Kaguya furrowed her brows but eventually sat back down, taking the wine glass that Iskandar handed her.
"Whether it's wine or swords, my treasury contains only the finest," Gilgamesh said as he casually glanced at Kaguya, taking a sip of his wine. "Only with such can a king's class be determined."
Kaguya hesitated for a moment. Her tolerance for alcohol wasn't exactly great—in fact, she had a rather embarrassing history of being a one-drink lightweight.
"What's wrong? You call yourself a king but can't even handle a drink?" Gilgamesh sneered mockingly.
"I'm just judging whether this wine is up to my standards," Kaguya shot him a glance before lightly humming and bringing the glass to her lips for a sip. Suddenly, she paused in surprise.
This wine was unexpectedly exquisite—unlike any she had tasted before. The wines she had previously considered fine paled in comparison, now seeming like mere cheap imitations.
"Well, does it meet your standards?" Gilgamesh chuckled softly. "Rest assured, as long as you follow me, you'll enjoy nothing but the highest pleasures."
Kaguya's eye twitched slightly. Was this arrogant show-off trying to bribe her?
If it were any materialistic woman from reality, she might've thrown herself at him by now.
Then again, knowing Gilgamesh's temperament, he'd probably just kick such women away.
"Archer, your wine certainly matches these precious goblets," Iskandar said with a laugh, holding his cup high. "But the Holy Grail isn't like a wine goblet. First, you must know what wish you want to entrust to it; otherwise, this is all meaningless."
"Mongrel, don't get ahead of yourself," Gilgamesh responded coolly. "And you're straying from the main point of the Holy Grail War."
"Oh?" Iskandar asked curiously.
"To be precise, the Grail is mine," Gilgamesh said with an air of absolute certainty. "All treasures in this world come from my vault."
"Are you saying that you once possessed the Holy Grail?" Iskandar chuckled. "So, you must know what it truly is then?"
"Don't measure me by a mongrel's standards," Gilgamesh scoffed dismissively. "My wealth far exceeds what I can keep track of. But a treasure is still a treasure, and thus, it belongs to me. The fact that thieves have dared to lay claim to my possession is galling."
Your face is the thickest one here.
Kaguya couldn't help but mentally ridicule him. Just because you have the prototypes of various treasures doesn't mean everything created after them belongs to you. For example, if I follow a recipe and make something, does that mean it's yours?
That's just absurdly flawed logic.
Suddenly, Kaguya felt something was off. The wine, while undoubtedly delicious, had a potent kick to it. She hadn't noticed at first, but now the alcohol was clearly starting to take effect.
Kaguya's head felt light, her body weightless—symptoms of the early stages of intoxication.
Oh no.
"Are you okay?" Iskandar seemed to notice something was wrong, turning to her with concern.
"No... nothing's wrong," Kaguya replied nonchalantly, unaware of how enchanting she looked with her slightly flushed face. Even Saber couldn't help but glance at her a few times.
But this was just a small interruption in the King's Banquet, and soon, they returned to the topic at hand.
"Saber, a true king must have more desires than others, laugh more wildly, and rage more fiercely. A king must be both pure and impure, standing at the very peak of humanity and divinity. Only then will subjects revere them and dream of becoming kings themselves, taking pride in the ideal of chivalry," Iskandar declared passionately.
Saber's face grew paler by the moment. Her hands, tightly gripping her sword, turned white at the knuckles.
"Perhaps you wave the banners of justice and ideals to save a nation and its people. But do you know what fate awaits those who are saved?" Iskandar pressed. "Surely, you understand that, don't you?"
Saber bit her lip, standing there stunned and at a loss. "What... what are you saying?"
"You've always saved your subjects rather than leading them. You've never declared your own desires as a king, abandoning those lost in the shadows. All you've done is show a pure face while hastening to realize some beautiful, distant ideal. You're not a born king; you're merely a girl trapped by the image of a king," Iskandar said gravely.
Saber looked as if she had been struck hard. Her eyes lost focus, and she muttered, "I... I..."
"Utter nonsense."
Suddenly, a pleasant yet sharp voice cut through the tension.
Saber's body jolted, snapping her out of the despair she had begun to sink into. Iskandar and Gilgamesh also turned toward the source of the voice, where they saw Kaguya smiling enigmatically.
"Is that your definition of a king?" Kaguya said mockingly. "Such outdated drivel has long since rotted away in a coffin. You clearly don't understand what it truly means to be a king."
"Oh?" Iskandar chuckled. "There are three kings here, all with the experience and glory of ruling. And you... it seems you are not one of us."
"Who said I'm not a king?" Kaguya's eyes were hazy, her face flushed as she staggered slightly to her feet. "I am the Empress of a grand empire, with vast lands and countless subjects."
"But there are no records or historical accounts of you in the world we know," Iskandar said, puzzled.
"That's because your world is too narrow," Kaguya snorted derisively. "You're just a speck of dust in the universe, yet you dare claim dominion over the entire world? It's laughably ignorant, like a frog living at the bottom of a well."
"Oh?" Gilgamesh's handsome face lit up with interest. "So tell me then—what do you think it means to be a king?"
"A king?" Kaguya's lips curled in disdain, her drowsy eyes glinting with a hint of mockery. "A king has no reason to exist."