Half the enormous ox was already gone.
Figures sat behind each table: chatting, eating, drinking, or keeping up a veneer of elegance…
When Kotomine Kirei, traveling from the church in the southwest corner of Shinto, finally crossed Ryūdō Temple's gate after receiving the "invitation," he saw a scene like this.
"Kirei, you came as well."
Tokiomi beckoned his former pupil—whom he'd taken in two years ago, then staged a dramatic falling-out with a year ago to prepare for the Fourth War… only for the plan to collapse when Kirei summoned an abnormal Servant.
"Sit. Before the fighting starts, eat more of this meat. It benefits martial practitioners."
"Teacher… is that… Sakura?"
Kirei asked as he sat at the only empty place at Tokiomi's table.
Since Tokiomi was openly greeting him, there was no longer any need to keep acting.
"Yes."
Tokiomi gave a bitter smile. "The world is… unpredictable."
"…"
Kirei said nothing.
Tokiomi, who had already forced himself to stabilize his mindset earlier, didn't press.
Instead he asked, "Since you accepted the invitation, your Servant should be here too?"
"He is."
Kirei nodded and glanced to his side.
The next moment, Kirei himself froze.
He'd assumed that—as in the past days—his Servant would remain in perfect concealment.
But now, the figure stood fully manifested.
Multiple Servants' gazes shifted at once: Kama, Morgan, Scáthach, the Goddess Rhongomyniad…
Kirei considered briefly, then introduced him to the assembly.
"This is my Servant: an honorable predecessor who upholds the Lord's teachings.
"Perhaps due to misunderstanding by later generations, he manifested as Berserker in this war. Even so, he has not been affected by the class's madness—he remains fully rational."
Kama & Morgan & Scáthach & the Goddess Rhongomyniad & Baiye: "…"
Nice one.
"Fuhahahahaha!"
Gilgamesh threw his head back laughing, his upper armor already removed.
"If I'd known earlier that the 'Servant who should have been our ally' was him, I would've gone to visit days ago.
"Berserker… just witnessing this is enough to make my summoning worthwhile! Hahahahaha—"
Berserker—wearing a skull mask, wrapped in brutal heavy armor, a black cloak draped over his shoulders, both hands resting on a greatsword—stood in silence.
"…Ahem."
Gilgamesh abruptly stopped laughing, cleared his throat, and said solemnly to the man who summoned him:
"Tokiomi. I have decided to forgive your discourtesy."
"Ah… thank you for Your Majesty's magnanimity."
Tokiomi hurried to respond.
(Wait—have I offended him somewhere without realizing it? I've been deferential to the point of calling myself his vassal…)
Baiye tapped the table with his knuckles—just enough sound to pull Tokiomi's attention.
"Head of the Tohsaka, you can't only treat others as 'smart' when it benefits you.
"The ritual you Three Families created might be secret by modern standards, but for a figure like the King of Heroes from the Age of Gods, seeing through it is probably just a matter of whether he feels like it.
"Besides, as far as I know, the relic you used to summon him was… a fossil formed from the shed skin of the earliest serpent in the world?"
"What's wrong with that?"
Tokiomi was genuinely confused.
He'd successfully summoned Gilgamesh. Didn't that prove he'd chosen correctly?
"You seriously think it's fine?"
Baiye stared.
"…"
Tokiomi felt Baiye wasn't speaking idly, so he replayed the myth in his head.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the king began as a tyrant. He met Enkidu, forged friendship, and under Enkidu's influence became a hero.
Then, after slaying the Bull of Heaven, the gods took Enkidu's life. Gilgamesh, struck by grief and fear of death, sought immortality.
At last, he found a herb that could restore youth—only for a serpent to steal and eat it while he wasn't looking, shedding its skin afterward.
Seeing that, Gilgamesh accepted the truth and returned to Uruk, becoming a wise king until his death.
Wait.
The serpent that stole the herb… the shed skin it left behind—
The moment Tokiomi connected the dots, cold sweat burst from his brow. His back went damp.
If it were late-era Gilgamesh—the wise king—Tokiomi suspected the shed skin might earn only a sigh of reflection.
But was the Gilgamesh he'd summoned that Gilgamesh?
Looking at their days together…
Tokiomi could not lie to himself.
And worse—he couldn't lie to Gilgamesh either.
"Is your half-step backward supposed to be serious?"
Gilgamesh frowned. "I said I won't hold it against you anymore. Set your heart at ease.
"Of course—if you continue to offend me as you are now, that's another matter."
Tokiomi: "…"
Interesting.
Watching his teacher—who had always seemed composed and in control—now trembling with fear, Kirei nearly—
(….)
He caught himself.
Because he felt Berserker's gaze.
Kirei quietly pressed his lips back into a neutral line.
....
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