After chatting for a little while longer, Asuna eventually said goodbye and left the restaurant.
Before she came tonight, Shouzou had repeatedly encouraged her to deepen her relationship with Yuto.
In his opinion, young men and women who spent enough time together were bound to develop a few sparks sooner or later, and more importantly, he genuinely thought Yuto suited his daughter rather well.
Asuna, however, had no intention of suddenly changing how she behaved around him simply because her father told her to.
She would rather let things develop naturally.
Asking her to become overly proactive all at once was simply beyond her.
...
More time passed inside the restaurant before Miku happened to arrive.
Her appearance immediately fulfilled one of Kaori's hopes for the evening.
Miku and the others had already finished their vacation and returned to their usual routine of touring and performing every day.
Their schedule was packed enough that even finding time to visit the restaurant had become difficult.
The moment Kaori saw her, she greeted her with obvious delight.
Miku looked equally happy when she saw Kaori standing there completely healthy and full of energy.
The last time Kaori had visited, she had suddenly collapsed inside the restaurant, and the incident had genuinely frightened Miku.
Lucoa later told her that she had healed the girl almost casually, but even after returning to her own world, Miku had continued wondering how Kaori was doing.
In fact, one of the reasons she had come tonight was because she wanted to ask Yuto about her.
Seeing Kaori with her own eyes instead—and seeing her so lively—was a wonderful surprise.
After asking Miku what she wanted to eat, Yuto headed into the kitchen.
He could already tell from Kaori's expression that she had plenty she wanted to say.
Naturally, he had no intention of standing there and interrupting them.
While Yuto leisurely prepared Miku's meal, the two girls chatted happily outside.
Kaori first thanked Miku for inviting her to perform at the concert.
Miku, meanwhile, began explaining some of the specific arrangements she had in mind.
She genuinely intended to bring Kaori onto the stage.
The moment the conversation became serious, Kaori listened with complete concentration.
Since she had already decided to accept Miku's invitation, she intended to give the performance everything she had.
She also understood exactly how enormous Miku's concerts could become.
With an audience that large, even a small mistake onstage could cause unnecessary problems for Miku.
Kaori absolutely refused to let that happen.
If she was going to perform...
Then she would prepare as thoroughly as possible!
The two continued discussing the concert in quiet, animated voices until Yuto eventually emerged from the kitchen carrying Miku's food.
He placed it down without joining the conversation.
When it came to concerts, stage arrangements, and professional performances...
He did not know a damn thing.
Better to keep his mouth shut than say something stupid and embarrass himself.
...
More customers arrived while Kaori and Miku continued talking.
Saitama entered with Genos following closely behind.
Their orders were exactly the same as usual.
Saitama asked for udon.
Naturally, Genos immediately ordered udon too.
Saitama gave him a helpless look but Genos remained completely unmoved.
By this point, there was clearly no changing him.
After sitting down, Saitama noticed Ainz and Rimuru relaxing peacefully nearby and looked at them with curiosity.
"Weren't you two busy conquering worlds?"
"Today's a celebration day, so we're taking a break~"
Saitama tilted his head.
"Celebration day?"
"Of course!" Ainz replied, sounding unusually proud. "Rimuru's world has been completely unified. Isn't something like that worth celebrating?"
Saitama's expression shifted with genuine surprise.
"I didn't expect you guys to move that fast."
"It mainly went so smoothly because Ainz and Fafnir helped me." Rimuru answered cheerfully.
Saitama nodded in understanding.
Yuto emerged from the kitchen at that moment carrying two bowls of udon.
"So once things settle down, are you two just going to spend entire nights gaming here again?"
He looked helplessly toward Ainz and Rimuru while setting the bowls down in front of Saitama and Genos.
The two immediately clasped their hands together and thanked him before starting to eat.
Ainz and Rimuru, meanwhile, answered Yuto's question by nodding at exactly the same time.
Yuto sighed.
"Maybe I should just make a separate gaming room for you."
He had only said it casually.
But the instant those words left his mouth...
Ainz and Rimuru visibly brightened.
"That sounds excellent!" Ainz exclaimed.
"Really?!" Rimuru immediately leaned forward. "Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you, Boss?"
Both of them stared at Yuto with such blatant expectation that he could practically feel it pressing against him.
Yuto fell silent for a moment.
He had only made an offhand comment.
How had it produced such an enormous reaction?
These were the same two people who had been discussing conquering entire worlds as though it were an inconvenient work project.
And now a small gaming room had them looking this excited.
Seriously...what was he supposed to do with them?
"All right, all right. When the time comes, I'll make you a dedicated gaming space."
Yuto did not bother trying to take the idea back.
The moment he agreed, Ainz and Rimuru became ridiculously happy.
Yuto glanced toward one of the far corners of the restaurant.
He already had a simple solution in mind.
A dedicated gaming room?
Easy.
He could buy a few partition panels, put them up around the corner, and turn the area into a separate enclosed space.
Basically the same principle as those temporary metal-panel structures used around construction sites.
Cheap.
Simple.
Extremely practical.
Sure, it would probably look crude.
But Yuto had a feeling Ainz and Rimuru would love it anyway.
...
As everyone continued chatting, Lucoa eventually arrived as well.
The instant Kaori saw her, she immediately stood and approached with an unusually solemn expression.
Then she sincerely thanked Lucoa for saving her that day.
Lucoa, however, had never considered healing Kaori to be anything particularly significant.
She liked the girl.
Kaori was sweet, energetic, and easy to appreciate, and restoring her health had required almost no effort at all.
As far as Lucoa was concerned, helping her had been the most natural thing in the world.
Still, seeing Kaori standing before her now—healthy, lively, and able to smile without pain—made Lucoa genuinely happy.
She sat down beside the girl.
After telling Yuto what she wanted to eat, Lucoa naturally joined Kaori and Miku's discussion.
As a dragon who had lived for an incomprehensibly long time, she had encountered enough cultures, ceremonies, and artistic traditions over the years that she actually knew a fair amount about music herself.
Before long, the three were chatting comfortably together.
...
Time passed quietly.
Miku was the first to leave.
As an idol with well over a billion fans, her schedule was naturally packed from morning to night, and she could not afford to stay too long.
Before leaving, she and Kaori agreed that the next time they met would be at the concert.
Not long after Miku departed, Kaori also stood up, slung her violin over her back, and said goodbye to Yuto.
She was still a student, after all.
No matter how healthy she was now, she still needed to go home at a reasonable hour if she wanted to attend school tomorrow morning.
Once both girls were gone, Lucoa stretched leisurely in her seat.
Her eyes narrowed as a lazy smile settled across her face, making her look almost like a long-haired Persian cat dozing peacefully beneath warm sunlight.
Yuto smiled and gave her a small nod and Lucoa returned the gesture just as casually.
...
The night continued.
Before long, Iskandar entered the restaurant with one massive arm slung over Professor El-Melloi II's shoulders.
The King of Conquerors greeted Yuto with his usual booming enthusiasm, while El-Melloi II merely offered a polite nod and endured the arm around him with practiced resignation.
The two took their seats.
The very first thing Iskandar asked was whether Gilgamesh had come tonight.
Yuto shook his head.
"No. Not yet."
"I see."
Iskandar nodded.
The two kings might argue constantly whenever they were together, trading insults and clashing over nearly every difference in philosophy...
But there were also certain subjects on which very few people could understand them as well as they understood each other.
The nature of kingship was one of them.
How a ruler should govern.
What a king owed his subjects.
Whether a kingdom existed for its people or its people existed for their king.
Their conclusions were often completely different, and their arguments could become ridiculous, but beneath all the hostility was an undeniable recognition of one another.
That was one of the reasons Iskandar and Gilgamesh so often ended up together whenever they visited the restaurant.
"Well, if he isn't here, bring me some wine first!" Iskandar raised one large hand and laughed heartily.
"And grill up some meat while you're at it, Yuto!"
"Sure."
Yuto nodded and went to prepare everything.
While he waited, Iskandar naturally began chatting with Ainz and Rimuru.
It took very little time for the topic to shift toward the War Game earlier that day.
And, naturally...
Iskandar enthusiastically described his own glorious performance in considerable detail.
Ainz and Rimuru listened with obvious longing, occasionally reacting with impressed exclamations whenever he described the battlefield, his army, or the spectacle created by Ionioi Hetairoi.
By the time Yuto returned carrying Iskandar's order...
Both of them immediately turned toward him.
"Yuto, why didn't you invite me today?"
"Yeah, Boss! I really wanted to see it in person too!"
The two complained almost at the same time.
Yuto spread his hands helplessly.
"You weren't here when we discussed it, so you missed your chance."
Ainz and Rimuru immediately slumped in disappointment.
Seeing two people capable of conquering entire worlds looking genuinely depressed because they had missed a War Game...
Was honestly pretty funny.