Chapter 437: Female Gilgamesh? A Sudden Intuition? Eastern Delicacies?
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Artoria had been pondering this exact question since yesterday.
Seito clearly carried the refined demeanor of an Eastern deity, which made her deeply curious about the duo's true identity.
Hearing her question, Seito and Nyaruko exchanged a quick glance.
"We came from deep space," Seito answered honestly, keeping his response concise. Disclosing that they hailed from the vast cosmos was enough; there was no need to reveal deeper secrets about their origins.
Artoria and Irisviel froze in unison.
From beyond the universe?
That answer was completely beyond their expectations.
Before the duo could digest the news, Seito turned his calm gaze straight onto Irisviel, speaking upfront: "Do you realize that you yourself are the vessel for the Holy Grail?"
Artoria: "???"
Irisviel: "???"
The sudden statement left both Artoria and Irisviel rooted to the spot.
The vessel for the Holy Grail?!
Whirling her head around to look at Irisviel, Artoria's face filled with profound shock. She harbored zero doubts about Seito's words—after all, he was a literal God! A deity had no reason to fabricate such a claim.
"Furthermore, the current Holy Grail is entirely incapable of granting any wishes. It was thoroughly corrupted long ago," Seito added, observing their stunned expressions.
Revealing this snippet of truth satisfied a bit of his own playful curiosity. However, Seito had no intention of forcefully intervening in the natural progression of this world's events. Letting things take their course naturally was the best approach.
Once the Fourth Holy Grail War concluded, he could effortlessly use his supreme power to revive Irisviel and take her along. Until then, maintaining stability throughout the war was the wisest path—after all, causing massive dimensional disruptions might inadvertently attract the attention of Gaia or Alaya. Waiting for the war's end was undeniably the optimal choice.
"?!!"
Artoria felt as though her world had shattered.
Her sole motivation for participating in the Holy Grail War was remarkably simple: to return to the past and rewrite the tragic downfall of Britain. But now, a God was directly informing her that the Holy Grail was corrupted and incapable of granting wishes. The revelation was almost impossible to bear.
Taking a deep breath, Artoria forcibly steadied her trembling emotions, falling silent.
Seeing her knightly companion like this, Irisviel's heart filled with deep concern.
Although Artoria was technically her Servant (Saber), their bond was far closer and more genuine than her distant relationship with her husband, Kiritsugu Emiya.
Seito offered a gentle smile and refrained from elaborating further.
Right on cue, the restaurant staff began serving a lavish spread of dishes, and everyone naturally shifted their focus to the meal.
Meanwhile...
Inside the Tohsaka Estate.
Looking at the King of Heroes—who had currently reverted to her true female form—Tokiomi Tohsaka bowed with flawless elegance.
"My King, regarding the records of Eastern deities who command the power of Space, I have gathered the relevant information."
"Speak," Female Gilgamesh demanded lazily, resting her cheek against one hand while swirling a crystal goblet of wine with the other.
"Understood," Tokiomi replied respectfully, presenting his findings: "In Eastern mythology, three prominent deities are primarily associated with absolute spatial authority."
"First: Dijiang (Teikō)—the Celestial Emperor of the Center. A primordial divine entity existing since the creation of heaven and earth."
"Second: Great Immortal Yangmei (Yōbai Taisen)—a supreme entity born before the cosmos itself. As the Spatial Fiendgod among the Three Thousand Chaos Fiendgods, he innately commands the Great Dao of Space and possesses terrifying combat prowess!"
"Third: Zhenyuanzi (Shinenshi)—renowned as the Ancestor of Earthly Immortals (Chisen no So), acclaimed to share longevity with the cosmos itself."
Pausing briefly as a thought occurred to him, Tokiomi added: "During my research, I also noted a fourth figure associated with spatial authority: Tathagata Buddha (Nyorai).
However, Buddhist mythology is not native to the Eastern heartland. Furthermore, the first three figures command far greater ancient authority compared to Buddha. That unknown deity from last night is unlikely to be affiliated with Buddhism."
Female Gilgamesh remained silent, her thoughts aligning closely with Tokiomi's analysis.
Regardless of how one looked at Seito, he lacked even a shred of Buddhist demeanor, making that possibility entirely void.
However... out of the three ancient deities Tokiomi had just detailed, which one was Seito?
Female Gilgamesh fell into deep thought. Although the descriptions sounded brief, a careful consideration revealed that all three entities possessed mind-boggling, supreme power!
"Could he be Great Immortal Yangmei?" Female Gilgamesh mused with a slight frown.
"My King, that is highly unlikely," Tokiomi shook his head.
"Oh? Does Tokiomi know something further? Speak up and let this King listen," she took a quiet sip of fine wine.
"While studying the ancient texts, I discovered that Great Immortal Yangmei is depicted as a venerable elder. He would hardly resemble the youthful appearance of the unknown deity we encountered yesterday."
Even considering that ancient entities could alter their physical manifestations, it was unnatural to assume a form as youthful as Seito's without reason. Therefore, Seito was almost certainly not Great Immortal Yangmei.
"Dismissed," Female Gilgamesh waved her hand indifferently.
"Understood, my King," Tokiomi bowed reverently and retreated from the hall.
Left alone, Female Gilgamesh recalled Seito's face, her crimson eyes flashing with a sharp, dangerous glint.
"No matter who you truly are... offending this King is a crime punishable only by death!"
Meanwhile...
At the restaurant, Seito felt a sudden, faint tug at his intuition. His eyes flicked toward the distant horizon.
"What's wrong?" Nyaruko asked around a massive mouthful of steak.
"It's nothing," Seito shook his head, though a subtle curiosity lingered in his mind.
Did my divine senses misfire?
He immediately discarded the thought—a Main God's sudden intuition was never a mere coincidence! Someone was definitely talking trash about him behind his back just now.
"Probably Female Gilgamesh (Fem-Shining)," Seito reasoned.
Among everyone on this planet, only that overly arrogant King of Heroes would hold such a petty grudge after being teased yesterday.
Putting the thought aside, Seito looked back across the table at Artoria.
He had to admit, the King of Knights' appetite was truly mind-blowing—she had already finished three complete menu cycles! Absolutely legendary performance!
"Is something on my face?" Artoria paused, noticing Seito staring at her, before calmly resuming her feast with utmost seriousness.
"Do you find these dishes delicious?" Seito asked with a light chuckle.
"They are exceptionally good," Artoria nodded affirmatively.
Seito shook his head slightly, offering a warm suggestion: "If you ever get the chance, you should really try authentic Eastern cuisine. Satisfying your palate with just this small selection of Western dishes would be quite a pity."
This wasn't empty boasting. When it came to culinary mastery, Eastern cuisine stood as an undisputed titan. Not only were local island dishes derived from Eastern culinary traditions, even Western pasta traced its historical roots back to Eastern noodle-making techniques!
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Thank you for reading.