The shock brought about by Saitama did not last for too long.
After Ainz and Rimuru sighed over it for a while, they gradually calmed down.
Both of them had experienced crossing into another world and reincarnating, so their hearts had long since become rather strong.
"Right, these are for you." Yuto took out the VR helmets Asuna had brought from beneath the counter.
Ainz and Rimuru's eyes immediately sharpened.
"Could this be..." "A VR game?!"
The two played off each other with perfect timing, and even their shocked reactions looked comical.
Fafnir, who had been stubbornly playing his handheld console, silently came over after hearing their exclamations.
His expression remained cold, though he rested his chin on one hand, and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
He looked very much like the silent engineer type.
"That's right," Yuto nodded, handing the VR helmets to Ainz and Rimuru.
He took out a new one for Fafnir as well. Now all three had their own VR helmets.
They began examining the helmets.
Ainz and Fafnir could hold them and inspect them like normal people, but Rimuru simply jumped inside its helmet.
As a slime, Rimuru could freely adjust the size of its body, though its current appearance was admittedly rather funny.
"My previous gaming device was a game capsule. It was much better than a helmet," Ainz said.
Ainz was an old hand when it came to VR games.
Although his original world had been dark and oppressive, the upper class had deliberately used games to pacify the lower-class population, capturing the hearts of many people that way.
Moreover, since the people had no hope for the future, many entrusted themselves to virtual reality instead.
As a result, immersive virtual-reality technology had developed quickly.
Something like a helmet had been a first-generation product back then.
"Ooooooh!!! I really want to enter the game and try it right now!" Compared to the composed Ainz, Rimuru was unbelievably excited.
It had never experienced a VR game before, so the helmet was already a surprise.
"It looks rather ordinary." Fafnir had already examined the helmet in detail.
Only after confirming there were no curses or spells specifically targeting him did he speak.
As a dragon who hated humans, Fafnir maintained an appropriate degree of paranoia.
Watching the three of them, Yuto felt a burst of helplessness and curiosity.
None of these three were human.
Could they really play it? Especially Rimuru and Ainz.
One was a slime, the other a skeleton. That was far too confusing!
"Is there an instruction manual?" Ainz immediately asked.
Yuto did not hesitate and handed the manual to the three of them.
After a period of quiet reading, all three seemed to understand how it worked.
Ainz placed the helmet on his own head.
Fafnir, however, first began observing Ainz.
The moment Ainz lifted his robe, the round top of his skull looked even smoother than Saitama's head!
When that skull put on the black helmet, the visual dissonance became extremely severe.
Ainz silently recalled the next steps in his mind.
His finger found a button on the helmet, and when he pressed it, the helmet immediately lit up.
Beep, beep, beep...
The helmet flashed, making him look as if he had put a giant light bulb over his skull.
Then, after roughly three or four seconds—
Hiss.
Gray smoke suddenly began rising from the helmet.
Yuto stared blankly.
Had it malfunctioned?
Ainz reached up and removed the VR helmet. The two red points of light in his eye sockets flickered slightly.
"Ainz, what happened?" Yuto asked curiously.
"I don't know either. At first, I clearly entered the game, but then it suddenly threw up a data-overflow error, and after that, the helmet broke."
There was disappointment in Ainz's voice.
Tonight, the Great Tomb of Nazarick had suffered heavy damage, and now he couldn't even play the game!
Ainz was completely exhausted in spirit!
Yuto thought for a moment, then flipped through the manual.
When he saw one particular line, his expression changed with a hint of speculation.
"This helmet is designed to receive the brain nerves of a normal human. Maybe it's because your body has already exceeded what counts as normal, so it can't function properly for you."
His guess left Ainz stunned.
Seeing this, Fafnir pondered for a moment.
Then a red light flashed in his eyes, and he put on the helmet.
Yuto thought the same thing might happen to him, after all, Fafnir's true form was also a giant dragon.
nexpectedly, however, Fafnir's helmet operated normally.
His head was sealed inside the helmet as he sat upright in front of the counter, making him look like a black lollipop!
Ainz was shocked.
After a short while, Fafnir removed the helmet with a look of understanding.
"As expected, it works as long as I simulate a human brain," he explained to everyone's confused gazes.
Only then did they understand.
The reason Fafnir hadn't put on the helmet first was because he wanted to observe Ainz's situation.
Only after figuring things out in his mind had he begun his experiment.
Fafnir really was meticulous!
"If it's just simulating a human brain, then I think I can do it too!" After muttering that, Rimuru began communicating with Great Sage in its mind.
A short while later, countless fine threads appeared inside Rimuru's slime body.
They had been specially created to simulate human brain nerves. Once the helmet was placed over it, Rimuru successfully entered the game as well.
Seeing this, Ainz became depressed!
So what was he now? The pioneer? The one who sacrificed himself for everyone else?
"It's fine. I'll call Asuna and ask her to bring another one." Yuto comforted Ainz, though the corner of his mouth carried a helpless smile.
Ainz silently stared at the light bulb.
He was fine.
His heart just felt blocked!
"Besides this, there's one other thing," Yuto brought up another matter.
Ainz and the others looked toward him.
"About the weapons you two mentioned wanting to purchase, I've already spoken to Kaguya-san about it." Yuto shifted the topic toward Kaguya, who was sitting off to the side.
In truth, she had been waiting for quite some time, but because Ainz and the others had been fiddling with the VR helmets, she hadn't spoken up.
If it had been an ordinary person, there would be no reason to wait this long. But for Ainz and Rimuru, there was a need.
"Oh?" Ainz looked toward Kaguya with great interest, a trace of excitement in his gaze.
"Is that really possible?" Rimuru also turned to Kaguya with anticipation.
Kaguya smiled and nodded to the two of them. "The Shinomiya family is indeed involved in a portion of the arms trade."
Her words delighted both Ainz and Rimuru.
"That's wonderful! Shinomiya-san, would you be willing to sell me some weapons?"
"Me too, me too!"
Ainz and Rimuru spoke one after another, and when Kaguya smiled and nodded, they became happier!
Although neither was human anymore, they still held anticipation toward firearms.
Men, after all, always liked those hard, heavy things.
"From my personal standpoint, I would be very willing to satisfy Ainz-san and Rimuru-san's wishes. However, there is still one small difficulty." Kaguya's expression carried a hint of hesitation.
"Shinomiya-san, you can tell us what the difficulty is first. If it's only a small problem, I can see whether I'm able to help."
"Mm, same here!"
Ainz and Rimuru expressed their stance readily.
They didn't mind helping Kaguya resolve a few minor problems in exchange.
Besides, they had already noticed it long ago: this Kaguya, toward Yuto... Heh heh.
Although both were still magicians in a certain sense, their theoretical knowledge was rich.
"The main issue is with my elder brother..." Kaguya began explaining the situation, and the two listened seriously.
Yuto had long since stopped paying attention to their side.
He had no interest in listening to this sort of private transaction, so he made his way over to Erina and Hisako instead.
The two girls had been resting for a while, and their complexions looked much better than before.
That explosive burst of high-intensity cooking earlier had truly been tormenting, and since both had the physiques of ordinary people, suddenly being thrown into that sort of trial was naturally difficult for them.
The reason Yuto had been able to calmly prepare dishes for Goku before was because, in every physical aspect, he could no longer be considered an ordinary person.
"Feeling better?" Yuto sat down and spoke softly to Erina and Hisako.
The two girls were resting beside a table, and the moment Erina heard his voice, anger and annoyance appeared on her face.
"Why didn't you come help us earlier?!"
Erina had seen Yuto leisurely watching her and Hisako struggle as though he were observing something interesting.
At the time, Erina had been angry, but she hadn't had the spare energy to get properly mad because she was too busy.
"I was making sashimi, so I couldn't step away."
Yuto's answer made Erina's eyes narrow, her beautiful pupils filled with disbelief and indignation.
How much time could sashimi possibly take?
He was clearly just finding some random excuse to brush her off!
The more Erina thought about it, the more dissatisfied she became.
Her teeth ground together, making her look like an angry large cat.
Yuto smiled. "Wasn't this for the sake of training you? Since Nakiri-san placed the two of you in my care, I have to take responsibility for you somehow."
His words made Erina's face flush red.
"Responsibility?! Don't say it in such an ambiguous way!" She became flustered as if someone had stepped on her tail.
"I only meant taking responsibility for your abilities as cooks, Nakiri-san. What exactly were you thinking of?" Yuto sighed with helplessness, and Erina's face instantly turned between red and pale in quick succession.
Beside them, Hisako couldn't help smiling as she watched the exchange.
"Still, the two of you really did exceed my expectations." Yuto knew when to stop.
Teasing someone required knowing when to advance and when to retreat.
One couldn't keep pressing forward step by step.
It had to be a push and pull, a grip and release; only then could it be considered the proper way to tease.
His words caused both Erina and Hisako's expressions to shift slightly.
Even Erina showed a mixture of pride and dissatisfaction. "What? Were you doubting Hisako's and my ability?"
Yuto gently shook his head. "I originally thought the two of you might not be able to endure until the end, and I had already prepared myself to take over for you if necessary. But you actually managed to hold on, and on that matter, I was the one who misjudged you."
Yuto's sincere tone made Erina feel a little embarrassed.
"If you put it that way, then I'll reluctantly forgive your rude thoughts from earlier. Hmph! What you saw was only a small part of Hisako's and my strength! If Hisako and I showed our true ability, you'd definitely be even more shocked than you are now! When that time comes, don't be so surprised that your jaw won't close!"
The more Erina spoke, the more excited she became.
In her mind, she had already imagined the scene of Yuto being stunned speechless.
That fantasy filled her heart with joy and pride!
Yuto smiled and did not interrupt her imagination.
If he were being honest, should Erina and Hisako continue to surprise him in the future as they had today, he would be delighted.
That would mean they perhaps possessed something he needed to learn from.
There was no end to the culinary arts, and every step forward contained a degree of chance. A teacher was not necessarily wiser than the student.
That was a principle left behind by an ancient sage!
Yuto would not kneel before the strong, nor would he look down upon the weak.
Neither servile nor arrogant—that was the true philosophy of living. If one wanted to improve, one had to be like that.
"Mm. I'll be looking forward to it." Yuto smiled and nodded.
Erina paused slightly at that.
Only after coming back to her senses did she realize how overconfident her words sounded. After all, she knew very well how wide the gap between her and Yuto still was.
But when she looked at Yuto's expression, it didn't seem fake at all.
Instead, he looked sincere.
That made waves ripple through her heart.
"Anyway... w-when the time comes, you'll know!" Erina ended her statement in a slight panic, though her face felt hot. Her feelings right now were extremely complicated.
Yuto smiled and nodded.
At that moment, Ainz, Rimuru, and Kaguya seemed to have finished their discussion.
Yuto didn't know what kind of transaction the two sides had reached, but both parties seemed satisfied.
After finishing the discussion, Ainz took the initiative to stand up and said he would be leaving.
This surprised Yuto.
Logically speaking, Ainz should have been staying in the restaurant all night playing games.
That had already become one of Yuto's basic assumptions.
"After thinking about it, I should return tonight after all. The Great Tomb of Nazarick needs me in its current state. Kamisaka, Rimuru, I'll be leaving first."
Hearing Ainz's words, Yuto nodded.
Saitama and Goku's battle had heavily damaged the Great Tomb of Nazarick, so it was indeed better for Ainz to return now.
"If there's anything you need, just say so. Everyone can still help out." Yuto spoke to Ainz.
"Then I'll go too. I'll see if there's anywhere I can help." Rimuru hopped over to Ainz's side, giving him no chance to refuse.
"Thank you, Kamisaka. If I need anything, I'll come and tell you. And Rimuru, thank you as well." Ainz did not reject Yuto and Rimuru's kindness.
After bidding farewell, he left together with Rimuru.
Once the two of them were gone, Yuto felt emotional.
Under normal circumstances, Ainz and Rimuru would stay in the restaurant through the night.
With them suddenly leaving like this, the place inevitably felt a little emptier.
Kaguya, who had completed her deal with Ainz and Rimuru, also stood up and took her leave.
For Kaguya, tonight had been an excellent night.
She now had a firmer grasp over certain matters.
After both sides left, Yuto couldn't help letting his imagination run wild.
Modern firearms in another world... That was...
'Behold, my water ball spe-!'
'Machine-gun!'
Just imagining that scene was honestly a little funny!