Chapter 11: Wedge of Heaven and Chain of Heaven!
As he continued staring at Akira like that, Gilgamesh even forgot about the situation at hand.
From below, Siduri saw that Gilgamesh could actually lose his composure like this, and she was instantly stunned.
One had to know that the king she served used to be an absolute tyrant. Even though he was now extremely wise, his past nature and temperament hadn't really changed much—only restrained slightly.
Precisely because of that, in all of Uruk, only a handful of people could truly catch his attention.
Let alone make him lose his composure to such a degree like today.
"Enkidu…"
Staring at Akira, Gilgamesh slowly spoke the name of his "one and only close friend."
That soft murmur made Siduri even more shocked.
At the same time, Siduri immediately realized something. She recalled that there was a faint trace of Enkidu within Lord Akira, and it was precisely because of that that she felt an urge to draw closer to him.
"Forgive me, King Gilgamesh. I am not the 'Enkidu' you know."
"It was I who lost my composure. Forgive me, visitor from a foreign land."
As a king, Gilgamesh instantly regained clarity of mind. However, the gaze he directed at Akira still carried a trace of suspicion.
As the Wedge of Heaven, and as Enkidu's one and only close friend, he cared about Enkidu more than anyone.
There was no way he could mistake the "aura" of his friend. Even if Akira wasn't Enkidu, he was certain that Akira must have some connection to him.
On top of that, this foreign visitor had come to Mesopotamia, to Uruk, at a time like this.
That alone made it impossible for him not to think that perhaps this person had come because of Uruk's current situation.
In the entire Uruk Dynasty, across all of Mesopotamia, Enkidu was the only one who listened to Gilgamesh's burdens. Even Siduri could not.
As a king, every word and action he took had to match his identity as a king.
There were many things he had to bear alone.
Just as he once said himself: the king who permits, the king who acknowledges, and the king who bears the entire world.
Those weren't just beautiful words—they were the true depiction of his entire life. This vast Uruk Dynasty rested solely upon his shoulders.
Under such circumstances, there were many things he had to carry alone as a king.
And in all the world, Enkidu was the only one who stood by the king's side. Not as a minister, not as a subject, but as a friend—as a companion who bore everything together with Gilgamesh.
As Enkidu himself once said: I am a weapon, therefore anything can be entrusted to me.
The only one who truly understood the king was Enkidu.
As someone directly involved, when Akira saw Gilgamesh like that, he also felt a slight sense of respect and envy. A friendship so sincere—how many existed in the entire world, across all of history?
A weapon, sooner or later, would be replaced. It was merely one among thousands of weapons stored within that person's treasury.
Those were Enkidu's own words, and the definition he gave himself.
Yet Gilgamesh, in order to give his friend a unique and irreplaceable meaning, declared that Enkidu was his friend—his one and only friend. That was the singular value he gave him.
And in the future, Gilgamesh would keep that oath. From beginning to the end of time, his only friend would always be Enkidu.
Standing high upon his elevated throne, Gilgamesh, having lost his composure himself, did not notice the subtle changes in Akira.
But Siduri, standing below, kept watching Akira closely. Every small shift in expression that had just appeared on his face was caught by her.
Moved, surprised, nostalgic, and even a faint trace of envy.
She could now be certain that this foreign visitor before her must have some connection with Enkidu.
If it were only her, perhaps it would be nothing more than an illusion, or caused by some other reason. But even King Gilgamesh himself had reacted like that—even nearly mistaking him for someone else. That alone was enough to make it worth considering.
"Then, visitor from a foreign land—no, Shin Akira. What is your purpose in coming to Uruk?"
After quickly suppressing his emotions, Gilgamesh looked at Akira and asked.
"To experience the allure of Mesopotamia, and at the same time witness the future of human history."
"Hm? Don't tell me… you already know?"
"Yes. The Human Order is being incinerated. Mesopotamia has now become a 'Singularity' in the history of mankind."
"Hard to believe. Could it be… you also possess Clairvoyance?"
"I don't have that. However, you could say I have my own little methods."
"I see…"
Gilgamesh didn't realize that although Akira did not claim to be Enkidu, because of that faint intuition he felt, the impression he had of Akira had become extremely favorable.
If it were anyone else, he would have thrown them out long ago.
At a critical time like this, a foreign visitor arriving in Uruk—who would believe they had no hidden intentions?
Even in the original history, when he learned about Chaldea and the last Master of humanity, Gilgamesh's attitude toward Fujimaru Ritsuka had been extremely harsh.
"Very well. I can permit you to stay in Uruk. However, Uruk does not support the idle. You must also prove your worth."
"Understood. What does King Gilgamesh wish for me to do?"
"According to Leonidas, you can summon soldiers from the shadows?"
"That's right. The Shadow Army—soldiers created using shadows as a medium."
"Excellent. Go to the Northern Wall. Assist Leonidas in maintaining the defense, fighting and hunting monsters. That will be the price you pay for staying in Uruk. What do you think?"
"Alright. I agree."
"Good. Then it is settled. Siduri, deliver my order to Leonidas at once. The foreign visitor Shin Akira is, from this moment forward, also a member of the Northern Wall Defense Force."
Gilgamesh immediately issued the command to Siduri.
"Yes, understood."
Siduri nodded. In her view, this arrangement was also very good.
Yesterday, she had specifically asked Leonidas about it, and Akira's ability was incredibly powerful.
Because of that ability, yesterday's casualties at the Northern Wall had been reduced by two-thirds.
The remaining third were those who had already fallen before Akira arrived at the Northern Wall. After Akira's arrival, Uruk had not lost a single person.
If Akira could continue guarding the Northern Wall, it would undoubtedly be a very good thing for Uruk.
After all, at this stage, every soldier was an extremely valuable force.
Akira looked at Gilgamesh on that high throne and smiled. Helping Uruk withstand the monster assaults—tasks like that were small matters, not difficult at all.
After all, the monsters at this stage were merely cannon fodder forces. They were only a threat to ordinary people.
And if all the monsters that kept coming were continuously wiped out, then perhaps Kingu would no longer be able to sit idly by.
At that time, the meeting between the Chain of Heaven and the Chain of Heaven would only be a matter of time.
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