I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes.

That evening, Enkidu recovered from his coma.

"Ugh... my head hurts a little..." Enkidu sat up, holding his head.

Because someone seemed to have used enough force to strike Enkidu, who was known for his resilience... pain was, of course, unavoidable...

"Hmm... Am I in my dorm? Has that spell been lifted?" Enkidu glanced at his back, and after confirming that there were no strange markings left on his body, he began to think.

"Able to erode my power... In this world, apart from the Elf Kings, there shouldn't be anyone who could do such a thing," Enkidu muttered to himself. "However, such spells generally only appear after direct contact with the caster... But in this world, the people or elves I've come into contact with—no, I haven't had any direct contact with any of the Elf Kings..."

"Could it be...?"

Chapter Forty-One: Long Time No Greetings, My King

"Enkidu, you're awake."

A familiar voice interrupted Enkidu's thoughts.

Jill, dressed in casual clothes that were unusual for her, stood at the door. Looking at the door beside her, had she just noticed it?

“Yes, I’m sorry to have worried you…” Enkidu got off the bed and looked at Gil. “By the way, Gil, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“I’m starting to suspect that Aresia might have some kind of connection with a certain Elf King,” Enkidu said in a low voice.

“…Tell me about it?” Jill narrowed her eyes. If that’s the case…?

That gives us an idea of ​​the possible markings on Enkidu's body...

“I think that Aresia is very likely an incarnation of some Elf King,” Enkidu said. “If we don’t explain it this way, it’s hard to explain why I was unknowingly marked with that kind of spell.”

Enkidu possesses the highest level of aura perception, but when he first came to this world, his power had been reduced to only one-third by Androin's destruction...

Therefore, many of his abilities were likely weakened to varying degrees, and that was the only time that would have been the most reasonable to plant a spell on Enkidu.

Enkidu possesses magical resistance, but that requires using a skill that modifies and distributes values. If it's not someone close to him... it would be difficult to inscribe a spell on him, right?

"In short, the most suspicious person right now is Alesia? Or rather, the Elf King who controls Alesia?" Gil thought for a moment and made this conclusion.

There is no better explanation than this.

"...Sigh, let's take it one step at a time."

After thinking for a moment, Jill said those words in a helpless tone.

It was indeed somewhat helpless, because Gil's omnipotent star couldn't perform in the opponent's home arena, and Enkidu and Gil could only speculate about the current situation...

At that moment, Jill sensed a familiar yet unfamiliar presence approaching her.

"Hmm?" Enkidu naturally sensed the strange aura as well, so he looked up at the window.

“…Let’s go take a look,” Gil said to Enkidu.

“I’m also quite curious about who this person is.” Enkidu nodded. “However, this aura isn’t strong… and there’s a strange sense of familiarity about it…”

"Let's go and see for ourselves. Let's go." Jill jumped out of the window, and Enkidu followed closely behind.

The two figures quickly disappeared into the forest.

……

"According to that old hag, it should be just ahead..."

The boy recalled the information he had received from Grevas and finally confirmed the location.

He gently stroked the back of his right hand, then clenched his fist. "My king, we'll be reunited soon..."

"Oh? Are you looking for me?"

The sudden sound from behind startled the boy. He cried out "Ah!" almost without warning, and kicked out hard behind him.

"Snapped!"

Seeing that his foot had been caught, though it was an instinctive reaction, the boy looked somewhat surprised.

"What's so surprising? Am I that scary?"

A somewhat familiar voice reached the boy's ears, and his eyes widened.

Under the moonlight, the golden hair and crimson eyes were reflected in the boy's eyes, and the boy was momentarily stunned.

"...That explains why I felt a sense of familiarity..."

Jill said with some emotion, "I never expected you would come looking for me, Yin."

"It's been a long time since I last greeted you..." The boy knelt on one knee before Gil, "My King."

Under the moonlight, the boy's face appeared in Jill's eyes.

Although it had been a long time since they last met, her face seemed as if they had just met yesterday, which made Jill sigh slightly.

I thought you would forget me.

"How could that be? I will never forget my subjects."

The boy's name is—

Kusanagi-hidden.

A boy who served as Gilles' Master and retainer in the Singularity of Fragments of Blue Silver.

"Your Majesty...please allow me to follow in your footsteps from now on," Kusanagi said truthfully, bowing his head.

Gil stared at Kusanagi in silence for a long time before finally asking, "How did you get here?"

“A person with golden hair and a strange green glow asked me if I wanted to continue following in your footsteps, so I chose to continue following you… Ah, but the road to finding you was quite long. I went to two other worlds along the way. One world was full of living corpses with glowing hearts, and the other world was full of zombies…” Kusanagi said, “and finally I came here.”

Jill nodded knowingly. "No wonder your aura has become somewhat unfamiliar. Is it because the bloody smell from killing has masked part of your original aura...?"

"...Indeed, with eyes like these...how can I possibly help you besides killing?"

Kusanagi lowered his head with a wry smile.

“…Then let’s go.” Gil said to Enkidu, who was watching the show from the sidelines.

"Going back so soon?" Enkidu asked curiously.

“Catch up,” Gil said, looking down at Kusanagi.

"...?" Kusanagi was momentarily stunned.

Jill turned her head. "Since you have made this choice, I have no reason to criticize you. But what you need to do is keep up with me. So, catch up with me."

After saying that, Jill left without hesitation.

Enkidu jumped down from the tree and followed in Jill's footsteps, walking side by side.

"..." Kusanagi watched the retreating figure in silence.

Yes... that's what I want to do.

Kusanagi straightened up, took a step forward, and followed behind the two.

……

"So, Your Majesty, you're planning something like this... Alright, please let me help you!" Kusanagi said after hearing Gil's next plan.

"Oh?" Gil sat in the chair, looking at Kusanagi with a somewhat puzzled expression.

"I know there's not much I can do, but I can still help out," the boy said.

Gil stroked his chin. "My apprentice can do better than you, but one person can't handle a backup situation alone... So you and Enki will act together, and I'll face an opponent like the Elf King on my own."

"So, Yin, protect those girls. Of course, when you're covering their retreat, don't treat the girls standing beside you like decorative objects..."

Jill smiled, her eyes narrowing. "They're still very capable."

Chapter 42 provides a sufficiently powerful boost.

“To facilitate the operation, I think it’s necessary to teach you a few moves…” Jill rested her chin on her hand, “How much close combat skill do you have right now?”

"...This might not be good..." Kusanagi smiled helplessly, "After all, I only have the weapons you left behind..."

"Ah, that toy... never mind, I don't need a short sword. How about I give you another one that should still be handy?"

Gil waved his hand, and at the same time pulled a katana from the golden ripples and tossed it to Kusanagi.

"Tachi..." Kusanagi reached out and caught it with both hands, looking at the weapon in his hands with some surprise.

This tachi has a blade length of 80cm, which is the standard length for a tachi. The blade curves sharply near the hand, widening towards the base and narrowing abruptly towards the tip, making it a very standard tachi.

"Guess the name of this katana. But since I rarely use this kind of weapon, and there are tons of them, it's not particularly outstanding. In my collection, it's barely considered an entry-level C+ rank Noble Phantasm." Gilles smiled as he looked at Kusanagi.

Kusanagi slowly drew his katana from its sheath and looked at the blade.

The blade of this katana has a rare feature: it has many crescent-shaped patterns on the edge.

“…No way…” Kusanagi’s eyes twitched.

"Hahahaha... Yes, Hidden, it's just as you guessed..." Gil stood up, "Because this [Mikazuki Munechika], rather than letting me carelessly throw it away as a consumable, it's better to give it to a minister I rely on."

That katana was originally a C+ rank Noble Phantasm, but after obtaining the spirit essence from the Little Garden, it jumped to a B rank Noble Phantasm.

Gil stepped forward and looked at Kusanagi. "Your physical abilities are barely up to par... Ha, let's begin. I'll teach you my swordsmanship, or rather, my [Sword Dance Technique]."

“Of course, it starts now. Follow me… By the way, we only have one day. Learn as much as you can. I might only teach you one move… Understand?” After Gil finished speaking, he looked at Enkidu. “Enkidu, I’m leaving the rest to you. If any troublesome guys appear here, I’ll leave it to you to handle.”

"Come with me." Gil grabbed the Kusanagi Gakuen and vanished in a flash.

……

River valley.

This place is very close to the realm of elemental spirits, and it's also where Gil taught Lian a few key moves of Soul Flash.

“Right here, let’s begin.” Gil put Kusanagi aside. “Give me your all, use your eyes if you want, consider it training.”

"..." Kusanagi was a little confused.

What's going on with this development?

"Draw your sword and give it your all." Jill's right hand flashed with light, and a longsword appeared in his hand.

That was magic he acquired after signing a contract with Esther, but he used it very rarely.

Weapons can be created based on imagination—similar to projection magic, but the weapons created will not differ much in power from the original versions.