"After talking for this long, do the three of you want anything to eat?"
Yuto smiled at the three people sitting before him.
"Very well. This king had no intention of eating when he came here, but since I am already here, I suppose I can reluctantly have something."
Gilgamesh lifted his chin with practiced arrogance.
"Kamisaka, bring this king some barbecue!"
His tone still carried the irritation left over from being outmaneuvered by Enkidu earlier.
Clearly, the King of Heroes was nowhere near a good mood yet.
"I won't have anything to eat. Hmm... a glass of water will be fine."
Enkidu smiled pleasantly.
Compared with the emotionally volatile king beside him, he was obviously enjoying the evening considerably more.
"I had some pastries before coming, so I won't have anything else tonight."
Siduri gave Yuto a graceful bow, her smile gentle and composed.
Despite having argued with her king only moments earlier, her manners remained flawless.
"All right. Please wait a moment."
Yuto nodded and headed toward the kitchen.
Before going inside, he asked Tohru to pour Enkidu a glass of water while he prepared Gilgamesh's barbecue.
The three at the counter continued discussing what had happened.
This time, Siduri no longer attempted to discourage them from going.
Now that her concerns about Gilgamesh's safety had been somewhat eased, what remained was mostly curiosity.
Another world.
Another version of her king.
For Siduri, both ideas were so strange and fascinating that she could hardly stop herself from asking questions.
By the time Yuto came back out carrying the barbecue, he could still hear her exclaiming in surprise.
"Eh?! So the king in that world is His Majesty from when he was younger?!"
Siduri covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes wide with astonishment.
"Mm. That's right."
Enkidu laughed softly.
Gilgamesh sat beside him with his arms folded across his chest, refusing to contribute a single word.
"The king in his younger days..." Siduri murmured. "That is... rather difficult to imagine."
Her smile became slightly awkward, though it remained perfectly polite.
As for what the king had actually been like in the past...
As a proper retainer, Siduri could only remain silent.
Judging one's king was hardly something a loyal servant should casually do.
But if someone absolutely forced her to give an honest opinion...
She would have no choice but to admit one thing.
The Gilgamesh of the past had been far worse than the one sitting in front of her now.
"Gil really was an awful king back then. He was practically more childish than an actual child~"
Only Enkidu could say something so casually while sitting directly beside the King of Heroes.
He spread his hands with equal parts helplessness and amusement, his gaze toward Gilgamesh carrying unmistakable teasing.
The proud king could only release an irritated snort.
There was not much else he could do.
"Then why does Your Majesty want to meet your former self?"
Siduri asked Gilgamesh with genuine puzzlement.
The question struck directly at one of the more sensitive parts of the king's pride.
Gilgamesh's expression immediately stiffened.
How exactly was he supposed to explain the truth?
Was he supposed to tell Siduri that his younger self annoyed him so much that he wanted to travel into another world purely to beat some sense into him?
Absolutely not!
If he admitted something like that...
What would happen to the dignity of the king?
"Siduri, enough."
Gilgamesh deliberately made his voice colder.
"This king has already indulged your curiosity more than sufficiently. Even you should know when to stop asking questions."
Siduri gave him a sheepish smile.
Then, almost instinctively, she glanced toward Enkidu.
He merely smiled back at her.
That only made her even more curious.
"Come to think of it, Siduri didn't visit last night. Were you busy?"
Yuto's question successfully drew her attention away from Gilgamesh.
Siduri nodded, helplessness gradually appearing across her face.
"Yes. His Majesty and the goddess had another disagreement yesterday. As the goddess's priestess, I spent a very long time trying to calm her down."
As she spoke, Siduri could not help casting a faintly resentful glance toward a certain king sitting beside her as though none of this had anything to do with him.
Gilgamesh's expression remained completely unchanged.
"The goddess?"
Yuto looked curious.
"Mm. She is the goddess who governs both harvest and battle. In the beginning, the goddess also bestowed many blessings upon Uruk."
Siduri smiled gently.
Apart from serving as one of Gilgamesh's most trusted retainers, she was also the high priestess of Uruk.
Part of her responsibility involved maintaining communication between the king and the goddess.
Once, that task had been relatively manageable.
Lately, however...
It was becoming increasingly exhausting.
"Eh—that sounds pretty impressive."
Yuto nodded with mild admiration.
Gilgamesh immediately scoffed.
"Hmph! Impressive?"
His face filled with open disdain.
"Kamisaka, you are mistaken. That woman is an utterly useless goddess. She provides no meaningful benefit to Uruk anymore, yet she still expects this king to continue making offerings to her?"
Gilgamesh sneered.
"Do not make me laugh."
There was absolutely no reverence in his voice toward the goddess who supposedly protected his kingdom.
Instead, every word was overflowing with condescension and arrogance.
Siduri could only smile awkwardly from the side.
She genuinely had no idea what she was supposed to say.
As Uruk's high priestess and one of the goddess's own priestesses, she should technically have defended her goddess.
But the person insulting that goddess was her king.
If she defended the goddess now, would that not be disrespectful toward Gilgamesh?
Being trapped between those two sides...
Really tested a person.
"If Ishtar heard you saying that, she would definitely come over and challenge you."
Enkidu laughed while holding his glass of water.
Gilgamesh folded his arms.
His expression became even more contemptuous.
"And if she did?"
He snorted.
"It's Ishtar. This king can make her run home crying whenever I please!"
His words were filled with absolute confidence.
Yuto could not help laughing.
What kind of goddess could actually be bullied into tears by the very king she was supposed to protect?
Still...
No matter how useless Ishtar might be...
Surely she could not possibly be more useless than Aqua.
Yuto had just entertained an extremely disrespectful thought.
...
Meanwhile, in two completely different worlds—
Ishtar and Aqua both sneezed.
The two goddesses rubbed their noses almost simultaneously.
Despite being separated by entirely different worlds, they somehow arrived at nearly identical conclusions.
"Is one of my worshippers thinking about me?"
"Someone must be missing me!"
In that particular respect...
The two goddesses really were surprisingly alike.
...
"Oh, right."
Yuto suddenly remembered something.
"This is the final batch of weapons. I'll hand them over to you now."
He reached beneath the counter, took out a scroll, and passed it to Gilgamesh.
Stored inside were numerous heavy weapons supplied through Kaguya.
In the modern world, that amount of firepower would easily have been enough to fight a small war.
"Oh! Excellent work, Kamisaka!"
Gilgamesh looked visibly pleased.
He accepted the scroll and casually tossed it into a golden ripple that appeared beside him.
Yuto still felt a little envious every time he saw that.
Having access to a personal storage space like the Gate of Babylon whenever one wished...
It was unbelievably convenient.
"Are the magical beast attacks around Uruk still serious?" Yuto asked.
Gilgamesh had already explained Uruk's general situation to him before, so Yuto knew about both the magical beasts and the Three Goddess Alliance.
"Things have improved considerably."
Siduri's expression immediately brightened.
"Ever since Lord Enkidu returned, the situation has gradually begun turning in our favor. And after we received the weapons from you, Boss, even many ordinary citizens became capable of fighting against the magical beasts."
Her voice grew increasingly hopeful.
"Perhaps before long, we may even be able to begin a proper counteroffensive and reclaim the cities that were overrun."
For someone who had witnessed the magical beast invasion from beginning to end, the transformation in Uruk's situation filled Siduri with enormous gratitude.
At the beginning, humanity had been almost completely helpless.
One defeat followed another.
Cities fell.
Warriors died.
Eventually, Uruk had been forced into a desperate defensive position merely to survive.
The road leading to this point had been paved with the blood of countless soldiers.
The cost had been brutally high.
Originally, Uruk had been capable of little more than holding its defensive lines, and even accomplishing that had required them to fight from a severe disadvantage.
But after Enkidu returned, his overwhelming strength gradually began reversing the situation.
Then came the modern weapons supplied through the restaurant.
Those weapons became yet another powerful tool for Uruk's counterattack.
Their destructive force required no magical energy to operate, which meant ordinary civilians could use them effectively as well.
More importantly, because those weapons could strike targets from considerable distances, casualties among Uruk's people had fallen dramatically.
Everything was slowly beginning to move toward a brighter future.
More than once, Siduri had dreamed of reclaiming the cities occupied by magical beasts.
In the past, such a sight truly could have existed only within dreams.
Now, however...
The possibility of making that dream real stood directly before her.
How could she possibly remain calm?
"Those weapons can actually inflict significant damage on magical beasts?" Yuto asked curiously.
Weapons created entirely through technological civilization being used against magical creatures from the age of mythology...
Anyone would be curious about the results of that collision.
"On their own, their effectiveness against magical beasts is somewhat limited," Siduri explained.
"However, His Majesty modified them. Afterward, they became capable of inflicting considerable damage."
"It was merely some basic enchantment."
Gilgamesh gave a dismissive snort.
"Nothing worth mentioning."
His expression, however, made it painfully obvious that he was quite proud of himself.
Being unable to simply accept praise honestly was another one of this king's defining traits.
"Still..."
Enkidu rested his head against one hand.
Concern gradually entered his expression.
"Even though the current situation looks promising, I'm worried that the Three Goddesses might suddenly do something completely unexpected."
His eyes became more serious.
"Compared with the magical beasts themselves, those three are the real problem."
"Indeed."
Gilgamesh's expression also hardened.
"There is little reason to worry about the beasts themselves. The Three Goddesses controlling them are what truly require our attention."
The Three Goddesses.
They were the enemies Uruk needed to watch most carefully.
The magical beasts were ultimately little more than pieces acting according to their commands.
"I remember Lord Iskandar saying last time that he would gladly help us."
Siduri looked thoughtful.
"If we truly need assistance, perhaps we could ask him?"
Gilgamesh rejected the suggestion immediately.
"Hmph! This king has not fallen so low that he needs to beg a defeated opponent for assistance."
His pride surged almost visibly.
"They are merely three goddesses. This king has already seen through everything."
He smiled with immense confidence.
"Do not worry. I already have a plan."
His words were every bit as arrogant as usual.
But beneath that arrogance was absolute confidence.
Siduri and Enkidu exchanged a glance.
Then both smiled helplessly.
Once their king made up his mind...
Trying to persuade him otherwise was practically impossible.
All they could do was indulge him and follow along.
"Come to think of it, Iskandar didn't come tonight."
Yuto smiled.
"Pay no attention to that man."
Gilgamesh waved one hand dismissively.
"Even if he came, he would only sour this king's mood."
"Didn't Professor El-Melloi II say last night that he needed to prepare something for the Clock Tower's examination for novice magi?"
Enkidu smiled faintly.
"He's probably busy with Mr. Iskandar right now."
Gilgamesh immediately scoffed again.
"Can anyone truly prepare an examination properly with Iskandar around?"
His voice carried open contempt.
"Knowing that man, he will probably start inserting his own ridiculous ideas halfway through. This king already pities those magi."
No one present bothered contradicting him.
"Speaking of which..."
Gilgamesh's expression suddenly became serious.
"Why did this king's student not come to see me last night?"
He turned toward Yuto.
His "student" was naturally Sakura.
Now that Gilgamesh mentioned it, Yuto realized that something did indeed seem unusual.
Sakura had not visited the restaurant for the past two days.
He could not help wondering.
Had Hestia finally discovered what had been happening?
Or...
Was there another reason?
"She probably had something to do—"
Slide—
Just as Yuto began speaking, the restaurant door opened.
Standing outside was none other than Hestia.