Becoming Fu Hua at the Start in a Crossover World

It was a processed hint from Fu Hua.

"Mm." Amber nodded.

"Then that pink color appeared after mana was added?"

"Mm."

"In that case, I can agree not to demand offerings for ten days." After Ishtar finished speaking, she remembered that the other girl was, after all, considered her friend. Reluctantly, she explained, "Although I understand this stone's value for magecraft, as for its color, I still prefer gold. After all, it's meant to decorate my temple."

"..." Amber now understood what greed without limits meant.

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

Ishtar felt a little embarrassed under her gaze, but quickly decided she had nothing to be embarrassed about. "When all is said and done, it's that King of Uruk who refuses to offer tribute to me! I didn't destroy Uruk in anger. I mercifully protected its citizens and only wanted to collect what I was owed!"

She actually had a point.

Amber had been observing from the shadows just now and had indeed seen Ishtar protect the citizens.

Besides, even Amber understood that just as modern standards of beauty could not be imposed on ancient people, gods could not be judged by human standards and morals.

"Fine, let us leave the matter at that for now." Amber looked at the citizen who had been calming the horses nearby. Then, with a wave of her hand, True Qi lifted the overturned carriage back into place, while the scattered gems returned to the carriage's chest. "You may return to Uruk first."

"Y-Yes...! Th-Thank you, great goddesses!" The citizen did not waste words. He clearly understood what attitude was needed to survive in this age. After thanking the two of them, he drove away without looking back.

"Then let us go to your temple first."

After watching the citizen leave, Amber looked at Ishtar beside her.

"To my temple?"

"After all, I have quite a few gems to give you. I cannot just throw them all on the ground and make you pick them up one by one," Amber explained.

"I can use mana to take them all back at once, but forget it. I'll rest for today." After thinking it over, Ishtar gave up her original search plan. She had not found it all this time anyway, so one more day would not make a difference.

One was paying a visit, while the other was receiving a guest. Though they had only just met, the two had already skipped straight to the second stage of friendship.

Ishtar's temple was not far from here. Or rather, this Singularity was not very large. After flying for only a few minutes, they arrived at a mountain range full of potholes and basins, with Ishtar's palace resting atop the central peak.

"This is Mount Ebif?" Amber asked as she looked at the mountain range, which could hardly be called beautiful.

"That's right. So, what do you think of my palace?" Sitting atop Ma'anna, Ishtar smugly brushed back her beautiful hair.

"..."

From Mash's intensive lessons for Ritsuka over the past few days, Amber had also heard some of Ishtar's legends.

Unlike Fujimaru Ritsuka, whose impression of Ishtar was that she was powerful and had an extraordinary background, Amber admitted that Ishtar was indeed strong, but... she was also kind of ridiculous.

And the culprit behind that impression was this Mount Ebif incident.

Mountains were beautiful and magnificent. Everyone thought that was perfectly normal. Many poets praised mountain scenery and the lofty ambitions it stirred within them. But Amber had truly never heard of someone who thought a mountain was beautiful, then decided it was too beautiful and flattened it.

What kind of thought process was that?

Not to mention Ishtar's great achievement of drinking with her own father, absorbing all the divine power he released when he got drunk and went wild, then refusing to return it no matter how many times he came after her.

If she was like this, why should anyone obey her?

After realizing this, Amber drew a breath. "...Indeed, accomplishing what ordinary people cannot is one of Goddess Ishtar's traits."

"Just call me Ishtar. We can be considered friends, after all." Ishtar did not catch the meaning behind Amber's sigh. She waved her hand proudly. "All right, come in with me. You are the first guest I've had since building my temple, so feel honored and look forward to it."

The two flew into the palace together. As far as aesthetics went, Amber found it difficult to like a structure piled together from stone. Still, Ishtar's taste was not bad. Though it was made of stacked stone, at least each piece had been properly shaped.

But the fact that no light could get in, making the entire palace gloomy, had already extinguished Amber's expectations.

After examining the somewhat dim palace, Amber truly could not bring herself to praise it.

Ishtar, standing beside her, was also a little awkward at this moment.

Influenced by her Vessel, she felt that she should offer her guest some hospitality. Besides, she ought to return a gift for her guest's present.

But... she seemed to have nothing at all right now.

There was no one in the temple—not even an attendant. This palace, like that of a down-and-out goddess, seemed a little too embarrassing to show off...

Fortunately, she did not have to remain awkward for long. Just as she was hesitating over how to speak, both of them felt an unnatural tremor in the earth.

What happened?

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Ishtar's Advice

"Tch, that foreign goddess always makes such a huge commotion. She's obviously a monster, yet she possesses divine authority. That's practically cheating." Ishtar's expression darkened.

"?" Amber looked at her in confusion.

"She's one of the Three Goddess Alliance you people keep talking about. Honestly, she's unbearable."

Seeing that Amber still did not react, Ishtar showed a puzzled expression. Then she suddenly understood, and a smile appeared on her face. "So you really aren't on Uruk's side, are you? You don't even know who your enemies are. It seems Golden Sparkle never told you anything."

It was a simple attempt at sowing discord. Even Amber would not fall for it.

"I am indeed not on Uruk's side, but no matter what, protecting the Core Flame of human civilization is my responsibility."

"Hmph~ I don't dislike your type." Ishtar looked Amber over again, but quickly withdrew her gaze. "Since I don't dislike you, I'll explain something. If your existence is meant to protect humanity, then you'd best not keep saying such things, nor should you help humanity without asking for anything in return."

Seeing the rare seriousness on the goddess's face, Amber adopted a listening posture.

"Any help given without asking for anything in return is merely encouraging dependence. If you help someone again and again without demanding compensation, all you will do is accelerate their fall. Just as housecats gradually lose the ability to hunt, intelligent beings like humans are even more prone to this."

Ishtar said, "Compared to animals, humans fall far more easily and quickly."

"Is that why you wanted to take those gems?" Amber asked, recalling what had happened earlier.

"Exactly." Ishtar spread her hands.

"In other words, Ishtar has also helped others without asking for anything in return."

"Uh..." That caught Ishtar off guard. Then she wore an embarrassed and irritated expression. "That has nothing to do with you! Casually prying into a goddess's affairs will bring divine punishment!"

Seeing her like this, Amber could not help seeing Tohsaka Rin in her again, but she quickly cast aside that rude thought.

Yet even after throwing that thought aside, she had to admit that the other girl's appearance had won quite a bit of her favor.

Fu Hua had no particular opinion on this. She had actually understood that principle long ago, but she had understood it too late. Only when Schicksal and Anti-Entropy had successively become the world's main forces against the Honkai, while Shenzhou remained completely inactive, did she realize that her protection had been too comprehensive. It had left Shenzhou without sufficient awareness of the Honkai or the desire to resist it.

By the time she realized it, Schicksal had already nearly monopolized every factor needed to fight the Honkai.

Amber had said she wanted to maintain the persona of the Crimson Kite Immortal, but in truth, even Fu Hua herself had forgotten what she had thought during her time as the Crimson Kite.

It was not because she lacked memories. In fact, because the system had integrated all of Feathered Dust, she was now in a state of completeness unlike ever before. Although she had lost her body, she had also escaped Divine Sound's influence. Moreover, with the full output of Feathered Dust and her cultivation in Tai Xu Sword Qi, she might not be at her peak, but she was still far stronger than she had been as a Prometheus Soldier.

What Amber was imitating was not so much Fu Hua herself as the Crimson Kite Immortal in the girl's own heart. Imitating someone she admired was not the great path, but neither was it a crooked one. Until she found her own path, walking it for a while would not be a waste of time.

Therefore, after the beginning, Fu Hua no longer had any intention of correcting her.

Back to reality.

Amber was not particularly skilled at socializing, but as an old-school anime fan, she still understood outdated tsundere traits well enough. She knew that she should not keep provoking Ishtar at a time like this and should instead soothe her.

But she still could not resist teasing her a little, because she was a tsundere.

"My apologies. I merely did not expect that Ishtar, whom the world calls willful and self-centered, was actually a goddess who loved humanity."

"Huh? That's not what I meant at all, is it?! I was only giving you advice! Don't go making your own excessive interpretations!" Ishtar waved her arms around dramatically.

"I overstepped." Seeing that she was about to bristle, Amber finally stopped teasing her. With a wave of her hand, she piled several thousand Star Stones—around four or five thousand—inside Ishtar's temple.

The moment she saw the gems, Ishtar's attention was immediately drawn to them.

She was way too easy to appease.

Amber had originally only planned to deliver the gifts, but after seeing this amusing side of Ishtar, she was no longer in a hurry to leave. Still, she had come out to practice Tai Xu Sword Qi, so she asked Fu Hua about it.

Daily hard training was necessary, but any practice outside the nightly sessions counted as additional training. Missing one day would not matter.

After receiving the Immortal's approval, Amber continued, "Regarding the serious matter you mentioned earlier, if you do not mind, could you tell me the details?"

"Huh? Oh...!" Ishtar was pulled back to her senses by the girl's voice. After understanding what she had said, her expression stiffened briefly, and her gaze wandered. "It isn't really a big deal! This goddess can solve it easily on her own."

It seemed she did not want to tell her.

Amber had never really understood the feeling of finally taking leave to play a game after a huge new update, only to end up unable to play it. Now, she understood.

"All right." Feeling a little disappointed, the girl could only take her leave.

Only after Amber's figure had completely vanished did Ishtar breathe a sigh of relief.

I can't say it! I absolutely can't say it! How am I supposed to tell a foreign goddess I just met, "Ah, it's not a big deal, I merely lost my strongest and most useful Noble Phantasm, oh ho ho ho ho..."

There was absolutely nothing more unreliable or embarrassing than that!

Amber, who had walked out of the palace, quickly calmed down. Although she had taken leave to play and ended up unable to do so, she could not waste the leave she had received.

No matter how much she knew training would benefit her, she had never truly felt it for herself. Moreover, now that she had someone to rely on behind her, she had even less of that all-or-nothing mentality.

Fu Hua naturally understood the girl's thoughts as well. Physically seventeen, mentally perhaps only thirteen—an underage girl. Even if she was sensible, she still found it difficult to understand this world. She was in a state of knowing what was right and wrong, but not understanding why it was right or wrong.

Other than illness and death, she had never experienced many setbacks growing up. She had always been cared for by family members who were almost never around, which had left her without a sufficiently strong heart.

On top of that, she had not begun cultivating from childhood. She was completely new to the path of cultivation and had no habits built around it.

It could be said that her debuffs were completely stacked.

At that thought, Fu Hua took a deep breath inwardly.

But none of that mattered. Since their fates had already been bound together, she would naturally help the girl grow into someone capable of standing on her own.

Something came up yesterday and delayed me. Why does it feel like I owe more and more chapters?

But it's fine! I'll make them all up later! 1

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Investigating Kusa City?

Since she had 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 the bubble worlds Amber knew well. It was not very large—only about the size of a single continent. At the Crimson Kite Immortal's flying speed, she could easily circle the entire world in an hour.

Seeing how restless she was, Fu Hua reminded her, "Do not forget to use Feathered Dust to conceal your presence. This world is not a peaceful place. If an enemy discovers you, they may not simply watch you leave."

"It should be fine, right? The Navigator can help me, and if things get bad, I can ask the Immortal to fight for me!" Amber hesitated after hearing that, but when she remembered Fu Hua was backing her up, she gathered her courage again.

The Navigator understood how to use this body's power, but all it could do was follow the established forms and execute the moves.

That was fine in a one-sided battle, since everything would be finished in one strike anyway. But against an opponent who could trade blows with it, its rigid approach would instead expose openings.

Fu Hua was different. This had once been her body at its peak. Combined with her current consciousness free of debuff effects and the assistance of complete Feathered Dust, she could be said to be stronger than she had ever been before.

She could even fight without using the body. The Navigator could control the body as a mage while Fu Hua used Feathered Dust to construct a body and hold the enemy off at the front. This way, the Navigator's monotonous moves would no longer be a problem. Someone would already be keeping the enemy occupied up front, so it could simply keep using Sword God.

For a body from this era, Sword God did not even need cooldown time.

With both sides working together, it was simply one plus one greater than two.

However, Fu Hua quickly poured cold water over her. "Your Sword Heart has already entered the beginner stage, and you have grasped a little of Sword Form. Demon Beasts are no longer suitable opponents for practice. Since you lack evenly matched battles and tempering at the edge of life and death, if you encounter an enemy, I will not help you."

Thinking of the Navigator, she added, "The Navigator is not allowed either."

"..." So strict.

Amber finally abandoned the idea of going out to have fun.

Fu Hua sighed softly.

Though the two did not have the title of master and disciple, they already had the reality of such a relationship. However, both she and Amber knew how... difficult Fu Hua's history with disciples had been, so neither brought it into the open.

"Your leave will not disappear. Rather than wandering outside, why not return to Uruk and see whether there is anything you can do?"

Seeing that Amber did not know what to do, the Navigator thoughtfully sent out a quest prompt: Find Chaldea's group.

Unlike ordinary systems, because it was an entertainment system, it did not actually offer quest rewards. Thus, unless necessary, the Navigator rarely spoke up.

Since the two beings she trusted had both said so, Amber, who did not have much of an opinion of her own, nodded and flew back toward Uruk. Yet upon arriving, she found that Chaldea's group had already gone out. Nor had they merely stepped outside—she could not sense any of their presences anywhere in the city.

After missing them once again, Amber suddenly felt that idling around like this would be worse than training.

"You are restless right now. Training will only make you go against the current." Fu Hua stopped her and continued, "Besides, what the Navigator said was not to return here and find Chaldea, but to find Chaldea. It is normal that they are not here. Perhaps they have gone to complete a new task Gilgamesh gave them."

Then she would ask Gilgamesh.

With that thought, Amber arrived at the Divine Tower.