Ishtar? A New Opportunity Arrives!

Among the gods of the Mesopotamian Plains, Ishtar held a very special place.

She governed beauty, harvest, and battle. She was the youngest among the gods, and also the most doted-upon goddess.

It was precisely for this reason that, compared to other deities, Ishtar was far more willful and reckless—arguably the most troublesome of them all.

Especially for Gilgamesh—

He dismissed the other gods with contempt, but that goddess alone he did not even wish to see.

The reason was simple: Ishtar had once feigned pursuit of him.

The goddess of beauty loved beautiful things, and Gilgamesh perfectly fit that standard—but this young king of Uruk knew the nature of the gods well. He also knew that what Ishtar called "fondness" was not human love, but merely a desire to toy with him.

In earlier years, when the gods could still descend in their true forms, Gilgamesh had already suffered greatly from her interference.

Now, hearing once more of her possible appearance, his expression naturally changed.

Rarely did the king show such a face.

The royal palace adjutant clutched clay tablets inscribed with reports from all corners of Uruk, her eyes lowered, silent.

Then she heard Gilgamesh mutter under his breath: "That one... no, the Age of the Gods has reached its final decline. Those foolish, rotting gods cannot descend in their true forms."

Gilgamesh's crimson eyes narrowed, serpentine pupils contracting like a snake flicking its tongue, a cold gleam bared.

The adjutant knew he had activated his Thousand Mile Eye—not particularly rare among magi, but on the king, it had reached the highest level of perception.

With it, he gazed into the future, seeking the answer of the 'present world.'

"I see... Divine Possession, is it?" The light faded as Gilgamesh understood.

The gods could not manifest in reality, but their essence, superior to the mortal world, still allowed them various means to interfere with it.

For instance, descending as consciousness, possessing a person of this world.

Gilgamesh shook his head, looking down at the adjutant below. "Hmph, in the end, they're nothing but a bunch of decrepit things like bugs in the dirt, and yet they dare to point fingers at me, who stands at the zenith like the sun..."

"Siduri." He waved his hand and rose.

"I am here, my king." The adjutant bowed in response.

"I hear the Treasury of Babylon is nearly complete. I will go inspect it." Gilgamesh's voice suddenly turned cold. "If that woman comes, stop her. Do not let her disturb me."

"Yes."

The adjutant nodded but said no more.

Gilgamesh did not wish to see Ishtar—he knew well that once that goddess descended, she would surely come to him, and after words failed to align, she would very likely resort to violence.

Ishtar in her Possession State might not be a match for Gilgamesh.

But Gilgamesh could not guarantee he would not kill her outright.

Yet at this moment, though Gilgamesh loathed the gods, he had not yet reached the point of outright enmity.

So he did not want to truly fall out with them.

Though self-willed, as a king, he still had his own considerations.

"I will not make things difficult for you."

The adjutant spoke with utmost dedication.

"Good." Gilgamesh turned to walk deeper into the palace, but paused mid-step, adding with a hint of amusement: "By the way, I've found you an interesting colleague. He should arrive shortly. Get along with that mongrel... with that fellow."

"It will add a bit of flavor to your dull, tedious life!"

"Hahahaha—"

With a wild laugh, his figure faded into the distance.

The adjutant stood still, clutching the clay tablets, smiling to herself.

Just then, a guard's voice came from outside the palace gates: "Priest Rovi, the king said you may enter directly without announcement."

"I understand." A rather young voice replied.

Speak of the devil—the adjutant lifted her gaze toward the doorway and saw a figure draped in a linen priest's robe cross the threshold, walking slowly toward the throne.

He was a fairly young man, or perhaps one could call him a youth. His build was slender, his pupils and hair jet-black, his features handsome, and he carried a tranquil aura.

The one who came was undoubtedly Rovi.

After comforting the priests at the temple, he had rushed over immediately.

Such eagerness naturally earned the priests' admiration, further convincing them that Rovi had written those earlier words solely to set Gilgamesh on the right path.

But in truth, Rovi was merely hurrying to throw himself before Gilgamesh and die.

So he came in haste, not even changing out of his priest's robe, stepping onto the smooth floor of the Royal Palace Hall, walking toward the lofty throne.

The hall was vast and towering, pillars standing tall, sunlight reflecting brilliantly off the mirror-like walls and floor, more magnificent than the Pantheon itself.

Yet unlike the Pantheon, this hall was not built by Uruk's successive kings, but by Gilgamesh himself.

Forced into existence by his brutal, tyrannical rule.

'Is he trying to show that royal authority is not suppressed by divine authority...'

Rovi thought to himself, quickly meeting the figure standing on the steps, looking down at him.

"Priest Rovi—no, from now on I should call you Officer Rovi."

The female officer spoke, her voice crisp and pleasant.

"Greetings, Officer Siduri." Rovi replied. Toward anyone who couldn't cause him an unnatural death, he was always polite.

After all, angering them was useless too; life should have a little less hostility.

"Where is the King?"

Rovi stepped onto the stairs, approached, and swept his gaze over the empty throne.

"The King... well, the King has gone to attend to some business." The officer named Siduri responded. "But before he left, he entrusted you and me with a task."

"A task? What task? Is it important?" Rovi blinked, his mind instinctively jumping to whether messing it up could get him killed.

But Siduri clearly misunderstood: "No need to be nervous. It's not a big task... just a little perfunctory effort will do."

"That Goddess won't make things difficult for us mortals."

Goddess?

Could it be...

"Gilgamesh!" A clear shout suddenly rang out from outside the palace. "Hurry up and come out, this Goddess, to welcome the beautiful Mistress of Heaven, Ishtar!"

Sure enough, it was Ishtar.

Siduri shook her head. "I didn't expect the Goddess to arrive so quickly..."

Rovi, however, brightened.

Not to mention what he'd seen and heard before crossing over, just from his experience as a priest in this life, he couldn't possibly be unfamiliar with this Goddess.

So he knew all about her willfulness, her capricious tyranny.

He'd just been thinking about how to court death.

Though he regretted not getting to 'remonstrate unto death' Gilgamesh face-to-face again, right now, a new opportunity to court death had presented itself, hadn't it?