"My King, have you ever considered meeting Ryuya-sama in your current form?"
The onlooker sees more of the game. Watching the deeply conflicent Gilgamesh, Siduri cautiously suggested from the side.
"In this form?" Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow and rejected the idea without a second thought, "Why should this king meet him like this? To tell him this king is a woman? Don't be absurd."
A king is solitary and proud. A king possesses dignity. A king is unique. The pride of the King of Heroes prevented Gilgamesh from revealing her identity at this moment, at the very least, she would not meet Ryuya as the King of Heroes.
However...
"My King, you don't necessarily have to go as the King of Heroes. You could just go as a member of the royalty, couldn't you?" Seemingly understanding Gilgamesh's concerns, Siduri thought for a moment and offered another option.
"Another identity?" Logically, as a king, denying one's own identity would lack royal dignity and responsibility. But meeting Ryuya under a different guise wasn't a major issue, after all, it was only meeting Ryuya alone, essentially just a single encounter between the two of them.
Moreover, Gilgamesh was more curious about Ryuya's reaction upon seeing her true appearance. She felt slightly tempted.
After much deliberation, the King of Heroes' resolve softened a little.
"Siduri, are you sure this is acceptable?"
"With your charm, you will surely captivate Ryuya-sama. By then, the foreign beauty's scheme will lose its effect. This is for the sake of stabilizing Ryuya-sama for Uruk's benefit." Seeing that Gilgamesh was just searching for a final reason to justify her actions, Siduri added another point.
"Hmm... You are right. This is for Uruk's sake. Then there is no other choice." A slight smile appeared on Gilgamesh's face as she thought of certain possibilities. Nodding, feeling she had convinced herself, she decided to make a small sacrifice and let Ryuya see what a true beauty looked like.
'My King, I wish you find your happiness.' Watching Gilgamesh lost in her fantasies, Siduri offered her most sincere blessing. But under the moonlight, the Chief Priestess's smile also seemed to contain… a trace of bitterness?
…
"Hey, hey, Gil, weren't you the one who said we should go out and see how Uruk is doing? Why are you the one who wants to go back now?"
Today, Gilgamesh had dragged a very reluctant Ryuya out of bed using the excuse of touring Uruk to see its current state. Ryuya was busy, but unable to refuse the King of Heroes, he was pulled along.
Yet, shortly after leaving the palace, Gilgamesh, standing beside him, expressed extreme boredom and declared she was going back to sleep.
Watching the King of Heroes' figure disappear, Ryuya sometimes felt Gilgamesh was truly incredibly capricious.
But to be honest, Uruk was developing rapidly currently. Although Gilgamesh's abilities were sufficient, her perspective was somewhat limited by the era.
Letting the King of Heroes lead Uruk might actually have counterproductive effects. Perhaps it was precisely because she knew this that Gilgamesh intentionally did nothing, even completely handing over all power to Ryuya?
Even so, watching Gilgamesh slacking off daily, Ryuya was still exasperated!
"Ryuya-sama, although the King has returned, her personality has always been like this. Let us continue according to plan and see the Uruk of today." Tasked with 'guiding' Gilgamesh's true self to meet Ryuya, Siduri, standing nearby, tugged at Ryuya's sleeve, suggesting that since they were already out, quitting halfway was not like him.
"Sigh, alright then. Let's take a look." Glancing at the little angel Siduri beside him, Ryuya shook his head and strolled with her, chatting about this and that.
"By the way, Siduri, how long have you been with Gil?"
"Ryuya-sama, the King and I grew up together since childhood."
"Oh? Grew up together? You must be quite close then. Was there... anything else going on?" Noticing that there were no women around Gilgamesh, and although historical records didn't describe many women around this monarch, as a king, even without true love, he should have had a harem or two.
Thinking there might have been some ambiguous relationship between Siduri and Gilgamesh, Ryuya could be quite gossipy at times.
"The King and me? Ryuya-sama, you've misunderstood. The relationship between the King and me is solely that of ruler and subject, along with utterly sincere friendship. Any other kind of feeling is completely impossible." Shaking her head, realizing Ryuya was asking why she and Gilgamesh weren't together, Siduri felt amused but secretly sighed.
As the Chief Priestess of Uruk, she had dedicated her entire life to the city-state. Although she had no deity to serve, she had never considered finding a lover.
"Ah? Is that so? My mistake then." Seeing that Siduri didn't wish to discuss this topic further, Ryuya didn't press the matter. After all, Siduri was so dutiful and had helped him so much, so shouldn't he give the girl some face?
However...
"Siduri, that being said, if you ever truly need my help, just say the word. Even disregarding my status as king, merely as a friend, I would help you."
"Friend... is it? I understand, Ryuya-sama." Looking at Ryuya's suddenly turned face, Siduri's heartbeat seemed to stop for a moment.
The previously confused and helpless glimmer in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by a firm, steadfast light under the sky.
Never having imagined she would have a friend besides Gilgamesh, Siduri suddenly smiled, a pure, unadulterated smile. She took a deep breath and silently said in her heart: 'Then, in the days to come, I look forward to your guidance, my friend.'
…
The faint light filtering through the lush tree shadows outside the window spilled into the room. The peerlessly beautiful woman sitting at the table felt restless and uneasy.
"Damn it, why did this king agree to Siduri's plan? What foolish thing has this king done?" Crimson eyes, golden long hair, clad in a typical Uruk white gown… though the plain clothes concealed the woman's most alluring figure, the charm emanating from the named most ancient king still made many people stop and stare.
Having arrived early at a restaurant as planned, Gilgamesh, feeling utterly uncomfortable, was wearing women's attire for the first time.
Watching the envious, amazed expressions of the people around her, the King of Heroes, who should have been accustomed to such situations, felt extremely ill at ease now.
Letting out a deep sigh, just as she was cursing herself for being foolish and wanting to leave...
"Ryuya-sama, why don't we eat something here?" It was noon. Following the familiar voice from the entrance, the steps intending to leave halted.
Her entire body stiffened like a stuck clockwork mechanism, at a loss.
Gilgamesh was stunned.