On the Light Screen, Merlin still wore that trademark smile.
However, Fujimaru Tachibana caught the hint of worry in Merlin's eyes. Seeing that he did not intend to speak of it in front of the others, the girl found an opportunity to pull him aside.
"Mr. Merlin, when you mentioned reviving King Gilgamesh, you seemed somewhat concerned. What exactly is wrong?"
After asking that question, Fujimaru Tachibana did not actually know whether Merlin would answer. After all, given his track record, Merlin's favorite thing to do was speak in riddles.
Whether he would answer or not was a Schrödinger-esque situation.
This time, however, Merlin gave her an answer. "Ritsuka, in the past timeline, King Gilgamesh also died from overwork. And it was the goddess of the Underworld who did it—she imprisoned King Gilgamesh's soul in the Underworld."
"That time, the circumstances were similar. In the end, we successfully went to the Underworld and rescued King Gilgamesh's soul."
Hearing this, Fujimaru Tachibana fell into thought, then frowned. "If that's the case, why do you seem so troubled?"
After a pause, she hesitantly said, "The situation is the same, yet you're this worried... Could it be that the timing of this incident is wrong?"
Merlin nodded and looked at Fujimaru Tachibana approvingly. "Just as you guessed, Ritsuka. The timing is wrong."
"This should have happened some time later—after you had won over the Venus goddess Ishtar and brought Quetzalcoatl into our camp."
"That time also involved winning over the goddess of the Underworld, Ereshkigal. Once that was done, most of the goddesses should have been on our side."
"But now..."
Fujimaru Tachibana said gravely, "But now, Ereshkigal's attack on King Gilgamesh has happened so many days early. That is highly abnormal. No one knows what might be hidden behind it. We cannot