It was far more than merely surviving.
Rovi could clearly feel that he had grown stronger.
Though this strength had not come from himself, but from an external source—yes, the key Gilgamesh had given him, granting access to the Treasury of Babylon!
The Treasury of Babylon contained the endless Noble Phantasms collected by Gilgamesh.
Among them were countless tools that could automatically enhance their user's abilities.
Becoming stronger would undoubtedly be a good thing for anyone else.
But it was precisely what Rovi neither needed nor wanted, because it would undoubtedly hinder his actions.
Rovi turned his head toward the dazzling golden figure seated upon the throne atop the steps.
Just as his gaze met Gilgamesh's blood-red eyes, the other man grinned. "No need to thank me. I have no desire to hear that filthy barking of yours again, like some stray dog's howl!"
"Of course, as a magnanimous king, after seeing your clownish performance earlier, I had intended to casually bestow a single treasure upon you." Gilgamesh clapped his hands.
"But now, you have put on an even more entertaining performance for me—such a show deserves a greater reward. I shall lend you the right to use this treasury. Be grateful!"
As always, every word he spoke came with praise for himself and contempt for others. Rovi knew there was no way to refuse.
So he merely shook his head and said, "Idiot."
He still hoped to provoke him.
Yet for some reason, Gilgamesh not only failed to get angry, but looked even more intrigued. When it came to someone who shared his interests, he did not mind tolerating any amount of rudeness.
"..." Watching this, Siduri suddenly wanted to confirm whether the king had been replaced by someone else.
"Ahhh, you two—how dare you ignore me!"
At last, Ishtar snapped out of the brief daze caused by her failed attack.
The fit goddess, with her loose black hair and exposed figure, glanced at Gilgamesh on the steps before fixing her red eyes tightly on Rovi.
There was no way she could have failed to see that Gilgamesh had helped Rovi in that instant, granting him powerful Noble Phantasms.
But at that moment, she suddenly did not care what happened to Gilgamesh.
Because Rovi's offense had made this goddess—who had never encountered any obstacle besides her setbacks with Gilgamesh—feel an even more intense, unprecedented humiliation!
Yet after her failed assault, she instead became calmer.
She suddenly felt that if she simply killed Rovi now, it might amount to admitting defeat.
It would be indirectly admitting that she, a goddess of beauty, did not understand beauty and was ugly.
Even if she was in a Possession State.
In her eyes, this body was not bad at all.
That was why this humiliation was absolutely unacceptable to Ishtar.
She took a deep breath. Her slightly heaving chest rippled beneath the fabric, and the goddess suddenly smiled. "Rovi, was it? I will remember you."
"You are the first person I have ever met who dared to say I am ugly and that I do not understand beauty."
Within the grand and spacious palace temple, dust that had yet to settle drifted through the light cast by the openwork windows and terrace. Standing amid pillar-like streams of gathered radiance, the goddess brushed back her long hair and looked at the still-opening gates of the Treasury of Babylon around Rovi.
She smiled, making her crimson lips appear even redder.
"But next, I shall show you what the beauty of a goddess truly is!"
"You just wait for me... bastard!"
Wait, hadn't she come here for Gilgamesh?
Why was she only talking about me?
Rovi suddenly felt that he had made things worse.
How could he not see it? Perhaps she felt that the humiliation he had given her was far stronger than what Gilgamesh had caused by merely rejecting her "pursuit."
So Ishtar had naturally fallen for someone else!
Rovi wanted to say something.
But Ishtar clearly had no intention of giving him time to react and vanished from the spot.
Then a burst of laughter came from atop the throne. "Hm hahahahaha! I have to admit, you truly have talent as a clown!"
"You have made me laugh myself sick!"
"Then your standards for humor are as low as an insect's." Rovi turned around, his dead-fish eyes drooping as he replied without the slightest politeness.
Siduri instinctively flinched. Though the earlier scene had prepared her somewhat, she still did not know what had happened inside the temple and was not used to Rovi's way of doing things.
What surprised her even more was...
"Hmph, even if I were an insect, I would be a dazzling golden insect, one capable of becoming the blazing sun overhead, whose brilliance even the sky could not contain!"
You actually admitted it... Siduri resisted the urge to cover her face.
"You are still an insect." Rovi stepped onto the stairs. "A filthy little bug."
"If I am a filthy bug, then what are you? A ball of dung?"
"If I am a ball of dung, then you are a maggot inside it..."
"..."
Watching the two of them suddenly start bickering for no apparent reason, Siduri fell silent for a moment before abruptly laughing.
"What is it?" Rovi and Gilgamesh stopped arguing at the same time and looked over.
Faced with the king's question, Siduri naturally could not tell the truth.
She simply felt that Gilgamesh and Rovi... were like friends teasing each other.
That had never happened before.
The lofty king had found a companion. It was a sight of him no longer being alone.
"Hmph, you also think this fellow is ridiculous, don't you?" Gilgamesh suddenly realized.
"The ridiculous one is you, Golden Pikachū." Rovi retorted.
"Golden Pikachū?" The young King of Uruk did not understand what it meant.
"It means you are always showing off in that glittering golden way." Rovi snorted.
"Glittering gold? That is a fine title. It suits the great me perfectly!" Gilgamesh understood, though not entirely.
But Rovi had no interest in continuing the argument.
He walked over and sat on the steps beside the throne.
Too much had happened that day, one twist after another, leaving him exhausted.
Next, he needed to find a new plan... The string of "failures" had made Rovi unable to stop wondering whether he had chosen the wrong direction and needed to change his approach.
Yet when Rovi sat down, neither Gilgamesh nor Siduri took issue with it.
It had to be said that aside from his rather bad temper, Rovi's conduct perfectly fit the standard of a "loyal minister."
Especially the way he had put himself in harm's way to block Ishtar's attack—it truly showed the spirit of one who led the charge for his king, loyal and courageous beyond praise.
With such a virtue, everything else could be forgiven...
Why is Gilgamesh still not angry after I have been this rude?
Unaware of the reason, Rovi sank into thought. Even banishing me to the frontier would be fine...
"King," Siduri said from nearby. "There is something I need to report to you."
Gilgamesh waved a hand.
"Speak," he said.
The king's gaze returned to its usual cold detachment.
Siduri nodded. "It concerns the forest to the west, the one overrun by demonic beasts..."
"Has there been another disturbance there?" Gilgamesh glanced at her.
"Yes." The young female aide nodded again. "The rampage of the demonic beasts has caused immense trouble for the people along Uruk's borders."
"My suggestion is to send a powerful warrior there and completely seal off the entrances and exits of that forest, but..."
"But in Uruk, only the great me possesses such strength, correct?"
Gilgamesh smiled disdainfully. "Hmph, what a pack of... what a pack of useless fools!"
Siduri remained silent, but her meaning was already clear. She also knew... the king would not reject her suggestion.
Before you continue