Creak.
"Slow, slow, slow."
I tried peeking outside the bedroom while making as little noise as possible, and looking left and right in the empty hallway I didn't see or hear anyone.
"I think it's safe," I murmured to myself, walking out really slowly without making any sound so I could search for a way out of this place.
I remembered that in the anime Rin and her mother should be out of town so they don't get involved with the Holy Grail War, so the only people here should be Gilgamesh and Tokiomi.
But I forgot about one thing, where am I supposed to go? I didn't know the way out.
There was another plan I could think of like jumping out of the window, but that was going to make a lot of noise and alert Gilgamesh, so sneaking out was the only way.
Trusting my instinct or whatever it's called by doing the Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe method, I chose to go right.
"Don't fail me now, luck."
But it turned out my luck was absolute garbage because the more I walked the more it felt like I was just going deeper into the mansion. I kept looking around the empty halls trying to find any clear way out.
As I passed by one of the closed doors I had to stop in my tracks because I could hear a conversation happening inside.
"Huh? That voice... is that Gilgamesh?" I whispered to myself.
My curiosity completely took over. I slowly crept up to the door and carefully pressed my ear against the wood to listen.
I remembered that in the anime Gilgamesh and Tokiomi had a really terrible relationship. It was so bad that Gilgamesh even betrayed him later in the story.
But the Gilgamesh sitting in this mansion is a woman so I am really curious what their relationship is actually like right now
I pressed my ear against the door and caught the end of her sentence.
"...so I assume we are finally going on the offensive to hunt down the remaining rats?" Gilgamesh asked.
Tokiomi answered with his usual calm and respectful voice. "Please be patient, my King. Remaining hidden is our greatest advantage. We should let the others fight among themselves so we do not reveal your treasures too early."
Gilgamesh scoffed loudly. It is obvious she is completely disgusted by his passive play.
"How incredibly boring," she snapped. "To think you cower in your own castle while mongrels parade around my garden. I have heard enough."
I heard the sound of her standing up and footsteps walking straight toward the door. Panic hit me immediately.
I turned around and tried to run away before being found out, but because my legs are so small my running reach was not far at all.
The door opened right behind me making me froze in my tracks.
"Well look what we have here," Gilgamesh said. Her voice sounded teasing but it still carried a little of that heavy arrogance. "Just waking up, little Guardian? Or are you already trying to sneak away?"
I turned around and immediately turned on my acting and gave my greetings to Gilgamesh in the most polite way I could, exactly like I did last night.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," I said, making my voice sound as respectful as possible. "I have only just awakened. I am merely exploring the halls of this grand mansion. I assure you, escaping is not my intention at all."
Gilgamesh narrowed her crimson eyes at me. Her expression made it completely obvious that she did not believe a single word I just said. It is useless to lie to her.
"I am in a bad mood," Gilgamesh stated flatly. She reached out and grabbed me by the collar again, effortlessly lifting me off the floor until we were face-to-face. "Do not lie to your King."
Being stared down by Gilgamesh from this close is terrifying. My polite acting broke right away. I gave up on the spot and decided to just tell the truth.
"Please forgive my insolence, O Great King," I said, my voice shaking a little. "I truly wish to return to my home. I have been away for several days already, and the magecraft I cast upon them will disappear soon."
Gilgamesh paused. Hearing the word "home" definitely caught her attention.
She stared at me for a few seconds. It is clear she is incredibly bored and annoyed from dealing with Tokiomi.
"Home?" she repeated, a slow smirk forming on her lips. "Very well. I am bored, so you will bring me along."
Wait what?
"I am sorry, Your Majesty, but maybe there is something wrong with my ears. Did I truly hear that Your Majesty wants to come along with me to my home?"
Gilgamesh tilted her head. Her expression gleamed with a mix of amusement and danger, and she brought me a little closer to her face.
"Your ears are working perfectly fine," she said, her voice smooth but carrying an absolute authority that left no room for argument. "The King has declared her intention to visit your home. Or are you implying that my presence is somehow an inconvenience to you?"
"No, of course not!" I blurted out immediately. "Your subject is overjoyed that Your Majesty wants to bless my home with your presence."
This is bad. This is really bad. This is the absolute worst thing that has ever happened since I reincarnated in this world.
Gilgamesh, the most arrogant and proud Servant in existence, wants to come to my home. The orphanage.
Remembering my family there, especially the other kids and their loud antics every single day, makes my stomach drop.
It is going to be a complete disaster if Gilgamesh loses her patience there.
I do not really remember if this version of Gilgamesh can tolerate normal children.
Right now, I am the only one interacting with her properly simply because I show her the utmost respect and treat her like royalty.
Gilgamesh lowered me back down so my feet touched the floor, but she did not let go of my collar. She stared down at me, clearly reading the sheer panic written all over my face.
"You are hesitating," Gilgamesh noted, her tone dropping into a dangerous pitch. "Are you actually thinking of refusing your King?"
"Of course not, Your Majesty!" I hurriedly said before she got even more angry, "the reason I am hesitating is because I am afraid my humble house does not have the necessities to receive you as our guest."
"Hmph, no need for that," Gilgamesh replied lightly, "I am the sudden guest, so you should not hold yourself responsible for it."
"Thank you, then shall we go, Your Majesty?"
I turned around with the intention to walk away along with Gilgamesh, but before I could even take a single step I felt her grab my collar again and pick me right up.
"Gyaahhh!!" I yelled out as my feet suddenly left the floor.
"Where do you think you are going?" she suddenly asked.
"Huh? To walk to my home, of course?" I answered.
"Do you honestly believe a mere subject is allowed to turn her back and dare to walk in front of the King?" Gilgamesh asked, narrowing her eyes at me.
What the hell is her problem? It is her idea to visit the orphanage in the first place but now I am suddenly not even allowed to lead the way to my own house?
Because her grip on my collar was not that strong I just used my body weight to jump down and slip right out of her hold. I immediately moved over to her side, pulling on her elbow to bring her arm down toward me.
Gilgamesh stared at me with clear confusion on her face since she obviously did not know what I was doing, and before long I grabbed her left hand and held it securely in my right hand.
"Let us go, Your Majesty," I said with a smile.
If I am not allowed to walk in front of her then I guess it is just much easier if we walk together side by side.
---
---
---
Because of my action the atmosphere during our walk was really awkward.
Well, it is not awkward for me but for her.
Maybe if she stopped complaining earlier we would have arrived already, but because we walked hand in hand and Gilgamesh felt so awkward our trip took much longer.
I slowly turned my eyes so I could look at Gilgamesh's expression as she walked beside me.
'Hehe, take that.' Seeing her face it is clear she completely does not know what to do or what is going on either.
She looked like she wanted to say something but could not for some reason, and thinking about it this was the most silent Gilgamesh I had ever seen since I met her last night.
It is her own fault this is happening anyway, so I am just going to enjoy the peace and silence I finally get while walking together.
As we walked I realized this was technically the first time I had ever touched her bare skin directly.
Her palm felt incredibly soft and smooth against my fingers.
It makes sense that her skin is completely flawless without a single rough spot, and holding her hand like this actually feels really nice.
After walking together in peace both of us finally arrived at the front of the orphanage.
I let go of her hand that I had been holding the entire way and walked a few steps forward.
"Welcome to my humble house, Your Majesty," I said while turning around to face her.
But for some reason Gilgamesh did not say anything back right away.
She just stayed completely silent for a few seconds while looking down at her empty hand, and then she did a quick fake cough to clear her throat and started looking around the property instead.
Looking at the orphanage from the outside it is a large traditional Japanese house with dark wooden walls and a wide tiled roof.
Since the owners are an old couple the design is very classic and practical without any unnecessary decorations.
It is definitely not small since it has to fit multiple children and adults living together under one roof.
There is a clear dirt path on the left side that leads around to the side of the house, and another similar path on the right side so people can easily walk around the building.
Gilgamesh crossed her arms and stared at the large building in front of us.
"Hmph," Gilgamesh muttered softly as her crimson eyes scanned the wooden architecture. "It is certainly large for a commoner dwelling, but it is incredibly plain.
Gilgamesh walked forward right toward the front door ahead of me, and seeing that I hurriedly ran and stopped right in front of her while raising both of my hands to block the way.
"Wait, wait, wait!" I hurriedly said to make her stop. "Your Majesty, please let me enter first so I can tell the others to prepare themselves to receive you as our guest."
"I already told you earlier that you do not need to do that," Gilgamesh said. "I am a sudden guest here, and as a King I certainly know the proper formalities when arriving at someone else's home."
Even though she is incredibly proud and exhausting to deal with it seems she actually understands basic manners and knows exactly how to behave when the situation calls for it.
I completely understand why she acts so terribly in the anime since she never actually receives the respect she deserves as the King of Heroes.
Her Master Tokiomi is just a coward who keeps playing entirely passive.
Tokiomi also asked her to use her precious Noble Phantasms against that disgusting tentacle monster, and he even ordered her to retreat using a Command Spell.
Ordering her to retreat like that is the most shameful treatment Gilgamesh could ever receive since a King should never be forced to run away from a battlefield.
"Yes I know, but..." I hesitated at first because I know exactly how the other children are going to act when they see someone like Gilgamesh suddenly walk in. "I do not know if Your Majesty noticed, but my house is an orphanage so I really need to tell my friends inside to act properly around you."
"An orphanage?" From Gilgamesh's voice I could hear a hint of genuine surprise.
It is true I never told her I am from an orphanage because I honestly believe she definitely does not care about something like that.
"Yes, Your Majesty, so please let me go in first and—" but before I could even finish my sentence she suddenly cut me off.
"Enough," Gilgamesh stated firmly. "I will not repeat myself again. I already told you I do not care about such trivial preparations. They are merely children."
She paused for a moment and looked down at me with a surprisingly calm expression.
"Youths at that age should only be focusing on playing and learning as they grow," she said smoothly. "They have absolutely no need to burden themselves with the heavy responsibility of perfectly receiving a King."
I just stared at her in a complete daze as my brain completely stopped working for a few seconds.
It is just so incredibly hard to process that the same insanely arrogant Servant who usually looks down on everyone is actually capable of acting this mature and understanding about normal kids.
After finishing her sentence Gilgamesh simply stepped past me and walked right up to the wooden front door, leaving me standing completely still behind her.
'Then why the hell did you need me to act so perfectly respectful last night!' I shouted angrily in my head.
But thinking about it again I realize she technically never ordered me to do that at all, since I am the one who just started acting perfectly polite simply because I am terrified of her.
While I was thinking about that I realized Gilgamesh was already in front of the door waiting for me, so I just forgot about it for now and decided to get this over with.
It is a huge relief that she already told me she is not going to get mad at the children here, so everything should be completely fine.
I grabbed the handle and slid the wooden door open. "I am home!" I yelled out loudly into the hallway.
I just really hope the others are not going to overreact when they see Gilgamesh stepping in behind me.
---
---
---
It is honestly incredibly hard to believe what I am looking at right now.
"Wow, Big sister is so incredibly beautiful!" Nea cheered excitedly from the middle of the room.
I just sat there quietly on the living room sofa and watched helplessly as Gilgamesh stood casually in the center of the room while being completely surrounded by all four of the children.
It is absolutely mind-blowing to see the most arrogant servant acting like a popular older sister to a bunch of normal kids.
Haruto and Akira quickly ran up to her and started pointing at the expensive gold earrings and necklace she was wearing.
"Are you a real princess from another country?" Haruto asked loudly while trying to get a closer look at the shiny jewelry.
Gilgamesh let out a surprisingly soft and genuinely amused laugh that echoed through the room.
"A princess?" she repeated with a gentle but incredibly proud smile on her face. "You children certainly have excellent eyes to recognize my royalty, but you are mistaken. I am not a mere princess, I am a King."
"A King?" Akira tilted his head in confusion, "but Kings are usually boys with big beards right?"
I instantly held my breath and felt a cold sweat run down my back.
It is usually a death sentence to question her status like that.
But to my absolute shock Gilgamesh did not get angry at all. She simply reached out and patted Akira on the head with her flawless hand.
"That is what normal people think," Gilgamesh answered smoothly. "But I am the exception to every rule in this world. My authority and perfection go far beyond simple things like that."
Seeing her being so gentle made the girls even braver. Yua reached out and carefully touched the end of Gilgamesh's golden blonde hair while her eyes practically sparkled.
"Big sister your hair is so pretty," Yua mumbled in total awe, "how can I be as pretty as you when I grow up?"
Gilgamesh actually closed her eyes and nodded as if she was answering a very serious question from one of her subjects.
"It is only natural to be captivated by my perfect presence," Gilgamesh said while looking down at the girls. "But you cannot," Gilgamesh stated simply with a deeply amused smile on her face.
"I am the singular perfect being in this world, so it is utterly impossible for anyone to ever equal my beauty. However, you are free to spend your entire life trying your absolute best to become a woman who is at least worthy of standing in my presence."
Yua did not fully understand the incredibly arrogant meaning behind those words and just nodded excitedly, completely amazed by how cool the big sister sounded.
I just slowly took a sip of the warm tea that Aunty Nana brought earlier.
Aunty Nana and Ria were standing in the corner of the kitchen looking incredibly nervous about our sudden beautiful foreign guest, but seeing the kids having so much fun made them relax a little bit.
It is completely bizarre how peaceful this situation is. If Tokiomi could see his terrifying Servant giving life advice to a bunch of orphans right now he would probably faint from the shock.