The Day He Walked with a Goddess

When Ereshkigal spoke those words, she had gathered every ounce of her courage.

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

Ereshkigal could not leave the Underworld. If she, as the Mistress of the Underworld, left it, not only would massive deaths occur in the human world, but enormous deviations would arise within the Underworld itself.

But now, she could.

Though only temporarily.

Yet during this time, Ereshkigal truly could move about freely here!

An inexplicable impulse surged forth.

An inexplicable "confidence" finally turned into tangible action at this moment!

Though they could not see her face, everyone could hear the goddess's words, and they all held their breath.

Rovi looked at Ereshkigal, who was holding his hand.

She stared at him, her face bright red and her heart racing, but from the very beginning, what she said had not been a question.

It was... a demand.

A god's demand of a believer.

"You're really forceful..." he said.

"D-Don't talk back. This is a goddess's blessing, so you just... mm..." Words of lofty arrogance that would have been perfectly ordinary coming from other gods somehow sounded a little adorable when Ereshkigal said them.

Forget it.

Rovi looked toward the Bull of Heaven in the distance, which had been scattered apart and reduced to a single wisp of cloud.

It would likely be difficult for it to regain its previous scale anytime soon.

He would treat this as a chance to relax for now.

Rovi wanted to die.

He also believed that he would die sooner or later.

The grand plan had already been set—

He had to seize every opportunity, but there was no need to rush for success.

With that in mind, he nodded and did not refuse.

But in truth, Ereshkigal herself did not really understand the concept of a date.

Perhaps it was just like two friends taking a walk together?

Mm... only a little more intimate than friends.

The goddess thought so.

After bidding everyone farewell, they headed east, toward the Euphrates River.

The breeze blowing toward them regained its usual moisture, and the river once again surged forth, pouring out as though a water jar had been shattered.

"It really is beautiful..." Ereshkigal stopped at the riverbank and stared blankly at the sight before her.

The glittering tips of the goddess's golden hair swayed amid her fluttering red robe.

The flowing scene before her was something the eternally silent Underworld did not possess.

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

Still holding her hand, Rovi turned his gaze toward Ereshkigal's profile. "It really is beautiful."

"Rovi, you think so too?" Hearing him, Ereshkigal instinctively looked over. She had thought that, having lived on the surface all his life, Rovi would have long since grown accustomed to such a sight.

But when she looked at him, she realized that he was not looking at the flowing river before them at all.

What he was looking at was her.

And he was talking about her as well.

His gaze did not evade hers, nor did it conceal its meaning.

The Mistress of the Underworld's face instantly turned red again.

"Y-You, what were you just saying..." she said dryly, opening her mouth.

She did not quite know how to respond.

Should she say, "You too"? That felt so embarrassing...

Rovi smiled—fortunately, this time he did not let out a Gilgamesh-style laugh.

Otherwise, he would have ruined the atmosphere they had worked so hard to build.

When he got back, he would definitely give that Golden Flash a good scolding... Rovi shamelessly shifted the blame onto someone far away in the royal city.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

All he could say was that being with Ereshkigal truly felt rather relaxing.

It differed from the strange pleasure of trading provocations with Gilgamesh, and it was also unlike the natural ease he felt around Enkidu.

This was a tranquility and relaxation of the soul.

And it was not just Rovi.

Ereshkigal felt the same way.

"It really is incredible, Rovi..." Letting out a long breath, Ereshkigal brushed aside a lock of golden hair, a radiant smile blooming across her delicate face.

Looking ahead, she spoke in a quiet murmur, "Everyone fears me. Everyone wishes they could stay as far away from me as possible. But you were the first person who tried so desperately to get close to me..."

He did not fear death.

He even longed to approach it.

That was the original reason Ereshkigal had been drawn to Rovi.

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

This was not a matter of whether he was afraid or not.

It was a matter of wanting it very, very much.

Ereshkigal did not wait for Rovi to respond. Still holding his hand, she walked forward.

There was no destination; she simply followed the wind.

"Rovi, tell me... are we friends?" Her soft, singing voice drifted into Rovi's ears.

He looked at the girl beside him.

At her flushed earlobes.

Though Ereshkigal had already formed her own answer when they first met, she still yearned for genuine confirmation.

Even as she asked, her heart was unsettled.

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

"Eh!?" Ereshkigal froze, then abruptly turned toward him. In the next instant, understanding dawned on her. "Hmph... I am the goddess who rules the Underworld!"

She put on a fierce expression. "If I say we are, then we are!"

"You can't force this kind of thing," Rovi said matter-of-factly.

"But I insist!" The Mistress of the Underworld's face was faintly red. "Still... mm, don't misunderstand. It isn't like I really want to be friends with you!"

"This is only for the sake of a goddess's dignity!"

Their clasped hands tightened even more.

The unease in her heart finally settled at that moment.

She knew Rovi had deliberately said the opposite.

Rovi knew even better that if he answered her directly, given Ereshkigal's personality, she might become so embarrassed that she would be too tongue-tied to speak.

But if he deliberately said the opposite, it would instead bring out her tsundere side.

Making the atmosphere feel much lighter.

"Then, lastly..." Ereshkigal swept back her golden hair and looked straight at Rovi.

In that final instant, their lips met. The lovely Goddess of the Underworld immediately curled herself into Rovi's embrace, lifting her face to press against his ear.

Her pale legs pressed close to his thighs, warm breath brushing against his slender waist. Her hips swayed gently, writhing softly.

The graceful goddess leaned against him and whispered by his ear, "We'll meet again next time... Rovi-senpai!"

Rovi steadied himself and looked at the embrace that had become empty in an instant, at the lingering fragrance drifting through the wind.

Ereshkigal had left.

Because the time was up.

Even with the Key of Heaven allowing her to reach the mortal world, she could not remain without limit.

The time was up.

The goddess had to leave.

But at the very end... Rovi raised his head and looked toward the area around the remaining wisp of the Bull of Heaven, at the clusters of black "clouds" rising like pillars.

Before leaving, she had shaped the winds of the Underworld into a cage, imprisoning the Bull of Heaven that had brought about Rovi's "death."

Slowing its rate of re-formation even further.

In the end, she had "helped" Rovi.

Or perhaps the goddess was taking revenge for its harming Rovi, while also showing that she would always stand by his side, no matter what he had to face—even if he became an enemy of all the gods, she would not hesitate in the slightest.

Rovi did not know whether he should be happy or helpless.

Then again...

"Did that count as me being in the Underworld just now?"

Half in the Underworld, half in the mortal world.

But time flowed differently in the Underworld and the mortal world.

Only a short while had passed within it.

But in the mortal world—

"Seven whole days have passed!?"

Rovi raised his head and gazed up at the heavens.

Watching the sun rise and the moon set, he came to that conclusion in an instant.