Ishtar's red eyes darted about, a shrewd gleam flashing through them.
She turned to Qianyi, her lips curling into a seductive smile as she quickly leaned closer. "Since Qianyi intends to carry out that plan to 'crystallize the souls of the entire world,' wouldn't the result be the same whether the Holy Grail operated it itself or I, a living goddess, handled it personally?"
"What are you plotting?" Qianyi looked suspiciously at the white-haired, red-eyed Ishtar before him.
He knew perfectly well that, although she too was Ishtar, her nature was utterly different from Ishtar Rin—the tsundere, easily fooled version possessing Tohsaka Rin.
This one was closer in temperament to the Venus Goddess herself: willful in the way of ancient deities, cunning and greedy. She was certainly no harmless sort.
"I'll do it!" As though she had not seen his wariness at all, Ishtar generously patted her chest and began recommending herself. "If you let a dead thing like the Holy Grail do it, it'll merely carry out Soul Crystallization mechanically—dull and boring. But if I do it, it will be the descent of a divine miracle! When the time comes, while all humanity experiences Isht... ah, no, Qianyi's divine grace, they'll also continuously generate the power of faith. Well? Isn't that a more perfect plan?"
As she spoke, she blinked those captivating red eyes, her long lashes fluttering. A pleading, coquettish longing seeped into her voice as she quietly waited for Qianyi's approval.
Her purpose was simple.
Once all humanity completed Soul Crystallization, the fundamental nature of human existence would undergo a qualitative leap. Everyone would then become "self-sufficient," and the energy once consumed by trivial matters of survival would transform into limitless creativity. And what did that mean?
It meant more treasures, more wealth, and mountains of gemstones!