Yuto glanced at Tohru, who stood beside him.
The dragon girl also seemed curious about the handheld consoles.
After watching Ainz for a moment, she turned her head toward Yuto. Her eyes were filled with pleading and expectation.
"No."
Yuto knew exactly what Tohru was about to ask.
Her expression was identical to the one Ainz and Rimuru had worn the previous night when they begged him to buy them things.
Combined with how she'd just been staring at their consoles, he knew the dragon girl probably wanted him to buy her one too.
'Absolutely not. Am I really going to corrupt another innocent dragon girl? No. Never.'
"Aww, Boss... I haven't even said anything yet..." Tohru whined, trying to charm him with a pleading tone.
Yuto sighed in resignation.
"Fine. What do you want?"
"Boss, will you buy me one of those too, please?"
Tohru pointed at the handheld consoles in Ainz and Rimuru's hands, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Yuto.
'Just as I thought,' Yuto mused.
"No," he declared flatly, shutting her down once again.
Tohru's expression fell into disappointment and confusion.
"Why not?"
"Those things are corrupting. They'll lead you to degeneration."
The moment Yuto mentioned "degeneration," the dragon girl's expression snapped to high alert.
When she looked at the handheld consoles again, all traces of her earlier curiosity had vanished.
Her mind conjured various scenarios—the word "degeneration" held a rich and vivid meaning in her dragon heart!
"Kamisaka."
Just as Yuto was relaxing at the change in Tohru's gaze, Ainz spoke up, his tone laced with displeasure.
Yuto turned to him.
It wasn't just Ainz who was annoyed, Rimuru beside him also looked irritated.
He realized his mistake.
Badmouthing games in front of two people currently playing them was not a pleasant experience for anyone involved.
"Sorry," Yuto said. "I didn't mean to aim that at you two."
"It seems you have a deep misunderstanding of games, Kamisaka!" Ainz retorted.
"Yeah, yeah! Games don't make you lose your ambition," Rimuru chimed in.
"My bad," Yuto conceded with a helpless sigh.
Just then, Ainz's eyes lit up as if he'd remembered something.
"Kamisaka, I promised last night I'd properly introduce you to the new culture! I almost forgot today!"
At his words, Rimuru remembered too. "In that case, let's give the Boss a proper introduction right now!"
"Exactly! Experience the beauty of it, Kamisaka! You'll be captivated!"
Faced with Ainz and Rimuru's enthusiasm, Yuto was speechless.
He'd heard that otaku could be passionate about certain things.
Now he seemed to be experiencing it firsthand.
...
In the blink of an eye, it was almost six o'clock.
Yuto had been playing games with Ainz and Rimuru for over two hours.
From reluctantly accepting at the start to becoming engrossed later on, he hadn't noticed the passage of time at all.
When he finally snapped out of it, he was startled.
It reminded him of how he'd lose track of time reading light novels, with hours slipping by unnoticed.
'No, no, I can't keep going.' Yuto forced himself to stop.
He had to maintain control and not fall into the bottomless pit of gaming.
"We've barely made any progress in the story. Are you sure you want to quit now?" Ainz asked, looking conflicted.
Yuto felt a pang of indecision but steeled his resolve.
"For now."
'Just for now,' he thought.
Deep down, he really wanted to continue!
He turned to look at Tohru, surprised to see her still there. "Tohru, you haven't left yet?"
"Hmm? Boss, you didn't tell me to go."
Yuto sighed inwardly.
'Games really do make you forget things.'
"Go home. Your shift ended a long time ago."
Five o'clock had come and gone.
Tohru nodded and stood up to leave.
Yuto then glanced at Ainz and Rimuru, sighing again. "Are you two planning to spend the whole night just reading novels, manga, and playing games?"
Ainz and Rimuru flinched at his words.
"Well... uh..."
At Yuto's words, Ainz and Rimuru seemed to have a sudden realization.
Or rather, they were embarrassed.
And... was that a hint of panic?
Ainz put down the game. Although his skeletal face showed no expression, his eyes, which resembled laser lights, flickered.
"I've just realized I've neglected so many things..." Ainz said awkwardly.
He had originally planned to return to Rimuru's world tonight to conduct a more thorough investigation of the Demon Beasts there.
Instead, he had wasted the entire evening in the restaurant, reading novels and playing games.
A wave of guilt washed over him.
"Uh... me too..." Rimuru silently set down his handheld console.
A few drops of cold sweat materialized on his blue, gelatinous surface—a clear sign of his embarrassment.
He had intended to spend the night studying the structure of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
That way, he could create a clear plan for developing his own settlement. However, the light novels and manga had been just too captivating.
Yuto sighed silently.
He had known this would happen.
"You both... actually had things you needed to do, didn't you?"
By the time Yuto finished speaking, Ainz and Rimuru had already left their seats.
As for the light novels, manga, and other items, the two had already put them away.
"Ahem! Kamisaka, goodbye. I need to get busy," Ainz said solemnly to Yuto before striding toward the door.
Rimuru did the same.
Yuto watched them go, sighing inwardly.
He understood their behavior all too well.
It was like a student who, despite having an exam the next day, spends the evening playing games.
To ease their conscience, they might flip through a textbook for a few minutes, creating the illusion that they've studied. In short, they were putting on a show to convince themselves they hadn't wasted all their time playing.
Seeing Ainz and Rimuru's serious expressions now, Yuto couldn't help but imagine what would happen once they returned to their own worlds.
He had a strong feeling they would just continue playing.
With their serious facades intact, Ainz and Rimuru departed.
Yuto resumed watching over the restaurant.
He noticed that very few customers came at this hour.
'Does the restaurant have peak hours?' he wondered.
It seemed busy during mealtimes, then quieted down afterward.
As dawn approached, the number of customers dwindled to almost zero. By seven o'clock, no one else had come.
He closed the restaurant, wheeled out his bicycle, and prepared to start his daytime life.
...
Great Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz's Bedroom.
Ainz lay on his bed, still engrossed in his game.
Although he had resolved to put down the handheld console for a while, the moment he returned, he couldn't resist lying down and continuing to play.
"Ainz-sama!"
Just then, Albedo's voice called out from outside the door.
Ainz hid the console and composed himself.
"Come in," he said, lowering his voice.
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