Conversation

Iskandar looked somewhat puzzled. "You don't need it? I can understand that, but what do you mean by reclaiming it?"

Gilgamesh spoke as though it were only natural. "It was mine to begin with. Every treasure in this world can trace its origins back to my treasury."

Mo Li could only shake his head. Mushroom had been far too biased when writing Gilgamesh's setting. It was honestly rather ridiculous.

Seated to Mo Li's left, Ritsuka Fujimaru looked as though he was about to get drunk. Holding his wine cup, he quietly asked Mo Li, "Senior, can I really drink this?"

Ritsuka Fujimaru was just an ordinary person right now, leaving Mo Li rather helpless. "Just down it in one go. You can drink this wine too. The main issue is that the dense magical energy within it is constantly bringing out the power of the concept of 'wine,' so you look like you can barely handle it."

"Okay." Ritsuka Fujimaru immediately drained it in one gulp. Sure enough, he no longer felt quite so drunk afterward, and he even felt that his magical energy and Magic Circuits had been greatly strengthened.

At the beginner stage, Ritsuka Fujimaru really had nothing. One mouthful of wine brought about an obvious enhancement.

Seeing this, Mash Kyrielight immediately drained her cup as well.

Iskandar said, "So that means you once possessed the Holy Grail? And you know what it truly is?"

"I don't. Don't judge me by your standards. The total number of my treasures has long exceeded even my own understanding. But since it is a treasure, it must be part of my wealth. You actually intend to steal it from my treasury? You thieves have some nerve." Gilgamesh gave Iskandar a contemptuous glance.

As one of the trio among the Heroic Spirits who needed the Holy Grail most, Artoria spoke up as well. "What you're saying is utter madness. How could a treasure made by others in later ages after your death possibly belong to you? It seems you have already lost your mind."

Artoria's words immediately drew some displeasure from Gilgamesh. After all, he genuinely believed this, and the nature of the Gate of Babylon only made him take it for granted even more.

Medea, Lancelot, and Diarmuid, who had no interest in the Holy Grail, had no intention of joining the conversation. They merely savored the fine wine in silence. Hassan of the Hundred Faces, who wished to obtain the Holy Grail, was unable to interject; she had little common ground with these kings.

Iskandar said seriously, "Then, Gilgamesh, if one wishes to obtain the Holy Grail, all one needs is your consent?"

"Precisely. But I have no reason to bestow it upon you."

Iskandar teased, "You... could you be a miser?"

"What nonsense!" Gilgamesh nearly lost his composure at that. With a look of disgust, he said, "My blessings should only be granted to my subjects. So, Rider, if you are willing to submit to me—"

Gilgamesh looked provocatively at Iskandar. "Then I can bestow a mere one or two cups upon you whenever I wish."

Iskandar was amused by that. How could he, the Conqueror King, possibly become the subordinate of another king? He immediately said, "I cannot accept that proposal. But, Gilgamesh, you are not stingy with the Holy Grail, are you?"

"Of course not. But those thieves who intend to steal my treasures must be given the punishment they deserve. It is a matter of principle."

Gilgamesh revealed a smile no ordinary person could understand, then drained the wine in his cup. In his treasury, there was far more than just one or two Holy Grails.

Iskandar asked, "Then, Archer, what great justice and what reasoning lie within this?"

"It is law—the law I, as king, have decreed." Gilgamesh smiled proudly. That was one of his great achievements.

"Excellent. Only one who can uphold his own laws can truly be called a king." Iskandar finished his own wine, then looked at Mo Li. "Lord Mo Li, as the most unusual of all Masters, do you truly have no wish you want fulfilled?"

Mo Li drained his cup, then continued using telekinesis to refill the cups of those who had finished drinking with King's Wine before replying, "Originally, no. But now, I want to use the Holy Grail to save two people."

Iskandar was curious. "Oh? I thought you might not care much about the Holy Grail. After all, the reason you joined this in the first place was because of that little girl over there."

"That's right. But while inspecting the Holy Grail, I discovered that I had to save two people. Only then could I completely resolve the Holy Grail's final problem and allow it to wield the power of Third Magic Heaven's Feel, rather than remain a Black Grail. Only after it becomes the Holy Grail of Third Magic Heaven's Feel again can it properly fulfill everyone's wishes."

Iskandar came to a sudden realization. "Oh? So there was such a story behind it. Then I have a question. How many people can this Holy Grail grant wishes to?"

"The number of people the Holy Grail can grant wishes to is not the important part. The number of people who can make wishes to it is not limited to one or two. Though it is only a half-baked wish-granting device, it has no such restriction. The Holy Grail's limitation is determined by the magical energy consumption of the wisher's wish. A simple wish consumes little; a greater wish consumes more, until all the magical energy accumulated within the Holy Grail is exhausted."

In Fa, Amakusa made a wish first, and Sieg came afterward. This proved that the Greater Grail was not limited to only one wisher or one wish.

"So that's how it is? Hmm... I imagine you already have a proper method for using the Black Grail to make wishes, Mo Li, so I won't ask further. As long as it can be restored to Heaven's Feel, that is enough. I have no need for the wish of a Black Grail."

Iskandar stroked his chin, then looked at Gilgamesh. "I must admit that I desire the Holy Grail greatly. Since I desire it, I shall seize it. That is my way. After all, I, Iskandar... am the Conqueror King!"

"Then there is no helping it." Gilgamesh met his gaze head-on and said with hostility, "You violate the law, and I punish you. There is no room for argument."

"Hmm? If that is the case, then we can only cross swords." After saying that, Iskandar looked at the two bottles of special wine. "But Gilgamesh, let us finish the Order Wine first. There will be plenty of chances to fight later. There are seven heroes from different eras gathered here—this is a rare occasion."

"Of course. Do you take my fine wine so lightly?" Gilgamesh looked at the other Heroic Spirits. Aside from the Conqueror King and the King of Knights, the others had barely spoken at all, occupied only with drinking.

Gilgamesh said, "Who else needs the Holy Grail? Speak now. I shall treat all equally."

Diarmuid smiled faintly. "My wish requires no Holy Grail. What I seek is a glorious battle, and what my lord seeks is not the Holy Grail, but the glory of victory. So you may exclude our group, King of Heroes."

Gilgamesh smiled faintly. "Heh. You are quite open-minded."

Medea said, "I do not need the Holy Grail either. My wish is simple, and I am already working to fulfill it. However, I will help Mo Li."

The fully sane Lancelot said, "My wish has already been fulfilled. I have no need for the Holy Grail, but until my Master uses it to fulfill his wish of reviving someone, I will fight to obtain the Holy Grail for him."

Gilgamesh said, "Hmph."

Hassan of the Hundred Faces said, "Though I yearn for the Holy Grail, it seems unable to properly fulfill my wish. If it is the Black Grail, I have no need for it either. If Third Magic Heaven's Feel cannot fulfill my wish as well, then I do not need it."

Gilgamesh said, "Oh? Interesting."

Artoria said calmly, "I do indeed need the Holy Grail."

"Tch..." Gilgamesh felt annoyed. These so-called kings really had come specifically to cause trouble.

Artoria looked at Iskandar. "Conqueror King."

Everyone looked toward Artoria.

"Hmm?" Iskandar was somewhat puzzled as to why she had suddenly addressed him by his title.

Artoria asked, "You acknowledge that the Holy Grail rightfully belongs to another, yet you still intend to take it by force? What do you seek from the Holy Grail that makes you willing to go so far?"

"That..." Iskandar seemed somewhat troubled. He immediately raised his cup and took a drink to conceal his awkwardness.

Everyone watched him, waiting for his answer. Only Mo Li knew what the Conqueror King's wish was.

"Come to think of it, my wish should be able to coexist with Lord Mo Li's. After all, my wish is actually quite simple." Iskandar took a deep breath, then gave the answer that startled everyone: "To obtain a body."

"Huh?" Even Gilgamesh was taken aback. His brow rose when he heard it, never having expected the other man's wish to be so simple.

Mo Li silently continued refilling the wine, then pushed his own share toward Ritsuka Fujimaru. With far more people here than in the original story, the King's Wine was nearly gone. Compared to himself, Ritsuka Fujimaru needed the enhancement more.

Ritsuka Fujimaru gave Mo Li a grateful look, then drank the fourth cup.

"Ah!" As his Master, Waver Velvet could hardly believe what he had heard. "Wasn't your wish to conquer the world?"

With so many people present, Iskandar spared Waver Velvet some dignity and did not flick him. He merely said irritably, "Idiot, what meaning is there in having a cup conquer the world for me? Conquest is a dream I intend to achieve myself. What I want the Holy Grail to accomplish is merely the first step toward that dream."

Gilgamesh said displeasedly, "Fool, are you challenging me over such a trivial matter?"

Iskandar said, "Mm... Though we have descended through magical energy now, we are ultimately only Servants. I want to be reborn in this world, to become a true living being, and challenge heaven and earth with my own body. That is what conquest is in its entirety—beginning like this, advancing onward, and finally achieving it..."

After drinking the freshly filled cup, Iskandar finally concluded, "That is my kingly way."