Gilgamesh could find no reason to stop Yuto from coming along.
This was different from hiding his intentions from Enkidu or El-Melloi II.
Yuto owned the restaurant, and any journey between worlds would inevitably involve him.
Gilgamesh understood that perfectly, which left his expression painfully stiff.
After an awkward silence, he finally forced out a smile and nodded.
His reaction only made Enkidu laugh harder.
The sound deepened Gilgamesh's frustration.
He shot Enkidu a furious glare, but his friend ignored him completely and turned toward Yuto instead.
"Then we can all go together when the time comes." Enkidu spoke as though the increasingly dark expression of the king beside him did not exist.
Yuto smiled and nodded before glancing at Gilgamesh.
His mood had clearly become even worse.
Filled with resentment, the King of Heroes decided it was time to leave.
He needed to return to Uruk and calm himself before his irritation got any worse.
As he announced his departure, he gave Enkidu another sharp look.
The warning in his eyes was unmistakable.
He had made up his mind.
Once they returned to Uruk, he would properly "educate" Enkidu and restore the dignity of his crown!
As for the fact that Enkidu had beaten him senseless the last time he attempted anything similar, Gilgamesh had chosen to erase that memory entirely.
This time would be different.
There was absolutely no chance he would lose again.
Enkidu answered his threatening stare with a warm smile, which only made the already furious king even angrier.
...
After Gilgamesh and Enkidu left, the restaurant gradually settled into peace and quiet.
That was, of course, ignoring the three people still absorbed in their game.
No other customers remained.
Erina and Hisako sat resting in a corner near the counter, exhaustion written clearly across their faces.
They still had not recovered from the effort of feeding Goku.
Yuto had helped them this time, but that had not made the job easy.
Even so, it had been far less punishing than their previous attempt, when they had been forced to handle everything alone.
Back then, both girls had nearly collapsed by the time they finished.
This time, they were merely exhausted.
As Yuto looked at them, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
"Come to think of it, Nakiri, you and Arato have been spending nearly every night here lately. Has it been affecting your studies or your normal lives?"
Both girls raised their heads.
Erina drew in a breath, pushed aside her fatigue, and tried to sit a little straighter.
"It would be impossible to say there has been no effect at all, but everything is still within an acceptable range."
As one of Tōtsuki's Elite Ten, Erina enjoyed certain privileges.
She had spent many nights at the restaurant without sleeping and usually made up for it by resting during the day, which inevitably meant missing classes from time to time.
An ordinary student behaving like that would have been expelled long ago.
However, thanks to her position among the Elite Ten and Senzaemon's support, neither she nor Hisako had faced any serious consequences.
"I see. That's good."
Yuto nodded.
The two girls had been a tremendous help to the restaurant, but he did not want their work here to damage the rest of their lives.
"However, we may need to take a few days away from the restaurant soon."
Hisako gave him a helpless smile.
Erina sighed beside her.
"What happened?"
"Tōtsuki will be holding the Moon Banquet Festival soon," Erina explained. "I'll have to take part, so we probably won't be able to work here for several days."
She rested her head against one hand, sounding far less enthusiastic than Yuto would have expected.
Even her beautiful amethyst eyes seemed a little dimmer.
The Moon Banquet Festival was one of Tōtsuki's largest annual events.
For five days, the academy opened its grounds and resort to the public, turning the entire campus into a massive food festival that drew visitors from around the world.
As one of the Elite Ten, Erina was required to participate.
The other members would naturally be involved as well.
The festival was always incredibly lively, and the old Erina would have thrown herself into it without hesitation.
Now, however, she would rather remain at the restaurant.
The festival might be impressive, but she no longer believed it could compare with the excitement of her daily life here.
Guests from completely different worlds could walk through the door at any moment.
No ordinary food festival could compete with that.
Yuto had never heard of the Moon Banquet Festival before.
This was the first time the name had come up since his rebirth into this world.
Only after Hisako explained it in more detail did he begin to understand.
He had visited food festivals in his previous life before civilization collapsed, though none of them had been anywhere near this scale.
"It sounds pretty interesting."
Yuto smiled.
"Boss, would you like to visit Tōtsuki during the festival?" Hisako asked eagerly. "There'll be food from all over the world. You might even find dishes you've never seen before."
"She's right," Erina added, just as seriously. "Kamisaka-kun's cooking may be excellent, but Tōtsuki's Moon Banquet Festival is not something you should underestimate. I guarantee you won't be disappointed."
Yuto paused to consider their invitation.
Before he could answer, someone tugged at his sleeve.
He looked down and found Tohru staring up at him with an unbearably pitiful expression.
"Boss~~~ I want to go~~~"
The dragon girl shook his arm, stretching out every word in an exaggerated, cutesy whine.
Her eyes overflowed with hope.
Yuto could only smile helplessly.
His employee was wonderful in almost every way.
She simply became a little too enthusiastic whenever food was involved!
"All right."
He agreed without further thought.
He had plenty of free time, and spending a day at a festival sounded pleasant.
Erina's and Hisako's eyes immediately lit up.
Erina's reaction was especially obvious.
Yuto was always humbling her in the restaurant, but during the Moon Banquet Festival, she would finally have the chance to make him acknowledge Tōtsuki properly.
Tōtsuki was not something to be underestimated.
Erina quietly swore she would prove it to him.
...
The moment Yuto agreed to attend, it was as though someone had flipped a switch inside Erina.
She immediately began explaining everything she knew about Tōtsuki and the festival without stopping.
Yuto could hardly interrupt when she was so enthusiastic, so he simply smiled and nodded at the appropriate moments.
Unfortunately, his attentive expression only encouraged her to talk even more.
While pretending to listen, his thoughts drifted toward Chito and Yuuri.
The two girls had said the previous night that they would come to today's banquet, yet there had still been no sign of them.
Yuto could not help feeling worried.
Their world was unlike most of the others connected to the restaurant.
Civilization there had already reached its final days, and accidents could happen at any time.
The longer he thought about it, the more uneasy he became, until a sigh escaped him.
Erina stopped speaking.
Her brows twitched, and she frowned at him.
"What's wrong?"
She sounded genuinely puzzled.
Had Yuto found something objectionable about Tōtsuki?
That was how she understood the sigh.
Yuto quickly composed himself and gave her a reassuring smile.
"It's nothing. I just breathed out a little too hard."
His expression was convincing enough that Erina did not notice anything unusual.
Just as she prepared to resume her explanation, the restaurant door opened.
A brief flash of annoyance crossed her face before disappearing.
"Welcome."
Yuto turned toward the entrance.
Secretly, he was rather grateful for the customer's perfect timing.
Otherwise, he had no idea how he was going to stop Erina.
"Good evening, Boss."
Heracles stood in the doorway.
His deep voice rolled through the restaurant like distant thunder.
His clothes and armor were unchanged from his previous visits, and his powerful presence gave him the air of a warrior who had walked straight out of legend.
That pressure alone would have been enough to frighten an ordinary criminal into silence.
Yuto's eyes brightened.
"Good evening, Heracles."
The great hero approached the counter.
With every step, the plates of his armor scraped and struck against one another.
There was something about his movements that reminded Yuto of Whitebeard.
Once Heracles sat down, the pressure around him eased considerably.
Even seated, however, he remained taller than everyone else in the restaurant.
"What would you like tonight?"
"The same as last time, please. Grilled meat cooked a little longer than usual, along with a glass of wine."
Heracles spoke with perfect courtesy.
He was one of the rare figures truly worthy of being called a hero.
His courage and strength surpassed both mortals and gods, yet his everyday manners were equally impressive.
"Of course. Give me a moment."
Yuto nodded and entered the kitchen.
He first asked Tohru to bring Heracles a glass of mead, then began preparing the meat.
By the time Heracles was nearly finished with his drink, Yuto returned from the kitchen.
The meat had already been seasoned and prepared. All that remained was roasting it.
Because it was a large cut rather than thin slices or skewers, it needed to go into the oven.
Once it was inside, there was no need for Yuto to stand over it constantly.
"Have you accepted any new requests lately?"
Yuto asked with a smile.
During Heracles's previous visit, the hero had described his current life.
After completing the Twelve Labors, he had become famous throughout Greece, and requests for help now reached him from every direction.
At Yuto's question, Heracles sighed helplessly.
He set down his cup, and irritation appeared across his weathered face.
"Recently, nearly all of them have been invitations to banquets from kings and lords. Refusing them in person has done no good. They remain strangely determined to make me attend."
Yuto laughed softly.
He understood exactly what those rulers wanted.
They hoped to use Heracles's fame and presence to improve their own reputation.
That sort of behavior had existed throughout history.
"I want to help people who are truly suffering, but those men keep blocking their pleas from reaching me. It is incredibly frustrating."
Anger appeared in Heracles's eyes.
Even the great hero had clearly reached the end of his patience.
"What do you plan to do?"
"Tomorrow, I will give them one final warning. If they still refuse to listen, I will use force."
Heracles clenched one fist, his gaze completely serious.
Even if doing so offended powerful rulers, he no longer cared.
He was Heracles, a hero whose courage and strength stood almost without equal.
Even the gods had failed to restrain him.
What could a few mortal kings possibly do?
Yuto could not help laughing at his expression.
He was beginning to feel sorry for those rulers.
They had pushed Heracles until he was ready to use violence.
At that point, they were only creating trouble for themselves.
"By the way, Heracles, this is for you."
Yuto reached beneath the counter and took out a bracelet.
Heracles accepted it with a puzzled expression.
"What is it?"
"Illya left it for you. She came to the restaurant hoping to see you, but you weren't here. She asked me to pass it along and said it was a gift."
Heracles opened his hand and quietly studied the bracelet resting in his palm.
The small, delicate accessory had a distinctly girlish charm and looked completely out of place against his broad, scarred hand.
The contrast was almost like watching a powerful warrior hold a fragile flower petal.
Heracles stared at it without speaking.
Something shifted faintly in his eyes, though no one could tell what memories had surfaced.
"Please thank her for me."
After a brief silence, Heracles smiled.
He fastened the bracelet around the narrowest part of his wrist.
It only just fit and looked completely mismatched against his heavy armor and powerful build.
Heracles did not care in the slightest.