Chapter 583

Tiamat looked at the boy with expectant eyes. "There is no one more suitable to succeed Gilgamesh than Shirou."

The three goddesses and the high priest inside the tower watched Shirou with bated breath.

The air seemed to freeze as everyone awaited Shirou's reply.

"... call."

After a brief silence, Shirou nodded heavily.

"I understand. Although I don't think I can do it well... I'll give it a try."

"Thank you, Mr. Shirou... really, thank you..."

Siduri expressed her gratitude to Shirou through tears.

Now that Shirou has agreed to inherit Gilgamesh's throne and become the sixth King of Uruk, all sorts of preparations need to be made.

He announced the return of the hero Shirou to the people.

Inform the neighboring countries of the new King of Uruk.

Then there are the ceremonies and celebrations of succession to the throne, and so on.

But before these trivial matters--

Ishtar snapped her fingers, and a magnificent golden key appeared in the goddess's hand.

That was the key to the treasure vault left behind by Gilgamesh.

It wasn't the King's Law Key used to link the Vortex Sword, but rather an ordinary key to open the outer door of the treasure vault.

Ishtar took a clay tablet from the treasury and solemnly announced.

"In the name of the gods of Uruk, I acknowledge you as the King of Uruk."

"... Take it, Shirou."

Shirou nodded and took the clay tablet from the goddess's hand.

This is precisely the symbol of royal power in Uruk.

According to legend, Gilgamesh used the dingir, Divine Authority Seal, to punish the gods.

Shirou flipped open the clay tablet and found a line of text written on it.

"If you don't want to be laughed at by me next time we meet, you'd better do your job well, Shirou."

"That guy..."

Shirou closed the clay tablet.

Volume 8: Chapter 367 Under the desk...?

After that, Shirou spent several days with an unimaginable density of activity.

First and foremost, they informed the citizens of their return as soon as possible.

The hero of Uruk, Shirou Amamiya, will inherit his friend's will and become the king who rules Uruk.

The whole city erupted in celebration.

Even though Uruk didn't have any celebrations after defeating Goddess Tiamat, the citizens spontaneously organized a week-long celebration.

The lifeless Uruk has been transformed.

Meanwhile, Siduri also sent out notices to the surrounding countries, inviting them to send representatives to Shirou's crowning ceremony.

Today, only a few cities remain in the Mesopotamia world that were not destroyed by Lahmu.

Like Uruk, each of their cities has a population of no more than four figures.

Shirou's past experiences and anecdotes are well-known even outside of Uruk.

Magecraft who wields the Infinite Swords, Great Hero recognized by the King of Heroes and favored by goddesses, and so on...

The various countries, of course, would not let this opportunity to strengthen their relationship with Shirou pass by, and all sent representatives to offer their congratulations.

A week later, a grand crowning ceremony was held in Uruk.

"Can't I just say, 'I'm going to be King of Uruk!'? I'm too busy to attend those pointless ceremonies."

Now, Shirou lives a life similar to Gilgamesh's in his later years, constantly busy with various official duties.

"My king, these ceremonial activities, though they may seem like a waste of time at first glance, also serve to boost the morale of our people and demonstrate our power to neighboring countries."

Shirou couldn't refuse the high priest, so he could only prepare for the crowning ceremony.

First, there's the crown and scepter. Shirou says, "Let's just make do with these for now," and then easily creates them using Projection Magic.

The crown's design was inspired by the prototype the savior Ash made for himself, and it was inlaid with yellow Spinel.

As for the scepter, it was inspired by Fae Consort Morgan's wand.

Then comes the preparation for the banquet following the crowning ceremony, which is the most time-consuming part.

"His Majesty the King cannot cook for himself."

With that, Ishtar chased Shirou out of the kitchen.

Can the urban god cook for himself?

Thanks to Ishtar, the banquet dishes became mainly Chinese cuisine... Speaking of which, Ishtar is the person Tohsaka Toishtar.

Recently, Shirou has been able to separate Tohsaka from the two goddesses and no longer sees them as the same person.

While Uruk is busy hosting the awareness event, it cannot afford to relax its vigilance on the Persia Gulf side.

The first thing Shirou did upon returning to Uruk was to install surveillance golems along the main road from the Persia Gulf to Uruk.

Shirou himself is not good at making golems, or rather, he knows nothing about it at all.

But Gilgamesh's treasure vault is like the Spirit Tomb Albion; if you're willing to dig, you can always find some treasures in the corners.

With Ishtar's knowledge of Jewel Magic, Shirou pieced together more than a dozen golems using parts from the Gate of Babylon.

Now, they can immediately know as soon as Lahmu gets close.

After ensuring everything went smoothly, Shirou shifted his focus back to Japan.

On the day of the coronation, everyone dressed up and lined up in the square in front of the tower. The Mirror of the Underworld, which was used to represent Ereshkigal and Tiamat, was also brought over.

"Now, let's begin the coronation ceremony."

The ceremony was, of course, presided over by Siduri, the high priest of Uruk.

"Thanks to the goddess Ishtar and the goddess Ereshkigal, we have this day."

Even the absent former King Gilgamesh and Uruk's friend Enkidu would be happy."

The high priest led the citizens and envoys from various countries in reviewing the war three months prior, highlighting Shirou's active role in the battle against Goddess Tiamat, and asserting that he was undoubtedly the savior of Uruk.

Then, Shirou put on the crown, and the coronation ceremony came to an end.

Then came a lively banquet--

"However, we, the nations of Mesopotamia, will embark on a new chapter in history starting today."

King of Uruk, this is a rare opportunity...

Please accept the position of leader of the city-state alliance and become the King of Kings of Babylonia.

The representatives from various countries seemed to have planned this in advance, and suddenly launched an attack during the banquet.

The citizens below joined in the cheers and celebrations.

"?"

Shirou looked at the high priestess beside him, puzzled, and saw her wearing a faint smile—

Are you still there, Siduri?

In other words--

Shirou must accept not only the throne of Uruk, but also the position of King of Babylonia.

"You guys have really ruined me."

Shirou couldn't spoil the citizens' fun, so he had no choice but to accept the title of King of Babylonia... Now his overtime hours would be even longer.

The moment Shirou nodded, a deafening cheer resounded throughout the entire city.

"Ugh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh! Ugh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!"

The citizens below the square raised their fists and glasses, cheering and praising Shirou.

"He truly lives up to his reputation as my husband; our wedding ceremony must be just as grand."

Ishtar drank her wine with a happy expression.

Unfortunately, Uruk's national budget has been almost entirely spent tonight, and that kind of thing is unlikely to be approved by the Iron-Faced High Priest.

"Waaaaah... Shirou... Waaaaah... It's really... wonderful..."

Siduri burst into tears of joy; she had been crying nonstop since the start of the banquet.

In the Underworld, Ereshkigal and the young Tiamat also held a small banquet, which was attended by a large number of Gallu Spirit.

After the crowning ceremony, Uruk returned to normal life.

Although the festival and banquet are over, everyone can clearly feel the changes in the city compared to a week ago.

In Siduri's words, it was "like going back to the old days."

For her, who had served as the high priest for Gilgamesh for decades, this was undoubtedly the highest praise.

The lifeless Uruk, once a place of desolation, now seemed to have returned to the era of Wise King Gilgamesh, brimming with youthful vigor and vitality.

Once things have stabilized domestically, it's about time to consider dealing with the issues of Lahmu and his ilk; the allies are also urging us to do so.

There are hundreds of millions of Lahmu in the sea.

At this level of scale, they can no longer be completely wiped out by force.

"How about we try to get Goddess Tiamat to persuade Lahmu?" Siduri suggested.

"Mother! I will try my best to persuade everyone!" the primordial infant in the mirror said, clenching her fists.

Shirou stroked his chin. "Let's set aside whether the Lahmu would accept Goddess Tiamat as merely an larva..."

"My mother is now trapped in the Underworld and can't descend to earth using Ishtar's body like Ereshkigal could."

"Mother also wants to go to Shirou's side, but it's physically impossible." Tiamat lowered her head in frustration.

"It's not Mother's fault, leave Lahmu's matter to me."

Shirou decides to solve Lahmu's problem on his own, without relying on his mother's help.

That being said, then war seems to be the only option.

Unlike Kingu, the Lahmu cannot communicate.

However, some preparations still need to be made before the war begins.

The most troublesome thing about Lahmu is their numbers.

Although only a few awaken sporadically every few days, if they were to fully awaken due to the aftermath of the battle, they would become a massive flood that would engulf the earth.

Shirou himself could easily protect himself even if he faced a thousand or ten thousand times more Lahmu, but the citizens could not.

Even if only one in a thousand of the hundreds of millions of Lahmu escapes the net, it would be a catastrophic disaster for Uruk at this point.

Therefore, before starting a war, it is essential to ensure the safety of the rear.

The training of soldiers goes without saying.

The reconstruction of two projects that played a crucial role in the defense of Tiamat in the past, the King's Cannon and the Nabistine's Fang, has also been put on the agenda.

The King's Cannon can be dealt with using Shirou's Magecraft, Ishtar's Authority, and Gilgamesh's treasure.

As for the Nabistine's Fang, it requires stone and wood.

The stone was directly dismantled from the Demonic Beast Front, and the timber was sourced from the northern cedar forests.

With Uruk's current population and production capacity... no, even including the labor force of its allies, it would still be a massive project that would take more than a decade to complete.

"..."

Thus, Shirou encountered his first major problem after inheriting the throne.