My transformation into a beautiful girl started with a hemorrhage.

"Oh~~" Iskandar took the empty ladle that Artoria handed back. He knew from Artoria's actions just now that she was no ordinary woman and was someone he was serious about "fighting".

"So, do you want to have a match with me first, Rider?" Artoria asked, neither humble nor arrogant.

“That’s right. Since you and I both call ourselves ‘Kings’ and refuse to back down, this is naturally inevitable. We can say that this is not a ‘Holy Grail War’ but a ‘Holy Grail Question and Answer’. Who is more qualified to be the ‘King of the Holy Grail’... let us ask that question with wine.” Iskandar’s powerful voice rang out.

"Hey, that's enough of this nonsense, you bunch of bastards..."

A burst of golden light flashed in the flowerbed, and Gilgamesh's figure appeared.

However, before he could finish his arrogant words, he stared silently ahead.

A golden light appeared there, revealing Hui's figure.

The atmosphere at the scene was instantly ignited.

Irisviel clasped her hands tightly in front of her chest, took several steps back, and looked at Hui warily.

Weber was so frightened by a single glance from Hui that he fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Hui couldn't help but touch her face. Did she look that scary?

Hui considers herself to be a beauty. Even if she has made a lot of contributions to saving the earth, she is still a good girl. Why is she so scared when she sees her?

Clang!

Artoria stood up, took out her Noble Phantasm, and looked warily at Gilgamesh and Hui respectively, asking, "Archer, Berserker, what are you doing here?"

"Well, well, everyone, don't be nervous. I met Archer and Berserker on the road and just invited them along the way," Iskandar quickly explained. "Saber, put down your sword. We're not here to fight tonight."

Iskandar then turned to Gilgamesh and Hui, and said magnanimously, "You're a bit late, but that's understandable since you came on foot, unlike me. Come on, the latecomers will have to drink a cup of wine as punishment."

Iskandar handed over a gourd filled with wine: "Who wants to go first?"

Gilgamesh spoke up, looking at Hui with a mocking gaze and saying sarcastically without any mercy, "You go first. I heard your Master was killed by a mere Assassin. Heh~~, a Servant without a Master might just disappear in the next second."

When Gilgamesh learned of this, he was somewhat incredulous, and only accepted it after repeatedly confirming it.

Especially after learning that Tokiomi had taken advantage of the other Master's affection for his wife and daughter to kill Kei's Master, he began to look at this guy, whom he had previously thought was boring, in a different light. This ruthless side was better than his previous ordinary and boring appearance.

However, this feeling disappeared again after seeing Tokiomi weeping bitterly because his wife had been killed.

Tokiomi is still a boring guy.

Since he had already sacrificed his wife and daughter, he should have gone all the way down the path of inhumanity. But... he regretted it after only a few steps. This back and forth, this hesitation, is precisely his ordinary and unremarkable nature, and the root of his uninteresting nature.

Gilgamesh knew that without his Master, Wisdom was like an endless expanse of water, utterly powerless, like a tiger with its teeth pulled.

Artoria was shocked to hear that Hui's Master had been killed: "What?! Who did it?"

She couldn't imagine which Servant was so powerful as to kill Berserker's Master.

Upon hearing Artoria's words, Hui began to understand the purpose of her journey.

"Sigh!" Hui sighed. "It's Assassin. I never thought I'd be the first to be eliminated in this Holy Grail War. It's so unfair that I'm ending up here!"

Hui spoke, her tone filled with a sense of loneliness.

"After me, the Holy Grail War will be fought among you."

When everyone saw Hui's appearance, they believed that this was Hui's true thought. After all, a proud god would certainly not stoop to lying!

Hui paused for a moment, then looked at Artoria:

"Your name is Saber, right? Don't embarrass us Heroic Spirits in the upcoming competition. Show your full strength and prove that you are worthy of the Holy Grail!"

"I have high hopes for you. Among all the Heroic Spirits, you are the most qualified to receive the Holy Grail."

“That golden-haired guy has something wrong with his head; that bearded uncle is a rude, scruffy man… Only you are the embodiment of nobility and justice, and the most deserving of the Holy Grail.” Hui began to plant seeds of trouble for Artoria.

Artoria felt a little strange being lectured by a girl about her age in a tone that sounded like an elder.

However, she still strongly agreed with Hui's words: "I would do this even without you telling me."

"That puts my mind at ease," Hui smiled with relief.

Chapter 397 Drinking Together

“Hey, Berserker, I can’t pretend I didn’t hear you.” Iskandar disagreed when he heard Hui announce that the Holy Grail had been given to Artoria. “The ownership of the Holy Grail should be determined by the contest between heroes, not by you.”

"I am a god, I can see things that you mortals cannot. I have my reasons for saying this, it's not just something I said casually." Hui Jueshe's small face was solemn and dignified, like a charlatan.

Iskandar was taken aback. He did not directly deny Wisdom's words because he was already certain of Wisdom's identity.

God, of course, would not stoop to lying to mortals.

Therefore, he naturally trusted Hui's words to some extent, which were considered true divine pronouncements.

"Haha, no matter what, I won't give up the Holy Grail, after all, I really want the Holy Grail!"

"Hey, you alien god, how long are you going to ignore me?" Gilgamesh was still wearing his golden armor, his eyes filled with anger. Even with one arm missing, his imposing presence was not diminished in the slightest.

He tolerated being told by Hui that he was 'mentally unstable,' but he couldn't stand being ignored.

This mere alien mongrel god who had his teeth pulled actually ignored him, directly provoking his sensitive nerves about gods.

Gilgamesh's angry voice drew the attention of everyone present.

Although Gilgamesh was forced to flee in a sorry state after being defeated by Hui and even lost an arm, everyone knew that this did not mean Gilgamesh was weak, but rather that his opponent had been too unfair.

Hui glanced at Gilgamesh indifferently: "Narcissist!"

"Heh~" Gilgamesh laughed in exasperation, a golden light flashed behind him, and he directly opened the Gate of Babylon, revealing several exquisite Noble Phantasms with sharp blades, ready to be unleashed.

The atmosphere immediately became serious.

"You miscellaneous cultivator god, it seems I'll have to see you off tonight."

Hui glanced at him indifferently: "Oh~, it's just taking advantage of someone's misfortune, why go through all this trouble? Why not just take action from the start!"

After Hui finished speaking, she was about to draw a gun that emerged from the golden ripples behind her.

That's the move!

The same thought spontaneously arose in the minds of everyone present.

"Stop! Stop!" Iskandar stood between Hui and Gilgamesh. "Both of you put away your weapons. There will be plenty of time to fight. Even if you have to fight, at least finish your drinks first."

"Archer, put your weapons away." Iskandar looked at Gilgamesh.

“You have no right to order me around, you bastard,” Gilgamesh refused outright.

Iskandar then turned to Hui: "Berserker, it's you. Sit down and have a drink?"

“Sure.” Hui sat down on the ground, mimicking Artoria’s posture, and took the gourd Iskandar handed her. She looked at the purplish-red liquid inside, especially the strong smell of alcohol.

Hui doesn't drink much because she doesn't find alcohol particularly delicious.

However, Kouta drinks a few cups every night with his meal, enjoying it immensely, which makes Hui shake her head, thinking that this might be due to a peculiar constitution.

'However, I'm not exactly a normal human being right now, so I should be fine.'

Hui held the large gourd to her lips, but the strong smell of alcohol made her frown. So she secretly stuck out her tongue and licked it. Her tongue was immediately stimulated by the astringent and spicy taste and she pulled it back, refusing to come out again.

Hui took a symbolic sip and then handed the gourd back to Iskandar.

Throughout the entire process, they completely ignored Gilgamesh, whose eyes were blazing with anger.

Hui knew that if she wanted to provoke this lunatic and narcissistic man, she didn't need to argue; simply ignoring him was more effective than any words.

Stealing a few glances at Gilgamesh, Hui thought disdainfully, 'Hmph, always calling himself king, he's probably just a tyrant.'

Gilgamesh was unaware of his own thoughts; if he had, he would probably have been furious.

He saw Hui sit down to drink, and after thinking for a moment, he also accepted the King's Treasure and sat down.

The four sat facing each other in pairs, like playing mahjong. Iskandar and Artoria were opposite each other, while Hui and Gilgamesh were opposite each other.

"Give me a cup too," Gilgamesh said after sitting down.

"Oh~" Iskandar glanced at Gilgamesh, then at Hye, a look of understanding flashing in his eyes. "Okay."

Gilgamesh took the gourd Iskandar handed him, and frowned upon smelling the wine up close. He took a small sip and immediately stopped, saying with disdain, "What kind of cheap stuff is this? Do you really think this can be used to measure a hero?"

Iskandar scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly and explained, "Really? This is already a very good wine in the local market."

“You think that way because you don’t even know what real wine is, you mongrels.” Gilgamesh took a golden flask from the Gate of Babylon.

"Watch closely, and remember this: this is the so-called King's Wine."

He also took out four golden goblets and tossed them to Iskandar, Artoria, and... Hui.

Hui took the wine glass in surprise and looked at Gilgamesh: "Oh, there's some for me too!"

"Hmph, don't underestimate my magnanimity." Gilgamesh said arrogantly.

Iskandar picked up the golden flask and filled Artoria and Hui's cups, then filled his own.

The three of them began to taste it.

Hui looked down at the glass of red wine, which was almost identical to the one before. The color was almost the same as before, and the smell was also a mixture of alcohol, fruit, and sweet and sour. However, strangely, Hui did not find it pungent.

Hui tentatively took a small sip and was immediately opened up to a whole new world. The feeling was like the difference between a human and a pig, even though it was the same wine.

I can't quite put my finger on the specific differences.

However, swallowing it brings a sense of comfort and pleasure from the bottom of one's heart, a pleasure in the literal sense.

This is wine that has a life of its own!

The initial smoothness upon entry, followed by a gradual unfolding of rich aromas, then a complex and lingering aftertaste that persists in the mouth. These aromas should be balanced, harmonious, elegant, and pleasant.

If the wine in the barrel was a collection of astringency, sourness, alcohol, sweetness, fruitiness, aroma, and flavor compounds, perfectly orderly and square, it was like a textbook answer produced by a student strictly following exam-oriented education.

Do you think it tastes bad?

It's not bad to drink, but it lacks a certain something special.

But this pot of wine is completely different.

It seems as if it were carefully blended by the hand of God, with every ingredient and every detail surpassing the previous wooden barrel by a great deal.

This is not the kind of answer a student from a test-oriented education system would produce, because their initial aspirations transcend the narrow scope of a test paper.

The person who brewed this wine has no questions in their eyes, no exam papers in their mind; all they have is the ultimate pursuit of wine.

The two are not on the same level in terms of their own realm or their own pursuits.