Who are you calling a stable boy?!

At the edge of the courtyard, keeping a slight distance from Irisviel and Kiritsugu Emiya, Kenneth lowered his voice and spoke to Irisviel.

"As you can see, their appearance was also unexpected."

Just like during the alliance talks, Kiritsugu Emiya, as Irisviel's "battle advisor," took the initiative to answer Kenneth's angry question.

"It's possible that the Berserker and the Rider have already formed an alliance. To prevent a direct battle from breaking out, please join us in exercising restraint and refrain from any rash actions, Lord El-Melloi."

"Humph......"

Kenneth glared at Webber, who was standing alone in the other corner of the courtyard, making Webber tremble. He snorted coldly and did not refute.

Seeing that Kenneth did not do anything foolish at this time, Kiritsugu Emiya felt somewhat relieved.

The appearance of Zheng Jing and Iskandar certainly caught him off guard.

Therefore, as long as the current situation doesn't escalate into a direct war in Einzbernburg, he—

"Wait a minute, this wine doesn't smell very good, Lao Kan."

Zheng Jing smelled the wine in the wooden barrel, frowned, then reached behind his head and pulled out a jar of monkey wine from his backpack.

"Try my old Zheng's! Oh, right, right—"

After putting down the monkey wine, Zheng Jing raised his eyes and suddenly looked towards Emiya Kiritsugu.

"Brother Emiya!"

He gave a thumbs-up to the courtyard gate.

"Go and cook us two dishes!"

Chapter 108: Today's Dinner at the Emiya House

After the Holy Grail War began, at Kiritsugu Emiya's request, the Einzbern family recalled the homunculi that were originally used to maintain the castle. Now, only three people, including the King of Knights, and one Heroic Spirit live in this huge castle.

As a frontline base managed by the Einzbern family for hundreds of years, this castle, or more precisely, the forest surrounding it, was imbued with the Einzbern family's magical powers.

Therefore, with Irisviel there, such a huge forward base does not really need many people to maintain its combat capabilities.

But what about its other functions?

For example...

People need to eat, right?

Given Kiritsugu Emiya's cautious nature, it's impossible for him to trust any food handled by outsiders during the Holy Grail War.

As for ingredients, the castle naturally had plenty of them in stock.

So the question is, who has been responsible for their diet until now?

"Maimi".

Emiya Kiritsugu, who was staring at the pot, suddenly spoke.

Behind him, Maiya, who had just finished washing and chopping the vegetables, stretched out his hand and handed the bowl of mixed minced meat to Kiritsugu Emiya.

- Exactly.

Of course, Kiritsugu and Maiya were in charge of cooking.

After all, you can't expect His Highness the Knight King to be a good cook, nor can you really let Irisviel cook all by herself.

Despite Kiritsugu and Maiya's constant brandishing of swords and spears, and the fact that they reek more of gunpowder than cooking oil, they are actually quite skilled at cooking simple home-style dishes.

Neither of them had much interest in cooking; they were skilled at it simply because there was a genuine need for it sometimes.

After all, you can't really rely on energy bars and vitamin drinks to get through every mission, especially when carrying out assassinations or surveillance missions in the city, you have to be prepared for a long battle.

They'll just be mercenaries, not marshals in the White House.

Irisviel, on the other hand, has always been very interested in cooking.

Aside from her naturally innocent and curious nature, since having Ilya, she has become increasingly aware of her role as a "mother"...

Maiya, who had a moment of free time, gazed at Kiritsugu Emiya.

This man, who often braved gunfire, now stood calmly by the stove, wearing an apron, holding a spatula.

It was as if what he was looking at wasn't a pot with hamburger steaks, but an armed thug who could suddenly retaliate at any moment.

In her memory, Kiritsugu Emiya's cooking skills have become increasingly better.

To be fair, this man's cooking skills used to be only at the "edible" level.

But now, it would be more than enough to open a small shop on Fuyuki's commercial street.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that his cooking skills started to improve after he met Ilya...

However, even Kiritsugu Emiya never imagined that his increasingly better cooking skills would one day come in handy when he was making appetizers for a group of heroes.

"To hold a banquet in such a lifeless place is spoiling my mood."

Before the Emiya family's meal was even ready, the last guest had already entered the courtyard, which served as the banquet venue, with a negative review.

"archer?"

The Knight King looked at Gilgamesh, who was walking slowly towards him, with surprise.

"Sorry, Brother Zheng, before I met you, I actually ran into this guy at the entrance of the library and just casually invited him over."

"Ok?"

Zheng Jing sat there and glanced sideways at Gilgamesh.

“I have no grudge against him. I just let him have a couple of drinks. I’m not that petty.”

"Hmph, you little monkey, you're putting on airs like you're the master of the house?"

Gilgamesh sat down on the ground about an arm's length away from Zheng Jing.

"Don't get so angry! Brother Zheng brought out his treasured wine for us! Even if you don't give me face, you should at least give Brother Zheng face, right? Come on, the latecomer will have to drink a cup first!"

With that, Iskandar picked up the jar of monkey wine, poured a full cup, and handed it to Gilgamesh.

With a frown, Gilgamesh took the cup.

"Good wine? You mongrel dares to talk about good wine—"

As he finished speaking his disdainful words, the aroma of wine wafted from his cup, and Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow.

He took a sip of the wine, which was as clear as morning dew.

"...Hmph, at least the wine is classy enough."

"Right!"

Iskandar excitedly patted Zheng Jing on the shoulder.

"Brother Zheng! I've looked it up quite a bit in the library. Could this be the one from the Divine Banquet? I remember it was called... called..."

He suddenly glanced at Weber, who was hiding in the distance, and then, as if he had heard something, slapped his thigh.

"Yes! Fine wine and nectar!"

"No, this is a jar of monkey wine, a century-old vintage from Huaguo Mountain."

Zheng Jing glanced at the courtyard's evaluation of the monkey wine and told them the truth.

"Wow? Then it's even more precious!"

Iskandar's eyes lit up as he picked up the jar.

It seems that compared to the Peach Banquet, which is a feast of celestial beings, this jar of monkey wine from Flower Fruit Mountain is the priceless treasure.

"It is indeed good wine."

Holding a wine glass, Dirumdo smiled and looked at Zheng Jing.

"I have never tasted such fine wine in my lifetime."

"What good wine could a bastard who died because of a woman have? Ridiculous."

Gilgamesh chuckled and stared at Iskandar.

"Hey, this crazy monkey is one thing, but you're letting this kind of trash sit at the table?"

"Archer! Watch your words and actions!"

The Knight King glared at him.

"Lancer is a knight I have recognized. To insult him is to insult me!"

"Oh?"

Gilgamesh glanced at the Knight King, his smile growing even more delightful.

"Excellent, excellent! The banquet has become lively quite quickly!"

Iskandar laughed as he poured wine for Gilgamesh.

“I say, Gilgamesh, the king’s words are spoken to all people, and he shares joy with them. What’s wrong with that?”

"Humph......"

Just then, Kiritsugu Emiya and Maiya appeared at the courtyard gate, pushing a food cart.

"They're here! They've kept me, Old Zheng, waiting!"

Zheng Jing, who had been quiet just moments before, suddenly sprang to his feet and somersaulted in front of Emiya Kiritsugu and Maiya.

Mai instinctively wanted to protect Miya Kiritsugu, but Zheng Jing didn't even look at her. He slipped inside and lifted the lid of the food cart, revealing plates of freshly prepared delicacies.

"Oh?"

He leaned closer, twitched his nose, blinked, looked around, and then grabbed a handful of boiled edamame in salt water with one hand, a hamburger steak soaked in black pepper and matsutake sauce with the other, a large glass of monkey wine with half a glass left, and a bunch of plump, juicy green grapes with the other.

"Whoosh-"

After quickly finishing the half-cup of monkey wine, Zheng Jing, holding the two remaining green grapes, gave Emiya Kiritsugu a thumbs-up.

"Great skill! Hehe! Great skill indeed, Brother Emiya!"

Chapter 109: If You Could Do It Again

"Come, come! Don't say I, Old Zheng, am hogging the food. Everyone, try Brother Emiya's cooking!"

Four strong arms lifted all the plates from the food cart, and Zheng Jing hopped back to the group of heroes, placing the plates of food he had prepared onto the courtyard tiles.

The King of Knights looked at the dishes, frowned slightly, and hesitated for a moment before raising his head to look at Kiritsugu Emiya, who was standing with Irisviel in the distance.

She didn't want to be prejudiced when looking at her Master...

But she felt that, given Kiritsugu Emiya's style of doing things, there was a possibility that the food had been poisoned.

—Knight King's idea is both right and wrong.

Kiritsugu Emiya did consider poisoning.

However, putting aside the number of poisons he currently possesses, Kiritsugu Emiya has no idea how effective these poisons will be for Servants.

If the poison fails to take effect and the Servants discover that he was the one who poisoned it, then Einzbernburg of Fuyuki is likely to suffer a lot tonight.

Zheng Jing's practice of tasting each dish a couple of times right away made him even more glad that he hadn't taken that risky step.

"I have prepared portions for all the Masters. Would Lord Kenneth like them?"

Kiritsugu Emiya suddenly asked Kenneth.

"No need!"

With his hands behind his back, Kenneth snorted coldly.

If he wouldn't eat, then Weber, who was far away and didn't even want to come over, was even less likely to.

"Hmm, not bad!"

Iskandar, whose eating style was no less unrestrained than Zheng Jing's, swallowed a mouthful of food and nodded with an appreciative expression.

Diarmuid didn't say anything, but judging from his expression, he did think that Kiritsugu Emiya's cooking was pretty good.

Gilgamesh didn't touch his knife and fork at all, clearly not wanting Kiritsugu Emiya's cooking to soil his mouth.

"If you ask me, Brother Emiya, why don't you just stop this tragic free-for-all and settle down in Fuyuki? Open a restaurant, have a wife and kids, and live a cozy life. Wouldn't that be great?"

"Hmm, this skill is definitely good enough to open a shop."

With his arms crossed, Iskandar listened to Zheng Jing's words and nodded seriously.