I'm really not a top magician

Generally speaking, red wine fermented and aged in oak barrels is of good quality, and there are certain things to consider when drinking this kind of wine. Shatiao Aige, who has not studied this subject systematically, is not sure what these things are, but he knows it's definitely not like Rider prying open the barrel with his fists and scooping the wine out with a bamboo wine ladle.

As Rider filled the cup, he said, "Although the shape is a bit strange, this is the traditional wine vessel of this country."

Sajo Aika looked at Rider's cheerful and somewhat funny expression, sighed softly, and corrected Rider's mistake:

"It's called a wine ladle, or a wine ladle, but it's not for holding red wine, let alone as a wine glass."

"Is that so? Ahahaha."

The rider rubbed the back of his head with a silly grin. "No wonder the owner looked at me so strangely. Turns out I was wrong. Hey, Saber, are there any wine glasses in the castle? Bring some out."

Irisviel looked at Saber inquiringly, and after receiving a positive response from the latter, she turned around and trotted away.

"Then, taking advantage of this time, Miss Sajo, you definitely didn't hold this banquet just to have us compete in drinking, did you? "

Rider spoke calmly. Although it was rare to see him speak in such a serious tone, for some reason, it didn't feel out of place at all.

"I don't know if you've heard of this legend—according to legend, the Holy Grail will only be given to someone worthy of it, and the criterion for determining this is the Holy Grail War."

Saijo Aika said seriously.

But it was a lie—Saber was certain it was a lie. It was completely different from what Sajo Aika had said to her this morning. Could it be that Sajo Aika had lied to her? The more she understood Sajo Aika, the more powerless Saber felt. She simply couldn't tell when this person was telling the truth and when they were lying.

"But if it's just about deciding the candidate, there's actually no need for bloodshed. If all the heroic spirits agree, then a bloodless war is already possible. The answer will naturally emerge."

"You mean to say that tonight's banquet is a competition of qualifications, right?"

Rider raised his eyebrows with a serious look on his face.

"That's right. A true contest in the name of the King. In other words, this isn't a Holy Grail War, but a Holy Grail Quiz. Whose caliber is more worthy of the title of Holy Grail King? Nothing could be clearer than asking this question with wine."

At this moment, Irisviel came running back with a few goblets. These goblets were originally part of the castle, originally used for decoration. However, during Kiritsugu's battle with Kayneth, the castle was largely destroyed, and many of the goblets were also damaged. Irisviel had searched for a long time before finding these few intact ones.

Saber took it, and Rider used a wine ladle to pour wine into the cup.

"Come, have a drink first."

Ider said, draining the wine from his glass. His bold drinking style was completely unsuitable for a tall glass, but it felt perfectly appropriate for Rider. Perhaps this was the charisma of the King of Conquerors.

Although Sajo Aika and Saber appear smaller in stature compared to Rider, the latter is not at all inferior in terms of drinking momentum.

And under the illumination of that unreasonable holy light, Aika Satiao drank the whole glass heartily.

Actually, Shatiao Aige had no experience in drinking. At first, Shatiao Aige thought about taking some hangover pills to prevent herself from getting drunk. However, Shadow assured her that she would not get drunk no matter how much she drank. This made Shatiao Aige extremely confident when drinking.

His whole body exudes the aura of never getting drunk even after drinking a thousand cups.

This made the rider eager to try the challenge.

Seeing such a cute rider, Sajo Aika felt it was quite interesting. It seemed that Webber was often tormented by the rider on a daily basis. I wonder how his stomach is?

Sajo Aika briefly glanced at the time, then spoke to the air around her:

"Ah, speaking of which, it seems someone who calls himself the king is late."

"Enough with the joking, bastard."

As if responding to Sajo Aika's ambiguous question,

A dazzling golden light flashed before everyone.

That sound and that light made Waver and Irisviel's bodies instantly stiffen.

Although I have only met Archer once, but in that sea monster war, after seeing Archer take out a large number of negative treasures from the King's Treasure, no matter which Master it is, they will simply come to this conclusion.

——Archer possesses a Noble Phantasm far superior to that of other Servants.

Because Noble Phantasms are treasures that represent the historical distillation of this Heroic Spirit, an Archer who possesses a large number of Noble Phantasms is undoubtedly a Heroic Spirit with rich experience and is very powerful.

This is undoubtedly another huge obstacle for Einzbern or Weber who want to win the Holy Grail War.

In comparison, Mashu and Gudako's reactions were frighteningly calm. Although there were a few whispers, the two of them were very relaxed, as if they had known from the beginning that Archer would be attending.

"Archer, why are you here?" Saber asked sharply.

However, the one who answered Saber was the host of the banquet, Aika Sajo.

"Archer himself is a king, so I called him along. But this one is more upper-class, unlike us, and uses walking. You can't blame him, can you?"

The armored Archer looked at Sajo Aika proudly with his ruby eyes.

Others didn't know that if others taunted Archer in such a sarcastic tone, the latter would definitely open the royal treasure and use the massive amount of treasures inside to greet him.

But in the face of such ridicule from Sajo Aika, Archer simply looked at her, and then, as if he was listening to a small suggestion from a friend, after thinking about it carefully, he put it out of his mind and looked up at the surrounding environment.

"It's a shame that you chose such a poor place to hold a banquet. You just have this taste. How can you apologize for making me come all the way?"

The line sounded like a harsh rebuke, but without a trace of malice.

"Don't be so serious. Come on, have a drink first."

Sajo Aika gave a strange smile and handed the full wine glass to Archer.

I thought he would be irritated by Sajo Aika's attitude, but unexpectedly he simply took the spoon and drank the wine in it.

This reminded Irisviel of the challenge Saber had mentioned earlier.

Since Archer, this golden heroic spirit whose true identity is unknown, calls himself the king, there is no way he would refuse the wine offered by Sajo Aika.

With the arrival of Archer, the four kings of this Holy Grail War have officially arrived.

ps: A total of 20 chapters are owed (most of which are incremental subscriptions)

(The gold treasure chest was obtained by me, so it doesn’t count)

Chapter 227 Rider's Wish

Archer drank the wine that Sajo Aika handed him, but a look of disgust appeared on his face:

"What kind of inferior wine is this? They actually use this kind of wine to fight heroes?"

"Really? This is already the best wine on the market." Rider explained.

In fact, riders are not very clear about current common sense. Generally speaking, what can be bought on the market are just standard general goods on the market.

The truly good ones are usually collected in private wine cellars.

Although the Holy Grail can give servants modern knowledge, it does not have such detailed knowledge in this area.

On this point, Sajo Aika also expressed helplessness.

"You think that because you don't know what real wine is, you bastard."

Archer scoffed, and the space around him began to swirl and twist. Waver and Irisviel, having seen this scene, knew it was the precursor to the strange phenomenon of countless Noble Phantasms. Suddenly, they felt a chill run down their spines and stood up.

But tonight, Archer summoned something other than weapons, but a set of wine vessels adorned with brilliant gemstones. The heavy golden bottles held a clear, colorless liquid.

The golden bottle had just appeared, and the thick scent instantly filled the entire flower bed.

Just by smelling the aroma, even Shatiao Aige, who doesn't know much about wine, feels that this is definitely a good wine, not to mention the surprised expressions on the faces of Saber and Rider, the two Dongjiu people.

This also made Aika Sado think of Gilgamesh's treasure - the treasure of the king.

"I have gathered all the treasures of the world" is Gilgamesh's motto, but this isn't a mere metaphor. Gilgamesh has gathered together all the technological precursors of his time and taken them for himself. Rather than Gilgamesh's hoarded treasures, they are more like the "source of human wisdom" itself.

"Look carefully, this is the real wine of kings."

"Ohhh, that's really great."

Rider ignored Archer's unpleasant way of speaking and happily poured the newly acquired wine into the four golden wine glasses that matched the golden wine bottle.

Shatiao Aige naturally picked up the two wine glasses in front of her and handed one of them to Shatiao Aige beside her.

Saber was more alert than the other two. Although she was a little hesitant about the wine in the golden bottle, she still did not refuse and took the wine glass that Sajo Aika handed to her.

"Wow, it's delicious!" Rider, who drank the wine first, opened his eyes wide and cheered loudly.

This aroused Saber's curiosity.

The moment the wine entered her throat, Saber felt a strong sense of swelling in her head.

It is truly a top-quality wine that I have never tasted before, strong yet refreshing, mellow and refreshing.

This is indeed a good wine!

"This is amazing! This wine must not be brewed by humans. Is it something from the mythological era?"

Hearing Rider's praise, Archer smiled leisurely, then turned to look at Sajo Aika beside him.

"Sajo Aige, can you tell the origin of this wine?"

The question sounds very casual, but it does have a deeper meaning. It is also a test - a test of knowledge.

Seeing this, Sajo Aika put down her wine glass, chuckled, and replied, "If I'm guessing correctly, this should be brewed by the god of wine himself. Only gods are qualified to drink this wine."

"God of Wine? Dionysus?" Rider asked. As a heroic figure who dominated Europe, the first person he thought of was Dionysus, the god of wine in Greek mythology.

"Not accurate."

Sajo Aika shook her head. "This is a god even older than Dionysus, the god of wine in Greek mythology. He's even the origin or prototypical example of all wine gods. At the beginning of the world, gods had no names. Back then, gods were the embodiment or continuation of the world, something closer to a concept. So-called names and concepts are also products that have been subdivided and extended with the development of human history. Archer's is probably the prototypical example of the concept of wine, the primordial wine, right?"

Hearing this answer, Archer looked at Sajo Aika with approval.

"Correct. You possess such erudition at such a young age, Sajo Aika. You truly possess the talent to be called a king. And whether it's fine wine or swords, only the most sublime treasures in this king's treasury are worthy of a king."

"What a joke!"

The one who sternly rebuked was Saber, and the calm was gradually broken by the tense atmosphere.

"It's ridiculous to use the quality of wine to comment on the way of kings. You don't look like a king, you look like a clown..."

Facing Saber's scolding, Archer simply snorted, "How unsightly! A boring person who doesn't know how to enjoy fine wine has no right to be king."

For a moment, the atmosphere on the scene became tense.

This made Irisviel, who was sitting beside her, tense up instantly.

I was worried that the two would fight.

"Stop arguing, stop arguing. The accusations from both sides are boring."

Rider, standing by, spoke up to stop the two from arguing, then continued, "Archer, your nectar is indeed worthy of these precious cups—unfortunately, the Holy Grail isn't a cup. This is a Holy Grail Quiz, testing who is most worthy of mastering the Holy Grail. First, we need to understand what wishes you place on the Holy Grail, otherwise, there's no point in continuing this discussion. Archer, as King, convince us that you are worthy of the Holy Grail."

"Don't push your luck, bastard. Besides, this has deviated from the premise of fighting for the Holy Grail." Archer scolded.

"Ok?"

Seeing Rider frowning and showing a surprised expression, Archer sighed helplessly:

"To be honest, those items originally belonged to me. All the treasures in the world come from my treasury. Although time has passed and some things are lost, those treasures still belong to me."

"So, you have held the Holy Grail before? And of course you know what it is?"

"do not know."

Archer calmly denied Rider's questioning, "Don't judge me by the standards of a bastard. The total amount of treasure I possess has long been beyond my knowledge. But as long as that item is a treasure, it must belong to me. To try to take my things without permission, even a thief should stop."

This time it was Saber's turn to sneer: "What you said is no different from that of a madman."

"No, that's hard to say."

Unlike Saber, Rider muttered a few words as if he had been misled. "I think I have guessed the true name of this Gilgamesh. The only king who is more arrogant than this King, Iskandar, is probably that one person..."

Rider’s shocking words made both Irisviel and Waver prick up their ears, but he didn’t continue and instead changed the subject.

Such a cunning rider actually makes Aika Sajo feel very interesting.

Some people seem to be very smart in everything they do, but in fact they can't do anything well.

Some people seem to be smiling foolishly all day long, which makes people feel uneasy, but in their hearts they are more careful than others.

The vast majority of people are the former. They have no special abilities, but always try to make themselves look smart.

But rider is the latter.

This seemingly silly and rough man actually has a heart that is sharper and smarter than anyone else.

It is precisely because of this contrast that Rider was able to detect Archer's real name so quickly.

"Then Archer, as long as we get your permission, we can get the Holy Grail?" Rider asked knowingly with a smile.

Archer glared at him fiercely: "That's true, but there's no reason for this king to bestow treasures on bastards like you."

"You are not a miser, are you?"

"Foolish, this king only rewards his subjects and people."