In order to avoid being discovered by Jeanne's ruler privilege, Red Rider Achilles and Red Archer Atalanta did not go too deep and just wandered around the border of the Sighisoara area.
Not long after receiving the message from Semiramis, the two returned to the king's room.
When he pushed open the door to the royal palace, Achilles was carrying half a deer, which seemed to be the prey Atalanta had shot while on standby. As expected of a legendary female hunter in ancient Greece, she never forgot to hunt wherever she went.
As for the other half of the deer, it had become roasted meat in Atalanta's hands. Judging from the grease on Achilles' mouth, it was estimated that this guy had eaten a lot.
Seeing the two men's lazy look, Semiramis frowned immediately: "I asked you to serve here to fight the enemy, not to go on a picnic."
"Where are the enemies? Why can't I see them?" Achilles put his free hand on his forehead, looking out. "My sister and I have been exposed to the cold wind for half the night, and I haven't asked you for an explanation yet."
Atalanta was even more direct, not even bothering to say a word, just holding the deer leg and continuing to chew it. It had nothing to do with elegance, and her wild eating style unceremoniously declared her attitude - I, Ta-meow, ignore you, Semiramis.
Such disrespectful gestures by the two naturally aroused the anger of the Assyrian queen, and Shirou hurried to appease her.
"Alright, alright, the operation has been cancelled anyway, so don't worry about these little things. Thank you for your hard work, Rider, Archer."
Achilles snorted in response.
Atalanta held up a deer leg. "Would you like some?"
Shirou glanced at Semiramis beside him and shook his head.
"I appreciate your kindness."
To be honest, he wanted to accept Atalanta's invitation. He was indeed a little hungry after being busy for half the night, but who could blame Atalanta and Semiramis for not getting along
If he agreed, Semiramis would definitely get upset. So, for the sake of the upcoming war, he could only endure it.
Atalanta didn't care and continued to gnaw. Although Father Shirou gave her a better feeling than the Assyrian empress who exuded conspiracy and decadence, it was still very limited. Her wild intuition told her that this priest also had problems.
The particles of light as dazzling as the sun dispersed, and the Red Lancer Karna walked into the room between the kings. Although he did not speak, no one could ignore his presence.
"Lancer, I'm sorry to have to call you here specially."
After hearing this, Lancer shook his head slightly. His slightly pale face was still like a mask, and his frozen expression did not waver at all.
"No problem. What happened?"
"Please wait a moment. I will explain again when the last person arrives."
Shirou's attitude towards this "giving hero" is obviously much more serious. Not only Shirou, but other red servants including the Empress will not treat Karna casually.
Five minutes later, the last person made a grand entrance, bearing the anxiety of everyone present. As soon as he walked into the open door, he spread his hands in an exaggerated manner and shouted loudly:
"Oh, 'You are as dark as hell and as dark as night!';'I feel so beautiful, I even feel like I am shining!';"
Semiramis sighed and asked:
"Is that me?"
The man being asked, the red caster and literary monster Shakespeare, nodded.
"Is there someone else? The Empress of Assyria!... No, no, I'm really sorry. I got too excited. I feel like writing for the first time in a long time. Ah, Father Shirou, did you get that thing?"
"You mean the computer? It's already ready. It's in my room."
"Then hurry up—" Shakespeare urged.
Semiramis and others who saw this scene also felt quite helpless.
"Caster... Don't forget the Holy Grail War."
"Of course, Queen. Since you asked us to gather here, there is only one reason. It's a war, right? The heroes will compete for supremacy and fight each other savagely, right? I, Caster, will of course enjoy it - watch carefully!"
"I say, won't you fight?"
"Well, we are not familiar with war and magic, but the gods gave us appropriate flaws in order to make us human."
You are obviously Caster—Although Achilles and Atalanta wanted to point this out, they managed to hold back.
In fact, as he said, Shakespeare is basically a heroic spirit who has nothing to do with the act of "war". His duty (he thinks) is only to record the Holy Grail War and weave the story of the protagonist's suffering and despair, hope and violence that follows.
Even more helpless than the Greek duo is the Empress Semiramis. The personalities of the red servants are really terrible.
The disobedient Spartacus, the free-spirited Atalanta and Achilles, Shakespeare who has no fighting ability and yet occasionally stirs up trouble, except for Karna who has been silently carrying out orders, all others are constantly challenging the empress's patience.
Especially when these people gathered together, the lethality increased exponentially. I don’t know how the master coordinated these people. At this time, Semiramis admired her master very much.
"Anyway, everyone is here. Now that we have completed our preparations, it is time for us to go and fight. After all, this is a rare Holy Grail War, and there is no point in repeating small-scale battles over and over again."
Achilles and Atalanta nodded reluctantly to Semiramis's words. As she said, a small-scale battle was too boring.
However, war is not decided simply by passion or whether it is interesting or not.
Atalanta, the pragmatist who in a sense has the least heroic pride, said: "Our Berserker has become the enemy's pawn, and Saber is not here. Is it really appropriate to launch a general attack on the black side under such unfavorable circumstances?"
"Hey, big sister."
Before Semiramis could answer, Achilles spoke first.
"I'm here. I can beat at least three of them by myself."
"Your real name has been revealed!"
Atalanta glanced at Achilles with her emerald eyes.
"Even if it is exposed, it is impossible to hurt my weakness in a head-on confrontation with me." The latter laughed wildly without any concern, showing his heroic character.
Atalanta insisted: "What if it was a sneak attack? You have already been sneak attacked by the Black Assassin once."
Achilles helplessly spread his hands: "Sister, whose side are you on?"
"I just don't want to lose, and I still have aspirations to fulfill, that's all."
"Then let me help you fulfill your wish. In return, you will protect my weaknesses. With you here, I don't have to worry about being attacked."
"You are really..."
At first, Atalanta was a little dissatisfied with Achilles' naive and cunning words. But after thinking about it carefully, she found that this was the best way, so she just shook her tail and acquiesced to it.
"But this still doesn't change the fact that we are at a disadvantage - assassin, what's that look in your eyes?"
The moment she looked up, Atalanta saw the assassin's teasing eyes.
"It's nothing, I just think your relationship is really great." Semiramis simply stopped hiding it, "I wonder what Mr. Peleus, the rider's father, would think when he saw this scene."
"What does this have to do with my father?" Achilles looked at Atalanta in confusion, and the latter was also confused.
"It's nothing. Just think of me as talking to myself." Semiramis, who learned that Peleus had a crush on Atalanta, did not expose him and was happy to herself.
"I have absolutely no idea what you're thinking." Achilles crossed his arms and sat down on the ground. "If you have time to talk about things I don't understand, you might as well answer my sister's questions."
"I will answer this question for myself."
"Y/N?"
Hearing this voice, Atalanta and Achilles turned their heads in surprise, and even Karna's expression fluctuated slightly.
The person who answered was none other than the caster, Shakespeare.