"Want something to eat?"
Yuto smiled indulgently at the little girl sitting in front of him.
"No, thank you. I already had dinner at the tavern earlier, so I'm not very hungry right now. Thank you, Boss-nii."
Sakura obediently shook her head before giving him another sweet smile.
It was almost unbearably adorable.
"Then why did you come here so late, Sakura?" Yuto asked.
The little girl's expression immediately became serious.
Her large, adorable eyes, which had been smiling only a moment earlier, suddenly grew bright and focused.
"I came to talk about tomorrow's gods' meeting."
Yuto nodded inwardly.
He was not particularly surprised.
If anything, Sakura's words merely confirmed the suspicion that had already formed in his mind.
Hestia's strange behavior tonight really had been connected to the gods' meeting.
"Oh? A gods' meeting?"
Gilgamesh lifted his chin slightly from the side, his posture carrying its usual aloof arrogance.
"What could a gathering of unbearably tedious gods possibly have to discuss? This king naturally has no interest in their nonsense, but I suppose hearing about it as a joke might provide some entertainment."
His words were as arrogant as ever.
Disdain for the gods practically radiated from every inch of him.
Siduri could only smile helplessly.
That complete lack of reverence toward divinity really was one part of her king that had never changed.
"Hahaha! Gil, you keep insisting you aren't curious, but you obviously want to know, don't you?"
Enkidu laughed and teased him without the slightest restraint.
The proud king immediately became irritated again.
Yuto could not help laughing at the familiar scene.
He shook his head helplessly before turning his attention back toward Sakura.
"Is this connected to what Loki mentioned last time?" Yuto asked first.
Loki had previously warned them that, during the next gods' meeting, someone would almost certainly challenge Hestia and use the opportunity to contest Sakura's place in her Familia.
Judging from the current situation, that seemed like the most likely explanation.
Sakura's eyes immediately brightened.
She looked at Yuto in surprise.
"Eh?! Did Goddess-neechan finally tell you?"
Her voice was filled with disbelief.
Yuto shook his head.
"I guessed."
The surprise on Sakura's face immediately faded into helpless resignation.
"So Goddess-neechan really didn't tell Boss-nii anything after all."
She sighed like a tiny adult burdened with problems far beyond her years.
Yuto frowned slightly.
His earlier conclusion had indeed been correct.
Hestia really had rushed away because she did not want to tell him what was happening.
But once he understood that, another question naturally followed.
Why was Hestia so determined to hide something this serious from him?
"Don't let the subject wander. Continue explaining this gods' meeting."
After finishing his brief argument with Enkidu, Gilgamesh folded his arms and fixed Sakura with a stern expression.
He looked extremely imposing.
"Yes, Gil-sensei!"
Sakura answered respectfully before continuing.
The little girl spoke with surprising seriousness, carefully combining the things she had heard from various people with the conclusions she had reached on her own.
In essence, the situation was exactly what Loki had warned them about.
Someone would almost certainly stand up during tomorrow's gods' meeting and challenge Hestia.
And Hestia herself was not truly the target.
The gods were after Sakura.
Depending on how the confrontation developed, the matter might even escalate into something far more troublesome and unpredictable.
For example... A War Game.
It appeared Loki's prediction had been remarkably accurate.
And that was precisely why Sakura had come to Yuto tonight.
She wanted help.
If something unexpected truly happened tomorrow, Hestia's strength alone would not be enough to deal with it.
Mama Mia and the other employees at the tavern had already promised to help, but Sakura still did not believe that would necessarily be sufficient.
She had previously suggested that Hestia come to the restaurant and ask Yuto for assistance.
Even then, however, Sakura had noticed that Hestia kept avoiding the subject whenever it came up.
Sakura might have looked like an ordinary little girl, but her mind was far sharper and more perceptive than that of many adults.
Once she noticed how evasive Hestia was behaving, she began to worry that the goddess might never tell Yuto what was happening.
So Sakura decided to make another trip to the restaurant herself.
And she could not allow Hestia to discover what she was doing.
Otherwise...
Things would become extremely awkward.
Now that she was actually here, her concerns had proven completely correct.
Hestia really had not told Yuto anything.
After listening to the entire explanation, Yuto slowly nodded.
He was genuinely impressed by Sakura's intelligence and decisiveness.
At the same time, however, Hestia's behavior still confused him.
He simply could not understand why that idiot goddess refused to ask him for help with something this serious.
Was it pride?
Probably not.
Hestia had already thrown away most of her dignity inside this restaurant a long time ago.
"Why wouldn't Hestia tell me about something this serious?"
Yuto sighed helplessly.
Sakura tapped a finger against her chin.
Her bright, intelligent eyes flickered thoughtfully.
She had also spent the past several days wondering why Hestia refused to tell him.
By now, she had developed a theory of her own.
"Maybe Goddess-neechan is worried about Boss-nii."
Yuto looked at her curiously.
"Oh? Why do you think that?"
He smiled.
"Because Goddess-neechan knows that if she tells Boss-nii, you'll definitely help."
Sakura spoke carefully, arranging her thoughts one point at a time.
"If something like a War Game really happens, then Boss-nii would get dragged into it too."
"I heard accidents can happen very easily during War Games."
Her expression became even more serious.
"I think Goddess-neechan is afraid Boss-nii might get hurt because of her. That's probably why she refuses to tell you."
Once again, Sakura had adopted the manner of a tiny adult as she carefully explained her reasoning.
Unfortunately, seeing such a solemn and meticulous expression on that adorable little face only made her look even cuter.
Yuto laughed and reached over to rub her head.
"That's a pretty good analysis, Sakura. You're really starting to seem all grown up."
He smiled warmly.
And inwardly, he found her reasoning quite convincing.
Thinking about Hestia's personality...
It genuinely did sound like something she would do.
"That idiot..."
Yuto smiled helplessly while continuing to ruffle Sakura's hair.
"So she was planning to shoulder everything herself."
"Goddess-neechan has been distracted at work for the past few days too. She even broke two plates today!"
Sakura sighed.
The sight of the little girl sighing like an exhausted adult dealing with an irresponsible family member was so adorable that Yuto could not help laughing again.
"Then why did you come behind Hestia's back to ask me for help?"
Seeing Sakura behave so seriously made him want to tease her a little.
"According to your own reasoning, Hestia is worried that I'll get dragged into this and something might happen to me. Aren't you worried about that too?"
The moment those words left his mouth, Sakura panicked.
"Eh?! No! That's not it! Boss-nii misunderstood! I didn't mean that!"
The little girl frantically waved both hands as she tried to explain.
"Oh?"
Yuto deliberately continued teasing her.
"Then what did Sakura mean?"
"I... I... I..."
Sakura suddenly found herself unable to answer.
When she first learned what might happen at the gods' meeting, her instinctive reaction had been to seek out Yuto.
She trusted him enormously.
That was why the thought had come to her so naturally that she had never even questioned it.
It was a blind and stubborn kind of faith.
The same sort of complete confidence with which a child naturally believed their parents could solve almost anything.
That kind of trust had another name.
Dependence.
And emotions like that were extraordinarily difficult to explain through rational words.
That was exactly the problem Sakura faced now.
Her trust in Yuto was stubborn and absolute, while her reliance upon him had become almost instinctive.
That feeling was what had brought her to the restaurant tonight.
But precisely because it ran so deeply, Sakura could not find the proper words to explain it.
No matter what she tried to say, it somehow felt incomplete.
The more she struggled, the more anxious she became.
She could not explain herself properly, and the thought that Yuto might genuinely misunderstand her made her panic even more.
Watching Sakura become increasingly flustered, Yuto finally smiled and gently pinched one of her cheeks.
"You don't need to panic. I was only teasing you."
He smiled directly into the little girl's eyes.
Sakura's anxious expression froze.
Confusion replaced it.
Then, once she realized Yuto genuinely had only been joking, indignation immediately appeared across her face.
Even the normally obedient Sakura became angry.
Her cheeks puffed out while her large eyes glared accusingly at him.
"Boss-nii is the worst!"
Her angry voice sounded like the rapid chirping of an indignant little bird.
Then she turned her head away with a huff.
She might still have been a little girl, but the way Sakura sulked already carried the faint beginnings of a teenage girl throwing a proper fit.
Yuto rubbed his forehead helplessly.
Perhaps he had taken the joke slightly too far.
Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and Siduri could not help laughing at his predicament.
"Sakura, don't be mad, all right?"
Yuto smiled apologetically.
"Big Brother said something stupid. Can you forgive me?"
Sakura's expression visibly wavered.
She was not a child who became angry easily, and because she was still young, her moods could also change remarkably quickly.
Yuto immediately noticed her resolve beginning to weaken.
"How about this? Next time, I'll take Sakura to the amusement park. Would that be enough for you to forgive me?"
An amusement park.
For a girl Sakura's age, that was an almost irresistible temptation.
Sakura visibly swallowed before slowly turning back toward him with tremendous "difficulty."
"Then it's a promise! You're not allowed to change your mind!"
She tried extremely hard to maintain an angry tone.
Yuto smiled and nodded.
"Of course. I definitely won't."
He gently patted her head again.
"We'll go in a few days, okay? I'll take Sakura on the roller coaster and the carousel too."
Sakura's eyes immediately lit up.
They practically sparkled like stars.
"Really?!"
"Mm."
The little girl became even more excited.
Whatever anger she had felt disappeared completely, replaced by pure anticipation and joy.
Then, almost abruptly, Sakura shook her head hard.
A frustrated expression appeared across her face.
"No, wait. That's not what we're supposed to be talking about right now."
After forcibly dragging herself back from fantasies of roller coasters and amusement parks, Sakura returned to the matter of tomorrow's gods' meeting.
Yuto told her not to worry too much.
More importantly, he gave Sakura his word.
If anything unexpected happened tomorrow, she was to come directly to the restaurant.
Once she and Hestia reached this place, everything would become considerably easier to deal with.
And to ensure Sakura could enter during the day, when the restaurant was normally closed, Yuto specifically wrote her a pass.
Tomorrow, Sakura could use it to bring Hestia into the restaurant even during daylight hours.
Once every precaution had been arranged, the tension in Sakura's expression finally eased.
She said goodbye to both Yuto and Gilgamesh before hurrying away.
She could not remain gone for too long.
If Hestia woke up and discovered that Sakura was missing, the goddess might realize something.
Just as Hestia had come to the restaurant while Sakura was supposedly asleep—though she had not actually been—
Sakura had waited until Hestia returned home drunk and genuinely fell asleep before sneaking out to the restaurant herself.
In that respect...
This goddess and her Familia member truly possessed an astonishing degree of mutual understanding.
"Hmph! A War Game, is it?"
Gilgamesh clenched one hand, arrogance radiating from him.
"If the opponents are these so-called gods, this king is quite interested."
Yuto looked at him strangely.
The king immediately became displeased by his expression.
"Don't look at this king like that."
Gilgamesh lifted his chin.
"Since Tohsaka Sakura is this king's student, she naturally falls under my protection."
His crimson eyes sharpened.
"Not even these so-called gods are permitted to bully this king's student."
Then he declared with complete imperial arrogance,
"Only this king is allowed to discipline my student!"
His words were outrageously arrogant.
Yet beneath that arrogance was an authority and certainty that allowed no room for disagreement.
When it came to protecting those he considered his own...
The King of Heroes was exceptionally fierce.