The Banquet Begins

"A banquet? Didn't he invite me, Archer, Lancer, and Berserker to a banquet? The banquet was held right here. How could you not know?"

Even Scáthach looked surprised and confused as to what had happened.

Rovey, who was watching from the sidelines, covered his forehead and couldn't help but give a wry smile. He roughly knew what had happened.

This Rider...

"...What did you say?"

Upon hearing Scáthach's words, Artoria's expression completely changed. She Emiya Kiritsugu, and after confirming that neither of them knew, she asked them, almost word by word, for confirmation.

"A banquet, Rider? Didn't they even greet you? Hmm... that's really strange."

Scáthach was also extremely surprised at this moment. She had dressed up specially for the so-called Banquet of Kings, changed into a dress with her Master, and drove over early.

As it turned out, Saber's provider of the venue was completely unaware of this, which left her speechless.

"Wait, Queen Scáthach, you must tell me about this in detail..."

With veins bulging on her forehead, Artoria withdrew her weapon and then asked, almost through gritted teeth, word by word.

On the other side, having confirmed that Scáthach harbored no hostility, Emiya Kiritsugu breathed a sigh of relief, and his palms, which had been damp with sweat, loosened their grip on the gunstock.

He looked at Rovey, who was smiling at him, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words.

Logically speaking, he should have taken action when he had such a good opportunity. At this distance, if he suddenly drew his gun and fired, there was a possibility that he could kill the other party.

If the Magus in front of her is killed, Scáthach will also disappear due to the loss of her mana supply, and then the original deadlock will be broken.

But...

After thinking it over, Emiya Kiritsugu decided to give up on this tempting idea.

The reason is that he had just suffered a loss at Kenneth not long ago, and he had no way of confirming that the Rovey in front of him was real. Moreover, the other party had already known about the Origin Bullet, so it was impossible for him not to be on guard.

If one shot doesn't kill him, then he'll be facing a battle between Servant and Servant, Master and Master...

Although he had only met this young man once before, Emiya Kiritsugu had witnessed his clash with Kenneth at the port. This was definitely not an opponent he could defeat head-on. If he made a mistake, he would likely face immediate elimination.

With a sigh of helplessness, and after confirming that the two meant him no harm, Emiya Kiritsugu his back and prepared to leave.

"Since you want it, then this castle is yours. Do as you please as you wish, whether you want to hold a banquet or do something else. I have other matters to attend to, so I will not keep you company any longer."

He turned around, leaving behind these last words, and wanted to leave this place of trouble, but just before he was about to leave, Rovey jumped up and blocked his way.

What do you mean by that?

Emiya Kiritsugu frowned, looking at Rovey with a puzzled expression. His tone then became wary, and his fingers unconsciously reached for the pistol hidden in his sleeve, ready to strike at any moment.

"Don't be so wary, Mr. Emiya."

Facing the dark muzzle of the gun hidden in his sleeve, Rovey showed no fear; instead, he almost laughed.

He smiled at the nervous Emiya Kiritsugu in front of him, then calmly said, "Mr. Emiya, to be honest, besides attending this banquet, I also want to discuss a deal with you today."

"Shall we make a deal?"

Upon hearing Rovey's words, Emiya Kiritsugu's expression turned somewhat strange.

The image of Tokiomi Tohsaka, that scoundrel, involuntarily surfaced in my mind, and I also recalled my own transaction.

However, he didn't rush to refuse. Instead, he asked Rovey, "What kind of deal? Do you want to cooperate with me and then divide the Holy Grail?"

Upon hearing Rovey's words, Emiya Kiritsugu's tone became somewhat agitated.

'You're really dreaming.'

Rovey also silently criticized him in his heart.

Given his current situation, aside from Tokiomi Tohsaka, who is also under intense scrutiny, no one can cooperate with him. Let alone Rovey, who already knows Emiya Kiritsugu and mindset inside and out.

"It's not the Holy Grail, but something else."

Under Emiya Kiritsugu's expectant gaze, Rovey shook his head, then pointed to Emiya Kiritsugu's chest and calmly said, "I've come here to ask for that thing inside Mr. Emiya Kiritsugu, and I'm willing to pay a price you can't refuse."

"What did you say?"

Upon hearing Rovey's words, Emiya Kiritsugu frowned.

He certainly knew what Rovey was referring to—the thing hidden inside his body—a crucial asset that had sustained him through the battle. Although he didn't know how Luo Wei knew, Emiya Kiritsugu was unlikely to agree to this absurd request, regardless of the price offered.

"Don't be so quick to refuse, Mr. Emiya."

However, before Emiya Kiritsugu could refuse outright, Rovey had already stopped smiling. Then, with a slight flick of his finger, a white photograph appeared at his fingertip, which he then handed to Emiya Kiritsugu.

"Although I know that thing is very important to Mr. Emiya, it is ultimately just an inanimate object."

"There are many things in a person's life that transcend the value of inanimate objects, so why not think about it carefully again? I'll wait for your reply."

Rovey shook his head, then gently patted Emiya Kiritsugu's stiff shoulder before brushing past him without saying anything more.

At the castle gate, only Emiya Kiritsugu remained, clutching the photograph tightly in his hands. Looking at the familiar figure in the photo, his voice trembled involuntarily as he murmured repeatedly.

"Iri..."

The treasure he had lost has returned to him in another form, and it awaits his decision.

Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Opening of the Banquet (5,500 words)

About half an hour later.

A bolt of lightning streaked across the night sky, accompanied by a rough sound, and fell straight down in this direction; it could be heard even from a great distance.

"Haha, oh, Saber, we meet again. It seems your injuries have healed quite well. But this castle of yours looks rather shabby..."

Before he could finish speaking, Artoria, who was waiting alone at the city gate, summoned her holy sword without hesitation. Then, she leaped into the air and slashed mercilessly at the uninvited, chattering red-haired gorilla in front of her.

"Ex... calibur!!"

Prepare in advance and unleash a powerful shot without hesitation.

Golden sword light rippled incessantly along the blade of the holy sword, and powerful magic suddenly erupted. Seeing this, Iskandar knew something was wrong and quickly steered the Gordius Wheel into the sky, barely managing to dodge the Noble Phantasm attack that was aimed directly at his face.

"Ugh!!"

Waver, who had just landed on the Gordius Wheel and hadn't even had a chance to speak before being directly confronted by the Noble Phantasm Weber, let out a mournful cry. Fortunately, under Rider's protection, the golden sword light only grazed past him and did not hit him.

Deep blue lightning streaked across the night sky. Rider breathed a sigh of relief after dodging the sudden Noble Phantasm. Then, with one hand holding Weber and the other carrying the fine wine he had found from Kenneth, he leaped from mid-air and landed steadily on the ground, standing in front of Saber.

"Snort..."

Seeing that Rider had dodged her close-range Noble Phantasm, Artoria snorted in displeasure.

However, she wasn't too surprised by the result. After all, she already knew that her merciful, close-range Noble Phantasm was unlikely to cause any real damage to an opponent like Rider, let alone force him to leave the field. She only unleashed the Noble Phantasm because she was annoyed by his unreasonable behavior.

What made Artoria even more speechless was that her first successful release of her Noble Phantasm in the Holy Grail War was not during a fierce battle, but rather because of such a trivial matter.

What a scoundrel! He held a banquet at my house without even telling me!

They visited one by one, making such a big fuss that she and Emiya Kiritsugu thought they were the first targets to be attacked and were about to explode at them, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding.

On the other side, in the reception room of the Einzbern Family castle.

"Looks like the main character has arrived..."

After using a detection Magecraft to check that the tea in the cup was not poisoned, Rovey calmly took a small sip.

Upon hearing the loud explosion outside, he couldn't help but smile and asked Emiya Kiritsugu in front of him, "What? Mr. Emiya, aren't you going to go out and greet the guests as the host?"

"..." Emiya Kiritsugu covered his head and didn't reply. The female assistant beside him was not very well-behaved, or rather, her little hands were a bit restless. She secretly gripped her pistol, wanting to find an opportunity to shoot Rovey, but because Emiya Kiritsugu stopped her, she did not make a move.

"No, you go by yourself. Consider this castle a gift to you. We'll be leaving soon. I just destroyed their stronghold yesterday. If we encounter them head-on, it's hard to guarantee that those Heroic Spirit won't suddenly turn on us and kill us. So I don't plan to show myself."

Emiya Kiritsugu shook his head with a self-deprecating smile, then stood up, preparing to leave with his assistant to make room for this noisy and unreasonable banquet.

"I see... Since Mr. Emiya is unwilling, how about I host this banquet from now on?"

Rovey didn't seem to care, and instead smiled at him and said...

"Make yourself at home. The food and such are all in the castle's cold storage."

"Well then, thank you," Rovey said, turning and leaving the room.

"Kiritsugu... are you really going to agree to that guy's request? If you send Avalon away, your body..."

After Rovey left, Maiya Hisau finally removed her fingers from the gunstock and asked Kiritsugu in front of her with concern.

She had just learned about the deal proposed by Rovey, and she knew that the other party was after Emiya Kiritsugu's treasure this time.

"I'm fine, Maiya..."

Under Maiya Hisau's worried gaze, Emiya Kiritsugu gently shook his head.

"But..."

"We are now outnumbered and at a significant disadvantage. I have no choice. Even if we don't agree, they can still use their superior strength to snatch the treasure from here, not to mention that Iri is still in their hands..."

"I never imagined that this unknown Magus was the mastermind behind the Holy Grail War, and that Aozaki Touko's partner was actually him. Only now have I realized this; I'm truly a hopeless idiot..."

Emiya Kiritsugu pounded the table repeatedly, his expression gradually contorting.

"We have no other choice now. Whether it's for Iri's safety or for the victory of this war, I have to make a deal with them... because that way there's still a sliver of hope. As long as Iri is alive, we can still have a chance of winning. As for my body..."

Emiya Kiritsugu chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Let him be buried deep in this land the moment his dream comes true."

"What... I didn't expect you to arrive even before me. No wonder Saber started fighting at the drop of a hat."

Iskandar, covered in dust, scratched his head as he stepped off the chariot. Only after seeing Scáthach and Rovey did he realize what was going on.

He looked at Artoria, who had an unfriendly expression, and said casually.

"Don't be angry, Saber. The reason I didn't inform you was because I wanted to give you a surprise! Look, heroes gather, kings feast together, what a magnificent thing this is! I'm sure you're very happy too!"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

After looking around, Iskandar burst into laughter.

"... Surprised? It should be astonished."

Artoria gripped the hilt of her sword, frowned, and sighed, "If it weren't for the presence of the Queen of the Land of Shadows, I would have just used my full-power Noble Phantasm to hit you in the face."

"You really are something, King of Conquerors. You held a banquet for someone without informing them. No wonder King Arthur was so angry."

Seeing this, Rovey couldn't help but complain, and Scáthach, standing next to him, covered her mouth and teased him.

"If I were King Arthur, and you dared to act so recklessly, I would have rushed up and chopped you into eight pieces the moment you landed."

"Ah... was my behavior really that rude? I thought the First King of Knights would gladly accept such a thing..."

Seeing that everyone was saying the same thing, Iskandar scratched his head.

Once the atmosphere had calmed down, Iskandar noticed Scáthach's magnificent dress for the evening and couldn't help but exclaim, "Queen Scáthach, you look absolutely stunning in this dress. The breathtaking beauty you displayed when we first met is comparable to that of Venus, the goddess of beauty."

"Thank you for your praise, King of Conquerors. I just suddenly had the urge to give it a try." Scáthach smiled slightly.

"While it is certainly exciting to have heroes gathered together, that is no excuse for you to show up uninvited and gather everyone at Saber's house."

Rovey shook his head, but after the misunderstanding between them was cleared up, he still took the initiative to invite Iskandar to come in and sit down.

"Alright, now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, please come in. I've already chosen a spot for you. The courtyard behind this castle looks a bit plain, but it's quite spacious. I'll go find you some food later."

"Huh?"

When they saw that it wasn't Artoria who spoke, but Rovey, Iskandar and Weber exchanged a glance, and then their faces showed surprise.

"Um... I remember this is Saber's castle, isn't it? Why do you seem like the one acting like the host!"

Because there were so many flaws, Weber didn't even know where to begin criticizing it.

Iskandar, his face full of doubt, kept scanning Rovey and Artoria's faces before suddenly clapping his hands in a flash of inspiration.

"I see. So you had already conquered this place and subdued the King of Knights before I arrived? That's truly impressive... Strategist, you've even managed to do something like this. I'm growing more and more fond of you."

"Ha ha..."

The King of Conquerors's words made Scáthach, who was standing nearby, laugh. She winked at Artoria, whose face was gloomy.

"Rider, if you dare to talk nonsense again, I will definitely tear your mouth apart this time."