Irisviel froze for a moment, then burst out laughing with a "pfft," and the atmosphere that had been frozen with tension instantly melted away.
"If you don't mind, I can have someone prepare some late-night snacks for both of you."
She lifted the hem of her snow-white long dress and performed an elegant bow.
That dress, as if woven from moonlight, perfectly outlined her slender waist and full curves as a perfect doll.
Her long silver hair swayed slightly with her movements, and her ruby-like eyes rippled with sincere kindness.
"Please follow me."
"Thanks for the hospitality." Hansen nodded slightly, and as he passed, he unceremoniously pulled Saber, who hadn't reacted yet, along. "Let's go, let's go. After fighting for so long, My King must be starving too."
*Grumble...*
As if to confirm Hansen's words, a faint but clear sound of protest came from the stomach of this majestic King of Knights.
The air fell into a dead silence at this moment.
Irisviel covered her small mouth in surprise, trying her best to hold back her laughter, though her shoulders were trembling slightly.
Saber's heroic and beautiful face instantly flushed red to the roots of her ears, and she instinctively pressed down hard on her lower abdomen.
The spirited golden ahoge on top of her head curled into a ball due to extreme shame; she wished she could dig a hole in the ground and bury herself immediately.
"...Let—let go of me! You insolent man!" Saber struggled hard, her face red.
But that large hand was as immovable as steel pincers, and she could even clearly feel a reassuring warmth coming from the other's palm.
"Save your energy. You were almost beaten to the point of being unable to take care of yourself just now. Why are you acting like a tsundere now?"
"You...!"
Watching the two of them walk away in harmony, Irisviel jogged to catch up, the worry in her eyes gradually turning into a gentle smile.
Although the start was full of twists and turns, this Holy Grail War... didn't seem as hopeless as Kiritsugu had imagined!
...Fuyuki City, top floor of the Hyatt Hotel.
Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, a first-class lecturer at the Clock Tower, was currently standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking this small Eastern city.
"Hmph, a magecraft ritual in such a backwater place, and they dare to call it omnipotent?"
He swirled the wine glass in his hand, his face full of arrogance and disdain.
Behind him, a handsome man wearing a dark green bodysuit and holding twin spears stood quietly.
That tight combat suit fully revealed his perfect muscle lines, filled with the beauty of a classical sculpture.
Class, Lancer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne.
*Crack—*
Just then, the wine glass in Kayneth's hand suddenly shattered.
"Hmm? This Magical Energy fluctuation..."
Kayneth snapped his head toward the direction of Miyama Town, an expression of disbelief appearing on his face.
"How is this possible?! A saint graph reaction of this scale... which lunatic summoned this Servant?!"
It wasn't just him.
Gilgamesh at the Tohsaka Residence, Lancelot at the Matou Family... all the Servants, at this moment, turned their gazes toward the Einzbern Castle... The night deepened, and the snow stopped.
The much-watched Einzbern Castle was peaceful and quiet.
In the dining room, at a long dining table large enough to accommodate twenty people, only three people were currently seated.
Or rather, one gentle observer and two terrifying gluttons.
Right now, a "war" without gunpowder but equally intense was taking place.
The long table was covered with exquisite silver tableware, and at both ends of the table, a jaw-dropping eating race was unfolding.
"Another bowl!"
"Over here too! Add meat!"
Artoria and Hansen were like competitors; the empty plates in front of them had already piled up into a small mountain.
Irisviel was a bit flustered as she directed the family's Homunculus maids to serve the dishes, but a happy smile hung on her face.
She had always been locked in this cold castle, and aside from her husband Kiritsugu Emiya, who was away more often than not, she had never seen such a lively, "homely" scene.
Saber Artoria Pendragon, the famous King of Knights, was currently stuffing a piece of medium-rare steak into her mouth without any regard for her image.
Her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's, moving with each chew, and her ahoge seemed like a radar, swaying left and right with the aroma of the food.
Across from her, Hansen's way of eating was even more wild.
As the Monster King, his body was like an eternally unfillable black hole.
Importantly, he didn't need to worry about the etiquette of chewing slowly like Saber; often, with one stab of the fork, half a plate of food would disappear into his mouth.
If one didn't look closely, they might even think he was performing some kind of magic trick.
After the course of a meal, the King of Knights seemed to have reached a certain level of recognition for Hansen's appetite.
This guy was also a formidable powerhouse in the way of devouring food!
Once this strange bond of dining companions was established, the King with the ahoge's perception of him became less hostile.
"Mmm... mmm! (This taste is good!)" Saber's mouth was full of food as she mumbled her praise, her emerald eyes narrowing happily because of the delicious food.
"Indeed, although the atmosphere in this castle is cold, the cook's skills are certainly nothing to complain about."
Hansen swallowed a mouthful of red wine and casually handed an empty plate to a Homunculus maid who was already dumbfounded: "Hey you, go roast another whole sheep; this little bit is only enough to fill the gaps between my teeth."
Irisviel sat in the middle of the dining table, her chin resting on her hands, her ruby eyes smiling into two curved crescents.
"Oh my, I really didn't expect Mr. Han Sen's appetite to be even better than Saber's."
She looked at the mountain of empty plates stacked in front of the two, and there wasn't a hint of disdain in her eyes; instead, they were filled with the happiness a housewife feels when seeing guests eat with satisfaction.
"As a Servant, replenishing Magical Energy is a necessary physiological activity," Saber explained seriously after struggling to swallow the food in her mouth, though the sauce at the corner of her lips greatly diminished the gravity of her words. "Especially after just going through an intense... sparring session, the consumption was significant."
As she spoke, she didn't forget to glare at Hansen with a wary look.
This man not only had unfathomable martial power, but even his appetite could actually rival her own?
As the King of Knights, how could she lose in a place like this!
"Iri, add another serving of pasta drenched in meat sauce!" Saber raised her fork, unwilling to be outdone.
"Childish." Hansen scoffed, slowly cutting into the next piece of steak. "Do you think eating more makes you stronger? King with the ahoge."
"Ki—King with the ahoge?!" Saber instinctively covered the top of her head, and that ahoge trembled as if it had a life of its own, her pretty face instantly turning flush red. "Insolent man! This is the symbol of a King's glory!"
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