Chapter 1
Enkidu's path to getting a cup of tea in the morning was not smooth.
First, they had to slip through the gaps between department store shopping bags and boxes that filled the corridor like a nimble cat. Only by delicately raising their toes and walking carefully could he avoid the collapse of stacked boxes. What use was a top-of-the-line handcrafted espresso machine? The coffee machine was now buried between a box containing Italian crystal wine glasses and handcrafted porcelain dishes that had never actually been used, on the Irish-style table that had once been spacious and neat when they first moved in. After discreetly moving aside a juicer whose instructions hadn't even been read, let alone the box opened, and an ice maker that might only be used come summer, Enkidu finally discovered a mug they could use to drink just a glass of water. It was a cup printed with the phrase "Water your fxxxxd," which Tate had distributed, saying it was a commemorative gift for the research institute's opening.
As they left the kitchen, moistening his throat with a cup from someone who hadn't been a friend, the sunlight entering through the penthouse ceiling was polishing the golden furniture that filled the living room, making it look even more garish. Heroic Spirits tend to live as they did in their previous lives. He was the king of the ziggurat, so even now that he had recarnated, this was quite natural. For Gilgamesh.
Taking a lightly warm bath on a chilly morning had become Enkidu's favorite routine, but it was difficult for them to hunt through various luxury perfume bottles and bath products to figure out which bottle would create bubbles when put in the bathtub. Once, they had bathed with toothpaste, thinking that a package that roughly looked like a pump and was pink would do the trick. They thought it was fine enough, until that friend of them laughed at them, saying their entire head of hair smelled like spearmint.
Enkidu put the mug down on the table and threw themself onto the crimson sofa. And buried in the velvet with gold embroidery, they thought: Next time, I should bathe two or three times with wasabi-scented shampoo. I'll see him rolling around immediately from the spiciness as soon as he grabs a handful of my hair to inhale its scent as is his habit. Then I should look down at him and laugh with exactly the same condescension, just as he did to me...
Though they'd never truly found Gilgamesh's laughter unpleasant, getting riled up was still getting riled up. Besides, coaxing different expressions from that normally imperious face was entertainment all on its own. Enkidu's face, as they contemplated how to commit the perfect crime, was already slipping into quiet laughter.
Then, turning their head toward the window, they could see a forest of high-rise buildings below. In the clear winter sky far away, an airplane was drawing a line between the clouds. As they quietly watched the airplane, the white fuselage moved slowly, eventually crossing the window frame to a place Enkidu could no longer observe. If they stood up and moved closer to the window, they could probably see it go further, but they didn't. They were both lazy and, given the season, it would be cold near the window. So they just lay there with one cheek buried in the sofa.
The sound of the building's wind was different from that of reeds, but the rhythm of this new world was worth listening to in its own way. He also liked the cleanliness that thoroughly excluded rust or mold, and yet he could still resonate with the breathing sounds of buds trying to squeeze through the cracks. The heavy, very heavy sound of lives breathing. As he listened to it for a while, in the reflective part of the glass window, he saw that blonde-haired fellow opening the door and coming in.
"Well well, I see that building across the street still dares to block our park view."
The blonde man strode imperiously from the entrance straight to the living room with a grin.
"A regrettable state of affairs. But fear not, my friend! I have just returned from bestowing generous compensation upon those urban planning committee underlings, so you shall Soon be blessed with the unobstructed vista you deserve! HAHAHA!"
Enkidu, still buried in the sofa, slightly turned his aqua-green eyes to watch Gilgamesh approaching with heavy steps in his usual flashy and outlandish attire. As always, making ostentatious hand gestures. For some reason, he looks particularly happy today.
"As the one and only friend of the king, it is nothing less than your right to bask in the absolute finest this world has to offer! Oh, by the way, I've been informed there's some manner of festivity approaching — Valentine's Day, they call it! Well, regardless of such trivialities, if it's an anniversary, feel free to look forward to it."
"The day you give chocolate, right?"
"Of course chocolate, and they say people also exchange accessories and valuable items! Don't worry about trivial details, let's just enjoy it. This time..."
"No, Gil. It's enough, more than enough. Don't buy anything else. It's purely a matter of volume and weight."
At Enkidu's firm tone, Gilgamesh slightly raised one eyebrow, seemingly puzzled.
"Hooh? Then the solution is OBVIOUS — we shall simply acquire MORE residences! No, wait... perhaps now is truly the perfect moment to commission a mansion of such GRAND proportions that it shall rival the ziggurat I once ruled from! Yes, that would be most fitting!"
"Hmm... that's not the issue."
Enkidu rubbed their forehead as if having a headache, and Gilgamesh sat down next to them with a loud thud.
"Then tell me, my friend. Hmm. It seems this green-haired one has some complaint."
Saying so, Gilgamesh pulled Enkidu close and buried his nose in the hair near his nape, inhaling its scent. A long sigh of satisfaction followed.
"Listen, Gil. If you really want to give a gift on Valentine's Day, there's a condition."
As if wondering what nonsense he would say now, Gilgamesh tucked Enkidu under one arm and leaned languidly against the sofa. Meanwhile, he twirled the green hair around his finger, idly playing with it.
"A condition, well, I'll at least hear it."
"It shouldn't be luxurious. And it shouldn't be ostentatious."
Gilgamesh's eyebrows twitched, but he brought the hair in his hand to his face and inhaled again.
"Hmm... I don't quite understand. Speak in terms the king can comprehend."
"I don't need or want anything more, Gil. Unless you're going to store everything in your treasury, anything more is excessive."
"Wouldn't it be contradictory if I kept the gifts I said I would share with you?"
"Anyway, a condition is a condition. No more than that."
Gilgamesh leaned back further, closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again to look up at the sky outside the window.
"Truly, I miss the royal palace of Uruk, where not a single soul would dare utter a word against me, no matter how lavishly I adorned it."