Chapter 7

[It had been processed.] Fu Hua prompted.

"Mm." So Amber nodded.

"Then that pink color is what it looks like after infusing magic?"

"Mm."

"In that case, I can agree to forgo offerings for ten days." After Ishtar said this, thinking the other was at least somewhat her friend now, she reluctantly explained: "Though I'm well aware of this stone's magical value, when it comes to color, I still prefer gold. After all, it has to decorate my temple."

"..." Amber finally understood what greed truly meant.

"D-Don't look at me like that! Isn't it only natural for a goddess to collect offerings for protecting a city?"

Ishtar felt a bit embarrassed under that gaze, but quickly regained her composure: "At the end of the day, it's that King of Uruk who refuses to pay tribute to me! I didn't rage and destroy Uruk; instead, I mercifully protected his citizens. I'm only asking for what I deserve!"

She did have a point.

Just now, Amber had been hidden in the shadows observing and had indeed seen Ishtar protect the citizens.

Besides, even Amber knew that just as one couldn't judge ancient people by modern aesthetics, she couldn't measure a god by human standards and morality.

"Enough, let's leave it at that for now." Amber looked at the citizen who had been calming his horses nearby, then waved her hand. True Qi righted the overturned carriage, and the scattered gems returned to their chest: "You may return to Uruk now."

"Yes... Th-Thank you, two divine lords!" The citizen wasted no words, knowing full well what attitude was needed to survive in this era. After expressing his gratitude, he drove the carriage away without looking back.

"Then, let's go to your temple first."

Watching the citizen leave, Amber turned to Ishtar beside her.

"To my temple?"

"Since I have quite a few gems to give you, it wouldn't do to just dump them all on the ground for you to pick up one by one." Amber explained.

"I could use magic to bring them all back at once, but fine, let's rest for today." After a moment's thought, Ishtar figured she hadn't found anything all this time anyway, so one more day wouldn't matter, and she abandoned her original search plan.

One visiting, one hosting—though they had only just met, the two had already stepped into the second stage of friendship.

Ishtar's temple wasn't far from here, or rather, this Singularity wasn't very large. After flying for just a few minutes, they arrived at a mountain range full of pits and basins, with Ishtar's palace perched on the highest peak.

"This is Mount Ebif?" Amber looked at the decidedly unattractive mountain range and asked doubtfully.

"That's right. How do you like my palace?" Ishtar sat on Ma'anna, flicking her hair proudly.

"..."

Through the crash course Mash had given Ritsuka these past few days, Amber had also heard some of Ishtar's epic tales.

Unlike Fujimaru Ritsuka's perception of Ishtar as powerful and deeply connected, Amber acknowledged her strength but... also found her a bit ridiculous.

The culprit behind this impression was none other than the Mount Ebif incident.

Mountains are beautiful, majestic—that's normal in anyone's eyes. Many poets and scholars praise mountain scenery alongside their own ambitions. But Amber had never heard of someone thinking a mountain was too beautiful and therefore leveling it.

What kind of brain logic was that?

Not to mention Ishtar drinking with her father, only for him to go wild and release divine power, which she absorbed entirely, and when he chased her to get it back, she refused.

Since she was like this, why not just go along with her?

Realizing this, Amber took a breath: "...Indeed, doing what ordinary people cannot—that is one of Goddess Ishtar's traits."

"Just call me Ishtar. We're practically friends now, after all." Ishtar didn't catch Amber's sigh and waved her hand smugly: "Alright, follow me in. You should know you're my very first guest since I built this temple. Be honored and look forward to it."

The two flew into the palace. Aesthetically speaking, Amber found it hard to like this stone-built structure. But Ishtar's taste wasn't bad—though it was stacked stone, at least each block was carved decently.

However, the lack of light made the entire palace gloomy, which already dashed Amber's expectations.

After surveying the dim hall, Amber couldn't bring herself to compliment it.

Ishtar, meanwhile, was feeling awkward.

Under the influence of the Vessel, she felt she should offer some hospitality to a guest, and that a gift deserved a return gift.

But... she seemed to have nothing.

Empty, not even a servant—a palace like a fallen goddess's was far too shabby to show off...

Fortunately, she didn't have to stew in embarrassment. Just as she hesitated on how to speak, both of them felt an unnatural tremor in the earth.

What was happening?

Please, everyone, send your support! Your encouragement is my motivation to keep updating!

Chapter 15: Ishtar's Warning

"Tch, that foreign goddess always makes such a ruckus. She's clearly a monster, yet she has divine authority—it's outright cheating." Ishtar's expression soured.

"?" Amber looked at her questioningly.

"One of the so-called Three Goddess Alliance. It's unbearable."

Seeing Amber still unresponsive, Ishtar showed confusion, then sudden realization, and broke into a smile: "So you're not on Uruk's side after all. You don't even have a clue about the enemy you're facing. Looks like that Golden Sparkle never told you anything."

A simple attempt at sowing discord—even Amber wouldn't fall for it.

"I'm not on Uruk's side, but regardless, protecting the flame of human civilization is my responsibility."

"Hmph~ I don't dislike your type." Ishtar sized Amber up again, then quickly looked away: "Since I don't dislike you, I'll give you some advice. If your purpose is to protect humanity, then don't say things like that out loud, and don't help humans without expecting anything in return."

Seeing the goddess in this rare serious mood, Amber adopted a listening posture.

"Any help given without expectation is like forcing growth—when you repeatedly aid someone without taking anything in return, you only accelerate their descent into dependency, much like a housecat forgetting how to hunt. Sentient beings like humans are even more so."

Ishtar continued, "Compared to animals, humans fall into that trap far more easily."

"So that's why you wanted those gems?" Thinking back to what just happened, Amber asked.

"Exactly that." Ishtar spread her hands.

"In other words, Ishtar has also helped others without expecting anything before."

"Uh..." That sentence caught Ishtar off guard, and she showed an awkward, flustered expression. "That's none of your business! Prying into a goddess's affairs invites divine punishment!"

Seeing her like this, Amber couldn't help but flash back to Tohsaka Rin, though she quickly cast that disrespectful thought aside.

But even after discarding that notion, she had to admit that the goddess's appearance had won her quite a bit of goodwill.

Fu Hua had no particular opinion on this. She had long seen through this principle herself, but she had realized it far too late. By the time Schicksal and Anti-Entropy had become the world's main forces against the Honkai, while Shenzhou remained silent, she understood that her protection had been too thorough, leaving Shenzhou without sufficient awareness or will to fight the Honkai.

By the time she reacted, Schicksal had already monopolized nearly every element of the anti-Honkai struggle.

Although Amber had said she wanted to maintain the 'Crimson Kite Immortal' persona, even Fu Hua herself had forgotten what she thought as the Crimson Kite.

It wasn't that she lacked memories—in fact, because the system had integrated all of Feathered Dust, she was now in an unprecedented state of completeness. Though she had lost her physical body, she had also shed the influence of the Divine Voice. With the full power of Feathered Dust and her Tai Xu Sword Qi cultivation, while not at her peak, she was still far stronger than she had been as a Prometheus Soldier.

What Amber was imitating wasn't so much Fu Hua herself as the Crimson Kite Immortal in the girl's own heart. And while mimicking an idol wasn't the grand path, it wasn't a crooked one either—taking a detour before finding her own way wasn't a waste of time.

Thus, aside from the very beginning, Fu Hua had no intention of correcting her.

Back to reality.

Amber wasn't great at socializing, but as an old-school otaku, she understood the tsundere archetype—a trait that had fallen out of fashion—well enough to know that now wasn't the time to provoke further, but to stroke the fur the right way.

Still, she couldn't resist teasing her a little. After all, she was a tsundere.

"Sorry, I just didn't expect that Ishtar, known to the world as capricious and self-centered, is actually a goddess who loves humanity."

"Huh? That's not what I meant at all?! I was just giving you advice, don't go overinterpreting on your own!" Ishtar flailed her arms and legs dramatically.

"My apologies." Seeing she was about to bristle, Amber stopped her teasing and waved her hand, conjuring a pile of Star Stones in Ishtar's temple—about four or five thousand.

Seeing the gems, Ishtar's gaze was instantly drawn.

Too easy to handle.

Originally just planning to deliver the goods, Amber had unexpectedly seen an amusing side of the goddess and wasn't in a hurry to leave. But remembering she had come out to train Tai Xu Sword Qi, she asked Fu Hua.

[Daily hard training is necessary, but any practice beyond the nightly sessions counts as extra. Missing one day won't matter.]

With the immortal's approval, Amber spoke again, "About the matter you mentioned earlier—if you don't mind, could you tell me the details?"

"Huh? Oh...!" Ishtar was pulled back to reality by the girl's voice. After hearing her words, her expression stiffened, then her gaze wandered. "It's really not a big deal! This goddess can handle it easily on her own."

Looks like she doesn't want to tell me.

Having finally taken time off to play a newly updated game with a major patch, only to not get to play it—Amber had never really understood that feeling before, but now she did.

"Alright." Feeling a bit down, the girl could only take her leave.

Only when her figure had completely vanished did Ishtar let out a sigh.

Can't say it! I absolutely can't say it! To a foreign goddess I just met: 'Oh, it's nothing serious, I just lost my strongest, most useful Noble Phantasm, ohohohoho...'

There's nothing more embarrassing, more pathetic than that!

Meanwhile, Amber, walking out of the palace, quickly calmed down. Though she had taken leave to play and didn't get to, the time off couldn't just go to waste.

No matter how much she knew training was good for her, she still lacked real conviction. And with a safety net behind her, she had even less of a do-or-die mentality.

Fu Hua naturally understood the girl's mindset. Physically 17, mentally maybe 13—a minor who, even if sensible, still struggled to grasp the world. She knew the 'what' but not the 'why'—knew right from wrong without understanding the meaning behind it.

Growing up, aside from illness and death, she had faced no real setbacks. Sheltered by a family that was almost never around, she had never developed a strong inner core.

Add to that the fact that she hadn't trained from childhood but had started halfway, with no ingrained discipline.

It was a full stack of debuffs.

Thinking this, Fu Hua took a deep breath inwardly.

But none of that mattered. Since their fates were now bound together, she would naturally guide the girl to grow into someone capable of standing on her own.

Something came up yesterday—feels like I'm falling further behind.

But no worries! I'll make it all up later!

Please, everyone, I beg for your items and collections! Your support is my motivation to keep updating!

Chapter 16: Investigating Kusa City?

Having decided to rest for the morning, Amber planned to wander around this world.

Though it was another world, because it was a Singularity, it was more like a World Bubble she was familiar with—not very large. The entire world was only the size of one continent. At the Crimson Kite Immortal's flight speed, she could easily circle it in an hour.

Seeing her restless heart, Fu Hua reminded her, "Don't forget to use Feathered Dust to conceal your aura. This world isn't a peaceful place. If an enemy discovers your presence, it might not end with just seeing you off."

"It should be fine, right? I've got Navigator to help me, and if worst comes to worst, I can ask the Immortal to fight for me!" Hearing this, Amber hesitated inwardly, but with Fu Hua as her backing, she mustered her courage.

Navigator knew how to use this body's power, but all it could do was follow the move patterns and execute the techniques.

This kind of situation works for a one-sided stomp—after all, everything gets one-shot—but if you run into an evenly matched opponent, being too rigid and formulaic will leave openings to be exploited.

Fu Hua was different, though. This was already her body from her peak days, and with her consciousness now free of debuffs, plus the support of a complete Feathered Dust, her strength could be said to have surpassed her former self by a head.

She could also avoid using the body as a proxy. Let the Navigator control the body as a mage, while Fu Hua used Feathered Dust to construct a body to hold the front line. That way, the Navigator's monotonous moveset was no longer a problem—since someone was already tying up the enemy up front, it could just keep spamming Sword God.

For a body at this stage, Sword God had no cooldown.

With the two working together, it was easily one plus one greater than two.

But Fu Hua quickly doused her with cold water: "Your Sword Heart has entered the gate, and you've grasped a bit of the Sword Form. Demon Beasts are no longer suitable as practice targets. You lack both a worthy opponent and the tempering of life-and-death struggle. If you run into an enemy, I won't help."

Thinking of the Navigator, she added, "And the Navigator isn't allowed either."

"..." So strict.

Amber finally reined in her urge to run wild.

Fu Hua let out a slow sigh.

Though the two had no formal bond of master and disciple, they already shared the substance of one. But both she and Amber knew just how... complicated her history with disciples was, so they never brought it into the open.

"Your vacation won't disappear. Instead of wandering around outside, why not go back to Uruk and see if there's anything to do?"

Seeing that Amber was at a loss, the Navigator thoughtfully issued a quest prompt: [Find the Chaldea group]

Unlike ordinary systems, since this was an entertainment system, it had no real quest rewards. So unless necessary, the Navigator rarely chimed in.

With both trusted figures saying so, Amber—who lacked strong opinions—nodded and flew back to Uruk. But when she arrived, she found that the Chaldea group had already left, and it wasn't a simple departure—their auras couldn't be sensed anywhere in the city.

After one empty collision, Amber suddenly felt that being idle like this was worse than just training.

"Your heart is restless right now. Training would only be like rowing against the current." Fu Hua stopped her and continued, "Besides, what the Navigator said wasn't 'come back to find Chaldea,' but 'find Chaldea.' It's perfectly normal that they're not here. Perhaps they've gone to carry out a new task Gilgamesh gave them."

Then she should just go ask Gilgamesh.

With that thought, Amber arrived at the Divine Tower.