This was Ur. Since the city had suffered almost no damage, supplies and the venue were readily available, and the banquet was quickly set up.
The ordinary civilians were all in the temple on Ebihu Mountain, so aside from a few humans serving as attendants, the banquet consisted almost entirely of Heroic Spirits. Of course, Jiang You hadn't forgotten the civilians. He borrowed several Flying Dragons from Quetzalcoatl to deliver container-loads of supplies—enough for a thousand people—to the temple. It was time for those frayed nerves to relax.
This act earned him the goodwill of many Heroic Spirits, successfully expanding Jiang You's "Deck."
Crystal chandeliers cast a soft white glow over an incredibly long banquet table. On jade-white plates sat a dazzling array of delicacies from all corners of the world, a luxury that seemed impossible for this era.
Of course, they weren't from this era. Jiang You had sourced them all from the 20th century.
Since the banquet hadn't officially begun, the Heroic Spirits present tacitly refrained from eating, instead gathering in small groups to chat. However, one blue-and-gold Servant was struggling to restrain her appetite, her eyes fixed on a nearby plate.
Tiamat seemed to notice Artoria's distress. She sliced off a giant chicken leg and offered it to her.
"Go on, eat. When you're hungry, you should eat."
"No... (Gulp) We should still observe proper etiquette..."
White Lancer Artoria's eyes glazed over. No matter which version of Artoria, the temptation of food was nearly impossible to resist.
"Eat up, eat up. Children who don't eat properly won't grow big and strong."
As Tiamat said this, she sized up Artoria's appearance. Beneath the cloak, her figure was remarkably curvaceous, especially her ample chest, which strained against her clothes. Tiamat subconsciously touched her own chest—flat, with almost no curves.
"I've lost... I've lost in the 'Mother' department..."
"?"
White Lancer Artoria stared in confusion at the suddenly dejected Tiamat.
From the host's seat, Gilgamesh began his speech with his signature booming laugh: "First, This King wishes to thank you all for your contributions to Uruk..."
Before he could finish speaking, a crimson shadow streaked in from the side, its sharp heel aimed directly at Gilgamesh's neck. But Gilgamesh merely snorted coldly. A golden ripple materialized, blocking the attacker's path, and then, with a brilliant flash of light, a Noble Phantasm shot out.
The figure moved like a serpent, twisting away to create distance and evade Gilgamesh's attack.
"What's this? Attempting to slay your own master?" Gilgamesh sneered at the attacker. "In Uruk, such an act would earn you a public beheading!"
"Cut the crap! Uruk has no such law!" Fairy Tristan retorted. She had clearly been studying hard to counter Gilgamesh's taunts. "Besides, this is my Faerie Realm! We follow our laws! And I am the law!"
"Isn't that a bit... tyrannical?" Mash muttered under her breath.
"Hey, you over there, the purple eggplant! My hearing is excellent!" Fairy Tristan pointed at Mash, hands on her hips. "So what if I'm a tyrant?! A king must be willful! If you don't believe you're absolutely right, you'll just be swayed by others!"
"Looks like she's learned all the wrong lessons."
Sensing more than a little of Gilgamesh's influence in Fairy Tristan, Jiang You rapped her sharply on the back of the head. "I told you to learn his abilities, not his personality! Of all people to imitate, you chose Gilgamesh? This kid's a lost cause. Time to scrap her and start over!"
"What do you mean, 'of all people'?! Is imitating This King so terrible?!" Gilgamesh bristled, ready to argue with Jiang You. But before he could, Fairy Tristan beat him to it by agreeing with Jiang You.
"He's right. That was my mistake. I'd rather die than be like him!" Fairy Tristan nodded emphatically. It was the first time she had ever admitted fault, a testament to just how much she despised Gilgamesh.
"You insolent brat!" Gilgamesh instantly deployed his King's Treasury. For a student with zero respect for her master, only blades could teach the proper lesson! "Allow This King to give you a lesson in etiquette!"
"Etiquette?" Fairy Tristan burst out laughing. "I learned that long ago! But wouldn't using it on you be a complete waste?"
Neither could gain the upper hand verbally. Both were stubborn and difficult, so their argument quickly escalated into a physical brawl. Though Fairy Tristan knew she was no match for Gilgamesh, in her current state, she couldn't be defeated easily.
Once they started fighting, they paid no heed to their surroundings. After three or four exchanges, one of Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasms struck the long table, shattering a load-bearing leg. The food atop it crashed to the floor in a chaotic mess.
White Lancer Artoria, who had just won an intense internal battle and convinced herself it was fine to eat a little, watched in horror as her meal plummeted to the ground, scattering everywhere.
In an instant, she summoned her Holy Lance. But before she could unleash her fury, Tiamat erupted first.
"Naughty children!"
Tiamat stared at the pot of thick soup spilled on the floor. She had made it herself, even temporarily constructing some of the rarer biological ingredients from the Primordial Sea—a true labor of love.
"Wasting food! Not being kind to each other! If you want to fight, take it outside!"
Though her body was small, it contained immense power. Gilgamesh, knowing he was in the wrong, didn't dare resist. Tiamat effortlessly grabbed both him and Fairy Tristan, then hurled them out with tremendous force. The two shot across the sky like shooting stars, one heading south, the other north.
"Don't worry, I have a backup."
Since Jiang You could provide enough food for a thousand people, conjuring another table's worth wasn't difficult, though it certainly wouldn't be as exquisite as the first.
"Even if you make it again, Mother's effort has been wasted."
Tiamat, still puffed up with anger, sighed as she looked at the spilled soup on the floor. She then opened a very small-scale Primordial Sea, summoned an unknown Magical Beast, and had it lick the soup clean from the floor.
After the beast finished, Tiamat even found a napkin to wipe its mouth. Finally, she patted its head and sent it back into the Primordial Sea.
Jiang You didn't know where to even begin with his criticism. No matter how you looked at it, the floor was definitely dirtier, right?