"Kamisaka, under this travel rule, if i wishes for Enkidu to remain in Uruk permanently, what price would be required for it?"
At last, someone intended to test out the newly established travel rules tonight.
The obscenely wealthy King of Heroes had decided to take Enkidu back with him.
Although he had once said things like "I will not met Enkidu," that was then, and this was now.
What did the words spoken in the past have to do with the current King of Heroes?!
"The one setting the price isn't me," Yuto said, moving the electronic scale onto the counter.
"It's this."
Everyone stared blankly.
Even the King of Heroes looked at Yuto with a strange expression.
"These are the instructions. Read them yourself."
For convenience's sake, Yuto had specially prepared a set of usage instructions.
After reading them, Gilgamesh immediately understood.
All he had to do was place something akin to an offering on the electronic scale, and the scale would judge whether its value was sufficient to satisfy the kind of journey he wanted.
Right now, he wanted to bring Enkidu back to Uruk, so the scale would naturally judge whether what he offered was enough.
Gilgamesh instantly grasped the idea, and the corner of his mouth curled upward.
If all he had to do was produce valuable items, nothing could be simpler for him.
"I understand. Are these enough?"
With a wave of his hand, Gilgamesh scattered a heap of jewels filled with magical power onto the scale.
The scale's display lit up and the word [Sufficient] appeared.
That was the scale's answer.
Yuto nodded, taking out a certificate slip. "You and Enkidu, fill this out. Bring it back to me when you're done."
He tore off one slip and handed it to Gilgamesh.
Both Gilgamesh and Enkidu looked it over with curiosity.
As the two of them were extremely intelligent, they understood it immediately. A pen appeared in Gilgamesh's hand, and in a few swift strokes, he wrote down his name and the matter to be certified.
Enkidu then wrote his name as well.
After that, Yuto took the slip and looked at it.
Certified Matter: Enkidu shall live long-term in my era.
Certifiers: Gilgamesh
Approver: Enkidu
Additional Notes: None
Yuto felt a little helpless, that certified matter really did sound like Gilgamesh.
He then signed his own name.
The instant he signed it, a voice only he, Gilgamesh, and Enkidu could hear rang out.
"Certification successful."
Those same words slowly appeared on the slip as well.
Gilgamesh looked at Yuto.
"That's all?" he asked.
Yuto fell silent for a moment before giving a quiet "Mm."
To be honest, this was his first time too, so he was not entirely sure himself.
Gilgamesh fell briefly silent at that as well.
"Hmph! No matter what, Enkidu is definitely going back to Uruk with me!" he snorted proudly.
Behind him, Enkidu wore an expression full of helpless affection.
To return to Uruk once more... when Gilgamesh made that proposal, Enkidu's heart had indeed been stirred.
After some hesitation and thought, he could only smile helplessly.
As expected, he simply could not refuse Gil.
"Siduri, come!" Gilgamesh called to his retainer, turning toward the restaurant door.
They had come as two and they were leaving as three.
That suddenly reminded Yuto of a joke from his previous life about college students: You enter the school gates alone, but when you graduate, you leave as a whole family!
...
In the Throne of Heroes, the instant Yuto signed those words of certification, an invisible ripple swept across that place.
It caused nothing and no one noticed it either.
...
Back in the restaurant.
"Kamisaka! I'm here!!!"
"Yuto-nii, I brought Aunt Mia and Syr-nee and the others!"
Hestia and Sakura arrived rather late, and today they had brought five more people with them.
These were the members of the Hostess of Fertility that Sakura had told Yuto about last night, the tavern where both Hestia and Sakura worked.
Just from the races of its staff alone, the Hostess of Fertility had an unmistakably otherworldly atmosphere.
The broad-built, dependable-looking Mia was a dwarf.
Though she was a dwarf, she was not short at all, in fact, she looked extremely imposing, very much like the kind-hearted, absurdly strong auntie character one sees in stories!
The petite and agile Anya and Chloe were catgirl.
Anya had a cheerful personality and was a bit of an airhead, while Chloe was lively, charming, and looked far more reliable.
Ryuu, the girl whose face gave off an impression of cold detachment at first glance, belonged to the elven race.
She had short green hair, fragrant as though touched by flowers, though the color was much lighter than Yuuka's.
Her face were delicate, and her expression was very indifferent, in that respect, she really did resemble Yuuka a little.
The only human among them was a girl named Syr.
She was very cute, and both her looks and personality perfectly matched people's fantasy of a kind, gentle, beautiful girl.
Sakura spent nearly two full minutes just introducing all of them.
As for Hestia, she had long since collapsed to one side to rest, possessing none of a goddess's dignity whatsoever.
Keeping her divine power sealed every day while working naturally left her quite tired!
"Hello, I'm Kamisaka Yuto. I've heard about all of you from Sakura. Thank you for looking after her," Yuto smiled, giving the five members of the Hostess of Fertility a slight nod.
Their attitude toward him was gentle as well.
If they were not kind people, Sakura would never have trusted them this much.
What's more, the fact that they were willing to take in a useless goddess who acted like a clueless fool and give her work was itself proof of the kindness and warmth of the tavern's people.
"Haha, it's nothing, really. Sakura's been a huge help at the tavern lately too," Mia laughed.
Her build, paired with her voice, really did make her seem exactly like the sort of righteous, warm-hearted auntie who would leap into action to help others.
When she came to the restaurant, she had also brought an oak barrel with her.
If Yuto had guessed correctly, there was probably alcohol inside.
Noticing his gaze, Mia paused for a moment, then smiled.
"This is mead, specially prepared as a gift for our visit. It's one of the Hostess of Fertility's specialties!" She patted the oak barrel, and a deep, muffled thumping sound came from inside it.
If one listened closely, one could even hear the sloshing of liquid within.
"This... you really didn't have to go that far," Yuto looked a little awkward and helpless.
"It's nothing, really. Its just a barrel of alcohol. We happened to bring it over so everyone could have a taste," Mia said with a grin.
"Yuto-nii, this is Aunt Mia's homemade brew. It's really good!" Sakura chimed in, brimming with excitement.
Children never really needed a reason for what excited them.
Hearing that, Yuto felt his curiosity stir as well.
His place was a restaurant, specializing in food, theirs was a tavern, so their specialty was naturally brewing alcohol.
Alcohol from an otherworldly tavern sounded very enticing indeed!
"Then let's open it~!" Lucoa, who loved to drink, cheerfully raised a hand and made the suggestion.
Every time she moved, her huge breast jiggled.
That particular quality of her figure could very easily provoke the ire of certain girls, after all, she was just too big!
Mia did not open it immediately, looking toward Yuto instead.
As a fellow shop owner, she naturally understood proper manners.
Yuto gave a somewhat helpless smile and nodded.
"All right!" Mia's lips curved upward, showing her teeth.
Though she was a woman, her temperament resembled a bold, openhearted man.
The feeling she gave Yuto was three or four parts similar to Iskandar's.
Though she could not compare to the Conqueror King's overwhelming personal charisma, Mia's forthrightness was very much like his.
Yuto glanced toward Iskandar seated at the table, sure enough, the look in the king's eyes as he gazed at Mia was full of admiration.
Mia's large, sturdy hands were incredibly strong.
She directly pulled the lid off the oak barrel. The liquor inside was somewhat similar in color to beer, but in terms of rich aroma, beer could not compare at all.
"Boss, could you please bring out a few cups?"
As soon as Mia said that, Yuto brought out the large mugs he had bought the day before.
At this moment, those cups proved highly useful.
After taking the cups, Syr, Ryuu, and the others ladled the liquor out of the barrel and proactively served it to everyone in the restaurant.
Watching the practiced movements of these professionals, Yuto couldn't help sighing inwardly about Tohru once again.
Compared to Mia's staff, his own employee still had a very long way to go!
Everyone received a cup of mead, even Ainz.
This made the skeleton extremely awkward. If he drank it, wouldn't that basically amount to giving himself an alcohol bath?
Everyone else, meanwhile, drank the mead and their expressions changed at once.
"Excellent! This truly is a rare vintage!" Iskandar said with great satisfaction.
Even Lord El-Melloi II, who was not particularly good at drinking, showed a look of astonishment, surprised to find he had quite a high tolerance for mead.
"Another cup!" Lucoa raised her mug high, already asking for a second serving.
Syr hurried over, took her cup, and filled it.
Yuto tasted the mead himself.
It had the same refreshing quality as beer, but unlike beer's slight bitterness, this one had a faint lingering sweetness that felt somewhat like honey.
Once it went down into the stomach, it left behind a warm comforting sensation.
Compared to it, the ordinary beer in the restaurant simply could not measure up.
"What an incredible drink. I never imagined wine this delicious could be brewed," Yuto said in amazement.
"That's because Mia is a dwarf. Dwarves have rather special skills when it comes to brewing," Syr gently explained to him.
Yuto nodded in understanding.
Sure enough, in many stories, dwarven liquor was always especially good!
"Please, everyone, have a seat. Since you bought such a delicious mead, then next, please also try my cooking," Yuto smiled at the members of the Hostess of Fertility.
The five women sat down, joined by Sakura and Hestia.
"Although I don't know what your usual meals are like, I believe my cooking should satisfy you," Yuto told them.
"Then please, Boss, just cook whatever you like!" Mia said without the slightest restraint.
Syr and the others nodded in agreement.
This was their first time coming to the restaurant, which counted as another world to them, since they didn't understand much about it, they might as well leave the initiative to him.
"All right," Yuto nodded.
He looked toward Hestia and Sakura. "What would Sakura like to eat?"
"I'll just have the same as everyone else!"
"And Hestia?"
"Uu... anything is fine. I'll have the same as everyone else."
Today, the goddess seemed especially tired.
Aside from being a little energetic when she first came in, she had been listless the entire time.
Seated by the counter, she had her head pressed flat against it, making it look as though the counter had grown a head.
Yuto let out a helpless little laugh.
Every day, this silly goddess managed to strike him as faintly ridiculous.
In the past, he would perhaps have felt exasperated by her dispirited state.
But ever since meeting Aqua, he had raised Hestia's standing in his heart just a little.
No matter what, Hestia was still better than Aqua!
Yuto headed into the kitchen, already knowing what he was going to cook.
But what he was thinking about right now was something else.
Since the Hostess of Fertility's mead was this delicious, perhaps his restaurant could regularly buy a few barrels from them?
He had actually been thinking about the matter of alcohol for the past few days.
His restaurant only stocked ordinary beer and sake, which could no longer satisfy the increasingly varied guests from all sorts of worlds.
Trying to find a type of liquor that suited most customers' tastes was no easy matter.
When he had sampled Gilgamesh's treasured fine wines, he truly had been full of admiration.
He believed that wine would earn praise from anyone who tasted it, and using it as a signature liquor would be perfect.
But Gilgamesh's treasured wine had too many limitations: the quantity was small, and Yuto suspected the proud king would not allow it anyway.
Now, however, this barrel of mead showed real promise.
A drink that could earn praise from both Iskandar and Lucoa was naturally of excellent quality.
As a tavern, they would not lack alcohol, and his restaurant did not use all that much of it anyway, he estimated even one barrel would probably last several days.
He made up his mind.
He would speak with Mia about it later.
For now, it was time to keep cooking!
He took out a large block of tofu and some meat.
The dish he was about to make was somewhat troublesome, but also exceptionally delicious!