Iskandar stayed at the restaurant for nearly two hours.
During that time, he continuously answered questions, mostly from Rimuru and Ainz, who were aggressively taking mental notes on leadership.
And for those entire two hours, the giant drank nonstop.
He killed crate after crate of beer, leaving Yuto deeply impressed.
'Is this the legendary drinking capacity of a Servant? It's terrifying.'
"I should take my leave now," the great king finally announced, downing his last plastic flagon of beer.
A faint, healthy flush of drunkenness colored his cheeks.
Two hours of heavy continuous drinking had only managed to give him a slight buzz.
"Aww. I haven't heard enough of your stories yet, Your Majesty," Rimuru deflated, his round, plump body literally flattening against the counter in disappointment.
"Ahahahaha! The stories of my conquests can never truly be finished, little slime!" Iskandar laughed, patting Rimuru's squishy head.
"Then... will you return tomorrow, Your... Majesty?" Ainz asked expectantly.
Listening to the King's philosophy had given the Overlord a massive breakthrough, Ainz felt that if he could just observe Iskandar a bit longer, his 'Supreme Ruler' acting routine for Nazarick would become flawless!
"If the world allows it, I will definitely return! I have been away from the Throne of Heroes for quite a while tonight, and I need to ensure the rigid systems of the world haven't noticed my absence," Iskandar smiled broadly.
"But if the coast is clear, I will definitely be back tomorrow! How could the cold, lonely Throne ever compare to drinking happily with such excellent friends?!"
Hearing this, Rimuru and Ainz cheered.
Yuto just smiled quietly from the kitchen.
"By the way, Boss... I just realized a slight error," Iskandar muttered, suddenly scratching the back of his head.
He looked nothing like the imposing Conqueror from moments ago.
"What is it?" Yuto asked.
"Well... I don't actually have any modern currency on me to pay my tab," Iskandar laughed helplessly.
"When I was summoned to this era before, my boy Waver always handled the finances! Now that I've manifested from the Throne, my pockets are empty. Ah, if only there were some enemy camps nearby for me to plunder..."
Yuto sweatdropped.
'As expected of the King of Conquerors. Even his solution to being broke involves aggressive warfare.'
"I-I can cover the King's tab, Boss!" Rimuru offered quickly.
"No, no! Allow Nazarick to handle the King's expenses!" Ainz countered, raising a bony hand.
Iskandar let out a booming laugh at their eagerness.
"It's fine, everyone," Yuto smiled warmly, waving them down. "Tonight's drinks are on the house for His Majesty."
Iskandar raised an eyebrow.
"To have the chance to witness a legendary King with my own eyes, and to personally hear the Conqueror recount his history—that experience alone is a precious treasure. It far surpasses the value of a few crates of beer," Yuto said earnestly.
"Wahahahaha! Boss, you are a man of excellent spirit! How about joining my ranks and becoming my personal Royal Chef?!" Iskandar offered boldly.
"I am honored, Conqueror, but I prefer things exactly as they are now," Yuto declined with a respectful bow.
Iskandar didn't look offended in the slightest.
He simply grinned, showing his white teeth. "What a pity."
He stood up, his massive body towering over the counter.
He smiled contentedly, turning his back to the group. His heavy red cape swirled through the air like a spinning wave of fire.
"Farewell, my friends!" He raised his massive hand in a final salute and strode out the door.
After he departed, a heavy, awe-struck silence lingered in the restaurant.
"What an incredibly inspiring king," Rimuru sighed, his voice full of deep reflection.
Ainz nodded silently in agreement.
For the two of them, the King had instantly become their ultimate role model.
Learning how to be a true, confident leader was going to be a long journey, but Iskandar had just given them the perfect map.
"I should head back too," Saitama said, checking the cheap digital watch on his wrist.
It was approaching eleven o'clock.
It was past his bedtime!
"Leaving so soon?" Ainz asked, sounding a bit reluctant to part ways with his reconciled friend.
"A healthy sleep schedule must be strictly maintained!" Saitama stated very seriously.
Looking at the hero's blindingly smooth head, an amusing theory suddenly popped into Yuto's mind.
'Perhaps it was because he stayed up so late drinking here last night that his last remaining hairs finally gave up and fell out.'
It was a cruel theory, one Yuto decided to keep strictly to himself.
"Kamisaka, why are you staring at me like that?" Saitama asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
"No reason at all," Yuto smiled innocently, wiping down the counter.
"Alright then. Today, let me handle the tab, as promised!" Ainz declared solemnly, pulling a heavy gold coin from his robes.
Saitama nodded seriously. "I leave it entirely in your capable hands!"
Yuto watched the dramatic exchange with deep bewilderment.
'It's just settling a bar tab. Is it really necessary to treat it like a blood oath?' ...
After Saitama left, only four people remained in the restaurant.
At one end of the counter, Ainz and Rimuru were deep in an intense, ongoing discussion about the concepts of the Kingly Way and the Hegemonic Way that Iskandar had preached.
Anyone with even a shred of ambition in their heart would have been stirred by the King grand speech, and these two were no exception.
As the skeleton and the slime talked, their theories escalated and they even began excitedly mapping out hypothetical plans for total world domination!
Watching the pair grow more and more unhinged, Yuto sighed helplessly.
He understood them perfectly.
Even though they were talking so passionately about conquering the globe right now, they would both wake up tomorrow and go right back to being stressed passive managers.
It was just a momentary, intoxicating surge of adrenaline.
Their actual personalities were worlds apart from a natural conqueror like Iskandar.
Yuto exchanged a dry glance with Utaha.
With perfect, silent understanding, the two of them looked at the plotting monsters and let out a simultaneous, exhausted sigh.
Sitting between them, Shouko blinked.
She looked at Yuto, then at Utaha.
The little girl didn't fully understand the dynamic, but she felt like she was in on a fun secret.
She just giggled behind her hands.
About five minutes later, while Yuto was entertaining Shouko with a simple magic trick involving a coin, the front door slid open.
A tall, incredibly thin man stepped into the restaurant.
He was dressed exquisitely in a tailored suit, but he looked terrible.
His face was gaunt and extremely pale, as if he were chronically malnourished and sleep-deprived.
Long, messy black hair framed his sharp, prominent cheekbones.
His deep, steady gaze swept over the room, carrying a heavy, aloof exhaustion—the look of a man deeply weary of the world.
"Welcome. What can I get for you?" Yuto greeted him gently.
"Interesting," the black-haired man muttered, letting out a cold, humorless laugh at the sight of the bizarre patrons.
He walked forward, took a seat at the counter and simply ordered a cup of black coffee.
Yuto nodded and headed to the back.
He only kept simple instant coffee on hand, a late-night diner wasn't exactly a specialty café.
The man sat down.
He happened to choose the exact stool Iskandar had occupied just minutes prior.
The moment his weight settled onto the wood... his eyebrows furrowed sharply.
His aloof, exhausted gaze suddenly shattered, replaced by raw, incredulous shock.
He looked frantically at the empty space around him, as if he had just witnessed a ghost.
Amidst the sheer panic, a desperate joy flared in his eyes.
But he immediately squeezed his eyes shut, violently shaking his head to deny whatever he was feeling.
The extreme, conflicting emotions warring inside him caused his pale face to tremble.
Watching him from a few seats away, Utaha frowned in concern.
'Is he having a muscle spasm?' she wondered.
"I apologize, but we only serve instant coffee," Yuto said, returning with a steaming mug.
He immediately noticed the man's physical distress.
"Sir, are you feeling unwell?" Yuto asked, his voice laced with genuine concern.
Hearing the question, Ainz and Rimuru paused their world-domination plans and turned to look at the newcomer.
"No. It is nothing," the black-haired man rasped, taking a shaky, deep breath.
He forced his expression back into a cold, rigid mask.
Seeing him stabilize, Yuto felt a wave of relief.
He had been worried the man was having a medical emergency.
"That's good to hear. Here is your coffee," Yuto smiled softly, placing the mug down.
The dark liquid rippled slightly, faint steam rising into the air.
The man kept his head bowed, his hands resting in his lap.
His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were bone-white.
He was completely rigid, clearly battling some internal ghost.
Yuto frowned, unable to shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong.
Down the counter, Rimuru broke the silence.
"Wow... the more I talk about it, the more I realize just how captivating the King domineering charm really is! No wonder he became Alexander the Great!" Rimuru exclaimed loudly, still buzzing with admiration.
"Indeed," Ainz rumbled in agreement. "In the presence of such a king, anyone would find themselves unable to resist following him. Even I felt a sense of awe."
The slime and the skeleton sighed in unison, completely lost in their hero-worship.
Yuto couldn't help but smile at their dramatic display.
However, the moment Ainz and Rimuru finished speaking, the black-haired man began to tremble.
He kept his head bowed, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
His clenched fists tightened even further, the skin stretching taut and bloodless over his knuckles.
"Sir, are you—" Yuto started.
"Boss! Who was sitting in this seat just now?!"
The man snapped his head up, cutting Yuto off with a desperate ragged shout.
His calm, indifferent facade was completely obliterated.
His dark eyes were wide and frantic, swirling with a storm of impossible emotions.
Joy and crushing sorrow, desperate hope and agonizing despair.
Tears were already pooling in the corners of his eyes.
He stared intensely at Yuto, his pale lips trembling so violently it made his handsome face look distorted and terrified.
"Was it... was it a massive, incredibly muscular man wearing a thick red mantle?!" the man demanded, the words tumbling out in a rapid, frantic rush before Yuto could even blink.
Yuto slowly nodded.
The man's breath hitched. "Was his hair and his beard... were they both red?"
Yuto nodded again.
"Were his eyes sharp... and absolutely determined?"
Nod.
"Did he... did he enjoy drinking very much?"
Nod.
"His... his name..." The man's voice broke.
All the strength suddenly drained from his slender frame, leaving him weak and hollow. But his tear-filled eyes remained locked onto Yuto.
"Was it... Iskandar?"
Yuto offered one final, gentle nod.
The man let out a long, shuddering sigh.
The rigid tension in his shoulders shattered.
A fragile, heartbroken smile of absolute relief appeared on his pale lips as the tears finally spilled over, tracking silently down his gaunt cheeks.
"My King..." the man murmured into the quiet room, his voice a broken, reverent whisper.
"My King... my King..."
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