After a few seconds, he decided to be honest—but before he could speak, she got there first.
"Kamisaka-kun, what's wrong?"
"No, nothing." Yuto smiled easily.
"Then if it's nothing, will you tell me about the doll?"
"Cough. Actually, it's a cursed tool." Yuto coughed without quite meaning to, then gathered himself and told her the truth, serious but gentle.
At once, the happy look Asuna had been wearing froze on her face.
In no time, the corner of her mouth even seemed to twitch.
"Huh? Kamisaka-kun, what did you say?"
Seeing her look as though she doubted her own ears, Yuto was helpless.
"The doll is a cursed item. Fafnir made it himself, so the quality is reliable. If there's someone you want to curse, you can stick that person's name on the back. Do that, and they'll suffer all sorts of painful torment. They won't die, of course." He explained it all calmly.
As he spoke, the girl's face grew stiffer and stiffer.
The doll had long since been set back down. Her throat moved as she swallowed.
Then she forced out a very strained smile and looked at him.
"Kamisaka-kun, I feel like this tool really doesn't suit me. Please return it to Fafnir-san for me, and thank him for the thought. And please tell him not to worry about the headsets." Asuna pushed the doll back across the counter.
'Just as expected', Yuto thought.
Her reaction was exactly what he'd imagined.
"I should get home early. Goodbye, Kamisaka-kun." Asuna stood up in a hurry, the smile still stiff at the corner of her mouth, then turned and left without another word.
Yuto watched her go out the door, then picked up the doll in front of him, helpless.
It really was ugly.
"Tohru, give this back to Fafnir." At Yuto's word, Tohru carried the doll over to Fafnir, who was deep in his game, and patted him on the shoulder.
He ignored her.
Tohru paused for a bit, then she started shaking him.
Fafnir's body rocked back and forth under her hand like a limp kite.
In the end, wearing the look of a man who'd just eaten something rotten, Fafnir pulled off the headset.
"What?" His voice was as cold as ever, but this time anyone could hear the anger held back beneath it.
He was furious!
He'd been in the middle of a boss fight, and he'd been shaken right out of the game.
He wanted to explode!
But he couldn't beat Tohru.
So Fafnir decided he would endure it.
"She didn't want this. Here, I'm giving it back to you." Tohru held out the doll, her face blank and innocent.
Fafnir narrowed his eyes, plainly irritated. "Hmph! foolish human. How foolish can they be to refuse a dragon's gift!"
"Boss is a human too. You can't lump everyone together like that!" Tohru corrected him very seriously.
Fafnir took two deep breaths. "That's it? Anything else?"
"Oh, nope." Tohru grinned.
Fafnir took another deep breath. "Then why did you shake me instead of just leaving it here?"
Tohru gave him a strange, puzzled look. "I patted your shoulder and you ignored me. So of course I had to shake you!"
The dragon girl said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and her earnest eyes almost made Fafnir wonder if he was the one in the wrong.
He let out a long sigh. "If there's anything else, don't shake me again."
"Oh."
"You can go. I'm going back to my game."
By now Fafnir no longer bothered with excuses about "researching human technology."
Playing games was playing games, and he could admit it openly!
Tohru bounced away.
Fafnir put the headset back on with a cold face, and the game started again.
But this time, the screen was gray.
Fafnir's expression froze under the headset.
He was dead—the first defeat of his gaming career.
Yuto looked at Tohru who's still smiling away, and had to fight back his amusement.
He'd been following her exchange with Fafnir, and he guessed she'd cut the dragon off at some crucial moment, which was why Fafnir had looked so off.
But from the silly smile on Tohru's face, she clearly had no idea what she'd just done.
'Good. That's our Tohru! She's as sharp as ever.'
"Fafnir spends every single day glued to that game. It's kind of embarrassing for a dragon." Tohru said it to Yuto with a troubled look.
Yuto kept a calm face, though he was laughing inside. "Well, don't worry about it. Fafnir probably knows his limits."
Hasn't the dignity of dragons already been thrown out pretty thoroughly?
What came out of his mouth and what ran through his head were two very different things.
Luckily, no one could hear his private thoughts!
At his words, Tohru could only nod, still helpless.
Yuto gave the smallest shake of his head, then looked over at the King of Hero sitting off to one side.
"Are you really all right staying out this long without heading back?" he asked.
Gilgamesh had said he was free today when he first came in, but he'd been here nearly three hours now.
He was a king.
If he vanished for this long, would nothing really go wrong? Yuto had his doubts.
"Kamisaka, don't look down on the people of Uruk, or on this king's subjects. This king is merely taking a brief rest. It is hardly enough to throw the place into chaos." Gilgamesh spoke with great composure.
But as Yuto watched him, his instincts said the man was lying.
"Really?" he couldn't help asking again.
Displeasure crossed the King of Hero's face.
"Do not doubt this king!" Gilgamesh snapped.
Beside him, Enkidu and Siduri looked helpless.
"Gil, your subject is sitting right beside you." The only one who could puncture the King of Hero's act to his face was Enkidu.
Gilgamesh fell silent for half a beat, then turned to Enkidu, his face full of anger. "Enkidu! Hold your tongue! Do you imagine Siduri is this king's only subject?"
"Hm? Is there anyone besides Siduri who can run Uruk while you're gone?" Enkidu's face carried a teasing smile as he looked at Gilgamesh.
the King of Hero flushed even redder.
If anyone in the world understood him best, it was Enkidu—and Enkidu wasn't wrong in the slightest.
Gilgamesh was the proudest of kings.
How could he ever stand to let others overstep and manage Uruk?
Siduri had been at his side through long years, and as a subject she alone was special.
Only Siduri could run Uruk in his absence; no one else would ever be permitted to.
And now Siduri was here in the restaurant too, which meant Uruk was, at the moment, without anyone at the helm.
Being called out by his closest friend left the King of Hero thoroughly frustrated.
Watching it, Yuto understood: Gilgamesh's earlier confidence and calm had been an act.
That much was easy to grasp.
Gilgamesh was an intensely proud man, and naturally he didn't want to show any weakness, whether about Uruk or about himself.
He was a king!
How could he show fear in front of ordinary people? To put it simply, the King of Hero had been putting an act for the sake of his pride.
"If that's the case, you should head back early. Don't let anything happen to your kingdom." Yuto's words made Gilgamesh look even more annoyed.
Now that his act was exposed, the King of Hero gave up on keeping it going.
Yes, he'd been out a good while.
He did want to go back, but—
"That damned El-Melloi II still hasn't come! Truly a waste of this king's time!"
That was it.
Gilgamesh was actually waiting for someone—El-Melloi II.
Yuto was a little confused. "Is there something you need to tell him? If it isn't too important, I can pass the message along."
Gilgamesh snorted and crossed his arms. "He and this king agreed to teach Tohsaka Sakura in turns, one day each. This king merely wishes to observe his teaching methods. Do not misunderstand—it is for no other reason.
Since this king has taken Tohsaka Sakura as a student, then as her teacher, this king has a duty to watch over her growth. I will not have outsiders teaching her however they please! That is simply the responsibility a teacher must fulfill!"
The King of Hero lifted his chin slightly, plainly displeased.
Yuto paused.
He hadn't expected Gilgamesh to be staying because of Sakura.
That was honestly a surprise.
"I didn't think you cared about Sakura this much."
"Do not misunderstand. This king has already said it. This is only the duty this king owes as her teacher. It's not a so-called concern."
Yuto was a little puzzled by the defense. "Is there a difference?"
"Of course! Fulfilling a duty and concern are two different things!" Gilgamesh was thoroughly displeased.
Enkidu's lips curved with amusement, he was thoroughly entertained. "You're as tsundere as ever, Gil."
The words made the King of Hero's face stiffen on the spot before it turned to anger.
"You are nothing more than a weapon! Did this king grant you leave to speak?"
"My... Gil looks so cute when he gets angry about being called tsundere."
"En! Ki! Du! Do not test this king's limits!"
"Mm-hm. Gil is a king with limits. A bit of a tsundere, though."
"This king truly has limits!"
"Mm, I know."
"Damn it!" The King of Hero cursed under his breath, but Enkidu only kept smiling calmly.
Enkidu was Gilgamesh's natural counter, able to keep the proud king completely in check!
Yuto watched the two of them and smiled.
Somehow the scene felt like watching someone tease a cat.
And the King of Hero was definitely the cat being teased—no doubt about it.
Once their bickering finally died down a little, the restaurant door opened again.
Gilgamesh looked toward the entrance at once, expectation in his eyes.
Then his expression fell into disappointment and anger all at once.
'Damn El-Melloi II! Why is he still not here?' The King of Hero raged in his heart.
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