"Kamisaka."
Gilgamesh's voice drew Yuto's attention.
"What is it?"
Gilgamesh rested one hand on the counter and tapped his fingers against it.
After clearing his throat, he looked at Yuto with an unusual hint of awkwardness.
"There is something this king wishes to ask of you."
Yuto raised an eyebrow.
"What is it?"
"Regarding Waver Velvet's theory from earlier... this king believes his reasoning is sound."
Gilgamesh tried to maintain a solemn expression, but his attempt to hide what he was really feeling was painfully obvious.
Yuto decided not to point it out. Doing so would only make the conversation unbearably awkward.
"You already said that earlier. What comes next?"
The blunt response made Gilgamesh freeze.
For a moment, the King of Heroes had no idea what to say.
After coughing twice to regain his composure, he continued.
"If Waver's theory is correct, then this king wishes to visit the world Illya came from."
He crossed his arms, though the index finger of his right hand continued tapping impatiently against his left arm.
The expectation in his eyes was impossible to miss.
Yuto immediately understood.
So this was what Gilgamesh had been hiding earlier.
But was that really all?
Why had he gone to such lengths to keep it secret? Why not simply say so at the time?
That was strangely hesitant for someone like Gilgamesh.
"Then why didn't you mention it earlier?" Yuto asked the obvious question.
Gilgamesh's expression became stiff again.
For all his arrogance, he suddenly looked like someone whose pride had left him trapped in an awkward corner.
"Probably because of his pride," Enkidu answered for him with a bright smile.
He had struck directly at the truth.
Gilgamesh's embarrassment became even more obvious, and irritation flashed in his eyes as he glared at Enkidu.
Enkidu did not care in the slightest.
After thinking for a moment, Yuto understood as well.
El-Melloi II had still been there earlier. Gilgamesh had probably refused to admit what he wanted in front of him.
Yuto nodded quietly to himself.
Allowing his pride to make a simple request unnecessarily difficult was perfectly in character for the King of Heroes.
"Hmph! This king has no interest in arguing over something so meaningless. Enkidu, you have been exceptionally insolent today. Once we return, I shall remind you of my majesty!"
After making his threat, Gilgamesh turned back toward Yuto.
His answer was still the only thing that truly mattered.
"You understand that visiting another world requires more than my permission, right? You also need the approval of someone who belongs to that world."
"Naturally."
Gilgamesh nodded.
"Illya's world and El-Melloi II's may technically be the same, but they come from different timelines. As far as the restaurant is concerned, they should probably be treated as separate worlds."
Yuto continued calmly, "So if you want to visit Illya's world, you'll need her permission."
Gilgamesh listened seriously until he finished, then waved one hand with complete confidence.
"That will not be a problem. No one can refuse a request from this king."
The pride on his face left both Yuto and Enkidu feeling helpless.
Gilgamesh could be surprisingly reasonable about many things, but when it came to his confidence in himself, he was almost completely blind.
"You've never even met Illya. Are you sure you should be that confident?"
Yuto laughed helplessly.
"Hmph. Naturally!"
Gilgamesh answered without the slightest hesitation.
"In that case, if Illya visits and you manage to reach an agreement with her, I'll approve your request."
Gilgamesh nodded, though his gaze gradually became more serious.
Illya...
It was not entirely true that he had never seen her.
The one who had encountered her simply had not been the version of Gilgamesh sitting here now.
For reasons even he could not fully understand, his Clairvoyance could not clearly observe the world Illya came from.
Even so, he had caught brief glimpses of it—fragments involving the Gilgamesh of that timeline and Illya herself.
They had not been pleasant.
He had no desire to speak about them.
Regret and sympathy were weaknesses Gilgamesh would never willingly admit to feeling.
He understood why that version of himself had acted the way he did.
They were, after all, fundamentally the same person.
Even so, what he had seen filled him with anger and dissatisfaction, most of it directed at that other Gilgamesh.
That immature and vicious version of himself.
Although the man represented an earlier stage of Gilgamesh's own life, accepting that fact was difficult.
Had he truly once been that terrible?
One was the wise king of Uruk's future.
The other was the tyrant from its past.
Even if they were technically the same person, there was no chance they would get along if they met.
More importantly, both believed themselves to be the proudest and greatest being beneath heaven and earth.
Neither would ever submit to the other.
That alone guaranteed trouble.
"Why do you want to visit that world?" Yuto asked.
Gilgamesh's eyes flickered before he lifted his chin.
"It is nothing important. Something in that world has merely caught this king's interest."
He had no intention of revealing the real reason.
Admitting that he wanted to teach his past self a lesson would be far too embarrassing.
Besides, he now considered himself a flawless wise king—or at least that was what he believed.
If he told everyone the truth, he would be handing them the perfect excuse to mock him.
Especially El-Melloi II.
Gilgamesh could already imagine the expression Waver would make after discovering the real purpose of the trip.
That sharp tongue of his would never let the opportunity pass.
Such a thing could not be allowed.
The truth would remain a secret.
"Something caught your interest? What could possibly interest you there?"
Yuto still did not understand.
"Do not concern yourself with it. It is a trivial matter."
Gilgamesh clearly wanted the questioning to end. Every additional question only made the situation more embarrassing.
Yuto noticed his strange behavior and raised one eyebrow, but chose not to push any further.
"Visiting another world... I'm rather looking forward to it."
Enkidu smiled softly.
Although his features leaned slightly masculine, his beauty carried a graceful quality that seemed to exist beyond gender.
His warm presence was like a spring breeze, naturally putting everyone around him at ease.
Gilgamesh's heart tightened the moment he heard those words.
He had forgotten Enkidu was sitting right beside him.
If he truly went to Illya's world to discipline his past self, he absolutely could not bring Enkidu along.
El-Melloi II's mockery would infuriate him, but Waver would eventually stop.
Enkidu was different.
If Enkidu discovered his real purpose, the situation would be far worse.
He would insist on coming along, and once he met the Gilgamesh of the past, he would mock both of them without the slightest restraint.
Worst of all, Gilgamesh could do nothing to stop him.
El-Melloi II at least understood when he had gone too far.
Enkidu never held back.
If Gilgamesh scolded him, Enkidu would only smile.
If he tried using force, he might not even be able to defeat the current Enkidu.
The thought alone was unbearably frustrating.
There was no way Gilgamesh would willingly subject himself to that humiliation!
"When the time comes, I shall go alone. Enkidu, you will remain in Uruk and oversee matters until this king returns."
Gilgamesh delivered the order with deliberate calmness.
Enkidu glanced at him, curiosity and amusement appearing in his eyes.
"Oh? Are you planning to do something you don't want anyone else to see?"
His playful tone only made the question more dangerous.
Anger flashed across Gilgamesh's face, though he quickly suppressed it.
He lifted the corner of his mouth in disdain and pretended not to care.
"Nothing this king does needs to be hidden. If you can ask something so ridiculous, Enkidu, then your mind must have become confused."
His words did not bother Enkidu in the slightest.
If anything, his brows rose even higher, as though he had discovered something incredibly entertaining.
"Is that so?"
"Of course!"
Gilgamesh crossed his arms and answered with complete seriousness.
Enkidu smiled sweetly.
"My dear Gil, you truly are becoming more adorable by the day."
His voice remained light, but the calm way he looked at Gilgamesh made the proud king visibly uncomfortable.
"Shut up!"
Gilgamesh finally shouted, unable to hide his embarrassment any longer.
"Hehehe..."
Enkidu stopped teasing him and merely laughed softly.
Even his laughter was beautiful.
The gods who had created him had crafted every part of his body with almost unfair perfection.
Gilgamesh desperately wanted to hit him.
Then he remembered how badly that had gone the last time.
Damn him!
Gilgamesh said nothing aloud, but the fury inside him burned fiercely.
"The Holy Grail War..."
Yuto had no intention of getting involved in their argument.
Instead, his thoughts drifted back to the Holy Grail War, and he unconsciously murmured the words aloud.
When Iskandar first explained it to him, the idea had immediately caught his interest.
Legendary heroes from across human history were summoned into the modern world as Heroic Spirits, then forced to fight one another as Servants.
How could anyone hear about something like that and not become curious?
Even back then, while listening to Iskandar's explanation, Yuto had wanted to see it for himself.
Now he might finally have the opportunity.
If he visited Illya's world, he could watch famous heroes from history battle with his own eyes.
The thought was incredibly tempting.
Yuto was genuinely interested, and he saw no reason to deny it.
He turned toward Gilgamesh.
The King of Heroes, who had still been sulking over Enkidu's teasing, immediately sensed something unpleasant when Yuto's gaze landed on him.
His instincts warned him that he was about to hear something he would not like.
Gilgamesh frowned and swallowed slightly.
Still, he prepared himself.
He was humanity's oldest king. A few words could never possibly shake him.
Then Yuto spoke.
"If Illya visits the restaurant, I'll talk to her myself."
Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes as the uneasy feeling inside him grew stronger.
"Why?"
"Because I'd like to visit her world too." Yuto answered him with a bright smile.
Gilgamesh's expression froze.
Enkidu laughed softly and glanced at his friend with open amusement.
'Now you won't be able to hide anything, Gil~'
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator