said, "Great, this is definitely not a wine made by humans, it is drunk by a god, right?!" ”

Looking at the rider who did not hesitate to praise him, Archer smiled leisurely. After sitting down, he shook the wine glass in his hand in satisfaction. (To be continued......)