Ishtar, Well Done!
"Ishtar, well done!"
On the throne at the highest point of the Uruk Ziggurat, Gilgamesh slapped his thigh, his face practically splitting from a wide grin.
"Hahahahaha! That useless goddess is actually somewhat useful after all!"
"Uh... King Gilgamesh," Tomoe Gozen said with some hesitation, "do we really not need to..."
"Need to what? Go get gems to ransom her back?" Gilgamesh was in a fantastic mood. "Ransom? What ransom? You don't know how strong that person is; if we go, it's hard to say who would be ransoming whom."
"Hahaha, Ishtar... you did well! You did well! You truly are the patron goddess of Uruk!"
Look at how happy Gilgamesh is? He's even willing to acknowledge Ishtar's status now.
"But..." Tomoe Gozen wanted to say more, but looking at Gilgamesh's joyful appearance and thinking of her benefactor's strength...
Mm, Goddess Ishtar really shouldn't be able to do anything to her...
"Siduri!" Gilgamesh waved his hand excitedly, calling over his right-hand woman. "I authorize the priests to continue making offerings to Ishtar!"
Consider it her reward for shielding Uruk from disaster.
"As you wish, King," Siduri said, her face beaming.
So be it. Let Lady Goddess suffer a little; everything is for the sake of Uruk.
These past few days, not only had Gilgamesh been tense, but she had been too. After all, who knew when that massive bomb would explode?
Although the situation in Uruk hadn't been great before, it was merely an external threat. Then, suddenly, an internal one appeared...
A super-powerful entity calling herself the Enemy of Civilization was hanging around the city of Uruk. What could they do? Siduri was also desperate.
If a real fight broke out right in the city center, such a battle would destroy the entire city. If they didn't fight, they had to be on guard against her every second.
It was truly worrisome.
But she hadn't expected Goddess Ishtar to help Uruk solve this problem by 'kidnapping' her.
Hahaha, how truly tragic, hahahahaha!
Gilgamesh was also crystal clear on the fact that the reason she had hung around Uruk wasn't necessarily out of malice; she was likely just looking for amusement. After all, in this era, Uruk was the only place with a complete civilization left. Where else could she go?
And Ishtar's kidnapping act had given her a new diversion, so naturally, she shifted her target.
"Oh, esteemed King Gilgamesh," Siduri bowed, placing her hand over her chest. "We cannot gather enough gems to ransom Lady Kiana at this moment, but we cannot just watch Lady Kiana suffer in Goddess Ishtar's temple!"
"Regardless of anything else, Lady Kiana was targeted by Lady Ishtar precisely because she was helping Uruk, not to mention she even helped us hold the city wall."
She said righteously, "Therefore, we must not treat her poorly under any circumstances. I suggest we send people to the goddess's temple every day with enough supplies for Lady Kiana to live comfortably!"
"Yes, yes! Hahahaha!" Gilgamesh cast a satisfied look her way. "How can we let a hero suffer? This matter is left to you. Ensure she eats and drinks well in Ishtar's temple!"
And may she never return to Uruk for the rest of her life!
Wait, he was getting carried away again. He forgot that the woman had originally stayed in Uruk under the pretense that life in the wild was inconvenient. What if, after spending a few days in Ishtar's temple, she felt the quality of life had dropped and returned to Uruk?
Did he not know about Ishtar's living conditions? She lived hand-to-mouth. Of course, it wasn't that Ishtar couldn't afford it; it was just that as a goddess, food and drink were no longer necessities for survival. Furthermore, for some reason, after manifesting this time, even Ishtar's desires for food had been suppressed to the lowest point.
She only occasionally snatched a few sheep from shepherds to eat, which was a far cry from the capricious Ishtar of mythology.
Gilgamesh had always felt that her descent this time had been affected by the physical vessel, such as her becoming obsessed with gems—the goddess Ishtar of the past had never been this fanatical.
But in reality, that wasn't the case. Ishtar was just too anxious to eat. Why was she anxious?
Because she had lost her bull, but Gilgamesh didn't know that.
Look at the Three Goddess Alliance. In the eyes of the Uruk people, one was a goddess claiming to be Tiamat, one was the legendary Quetzalcoatl standing at the pinnacle of South America, and the third was Ishtar.
By what right could she stand alongside the former two? Only the most powerful Divine Beast of Mesopotamia, the Bull of Heaven, Gugalanna, could bring her confidence.
Therefore, Uruk had to cover all bases here; they absolutely could not let her feel mistreated in Ishtar's temple!
"Send her the best offerings!" Gilgamesh ordered. "Ensure she eats and drinks well!"
He actually understood that the idiot Ishtar wouldn't be able to hold onto her for long, but they had to buy as much time as they could.
At least it gave him and Merlin more opportunities to investigate the secrets behind her.
They had to uncover her background, no matter what.
It would be even better if she could get into a fight with Ishtar; real combat would reveal many things.
Although Ishtar herself was a useless goddess, the Bull of Heaven was still top-tier. Gugalanna should be able to force out the opponent's trump cards.
"Tsk, that guy Merlin has run off outside again," Gilgamesh clicked his tongue in annoyance.
The Merlin he was complaining about was currently busy seducing a purple-haired girl outside of Uruk.
Xia Yu?
She tilted her head while looking at the high-quality ingredients in front of her.
"What are you doing?" Ishtar was equally bewildered.
Siduri moved quickly; a team of soldiers immediately brought enough food to Ishtar's temple.
"Lady Goddess," Siduri bowed respectfully. "Please forgive Uruk for being unable to gather the ransom you require for the time being."
"Ha? How is that possible!" Ishtar instinctively retorted. "There are so many gems in Gilgamesh's treasury; how could he not even gather a ransom equal to her weight?"
Siduri put on a terrified expression upon hearing this. "King Gilgamesh is truly at his wit's end; please, Lady Goddess, show mercy."
"The gems in the King's treasury have all been crafted into the Divine Authority Seals on Uruk's city walls. They are the decisive weapons Uruk uses to defend against Demonic Beast attacks, and there isn't a single surplus left to offer."
"Is it just a Goddess of Demonic Beasts?" Ishtar frowned. "Is it really that serious?"
"Is it just a Goddess of Demonic Beasts?" Xia Yu's mouth curled up. She stepped forward, draped her arm around Ishtar's shoulder, and said teasingly, "Then why don't you go finish Her off?"
"As long as you finish Her off, Gilgamesh would certainly be willing to dismantle all three hundred and sixty Divine Authority Seals on the Uruk city walls to give to you."
Divine Authority Seals were the Noble Phantasm of Caster Gilgamesh, the 'Gate of Babylon: The King's Artillery', magical weapons built with lapis lazuli as the base.
As for their power, Archer EMIYA's ultimate move, Unlimited Blade Works, used projected Noble Phantasms to self-destruct and create massive destructive power; Gilgamesh used that too.
Every time one Divine Authority Seal fired, it was equivalent to a single Unlimited Blade Works detonation. That sounded pretty overpowered, right?
However, only Gilgamesh could play like that because he was filthy rich. Where would anyone else find so many materials and so much Magical Energy to do such a thing?
When Ishtar heard the suggestion to go deal with the Goddess of Demonic Beasts, her neck involuntarily shrank.
"She's merely a Goddess of Demonic Beasts," she said, though her words lacked conviction. "I could resolve that with a wave of my hand!"
"But you aren't pious enough! Why should I work for you!"
Look, only the Ishtar after possession would be this easy to talk to. If you aren't pious, at most I won't protect you—and even then, it's only on the surface. If she sees people being attacked by Demonic Beasts, she'll still lend a hand, though she'll take the shepherd's sheep as payment after dealing with the beasts. But you have to admit, she did the work.
If it were the Ishtar of mythology, forget about being sharp-tongued but soft-hearted; if you weren't pious, would it even be the Goddess of Demonic Beasts' turn to act? She would have been bombing Uruk herself every single day.
Siduri had clearly figured out Ishtar's temper. "Esteemed Lady Goddess Ishtar, Uruk truly cannot gather that many gems!"
"But we cannot let the hero and goddess who have protected us suffer. Let these offerings be the compensation for Lady Kiana staying here with you these days."
"As for the ransom you want, Uruk will offer a hundredfold!" Siduri struck while the iron was hot. "A portion will be the ransom, and the rest will be an apology for Uruk's disrespect toward the goddess over the years!"
Uruk didn't intend to actually pay this money anyway, so naturally, the bigger the pie, the better.
Ideally, it would be an astronomical figure, one that Uruk couldn't gather in a hundred years, enough to let this lady reside here permanently.
Of course, she knew it was impossible, so it was just an attempt. In any case, one extra day was a win for Uruk.
"A... a hundredfold?!" Ishtar's eyes had already turned into the shape of gems. "A hundredfold, really?"
"Would we dare to deceive Lady Goddess?" Siduri was full of piety. "It will just take time to gather this many offerings. After all, as you know, Demonic Beasts are ravaging the land outside Uruk now, so gem mining has been severely impacted."
"So please, Lady Goddess, grant us more time; Uruk will certainly gather them!"
"Fine, fine, fine," Ishtar had already been blinded by the gems. "A bit later is fine; I am a goddess, I can afford to wait!"
Hearing this, Xia Yu looked at Siduri with a wry smile. "Gilgamesh truly has his people at heart, actually willing to take all the gems in his treasury to craft weapons."
"The King is naturally benevolent," Siduri's expression didn't change.
"Go tell him I want to eat fish," Xia Yu patted her shoulder gently. "Fish caught by his own hands."
"Mm, Ishtar should also be looking forward to fish offered by him personally, right?"
"After all, since we've granted you a grace period, there must be interest, right?"
"Mm? Oh, right," Ishtar also reacted. "Yes, yes, yes, I want fish caught by his own hands as an offering!"
She looked at Xia Yu. "You really are thoughtful. Tsk, I must steal you away from her hands!"
"That depends on your ability," Xia Yu winked at her.
"I will return to report to my King," Siduri said, her smile unchanging. "Please enjoy yourselves, ladies. The mountain road is rugged, so I shall take my leave."
"Mm, go on, go on," Ishtar waved her hand, her eyes already fixed on the pile of food. "Remember to tell him to go fishing."
She certainly wasn't lacking for a bite of fish, but making Gilgamesh work for her made Ishtar feel great.
"It seems they really value you," she turned to Xia Yu. For some reason, looking at that heroic yet firm face, she suddenly wanted to get a little closer.
Ishtar herself was someone who dared to love and hate; without hesitation, she reached out to lift Xia Yu's chin. "Kiana... is it? This name... a variant of the Moon Goddess in Roman mythology?"
"This face is worth a look. I just don't know why you would be so infatuated with that gloomy woman?"
Xia Yu lowered her head to look at the hand lifting her chin, then looked up at the face that was identical to Tohsaka Rin's.
"Ishtar..." she reached out and gripped the right hand that was lifting her chin. "You seem to enjoy the feeling of stealing things from Ereshkigal's hands?"
"Of course!" Ishtar said triumphantly. "I just want to see if I steal her most beloved thing, will she leave the Underworld in a fit of rage?"
To reiterate, this Ishtar was not the original; she was a goddess mixed with the essence of Tohsaka Rin. So her feelings toward Ereshkigal were not provocation, but rather a desire to use this behavior to make her younger sister—who was destined to spend her life in the dark, sunless place of the Underworld—leave that place and come up to the surface to see a glimpse of the sun.
Very awkward, right? This is Ishtar in the Tohsaka Rin form.
"She won't," Xia Yu shook her head. "Ereshkigal is a dutiful goddess; leaving the Underworld is impossible for her. The Underworld cannot lose her, and Mesopotamia cannot lose her even more."
"You should know the consequences of her leaving the Underworld, right?"
"But if she's trapped in that kind of place for a lifetime," Ishtar muttered in a low voice, "that's too pitiful..."
"Mm? What did you say?" Xia Yu pretended not to hear.
"Nothing!" Ishtar said loudly. "Just let her rot in the Underworld forever!"
"Hmph, I am a goddess; you must listen to me," she looked at the fruit and food on the side. "Go on, make me a meal!"
"But aren't I a prisoner?" Xia Yu spread her hands. "Under normal circumstances, shouldn't the jailer provide food to the prisoner?"
"But I am a goddess!" Ishtar said willfully. "Whatever the goddess says, goes!"
"Fine, fine, fine," Xia Yu acted as if she couldn't refuse her and walked toward the pile of food. "Who made you the goddess?"
★ ★ ★
T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
★ ★ ★
Shilling time!
Members of my [email protected]/quickinquickout can read advanced chapters on quick-tl(dot)com—and even customize translated terms to match their preferred names and terminology!