When Naoki woke up from sleep, it was already noon the next day.
The moment he opened his eyes, Rei, lying beside him, also opened hers.
"Good morning, Master."
"It's already noon, Rei. It should be good afternoon."
Sitting up from the bed, Naoki looked around: "Where's Merry? Has she already left?"
"Yes, she left at dawn. She said she was going to arrange work for Fujimaru and the others, and it seems she plans to keep them busy all day."
"So… that means she won't be back all day?"
"Probably."
After saying that, Rei licked the corner of her mouth: "So, it's fine if Master wants to go for a fourth round. You're already very skilled in wheel battles, right? With five hours of rest, your stamina should be fully recovered."
A fourth round…
Naoki gave a wry smile and pushed Rei away: "Forget it. If it was just the two of us, that'd be fine. But there are others downstairs. Besides, it's still daytime, and we're not in Chaldea. You need to restrain yourself."
"Arara, Master's been caught."
Just as Naoki could sense people downstairs, Rei could naturally sense them too. She was just teasing a little. Jumping out of bed and instantly conjuring a set of clothes, she laughed: "Then I'll go downstairs to prepare lunch. Master, you should get up early too. Though Leonidas I returned to the Northern Wall after waking up, Miss Tomoe is still waiting for you to escort her back."
Leonidas I already went back?
"That's so like him. I told him he could rest today."
"After all, he's the King of Sparta. Even if there are no Demon Beast attacks, he'd be thinking about training soldiers and preparing for the next battle."
In fact, it could be said that since there was no need to worry about Demon Beasts for now, it was an even better time to train soldiers. The more training, the higher the chance of surviving Demon Beast attacks—though not absolute, that was generally the case.
After saying that, Rei promptly left the room.
Walking from the bed and stretching in front of the window, Naoki let out a relieved sigh: "I should get up too. There's probably a lot to do today, but before that…"
Turning to look at the messy room, though most of it was his fault and no one else saw, Naoki scratched his face in embarrassment.
(I need to tidy up and clean this room first. Luckily, I set up all sorts of barriers last night, or the smell here would've spread outside. That would've caused complaints.)
(No, it probably wouldn't, right? It seems like in this era, such things are still highly encouraged. There are official brothels, and the temples and worship sites themselves have professional women…)
Even in mythology, Gilgamesh himself conquered all of Uruk, refusing no one, man or woman, old or young. In the end, only Enkidu could match him in battle to the finish.
Compared to that, Naoki might not be much.
Tidying the room didn't take much time. With Imaginary Manifestation, it was no issue to destroy everything in the room and then recreate identical items in their original state.
Using Imaginary Manifestation, which could alter the world's structure, for something like this—Arcueid would surely have mixed feelings if she knew.
Though she herself often used it for inappropriate things too.
After tidying the room and taking a bath in a bathroom also conjured with Imaginary Manifestation, Naoki went downstairs feeling refreshed.
A delicious aroma immediately filled his nose.
"It smells so good. What are we eating for lunch?"
"Ah, Natsukawa-sama, good afternoon."
Tomoe, who was helping Rei bring prepared food to the table, quickly looked up with a smile: "Since you hosted me last night, I originally wanted to make breakfast for you as a thank-you, but you hadn't woken up, so I prepared lunch instead. It's just simple dishes—I hope you like them."
Tomoe lived in the chaotic Kamakura period. Given the era's background, there wasn't really anything considered gourmet in Japan at the time. By modern standards, the lunch she prepared was indeed simple.
But Naoki didn't mind. He'd survived on convenience store food in the past and didn't care much about taste as long as it was edible.
"Thank you for your effort. You really didn't need to prepare a thank-you gift."
"No, kindness in providing food and lodging must be repaid. That's basic etiquette." Tomoe insisted firmly. "Besides, after coming here, I also learned some local dessert-making techniques from Siduri-san. I'm making butter cakes. Please try them later."
"I helped too, you know."
Rei smiled, flashing a peace sign, then patted the chair beside her: "Alright, Master, come eat quickly. You have things to do today, don't you?"
"Eh? Is Natsukawa-sama going out?"
Naoki nodded: "I'm planning to go out, specifically outside Uruk. There are some things I want to confirm."
The Demon Beast Frontline was temporarily secure due to the ice field, meaning the Magical Beast Goddess wasn't a concern for now either. However, Uruk's enemies weren't limited to just one Magical Beast Goddess.
Quetzalcoatl, the South American Goddess hiding in the forest, and Ereshkigal, the Underworld Goddess in the Underworld.
Originally, these two Goddesses would become allies after battles and, for their own reasons, provide significant help against the Goddess Tiamat. Since Naoki was here now, he wanted to try pulling them to his side earlier.
He couldn't let Ritsuka pull another "This is the resolve of a human!" stunt, could he?
Honestly, if she dared to act so recklessly, Naoki would be the first to kick her.
"If that's the case, please allow me to come with you."
After hearing Naoki's words, Tomoe volunteered.
"Though Natsukawa-sama has extraordinary power, going to the enemy's stronghold alone must be dangerous. Please allow Tomoe to accompany you… Besides, I also want to investigate the matter of two other Servants who haven't returned."
Two Servants who haven't returned?
Fūma Kotarō and Amakusa Shirō?
Naoki remembered that both had gone to investigate the forest after being summoned and were sent back to the Throne of Heroes by Jaguar Man.
(Forget Fūma Kotarō, but Amakusa… It'd be awkward to meet him.)
After all, in a parallel world, Naoki had completely wrecked Amakusa Shirō's plans. Considering Jeanne d'Arc here had memories from her parallel-world self, Amakusa Shirō might also have memories from his parallel-world self.
It might not be good to say this, but thankfully, he was likely dead now, or there'd probably be trouble again.
"I understand. Then we'll set out after lunch."
"Understood! Please guide me, Natsukawa-sama!"