After Sirzechs left, the restaurant gradually returned to its usual atmosphere.
Ainz and Rimuru immediately teamed up again and prepared to resume their game.
This time, however, the person joining them was not Fafnir, but a certain princess who had been waiting impatiently for exactly this opportunity.
The moment Princess Kaguya received a gaming headset from Yuto, her entire body trembled with barely restrained excitement.
Not even the slightest trace of her usual noble elegance remained, creating such an enormous contrast that Eirin could only cover her face and release a deep, exhausted sigh.
Back at Eientei, Kaguya had begged her so shamelessly and persistently that Eirin had eventually reached the limit of what she could endure.
Otherwise, there was absolutely no chance she would have allowed the princess to come out today.
"Come to think of it, we haven't seen Miss Yuuki for the past couple of days."
Rimuru spoke curiously as he accepted his own headset.
After all, these gaming headsets had originally come from Asuna, and Rimuru still felt quite grateful toward her for introducing them to the game.
Yuto rested a finger against his chin and thought for a moment.
"She might have been busy lately. SAO's open beta is supposed to begin in a few days, isn't it? She could be occupied preparing for that."
That seemed like the most reasonable explanation.
Rimuru gave a slow, understanding "Oh~" while Ainz drew in a breath beside him.
"The open beta..." Ainz murmured before his voice gradually filled with genuine excitement. "Ah... I really cannot wait to see what surprises it will bring."
They had been playing the game frequently over the past several days, but it was still only in closed beta, meaning the number of players remained extremely limited.
A large-scale online game only revealed its true appeal when there were enough people inhabiting the world.
That was especially true for an immersive VR game like SAO.
The more players who entered, the more unpredictable encounters, conflicts, friendships, and adventures could emerge, making the entire experience considerably more entertaining.
Ainz understood that better than most.
After all, he had once played exactly that kind of game himself.
Even the Great Tomb of Nazarick had only come into existence because, inside a game, he had met a group of like-minded companions who eventually became precious friends.
"Oooooh!!! I am definitely coming to the restaurant on open-beta day!!!"
Kaguya suddenly declared with overwhelming enthusiasm.
Her hands were clenched tightly in front of her chest, making it perfectly clear that she was completely serious.
Eirin looked at her princess and released yet another long sigh.
At this point, helpless resignation had practically become her natural state whenever Kaguya and video games were involved.
"Fafnir is a little late today..."
"That actually works out perfectly," Ainz replied. "Let us enter first and push our progress ahead a little. Then when he arrives, he will not have any excuse to complain that we are holding him back."
Rimuru immediately agreed.
The two of them, together with Princess Kaguya, moved toward the fourth and final empty table before putting on their headsets and preparing to enter the game.
For the first time since the restaurant had opened, all four tables were occupied at once.
Kanna had claimed one for her homework.
The large Gensokyo group occupied another two while eating.
Ainz, Rimuru, and Kaguya were now using the final table for gaming.
Looking across the crowded dining area, Yuto felt more strongly than ever that the restaurant really could use another couple of tables.
Then his attention shifted toward Tohru, who happened to be standing nearby.
"Tohru, why aren't you sitting with Kanna while she does her homework?"
The dragon girl visibly shuddered the moment his gaze landed on her.
"Eh? Um..." Tohru hesitated, looking increasingly nervous. "Do I still have to stay beside Kanna while she does her homework? There are so many customers here now, so I thought perhaps I should help with the restaurant instead..."
She looked at Yuto with a mixture of hope and pleading.
Even her tail had drooped lifelessly behind her, hanging toward the floor as though someone had stepped directly on it.
Her entire appearance radiated pitiful helplessness.
Yuto remained completely unmoved.
"No. I can handle the restaurant for now. Go back and stay with Kanna while she works on her math. You can stop at ten o'clock when it is time for Kanna to go to sleep."
He smiled calmly.
Tohru's face immediately turned gray.
For a brief moment, after everything that had happened with Sirzechs, she had genuinely believed the punishment might have been forgotten.
But in the end...
She still had to suffer.
"Boss~~~ Please have mercy—"
"Go."
Yuto's smile remained perfectly gentle.
"Otherwise, I will buy you your own mathematics workbook and make you solve it alongside Kanna."
Tohru: deceased.
Without another word, she turned around and trudged back toward Kanna like a wandering ghost whose soul had already departed from its body.
The moment she sat down, Kanna gave her a deeply resentful look.
"Lady Tohru tried to abandon me just now."
"I did not! I wasn't! Do not make things up!"
The two dragons immediately began whispering and arguing among themselves.
From an outsider's perspective, however, they somehow still looked surprisingly harmonious.
Knock, knock~
A soft tapping sound suddenly came from behind Yuto.
He turned around and found Erina standing in the kitchen doorway with a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
Her fingers had only just left the wooden frame she had tapped against, while several finished dishes were lined up on the counter beside her.
The girl looked noticeably awkward and shy.
"Ka... Kamisaka-kun, could you help carry these out?"
Even though her grandfather had already pushed the two of them into addressing each other by their given names, Erina simply could not bring herself to do it.
It was not because she disliked the idea.
Quite the opposite.
She was simply far too embarrassed.
When the moment actually arrived and she had to say his name aloud, her courage failed her, forcing her to retreat to the slightly less intimate form of address she had always used.
At least this way, she would not feel quite so mortified.
"Sure."
Yuto smiled calmly, seemingly unaware of the complicated struggle taking place inside Erina's heart.
He picked up the finished dishes beside her and carried them toward Yuyuko's table.
At this point, aside from the sunflower cakes being prepared for Yuuka, nearly all of the remaining food in the kitchen belonged to Yuyuko.
After finally escaping from work for the first time in what felt like an eternity, the ghost princess's appetite seemed to have returned with several times its usual enthusiasm.
"Here you go. Curry fried rice. Enjoy."
Yuto smiled as he placed the plate in front of her.
Yuyuko's mouth was currently stuffed completely full.
She immediately turned toward him as though she wanted to say something, but the moment she opened her mouth, nothing intelligible came out.
"Mmph, mmph, mmph!"
Yukari watched from beside her with a helpless smile, though the fondness in her expression was equally obvious.
"Swallow your food before you speak."
She gently reminded her.
Yuyuko obediently nodded, tilted her head back, and worked hard to swallow everything in her mouth.
A remarkably loud gulp followed.
Yuto could not help laughing.
The woman sitting before him was extraordinarily beautiful, yet she possessed almost none of the restraint or self-consciousness people normally associated with a refined beauty.
Her behavior was wonderfully straightforward.
At times, she could even be rather bold.
In some ways, that lack of pretense actually made her even more charming.
At the very least, spending time around someone like Yuyuko was remarkably relaxing.
"This is amazing!!!"
The moment her mouth was finally empty, Yuyuko threw both arms enthusiastically into the air.
"After so many days of hellish torture, I have finally come back to life!!! Kamisaka, thank you so much!!!"
Her wide sleeves slid down with the movement, revealing pale, slender arms beneath them.
Under the gentle restaurant lights, her smooth skin carried a faint crystalline sheen that only made her already striking appearance even more beautiful.
"I only cooked some food. There is no need to thank me that much."
Yuto smiled helplessly.
"Ah~~~ Eating really is the happiest thing in the entire world."
Yuyuko sighed blissfully before her expression suddenly became much more serious.
"I honestly do not understand how Eiki can keep working nonstop like that. I have never even seen her eat."
Her voice contained equal amounts of admiration and terror.
Yuto had heard the name Eiki quite a few times by now.
Yukari had mentioned her before, and ever since Yuyuko returned today, she had practically been complaining about Eiki without interruption.
From the way the two of them described her, Eiki seemed to be an absolute workaholic.
More strangely, both of them appeared somewhat afraid of her.
That naturally made Yuto curious.
"This Miss Eiki... from the way all of you talk about her, she sounds rather terrifying."
He asked the question half-jokingly.
The instant those words left his mouth, however, it was almost as though he had accidentally pressed some forbidden switch.
Not only Yuyuko, but Yukari, Reimu, Marisa, and nearly every other person from Gensokyo visibly changed expression.
Even Yuuka's brows furrowed slightly.
Yuto froze.
He had only made one casual comment.
Why did everyone suddenly look as though he had mentioned some dreadful taboo that should never have been spoken aloud?
"Well..." Yukari began with an unusually awkward smile. "I would not exactly describe her as terrifying. It is simply that Eiki's personality is a little... how should I put it... excessively righteous."
It was rare to see the Youkai Sage looking this uncomfortable.
Ran, who sat beside her, had already lowered her head, and there was unmistakable fear hidden in her eyes.
"No, no, no."
Yuyuko immediately corrected Yukari with complete seriousness.
"Eiki is terrifying. Please do not try to deny it."
Almost everyone else nodded in agreement.
Reimu and Marisa were especially enthusiastic.
Judging from how firmly those two were nodding, they had clearly suffered beneath Eiki's lectures before.
"My, my. Yuyuko, if you describe Eiki that way, she might feel hurt."
"But I am telling the truth."
Yuyuko answered with such absolute certainty that Yukari could only smile helplessly.
She eventually turned her attention back toward Yuto.
"Well, if the opportunity ever comes, Kamisaka-kun will understand once you meet Eiki yourself. She really is not quite as terrifying as Yuyuko makes her sound."
Yukari smiled gently.
Yuto nodded.
"That makes sense. Hearing about someone through other people is never quite the same as meeting them yourself. If I ever happen to meet Miss Eiki, I will make sure to observe her properly and form my own impression."
The moment he finished speaking, nearly everyone from Gensokyo looked at him as though they were watching a courageous warrior march willingly toward certain death.
Yukari's lips curved upward.
An unreadable trace of amusement appeared in her eyes as she watched him, almost as though she were already looking forward to something.
"When that day comes, Kamisaka-kun, make sure you spend plenty of time getting to know Eiki."
Her teasing tone immediately made Yuto suspicious.
At the same time, he found the whole situation increasingly strange.
Could this Eiki really be so difficult to deal with?
"Kamisaka, if she makes you cry, remember to ask us to save you. Do not try to act tough!"
Yuyuko spoke with complete seriousness.
There was even genuine concern in her eyes.
That only left Yuto even more confused.
Still, if he truly wanted to understand what everyone was so afraid of, there was little point continuing to speculate.
He would simply have to wait until the day he finally met Eiki himself.