"Wait, wait, wait! I am the Goddess Ishtar! If I let myself be bought off with such shallow, materialistic conditions..."
My entire career as a Goddess would probably be over, right?!
In a desperate bid to preserve her "divine dignity," Ishtar exerted every ounce of her willpower to suppress the overwhelming urge to instantly accept the deal. She desperately racked her brain, trying to come up with a compromise that would satisfy both her greed and her pride.
But why would Gilgamesh ever give her that chance?
He immediately put on a faux expression of deep regret and sighed:
"What a truly greedy Goddess. That was the absolute maximum concession this King was willing to make. Since you refuse to agree, I have no choice but to order my Chief General—Takumi—to lock you away in a sunless, subterranean dungeon..."
As he spoke, Gilgamesh cast a subtle, meaningful glance at both Takumi and Ishtar.
Hearing Mr. Goldie's words...
Takumi: "..."
Ishtar: "!"
Gah! This despicable mongrel!
"Ahem!"
Instantly grasping the severity of the situation, Ishtar coughed loudly twice.
"It's not that I absolutely refuse to help you. But if you want the assistance of a Goddess, surely you have to offer at least thirty percent, right?"
"And another thing! I am only agreeing to help you out of respect for Siduri, and because I genuinely harbor a deep affection for Uruk! Don't you dare think for a second that I'm only doing this because I was bought off by your treasure..."
Listening to Ishtar rattling off excuses like spilling beans, Gilgamesh's face grew darker and darker until he finally couldn't hold back and roared:
"You useless Goddess! Who do you think you are?! An entirely dispensable freeloader actually dares to stand before this King and brazenly negotiate terms?!"
"Takumi! Throw her out! This King has no further use for her! Keeping her around will only drive up the price of grain in the city!"
Gilgamesh glared at Ishtar, pointing a furious finger at her while barking orders at Takumi.
"Hah?! As a Goddess, I don't even need to eat to survive, alright! And are you seriously planning to go back on your word right in front of a Goddess?! Someone like you is going to face divine retribution! You bastard Goldie!"
Ishtar's eyes went wide as she shouted back indignantly.
"Heh! For a mere prisoner, you certainly talk a big game. What are you waiting for?! Throw her out!"
Gilgamesh sneered coldly, once again issuing the command to Takumi.
"I'd like to see you try! If you dare throw me out, I will definitely draw circles behind your back and curse you!"
Ishtar immediately whipped her head toward Takumi, attempting to threaten him.
Haha... what an incredibly "intimidating" threat...
Watching this absolute farce unfold, Ana's eyes had completely glazed over. She chuckled dryly in her heart, genuinely feeling that Merlin fitting into this group wasn't unreasonable at all.
Standing quietly at the base of the throne, Siduri rubbed her temples, feeling profoundly exhausted. One was her King, the other was the Goddess she worshipped. Taking either side in this argument was completely inappropriate...
I choose neutrality!
Takumi held both hands up defensively and quietly backed away, stepping behind Ana.
"Hah! Hah!"
Seeing Takumi actively withdraw from the conflict, removing her only physical restraint, Ishtar instantly slapped her arrogant mask back on and shot Gilgamesh a provocative, triumphant glare.
This absolutely infuriated Gilgamesh. A visible anime-style 'popping vein' throbbed on his forehead.
***
In the end, it was Gilgamesh who yielded first, reluctantly agreeing to give Ishtar thirty percent of the treasure.
It couldn't be helped. Unlike Ishtar, who was a wild, carefree Goddess with no responsibilities, the future of the world and the safety of Uruk rested entirely on his shoulders. Where in the world did he have the free time to stand here bickering with Ishtar all day?
"Ohohohoho! A mere Goldie could never hope to outsmart this Goddess!"
Having successfully secured her fully deserved compensation, Ishtar strutted toward Takumi and Ana like a victorious rooster, laughing triumphantly.
Behind her sat Mr. Goldie, nursing a severe, rage-induced migraine.
"Impressive, impressive."
Having watched the show from the sidelines for quite a while, Takumi chuckled and offered a polite round of applause for Ishtar's victory.
"Hmph! Seeing as how sensible you are, I suppose I'll forgive your previous, massive disrespect toward a Goddess!"
Her vanity fully satisfied, Ishtar tilted her chin up proudly, summoned her Boat of Heaven, and sat down on it with exaggerated elegance.
"Thank... you?"
Just as Takumi was about to offer a token thanks, he saw Ishtar—currently sitting on Maanna—suddenly extend her foot and hover it right in front of his face.
"Then kneel before me and kiss the top of my foot! After all, I technically count as a Servant right now. And you're obviously a Master, right?"
Ishtar looked at Takumi with a playful, teasing smile, using her chin to point at the Command Spells on his chest.
"I'm perfectly fine with forging a contract, but I'll pass on that."
Takumi maintained an awkward yet polite smile on his face.
If it were Ereshkigal, I might actually be okay with it. But as for Ishtar...
"What?! What do you mean by that?! What do you mean 'If it were Ereshkigal, I'd be okay with it, but Ishtar is a no'!!"
Feeling profoundly insulted, the teasing smile instantly vanished from Ishtar's face, replaced by blazing, explosive fury.
"Who the heck is Ereshkigal?! I want to see exactly who in this world is worthy of making you say something like that right to my face!"
Ishtar furiously scanned the room, fully prepared to go beat up whoever Takumi named.
"The Goddess of the Underworld, Ereshkigal."
Takumi stated quietly.
"Hah! I thought it was... Wait, what?"
Ishtar sneered, just about to unleash a torrent of boastful claims, when her brain finally processed the name. She froze completely solid, looking utterly dumbfounded.
"Wait, wait, wait! Setting aside your ridiculous reasoning for a second—why did that name just come out of your mouth?! That gloomy shut-in wasn't summoned here!"
Ishtar held up a hand in a 'time-out' gesture. After taking a deep breath to steady herself, she glared at him with wide eyes.
"Actually, she was summoned quite a while ago. And she was summoned together with you."
Takumi said, glancing meaningfully at the floor beneath their feet.
"Hah? How is that even poss... Wait! The Three Goddess Alliance consists of three Goddesses. There's Gorgon, Quetzalcoatl, and a third deity who isn't me... Are you telling me Ereshkigal was actually summoned too?!"
Ishtar initially refused to believe it, but mid-sentence, a spark of realization hit her. She clutched her head in agony, throwing her face toward the ceiling and letting out a tragic wail.
Honestly, if she had just thought about it logically, she should have known. She represented the Heavens, and Ereshkigal represented the Underworld. Being summoned in this specific era, the probability of a chain-summoning occurring was astronomically high!
After finishing her dramatic wailing, Ishtar seemed to remember something else. She darted forward, grabbed Takumi by the collar, and flashed a dangerously sweet smile.
"Ta~ku~mi~, care to explain why exactly you think Ereshkigal is better than me?"
"Just to be clear! If we're talking purely about beauty, nine hundred and ninety-nine out of a thousand people would choose me!"
She wasn't going to argue about combat power right now, but when it came to looks and charm, she absolutely refused to lose!
Unfortunately for her, she was threatening the wrong person. Setting aside Takumi's overwhelming combat power, simply due to the presence of the [Heart of Fire], Takumi was fundamentally incapable of lying.
"Because... she's gentle, kind-hearted, incredibly cute, takes her responsibilities seriously, and she always gets adorably flustered..."
Takumi hesitated for a brief second. Just as Ishtar thought he was finally going to admit she was better, she was completely blindsided by him rattling off a massive list of Ereshkigal's positive traits.
"Wait! Wait a minute! What the heck are you talking about?! What part of that gloomy, depressing shut-in deserves that much praise?!"
Ishtar completely lost her mind. She violently shook Takumi by the collar, interrupting his passionate recitation.
"If that's what you actually think, why don't you just give her my title of 'The Incarnation of Beauty' while you're at it?! Are you completely blind?! I, the Goddess of Beauty and Fertility, am standing right here, yet you're showering a Goddess of Death and Rot with endless praise! Even if you're trying to get on her good side, isn't this going a bit too far?!"
Ishtar desperately tried to argue her case.
"But no matter what you say, it's just the truth. Where I come from, nine out of ten people would absolutely choose Eresh. Compared to her gentle and cute personality, while you—having possessed a certain someone—are decent enough, you definitely can't compare to her. Not to mention, you come across as a bit... clumsy and foolish..."
Takumi shrugged helplessly.
Ishtar, having possessed Rin Tohsaka, was dangerously close to becoming a pure comedy-relief Goddess on par with Aqua.
CRACK—!
"...Clumsy... and foolish...?"
As if struck by a bolt of divine lightning, Ishtar froze completely solid, her soul visibly leaving her body.
"Hahahahahahahaha! Didn't I tell you she was a useless, idiot Goddess?! It seems I am not the only one who shares this objective assessment! Hahahahahaha..."
Seeing Ishtar's utterly broken expression, Gilgamesh burst into roaring laughter, slapping the armrest of his throne. The lingering frustration from his earlier argument vanished completely.
"Hahaha... Siduri! Ensure that it is recorded in the royal annals: 'The King laughed so hard at the Goddess Inanna being thoroughly roasted that His abdominal muscles ached'!"
After laughing for a good while, Gilgamesh suddenly remembered something and turned his head to instruct Siduri.
"My King, I highly doubt the historical annals need to record such trivial, nonsensical matters. I implore you, please focus on official business."
Siduri had lost count of how many times she had felt this exact brand of profound exhaustion.
Being called out, Gilgamesh appropriately reigned in his amusement and spoke seriously:
"To resume our previous discussion. Currently, Uruk is not facing any immediate crisis that requires your combat prowess, Takumi. For now, simply follow Siduri to the living quarters arranged for you. If there is anything specific you wish to do within Uruk, just speak to Siduri."
In simple terms: You are currently on standby. If you need something, ask Siduri. If you don't need anything, still ask Siduri.
His instructions were perfectly clear. After formally establishing a Master-Servant contract with Ishtar—and watching the Goddess huff, "This place is no fun at all! I'm going back to my temple! I'll come back later!" before flying off—Takumi and Ana followed Siduri to their designated residence in Uruk.
***
"This is the place. It is admittedly quite rustic, but the space is quite generous. I hope the two of you can forgive the simplicity."
Siduri showed them inside, speaking with a slightly apologetic tone.
"It's perfectly fine. I don't have high standards for living quarters. Honestly, most of the time, just having a proper bed to sleep in is more than enough to make me happy."
Takumi poked his head inside to take a look and smiled warmly.
Seeing this, Ana naturally had no complaints either. Before Merlin found her in this Singularity, she had been wandering the wilderness like a feral child. Having an actual roof over her head was a luxury she wasn't about to critique.
"Phew, that is a relief. It is getting late, so please, feel free to rest immediately. I will bring some food over for you shortly."
Siduri let out a quiet sigh of relief and smiled.
Having witnessed Takumi casually pin down their Patron Goddess with one hand, and seeing him receive such an unprecedented level of courtesy and respect from their King, Siduri undeniably felt a certain amount of pressure dealing with him—even though Takumi didn't put on any airs whatsoever.
"Mhm. Thank you. We appreciate the hard work."
Takumi nodded politely.
Beside him, Ana mirrored his gesture.
Siduri then took her leave, and the two of them walked into the house together.
After casually picking their respective rooms, they began tidying up the place. However, likely because someone had already thoroughly cleaned it beforehand, there really wasn't much to do. After slightly rearranging the furniture, the two of them found themselves sitting in the living room with absolutely nothing to do, staring awkwardly at each other.
In this hyper-ancient era, there wasn't exactly much in the way of entertainment. Once the sun went down, if you weren't eating, partying, or... doing adult things, you basically just collapsed into bed and went to sleep.
"Since we don't have anything to do, I think I'm going to head back to where we were and keep repairing those fissures."
Incapable of just sitting around doing nothing, Takumi immediately stood up and stated his intentions.
"Huh? It's already completely dark outside. Are you seriously going back out there to fix that dirt right now?"
Hearing this, Ana looked up in genuine surprise.
"What else am I gonna do? There's still plenty of time before I actually need to sleep, and I'm pretty used to operating at night anyway."
Takumi shrugged, offering a nonchalant smile.
"...I'll go with you."
Ana hesitated for a moment. Feeling that leaving this guy to his own devices wasn't very reassuring, she spoke up.
"Uh, sure. That works."
Takumi scratched his head. While he didn't think doing manual labor in the dark was particularly interesting, since she offered, he wasn't about to stop her.
He drew the [Sword of the Heart] and sliced open a Spatial Rift.
"If we leave now, what happens if Siduri comes back with the food?"
Noticing a practical flaw in the plan, Ana asked.
"That's easy. I'll just set up an alarm Rune. As long as I'm still within this Singularity, I'll instantly know if it gets triggered."
Takumi casually flicked his wrist, slapping a glowing Rune onto the wall next to the front door.
If anyone entered the house, the Rune would immediately send him a mental ping.
***
With that minor concern addressed, the two of them returned to the desolate wasteland they had been in earlier—a landscape where the only notable features were the massive, jagged fissures in the earth and the distant silhouette of the Absolute Demonic Front.
Doing this kind of repetitive, monotonous work that purely relied on grinding time and stamina wasn't exactly much more fun than sitting in an empty room staring at a wall. Furthermore, with Merlin—the designated mood-maker—gone, Takumi and Ana, who were both naturally quiet people, were left alone. They could go half an hour without speaking a single word to each other.
However, Takumi was completely used to this kind of atmosphere. Capable of multi-tasking effortlessly, he was perfectly accustomed to working mechanically while letting his mind wander to other things.
Case in point: right now, as Takumi mechanically applied Runes to seal the earth, his gaze was completely unfocused, staring blankly into the distance.
At the end of the day, the fact that I let that bastard Kingu escape is entirely my own fault...
Takumi thought silently.
After all, enemies weren't going to hold back out of pity. If you could beat them, you beat them. If you could catch them, you caught them. The enemy would use absolutely every dirty trick in the book to survive and win. If he wanted to avoid eating dirt and guarantee absolute victory in every encounter, he just had to be overwhelmingly stronger.
Blame it on my poor physical condition? Assume that if I was fully rested, I definitely would have hacked him to pieces before he could run?
No. That was absolutely the wrong mindset to have. Instead, he should be thinking...
—This sword still isn't sharp enough, and my speed still isn't fast enough!
Takumi shifted his inner gaze toward the [Sword of the Heart], which was still being constantly forged and tempered within the Heart of Fire. The light in his eyes flickered intensely.