Venus Goddess Falls for Another?

Not only was he not dead.

Rovi could clearly feel that he had grown stronger.

Though this strength did not come from within himself, but from an external source—precisely, the key of permission to open the 'Treasury of Babylon' granted by Gilgamesh!

The Treasury of Babylon contained the endless treasures Gilgamesh had collected.

Among them were countless items that spontaneously enhanced one's own abilities.

For anyone else, becoming stronger would surely be a good thing.

But this was exactly what Rovi did not need, nor want, because it would undoubtedly hinder his actions.

Rovi turned his head, looking toward the golden-haired figure seated on the throne atop the steps.

Just as his gaze met Gilgamesh's vermilion, blood-like eyes, the other grinned and said, "Spare me your words of gratitude; this king has no desire to hear your howling again, like a filthy wild dog!"

"Of course, this king is a magnanimous ruler. Seeing your earlier performance, like a clown's act, I thought to casually bestow a single treasure upon you." Gilgamesh clapped his hands.

"But now, you have performed an even more amusing show for this king—such a performance deserves a greater reward. So I lend you the right to use this treasury; be grateful!"

As before, his speech was laced with self-praise and belittlement of others. Rovi knew refusal was impossible.

So he merely shook his head and said, "Idiot."

Still hoping to provoke anger.

But for some reason, Gilgamesh was not only unangered but seemed intrigued. For those of 'like mind,' he did not mind tolerating all their discourtesies.

"..." Watching this, Siduri suddenly felt a strong urge to confirm whether the king had been swapped.

"Ahhh, you—how dare you ignore me!"

Finally, Ishtar, who had been briefly stunned by the failure of her attack, came to her senses.

With black hair flowing and her robust, scantily clad figure, the goddess looked at Gilgamesh on the steps, then fixed her red eyes tightly on Rovi.

She could not fail to see that, in that instant, Gilgamesh had aided Rovi, granting him a powerful treasure.

But at this moment, she suddenly no longer cared about Gilgamesh.

Because Rovi's offensive actions toward her had made this goddess—who had never faced any obstacle except defeat at Gilgamesh's hands—feel an unprecedented humiliation, far stronger than before!

Yet now, after her failed attack, she grew calmer.

She also suddenly felt that killing Rovi outright might be an indirect admission of defeat.

An indirect admission that she, the goddess of beauty, understood nothing of beauty and was indeed ugly.

Even in her Possession State.

This body, in her view, was not lacking.

So this was a humiliation Ishtar absolutely could not accept.

She took a deep breath, her slightly heaving chest rippling beneath the fabric, and the goddess suddenly smiled: "Rovi, is it? I'll remember you."

"You're the first person who dares to call me ugly, who says I don't understand beauty."

In the grand, spacious palace temple, the hollow window terrace reflected dust still floating in the air. The goddess, standing in a pillar of flowing light, tossed her hair and looked at the still-open gates of the Treasury of Babylon around Rovi.

She smiled, her vermilion lips growing even redder.

"But next, I will show you what a goddess's beauty truly is!"

"Just wait for it, you bastard!"

Wait, weren't you here to see Gilgamesh?

Why are you focusing on me?

Rovi suddenly felt he had overplayed his hand.

How could he not see it? Perhaps she felt the humiliation he brought her was stronger, even more intense than Gilgamesh's mere rejection of her 'pursuit.'

So Ishtar had naturally 'transferred her affections'!

Rovi wanted to say something.

But Ishtar clearly had no intention of giving him time to react, vanishing on the spot.

Immediately after, a burst of laughter came from the throne: "Hahahaha! I must admit, as a clown, you have real talent!"

"You've made this king laugh heartily!"

"Then your sense of humor is as low as a bug's," Rovi turned, his eyes dead-fish-like, speaking without restraint.

Siduri instinctively flinched. Though the earlier scene had set the stage, she still didn't know what had happened in the temple, nor was she used to Rovi's ways.

What surprised her even more was...

"Hmph, even if this king were a bug, I'd be a bug gleaming with gold, one that could transform into the blazing sun in the sky, a bug whose radiance even the heavens could not block!"

You actually admitted it... Siduri barely restrained the urge to cover her face.

"Still a bug," Rovi said as he stepped up the stairs. "A stinking bug."

"If this king is a stinking bug, then what are you? A dung ball?"

"If I'm a dung ball, then you're the maggot inside it..."

"..."

Watching the two of them bicker for no apparent reason, Siduri was silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a laugh.

"What's wrong?" Rovi and Gilgamesh both stopped talking at the same time and looked over.

Faced with the king's inquiry, Siduri naturally couldn't tell the truth.

She just felt that Gilgamesh and Rovi... were like friends squabbling with each other.

This had never happened before.

The once aloof king now had a companion, a scene where he was no longer alone.

"Hmph, you must think this guy is ridiculous too, right?" Gilgamesh said with a 'sudden realization.'

"The ridiculous one is you, Golden Pikachū," Rovi retorted.

"Golden Pikachū?" The young King of Uruk didn't understand the meaning.

"It means you're always strutting around all sparkly and flashy," Rovi snorted.

"Sparkly and flashy? That title is good—it suits the great me, the king!" Gilgamesh understood, but not entirely.

Still, Rovi had no interest in continuing their quarrel.

He walked over to the steps beside the throne and sat down.

Too many things had happened today, full of twists and turns, and he was already exhausted.

Next, he needed to find a new plan... The string of 'failures' before made Rovi couldn't help but ponder if he had been heading in the wrong direction, if he needed to adjust his approach.

Seeing Rovi sit down, neither Gilgamesh nor Siduri made an issue of it.

It had to be said, aside from his somewhat fiery temper, Rovi's performance perfectly met the standard of a 'loyal minister.'

Especially the way he threw himself in front of Ishtar, highlighting an aura of 'leading the charge for the king, loyal and brave.'

With such a merit in place, everything else could be forgiven...

'Why isn't Gilgamesh angry even though I've been so disrespectful?'

Unaware of this, Rovi sank into deep thought: 'Even if he exiled me to the border, that would be fine...'

"Your Majesty," Siduri spoke up from the side. "There is something I must report to you."

Gilgamesh waved his hand.

"Speak!" he said.

The king's eyes returned to their usual cold stillness.

Siduri nodded: "It concerns the forest to the west, densely packed with magical beasts..."

"Is there another riot there?" Gilgamesh glanced at her.

"Yes." The young female adjutant nodded again and said, "The riot of magical beasts has caused great distress to the subjects on Uruk's border."

"My suggestion is to send a powerful warrior to completely seal off the entrances and exits of that forest, but..."

"But Uruk only has the great me, the king, with the strength to do that, right?"

Gilgamesh gave a disdainful smile: "Hmph, a bunch of mongrels... a bunch of trash!"

Siduri remained silent, but her meaning was already clear, and she knew... the king would not refuse her opinion.