Words have power. Everyone present knew this. History was filled with countless examples of words turning the tide.
To the King of Conquerors, making an enemy submit through one's own philosophy of kingship was far more romantic than beating them into submission with brute force.
Just as he finished speaking and placed the entire cask of wine he'd brought onto the Round Table, a golden light flashed in the sky...
It was the arrival of Vimana. Tokiomi Tohsaka, dressed in a wine-red suit, descended from the heavens and landed steadily in the courtyard.
Only after the King of Heroes, also in casual attire, had taken his seat at the empty corner of the table did Tokiomi step behind his King and nod to Guinevere. With a glance, he signaled Rin to remain quiet for now.
Tokiomi's personal appearance was somewhat unexpected for Guinevere and the others. According to Kiritsugu's analysis, Tokiomi would meticulously weigh the pros and cons and wouldn't even trade Kirei's head for anything.
Just as Guinevere was wondering if she had misjudged Tokiomi's character, he spoke:
"Your Grace, Guinevere—or perhaps I should call you Caster for now? Now that your assistant has been returned to you, isn't it time you returned Rin? I trust Kiritsugu Emiya isn't foolish enough to believe..."
"...that I would kill Kirei for Rin's sake, or even go so far as to abandon the Holy Grail?
"That rescued assistant was the only thing he could have possibly gained by kidnapping Rin."
As he spoke, his gaze slid from Guinevere to Irisviel, but in truth, he was trying to see the person behind her.
"Rin," he continued, "as your father, I will teach you another lesson. A proper mage must learn to suppress human emotions. Everything must be secondary to reaching the Root."
Rin was healthy and unharmed, her clothes only slightly disheveled from Guinevere's teasing—truly nothing more than playful antics.
During her less than ten hours of captivity, Rin had gradually stopped worrying about herself. Her mind was consumed with wondering when her father would come to take her home and what price he would be forced to pay.
Rin loved her father more than anyone.
But as Tokiomi delivered this lesson, the little girl was on the verge of tears. Her chin trembled as she clenched her jaw, desperately holding back sobs. She clung to the thought that her father was merely feigning indifference to gain a negotiating advantage. Only this fantasy allowed her to maintain the Tohsaka House's elegance.
She refused to disgrace her beloved father and the Tohsaka name in front of everyone.
Rin's dignified, upright posture impressed even the King of Heroes.
With a snap of his fingers, a golden ripple appeared, and a large pile of gems tumbled out before her.
"A gift for you," he declared. "Since you're effectively fatherless now."
The gems formed a small mound, at least a hundred of them. Once the King of Heroes declared them a gift, they would no longer return to the Gate of Babylon but would remain as physical objects in the present world.
However, Rin was clearly not pleased by his gift, and even less so by his words.
Just as she was about to lash out, Guinevere chuckled softly. She ruffled Rin's hair and raised her cup to the King of Heroes.
"Let's save the unnecessary remarks for later, shall we? A banquet is for drinking, no?"
Though Guinevere said this, she knew—just as she'd expected—that the King of Heroes would disdain the wine brought by the King of Conquerors. Golden ripples appeared again, revealing a set of gem-encrusted goblets and a heavy golden decanter.
"The esteemed King and Queen of Camelot, and you prepare such inferior wine?"
The King of Heroes boasted of his own crystal-clear liquor, while the wine poured by the King of Conquerors filled the air with a rich, fragrant aroma.
After the King of Conquerors poured wine for himself and the King of Heroes, he turned to serve the King of Knights and Guinevere. But before he could, Guinevere snapped her fingers, and a large celadon wine bowl materialized before her.
"Back in the day, when we held feasts with our knights, we drank heartily and ate our fill," she declared. "With cups this small, do you plan to drink until the Holy Grail War ends?"
The celadon bowl was ten centimeters in diameter and could hold over a pound of liquid when full. Guinevere dared to summon such a vessel because she had caught the scent of the wine and realized it wasn't particularly strong—it was the kind meant for savoring, not chugging.
"Pearls before the swine..." the King of Heroes muttered.
"Heh," Guinevere retorted. "It seems the King of Heroes' wine reserves are running low!"
"Ha? Mongrel, you dare question this King's reserves?" Gilgamesh sneered. "This King will drink a full bowl. You and the King of Knights will share one. King of Conquerors, what say you?"
"The King of Knights' side provided the food, and your side, King of Heroes, provided the wine," Iskandar replied with a grin. "I'm just here for the free food and drink, so don't ask for my opinion. All I can say is, I'll keep up with you all to the very end."
With his bushy beard, the King of Conquerors looked every bit the heavy drinker—and indeed, he was.
After the King of Heroes materialized another dozen or so bottles of fine wine, he simply grabbed one and began chugging straight from it, displaying his heroic spirit without a care for getting drunk.
Watching him drink and sensing his bold aura, Guinevere abandoned her plan to get him drunk and take advantage.
She let out a light laugh, raised her bowl, and downed three in quick succession. The King of Knights and the King of Heroes followed suit, though the King of Knights flatly refused the offer to share a bowl with Guinevere.
Around the Round Table, the four Servants occupying its three corners drank silently and heartily until each had finished a five-pound bottle, leaving them all slightly tipsy.
Of the four, the King of Knights had the lowest alcohol tolerance.
With five pounds of wine in her belly, the King of Knights cast aside her usual self-restraint. She pulled Guinevere close and kissed her fiercely in front of everyone. Once satisfied, she slammed her hand on the table with drunken abandon and reached for a chicken leg.
"Don't just drink! Eat! You're all kings who've seen battle, aren't you? Who are you putting on this act for? At my Round Table, we fight for our food! If you can't grab it, that's your own fault! And let me tell you, Guinevere is delicious, but the food she makes is the most delicious of all!"
With a chicken leg in one hand and wine in the other, she impulsively pulled Guinevere close again, freely expressing her affection.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded by this side of the King of Knights. But then the King of Heroes burst into unrestrained laughter, grabbing a lobster to eat. The King of Conquerors followed suit, but not before stuffing a roasted duck into Waver's hands.
"The King of Knights is right! We're all kings who've seen battle; we shouldn't stand on ceremony. Come, let me toast everyone with another bottle!"
The shift from tense hostility to joyous feasting was so abrupt that the Masters couldn't even process it.
Soon after, Tokiomi Tohsaka maintained his elegant composure, refusing to participate in the chaotic scramble for food.
Irisviel von Einzbern, however, wove silver threads into spirit birds that fetched her desired dishes.
Rin, the young girl, tried not to disappoint Tokiomi, but after Guinevere reclaimed her pride from the King of Knights' lips, she playfully stuffed another chicken leg into Rin's mouth.
The banquet continued in this boisterous atmosphere, as if the three factions at the Round Table weren't mortal enemies destined to fight to the death.
But while the wine was endless, the food was not. When the table was strewn with the remnants of the feast, the time came for the well-fed and well-drunk group to discuss serious matters.
The King of Heroes, the King of Knights, the King of Conquerors, and Guinevere had each consumed ten bottles of fine wine—over fifty pounds each.
If they weren't Heroic Spirits capable of rapidly converting what they consumed into Mana, their stomachs would have been bulging.
Though their bellies remained empty, the alcohol's effects lingered, and the massive influx of Mana left all four feeling sated.
"Alright, the time for merriment is over," the King of Knights declared. "King of Conquerors, you invited me to this banquet to discuss the qualities of a king. So, speak. What exactly did you wish to ask?"
The King of Heroes had no interest in Tohsaka's plans. He was far more intrigued by the three individuals gathered at the banquet.
"Speak. I'd like to see if you two are truly worthy of the title 'King'."