Chapter 233
"Noodles again today..."
Ishtar looked at the steaming bowl of noodles on the table with a disappointed expression. "Can't we change things up a bit? We've been eating noodles for ten straight days already!"
"We can," Xia Yu rolled her eyes. "Go hunting yourself. Whatever you want to eat, just go catch it."
"Have me hunt myself?" Ishtar looked utterly resistant. "How is that something a goddess should be doing?"
"Then go to Uruk and beat Gilgamesh up," Xia Yu shrugged with a smile. "Beat him into submission and Uruk will naturally resume sending supplies over."
"..."
Hearing this, Ishtar was rendered speechless.
Seriously, without the Bull of Heaven, she genuinely couldn't beat Gilgamesh.
Seeing her fall silent, Xia Yu laughed without a shred of conscience.
Who told her to keep picking fights with Gilgamesh whenever she had free time? The man already had a mountain of work to do, and every now and then someone would descend from the sky to interrupt him with another fight... never mind the delayed work, just repairing the ceilings she smashed every time was enough to drive the people of Uruk into despair.
Eventually they just stopped fixing it. There was still a huge hole in the roof of Uruk's Ziggurat even now.
Gilgamesh had been so furious that he'd rather cut off the food supply to this side entirely than compromise with her.
Though it was probably also because he'd seen Xia Yu behaving herself and not causing trouble, which gave him confidence to make that decision. At the same time, it served as a test of her personality—whether she'd go cause trouble for Uruk over something like this.
"Eat already." Xia Yu pushed the steaming bowl toward her. "After you're done, go hunting. You need to bring something back before I can cook."
Ishtar turned her head away, clearly unwilling.
She was a goddess, after all. Worse still, she was the famously arrogant greatest menace of Sumer. There was no way she could bring herself to hunt personally.
"If it really won't work, then I'll go to Uruk myself and buy some ingredients," Xia Yu said with a smile. "We can't keep living on bland food forever."
"And ingredients are only part of the problem. We're almost out of spices too. If this keeps up, we'll really end up living like savages eating raw food. I'm fine with it, but can you handle it?"
"Hmph, fine." Ishtar instinctively wanted to object, but after thinking about the endless days of noodles they'd been eating lately... she ultimately couldn't hold out.
Goddesses didn't need such inefficient methods as eating to sustain life, but over these past days her palate had already been spoiled... there was no way she could go back to those old days of not eating a single meal for over ten days.
"This goddess grants you permission to travel to Uruk!" She lifted her head proudly. "But remember this, you will forever be my attendant!"
"There you go saying silly things again." Xia Yu shook her head and looked at her pityingly. "I don't remember ever agreeing to something like that."
"Whether you agreed or not, it's already reality!" Ishtar declared while picking up her bowl. "Goddesses have the right to be unreasonable!"
Then she finished the noodles in a few quick bites before mounting Maanna and soaring into the sky.
She had to find Gugalanna as quickly as possible! Then she'd go get revenge on that golden idiot!
If things continued like this, Ishtar felt she'd lose every last shred of dignity as a goddess!
Watching her hurried departure, Xia Yu's lips curled slightly upward.
Ishtar was just too easy to understand. Though she always acted lofty and untouchable on the surface, she perfectly inherited Rin's tsundere nature. Just a few teasing remarks were enough to throw her completely off balance.
Tsunderes were just too fun. Xia Yu had been playing with her for an entire month already and still wasn't tired of it.
But it had already been a month... time to do something serious.
Though things in the Dreamscape had never stopped progressing, reality needed a push too.
She cast Tergeo on the dishes, then turned and left the temple.
"Emmm..."
In a wheat field outside Uruk, Xia Yu rubbed her chin as she stared at the scene before her.
"This sickle is really used for harvesting wheat?" She looked at Anna with a somewhat subtle expression.
"A sickle is a sickle," Anna replied cautiously. "Of course it can be used to harvest wheat!"
"Is that so? Fair enough." Xia Yu glanced at the purple-black sickle and nodded.
There really was nothing wrong with that statement.
Though if she remembered correctly, wasn't this sickle supposed to be the legendary Blade of Slaughtering the Undying?
Its prototype was Harpe, the special weapon Hermes of Olympus bestowed upon the hero Perseus in Greek Mythology for slaying the banshee Medusa.
Its greatest characteristic was 'twisted immortality,' allowing it to negate immortal-type abilities and making wounds inflicted by it impossible to heal through unnatural means. In legends, the weapon was described as a single-edged curved sword, shaped somewhere between a sickle and a crescent moon, and some records even considered it the prototype of the Grim Reaper's scythe.
Emmm... honestly, Human Order really was pretty hellish.
Anna was Medusa in her younger years, yet they actually had her wield this weapon against her future self...
At that point, even directly sending Perseus himself wouldn't have been this twisted.
Looking at how casually Anna used it, she probably didn't cherish the weapon much either... though that was understandable. In these circumstances, anyone would feel uncomfortable holding a weapon destined to kill themselves.
"I was thinking about it wrong."
With that thought, Xia Yu gave Anna a thumbs-up.
"Even though this sickle is a good item, just use it freely. Don't hold back at all."
"You..."
Anna froze briefly before her eyes suddenly turned sharp.
Did this person know her identity?
An unpleasant feeling rose in her heart.
After all, this was Greek Mythology they were talking about. There was plenty of filthy business in there. Using someone's weakness to threaten them and the like...
"Eh, Senior Kiana!"
At that moment, Mash turned around and finally noticed Kiana behind them, asking in surprise, "My apologies, I didn't see you just now. Why are you here?"
Shouldn't she be serving Goddess Ishtar?
Over the past few days, Merlin had also explained things to them. Using one Kiana to keep one of the three goddesses occupied was an absolute profit for Uruk.
Actually, Mash didn't really like this arrangement. What if Senior Kiana suffered some grievance? Ishtar could be rather overbearing after all...
But after hearing Mash's concerns, Senpai had given her a strange look and told her not to worry about it.
"Did Miss Ishtar agree to let you out?"
"Can't be helped." Xia Yu raised the basket in her hand and shook it slightly. "She keeps going to pick fights with Gilgamesh every day. The top of the Ziggurat is practically leaking wind now, so naturally Uruk cut off the food offerings to the temple."
"And since the offerings stopped, the poor little prisoner that is me has to come out and buy ingredients for our three daily meals."
"I see. You've worked hard," little sweetheart Mash accepted Xia Yu's explanation without the slightest suspicion. "The roof of the Ziggurat... even we've repaired it several times ourselves."
Meanwhile, Anna looked at the two of them with an indescribable expression.
These two... one dared to say it, and the other dared to believe it... even she, still in her childhood stage, wouldn't buy such an explanation!
"Miss Kiana!"
At that moment, Fujimaru Ritsuka also noticed Kiana and waved excitedly in her direction.
"Did you come to see us?"
"I just happened to stop by." Xia Yu glanced at the sickles in their hands. "Gilgamesh is seriously using you all as laborers, huh? First repairing roofs, and now harvesting wheat..."
"What a waste."
"Haha, this is also part of integrating into Uruk." Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled without saying much more.
She wasn't stupid. Of course she could tell Gilgamesh was doing it on purpose. But Chaldea didn't possess overwhelming power like Miss Firefly, so naturally they had to endure a bit of hardship. After all, they were outsiders.
It was perfectly normal for the locals not to trust them at first.
So all they could do was work honestly. If she were as strong as Miss Firefly, she'd already be declaring she didn't eat beef anymore.
Of course, Fujimaru Ritsuka was a kind-hearted good girl. Although the past few days had been exhausting, she'd also gained quite a lot from them, so she didn't actually resent it much.
Meanwhile, Xia Yu shook her head as she looked at the girl's radiant smile.
She knew exactly why Gilgamesh was doing this. He didn't believe strangers with no connection would risk everything for Uruk and confront the mastermind behind all this.
So he used this method to forge bonds between Chaldea and the people of Uruk. Once they truly integrated with these people, risking their lives for them would become the natural next step.
In simple terms, he was buying insurance.
"As long as you're happy." Xia Yu nodded at how fulfilled they looked. "After all, labor is glorious. Doing more work isn't a bad thing."
Though there was no way she'd personally do it. If Gilgamesh dared ask, then forget putting another hole in the roof of the Ziggurat—the fact the Ziggurat still existed at all would only prove how gentle, kind, and generous Xia Yu was.
"How much longer do you all need to work?" Xia Yu looked at their progress.
Yep, there was still an endless sea of wheat fields waiting for them to harvest.
"We probably won't finish today," Fujimaru Ritsuka scratched her head with a silly grin. "Aren't you here to buy groceries? Hurry along, we're fine here."
"Alright then." Xia Yu nodded decisively. "Oh right, you're staying with the Heroic Spirits now, correct?"
"Yep!" Mash nodded. "Everyone's really nice."
"Then remember to come back early tonight." Xia Yu's lips curled slightly upward. "You've all been in Uruk for quite a while already, but I still haven't properly welcomed you."
"So tonight, I'll prepare a little surprise for you there. Make sure to come back early."
After saying that, she turned and left immediately.
"A surprise..." Mash looked somewhat expectant. "Senpai, what do you think it'll be?"
"Don't get your hopes up too much," Anna lowered her head. "This might not necessarily be a good thing."
"Eh? Why would you say that?" Mash looked confused. "I can tell Senior Kiana is a good person!"
Even if she did always like wrapping her arm around Senpai's shoulders, she was still definitely a good person.
"You can know a face but not a heart." Anna looked at the innocent girl before her and sighed. After working together these past few days, her relationship with the two had improved quite a bit as well. "Who knows what she's plotting?"
Anna had a feeling that woman had been paying particular attention to her ever since they first met. She always felt like Xia Yu had bad intentions!
And what could Xia Yu even say to that?
Was she supposed to tell Anna that seeing a new loli after so long had reminded her of the days when she used to cuddle Bronya and Illya in her arms?
If she actually said that, she'd probably never be allowed close again, right?
"Alright, hurry up and keep working." Fujimaru Ritsuka patted Mash on the shoulder reassuringly. "We'll know once we get back."
Meanwhile, Uruk's intelligence network truly moved quickly. The moment Xia Yu entered the city, Gilgamesh already learned she'd returned again.
"Do you think she got tired of playing with Ishtar and wants to find a new target?" Gilgamesh irritably slapped the armrest of his throne. "Why does she keep thinking about coming back to Uruk?"
He was already busy to death, and now there was all this extra work piling up too. Honestly, even he felt like he was about to die from overwork.
Ah, cunning woman, so this was your goal? Were you trying to overwork him to death just to prove your words correct?
Seriously...
"My king, I actually don't think this is a bad thing," Siduri comforted him. "If she's interested in goddesses, then changing targets may not be a bad thing at all."
"Lady Ishtar was once Uruk's guardian goddess after all. Ever since everything changed that day, she hasn't excessively persecuted the people of Uruk either. She's clearly someone who can be reasoned with."
"If Lady Kiana shifts her attention elsewhere, then the targets can only be the southern Quetzalcoatl or the Goddess of Demonic Beasts," Siduri said. "Quetzalcoatl frequently attacks the city, and many excellent warriors have already died at her hands."
"Not to mention the Goddess of Demonic Beasts. She's the goddess responsible for the most deaths and the one most actively pursuing humanity's extinction. If Miss Kiana targeted her, then without that endless stream of Demonic Beasts, Uruk's burden would become much lighter."
"If only it were really that simple." Gilgamesh sighed as he rubbed his temples. Honestly, he genuinely felt he wasn't far from collapsing from overwork himself.
"Doesn't she just want entertainment? If it really comes down to it, just shove Merlin out there instead!"
"Merlin is carrying out a mission," Siduri reminded him.
"And there's also Chaldea." Gilgamesh picked up a report detailing everything the Chaldea group had accomplished in Uruk.
"Mm, they've been tempered enough by now." Gilgamesh smiled in satisfaction. "It's time to let them shoulder important responsibilities."
"Oh right, where is she now?"
"At the market?" Siduri glanced at the intelligence report in her hand and sighed. "She's still buying groceries. From poultry and eggs to Demonic Beast meat, and even various spices... My king, should we perhaps restore Lady Ishtar's food supply?"
At the very least, it would stop this ancestor-level troublemaker from wandering around Uruk shopping every day. She might be relaxed about it, but everyone on this side was constantly on edge.
"No!" Hearing that, Gilgamesh looked painfully toward the giant hole above his head.
If anyone else had done it, he could've endured it. But because it was that Ishtar, he simply couldn't swallow this humiliation!
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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Shilling time!
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