"He's not just 200 years old. That old worm was actually a close friend of Hohenheim," Tia said casually.
"Hohenheim? You mean Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, from the Renaissance 500 years ago? The same era as da Vinci?" Waver was shocked again.
"Do you know how Hohenheim judged that old worm?" Tia's lips curled up in a smile. "He thought that old worm was a respectable magus, a noble idealist, and even wanted to be friends with him."
"What?"
"I'm saying, the guy who turned himself into a bug used to be considered a respectable idealist?" Alexander the Great suddenly cut in.
"Yeah! That old worm actually lived for 500 years! Just to make himself immortal, he turned into something disgusting! And yet, someone like that was respected by famous people in history?! I really can't believe it!" Waver kept on being shocked.
"Is that so? Then it's no wonder he could invent the Command Seals," Alexander the Great said, sounding strangely thoughtful. "I wonder what kind of person he was 500 years ago… and whether he knew back then what he would eventually become."
The room fell silent again.
Waver began to wonder if his future self might turn into someone his present self would despise.
And Tia…
I can't help but look forward to which version of Emiya Shirou I'll turn into in the future.
"Ahem! Alright, since we still have some time, why don't you two play a game with me? How about it?" Alexander suddenly suggested.
"Who has time for games!" Waver immediately refused.
"Sure!" Tia agreed right away, completely forgetting she still had a few Noble Phantasms left to finish. "Oh, Lancelot, you come out too! This is Sensei's room, no outsiders will come in. Join us for a game."
Tia even remembered to call Lancelot over.
Lancelot appeared, looking at the machine they called a game console, then at his hands wrapped in armor, not knowing what to do.
"Lance, you should take off your armor and change into some modern clothes," Tia suggested when she saw the armored figure.
Lancelot listened, then removed his armor piece by piece, dropping it to the floor. The armor faded away into sparks of light. Underneath, he only wore a thin layer of clothing, which looked shabby and out of place, making Tia frown.
"I'll go find some clothes," Waver said, and went out. He came back with a few sets. "The family I'm staying with happens to have some that should fit. Berserker, try these on."
Lancelot looked at the clothes in Waver's hand, then turned his head toward Tia.
Tia nodded, and Lancelot took the clothes and put them on.
"Ugh… so lame…" Tia couldn't help but complain.
"It's all we've got, just wear it," Waver muttered.
At that moment, Alexander the Great had already hooked up the game console.
"Hahaha! Come on! Here! Knight of the Lake! Let's fight!" Alexander the Great shoved the controller right into Lancelot's hands.
Lancelot looked at the controller, then at Alexander the Great, then at Tia.
Tia sighed helplessly and nodded again.
Lancelot took the controller, tapped a few buttons, and the character on the screen started moving.
It was Street Fighter II.
Tia stared at the screen speechless, but also a little excited—she hadn't played games in ages. But it didn't take long before she gave up on the thought, because the red and white characters fighting on the screen had already gone way over the top. The flashy, nonstop combos made Tia's eyes light up as she watched in awe.
In the end though, Lancelot still beat Alexander the Great.
But when Lancelot looked down at the controller, he realized it had turned into a strange black controller covered in red cracks, looking unbelievably cool. Tia, however, knew this was the effect of his Noble Phantasm.
Lancelot had even turned the controller into his weapon.
"N-Noble Phantasm…" Waver froze in shock.
"No way! Come on! Knight of the Lake, play Grand Strategy II with me!" Suddenly Alexander the Great cared about winning and losing.
Lancelot didn't refuse, and went along to play a few rounds of Grand Strategy II with him. The result… of course he got crushed.
"Tonight… I want to invite the King… to play too… The King will… definitely beat you… Conqueror King!" Lancelot said this very seriously.
"No problem! Tonight I'll bring the console and the TV with me!" Alexander the Great said, and he really meant it.
Tia was stunned when she heard him. She exchanged a glance with Waver, both of them completely speechless.
"Only an idiot like you would love games this much! That's King Arthur! She would never waste time on games like you!" Waver couldn't hold back and yelled.
"That's not for sure. For us, this is also a way to decide victory and defeat!" Alexander the Great said with such seriousness, like he actually believed it.
As for Tia… she was suddenly reminded of Carnival Phantasm.
Can we please be serious for once? This is supposed to be a Holy Grail War!
Tia really wanted to shout that out.
By this time it was already getting late. Alexander the Great looked out the window at the darkening sky, stood up, and said: "We should get going!"
He really picked up the TV and console, carried them out, summoned his ox chariot, and brought Tia and Waver along.
Tia's mind was filled with curses she couldn't even put into words.
Was this whole thing starting to fall apart?
She couldn't imagine what tonight's King's Banquet was going to turn into. And then…
"Wait… did we even bring any wine?" Tia asked.
"Of course!" Alexander the Great pointed ahead, where a shop was selling wine. "You two wait here for me."
He parked the chariot in a corner, ran off, and came back with a huge barrel of wine.
Tia covered her face with one hand, not wanting to be seen with him.
After a while, Tia suddenly felt like her body had passed through some kind of barrier. It was like getting shocked by electricity. She quickly looked ahead and saw the Einzbern castle right in front of them.
Uh…
(End of The Chapter)