Chapter 474
Dinner continued in a harmonious atmosphere.
Gilgamesh glanced at the red-haired boy opposite him and asked.
"Shirou, you've been in Uruk for over half a month now, haven't you? How does it feel, my kingdom?"
"Putting aside the king's tendency to get carried away, this city and the people who live here are still wonderful."
Shirou said, "It's a pity I can't let go of it."
Gilgamesh said proudly, "Hmph, of course. To this day, no traveler has ever dared to speak ill of Uruk after visiting it."
Shirou muttered to himself, "Those who talk badly about others probably all get physically destroyed, right...?"
"What?"
"Nothing."
Shirou looked at the high priest behind Gilgamesh: "Miss Siduri, let's get back to the topic we were talking about."
You just said my next mission is "to go to the Underworld and investigate Enkidu's remains"?
"Let me explain."
Gilgamesh had just finished his meal. He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and looked at Shirou as he spoke.
"You must have heard the rumors during your rest in Uruk."
Recently, I received eyewitness reports of a guy calling himself Enkidu causing widespread destruction.
Just as you reported previously, witnesses claim that the other party has the exact same physical characteristics and fighting style as Enkidu, and leads Magical Beast to attack surrounding cities.
"Did Gilgamesh see him in person?" Shirou asked.
Wouldn't it be better to have the person who knows Enkidu best confirm this?
The Golden King turned his head and said in an uncharacteristically calm tone, "I'm very busy, how could I have time to concern myself with such trivial matters..."
It seems this guy isn't mentally prepared yet.
Shirou thought to himself: Heh, so you've finally had a day like this.
Gilgamesh frowned slightly. "I sense a great disrespect in this atmosphere."
That's your imagination.
Shirou asked, "What's the deal with me going to the Underworld to investigate Enkidu's remains?"
Gilgamesh, "As you know, Enkidu killed by the gods."
The gods who created Enkidu killed his soul, but his body, imbued with divine Authority, was not destroyed, or rather, even the gods could not destroy it.
Since Enkidu's remains, being a weapon of the gods, could not be placed on the earth, I, the king, proposed to Ereshkigal of the Underworld that Enkidu's remains be placed in the Underworld.
Enkidu had entered the Underworld and paid his respects to the goddess before his death, so Ereshkigal accepted Enkidu's remains.
As he said this, a shadow fell over the Golden King's eyes.
"I thought that as long as I was placed in the Underworld, I would be untouched by anyone and find peace. But..."
He's probably already deduced some of the truth from the report.
Even Shirou believed that Enkidu, whom he encountered, possessed power comparable to Gilgamesh at his peak, so he was probably right.
That guy doesn't seem to Servant.
Gilgamesh then came to a conjecture—but it still needed to be proven by facts.
The king announced loudly, "Shirou! Enkidu's grave is in the Underworld. Your next mission is to go to the Underworld —to confirm whether Enkidu's remains are still alive!"
"I refuse."
"Very good, as expected of the hero I chose! After this is done, I will give you... Wait, what did you say!?"
Gilgamesh's eyes widened.
Shirou said, "Isn't going to the Underworld the same as death? Why do I have to die once?"
If this is the kind of request, please find someone else. No... I should say, you should handle this yourself.
Tomoe Gozen and Ushiwakamaru chimed in from the side.
"That's right! King Gilgamesh! Isn't this mission far too dangerous?"
"If you insist on traveling to the Underworld, Shirou, please allow me to accompany you as your bodyguard!"
"Huh? Shirou is my lord, this is none of your business, Yoshitsune!"
Ushiwakamaru puffed out his ample chest and said proudly, "Because I am stronger than Tomoe Gozen. Since I am Shirou's bodyguard, it is more appropriate for me to be a stronger warrior."
"Ha... Are you still clinging to outdated views, Yoshitsune?"
I'm much stronger now than I was in life, so why don't you experience it for yourself?
Tomoe Gozen and Ushiwakamaru started exchanging words across Shirou.
Siduri said, "Your Majesty, since Shirou is unwilling, then let's just cancel this request."
She opposed the task Gilgamesh from the very beginning.
With the end of the Age of Gods and the disappearance of Ereshkigal, the goddess who ruled the Underworld, it is far too dangerous and unknown to venture into the realm of the dead.
"Snort."
Gilgamesh stared intently at Shirou's face.
He knew perfectly well that this red-haired boy was not one to fear death, and it was impossible for him to shirk his mission out of fear of death.
Shirou's true purpose--
Perhaps they hoped Gilgamesh wouldn't run away and would personally investigate the truth.
What exactly happened to my best friend (Enkidu)?
This is something you shouldn't be told by others; you should understand it with your own eyes.
Shirou's expression seemed to be offering the king a piece of advice.
"..."
Although he was despicable, Gilgamesh couldn't find any excuse.
Although there's no excuse, sometimes a king needs to be shameless to be a king.
"Heh heh... You're scared, Shirou."
Gilgamesh narrowed his crimson eyes, revealing a bewitching yet wicked smile that Shirou hadn't seen in a long time.
He picked up his empty plate and stood up, saying dismissively, "Say what you want, go yourself if you want."
Gilgamesh, stroking his chin, watched the man's retreating figure as he walked towards the sink, and slowly began to speak.
"Haven't you heard the story of my exploration of immortality?"
Shirou:"..."
The boy stopped in his tracks.
Gilgamesh said with a contented expression, "I have come to the ends of the world in search of the herb of immortality."
They traversed the Underworld, entered the abyss, and finally obtained the "Herb of Immortality" there.
Looking back now, it was an adventure that, though the outcome was somewhat regrettable, was nonetheless exhilarating.
Shirou:"..."
The boy's forehead twitched slightly.
Gilgamesh continued to smile maliciously.
"Ultimately, only great heroes like myself and Enkidu could accomplish the miracle of returning from the Underworld— "
For an ordinary person like you, this responsibility is still too heavy.
Shirou, please don't take my words to heart...
"Is it enough to confirm the condition of Enkidu's remains?"
The red-haired boy appeared before Gilgamesh, carrying a tray of food.
"Oh."
The Golden King revealed a sly smile.
Shirou knew perfectly well that this guy was using reverse psychology, even so—
Even men have moments when they absolutely cannot back down.
"Then it's up to you, Shirou. I'll be waiting for your triumphant return in Uruk."
"You talk too much nonsense, Gilgamesh."
In the past, Enkidu was also ordered by King Gilgamesh to go to the Underworld and report on Underworld conditions.
When Shirou tried to learn about this history, Gilgamesh gave a stiff smile.
That was a smile that suggested he was trying to remain silent and cover it up because he felt it was going against him.
Shirou caught Gilgamesh, who was trying to escape, and asked Siduri what had happened.
It turns out that King Gilgamesh at that time was so engrossed in the newly invented musical instruments that he held a banquet for three days and three nights.
Ereshkigal, the goddess who then ruled the Underworld, was enraged by the noise on earth and slightly opened the Gate of the Underworld.
Meanwhile, the King of Uruk was already drunk at the banquet and accidentally dropped his musical instrument into the hole.
Gilgamesh so panicked that Enkidu, unable to bear it any longer, volunteered to go to the Underworld himself.
No matter how powerful Enkidu, once he entered the world of the dead, he was no different from an ordinary person.
The Underworld is constructed with a system that can nullify divinity and Authority; only death and the goddess Ereshkigal, who is its master, are absolutely invincible rulers.
Once there—no matter who it is, even the tyrannical Goddess of War who ravages the Spirit Peak can only obediently suffer humiliation.
Legend has it that Enkidu visited the Underworld, paid his respects to the goddess Ereshkigal, and returned safely to the earth.
Enkidu was treated with ruthless hospitality by the Queen of the Underworld and returned from the realm of the dead, accomplished unparalleled feats.
Compared to him, Gilgamesh seems like a clown...
"Damn it! In the end... it's all because of that Ishtar guy saying, 'There are snakes in the Huluppu Tree (the Tree of Life)! Help me!' that caused this result!"
Gilgamesh gritted his teeth. "If I hadn't cut down that tree, I wouldn't have been able to make any musical instruments (Ellag)!"
"Oh, I didn't know that happened."
Shirou has now obtained another weakness of Gilgamesh.
The next morning, the team heading to the Underworld left Uruk.
Besides Shirou, the members include Tomoe Gozen and Ushiwakamaru, who will accompany Gilgamesh to his destination as guards, although they will not enter the Underworld; and Siduri, King Gilgamesh's agent.
Finally, they arrived at the ruined City of Kussa.
"This is City of Kussa... a city that came to a standstill overnight..."
This city was the first to suffer disaster when the "Three Goddess Alliance" declared war on humanity.
The entire city was wiped out overnight, and all its citizens mysteriously vanished.
She is neither the Goddess of Demonic Beasts nor the Goddess of the Jungle, nor does she seem to be the work of Goddess of Heaven.
The cause of the city's destruction remains a mystery.
It was precisely because City of Kussa might have become a den of Magical Beast that Tomoe Gozen and Ushiwakamaru were sent as guards to accompany them.
"The damage is terrible. Could it have been attacked by Magical Beast after all the residents died...?"
Ushiwakamaru gripped the hilt of his sword warily, looking around suspiciously.
Shirou shook his head. "It doesn't seem so. There's no sign of Magical Beast nesting in this city."
On the contrary, we didn't encounter any significant enemy attacks along the way, did we?