It had been eight days since Takumi descended into the Seventh Singularity.
The weather transitioned from clear to overcast. Nothing major happened.
Three days ago, excluding the vicinity of the cedar forest near the Blood Fort, every single fissure carved by the [Sword of the Heart] across Mesopotamia had been fully repaired.
"Why does it feel like the volume of petitions brought before me has decreased so drastically recently...?"
Setting down the processed clay tablet in his hand, Gilgamesh stretched his back and frowned in genuine confusion.
The number of major, state-level issues that strictly required his personal attention hadn't decreased much. However, the seemingly endless mountain of minor, civilian-level grievances and daily disputes had experienced an absolute cliff-dive drop-off.
After a moment of thought, Gilgamesh vaguely deduced where the anomaly lay. Narrowing his eyes, he turned toward Siduri and asked:
"Siduri, what has that brat Takumi been up to recently?"
Hearing the question, Siduri sighed helplessly:
"Sigh... He is doing exactly what he has been doing..."
"Exactly what he has been doing? Doing what, precisely?"
Hearing her riddle-like response, Gilgamesh's frown deepened.
"He has been continuously running around performing various 'minor tasks' to help the citizens of Uruk."
Siduri deliberately placed heavy emphasis on the words "minor tasks."
"Is that not exactly the work I instructed you to assign him?"
Seeing Siduri rubbing her temples with a look of profound headache, Gilgamesh grew even more confused.
"Initially, yes. But truthfully, I stopped officially assigning Lord Takumi any new tasks four days ago. Everything he has been doing recently has been entirely of his own volition."
"..."
Gilgamesh fell completely silent. He finally fully comprehended the root cause of the bizarre administrative drought he was currently experiencing.
"Very well. To what extent has he taken this 'volunteer work'?"
Gilgamesh massaged his own temples, feeling a headache coming on.
"At this current stage... I estimate that virtually every single citizen in Uruk—from the elderly who have difficulty walking, to the toddlers still playing in the mud—knows his face and has personally met him..."
"His name and his appearance are universally recognized throughout the entire city. If we were to compare who has a deeper, more intimate understanding of Uruk's daily civilian life... in certain aspects, I fear even you, my King, might fall short compared to him..."
Gilgamesh sharply inhaled a breath of cold air.
Good grief! If I didn't know for a fact that the boy had zero ambition for the throne, I would honestly suspect he was laying the groundwork for a populist rebellion!
"Issue an order immediately! Tell that brat to confine himself to his quarters and get some actual rest! If he refuses, tie him to his bed if you have to!"
Gilgamesh waved his hand dismissively, barking the immediate order.
***
Meanwhile.
"What exactly... are you guys making?"
Standing behind a group of three young children, Takumi watched their actions with a mix of curiosity and slight hesitation.
"Hmm? Oh! It's Big Brother Takumi!"
One of the kids, who had been fiercely arguing just moments before, turned his head. Seeing Takumi, his face instantly lit up with a bright, pleasant surprise.
Takumi smiled warmly, replied with a gentle "Hello," and then repeated his initial question.
"Oh, this? We're just playing a normal game!"
The boy who had spoken first scratched his head, flashing a wide, toothy grin.
No, no, no. Based on how intensely you guys were shouting at each other just now, there's absolutely no way this is just a 'normal game,' right?
Thinking this, Takumi looked down at the elaborate structures they had molded out of mud.
"This circular structure you built... Is it a city wall?"
Takumi asked tentatively.
"Yep! It's a city wall! You're amazing, Big Brother Takumi! You guessed it on the very first try!"
A young boy with a missing front tooth named Patia exclaimed, looking at Takumi with pure admiration.
I really don't want to be praised for correctly identifying a mud wall...
Takumi's expression turned slightly complex.
"So, what were you guys arguing about just now?"
The three kids exchanged glances, and finally, the first boy who had spoken, Tetayar, stepped up to explain.
Simply put, the three of them were playing a game centered around figuring out how to defend Uruk against the impending, world-ending disaster King Gilgamesh had prophesied.
Patia's strategy was to build an unimaginably massive, ultra-thick city wall that completely encompassed all of Uruk. Naturally, this idea was immediately met with fierce opposition and counter-arguments from the other two.
Refusing to back down, Patia immediately brought up the Absolute Demonic Front, pointing out that it was successfully holding back the demonic beasts using a massive wall.
None of the three boys had actually seen the Absolute Demonic Front with their own eyes. The other two looked at each other, struggling to find a valid counter-argument. Finally, the third boy, Naditu, brought up the legendary Bull of Heaven—a story passed down from their fathers about a terrifying beast defeated by Gilgamesh. Naditu argued that since King Gilgamesh himself couldn't stop this upcoming disaster, it must be something even more terrifying than the Bull of Heaven, and it would absolutely smash right through any wall!
Patia stubbornly dug his heels in, declaring that his hypothetical wall was so incredibly strong that not even the Bull of Heaven could scratch it, meaning absolutely nothing could break it!
And so, the argument escalated into a full-blown shouting match.
Well, that's definitely a very childish argument—Wait, does this technically make them humanity's oldest power-scalers?!
Seeing that the three kids were on the verge of starting another screaming match, Takumi hurriedly stepped in to play peacemaker:
"Is there a possibility—and I'm just throwing this out there—that this enemy... can fly?"
Having complete knowledge of the final boss and her vanguard forces, the Lahmu, Takumi felt highly qualified to intervene in this debate.
The three young power-scalers instantly fell into deep thought. Patia, who had been valiantly defending his "Ultimate Wall" theory against the other two, fell completely silent.
How is that supposed to be a fair point?!
"Ahem. So, what were the strategies you two came up with?"
Feeling slightly awkward under the kids' profoundly resentful stares, Takumi coughed lightly and changed the subject.
"My idea is completely different! I once saw the King's Dingir instantly blast a massive crater into the ground! So, I decided to build an even bigger one! Uh... a Dingir bigger than the Ziggurat itself!"
"If one shot isn't enough to kill the thing trying to destroy Uruk, then we just shoot it a bunch more times!"
Naditu proudly held up his bizarrely shaped mud "Dingir" and puffed out his chest.
Not a bad idea in theory, but trying to hit a swarm of hyper-agile mosquitoes (Lahmu) with a massive, stationary artillery cannon might be a bit tricky.
Takumi then turned his attention to the last remaining boy, Tetayar.
"Hmph! Those two have absolutely zero imagination! Big Brother Takumi, let me show you my masterpiece!"
Tetayar had been secretively hiding his hands behind his back. After successfully capturing Takumi's curious gaze, he whipped out his creation with a look of absolute, smug triumph.
In an instant! A blinding, radiant light seemed to burst forth.
This level of completion—
Hiss!
Takumi sharply inhaled a breath of cold air, instinctively leaning back in a tactical retreat.
He saw an incredibly detailed, highly finished clay figure glinting brilliantly under the late afternoon sun—Was it actually emitting light? No, it was because it had been meticulously coated in a layer of golden powder!
The clay figure Tetayar was carefully cradling in his hands possessed distinctly molded arms, legs, and fingers. One hand gripped a massive, clearly detachable battle axe, while the other was clenched into a fist. The armor plated across its body was incredibly lifelike. Furthermore, this wasn't the kind of fragile mud-pie a normal kid made that would crumble to dust the second you touched it; this was a genuinely baked and fully dried piece of pottery!
Not only had it been polished smooth, but the joints were actually fully articulated using small wooden pegs and other materials! Aside from its entirely golden color scheme being a bit monotonous, you could legitimately sell this thing as a high-quality action figure!
The title of "Humanity's Oldest Figure Sculptor" belongs to you!
"Kid... with dedication like this, no matter what you decide to do in the future, you are absolutely going to succeed!"
Takumi decisively gave Tetayar a massive thumbs-up. Beside him, the other two kids, who had clearly seen it before, still stared at Tetayar's masterpiece with profound jealousy and envy.
"Hehe! I call this one—[Super Giant God Uruk]!"
"Since some bad guy wants to destroy Uruk, I decided to just turn the entire city into a massive God! This way, whether we need to fight or just run away, Uruk can easily handle it!"
Tetayar wiped his nose proudly.
"I gave [Uruk] the strength to hold up a collapsing sky with a single hand! Eyes that can see through the boundaries of life and death, past and future! Its blood flows like two massive rivers, and its skin is harder than the toughest iron! Its roar is loud enough to vibrate passing dragons to death! And it can separate and reform at will..."
Tetayar rattled off the lore and abilities he had created for his OC (Original Character) like he was reading from a sacred text. It was highly detailed, internally consistent, and stacked with so many absurd buffs that its power level rivaled the Supreme Deities of actual mythology.
Hiss!
Hearing this, Takumi gasped again. He never expected this kid to be hiding such profound depths. This level of intricate OC lore-crafting was absolutely not something a normal kid his age should be capable of!
Unfortunately, dropping this kind of dense lore on his peers was essentially useless. After all, kids didn't care about intricate stat-blocks; winning playground arguments purely came down to who could yell their made-up bullshit louder.
After chatting and playing with the kids for a little while longer, Takumi noticed it was getting late and stood up.
"It's getting late, guys. I'm going to head back now. You three play for a bit longer, but make sure you head home soon!"
Takumi ruffled one of the boys' hair and smiled.
"Mhm! You should hurry back and get some rest too, Big Brother Takumi!"
The three boys grinned and waved goodbye.
"I definitely will. My work is finally wrapping up, so it really is time for me to get a proper rest."
Takumi smiled, waved back, and turned to leave.
As he turned, he couldn't help but steal one last glance at Tetayar's [Super Giant God Uruk].
It even has faint, mecha-style panel lining carved into it... That's honestly so freaking cool!
***
Back at Takumi and the Servants' residence in Uruk.
"Let me tell you, ever since Takumi came down to inspect the soldiers at the front line, those green recruits completely transformed overnight! Every single one of them acts like a hardened veteran now! Sure, they still get a bit spooked when things go wrong—which is perfectly human—but when it comes time to swing their weapons, there isn't a single trace of hesitation in them!"
Leonidas took a massive gulp of fruit juice, gesturing wildly as he enthusiastically recounted his observations to Ushiwakamaru and Merlin.
"I have to say, Takumi, your ability to train and rally troops is absolutely second to none! If you had been born in my era, as long as you had a sufficient population base, you could have effortlessly raised an unstoppable, fearless army of absolute conquerors!"
Leonidas smacked his lips, speaking with profound awe and respect.
What was the most critical trait a soldier needed? Masterful, peerless martial arts? Don't make him laugh! What army had the time, resources, or luxury to turn every single infantryman into a martial arts master?
The most critical trait a soldier needed was mentality! The ability to remain calm under pressure and fundamentally lack the fear of death! And equally important: the absolute willingness to follow orders.
As long as an army's mentality was unbreakable, they would never rout or collapse, even in the most desperate situations. Even if their commanding officer was slightly incompetent, an army like that would still be an utterly terrifying force for any enemy to face.
"Alright, alright, please eat your food. Lord Takumi absolutely must get some proper rest over these next two days. You are absolutely forbidden from encouraging him to go back to the front lines."
Siduri placed a large platter of roasted lamb chops on the table, glaring sternly at Leonidas.
Hearing this, Leonidas scratched his head awkwardly.
"Haha, you can't really give me all the credit. It was mostly due to their own profound resolve."
Takumi chuckled softly, downplaying his contribution.
"Be that as it may, if anyone ever needs a quick fix for a psychological crisis, you're undeniably the man for the job, aren't you?"
Merlin gently swirled the liquid in his cup, giving Takumi a knowing, playful wink.
"Exactly, exactly! Physical injuries are usually quite simple to deal with, but ailments of the mind are infinitely more complex. Lord Takumi's ability is truly the ultimate panacea!"
Ushiwakamaru enthusiastically chimed in to support the praise.
"Think whatever you want."
Takumi shook his head and laughed, too tired to bother arguing the point.
After quickly finishing his meal in his usual vacuum-cleaner style and circulating his energy to aid digestion, Takumi spoke up:
"You guys keep eating. I'm going to head up to my room and go to sleep."
Truthfully, Siduri didn't need to worry about him overworking himself anymore. Having fully completed his entire preparatory checklist, Takumi had fully intended to take a proper, deep rest tonight—the kind of rest where he completely suspended all forms of physical and mental training.
He had no idea when the next catastrophic variable would occur. But as someone who had rushed to prepare for every eventuality, how could he possibly not understand the absolute importance of proper rest? He was well aware that fighting at peak physical and mental condition was critical; it was just that the relentless ticking clock and constant, unforeseen disasters rarely afforded him the luxury of doing so.
Hearing Takumi's words and watching him slowly walk up the stairs, the Servants in the living room exchanged bewildered glances. It felt as if the sun had just risen in the west.
However, regardless of the unprecedented situation, everyone silently agreed to drastically lower their volume to ensure they didn't disturb his sleep.
Roughly an hour later.
Under the intensely curious gazes of the others, Merlin tiptoed up to Takumi's bedroom door. He silently pushed the wooden door open just a crack and peered inside.
As an entity possessing Incubus blood, there was absolutely no one more qualified to determine whether someone was truly asleep or not!
In his unique field of vision, he saw Takumi's entire body enveloped in a gentle, transparent, illusory flame. Although the flame prevented him from casually invading Takumi's dreams, it was more than enough to confirm that Takumi had genuinely, deeply entered the realm of slumber.
After observing for a moment, Merlin withdrew his gaze and flashed an "OK" sign to the group downstairs.
Seeing this, the Servants felt a bizarre sense of surrealism wash over them. Merlin had explicitly told them that even when Takumi "slept," he always kept a fraction of his consciousness active to relentlessly train his swordsmanship in his mind. Yet tonight, he had actually just gone to sleep normally, without a single ripple of hidden activity?
But no matter how unbelievable it felt, the undeniable truth was right in front of them.
***
The next day.
Clear skies.
9:00 AM.
"King Gilgamesh! T-Terrible news... Lord Takumi, he..."
Siduri sprinted frantically all the way into the Ziggurat. The moment she saw Gilgamesh, she braced her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. Her face was pale with panic, and her voice trembled uncontrollably:
"He... died..."
"Hah—?!!"
Hearing this, Gilgamesh's brain instantly blue-screened.
Hold on. Are you telling me that before I even had the chance to die from overwork, he actually beat me to the Underworld?!