And Mother had such an expectant look on her face... Did she see Lan Ze as her child or her lover?!
Ishtar even wondered, if Lan Ze really became Tiamat's lover, wouldn't she have to call Lan Ze "Father"?
That image kept flashing through her mind, leaving the goddess with an indescribably complicated feeling.
If the Divine Messenger got together with her in the future, what was she supposed to call him?
Was she really supposed to call him "Father"?
"We're leaving." After saying that to Ishtar, Lan Ze took Tiamat's hand and left the temple.
Behind them, Ishtar was still reeling in shock. Standing at the temple gates and watching the two leave, her eyes flickered slightly before she finally mounted Ma'anna and soared into the sky.
Fine. Since Mother wanted to go on a date, then Ishtar would escort her today!
Ishtar seemed not to realize that Lan Ze should have been her lover, not Tiamat's... If this were modern times, it would probably be like a girlfriend's lover going on a date with her mother, while the girlfriend had to play both father and mother behind the scenes to help them successfully complete their date.
...The ultimate cuckold.
Meanwhile.
In the King's Hall, Merlin, who had just returned from outside the city, stood beside Gilgamesh and advised the king. They planned to secretly sever the thread connecting Gorgon and Tiamat before the day after tomorrow, and were currently discussing the details.
Just then, Merlin's previously eloquent voice suddenly fell silent.
"What is it?" Gilgamesh noticed Merlin's strange expression and couldn't help asking.
"Lan Ze and Lady Tiamat are currently outside Uruk's gates."
Gilgamesh froze for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Don't panic. Just observe their movements. That boy should know his limits. Just keep an eye on them."
Though he said that, Gilgamesh still took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to calm himself.
However, no matter how composed he was, he could not help feeling some psychological pressure when faced with the Creation Mother Goddess.
After all, he had no idea what Lan Ze was trying to do.
Why had he brought Tiamat to Uruk?
"King!"
At that moment, a Uruk soldier rushed into the King's Hall, looking somewhat panicked.
"Speak," Gilgamesh said.
"There are two people outside who want to enter the city, and they said..." The Uruk soldier hesitated.
"What did they say?" Gilgamesh asked.
"They said... they're here on a date, and told me to inform you that you would agree to let them through."
"...A date?"
Gilgamesh blinked, bewilderment filling his scarlet eyes.
For a moment, he even suspected that he had misheard.
"You said they're here to... go on a date?"
That boy wanted to go on a date with the mother of creation on this land...?!
What the hell was Lan Ze doing?
Merlin said quietly, "King, please calm down. Tiamat's emotions may be unstable. Lan Ze is probably dating her after considering all the circumstances."
"Hahahahahaha... I am very calm. Where did you see that I wasn't calm enough? How am I not calm?" Gilgamesh raised his red eyes to Merlin, seemingly trying to demonstrate his composure.
Merlin looked at the Golden King, at the surprise and shock in his red eyes, and silently nodded. "Mm, I can see it. You are very calm."
...Yeah, right.
But it wasn't only Gilgamesh. Even he, a Court Mage who did not understand the human heart, was a little stunned.
"Whew..."
Gilgamesh took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Staring at the Uruk soldier before him, he said in a low voice:
"Let them enter. Also, inform the city's residents to provide those two with the best possible environment for their date."
The Uruk soldier clearly hesitated, instinctively raising his head as though he thought he had heard wrong.
"Do as I say. Make sure they complete their date smoothly... This is for Humanity's Order," Gilgamesh said softly.
This was... the most ancient date!
"Even though I decided to bring Mother of All out on a date, how exactly am I supposed to give her a good dating experience...?"
Only after Lan Ze led Tiamat into the city did he realize that he had not thought things through.
Logically, he should have been taking Tiamat on a date filled with wonderful memories, but—
He had never had a girlfriend.
He was a shut-in.
And besides... he was just an LSP.
An LSP was the sort of person who could speak at length about all kinds of fetishes and give friends dating advice, but if you actually asked him to go on a date with a girl himself... sorry, no experience.
Lan Ze was in exactly that awkward situation.
He did not know how to give Tiamat a date full of memories. He could probably follow the plots from anime he had watched before, but... Uruk simply did not have that many entertainment facilities.
At most, he could take Tiamat hiking or to see the sea, but her Dreamscape was already an ocean. She had probably gotten tired of looking at it.
He could only take things one step at a time. No matter what, he had to give Mother of All a wonderful dating experience... Looking at the faint expectation on Tiamat's face, Lan Ze silently made up his mind.
...Come to think of it, did this era have love hotels or anything like that?
Of course, he absolutely was not planning to head straight to a hotel after the date... He was merely considering that Tiamat would need proper rest after spending an entire day having fun.
"Fresh lamb skewers! Delicious, fresh lamb skewers, free for everyone—"
"Butter cakes! Freshly made butter cakes, being given away—"
"Vegetable juice! Free vegetable juice, take as much as you want—"
When they entered the city's streets, Lan Ze heard all kinds of hawking around him and was immediately stunned by the residents' enthusiasm.
Th-These residents were really that nice?
All the food was free?
Though he loved getting things for free, wasn't this a little too strange?
"Is there anything you want to eat?" Lan Ze turned and looked at Tiamat.
The woman's gaze was fixed on the food at the various stalls. Her already star-shaped eyes shone even brighter with expectation, sparkling over and over.
"Then let's try everything," Lan Ze said with a smile.
And then—
Lan Ze realized something was wrong.
These local residents were far too enthusiastic... Everything was free, and whatever Tiamat wanted, they eagerly stuffed the corresponding food into Lan Ze's hands.
They even encountered the "most ancient painter" on the street, carving portraits into clay tablets. The painter came right up to them and said, "Young man, I can tell you and this young lady are a match made in heaven. Please, allow me to depict the beautiful days you will share together." It sounded a little like one of those street scammers trying to cheat people out of money.
But what shocked Lan Ze was that the painter ultimately carved a lifelike portrait. The image was engraved on a clay tablet, and Lan Ze grumbled inwardly that if this thing survived for a few thousand years, it might become a local cultural relic.
But the problem was that they were not a match made in heaven... Mother of All seemed to regard him as her child, though he wanted to sleep with her...
Oh... Saying it like that seemed to expose him.
In any case, Lan Ze felt a little embarrassed accepting such a fine piece of art for free, so he took out one of the Star Slice Gems Ishtar had given him earlier and offered it to the painter.
Even though the man did not want it and kept saying everything was for art, Lan Ze threatened, "This is a gem from the goddess Ishtar. Are you refusing her?"
After a brief daze, the painter silently accepted the gem.
In this city, no one dared disrespect Ishtar.
Lan Ze had actually already guessed that this was probably Gilgamesh's doing.
Any random girl would probably have been able to guess that these people were plants.
But Tiamat could not tell—or rather, she had not noticed such an obvious flaw. She was still immersed in the joy of her first date.
Lan Ze did not want to expose it, so he went along with the act. They wandered around the city while everyone cooperated with them. When they passed a rather large house in the city that afternoon, the residents there tearfully begged them to come rest there today.
"Aaaa(Going on a date really is wonderful.)" Tiamat said softly.
She had followed Lan Ze around all day and experienced what dating felt like. It was basically just as she had imagined, and the local residents were enthusiastic and spoke so nicely.
It was just that everyone kept saying she and Lan Ze were a match made in heaven, which made Tiamat a little shy. Lan Ze was clearly her child, so how could he be her lover?
"Mm... As long as you like it." Lan Ze smiled, thinking that it would be strange if this dating experience were not good.
There was practically no one on the street where they stood. The entire road was empty, with only the occasional "passerby" walking past.
Those few people were probably "passersby" Gilgamesh had specifically arranged because he was afraid the atmosphere would feel too unnatural.
Everything had been carefully planned to satisfy the Creation Mother Goddess.
And Tiamat truly was satisfied now. If there had been an affection system, Lan Ze would probably have seen the words "Affection +1 +1 +1 +1 +1."
"Are you thirsty?" Tiamat suddenly asked, her gaze falling on the vegetable juice at a vendor's stall not far away.
This woman probably truly believed dates were exceptionally wonderful now. After all, everything was free, chairs were offered when they got tired, water was offered when they were thirsty, and even passersby on the road gave them thumbs-ups and praised them.
The streets were not crowded at all, everything in this world was wonderful... and humans were not aliens either.
"Do you want vegetable juice?" Lan Ze asked.
Tiamat gently shook her head. She was only worried that Lan Ze might be thirsty. As a Beast, she would be fine even without eating and would not feel thirsty.
"Then no need. I'm not thirsty either." Lan Ze smiled and shook his head in refusal.
If he drank vegetable juice now, he would not have an excuse later to drink with Mother of All...
"Is there anywhere else you want to go?" Lan Ze asked.
Tiamat raised her head and thought for a while before gently shaking it.
She did not have any particular ideas herself. Everything would follow Lan Ze's dating itinerary.
Lan Ze thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go rest for a while first."
After walking all day, he was somewhat tired after all... He needed to replenish a little mana.
Lan Ze led Tiamat into a large house nearby, where the residents welcomed them warmly.
But just as they were about to step through the door, Tiamat suddenly stopped.
She turned her head slightly and looked beyond Uruk's gates, seemingly thinking about something.
"What is it?" Lan Ze asked.
Tiamat shook her head with an "Aaa," then entered the house with Lan Ze.
Meanwhile, far beyond Uruk's gates, Chaldea's group and several Heroic Spirits stood guard outside the city, staring intently at the Beasts that had nearly surrounded the gates.
There were an enormous number of these Beasts.
If so many Beasts charged into the city at once, the entire city would likely be destroyed.
This was the decisive battle, the final showdown.
Uruk's side had long since made up their minds. No matter what, they could not allow these Beasts—or the Beast Goddess currently standing among them—to enter the city.
"So you still refuse to submit to me?"
The Beast Goddess, or rather Gorgon, stood outside the city gates. Her body was enormous. Though she could not compare with Tiamat, she still exuded immense pressure.
At this moment, she swept her gaze over the Heroic Spirits before her.
Mashu raised her shield in front of Ritsuka, staring intently at the goddess ahead.
Beside her, several Heroic Spirits also raised their weapons, watching this Avenger closely.
Avenger, Gorgon.
Before you continue