For Ziusudra, the hermit of the Netherworld who had survived the Great Flood, the world-ending catastrophe of the last age, and gained immortality, meeting the one without destiny—meeting Rovi—was an extremely important matter.
It was not because Rovi had opened a rift in the Netherworld, allowing him to walk out.
It was because he knew that a disaster like the world-ending flood of old was about to sweep across this land once more.
And Rovi would be one of the most crucial figures in it.
He had every reason to seek him out.
One who had experienced ruin did not wish to see again the sight of barren earth and severed civilization after the floodwaters receded.
And so, time passed.
For Rovi, the days that followed instead became peaceful.
After all, in that room, Gilgamesh, having finally gotten serious, had settled on a plan to delay the gods' "punishment."
Gilgamesh had the priests of the temples pray to the heavens, declaring that he was considering the gods' demands.
No matter what, Gilgamesh was the Keystone of Heaven personally cultivated by the gods. Unless absolutely necessary, the gods did not wish to lose such a useful pawn.
Thus, they still held onto a sliver of hope.
And out of confidence—they were not afraid of Rovi and the others trying anything—they naturally slowed their pace and waited for Gilgamesh's "response."
Nothing unexpected happened in the process, and these days remained calm and uneventful.
Rovi rarely got to enjoy such peace.
Though his ultimate goal had nothing to do with a peaceful life, relaxing once in a while was still necessary.
Besides, Rovi felt he needed to use this free time to study the deeper applications of the Key of Heaven he possessed, so he would not get screwed over next time—
During this time, he had indeed mastered some of the Key of Heaven's abilities.
He had even managed, to a certain extent, to affect the blessings bestowed upon him.
He still could not switch them fully on or off, but he could weaken their effects.
He turned "immortality" into conditional "immortality."
During the same period, he had also taken the time to return to the Pantheon and visit the old men. With Uruk and the gods on the verge of formally splitting, the priests' situation was undoubtedly awkward.
Rovi could see their awkwardness, even their hesitation.
Although they had agreed to report to the gods as Gilgamesh instructed and buy time, they had yet to decide whether they should abandon the faith they had held all their lives and break with the gods.
Such a question was difficult.
Rovi said nothing more. He had always respected their choices.
Whether they became enemies or allies afterward, the priests had at least taken good care of him once.
It was only a very minor interlude.
For the rest, the road was smooth.
The only problem was probably a certain goddess who kept coming over to "harass" him...
In a courtyard near Uruk's royal palace, the warm sun had just risen, bathing the earth in clear light as lush greenery covered the corners of the walls.
Rovi picked up the clay bowl on the table, took a sip of the full-bodied beer, then lifted his eyes and immediately caught sight of the person across from him greedily eyeing the contents of his bowl.
Her bare arms, exposed beneath the sunlight, remained fair and translucent, while her graceful body was hidden beneath a crimson coat.
Above that, long black hair tied into two tails hung down, framing a delicate face and a pair of crimson eyes fixed hungrily on him.
Ishtar Rin had been like this every day these past few days.
She appeared at his residence first thing in the morning.
And stared intently at him...
Unfortunately, it was Ishtar who came.
Ereshkigal, on the other hand, had not shown herself at all these past few days.
"Cough, cough, Rovi, what do you want to eat today?" Enkidu approached with light steps, her verdant hair cascading down around her as a thoughtful look crossed her lovely face. "They say the closer something is to a god, the more delicious it tastes. How about..."
She glanced at Ishtar.
Ishtar immediately shuddered and withdrew her gaze from Rovi.
Enkidu smiled without speaking.
This had become part of their daily routine as well—Ishtar, as a goddess's vessel, was very afraid of Enkidu.
After all, the Lock of Heaven had been created to bind "Heaven."
And "Heaven" meant gods.
Naturally, Ishtar had no way to deal with her, nor did she want to anger Enkidu... though because of certain strange traits brought by her vessel, that was difficult to avoid.
After all...
"Delicious—" Ishtar began wolfing down the food Enkidu had brought to the table. After filling her stomach, she let out a satisfied sound. "This is great. Even a Divine Construct is such a good cook!"
Over the past few days, since what Rovi made was far too plain and barely enough even to fill one's stomach, Enkidu had taken over all the cooking here.
The Divine Construct possessed exceptional practical ability, so such matters were effortless for her.
But then the Venus Goddess sighed again. "Mm... You have a Divine Construct taking care of you, yet you still covet the Goddess of the Underworld... You really are greedy... Say, is this Divine Construct male or female? Constructs shouldn't have genders, right? Then how do you... uh..."
The Venus Goddess was rather loose-lipped, but by the end, her voice had grown softer and softer.
Because a shadow covered her from behind. Enkidu stood behind her, smiling sweetly and "movingly"...
I'm done for.
Ishtar's expression stiffened.
"Waaah... Let me down!" A moment later, the beams inside the house creaked under the strain amid her frightened cries.
Rovi glanced at the goddess hanging from the Lock of Heaven and rubbed his forehead.
When it came to courting death, this girl was far more talented than he was.
Rovi fell into deep thought.
"Rovi, what are you thinking about?" Enkidu's clear voice rang beside his ear. Rovi came back to himself and happened to see Little En's face close to his, her emerald eyes bright and her moist lips glimmering faintly. "Want me to let that one down?"
"Mm..." Rovi glanced at Ishtar, who was still struggling desperately over there.
Ishtar looked back at him, her face full of pleading.
Let me down—
Rovi saw the plea in the goddess's eyes and was just about to respond.
Bang.
Still smiling, Enkidu shut the door, completely sealing Ishtar's figure and voice inside.
She had no intention of waiting for Rovi's reply.
Ishtar: "..."
Rovi: "..."
"Hahaha, what a lively sound!" At that moment, an extremely recognizable voice sounded from outside. "Did you learn of this king's arrival and prepare a welcome ceremony in advance?"
Under Enkidu's smiling gaze, Rovi calmly took another sip of beer and stopped looking at Ishtar.
He looked at Gilgamesh as he strode in, with Miss Siduri, his aide, following behind him. "It would be one thing for Golden Pikachū to come, but even Miss Siduri, who is busy every day, is here... It seems there is something to discuss?"
"It is merely a group of insignificant vermin daring to challenge this king's authority..." Gilgamesh sat down opposite Rovi without a care, crossing his arms over his chest. "This king will soon make those mongrels understand that, under heaven and earth, there is only one person qualified to bark at this king who commands all creation!"
"That gave me goosebumps!" Rovi rolled his eyes.
Still, he roughly knew what Gilgamesh was referring to.
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