Three golden cups.
One stemmed glass.
The banquet had more or less begun.
Iskandar raised his golden cup and took a sip of the divine wine.
The moment it entered his mouth, his eyes widened a little.
It lasted only an instant, but everyone present saw it.
The King of Conquerors smacked his lips, then took another moment to catch his breath before smoothing out his expression.
"Allow me to raise the first topic of this Holy Grail dialogue."
He set his golden cup on the paving stone beside his knee and looked at the two kings before him.
"You two, what grand wishes are you pursuing the Holy Grail for? We should make that clear first."
Kid Gil was the first to speak.
Holding his golden cup, the boy sat a little off to one side between the two kings.
One leg was folded, the other stretched out.
His posture was casual, yet it did not seem ill-mannered.
That sort of thing was probably etched into his bones. Even in the form of a boy, he was still the King of Heroes.
"For pleasure, of course."
His crimson eyes half-lidded, he spoke as casually as if he were discussing what to have for dinner.
"Staying on the Throne of Heroes is far too boring. Now that I finally have a chance to get out for some fresh air, of course I'm going to enjoy myself to the fullest."
Kid Gil swirled the golden cup in his hand.
"And retrieve the Holy Grail for my treasury while I'm at it."
He said "while I'm at it" with perfect naturalness.
In the King of Heroes' eyes, whether it was the Holy Grail or anything else, every treasure in the world ought to end up in his treasury.
Obtaining the Holy Grail was probably no more than picking up something he had left outside.
After hearing him out, Iskandar nodded, his expression quite serious.
"To pursue your own pleasure? That's a fine reason indeed."
He took another sip of wine, leaned forward a little, and looked at Kid Gil.
"But what if I invited you to join forces with me to conquer the world? To share in the joy of bringing the entire world under our rule. King of Heroes, would you agree?"
Kid Gil looked up at him.
The boy did not even hesitate.
"No way."
The answer was utterly decisive.
"Conquering the world sounds like such a hassle."
Kid Gil rolled his eyes a little.
On that face of his, it looked rather like a child finding an adult annoying.
"Besides, the world is so interesting now. There are arcades, claw machines, and those boxes that dispense cold drinks automatically."
"Someone like you, who's been dead for thousands of years, should just go back to the graveyard and lie down."
There really was a measure of distaste in that last remark.
Iskandar did not get angry. Instead, he laughed.
"You truly are a willful king."
He raised his golden cup toward Kid Gil.
"I fear that after tonight, you and I will eventually have to fight."
Kid Gil raised his golden cup as well, the wine inside sloshing.
"Bring it on, old King of Conquerors."
The two golden cups touched across the small gap.
Artoria had sat quietly throughout, watching the exchange.
The King of Heroes' answer was pleasure.
Artoria did not agree with that way of kingship, but she could understand it.
A king who possessed everything ultimately acted only according to his own whims.
That was his choice, and his path.
"The King of Heroes has given his answer."
Artoria's voice entered the conversation, perfectly steady.
"Then what about you, King of Conquerors? What wish would you entrust to the Holy Grail?"
Iskandar's expression froze for a moment.
His mouth opened, then closed.
Then his gaze shifted to the side.
The King of Conquerors.
The king who conquered the world.
By all rights, what he wanted should have been something grand.
Conquering the world, for instance, or rebuilding the Macedonian Empire, or bringing every land at the ends of the horizon into his domain.
Yet Iskandar's face had actually reddened a little.
It was not particularly clear in the moonlight, but Waver was close enough to see it plainly.
A touch of color had indeed risen around the cheekbones of that broad face.
Iskandar coughed.
Then he gave his answer.
"To obtain a physical body."
The garden fell silent for a moment.
Then another.
Then an unrestrained cry came from the hedge.
"A physical body?!"
Waver Velvet sprang out of the shadows, a leaf still caught in his dark brown hair.
His face was filled with shock, as though everything he had learned about his Servant over the past few days had been for nothing.
A physical body?
That was it?
He had always thought Iskandar's wish would be to conquer the world, or rebuild some empire.
Yet the wish he voiced was actually to have a physical body.
Waver rushed to Iskandar's side, his mouth open, before he could even ask.
The next second, a finger flick struck his forehead.
It made a crisp sound.
Waver toppled backward, the back of his head hitting the paving stones with a dull thud.
"Fool."
Iskandar did not even turn his head.
"How could I possibly let a mere cup help me conquer the world?"
He spoke very seriously, with even a little displeasure at being misunderstood.
"What enjoyment could there be in a world conquered that way?"
The King of Conquerors raised his golden cup and looked at the wine inside.
His broad, red-haired face was reflected in the amber liquid.
"Conquest is a dream I have entrusted to myself. It is something I must measure with my own feet, seize with my own hands, and witness with my own eyes."
"I cannot entrust that weight to anything external, even if that thing is a so-called omnipotent wish-granting machine."
He took a sip of wine.
"And the wish I entrust to the Holy Grail is merely the first step on my path of conquest."
The golden cup returned to the paving stone.
"Give me a physical body that can live in this era. Then, with my own strength, I shall start from nothing and conquer anew this world that is even vaster than it was in my lifetime."
Having said that, Iskandar looked at Artoria and Kid Gil.
Artoria looked at him and gave a slight nod.
It was a small gesture, without any exaggerated display.
Merely a knight's response to another king's declaration of battle.
Leaning against the stone steps nearby, Kid Gil held his golden cup and watched Iskandar for a while, the smile at his lips losing some of its edge.
"Not bad, old King of Conquerors."
Coming from the King of Heroes in his boyhood form, that was already high praise.
Seated some distance away, Mayuri took another sip of cola from her stemmed glass.
She had remained silent throughout, simply listening as the three kings continued their conversation.
Her rose-red eyes moved back and forth between them.
So far, things were proceeding much as she remembered.
Next would be the King of Knights' turn.
Iskandar set down his golden cup and looked at Artoria, who sat opposite him.
"Then, Saber, what is your wish?"
Artoria met his gaze.
She did not hesitate.
She had been ready since the moment she raised her first bowl of wine and drank it.
Since this was a dialogue between ways of kingship, a king should state her own path. There was no point in concealment.
"My wish-"
Her voice was clear and steady.
Moonlight fell on her golden hair, making her face look even colder than usual.
"Is to save my country."
She paused.
"To use the Holy Grail to change Britain's fate of destruction."
No one in the garden spoke.
Iskandar's hand stopped in midair, still holding his golden cup.
Kid Gil narrowed his eyes.
"Change... fate?"
Iskandar slowly set down his golden cup.
Much of the casual air he had worn while drinking faded from his face.
"When you say you want to use the Holy Grail to change fate, surely you don't mean to overturn the history you created in the past?"
Artoria answered quickly.
"That is precisely what I mean."
Her answer was firm.
"Even if it is a wish that cannot be fulfilled by a miracle. If the Holy Grail truly is an omnipotent wish-granting machine, then it should be able to do it."
The corner of Kid Gil's mouth twitched.
He hid half his face behind his golden cup, leaving only his crimson eyes visible as he watched Artoria.
The boy did not speak at once, as though he had something to say but swallowed it back first.
Iskandar was silent for a moment.
Moonlight fell on the paving stones. An insect chirped twice in the courtyard, then quickly fell silent.
"I would like to ask something first."
The King of Conquerors' tone changed, no longer as warm as it had been during their drinking.
"Did that country of yours, Britain, fall in your own era?"
He paused.
"Did it fall under your rule?"
Artoria did not evade the question.
"Yes."
"That is precisely why I cannot let it go."
When she said this, she neither raised nor lowered her voice.
Yet to Irisviel, those few words felt heavy.
It was something Artoria had carried ever since she became king, all the way to the present.
"I want to change that ending."
Artoria looked at the King of Conquerors, her eyes bright in the moonlight.
"I want Britain to become better."
At this point, her lips pressed together a little, and her hands tightened on her knees.
"That is my duty as king."
The garden fell silent once more.
Beside the hedge, Irisviel clasped her hands before her chest, her wine-red eyes fixed on Artoria's back.
She had heard it.
Those were not pretty words spoken for the sake of the dialogue.
That was what Artoria truly wanted.
That blond knight had carried this heavy wish with her from the very first day they met.