Kamen Rider Date A Live

Rider, abandoning his previous serious tone, chuckled mischievously. Then, as if talking to himself, he began to speak.

"Ah, speaking of which, there's another guy here who calls himself 'King.' He might be the only one who can fight Shido. A nouveau riche covered in gold."

"—That's enough joking around, you bastard. Do you need me to rip your mouth off?"

As if in response to Rider's ambiguous words, a dazzling golden light flashed before everyone's eyes.

The sound and the light caused Saber and Irisviel to freeze instantly.

"Archer, why are you here..."

Saber asked sharply, but the one who answered her was the calm and collected Rider.

"Ah, don't worry, King Knight. I ran into him on my way here and invited him to come along—but Gilgamesh, you're too slow! Why didn't you come over in that huge flying object from earlier?"

The Archer, clad in golden armor, gazed arrogantly at the Rider with his ruby-red eyes.

"You really dared to choose such a shabby place for your banquet. Is this all the taste you have? You made me come all this way, how are you going to apologize?"

"Don't say that, come on, have a drink first."

Rider laughed heartily as he handed the spoon, filled with wine, to Archer.

I thought he would be angered by Rider's attitude, but to my surprise, he simply took the spoon and drank the wine in one gulp.

Irisviel recalled Saber's earlier mention of the "challenge."

Since Archer, this Golden Heroic Spirit whose true identity is unknown, calls himself "King," it is impossible for him to refuse the wine offered by Rider.

"—This kind of wine, which is only slightly better than inferior liquor, is actually used in battles between heroes?"

Archer said with a look of disgust.

"Really? I think the sake Shido chose is much better than the ones I've bought before. Isn't it a very good sake?"

"You think that way because you don't understand wine at all, you bastard. You're not even as good as a lackey when it comes to choosing wine."

A vortex of void space appeared around Archer, who had been scoffing. This was a sign of the Noble Phantasm that could summon it, and Waver and Irisviel felt a chill run down their spines.

—But tonight, what appeared beside Archer was not weapons, but a series of drinking vessels inlaid with dazzling gems. The heavy yellow vessels were filled with a colorless, clear liquid.

"Look, this is the real 'King's Wine'."

"Oh, I'm so touched."

Rider, unperturbed by Archer's tone, happily poured the new wine into three new glasses.

Saber remained quite wary of Archer, whose background she didn't know. She hesitated for a moment, looking at the wine in the yellow glass, but still accepted the glass that was offered to her.

"Oh, so delicious!!"

Rider took a sip and immediately widened his eyes in praise. Even Saber was intrigued. This wasn't a competition to see who was more dignified; it was a contest of drinking skills.

As the wine flowed down her throat, Saber felt a strong, swollen sensation fill her mind. It was indeed a fine wine she had never tasted before—strong yet pure, fragrant and refreshing, its intense aroma filling her nostrils, giving her a sense of lightheadedness.

"This is amazing! This can't possibly be wine made by humans; it must be wine drunk by gods!!"

Seeing Rider's effusive praise, Archer smiled serenely. He had also sat down at some point, contentedly swirling his wine glass.

"Of course, whether it's wine or swords, my treasury only contains the best of everything—that's the king's taste."

"What a joke, Archer."

Saber roared. The calm was shattered by the tense atmosphere, but—

"The food is here, eat it while it's hot."

Shido and Jeanne d'Arc walked over carrying a plate full of barbecue and placed it on the ground. In the distance, Irisviel and Waver could also be seen with barbecue in front of them. After setting down the barbecue, the two of them sat down on the ground without any hesitation, took out two glasses, poured Archer's sake into the glasses, and began to drink.

And the two of them reacted in the same way as Rider and Saber had done earlier, both showing expressions of ecstasy—Archer, who had been drinking without permission, did not make any move, because Shido was the enemy that Archer believed he had to defeat personally, and as for Jeanne d'Arc…

"Hey, you lackey. Who is this Servant who came with you and looks almost exactly like Saber?"

Faced with Archer's intrigued questions, Shido took another sip of his drink before speaking.

"Joan of Arc, Archer, you should know her by now. The French heroine who liberated Orleans from the Hundred Years' War, a Catholic saint. Her class is Ruler. She descended to earth to eliminate me, this violating Heroic Spirit. However, because she was starving when we fought, I defeated her, took her Noble Phantasm, and temporarily captured her."

Shido took a small sip of his drink, picked up a piece of grilled meat, took a bite, and continued speaking.

"Because this time the descended Caster is that blue-bearded, green-haired Frenchman—Gilles de Rais, now Joan of Arc and I have reached an agreement to cooperate in defeating the Caster and waking him up—although I won't get any reward, but well, I'll help as much as I can. By the way, let's eat some barbecue, it's absolutely delicious."

Shido urged the others to eat barbecue, while he himself began to eat and drink heartily. A lot had happened before he came here, and he had also expended a lot of energy, so he needed to eat and drink more to replenish it!

Upon hearing Shido's explanation, Archer's ruby-like eyes gleamed with interest.

P.S.: The author has not updated for a week due to real-life issues. Please forgive me.

PS2: Starting today, updates will resume as usual, one chapter a day, then another chapter every other day. I apologize for doing this during summer vacation, but most of my energy has been depleted by my restaurant work.

PS3: I really shouldn't have chosen such a high-star hotel... There are so many wedding banquets here!

Chapter 154 The King's Feast (Part 3)

^^Chapter 154 The King's Feast (Part 3)

"The French saint and the marshal? Comrades from the same era have become enemies?! Hahahaha!! Interesting! How interesting! I never thought I would encounter such a good thing! Hmm... if I heard correctly, you are to cooperate with the ruler, wake up the caster, and then kill him."

Archer burst into a rare hearty laugh, but the laughter was full of mockery!

"Just now, I had a brilliant idea! Lackey, although I have agreed to a final battle with you in the Holy Grail War, don't you think a little foreplay before the final showdown would be nice?"

As Archer spoke, a wicked smile appeared on his face, and the way he gently swirled the wine in his glass made him look extremely cool!

However, in Shido's eyes, Archer's words and current appearance sounded like nothing more than—despicable.

"What do you mean by this, Archer?"

Shido stared at Archer with a gloomy face, his hostility almost unreservedly pouring out and piercing Archer—although it looked a bit comical because Shido was holding a piece of grilled meat in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

"You don't understand what I mean either, you lackey. Originally, I had no interest in dealing with that mad dog, but since he's involved with you, I'm interested in killing him. Let's have a contest: will I kill Caster first, or will you wake him up and then kill him?"

“Ji…archer! You…”

Upon hearing Archer's words, the enraged Joan of Arc was almost ready to stand up and fight him. However, before Joan of Arc could make a move, a hand holding a wine glass reached out in front of her and stopped her.

"Calm down, Jeanne. Don't be so impulsive. Your Noble Phantasm is still in my belt. Without it, you can't even beat an assassin in a head-on fight. Charging in now is tantamount to suicide."

Shido calmly stopped Jeanne and briefly explained his reasons. At the same time, Shido also addressed Archer.

"Archer, I accept the outcome of this match! But unlike your joking excuse, I will definitely wake Caster up before you do!"

"Come on if you dare, you lackey."

Faced with Shido's passionate speech, Archer's cold gaze met Shido's without backing down, sparking countless intense sparks!

However, just as the two were exchanging a passionate glance, Rider and Saber, who had been acting as third wheels for a long time, finally found a chance to interject and interrupt Shido and Archer's eye contact.

"Alright, alright! Both Shido and Archer, stop it! We're here to drink, not to argue! How about we change the subject? I was just about to ask Archer, so as the king, why do you want to obtain the Holy Grail?"

"Hmph! Bastard... But I really can't stand you. First of all, we are here to 'compete' for the Holy Grail, and your question is far removed from that premise."

"Ok?"

Seeing Rider raise an eyebrow in surprise, Archer sighed helplessly.

“That should have been mine to begin with. All the treasures in the world originated from my collection, but because of the passage of time, it was lost from my treasury, but I am still its owner.”

"Oh! So you mean you once possessed the Holy Grail? And you knew what it was?"

"Do not."

Archer casually dismissed Rider's follow-up question.

"This is beyond your comprehension. The total amount of my assets even exceeds my own perception, but as long as it is a 'treasure,' it definitely belongs to me, that's clear. You actually want to forcibly seize my treasure, you should have some self-awareness."

Now it was Saber's turn to be speechless.

"Your words are similar to Caster's. It seems he's not the only servant with a mental breakdown."

"Well, how should I put it?"

Unlike Saber, Rider muttered something as if echoing her. He had somehow already picked up the bottle and was pouring more wine into his glass without a second thought.

"Speaking of which, I think I do know your real name. There should only be one king more arrogant than me, Iskandar. But Shido, have you thought of that?"

"...Probably. But if it's as I think, then this Archer is the strongest Servant among your native Heroic Spirits."

Although he said it casually, Irisviel and Webber, who were listening intently, were quite startled by Shido's words, and dropped the grilled meat they were holding back onto the plate.

"But if that's the case, Archer, does that mean if you agree, we can get the Holy Grail?"

"Of course I can, but I have no reason to reward such scoundrels as you."

"Don't you want to part with it?"

"Of course not, I only bestow rewards upon my subjects and people."

Archer smiled mockingly at Rider.

"Or Rider, if you are willing to submit to me, then I will give you one or two cups."

"Ah—that's impossible."

Rider scratched his chin, seemingly feeling that the other party's demands were too high, so he simply turned his head away.

“But Archer, it doesn’t really matter to you whether you have the Holy Grail or not, right? You’re not fighting for the Holy Grail to fulfill any wish.”

"Of course. But I can't let the guy who stole my treasure get away with it; it's a matter of principle."

In other words—

Rider downed the drink in one gulp.

"What do you mean? Is there some reason or logic behind it?"

"It is the law."

archer answered immediately.

"The laws I, as king, have established."

"Ah."

Rider seemed to understand his words and sighed deeply.

"What a perfect king, able to uphold the laws he sets. But I still really want the Holy Grail. My approach is to take it if I want it, because I, Iskandar, am the King of Conquerors."

"Not necessarily. If you invade, I will punish you without any room for negotiation."