"Don't go over there! As a knight, you're disturbing their battle. That's not good!" Erza and Lancelot, who had just arrived, had already missed the start of the first battle. Saber and Lancer were already engaged in a fierce fight, and those two were currently on the hillside, observing and enjoying the spectacle. The knight girl beside them couldn't resist the urge to go and visit her king, but Erza stopped her. "If you go out like that, you'll miss the show!"
"Yes! It was my recklessness." The girl, unaware of her Master's sinister intentions, sincerely apologized. In her excitement, she had indeed forgotten that a knight cannot interrupt another's duel. She had violated this rule! She would definitely be disliked by her king.
"Just watch quietly!" Erza accepted the girl's apology, and the two watched from a hidden spot. While watching the fight, Erza searched for the location of the cuckolded Master and the righteous hero. Before Erza could even activate her senses, the situation below changed. Saber, as in the original story, finished off the enemy, and Lancer started taunting. Hey! Dude, stop taunting! A mere E-rank Lucky Star, daring to taunt. Don't you see this knight lady beside me is already eyeing your head?
"Calm down! Calm down!" Seeing the red light in the girl's eyes growing stronger, Erza tried to soothe her. Otherwise! She would definitely have jumped out right now and given Lancer a piece of her mind. Poor Lancer! You've been targeted by a big shot.
Berserker should have appeared and confronted Saber at this moment. But Erza has calmed her down, and it's uncertain whether Saber can hold out until the arrival of the King of Conquerors.
"Bilibili!!" Speak of the devil, and he appears. Just as Erza was really thinking, the sound of thunder came from the sky.
The already tense atmosphere, heightened by the battle between the two knights, became even more solid. The cold, clear, and tense air was suddenly shattered by a thunderous sound.
"..." Everyone present looked up at the sky, and the source of the sound was immediately clear. A flying object was seen streaking across the sky, heading straight for them, leaving only purple flashes of lightning in the night sky. The sound must have come from it.
Judging from its appearance, this is an ancient chariot. Instead of warhorses, a muscular bull is tethered to it. The bull's hooves tread on the air, pulling the magnificent chariot.
The chariot was not simply floating in the air; its wheels roared, and the bull's hooves pounded not the earth but lightning.
"Both sides, put away your weapons before me!!" The tall, red figure on the chariot spoke in a rough, arrogant, and foolish voice. This was Erza's first impression of the Conqueror King—his grin was like that of an idiot.
"My name is Iskandar, the Conqueror, and I participated in this Holy Grail War and obtained the Rider!" The red idiot who rushed out said loudly with a serious face and a stern tone.
"..." Everyone was dumbfounded, except for Erza, who knew this guy's true nature. No Servant or Master would reveal their real name, not even the upright King Arthur. He always let others guess his identity during battle, rather than revealing his own. Was this guy an idiot?! Everyone thought this.
"Idiot...idiot! How could anyone expose their family like that?" The submissive...uh! No, the princess cried helplessly, hitting his chest with a small hammer. Oh!
"You've been fighting each other for the Holy Grail, but before you clash, I have a question for you. I don't know what your expectations are for the Holy Grail. But think about it now. Are your desires more significant than grand ambitions encompassing heaven and earth?" The red-haired idiot ignored his Master's anger and protests, suppressing him with a single finger. He stepped down from the carriage and addressed the two men present. Even a beautiful married woman was ignored by you; isn't that just being gay?
"...What are you talking about...?"
Everyone was confused about this guy who suddenly appeared.
Saber frowned and asked.
"Hmm? I think I explained myself very clearly?"
Rider maintained his authority, but his tone had become much gentler and more congenial.
"I have arrived on the battlefield. Do you intend to hand over the Holy Grail to me? If you do, I will consider you my friends and share the joy of conquering the world with you."
"I admire your boldness in introducing yourself, but I find it difficult to agree to your proposal."
Lancer shook his head with a wry smile, but there wasn't even a hint of a smile in his eyes. His gaze remained sharp and imposing, directly clashing with the Conqueror King's scrutinizing tiger eyes.
"I will lift the Holy Grail. This is the vow I made to the only new monarch in this world. The one who lifts the Holy Grail will definitely not be you, Rider."
"Are you trying to stop my duel with the knight just to spout those jokes?"
Saber looked even worse than Lancer.
"Conqueror King, your joke has gone too far. This is an intolerable insult to a knight."
Everyone turned their hostile gazes toward Rider, who seemed troubled, muttering "hmm" to himself while unconsciously pressing his temples with his fists. Rider made a helpless gesture, but his imposing posture remained unshaken, making him, in fact, a person with an extremely rare presence.
Are you trying to negotiate with me?
"Enough with the nonsense!"
It seemed Rider was about to say something flattering, but Lancer and Saber both refused in unison. Saber continued, looking utterly disappointed.
"Let me repeat myself: I am also the monarch of the Kingdom of Britain. No king, no matter what kind of king, can submit to others."
"Oh, King Arthur?"
Rider frowned and let out a long sigh.
"Then our negotiations have broken down. What a pity, what a shame."
In the instant Rider muttered to himself while lying face down, he noticed the resentful gaze fixed on him from below.
"Ouch, it hurts! Ouch!"
Because of the pain from the swelling on her forehead, and even more tragic than the pain was the regret, the princess... Weber's cry drifted softly across the low sky.
"What are we going to do! You keep talking about conquering, but in the end you're just making people hate you! Do you really think you can beat Saber and Lancer?"
The burly servant, instead of showing any remorse when questioned by his master, burst into laughter.
"No, there's a saying: 'Nothing is better than trying.'"
"Nothing is better than a trial. Could it be your real name?!"
Webber, dizzy with rage, used his two powerless fists to repeatedly punch the standing Rider's breastplate, crying as he did so. "Someone's using a small hammer to hit your chest!"
"How pitiful!" Erza watched their farce with utter insincerity. This incident made her realize that the bottom can never defeat the top, not because of size, but because of their sheer presence. And Erza, do you even have the right to judge others? Don't forget that you yourself are a bottom.
Seeing the inexplicably comical behavior of the master and servant pair, the tense atmosphere in this place has completely relaxed.
"Is that so? I see?"
But then, because of that low, almost-ground-hugging complaint, it froze again.
That is the master of Lancer, who has not yet appeared.
After urging his/her servant to use the Noble Phantasm, he/she remained silent and watched the battle. Now, he/she interrupted to ask Waver about his/her purpose in coming here. This was a completely different tone from before, revealing his/her hatred.
"What drove you to steal my relics? Come to think of it, perhaps it's because you wanted to participate in the Holy Grail War, Mr. Waver Velvet?"
Others might not be able to guess who the voice is, but Weber knew.
It's "him".
How could Waver not guess the owner of that voice? If someone's status is high enough to be a lecturer at the Clock Tower, even if Iskandar's coat is stolen, the relics of other Heroic Spirits can still be prepared.
So, in this land of Fuyuki, it's not surprising that this man is standing here as Waver's enemy...
"What a pity... I wanted to make this lovely student happy. Weber, a mortal like you should have a peaceful life that belongs only to mortals."
"I have no choice, Mr. Webber. I'll give you extra tutoring. I'll teach you the true meaning of magicians killing each other, the horror and pain of killing, without reservation. You feel honored, don't you?"
Weber was trembling with fear. He didn't even have the energy to consider the humiliation those words brought him.
"Hey, magician, from what I'm observing, it seems you're planning to replace my little master and become my master?"
Rider gently embraced the still trembling Webber, his face full of disdain.
"If that's really the case, it's utterly ridiculous! The man who becomes my master should be a warrior who fights alongside me on the battlefield, not a coward who doesn't even dare to show his face."
Silence descended, with only Lancer's master's shameful and furious anger spreading through the night air.
Rider suddenly burst into laughter, this time facing the empty night sky, laughing at the top of his lungs.
"Come out! There are others, aren't there? Our accomplices hiding in the shadows, spying on us!"
Both Saber and Lancer showed expressions of surprise.
"What's wrong, Rider?"
When Saber asked the question, Rider gave her a thumbs up with a big smile.
"How pathetic! All the heroes gathered in Fuyuki. Seeing the grandeur Saber and Lancer display here, don't you feel anything? And you, with your proud True Names, are secretly watching from here? How cowardly! The Heroic Spirits must be terrified to hear this, huh!?" Rider, wanting to project his deafening voice to every corner, shouted again. After a burst of laughter, Rider tilted his head slightly, a fearless expression on his lips, and finally surveyed his surroundings with a defiant gaze.
"Not good!" Tokichi, far away at the Tohsaka residence, heard Rider's mockery. Others might not respond, but that one absolutely wouldn't. Go back!
"I don't have a son like that!" Erza suddenly remembered that this guy might be her son in legends. "I don't have such a mentally challenged son!" she thought.
"Two people who don't respect me and arrogantly call themselves kings have suddenly appeared overnight." Sure enough, a certain golden retriever ran up! As soon as it spoke, the golden retriever spirit curled its lip in extreme displeasure, revealing its contempt for the three Servants currently facing off.
The golden retriever, seemingly provoked, makes its appearance.