The Day We Walked With Gods

Ereshkigal took a deep breath before speaking, a considerable amount of courage fueling her words.

For her, this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—because she was appearing in a form close to her true self.

Ereshkigal was bound to the Underworld and could not leave. As the Mistress of the Underworld, if she were to depart, it would not only cause widespread death in the mortal realm but also create immense distortions within the Underworld itself.

But now, she could.

Albeit temporarily.

During this time, Ereshkigal could indeed act freely here!

An inexplicable impulse surged within her.

An inexplicable 'confidence' finally transformed into tangible action at this moment!

Though her face was unseen, the Goddess's words could still be heard by everyone, and they held their breath.

Rovi looked at Ereshkigal, who was holding his hand.

She stared at him, her face flushed and her heart pounding rapidly, but her words, from the very beginning, were not a question.

They were... a demand.

A deity's demand of a believer.

"You're quite forceful..." he remarked.

"Sh-shut up, this is a Goddess's blessing, so just... mmph..." While such arrogant words were common for other deities, they sounded somewhat endearingly naive coming from Ereshkigal.

Never mind.

Rovi glanced at the Bull of Heaven in the distance, now just a wisp of vapor after being dispersed.

It would likely take some time before it could reform to its previous scale.

He decided to treat this as a moment to relax.

Rovi wanted to die.

He also believed he would die eventually.

The grand plan was already set—

Seize every opportunity, but there was no need to rush to fruition.

He thought, nodded, and did not refuse.

In reality, Ereshkigal herself didn't quite grasp the concept of a "date."

Perhaps it was akin to friends taking a walk together?

Hmm... a little more intimate than just friends.

The Goddess mused.

Bidding farewell to the others, they walked east towards the Euphrates River.

The air that greeted them regained its former humidity, and the river once again flowed with vigor, pouring out as if a waterskin had burst open.

"It's so beautiful..." Ereshkigal stopped by the riverbank, gazing at the scene before her, lost in thought.

The tips of the Goddess's golden, radiant hair swayed, mingling with her crimson robes as they billowed in the wind.

The flowing scene before her was something the eternally silent Underworld lacked.

Naturally, it was also Ereshkigal's first time seeing it.

Rovi, still holding her hand, averted his gaze and looked at Ereshkigal's profile. "It truly is beautiful."

"Rovi, you think so too?" Hearing Rovi's words, Ereshkigal instinctively looked over, assuming that Rovi, who had lived on the surface his entire life, would be accustomed to such sights.

But as she looked at Rovi, she realized he wasn't looking at the flowing river at all.

He was looking at her.

And speaking about her.

His gaze was direct, his meaning unhidden.

The Mistress of the Underworld's face instantly turned redder.

"You, what were you just saying..." she opened her mouth and said dryly.

She wasn't sure how to respond.

Should she reply with "You too"? It felt so shy...

Rovi chuckled—fortunately, this time, it wasn't Gilgamesh's boisterous laugh.

He had almost ruined the atmosphere he had painstakingly built.

He'd definitely give that Golden Flash a good scolding when they got back... Rovi righteously shifted the blame to someone far away in the royal city.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He could only say that being with Ereshkigal felt genuinely relaxing.

It was different from the inexplicable joy of provoking Gilgamesh, and different from the natural comfort he felt with Enkidu.

This was a sense of peace and relaxation for the mind.

It wasn't just Rovi who felt this way.

Ereshkigal did too.

"This is truly incredible... Rovi," Ereshkigal sighed, running a hand through her golden hair. A bright smile bloomed on her delicate face.

She looked ahead and murmured softly, "Everyone fears me so much, everyone wishes they could stay far away from me, yet you are the first person who desperately wanted to get closer to me..."

Unafraid of death.

Even, craving proximity to death.

This was the initial reason Ereshkigal was drawn to Rovi.

'Can I say that I genuinely want to die?' Rovi's lips moved slightly.

It wasn't a matter of fear.

It was a matter of intense desire.

Without waiting for Rovi's response, Ereshkigal took his hand and walked forward.

They had no direction, simply following the sound of the wind.

"Rovi, do you think... we're friends?" Her voice, like a soft chant, reached Rovi's ears.

He looked at the girl facing away from him.

Her rosy earlobes.

Although Ereshkigal had already found her own answer during their first meeting, she still yearned for true confirmation.

Even as she asked, her heart was filled with apprehension.

"Of course..." Rovi replied, "We're not."

"Eh!?" Ereshkigal blinked in surprise and abruptly turned her head. Then, she instantly understood. "Hmph... I am the Goddess who controls the Underworld!"

She put on a fierce expression. "You say we're not, so we're not?"

"Some things can't be forced," Rovi said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"But I insist!" The Mistress of the Underworld blushed slightly. "However... hmm, don't misunderstand, I don't really want to be friends with you!"

"This is purely a matter of a Goddess's dignity!"

Her clasped hand tightened its grip.

The anxiety in her heart finally settled.

She knew Rovi was deliberately saying the opposite.

Rovi also knew that if he had responded directly, given Ereshkigal's personality, she might have become so shy she wouldn't know what to say.

But by deliberately saying the opposite, it would instead spark her tsundere nature.

Making the atmosphere more relaxed.

"Then, finally..." Ereshkigal brushed a strand of golden hair from her face and looked directly at Rovi.

In a final moment of closeness, their lips met. The alluring Mistress of the Underworld instantly pulled herself into Rovi's embrace, her upturned face close to his ear.

Her fair legs pressed against his thighs, and her warm breath landed on his slender waist. Her hips swayed gently, a ripple of movement.

The beautiful Goddess leaned close to his ear and whispered, "We'll... see each other again next time... Rovi-senpai!"

Rovi collected himself and looked at the suddenly empty space in his arms, the lingering scent carried on the wind.

Ereshkigal had left.

Because her time was up.

Even though she could reach the mortal realm using the Key of Heaven, there were still limits.

Her time was up, and the Goddess had to leave.

But in the end... Rovi looked up at the area around the Bull of Heaven, where only a wisp remained, at the black 'cloud masses' that rose like pillars.

Before she left, she had shaped the wind of the Underworld into the form of a cage, trapping the Bull of Heaven that had caused Rovi's 'death'.

Slowing its formation speed.

In the end, she had 'helped' Rovi.

Or perhaps, the Goddess was retaliating for him being harmed, and also making it clear that she would always stand with him, no matter what he faced—even if it meant opposing all the gods, she would not hesitate in the slightest.

Rovi didn't know whether he should be happy or exasperated.

Speaking of which...

"Was I just in the Underworld?"

Half in the Underworld Realm, half in the mortal realm.

But the Underworld Realm and the mortal realm had different flows of time.

Mere moments passed within.

And in the mortal realm—

"Has a full seven days truly passed!?"

Rovi looked up, gazing at the sky.

Watching the sun rise and set.

He reached this conclusion in an instant.