After all, Lord El-Melloi II had appeared earlier.
Tokiomi Tohsaka had never expected his eldest daughter to become a vessel for a Heroic Spirit too, much less a divine spirit.
But this was hardly something to celebrate.
Tokiomi Tohsaka had done his homework thoroughly to summon the King of Heroes, so naturally, he also knew about the feud between Gilgamesh and Ishtar.
What if those two took offense at each other and started fighting, demolishing his house?
Under their influence, the atmosphere throughout the Tohsaka household became incredibly strange.
Before long, the next day arrived.
[Ding! The quiz will begin in ten minutes. All group members, please prepare.] [Ding! New members "Red Hare," "El-Melloi II," "Kiritsugu," and "Goddess of Venus" have joined the group chat.]
Red Hare: "Oh, Master, is this the group you mentioned?"
Feng Xi: "Yes, let me give you a quick lesson on how to use it..."
Waver: "Um, we all know Red Hare, but who is this Goddess of Venus?"
Goddess of Venus: "Hahaha! I am Ishtar, the goddess of beauty who rules over Venus. You mortals should obediently offer tribute to your goddess and seek her protection."
"Ishtar?"
Feng Xi, who had just briefly explained the group's functions to Red Hare, froze.
How did this goofy goddess get added to the group? Weren't all the members supposed to be people connected to the Fourth War?
Could someone have summoned Ishtar?
In that case, that girl Rin Tohsaka was the most likely candidate.
But hadn't that girl only received a bronze treasure chest? That shouldn't have yielded a summoning card.
No, the more I think about it, the more confusing it gets.
"Boy Feng, do you know this goddess?"
Zhang Jue asked curiously from beside him.
He did not know much about gods outside China.
"Yes. She's the goddess who symbolizes beauty, harvests, and battle in Mesopotamian mythology."
Feng Xi promptly recounted Ishtar's deeds.
"Hahaha! So she's that little king's nemesis? Now that's interesting."
Zhang Jue laughed outright after hearing this.
Feng Xi, however, was not so optimistic.
Ishtar was very likely Loli Rin's Servant, and was probably living under the same roof as Gilgamesh now.
Since those two had not started fighting, they must have reached some sort of agreement.
But Feng Xi had guessed wrong again this time.
How could those two possibly reach an agreement? After all, Chuunibyou Gilgamesh was not Wise King Gilgamesh.
Ishtar declared that she was only temporarily "letting Gilgamesh off" out of consideration for Tokiomi Tohsaka.
At Tokiomi Tohsaka's request last night, Ishtar had been forced to agree not to fight Gilgamesh for the time being. Only then had Gilgamesh withdrawn the Chains of Heaven and released her.
But afterward, Ishtar had moved into a hotel with the three Tohsaka women, mother and daughters.
After all, although Gilgamesh and Ishtar had said they would not fight, if they continued living together, that verbal agreement would be broken sooner or later.
There was no other choice but to separate them.
In fact, Tokiomi Tohsaka had already been considering having his wife and daughters stay elsewhere temporarily.
After all, the king in his house was simply too difficult to serve.
But because of the incident involving Old Worm, he had not dared settle his wife and daughters elsewhere.
Now that they had the goddess Ishtar protecting them, Old Worm was no longer a cause for concern.
Kayneth: "A goddess! Are you really a divine spirit?"
Goddess of Venus: "Of course. I'm a genuine goddess."
Kayneth: "But how could a god descend to participate in the War of the Holy Grail?"
Kayneth could hardly be blamed for his shock. There had never been a precedent for a divine spirit participating in the War of the Holy Grail.
Ultimately, there were two reasons for this.
The first was their own choice.
The Heroic Spirits who participated in the War of the Holy Grail all had something they desired, and thus answered the summons and descended.
For example, Our King wanted to change the history of Camelot's destruction, while the King of Conquerors wanted to obtain a physical body.
Feng Xi had also asked Zhang Jue about his wish. He had said he merely wanted to see what the world was like now.
Most divine spirits, however, had no particular wishes they wanted fulfilled, and felt there was no point in participating in the War of the Holy Grail.
The second reason was that divine spirits were too powerful. Their descent would upset the balance, so they were prohibited.
Chapter 32: Our King vs. Bluebeard
(Bluebeard)
If divine spirits wanted to descend in the present day, their only option was to become Heroic Spirits.
But becoming a Heroic Spirit was not easy for a powerful divine spirit.
The first method was to downgrade their own divinity, with the Gorgon Sisters being representative examples.
The second was to become a Pseudo-Servant. Ishtar and Ereshkigal had both chosen this option.
The third was to use an avatar, turning one of their avatars into a Heroic Spirit to descend. This was how Quetzal had done it.
To modern mages, beings such as divine spirits were truly far too distant.
[Ding! The first question is about to begin!]
The start of the quiz successfully interrupted the commotion among Kayneth and the others.
[This question consists of three stages. Group members, please take note.] [Please watch the following video. Three questions will be asked in succession during the video, with five minutes to answer each question. All group members may buzz in.] [A correct answer earns 3 Saint Quartz. An incorrect answer deducts 1 Saint Quartz.] [If no one answers correctly within five minutes, that question will be void.] [Now, please watch the video carefully.] [In a forest at night, Artoria was hurrying forward.] [When he reached a clearing in the forest, he found the ground covered in the corpses of children.] ["Welcome, Jeanne d'Arc."] [Bluebeard appeared behind Artoria, holding a child captive with one hand as he gesticulated excitedly. "What do you think of this dreadful sight? Heartbreaking, isn't it?"]
Rin Tohsaka: "Ah! What is this?!"
Tokiomi Tohsaka: "Rin, Sakura, close your eyes. Don't look at this."
Waver: "Bluebeard, you bastard! You actually killed so many children!"
Bluebeard: "Ah, what a beautiful sight."
Bluebeard: "What a pity I couldn't descend. Otherwise, Jeanne d'Arc, I would certainly prepare an even grander banquet to welcome you."
Artoria: "You mongrel! If you dare appear before me, I'll beat you until there's nothing left!"
Our King was so furious that she had started swearing, which showed just how angry she was.
["Let that child go, you bastard!"] [Artoria quickly turned around to attack, but could only stop for fear of hurting the child.] ["Jeanne d'Arc, since you're so eager to save this child..."] [Bluebeard released the child outright and said with a grin, "All right, little one, cheer up. The devout messenger of God says she'll save you."] [The terrified child immediately ran to Artoria and clung to her.] ["All right, it's dangerous here. Run..."] [Artoria was comforting the child when the child's body suddenly burst apart, turning into a pitch-black octopus monster that bound Artoria tightly.] [At the same time, the children's corpses around her also turned into octopuses, surrounding Artoria completely.]
"What are these monsters?!"
Everyone was startled by the scene.
Artoria: "Bluebeard, you bastard!"
El-Melloi II: "Gilles de Rais, you're repulsive no matter where I see you."