"Was that Assassin?!"
Irisviel exclaimed in surprise, "How were there so many of them?"
"Hahaha, I didn't expect tonight to be so lively."
Iskandar said to Feng Xi, "Boy, have your Caster come out too. What's with all this hiding?"
Feng Xi said, "Hey, hey, you've got some nerve saying that. Where's your Master?"
Iskandar actually hadn't brought Waver with him this time. That really was unusual.
"Hey, little Master, you come out too."
Iskandar shouted straight toward the elevated structure not far away.
"Seriously, what are you doing?!"
Waver's exasperated voice rang out.
"We agreed we were only coming to check things out, but you charged in on your own, and now you've exposed me too."
Iskandar said unconcernedly, "Oh, what's the harm?"
"And you're still saying that! Our plans have all been thrown off."
Waver soon hurried over.
With his position exposed, coming over to join Iskandar was his only way to be a little safer.
But everyone noticed that a tall, thin man was following behind Waver.
Wasn't that Lord El-Melloi II?
Why was he here?
"Was he a Servant?" Feng Xi speculated.
The real El-Melloi II couldn't possibly appear in this era. After all, El-Melloi II was Waver's future self.
Looking at it that way, this El-Melloi II was clearly a Servant Waver had summoned.
After all, across these three rounds of questions, Waver had gained the most aside from Feng Xi.
One gold, one silver, and one bronze, not even counting the silver the King of Conquerors held.
It wasn't impossible that he had drawn a Heroic Spirit Summoning Card, just as Feng Xi had.
The sight made Kayneth, hidden in the shadows, insanely jealous.
Why was everyone playing duos now? It left a solo player like him feeling very insecure.
It seemed he would have to take answering questions seriously too, or there was no telling how far these people would leave him behind.
Kariya Matou, who was also observing from the shadows, had the same thought.
His primary target was Tokiomi Tohsaka, but with Kirei Kotomine at his side, his opponent was a duo too.
He only had the Knight of the Lake. His chances of winning really weren't high.
Case in point: he had finally seized the opportunity presented by Gilgamesh's injury, only for the Gymnastics Troupe to ruin it and bring all his efforts to nothing.
"Long time no see, Red Hare. I never expected you to become like this."
El-Melloi II pulled a feather fan out of somewhere and smiled at Red Hare. "To be honest, I never expected you to be the first old acquaintance I met."
With words like those, it had to be Zhuge Liang.
Had this slacker actually woken up?
"You are?"
Red Hare clearly couldn't recognize the current Zhuge Liang. After all, this was El-Melloi II's form.
"Hehe..."
Zhuge Liang waved his fan and looked at Feng Xi. "Are you a descendant of the people of my great Han?"
Feng Xi cupped his hands in greeting. "This junior, Feng Xi, pays his respects to Master Wolong."
"Feng for your surname, Xi for your given name. A fine name, a fine name indeed."
Zhuge Liang nodded.
"Are you Master Kongming?"
Red Hare gave Zhuge Liang a puzzled once-over.
Why did the Zhuge Liang before him look nothing like the one in his memories?
"I'll explain it to you when we get back."
Feng Xi nudged Red Hare and said flatteringly, "I never expected Master Wolong to take part in this War of the Holy Grail too. This junior is feeling the pressure now."
"Hehe, no need to probe me."
Zhuge Liang smiled. "I have no interest whatsoever in the Holy Grail or anything of the sort. I merely sensed a familiar presence, so I came out to meet you."
Feng Xi asked, "Then right now, are you Wolong or Lord El-Melloi II?"
Zhuge Liang said, "Both. It simply depends on which of our consciousnesses is in control."
"Say, could you put your conversation on hold?"
Waver interrupted, "Can't you hear that?"
"Wooo, wooo, wooo..."
The sound of sirens came from not far away, steadily approaching the docks.
That made sense. With such a commotion at the docks, someone was bound to notice. The police were already rather late.
"Oh dear, it looks like we'll have to leave it here for today."
Iskandar scratched his head, puzzled. "It feels like I haven't done anything. What did I come here for?"
"So you do realize that!"
Waver angrily hammered Iskandar's arm with his little fists, complaining, "It's all because you acted so rashly! Our plans have all been thrown off."
"Hahaha, this king has no need for such things."
Iskandar summoned his Gordius Wheel and tossed both Waver and his motorcycle onto it.
"Everyone, let us meet again tomorrow."
Once Zhuge Liang had climbed aboard too, Iskandar drove straight into the air and vanished into the night sky.
"Hmph, Lancer, let's retreat too."
Kayneth never showed himself, even at the end. After leaving those words, he withdrew first.
"King of Knights, until we meet again."
Diarmuid wasted no time either, heading straight after Kayneth.
Chapter 30: Gilgamesh, Asking for Trouble
(Lord El-Melloi II)
"Knight of the Lake, let's go."
Kariya Matou also called the Knight of the Lake to leave.
Given the current situation, killing Gilgamesh was no longer possible.
Since that was the case, he would retreat for now and look for another opportunity next time.
"..."
The Knight of the Long General gave Artoria a long, searching look, then turned and left.
"That fellow..."
Artoria had naturally noticed the Knight of the Lake's gaze too and felt a little puzzled.
He seemed to know her. Could he be someone she knew?
"Hmph, mongrel, just you wait. Next time will be your death."
Gilgamesh left Feng Xi with a threat, and his body vanished outright.
Once he left, the Gymnastics Troupe naturally withdrew as well.
They disappeared without a trace as soon as they retreated into the darkness. As expected of Assassin.
"Let's go too."
Feng Xi nodded to Red Hare, leaped onto his back, and let him carry him away.
Riding a centaur... how should he put it? It felt a little odd.
"Irisviel, let's go too."
Seeing that everyone had left all at once, Artoria withdrew with Irisviel too.
As for Kiritsugu Emiya, he had been even quicker to act and had already left long before.
The first battle of this War of the Holy Grail ended just like that, starting with a bang and ending with a whimper.