Ishtar, the Goddess

"... Master?"

"..."

After realizing that his voice went unanswered, Agamemnon felt a cold sweat trickle down his forehead.

"But..."

A mischievous smile suddenly appeared on the girl's lips: 1. O 2. OO? 3. "7" 9. "9" 2.

"But no matter how jealous you are, it won't do you any good~ A useless piece of trash hiding in the shadows is just daydreaming about summoning a god~"

"... You bastard!"

After a brief silence, the voice of the person hidden in the shadows rang out again.

Judging from his voice, which was strained to suppress his anger, the girl could already imagine the completely distorted expression on the face of the rat hiding in the shadows.

Simply delightful!

"Rider, kill this false god who's posing as a deity!"

Hearing his Master's irrational commands, Agamemnon sighed deeply. Having once held a high position, he knew that under such circumstances, he absolutely could not disobey his Master's orders, even if he was now blinded by rage.

Agamemnon's gaze sharpened slightly, and the golden spear reappeared in his right hand.

"Ugh, that's so mean. Calling someone a false god..."

The girl, still agonizing over how that guy had addressed her, suddenly widened her eyes.

Immediately afterwards, a storm suddenly swept across the battlefield, and the spear hurled by Agamemnon, imbued with powerful magic, hurtled towards the girl who claimed to be a "goddess".

It was the same move that attacked Cassandra and Sakura before, but its power was completely different.

"... Hey, wait a minute!"

Although her expression was somewhat flustered, the girl's movements were unhurried. Mana Burst from her outstretched right hand to completely envelop the spear.

Then, everyone saw--

As if an invisible wall had been erected in the void, the spear came to an abrupt halt in front of the girl.

There was no trace of Magecraft used. Could it be that the opponent stopped Agamemnon's full-force attack simply by manipulating magic?

After witnessing this scene, Rider's Master felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, completely extinguishing the anger in his heart.

Although her identity is unknown and it is impossible to determine whether her claim of being a "goddess" is true, judging from the strength she has shown so far, she is probably not someone that a single Rider can contend with.

--You're being too arrogant.

The Magecraft, who had calmed down, felt a faint sense of regret.

However, there's no going back now.

"Now, it's my turn."

Looking at the spear stopped in front of her, the girl narrowed her eyes slightly. Then, she raised her right hand and gently flicked the tip of the spear.

In an instant, the spear began to circle around the girl, spinning dozens of times. Then, it changed direction and, with even greater speed than before, retaliated against Agamemnon.

Agamemnon, who did not want to be outdone in terms of momentum, prepared to catch his weapon gracefully, but the deathly aura emanating from the spear caused his pupils to shrink to a tiny dot.

"!?"

A deafening roar, almost scratching the skin, swept past Agamemnon.

--boom!!!

"You dodged it."

Looking at Agamemnon sprawled on the ground, looking utterly disheveled, the girl's expression held a hint of regret.

After getting back up, Agamemnon caught a glimpse of the deep crater behind him, created by his own weapon, and began cursing inwardly.

[Master, quickly use Command Spell to get me off the battlefield!]

"You want to leave? It's probably too late."

The girl, who could see through Agamemnon's reluctance at a glance, said this, and at the same time, a large number of arrow-like light bullets suddenly appeared from her hand.

"Even if you're leaving, how about accepting this return gift first?"

As he spoke, countless magical light projectiles shaped like arrows attacked Agamemnon.

However, the attack failed.

Just as the arrow of light was about to reach Agamemnon's heart, his figure vanished without a trace.

--This is a forced transfer initiated by Command Spell.

"So..."

The girl who saw Agamemnon disappear did not lower her guard, but instead turned her gaze to the northeast.

After a while --

The other mouse escaped too!

"Then that's the only way."

"That..."

After looking away, the girl sighed somewhat unsatisfiedly. Then, her attention was drawn to a sound coming from behind her.

Turning her head, she saw Sakura's hesitant expression, and a slight smile appeared on the girl's lips.

"Although I don't have a younger sister, if you're willing to call me 'older sister,' then this goddess will bless you for life~"

The girl who came to Sakura's side said this.

Regarding Ishtar Rin, after some thought, I decided to portray her as having a relatively kind personality. Just think of her as someone whose personality is more pronounced than the one in FGO.

PS2: Book Recommendation Time

Lungmen Affairs

A veteran author's new book—quality guaranteed!

The following is a brief introduction:

"We agreed on three months, then another three months, then another three months, and now it's been a year, boss! I'm about to become the head of the Reunion Movement! When can we go back to Lungmen, Inspector Chen?"

Xiu Xian is an unlucky transmigrator who inexplicably ends up in the Lungmen Guard Department and is then inexplicably sent to the Reunion Movement as an undercover agent.

"You'd better treat me better. I'm the only one in Lungmen who knows your identity. I'll go back and delete your information; you can be a Reunion Movement for the rest of your life!"

"Please, I'm almost the boss! You still want me to stay there? Lead the Reunion Movement to take Lungmen, Inspector Chen!"

"I'll let you come back once this is over."

"Come on, I've heard that a million times. This is intelligence."

Xiu Xian longed to return to a stable society, reluctantly returned to the Reunion Movement. However, he was brought before Talulah.

Just when Xiu Xian thought he was about to be exposed...

"You've been here for a while now. You have no background, but you're capable, quick-witted, and most importantly, you've never exposed yourself. The organization is giving you a mission: go to Lungmen and be their eyes and ears."

"Code name: Gin."

Chapter 394. Goddess Ishtar

"Uncle, it's me."

At the Tohsaka Residence, Sakura is calling home to let Wang Xiaoming know she's safe.

"Yes, I'm with my sister now. Don't worry, although there was a small problem, it's been resolved..."

"..."

Sakura, who was hesitating about whether to tell her uncle about what happened tonight, instinctively widened her eyes after hearing what was said on the other end of the phone.

"Hey, is my brother looking for me?"

Sakura's exclamation drew the attention of the other two people in the room. Seeing the goddess leaning towards them with a gossipy look in her eyes, she quickly spoke into the phone:

"Let my brother go back quickly, I'll go back during the day!"

After saying that, Sakura hung up the phone without hesitation, then looked at the goddess who had already moved close to her, her expression somewhat helpless.

"My lady goddess..."

"That's too formal. Hmm, never mind."

After a brief moment of hesitation, the goddess once again revealed a gossipy expression.

"The older brother you mentioned before, is he that guy named Shirou?"

"That's right."

Sakura nodded.

She could tell that if she didn't give this goddess a definite answer, she probably wouldn't have a peaceful night.

However, although a response was given, corresponding questions arose.

Looking at the goddess in front of her who looked exactly like her older sister, Sakura finally asked the question that had been buried in her heart for a long time.

"But how do you know these things? And where is my sister?"

After a moment of hesitation, the goddess placed her right hand on her chest and spoke.

"Your sister, Tohsaka Rin... she's right here."

You mean...?

At this moment, only Sakura, Cassandra, and the goddess before them were in the room—just the three of them. In other words, what the goddess wanted to convey was...

Seeing Sakura's face suddenly turn pale, the goddess immediately guessed what she was thinking and gently flicked Sakura's forehead with her right hand.

"It's not about possession. As a goddess, I would never do such a despicable thing."

"So what do you mean?"

Looking at the goddess in front of her, who was subtly revealing an "I'm angry" emotion, Sakura, coming back to her senses, stuck out her tongue a little embarrassedly.

Seeing Sakura's adorable expression, the goddess, who couldn't possibly stay angry, sighed helplessly and began to explain to her—

"Your sister is now my [possessed]."

"You mean [Pseudo-Servant]?"

Sakura, remembering her uncle, chimed in.

"That's right."

The goddess glanced at Sakura with some surprise, then nodded and said, "I was originally thinking of explaining, but now that you already know, this is much easier to handle."

As Agamemnon previously stated, it was originally impossible for a god-level Servant to appear in the Holy Grail War.

Whether it was due to exceptional talent or some other reason, during last night's summoning ceremony, Tohsaka Rin inadvertently summoned herself, the goddess.

However, due to the rules, gods cannot appear in the Holy Grail War. Therefore, after discussing with Tohsaka Rin, he finally agreed to allow himself to appear in the Holy Grail War in exchange for Rin's request.

In other words--

"I am her, and she is me. This is a way of being that we both accept; there is no hierarchy between us."

"I see, then..."

After hearing the goddess's explanation of the whole story, Sakura looked hesitant and unsure what to say.

"As for Tohsaka Rin, you don't need to worry. I will leave after the Holy Grail War ends, and her consciousness will naturally awaken then."

The goddess, who could see right through Sakura's thoughts, put Sakura's mind at ease.

"Thank you, Goddess, for clearing up my doubts."

"I've already told you not to be so formal."