"And these gems are...?" Ishtar's eyes shone with anticipation as she looked at Ritsuka.
"They're payment for hiring the goddess Ishtar," Ritsuka replied with a smile.
"P-payment? You can't just..."
Ishtar fought to keep the corners of her mouth from twitching upward. "Speaking to a goddess about employment and wages... how utterly..."
"This is just the deposit," Ritsuka continued, not giving her a chance to refuse. "After all, fighting alongside the goddess Ishtar is the wish of all Uruk's people. So naturally, this treasure alone isn't nearly enough."
"D-deposit?"
The goddess, already dizzy from the glittering hoard, was genuinely stunned.
"Go on, tell her the full amount, Ritsuka," Merlin chimed in, wearing an amused expression.
"Two-tenths of the mineral-type treasures from the Babylonian Treasury," Ritsuka gestured.
"T-two-tenths?!"
Ishtar's whole body began to tremble.
But then, remembering her divine dignity, she forcibly suppressed her inner longing and said with feigned calm, "A-a goddess's wrath isn't so easily quelled, you know... Wait, the Babylonian Treasury... that's the one, right? The one Gilgamesh created for the future... once completed, it'd be equivalent to the total assets of humanity, inexhaustible..."
"That's the one," Ritsuka confirmed with an utterly sincere smile.
"No, no way... That gold-obsessed tyrant would be this generous?" Ishtar couldn't believe that Gilgamesh, who never saw eye-to-eye with her, would be so willing to part with his wealth.
"Well, you are the city goddess of Uruk. It's only natural to show you respect," Merlin said, partly to remind her not to push her luck, and partly to offer her a way out.
"Besides, our Master here, and the Celestial Phoenix, both think very highly of you."
The situation with the Demonic Beast Goddess wasn't a secret to Servants from the Age of Gods.
Everyone had seen that sword strike descend from the clouds, a blow that seemed capable of annihilating heaven and earth.
Surely, he thought, you wouldn't turn your blades on us when we're the ones actively courting your favor.
Ishtar didn't quite catch the subtext, but her impression of Amber and Ritsuka was indeed very good. Hearing even the annoying Merlin singing her praises greatly satisfied her pride.
"Very well! Since you've gone to such lengths to invite me, I'll graciously allow you to witness the power of a goddess!" Ishtar finally broke into a smile, signaling the successful completion of Gilgamesh's plan.
With her status as an ally confirmed, Ishtar formally formed a contract with Ritsuka, establishing a magical link between them.
Though, for Ishtar, this channel was fairly meaningless.
Heroic Spirits of later eras, or more accurately, mages from the end of the Age of Gods onward, primarily used the magical energy within their own bodies—their Od.
Thus, they placed great importance on their personal reserves, considering those with more and higher-quality Magic Circuits to be more gifted.
But for mages from the Age of Gods, their personal magical energy was irrelevant.
They directly drew mana from the environment, or even the Root—collectively known as the Mana of the World.
Unfortunately, with the end of the Age of Gods and the sudden decline of this environmental mana, no modern mage could gather significant amounts from their surroundings anymore.
However, they were currently in the Age of Gods, where the Mana of the World was practically limitless. Under normal circumstances, Ishtar had no need to draw mana from Ritsuka at all.
Because of this, while forming the contract, Ishtar specifically declared, 'The contract is sealed. As for the master-servant relationship... I'll leave that to your imagination.' A statement befitting a goddess's pride.
Hearing this, Amber felt a pang of anxiety.
This distinction between the Mana of the World and Od was strangely similar to the difference between Taixu Sword Qi and ordinary martial arts.
'Thank goodness I didn't end up in the modern era,' she thought, 'or I might have become a completely ordinary Celestial.'
[Host need not worry. The System will ensure the Host does not lack mana,] the Navigator's mechanical voice sounded.
It somehow felt like the Navigator's speech had become a bit more... human.
"Whoa... Our second goddess Servant to form a contract, after Miss Artemis..." Roman's voice came through now that the atmosphere had settled. "But now's not the time to dwell on that. We need to assess the basic situation."
"Goddess Ishtar, you are a Pseudo-Servant based on a human body, correct?"
"Of course. A Divine Spirit can't become a human's familiar—the scale is far too grand," Ishtar didn't deny it. "So, for a god to manifest as a Servant, they need to perform Possession. Simply put, they attach themselves to a vessel and lower their rank."
"Possession?" Amber was taken aback.
The term itself wasn't unfamiliar, but having only seen two Fate series, the idea of a Heroic Spirit possessing a human hadn't really occurred to her.
And looking at that face, identical to Rin Tohsaka's, and the seemingly identical figure, she couldn't help but think of Rin Tohsaka again.
"Oh? You didn't know?" Ishtar looked curiously at Amber. While Amber possessed no Divinity and was fundamentally human, during the Age of Gods, especially in Mesopotamia, the line between human and god was often blurred.
Take Ziusudra, for instance; he was a human survivor of the great flood who eventually became a gatekeeper of the underworld.
Gilgamesh's so-called 'Divine Authority Seal' symbolized 'deification'—not a god recognized by gods, but a god recognized by humans. A faith originating from and existing for humanity.
In her eyes, the Celestial Phoenix, who had been enfeoffed as an 'Upper Immortal' by the Emperor, was precisely such an existence.
For such a being to be surprised by something like Possession... Now that's strange, isn't it?
"Then, may I ask one question? On behalf of Chaldea... no, as a personal, ethical question from me, the doctor," Roman's tone was serious.
"What happened to the girl you possessed? Is she still in a state where you've forcibly taken over her body?"
Hearing this, Amber frowned, her feelings suddenly complicated.
Rin Tohsaka was a beloved 'waifu' from her favorite series, and her resemblance to Rin was the source of much of Amber's initial goodwill towards Ishtar.
But when it came down to it, Ishtar was the one she had truly interacted with and become friends with. The idea of her forcibly seizing Rin's body...
Amber's mind short-circuited, unsure how to feel.
"Hmm? If I'm not mistaken, Mash was your doing, wasn't it? How can you commit such acts and then preach about morality?" Ishtar raised an eyebrow.
But seeing Amber's evident concern, she sighed. "Fine, for the Phoenix's sake, I'll answer. If you're asking whether I killed this girl, the answer is no."
"But if you're asking whether that girl will ever surface again, the answer is also no."
"Ours isn't a relationship of replacement, but of fusion. I'd say it's roughly seventy percent me, thirty percent her," Ishtar explained. "So, don't think of it as one replacing the other. Think of it as this girl one day suddenly becoming Ishtar."
Having said that, she looked at Amber, whose brow had now smoothed, and spoke with a tone laced with resentment and a hint of displeasure, "Satisfied with that answer, you... 'Human Guardian'?"
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.