"By the way, did the King of Conqueror win in the end? He was such an excellent king, surely he must have claimed victory in that Holy Grail War." Enkidu shifted the topic, asking a new question with genuine curiosity.
Upon hearing this question, Yuto let out a wry chuckle.
Seeing his expression, Enkidu looked surprised.
"He lost? Then who was the final victor?" Enkidu asked.
"The legendary ancient King of Hero—Gilgamesh."
The moment Yuto uttered the words "King of Hero," Enkidu's expression shifted.
And when the name "Gilgamesh" was spoken, a bittersweet smile settled on Enkidu's face.
"So it was Gil..."
"Huh? Enkidu, you know Gilgamesh?"
Hearing Enkidu's murmur, Yuto was taken aback.
At that moment, a long-forgotten memory surfaced in his mind.
'Gil... is my friend.'
That's right.
Yuto recalled the passage from the book.
Humanity's first king, Gilgamesh, had only one true friend, whose name was Enkidu...
Enkidu let out a soft breath, his expression serene and free-spirited.
Like a bird soaring freely.
"So that's how it is..." Yuto felt a wave of emotion wash over him.
At this moment, Yuto didn't know whether to call it a coincidence or something else entirely.
"Did the King of Conqueror ever comment on Gil?" Enkidu gazed at Yuto, a smile playing on his lips.
But Yuto felt that Enkidu's eyes weren't looking at him.
Instead, they seemed to be fixed on something intangible and ethereal. Something as fleeting as smoke...
"Yes. The King of Conqueror said Gilgamesh was a magnificent king, a true sovereign worthy of challenging with his own path of conquest. He also mentioned that Gilgamesh was a king who always brought out all sorts of strange and rare treasures. In his final moments, the King of Conqueror was bound by a set of chains that appeared out of nowhere. The King of Conqueror seemed a little indignant about that."
As Enkidu listened to Yuto's account, his gaze remained softly fixed on him.
Yet the focus of his pupils was not on Yuto.
It was on something else entirely...
"The Chains of Heaven..."
"Huh? Enkidu, you know what those are?"
"Ah... yes, I do." Enkidu smiled faintly.
'It makes sense,' Yuto thought. 'Since he's King Gilgamesh's closest friend, he would naturally know about his affairs.'
Whoosh—
The restaurant door slid open again.
Yuto glanced toward the entrance, and Enkidu turned his head curiously as well.
Standing there was a woman wearing a veil.
Though her skin wasn't pale, it radiated a unique allure, and her veiled face was all the more mysterious and elegant.
When her eyes fell upon Enkidu, they froze...
Tears began to stream down her cheeks...
Yuto and the others watched the woman standing at the restaurant entrance.
They could feel the bittersweet aura radiating from her—a mixture of sorrow and joy.
It was clear the woman knew Enkidu, otherwise, she wouldn't have reacted this way.
To be so overwhelmed just by seeing him meant she must have once been close to him.
"Siduri." Enkidu looked at the woman with a gentle smile.
His voice was filled with nostalgia as he spoke her name. His green eyes seemed to shimmer with a faint light.
"Enkidu-sama... You... You..." Siduri managed only to utter his name before breaking down into sobs.
Tears streamed from her eyes like a bursting dam, soaking her cheeks.
She covered her face with her hands, her body swaying as if she were about to collapse.
Enkidu walked up to her, took a breath, and pulled her hands away from her face.
He reached out and wiped away her tears.
Siduri took a deep breath and regained her composure. Though her breathing remained heavy, her tears had stopped.
"That's the strong Siduri I know." Enkidu smiled at her, and Siduri couldn't help but smile back.
"Enkidu, who is this...?" Yuto asked, looking at the two with confusion.
Enkidu turned and walked barefoot back to the counter, with Siduri following close behind.
"This is Siduri. She's also a friend of mine." His voice was soft, his eyes filled with nostalgia as if recalling a fond memory.
"Enkidu-sama, you flatter me. I was merely an aide who assisted you and the King." Enkidu's words flustered Siduri, and she tried to correct him.
Her earnest reaction, however, made Enkidu laugh.
"Enkidu-sama..."
"Haha, Siduri, you're still the same as ever..." Enkidu smiled at Siduri, his expression radiating a natural freedom, like a deer running through the forest.
Siduri was at a loss for words.
After a moment's hesitation, she simply smiled.
"Is Siduri a Heroic Spirit too?" Rimuru asked from the side.
At the mention of "Heroic Spirit," Siduri's eyes glazed over, she didn't know what the term meant.
"No, she isn't," Enkidu answered for her.
Siduri turned to look at him.
"Enkidu-sama, are you.... a Heroic Spirit now?" she asked, her voice filled with reverence.
Enkidu smiled and nodded.
"Did you become a Heroic Spirit after you died, Enkidu-sama?"
"Yes."
After receiving Enkidu's confirmation, Siduri let out a sigh of relief.
Her body relaxed. "Thank goodness... Enkidu-sama hasn't disappeared completely..."
As Siduri whispered these words, another glistening teardrop welled up in the corner of her eye.
She raised her fingers and wiped it away.
'Now is not the time for tears.'
Seeing her like this, Yuto let out a soft sigh.
He had been about to ask if she wanted something to eat, but seeing her now, he decided against it for the time being.
"Siduri, are you still by Gil's side?"
This was the first time Enkidu's voice had betrayed any tension tonight.
Yuto and the others might not have noticed, but Enkidu was aware of the turmoil in his own emotions.
When it came to the name "Gil," he could never remain calm.
This agitation was something that not even the passage of time could change.
From the moment he chose to defy the gods, his bond with that king had been sealed.
"Yes. The King is different now. He rarely loses his temper and is diligent in handling state affairs. The people of Uruk all praise him."
The "King" Siduri spoke of was the King of Hero.
Her expression was filled with reverence and admiration as she spoke.
Listening to Siduri's description of Gilgamesh, Yuto, Ainz, and Rimuru found it odd.
The three of them exchanged glances, seeing the confusion reflected in the others' eyes.
'This doesn't match Iskandar description at all...'
Enkidu, however, smiled upon hearing Siduri's report.
His eyes shone with satisfaction and a pride akin to that of a father whose son had come into his own.
"So Gil has matured," Enkidu said, his voice filled with relief. "He must be even more dazzling now than before."
Siduri's lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she held her tongue.
'Enkidu-sama, it was you... You were the one who changed the King... Your existence and your death were what finally made that tyrannical king grow up...'
She took a deep breath, suppressing the bitterness welling in her chest and the mist clouding her vision.
"Enkidu-sama," Siduri began, her tone growing heavy, "the King... misses you dearly."
As she spoke these words, her eyes misted over again.
Even Enkidu, who had remained calm for so long, trembled at her words.
His eyes seemed to blur, as if veiled by a sky full of clouds.
Even after becoming a Heroic Spirit, even after spending timeless eons in the Throne of Heroes...
Enkidu still remembered that distant memory.
The gods had molded him from clay.
His sole purpose was to bring the King back to the side of the gods.... or to erase him.
For this, he, the Weapon of the Gods, was meant to be the King's enemy.
'O King, you who were meant to be the Wedge of Heaven, let me be the one to bind you!'
But perhaps it was because the King's radiance was too dazzling, or perhaps because Enkidu himself yearned for something more... He abandoned his original duty.
'O gods, your light is too dim compared to the King's! From this day forward, I will stand with the King, forsake the gods, and aid humanity!'
"We walked side by side, talked side by side, fought side by side... You're neither human nor tool... but... a friend... Enkidu..."
Those were the King's last words to him before he died.
'A friend... A friend... Yes, a friend...'
"Is that so?" Enkidu said to Siduri with a smile. "I miss him dearly, too."
As he spoke these words with a smile, a single tear traced a path down his cheek.
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator