Ishtar: How Did I Become the Third Wheel?

Defeated again.

No need to think, just by looking at the situation before him, Rovi realized this in an instant.

The aura from the Underworld had completely dissipated, the lost life had all returned, and he no longer felt the stumbling, exhausted sensation of before, having regained his youth.

It was obvious that the Goddess of the Underworld had actively withdrawn the aura she had brought.

If Ereshkigal had realized Rovi's intentions, it would be natural for her to withdraw it, given the 'goodness' contained within her Divinity.

But what was this situation?

Rovi shifted his gaze from the street illuminated by the frosty moonlight ahead, all the way down to the figure in his arms.

Her dark golden crown tilted backward, golden hair spilling out from it, brushing against his jaw. He couldn't see her face, but he could clearly feel the soft, warm touch of the goddess pressing her face against his chest.

Ereshkigal, the Goddess of the Underworld—Eresh—was hugging him tightly.

He really wanted to pat her head and ask her... Sister, what are you doing?!

But he managed to hold back.

It would ruin the mood.

Rovi wasn't an idiot. Although it was a bit hard to understand, he knew that his inability to understand stemmed from not having experienced what Ereshkigal had.

But he understood the reason for her change in mood.

...His performance had been too much, again!

He rubbed his forehead.

However, with things as they were, Rovi never dwelled on the past.

He would just press on.

At that very moment, the gentle night breeze accompanied by soft murmurs allowed Rovi to hear a sound from within his embrace.

"Thank you..." she said, her head lowered, her voice quiet. "For letting me know that someone still remembers me, that someone... still yearns for a useless deity like me."

The burning sensation where her face was pressed against his chest attested to the goddess's anxious and shy heart.

Rovi was never a saint.

Although it wasn't his primary objective in interacting with the Goddess of the Underworld, if possible, Rovi wouldn't mind a beautiful story unfolding between them.

A bond with a deity, could not only serve as further proof of his own ascent to the Throne of Heroes.

It also served as proof of Rovi's humanity... As for Ereshkigal, such a kind and gentle goddess, he felt he had quite a good impression of her.

This was unexpected, but perhaps it was also a wonderful opportunity.

"You really are quite useless." The words that rang out reached Eresh, who was shyly looking down. She paused, instinctively raising her head.

Then she saw a young, handsome face and Rovi's smiling eyes.

"I said—what kind of god would refuse to respond to the pleas of those who admire them?" Rovi smiled.

"Wh-what, I was afraid you couldn't handle it... Yes, that's it!" Eresh opened her mouth, weakly defending herself.

But the more she spoke, the more she seemed to regain her confidence... or rather, she found a reason for herself. "I am the cruel Goddess of Death, the Embodiment of Death. What right does a mere human have to face the Embodiment of Death directly?"

Rovi stroked his chin, his expression full of curiosity. "Does the Embodiment of Death cry?"

"Eh? Eh—!?" Eresh instantly panicked. She instinctively took two steps back and quickly rubbed the corners of her eyes.

She found that there was nothing there.

"You scoundrel, how dare you trick me, you're despicable..." Eresh's face turned even redder.

The Goddess of the Underworld didn't have tears.

She had definitely been tricked by this guy—

If it had been Ishtar before, she probably would have started arguing with him right now.

Despite having the same appearance, she gave a completely different impression.

Rovi spread his hands. "I didn't lie. Look... didn't you just cry?"

On his palm, there was indeed a sparkling, crystalline drop, shimmering brightly in the dim light.

Eresh froze.

At first glance, it did indeed seem to be a tiny, sparkling tear.

However, when she took it from Rovi's hand, she realized... it was a very small key, sealed within ice-like crystals.

An object that could open the Gate of the Human World—

"No matter what happened before, from now on, you will possess the 'tears' of the human world," Rovi said.

Eresh was stunned, unsure how to respond.

Had he prepared this specifically for her?

The Goddess of the Underworld clutched it tightly in her palm and then nodded heavily. Seeing her accept it, Rovi felt relieved... This key was made using his 'Key of Heaven' ability.

It can open the doors of wherever it is located.

And it's two-way!

Ereshkigal could use it to try and leave the Underworld, and Rovi, while Ereshkigal is in the Underworld, could enter it—

Here's another way to seek death... Rovi thought he was quite clever.

"I received Rovi's gift," a faint blush reappeared on the goddess's face. She caressed the warm crystal in her palm, her crimson lips forming a beautiful curve. "I want to give Rovi a gift too."

"In the name of a goddess, I bless you from this moment on, so that you will no longer be eroded by death and the Underworld..."

"This is a Goddess's Blessing that I've never given before!"

Rovi: "..."

Then why would I go to the Underworld?

He was about to refuse when he noticed Ereshkigal, who had just moved away, suddenly approach again.

The girl with her golden hair spread out stood on her tiptoes slightly. As a fragrant breeze brushed past, her slender, jade-like fingers tapped his lips.

Then, her moist, crimson lips pressed down on his knuckles—

Rovi's eyes widened as he looked at the face so close to him. A charming blush showed through the goddess's fair skin.

The so-called immunity to the erosion of death was never an ordinary goddess's blessing.

It was the Underworld Goddess's most sincere prayer, a validation for the one the goddess loved...

Will you remember this moment?

Ereshkigal closed her eyes, asking herself silently.

This was a beauty she had never experienced since her birth.

But, she wouldn't.

She wouldn't remember this moment.

Because of the 'key' she held in her hand, because of him, she would remember every moment from now on.

Her lips, pressed close, curved upwards.

The Goddess of the Underworld smiled, like a flower that had never bloomed in the Underworld...

So, she's fallen...

Ishtar, lurking deep within the goddess's possessed body, sighed silently.

It wasn't that she couldn't understand—if she too had been imprisoned in darkness for tens of thousands of years, and suddenly someone was willing to be with her even at the risk of their life, Ishtar wouldn't have acted any better than Ereshkigal.

But thinking about it carefully...

Suddenly, I feel so bitter! Ishtar's teeth ached.

She felt her presence was completely out of place.

She was practically a giant third wheel—

Unfortunately, Rovi was unaware of Ishtar's thoughts, nor would he say "you've come at the perfect time" to her, who currently had no physical form.

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