"Grayfia... I'm not going back!"
Rias first whispered the silver-haired woman's name, then suddenly shouted. Anger and pain filled her voice, making it sound like the cry of a wounded bird.
Even Yuto felt something stir in his chest.
Grayfia, however, did not change her position.
She stepped forward, the heel of her shoe striking the floor with a sharp click.
Framed by her long silver hair, her cold, elegant features carried the commanding presence of a queen.
"You know perfectly well that this is not something you can run from."
Her voice was calm and distant, as though she were speaking from a throne carved from ice. Her gray-blue eyes showed no mercy.
Rias's eyes reddened and began to tremble. Emotion flushed her cheeks.
"No! I don't want to!"
She screamed again.
Hot tears spilled down her face, sliding over her cheeks before falling to the floor. Each one shattered against the ground like a tiny crystal bead.
For Rias, it probably felt as though her hopes were breaking with them.
Grayfia's expression finally wavered.
A trace of pain entered her cold eyes, and the corner of her mouth trembled faintly.
She quickly suppressed it, and her face returned to its former stern calm.
"Rias, you drank too much tonight. Come home with me before your brother becomes angry."
Only then did Yuto notice the faint smell of alcohol around Rias.
Her emotional outburst had been so intense that he had missed it at first.
This time, Rias did not shout back.
She lowered her head instead, her crimson hair falling around her like dying flames. Her back remained turned toward Yuto, and her narrow shoulders shook softly.
She was still crying.
Grayfia stepped closer.
The pressure surrounding her became even clearer, though Yuto barely reacted. He regularly dealt with guests whose presence was far more terrifying.
"Come, Rias. Return with me."
Grayfia's voice softened, but there was still nothing gentle about her expression. Her cold beauty retained the severe dignity of someone accustomed to being obeyed.
Yuto watched silently.
He did not know what had happened between them.
All he could tell was that the situation was far more complicated than a simple argument.
Rias remained quiet, her shoulders trembling less violently now.
Grayfia's gaze hardened again.
She had no intention of allowing the silence to continue.
She had been ordered to bring Rias home, and she intended to complete that task.
Just as she moved forward, Rias raised her head.
She did not look at Grayfia.
Instead, she turned toward Yuto.
Her slender body looked almost painfully fragile.
Tears shimmered in her ruby-red eyes, her lips had gone pale from how hard she had bitten them, and several wet strands of hair clung to her face.
At that moment, she resembled a flower caught in a violent storm.
"Kamisaka-kun... please save me. I don't want to go back."
It was her final plea.
She probably did not dare expect much, but even the smallest chance was enough for her to cling to.
Anyone lost in darkness would reach for the faintest light.
Yuto did not answer immediately.
Rias's heart sank.
The tiny flame of hope she had grasped seemed to go out, swallowed once more by the darkness around her.
She had fled to the restaurant at the last possible moment, driven by some desperate trust she could not explain.
Yet perhaps even this place could not save her.
Grayfia quietly relaxed when Yuto remained silent.
She knew nothing about him or the restaurant, and her greatest concern had been that he might interfere.
Fortunately...
"Come home with me."
Grayfia stepped forward and placed a hand on Rias's shoulder. Her voice sounded almost gentle, like someone comforting a disobedient younger sister.
Rias did not look up.
Grayfia began pulling her away.
Then a calm voice came from behind them.
"Please wait. Would you like to stay and have something to eat?"
Both women turned at once to see Yuto was calmly smiling at them.
Grayfia's expression sharpened immediately.
In Rias's eyes, however, joy appeared so suddenly and strongly that it was almost painful to see.
"I don't know who you are, but neither Rias nor I need anything to eat. I also ask that you not interfere while I take her home."
Grayfia remained wary.
The moment she entered, she had understood that this place was a restaurant.
Even so, she had never lowered her guard. A place Rias had chosen as her final refuge could hardly be ordinary.
"I see."
Yuto nodded, then looked at Rias.
"In that case, would Miss Rias like something to eat?"
Grayfia's expression darkened.
"I already told you that neither of us requires—"
"I was asking Miss Rias, not you."
Yuto met her gaze calmly.
There was no anger in his expression, yet Grayfia immediately became more cautious.
"Rias, would you like something to eat?"
Yuto asked again.
Rias burst into tearful laughter and nodded repeatedly.
The tears still spilling from her eyes now looked less like sorrow and more like droplets from a bright, bubbling spring.
The light inside her had returned.
This time, it began spreading rapidly through the darkness.
Grayfia watched Yuto with a grave expression.
The muscles throughout her body tightened, and the enormous demonic power hidden beneath her composed appearance began to stir.
The atmosphere inside the restaurant changed.
...
"For now, I will call you 'Boss' as well. Do you truly intend to stop me from taking Rias away?"
Grayfia removed her hand from Rias's shoulder and shifted her stance slightly. Beneath her clothes, every muscle had tightened.
She looked like a bowstring pulled taut and ready to release.
Her voice remained cold and controlled, while her gaze never left Yuto.
He smiled faintly.
"Rias wants to stay and eat. I'm sure you heard her. What kind of restaurant owner would drive away a customer who wants a meal?"
As he spoke, Yuto casually adjusted his sleeve.
His calm gaze remained fixed on Grayfia.
"Wouldn't you agree?"
His voice was mild, yet the atmosphere seemed to slow around him.
A faint chill spread through the restaurant.
It was not merely tension.
The temperature had genuinely fallen!
Grayfia, Queen of the current Lucifer, was angry.
She did not know who Yuto was, but she had pride of her own.
As the Queen serving a Satan, she could not allow herself to be openly challenged without responding.
"Rias, if this man is the one you intend to rely on, then you are being far too optimistic."
Grayfia could not sense anything especially frightening from Yuto.
He seemed stronger than an ordinary human, but compared with her, he did not appear threatening.
She spoke coldly, making it clear she was prepared to become serious.
"Hey. Did you come here looking for trouble?"
A low, commanding voice sounded from the other side of the restaurant.
Grayfia immediately turned.
Ainz, Rimuru, and Fafnir had removed their headsets.
All three of them were glaring at her.
Ainz rose from his seat.
His enormous figure loomed before Grayfia like a mountain.
Dangerous crimson light burned inside his hollow eye sockets, filled with endless darkness and killing intent.
His heavy robes began to billow despite the still air, moving like waves before a storm.
A crushing pressure erupted from him and focused entirely on Grayfia.
Before Yuto, Saitama, and the others he considered friends, he remained Suzuki Satoru.
But before anyone who threatened those friends, he was Ainz Ooal Gown, one of the Supreme Beings of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and ruler of the undead.
Anyone who harmed those close to him would face merciless retaliation!
"So that demonic power came from you." Rimuru's usual harmless manner vanished. "What exactly are you planning to do to the Boss?"
Authority filled his voice.
In an instant, he appeared on the counter in front of Yuto.
He still looked like a small, round slime, but the aura surrounding him now resembled an ancient monster awakening from a long sleep.
"I hate having my games interrupted."
Fafnir adjusted his glasses and stared coldly at Grayfia with crimson eyes.
The combined pressure from Ainz, Rimuru, and Fafnir sent cold sweat sliding down Grayfia's back.
Even so, she could not lower her head.
If she did, she would disgrace not only herself but also the Satan she served.
Her eyes moved across them one by one.
Rimuru.
Ainz.
Fafnir.
She committed all three to memory.
Her expression remained cold and composed, but inwardly, shock rolled through her.
Grayfia served beside a Satan and knew exactly what that level of power felt like.
Yet she sensed something disturbingly similar from all three of the figures before her.
Especially Ainz.
The terrifying aura surrounding him was in no way inferior to that of a Satan.
If anything, it seemed even greater.
The pure presence of death around him was more oppressive than the most monstrous creatures hidden in the depths of the Underworld.
"If you think this is enough to frighten me, then you are far too childish."
Grayfia forced herself to remain standing.
Immense demonic power erupted from her body.
Ainz began to laugh softly.
The chuckle grew louder until it became wild and unrestrained.
"Heh... hehehe... hahahahaha! Interesting. Such arrogance deserves nothing less than the most agonizing death."
He spread his arms.
Skeletal hands emerged from his heavy robes, and waves of green light began gathering along his bones.
A dreadful chill spread through the restaurant.
The red light burning in his eyes seemed to reveal death itself.
To Grayfia, standing at the center of his hostility, the eerie green glow looked like the warning lights at the gates of hell.
She could smell death.
This was power she could never resist.
For the first time, fear entered her heart.
Cold sweat ran down her temples, and panic finally appeared on her face.
Ainz stepped forward.
The green light surrounding him grew increasingly violent.
"Prepare to meet your end. Super-Tier Magic—"
"All right. That's enough."
Yuto stopped him with a single sentence.
The terrifying atmosphere Ainz had spent so much effort creating vanished instantly.
Ainz fell silent and turned toward him.
His skeletal face could not show emotion, but everyone could still sense his frustration.
It had taken him so much effort to build up the perfect atmosphere.
Now it had all gone to waste.
"Miss Grayfia, I doubt you truly want to start a fight here. Why not leave?"
Yuto smiled calmly, never taking his eyes off her.
Grayfia felt as though he could see straight through her, which left her deeply uncomfortable.
Even so, she knew he was right.
She was alone.
Against Ainz, she had no confidence in victory.
If she continued to force the issue, this restaurant might become the place where she died.
Yuto had given her a way to retreat without completely losing face.
After a long silence, she nodded.
Still, she could not leave without saying anything.
"Boss, I hope you understand that Rias is the younger sister of a Satan. My orders came directly from Lord Lucifer himself. By preventing me from taking her home, you are opposing a Satan."
Her eyes remained fixed on him.
"I hope you are prepared to endure Lord Lucifer's anger."
Even in retreat, she needed to leave a warning.
Yuto frowned slightly.
A Satan?
He glanced toward Rias.
She looked away, but did not deny it.
"Then return and tell your Satan exactly what happened. If he wishes to direct his anger at me, he is welcome to come here himself."
Yuto smiled calmly.
So what if the man was a Satan?
Yuto had once flicked a goddess on the forehead!
Why would he be afraid of a Satan?
Grayfia stared at him for several seconds before turning away.
Before leaving, she glanced at Rias one final time.
This time, there was no coldness in her eyes.
Only a faint trace of relief.
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