"And you, the Servant sitting on the streetlight that night."
The King of Conquerors looked the boy up and down and quickly reached a judgment.
"By eliminating the Servant classes that have appeared so far, you must be Archer."
Kid Gil did not answer, merely looking at the King of Conquerors with an expression that said, "You guessed right. So what?"
Iskandar's attention had already shifted to the next piece of information.
"And the little girl called you Gilgamesh just now."
The King of Conquerors spoke a little faster.
"To think your true identity was the king of Uruk!"
Kid Gil finally pulled the lollipop out of his mouth.
His crimson eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Iskandar, a faint, playful curve on his lips.
He neither denied nor confirmed it, simply watching him.
Iskandar did not mind whether he answered.
His mind was already racing.
Among the Servants present at the harbor battle that night, three had gone down in history as kings.
Artoria, King of Knights, Iskandar, King of Conquerors, and, if this blond boy really was Gilgamesh...
The King of Heroes.
Three kings.
The same Holy Grail War.
Iskandar's mouth suddenly spread into a grin so wide that even an old lady passing nearby turned to look.
"Come to think of it, this Holy Grail War has brought forth no fewer than three kings whose names are recorded in history."
His voice suddenly grew excited, and his amber eyes shone brighter. He looked nothing like he did in battle, more like someone who had suddenly decided to throw a party.
"I have an idea! Why don't the three of us kings hold a banquet tonight?"
Waver's expression immediately soured.
"What do you say we use wine to measure each other's mettle?"
Having said that, Iskandar planted both hands on his hips, stretching his "Grand Strategy" T-shirt taut.
Kid Gil tilted his head, a little interest entering his crimson eyes.
"Sure, old man King of Conquerors."
The boy sounded as casual as if he were agreeing to visit someone's house to play, with a slightly lofty air.
"But where will the banquet be? Have you decided?"
"I hear the King of Knights has a castle."
Iskandar stroked his chin.
"Why don't we hold it there? I've been wanting to see the King of Britain's residence anyway."
The decision sounded full of holes. Even Waver could not help muttering behind him, "That's an enemy base. Is there something wrong with your head?" But the King of Conquerors simply pretended not to hear.
Then Iskandar turned his gaze toward Mayuri.
"Oh, right, little girl. Would you like to come along tonight too? The more, the merrier."
Biting the bamboo skewer from her grilled dumplings, Mayuri quickly ran through it in her mind.
The Banquet of Three Kings.
This seemed to be one of the most iconic scenes in Fate/Zero.
Three kings sat together and, over wine, each spoke of their own way of kingship, ultimately leading to a very direct clash of values.
She had watched it on a screen many times in her previous life, and every time she saw Artoria's performance in that debate, her heart ached a little for her.
And now she had been invited to attend.
As the fourth participant, no less.
A transmigrator being invited to watch an iconic scene she had seen over and over in her previous life-something like this was rare even across the entire otherworld-transmigration genre.
But Mayuri did not agree right away.
"I'll have to ask my Master about that later."
Her tone was even.
"If my Master agrees, I'll come."
For an instant, Iskandar's expression changed.
Something like disappointment flashed through his amber eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. It looked more like incomprehension.
"You ought to have a little more of a mind of your own, little girl."
The King of Conquerors sounded less like he was scolding her and more like he was making an offhand observation.
His thinking was simple: a warrior, especially a powerful one, should exercise her own judgment, not ask her Master about everything first.
To him, that attitude felt somewhat awkward.
With the bamboo skewer between her teeth, Mayuri nodded perfunctorily.
"Yes, yes, I know, I know."
Her tone carried the evasiveness young people often showed when their elders lectured them.
It was not that she disrespected the King of Conquerors; she simply had her own judgment on whether to listen to her Master.
Every decision Tokiomi Tohsaka had made so far had been sound. A reliable Master deserved trust, and that was a separate matter from having a mind of her own.
Iskandar stared at her for two seconds, then laughed.
"What a stubborn little girl."
With that, he clapped Waver on the shoulder hard enough to make his knees buckle, then turned and headed toward the other end of the shopping street.
"Then it's settled! See you tonight!"
Having said that, the King of Conquerors strode off toward the other end of the street, taking Waver, who was still staggering from the clap, with him.
Mayuri watched the "Grand Strategy" T-shirt recede into the crowd.
There was really no need to make a point of looking. With Iskandar's build, he stood out in any crowd; it was hard not to see him.
Mayuri spat out the bamboo skewer and turned back to glance at Kid Gil, who was still standing at the arcade entrance.
The boy hugged his Shiba Inu plush, his crimson eyes fixed on her, as though appraising her or pondering something.
"I've got things to do too, so I'm heading off."
Mayuri waved the convenience store plastic bag in her hand to indicate that she still had shopping to do.
Kid Gil did not try to keep her.
The boy remained where he was, watching Mayuri's retreating back for quite a while.
He rolled the lollipop around in his mouth twice, then turned, pushed open the arcade's automatic door, and went back inside.
As the door closed behind him, the electronic sound of a fighting-game character being KO'd came from within.
Over the next hour and a half, Mayuri made a sweep of all four nearby convenience stores and two snack shops.
Her shopping list was simple, but the quantities were substantial.
Six bottles of cola, four bottles of other flavored sodas, seven bags of potato chips, two boxes of chocolate sticks, three packets of cookies, a bag of jelly, and four cups of instant noodles.
Everything went into three bulging plastic bags and one convenience store paper bag.
With a Servant's physical strength, carrying these things took no effort at all.
After returning to the Tohsaka Residence, Mayuri carried all her purchases into the guest room assigned to her and arranged them neatly in two rows.
Only as she looked at the colorful packages and bottles on the floor did she finally let go of a little of the tension from last night's battle.
Afterward, she went to the reception room to find Tokiomi Tohsaka, who was having afternoon tea, and report the King of Conquerors' banquet invitation.
Tokiomi Tohsaka slowed slightly as he set down his teacup.
"A banquet of three kings."
He repeated the words.
His blue eyes narrowed slightly, as though he were recalling something.
Artoria, King of Knights.
Iskandar, King of Conquerors.
Gilgamesh, King of Heroes.
Three legendary kings, all famous throughout the world, had appeared in the same Holy Grail War.
The odds were absurdly low. Summoning three king-class Heroic Spirits in a single ritual was itself proof that the Fourth Holy Grail War was on an entirely different scale from its predecessors.
He quickly weighed several things in his mind.
The banquet had considerable intelligence value.
With three kings sitting together, they were bound to reveal their personalities and thoughts, and might even inadvertently let slip clues about their abilities.
If Mayuri could attend, it would give her another opportunity to observe top-tier Servants up close.
The risks were manageable too.
The banquet itself was not a combat situation, so there was little chance of anyone initiating a fight.
Even if something unexpected did happen, Mayuri's Astral Dress could hold out for a while, and a Command Spell could bring her back at a critical moment.
Tokiomi Tohsaka picked up his teacup again.
"Caster, if you wish to go, then go."
His tone remained as steady as ever.
"But be careful. If a battle breaks out, I will immediately use a Command Spell to teleport you back."
Standing on the reception room carpet, Mayuri's rose-red eyes brightened.
"All right, Master."