"So? Is it possible?!" Ainz had finished explaining his request.
He looked at Yuto with his hands clasped together, his upper body slightly bowed.
This posture made him appear respectful, and his tone was filled with anticipation and nervousness.
Beside him, Rimuru also watched Yuto with a tense gaze.
Clearly, the slime was just as expectant.
Yuto fell silent for a moment.
Earlier, when Utaha had told him about the anime convention before leaving, she hadn't lowered her voice.
Plus, the distance across the bar counter wasn't that great—only two or three meters separated them.
At that distance, it was easy to overhear their conversations.
This was what Ainz and Rimuru had been whispering about.
They both wanted to go to the anime convention!
The reason was simple.
Both of them missed modern society, and the allure of an anime convention for two otaku like them...
Yuto let out a soft sigh.
Ainz and Rimuru watched him intently, their gazes following his every breath.
"I'll think about it. Stop staring at me like that, it's pretty awkward."
Yuto didn't agree to their request right away, but Ainz and Rimuru were happy to hear his response.
After all, he hadn't outright rejected them.
His willingness to "think about it" meant there was still a chance!
"What's an anime convention?"
The dragon girl, having finished her meat bun rice, looked up. Her eyes, filled with confusion and curiosity, were fixed on Yuto.
Yuto wasn't sure how to explain what an anime convention was.
He only had a vague idea, having rarely attended one himself.
"It's a place where a bunch of people cosplay."
Yuto's explanation clearly left the dragon girl baffled.
"Let me explain! Let me explain! An anime convention is...!" Rimuru, brimming with enthusiasm, took over for Yuto and began explaining.
The dragon girl's expression shifted from confusion to bright-eyed excitement.
"That sounds like a lot of fun! Boss, Boss, I want to go too!" Tohru raised her hand like an elementary school student, signaling her eagerness.
"Wait until I've thought about it." Yuto simply pushed her hand back down.
He needed to think this through carefully.
On a purely emotional level, he found the idea quite amusing.
But on the other hand, Yuto couldn't help but worry about potential accidents.
He had noticed multiple times that Ainz's thoughts tended toward extremes!
'If Ainz got into a conflict with someone at a comic convention...'
Yuto could already picture the scene.
A comic convention? It would probably turn into a murder scene on the spot!
"Ugh... alright..." Tohru whimpered softly and let her expression fall, silently withdrawing.
Time slowly ticked by.
Tohru had long since finished her grilled meat as the dragon girl resumed her endless cleaning.
Wielding a cleaning cloth, her face beamed with cheerful energy, showing no signs of exhaustion.
More than an hour had passed since Yuto said he needed to "think about it."
He still hadn't given Ainz and Rimuru an answer, but they didn't seem impatient.
They continued to quietly read their light novels.
They had already finished three or four volumes that evening.
That was an astonishingly fast pace!
'Perhaps it's because they're no longer human that their reading speed has skyrocketed,' Yuto thought.
Finally, after a long wait, a new customer arrived.
"Welcome," Yuto greeted the newcomer.
As he took in the visitor's appearance, he felt a jolt of astonishment.
'Is it a man? No, that doesn't seem right. A woman? No, that doesn't fit either.'
The face was exquisitely beautiful yet strikingly androgynous, making it impossible to discern their gender.
Long, green hair cascaded down their back, shimmering brilliantly under the restaurant's lights.
They wore a long white robe, exuding an aura of refined elegance and profound wisdom.
The customer's gaze swept across the restaurant, lingering on Tohru, Ainz, and Rimuru before settling on Yuto.
A gentle smile graced their lips.
"Hello, Boss."
Their voice was melodious, carrying a serene tranquility within its calm tones.
Yuto couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder.
'People like this were a rare sight indeed.'
"Would you like something to eat?" Yuto asked with a smile.
"No, thank you, Boss. I don't feel like eating at the moment." The visitor smiled again and took a seat at the counter.
Yuto had assumed the visitor would be the quiet type, given their serene aura.
But he was mistaken.
The newcomer was surprisingly talkative.
They introduced themselves to Yuto.
"My name is Enkidu and i'm a heroic spirit."
Upon hearing the name, both Yuto and Ainz's eyes narrowed slightly.
Rimuru didn't recognize it because he'd been terrible at history, and it was perfectly normal for Tohru not to know.
"Have you heard my name before, Boss?" Enkidu asked with a smile.
"Yes, the name Enkidu does sound a little familiar," Yuto replied.
Although he had dropped out of school to become a chef, it didn't mean he lacked interest in knowledge.
Like many boys, he had a fascination with history.
He recalled reading about it in a history book once. He remembered seeing the name Enkidu in a volume dedicated to ancient kings.
But the memory was distant, and the details were hazy.
Besides, in that book, the name Enkidu was merely mentioned as a companion to a certain king...
"Is that so? How interesting. And what is your name, Boss?"
"Kamisaka Yuto."
Enkidu watched Yuto with a faint smile, his eyes brimming with curiosity.
He looked like a scholar hungry for knowledge!
"'Kamisaka,' may I call you that?"
"That's fine."
"I'm glad to hear that." Enkidu smiled gratefully before turning to Ainz and the others, introducing himself to them as well.
His every word and gesture carried an ancient, serene ease.
Watching him, Yuto felt himself relax.
He was a little surprised, and his gaze softened with a touch of admiration.
'What a quiet and beautiful person,' he thought.
Heroic Spirit... Iskandar was a Heroic Spirit.
Yuto never expected to meet a second Heroic Spirit so soon.
"Is something wrong, Kamisaka?" Enkidu looked at Yuto's eyes, curious.
He found it strange.
Why would Yuto have such an expression after he revealed he was a Heroic Spirit?
It was as if he had met a Heroic Spirit before.
Ainz and Rimuru stood by, silently observing the conversation between Enkidu and Yuto without interrupting.
"Kamisaka," Enkidu asked, his expression shifting to one of curious delight, "has another Heroic Spirit visited this place before?"
He seemed to be anticipating something.
Yuto nodded and a smile touched Enkidu's eyes.
"Who was it?" he pressed.
From their brief conversation, Yuto had already gotten a sense of Enkidu's personality.
He was gentle and approachable, yet possessed an insatiable curiosity.
If a topic piqued his interest, he would pursue it relentlessly.
Such behavior might seem impolite in others, but on Enkidu, it was easily accepted—perhaps due to the refined aura he naturally exuded.
"Iskandar," Yuto said, revealing the King of Conqueror's name. "Do you know him, Enkidu?"
Enkidu thought for a moment before shaking his head.
A fleeting shadow of disappointment crossed his emerald eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Yuto had assumed Enkidu would know him, since they were both Heroic Spirits, but it seemed he was mistaken.
Enkidu's epic and the King of Conqueror's glory were separated by millennia.
King of Conqueror would know who Enkidu was, but Enkidu would have no way of knowing who the King of Conqueror was.
"Could you tell me about him?" Enkidu asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Of course." Yuto nodded and began to recount the King of Conqueror's life.
He was certain the King of Conqueror wouldn't mind him sharing his past, in fact, he would probably be delighted.
'The Holy Grail War... Rider... the battles of Magi...'
As Yuto spoke, Enkidu's expression gradually shifted.
What began as mere curiosity deepened into reverence, his face filled with emotion.
When Yuto described the King of Conqueror's domineering nature, Enkidu's eyes filled with a hint of nostalgia and longing.
He seemed to recall something, his expression turning faintly melancholic and sorrowful, yet tinged with a serene, subtle joy.
His expression was remarkably nuanced and captivating.
"Enkidu, are you all right?"
Noticing the change in Enkidu's demeanor, Yuto paused his story and asked with concern.
"I'm fine," Enkidu replied. "I just... remembered the past."
Snapping out of his reverie, Enkidu offered Yuto a faint smile.
"May I ask what you were thinking about?"
Noticing the nostalgia and longing flickering in the other's emerald eyes, Yuto couldn't help but ask.
But the moment the words left his mouth, he felt a pang of regret.
He had violated his usual principle—never to pry into his customer past.
"My apologies. I overstepped."
As he apologized, Enkidu gently waved it off with a soft smile.
"It's alright. It's no secret. The King of Conqueror's Way of the King is truly admirable. He reminds me of my friend... My friend was also a king, and his own path was just as brilliant..." Enkidu spoke with a serene smile.
Yuto sighed softly.
He could sense a subtle sorrow emanating from the person before him.
A grief buried deep beneath the smile...