Chapter 56: The Banquet of Three Kings

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My name is Illya.
Does this count as the Feast of the Three Kings? (laughs)
106:19:17

Matou Kariya thought Ryunosuke Uryu had a point.
If one simply refused to inherit the family business out of dissatisfaction with Zouken, then with the other party having already abandoned the family, and his brother Tsuruno completely lacking any magecraft talent, would he really be content to let the Mage Association seize all the Matou family’s wealth for nothing?
Moreover, Ryunosuke knew very little about the Matou family. Only he himself could deduce the deeper truths. For instance, if the Mage Association gained access to all the Matou family’s magecraft records and discovered the old man Zouken’s methods, they might dispatch an executor to “seal” him directly.
“You don’t have to come in with me, Ryunosuke. You’re probably still in the Holy Grail War, right?”
Stopping in front of the long-unseen Matou mansion, Kariya turned to Ryunosuke.
From Kariya’s limited understanding of the Holy Grail War, he knew how dangerous it was for a lone Master. Night had already fallen, the default time for all sides to begin their moves. If Ryunosuke were injured or used his Command Seals during this inheritance process, the consequences would be dire.
“That, it’s okay. Because of a previous great battle—you saw the photo of it—the participants are all recuperating now. My Servant was severely wounded and has used up all the Command Seals, so it’s unlikely others will notice me.”
Ryunosuke said casually, showing Kariya the back of his hand, which was empty save for faint traces.
Kariya had no words. Even from his relaxed tone, he could infer how fierce that battle must have been. His worries, somewhat eased upon hearing that Aoi had been sent back to her hometown in Kobe, stirred again.
“Your mage attribute seems to be water as well. If you find anything useful today, just say so.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t hold back.”
Kariya sighed as Ryunosuke gave his shoulder a firm pat and opened the mansion’s door.

106:16:24

Weber assessed the situation and felt that only he could break the stalemate by speaking.
They were still inside the milk tea shop. The Assassin they had found, along with Rin Tohsaka’s daughter, sat around a round table eating dessert. Rider and Caster each guarded a little girl nearby. At the other end of the table stood Archer, who had suddenly appeared here, inexplicably dressed in the flashy casual clothes of a nouveau riche.
The three heroic spirits watched each other silently; none made a move, but the clash of their auras was undeniable. Apart from this table, other furniture and display items trembled and shifted inexplicably.
The staff and other customers had already left under Weber’s subtle magical influence, and a “Closed for the Day” sign was hung. However, Weber felt that if a fight broke out, the whole shop would be destroyed instantly, rendering these precautions meaningless. He knocked on the table to attract the Servants’ attention.
“Hmm... so you’re just going to keep staring at each other like this? I mean, shouldn’t someone say something?”
“Say something? Well~” The first to speak was Caster, who conjured a piece of cream cake on the table and pushed it toward Rider. “Want to try some?”
“Ugh...” Rider’s large hand couldn’t properly pick up the small plate holding the cake, so he simply stabbed the whole slice with his fork and stuffed it into his mouth. “I already had cream back then, but cane sugar hadn’t been conquered yet.”
Ah, yes, Weber thought, sugarcane originated in New Guinea and had only just reached India by the time Iskandar’s eastern campaign ended.
“How is it, Archer? No cream in your era, right?” Rider smacked his lips and turned to the golden heroic spirit. Given the transparency of the current intelligence, everyone knew his true name was Gilgamesh, the oldest Heroic King.
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This provocation… was he planning to settle things over dessert? Weber nearly grabbed his head.
“Ridiculous. My treasury contains the prototypes and derivatives of all treasures in human history. A mere girl’s dessert—” Archer raised his hand, and golden ripples floated just above the table.
“I want a cappuccino! And Black Forest cake! And mousse!” Caster shouted suddenly in the tone of ordering from a waiter just as something was about to materialize from those ripples.
“Wha—” Weber noticed that Gilgamesh clearly didn’t understand those words. After hearing Caster’s outburst, he hesitated for a moment, then…
Bang, bang, bang.
A brown cake with four layers of alternating black and white, a cake covered in dark chocolate and white cream, and another beautifully decorated with many fruits appeared on the table.
“Hehehe~” The self-proclaimed Winter Maiden showed a side fitting her appearance and mischievously grabbed the fruit cake.
“Caster—” Archer looked furious, several golden ripples appearing behind him as if he was about to summon a Noble Phantasm to attack. Weber instinctively dodged behind Rider.
“The cappuccino is Rider’s,” Caster said without feeling threatened, pushing another cake to Iskandar. “It means 'take me away,' very fitting for you.”
“Haha! Of course, a Conqueror takes whatever he wants and takes it away!” The Conqueror laughed as he took the cake—and swallowed it in one bite.
Weber felt Caster was casting strange, unfathomable looks between Rider and himself. Was there some scheme behind the cake?
“You’d better explain—” Archer’s angry voice came as the golden ripples behind him multiplied, some Noble Phantasms’ tips beginning to appear, radiating killing intent.
“Hm? Heroic King, don’t you want some?” Caster looked at him without a hint of concern. “I thought you might like the cherry liqueur flavor in the Black Forest, so I ordered it for you. Then I’ll give the other to Emil.”
On the other side of the table, Rin Tohsaka’s daughter and the little Assassin Rider had found finished their portions and watched the newly appeared cakes. But why did Caster name the Assassin?
The Winter Maiden reached out but grabbed nothing, as a golden ripple caught the cake first. The black cake vanished, only to reappear in Gilgamesh’s hand the next moment.
“Even what I do not want must be disposed of by my decision,” Archer said with narrowed red eyes, then bit into the cake fiercely before stiffly tossing it back into the treasury.
Ah… so that’s it, Weber suddenly understood the way of kings that Rider often mentioned. If the other party was a king like himself, he would not refuse a toast or the offering of food—though where the Winter Maiden counted as a king was questionable.
“Really, how could someone so stingy become a king,” Rider muttered, making Archer look even angrier.
“You must explain yourself, Caster.” After dealing with the cakes, the glowing gates of Babylon reappeared behind Archer.
Ah… right, because the cake ruined the atmosphere, Caster had actually done something shocking just now—she controlled another’s Noble Phantasm without seizing it!
“It’s simple~” Caster said lightly, pointing at the golden ripples. “You said your number of treasures exceeded your understanding, so the method of summoning them would also exceed your knowledge. Remember I told you your treasury contains ‘prototypes’ and all their ‘derivatives’?”
Weber saw Archer slowly nodding. This was beyond what he had learned at the Clock Tower.
“Because I told you ways to use treasures you didn’t know, I gained partial permission. As long as I’m present when you summon the ‘prototype,’ I can add conditions to summon its ‘derivative.’ But ownership remains yours.” Caster bit into her cake. “You were trying to summon the ‘world’s first cake,’ right? I think that thing would be as hard as stone, so I stopped you.”
“Hmph, as expected of Caster,” Gilgamesh’s killing intent faded somewhat, but his eyes remained sharp. “But meddling in my treasury without permission is still a capital offense.”
“Ah, think what you want, but unless you summon non-combat items, this extra summoning is useless. If you throw me a sword, do you want me to summon several modern cold steel swords too?” Caster waved her hand dismissively.
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“If you dare do this again in this war, I will kill you myself,” the oldest king said with murderous intent.
“Oh.” Caster nodded indifferently and continued eating her fruit cake.
“Heh, that won’t do,” Rider said, eyes sharp as Gilgamesh. “I was planning to team up with Caster to steal all your treasury’s treasures using this method—having a back door in your treasury was your mistake, Heroic King.”
“Isn’t this supposed to be a war for the Holy Grail? What are you doing?” Weber finally couldn’t hold back and shouted.
“The Holy Grail? I don’t recall you making a wish to the Grail, brat.” Rider raised his hand as if to flick Weber’s forehead but stopped because of the cream on it. “Defeating all the strong fighters in this war and earning your teacher’s approval should be enough, right?”
“Pfft—although that’s an impossible goal, what a shallow wish.” Gilgamesh crossed his arms and said coldly.
“What about your own wish? You can’t get a physical body without the Grail, can you?” Weber reached out to poke Iskandar’s burly arm clad in a black suit. “This is formed from mana, right?”
“Well… I can help Rider make a smaller real body, but if you, Mr. Weber, are willing to keep supplying mana, retaining this size is fine.” Caster again gave that inscrutable look, speaking casually.
“What about you? What’s your wish with your Master?” Weber was about to give up and openly asked the hostile Servant.
“My wish… can’t be fulfilled by the Grail at all. So I find it strange that I was chosen by that kid and given Command Seals. The Grail must be malfunctioning.” Caster finished her cake and began sipping milk tea.
Here were the three strongest heroic spirits of this Holy Grail War, yet two had no intention of seeking the Grail? Weber glared at Archer, then felt as if doused by ice water under that murderous glare, calming instantly.
“I have decided that even treasures yet to appear in the future belong to me,” Gilgamesh declared proudly. “Therefore, any thief who attempts to touch my treasures must be punished.”
Sure enough, none of these three heroic spirits intended to claim the Grail! Weber thought Kenneth-sensei would be even more shocked by this news.
“Oh~ future treasures? Then taobao—” Caster seemed about to join in but suddenly frowned, looking toward the old city district. “Well, sorry to interrupt this Feast of the Three Kings early, but I must go now.”
“You call this a ‘Feast of the Three Kings’? Where’s the wine?”
Weber considered Gilgamesh’s focus clearly abnormal. Shouldn’t they be speculating about what happened to their Masters and planning strategies?
“I’m still underage, Heroic King Uncle~” Caster tossed out a remark that made Archer even angrier, then vanished into pure spiritual particles.
“You want to drink? I can keep you company.”
Just as Weber relaxed, his own Servant made a statement that left him speechless. Even as he grabbed Rider’s suit sleeve to stop him, it was too late.
“But only if it’s from the good wines stored in your treasury.”
“Hmph, I’ve had enough of this farce. Now I must drag the instigator back. If there’s time for drinking, we’ll see.” After rejecting Rider’s offer, Archer grabbed Rin Tohsaka, who was still dazed after finishing her cake, by the collar and carried her out of the cake shop, glaring at the Assassin called Emil as he left.
“Looks like something’s going on that we don’t know about.” Iskandar glanced at the little Assassin, who cowered behind Gilgamesh’s gaze in her child form. He was about to bend his arm and lift her by the waist. “We’ll withdraw too. Let’s go, Weber.”
No… wait? Where are you taking an enemy Servant!?
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