Are You Her Lover?

She had just made a sarcastic remark, but in the next moment...

Swish!

The sound of something cutting through the air suddenly echoed in her ears, and Ishtar's eyes widened.

"How... is this possible?"

She said incredulously.

Because at that very moment, in the blink of an eye, Astraea had instantly moved from her original position to the spot in front of her, and leaped up to reach the same height as her.

"I forgot to tell you, I'm not Saber, my class is -- Berserker!"

The moment the words left her lips, Astraea's righteous fist landed squarely on Ishtar's face. Caught completely off guard, Ishtar was sent flying backward like a cannonball by the terrifying force, unable to comprehend what had happened until the very last moment.

What exactly is this 'b' value?!

How can it be as outrageous as Quetzalcoatl's fist!?

On the other side, Rovey looked at the large human-shaped hole left by Ishtar in the wall above his head, and then glanced at the battle that started strong but ended weakly. Although he was speechless, upon closer inspection, it made perfect sense.

After all, that's Ishtar, plus Rin Tohsaka's mobile suit.

The combination of their tendency to "crash and burn" makes this outcome perfectly logical.

Her defeat was even more abstract than that of Gilgamesh, who had Gilgamesh elbow chopped off by Emiya Shirou. Ishtar was instantly killed before she could even react, a complete disaster.

Ishtar was even grateful that her opponent was Astraea; otherwise, if that punch had truly been meant to take her life, it would have been aimed at her chest.

"Tsk tsk... this is quite a show."

Rovey glanced in the direction Ishtar had flown off in, sighed to himself, and then gave Luvia and Astraea a thumbs up.

Immediately afterward, she got up and left, intending to retrieve Rin Tohsaka's body first. Ishtar must have been knocked unconscious by that attack.

The person currently in charge, besides Ereshkigal, must be Rin Tohsaka herself.

Sitting to the side, Rovey could easily imagine how chaotic it would be for Rin Tohsaka to open her eyes and find herself with multiple fractures all over her body. So he needed to deal with things there to prevent Rin Tohsaka from falling into some remote place and getting into trouble.

"Are they leaving already...?"

Seeing Rovey leave to find Rin Tohsaka, Luvia, who had just defeated Ishtar and Rin Tohsaka, was somewhat displeased.

"Yes, they've left. But Master, didn't you have something you wanted to say to that person?"

Astraea's voice emerged.

"Well, I originally wanted to take this opportunity to ask about becoming an apprentice, but it got postponed again because of Rin Tohsaka. I really hate her."

Luvia said, extremely annoyed. She had clearly won, but even Rin Tohsaka lost, she still made everyone worry about her, causing Rovey to leave in a hurry and interrupting her plans. This made Luvia even more unhappy.

However, although she was unhappy, she wouldn't complain about anything.

Thinking this, she suddenly looked up at the huge hole in the ceiling, and then, as if she had thought of something, pulled out a bill and easily and cheerfully wrote down a series of huge amounts on it, before a relaxed and happy smile appeared on her face.

"After..."

Thinking of Rin Tohsaka's reaction to the bill, Luvia's lips curled into a slight smile. "Let's just hand this bill to the Tohsaka Family. Since it was Ishtar who caused the damage, let her, as the Master, pay for it."

--

It was probably in the evening.

Rin Tohsaka groggily opened her eyes.

"Ah... it's that familiar ceiling."

"Yes, you should definitely get familiar with it, after all, this is your home."

The sudden sound interrupted her musings. Just as Rin Tohsaka was about to sit up and turn her head to look, she heard a series of crisp cracking sounds coming from her bones. The ensuing sharp pain jolted her mind awake, and she even screamed.

"It hurts so much! My body! What's going on?!"

"Well, after all, Ishtar was sent flying several kilometers by a single punch, and... it was your body that was used."

"So, this was clearly Ishtar's fault, why should I share the blame?! And can't you do something? Is this how you plan to help me control Ishtar, beating me half to death like this?"

Even if you say that...

Rovey sat on the sofa and continued looking at Rin Tohsaka, saying with some helplessness, "I didn't expect her to actually piss Astraea off, and even barge into someone else's workshop and temple, dancing on their turf. It's not hard to understand why she would provoke someone like this, is it? And regarding the issue of help, judging from the outcome, Ishtar successfully returned your body, didn't she? This should be considered a happy ending, right? Truly a cause for celebration, a cause for celebration indeed!"

"That's true, but, but..."

Rin Tohsaka struggled to raise her arm. "Why do I feel like my body isn't obeying my commands?!"

"That's normal, relax. Feeling dizzy is normal, after all, you took a punch like that..."

"For an ordinary Servant, this punch would have sent them straight back to the Throne of Heroes, but Ishtar and your body actually caught it. Well done, Rin Tohsaka."

Rovey praised her, but his words had a different meaning to Rin Tohsaka at that moment. Thinking of this, Rin Tohsaka felt a headache coming on.

So...

"Why should I bear the blame when it was Ishtar who caused all this trouble! She stormed into the temple of the Goddess of Justice, provoked her, and got a beating, yet I'm the one who's seriously injured! It wasn't my fault at all!"

"There's nothing we can do; you're all of one mind."

Rovey shrugged. "As Master, if you can't manage your Servant, you should bear the consequences after this happened."

"But..."

"There's no 'but' about it."

Rin Tohsaka was about to say something more, but was interrupted by Rovey.

"You'll not only face the consequences, but also a terrifying bill..."

Rovey took out the bill that Luvia asked him to pass on to Rin Tohsaka and said quietly.

"Hey! What's this?!"

The next moment, Rin Tohsaka was so shocked by the densely packed numbers on the bill that she fainted.

"It's a bill, and it was personally assessed and issued by the Goddess of Justice. It's a real bill, the kind that can't be disobeyed."

"If you disobey, you will truly be judged."

Rovey added a sentence as well.

These words completely broke Rin Tohsaka's composure.

She stared wide-eyed, then loudly called for the other guy inside her to come out.

"Hey, Ishtar! I can't take this anymore! Come out here and explain yourself!!"

However, no matter how she called out, Ishtar's soul remained lifeless.

The voice that answered her was Ereshkigal's.

"Ishtar fell asleep after being beaten up and is currently shielded from outside interference."

At that moment, Rin Tohsaka realized that he had actually blocked her.

"You bastard! Just how far do you want to go before you're satisfied?! You actually blocked me!"

Then Ereshkigal's spirit reappeared.

She glanced at Rin Tohsaka, then examined her body and sighed, "That's terrible... Such severe injuries must be very painful. No wonder Ishtar didn't want to come out."

"Forget it, I won't use your body tonight, otherwise I'll just end up getting hurt."

Rin Tohsaka: "???"

Rin Tohsaka, having understood the reason, was completely bewildered. She knew that Ishtar was treating her like she was not human at all.

In that instant, Rin Tohsaka could no longer hold back.

She raised her hand, intending to use Command Seal to summon Ishtar, to wake her up and give herself an explanation, but another voice interrupted her.

"I advise you not to do that. Wouldn't it be better to let her continue sleeping? At least one problem is solved, right?"

Merry came in carrying a plate of pastries.

She first sat on Rovey's lap without any hesitation, then picked up a flower cake and affectionately fed it to him. Because there were many computer parts in it, Rovey immediately spat it out.

Seeing this, Ereshkigal blushed with embarrassment.

"That's so indecent!"

Seeing this, Merry smiled slightly and greeted Ereshkigal, "It's been a long time, Goddess of the Underworld."

"Stop reminiscing! Tell me what's going on! Are you planning something that's being kept from me?"

"Yes, there was. And it went quite smoothly, which is why I told you not to wake Ishtar."

Merry put her arm around Rovey's neck and gave Rin Tohsaka a mysterious smile, "Now, she won't bother you for a while, so you're free to do whatever you want during this time~"

"You mean you won't bother me anymore...?"

Rin Tohsaka's eyes widened suddenly, while Merry smiled and nodded.

Yes, that's exactly what you think.

"Could it be that you were planning this from the very beginning?!"

Rin Tohsaka guessed the truth.

"Knowing Ishtar's recklessness and arrogance, we threw her near Astraea's temple. Given her personality, when she sees someone daring to build a temple near her, she will definitely see it as a provocation and become enraged. And what Ishtar will do in her rage is easy to predict, right? She won't retreat because she feels threatened; she will just rush straight into the temple and start a war."

"And in the Temple of Victory, Ishtar was no match for Astraea, and similarly, she was destined for judgment. Therefore, it was only natural that Ishtar was given a beating by her assistant."

Rin Tohsaka lowered her head, muttering to herself as she speculated about what had happened.

"Given Ishtar's personality, the fact that Ereshkigal and Rovey witnessed her being brutally beaten by Astraea would be a disgrace to her, given her pride. That's why she'd rather run away than return to your body, because those are the marks left by punishment."

Merry smiled and added, "So you don't need to worry about Ishtar during this time. Just work well with Ereshkigal. I can also use this time to make the tools to solve the problem."

"Dealing with a goddess is difficult, especially without harming her. The only thing you can do is set a trap for her. But luckily, although Ishtar has the power of a goddess, she lacks the wisdom that a goddess should possess. That's why... we were able to succeed so easily."

Rovey and Ereshkigal exchanged a glance, then smiled at each other.

"I witnessed Ishtar's humiliating moment, while Ereshkigal went to question Ishtar about it. Having suffered such disgrace, Ishtar would definitely choose to hide herself to avoid further trouble, which is what's happening now. Rin Tohsaka, what do you think of this plan?"

"You guys..."

Listening to the three people's stories.

Rin Tohsaka suddenly felt a chill run through her body.

Because their trap was truly terrifying.

Because of Ishtar, she developed a misunderstanding about goddesses and heroes, which she didn't really understand.

Hearing their plan now, Rin Tohsaka realized that she and Ishtar had always been part of their scheme.

If they want to scheme against me...

Does that mean she doesn't even know how she was plotted against and killed?!

"Alright, rejoice, Rin Tohsaka! Your Holy Grail War has begun, and as promised, I've resolved your problem."

Rovey stood up, clapped lightly, and said, "Now it's up to you. It will still be difficult, but live for today, why not have a smile?"

"Huh... huh? How can I laugh in this situation..."

Rin Tohsaka looked at Rovey and Merry in front of her and felt a chill run down her spine.

This feeling is different from Ishtar's violence; it's a completely different kind of feeling, a feeling that is...

It's the feeling of being led by the nose, yet completely powerless to do anything about it.

She suddenly wondered if she was also part of their plan.

Looking up, she was met with the same Issei smiles from the two of them.

"What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing..."

Chapter 377 Are you her lover?

"Oh, oh, oh, your body is developing well, Rin."

"???"

"Those thighs, those arms, so strong and powerful! They really are strong and powerful!"

"???"