"Speaking of which, Asuna, those extra game headsets you brought today really helped a lot."
Yuto looked at the girl beside him, his face carrying a hint of surprise and gratitude.
He had not expected Asuna to bring more headsets today than what they had agreed on last night, but it just happened to make things much more convenient for him.
Originally, because of a certain princess, Yuto had been planning to ask Asuna to bring another game headset.
Now that there were extras, there was no need to ask again.
"At first, I was only planning to bring one, but after thinking about it, I felt that one wasn't very safe, so I brought a few more."
Asuna smiled a little shyly as she spoke to Yuto.
The VR game headsets produced by her family were originally made for humans.
Asuna knew that not everyone playing games in the restaurant was human, and she also did not know whether her family's headsets could properly adapt to Rimuru and the others.
If a headset were damaged during the process, that would be rather troublesome.
So just in case, she decided to bring several extra headsets to the restaurant.
Fortunately, everything had turned out fine.
"Today, someone else happened to want one of these game headsets. I was originally planning to talk to you about it, but now it looks like there's no need."
"Eh? Really? What kind of person are they?"
"She is... probably a princess."
"A princess likes playing games too...?"
The girl seemed to find it somewhat unbelievable.
But that was simply the truth.
After a while, Saitama stood up to leave and Genos also stood up with him.
Yuto felt rather puzzled.
Today was still early.
Even in the beginning, Saitama would not usually leave this early.
"What's going on today? Why are you leaving so soon?" Yuto asked with some curiosity.
Saitama gave a blank smile and scratched his head before explaining.
After his battle with Son Goku ended last night, neither of them had won, and they had agreed to fight again next time.
In order to prepare properly for the next battle, Saitama had decided to increase the intensity of his training.
Previously, his daily routine had been a ten-kilometer run, one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, and things like that.
Now, he was doubling it.
On top of that, he was adding a new item to his routine: sleeping early and waking up early every day!
Previously, when Saitama was training, his sleep time had been before eleven at night.
Now, he was moving that up by an hour.
Every night, he would sleep at ten o'clock sharp, then wake up at six the next morning to begin training.
That way, he could guarantee a full eight hours of sleep!
Because of that, he needed to go back early.
Yuto nodded in a way that showed he did not really understand.
He did know that running every day and doing such exercises could indeed improve one's physical condition.
But...
In Saitama's case...
It was truly difficult to understand!
Yuto was genuinely confused.
Could running ten kilometers every day, doing one hundred push-ups, and doing one hundred sit-ups really make someone reach Saitama's level?
And...
Was sleeping early and waking up early also a key to becoming stronger?
"I see..."
Yuto did not quite know what to say.
In contrast, Saitama's expression carried a hint of excitement and anticipation.
Just thinking about his battle with Son Goku made it hard for him to stay calm.
Last night, driven by that same feeling, he had blown apart several monsters in several cities one after another.
Now, he was getting excited again.
Saitama had already made a secret decision in his heart.
After going back, he would go out again and find some monsters to vent on!
"See you tomorrow, Kamisaka."
Saitama was already starting to look impatient.
He waved his hand and left.
Genos silently followed behind him, and the two departed together.
Yuto stood there in silence for a moment.
He remembered how he had once tried Saitama's training method too.
If he had kept going back then... would he have...
But after only thinking about it for a moment, Yuto immediately dismissed the thought from his mind.
He felt Saitama's situation should be classified as a miracle.
As for everyone else, it was probably better not to dream about something like that.
He shook his head slightly, and then, without meaning to, his gaze landed on the three people sitting in a row with headsets on.
That scene really made him want to laugh.
Ainz, Rimuru, and Fafnir were all sitting there with black gaming headsets on.
They looked just like a group of motorcyclists.
But... they were far too mismatched!
Ainz looked tall and broad under the contrast of his long robe.
With such a small headset fitted over his skull, the difference in size looked especially ridiculous.
Rimuru had simply squeezed himself directly inside the headset.
With the headset placed on the counter like that, anyone who did not know better would never imagine there was a slime inside.
The only one who looked somewhat normal was Fafnir.
After all, his outward appearance was that of a normal person.
It was just that the way he sat with his arms crossed looked a little too serious, and his figure was also far too thin. With the headset over his head, he looked especially like a round hammer with a handle attached to it.
Looking at the three of them, Yuto could not help imagining a future scene.
A row of people sitting upright in headsets, all gathered together inside his restaurant...
'Uh...'
Yuto took a deep breath and made up his mind.
In order to prevent that kind of scene from happening, he had to think of a suitable solution.
Perhaps separating out a dedicated area would work.
Clatter—
At that moment, the sound of the restaurant door interrupted Yuto's thoughts.
"Welcome!"
Along with his greeting, his gaze turned toward the entrance.
It was Esdeath.
She was still wearing that tight silver-white military uniform, with her military cap resting neatly on her head.
Her long, bright blue hair, like ice and snow, remained breathtakingly beautiful, and the rather proud, cruel smile at the corner of her mouth made her bearing feel almost queen-like as she looked at Yuto.
Yuto still remembered what she had said last night.
'Yuto, I've taken a liking to you.'
That domineering attitude had indeed left a very deep impression on him.
Today, she had come again.
And judging from her gaze, her passion toward Yuto seemed to have grown even stronger.
...
Tap... tap... tap...
Esdeath was still wearing that pair of high heels.
The sharp, hard heels struck the floor, producing one crisp sound after another, like a signal announcing the arrival of a queen.
Her already tall figure looked even more captivating with the addition of those heels, and the strong, icy aura wrapped around her made her presence impossible to ignore.
From the moment she appeared in the restaurant, her presence had been intense.
Even the kings who had been laughing and chatting among themselves turned their gazes toward her.
A faint, interested curve appeared at the corner of Gilgamesh's mouth.
Although he did not know Esdeath, the arrogance radiating from her stirred a certain resonance in him.
"Oh! Looks like quite the impressive female general."
Iskandar also muttered to himself with an interested smile.
As the peerless King of Conquerors, Iskandar could tell at a glance that Esdeath was someone who had experienced countless battlefields.
His sharp eyes immediately gained a trace of interest toward her.
Erina and Hisako, meanwhile, were secretly laughing.
Naturally, they had both remembered what had happened last night.
Both girls turned their gazes toward Yuto, their eyes carrying either teasing amusement or open smiles.
Yuto glanced at the two girls in secret and felt helpless inside.
Esdeath's boldness last night had indeed surprised even him.
On their very first meeting, the female general had expressed her interest with such directness and daring.
And at that time, judging from Esdeath's expression, she had not been joking at all.
That had truly caught Yuto completely off guard.
Fortunately, she had backed off later.
But now...
She had come to the restaurant again!
And judging from her gaze, it seemed she still had not given up.
It was not that Yuto was afraid of her, he simply felt that this was a little troublesome.
Esdeath arrived in front of the counter.
She did not sit down.
Instead, she stood directly across from Yuto.
Her eyes were like an ice-covered surface suppressing flames, cold yet unable to hide the scorching emotions beneath.
She was taller than Yuto.
Even without her high heels, she would still be a little taller than him.
Now, with the heels added, she was already more than a head taller.
This difference in height made Esdeath very satisfied.
She liked looking down on others.
Especially when it came to the "prey" she had chosen.
Her downward gaze symbolized her stance.
What she had set her eyes on, she would obtain!
"Esdeath-san, aren't you going to sit down?"
Yuto still kept his smile as he faced Esdeath.
A dangerous curve appeared at the corner of Esdeath's mouth.
A faint blush also touched her cheeks.
It was this smile.
This was the smile that had caught her eye.
'This is mine... It has to be mine...'
Ignoring Esdeath's rather abnormal inner thoughts at the moment, she had already stretched out her hand.
Before the long sleeve of her military uniform, her hand was covered in a pure white glove.
The direction in which Esdeath extended her arm made the eyes of everyone in the restaurant shift slightly.
It was aimed precisely at Yuto's cheek!
Tohru instantly became furious.
But before she could "roar," Yuto had already taken half a step back and moved out of Esdeath's reach.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
The dragon girl, ever protective of her boss, jumped out and roared at her.
The aura around her also began to spread.
The genuine might of a dragon instantly enveloped the entire restaurant.
Yuto hurriedly placed a hand on Tohru's shoulder.
There were ordinary people in the restaurant too. If Tohru acted like this, she could easily frighten them badly.
"Calm down, Tohru."
After soothing his employee, Yuto looked at Esdeath with a calm gaze.
"Esdeath-san, please don't joke around like that."
There was a warning within Yuto's calm words, one that carried a different kind of gentleness from usual.
If Esdeath had no intention of listening, then he would drive her out.
Since he was the owner of the restaurant, he naturally had the right to expel customers.
Although he had never used that authority until now, Yuto did not mind trying it once.
Seeing Yuto react this way, Esdeath withdrew her hand, but a smile appeared on her face.
"Call me Esdeath, Yuto."
Last night, Esdeath had already asked Yuto to call her by name.
Tonight, the way Yuto addressed her made her rather displeased, so she wanted to correct it.
"No. I think Esdeath-san is better."
Yuto decided it was better to maintain some distance.
Esdeath laughed softly, like frost and snow suddenly becoming warm.
She shook her head slightly, and her face carried a rather carefree and unconcerned smile as she looked at Yuto.
"Do as you like."
Yes, she would let Yuto do as he pleased.
She, Esdeath, did not care about such a small thing!
How he addressed her did not matter.
Because sooner or later, she would obtain Yuto.
When that time came, would titles still matter?
The situation between Yuto and Esdeath made the eyes of many people in the restaurant grow brighter.
The 'kings' all wore faint smiles.
Naturally, they could see what Esdeath desired.
Whether it was Iskandar or Gilgamesh, both of them admired Esdeath quite a bit in their hearts.
Someone who did not hide their desires at all.
That suited the tastes of both kings very well.
"If I sit down, will I still be considered a customer?"
Esdeath looked at Yuto with a smile at the corner of her mouth.
Yuto nodded lightly.
His response made Esdeath's expression shift slightly, as if she had learned some new piece of information, and joy appeared on her face.
Esdeath sat down gently and brushed her long hair back with one hand.
Her ice-blue hair flowed down her back like frost and snow spread across the sky, dazzlingly bright.
The female general lightly removed her military cap and placed it on the counter.
With her face fully visible, she looked even more beautiful and proud.
She propped her cheek up with one hand.
Her eyes, sharp like an eagle's yet beautiful like ice crystals, stared straight at Yuto.
"Yuto, I want something to eat."
At that moment, the corner of her mouth curved like a clear spring disturbed by a thrown stone!