A promise

On the throne in Uruk, Gilgamesh poured himself a glass of fruit wine and savored it. The sweet, fruity aroma filled his taste buds, and feeling this long-lost tranquility, he was in high spirits.

The number of monsters in Mesopotamia has decreased significantly, and the Lahmu that interfered with Uruk has disappeared. Tiamat sleeps as peacefully as a corpse.

Finally, he found a brief moment of peace, a peace that had not been present in him for a long time.

To be so extravagant as to drink alcohol in broad daylight is truly... lazy. Daytime is for official business, the throne, and even the king's workplace—none of which should be associated with alcohol.

But I'm currently unemployed!

So, having a small drink is no big deal. Whew, this one seems to taste even better than the others of the same kind.

Without the pressure of urgent government affairs, even the wine in my hand tastes better.

Before the arrival of the Bai Mo, Gilgamesh felt he was waging a hopeless war. The problems were immense, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and push through, even if it meant dying a glorious death.

But now, the problem is still huge, so huge that it's beyond his capabilities, but the things he needs to do have become simpler.

Stabilize Uruk and provide full support to Bai Mo.

Just as he was enjoying this precious leisure time, a blue-purple vortex suddenly appeared before his eyes, as if countless stars had gathered there, mysterious, profound, and unknown.

Two figures emerged from the vortex gate; it was Bai Mo and Ninkigal.

Gilgamesh's gaze froze instantly. He looked at Ninkigal beside Bai Mo, his brain like a computer overclocking and crashing. Then he managed to squeeze out a thought.

It's okay, don't panic. This is a serious matter; panicking won't help.

He slowly sipped the wine in his glass. Human strength has its limits; at times like this, nothing he did mattered.

"Phew, you're finally back. Where's Manaka?"

"She naturally went back to where she came from, to a city hundreds of miles away... Wait, something's not right about this planet, how can there be so many..."

Ninkigal frowned. She sensed a large amount of Magnetic Field Power, and its effects were far-reaching. If it were on her side, she would probably deal with this unstable planet directly.

But then I thought, there must be a corresponding Underworld here, so I said no more.

"Alright, the contract is now established. I'll modify the Command Spell. When you're strong enough, call upon me..."

And, do you really not need my blessing? The goddess's promise is priceless.

Bai Mo shook his head and said, "The most expensive things are those that are priceless."

Upon hearing this, Ninkigal snorted softly, hugged his knees, floated into the air, and revealed a charming smile as he gazed at Bai Mo.

She was like a newborn baby, and in her last glance, she made no attempt to hide her intense interest as she stared at the person before her.

The Starry Night transformed into a sphere, and as the light faded, a golden figure emerged from the darkness.

"Ughhh!"

The goddess of the Underworld uttered a sound that utterly humiliated her, sounding like a cat tossed into the air and not caught. And below her, Bai Mo only needed to reach out and catch her.

He took a step back, and then suddenly released a gentle lifting force from his body, defying gravity to lift Ereshkigal up. This reminded the goddess of the Underworld of her status as a goddess, and she manipulated her power to fly.

She straightened herself up, and when she looked up, she met Bai Mo's expressionless face. Ereshkigal's cheeks flushed red, and she said, both embarrassed and annoyed, "What did you mean by stepping back like that?! It was so hurtful! I..."

As she said this, Ereshkigal suddenly squatted down and covered her face. At that moment, she suddenly remembered that she was a "failed rescuer," and cried out in her heart:

"How come I didn't help at all! I even spent six hours tidying myself up in front of the mirror, hoping he would witness the splendor of the goddess of the Underworld and be genuinely proud of me."

Ugh, if this keeps up, I'll become a useless goddess like Ishtar in his eyes!

The environment around Ereshkigal turned gloomy, exuding an atmosphere that made people reluctant to approach. Bai Mo and Gilgamesh both looked at this unpredictable goddess with speechless expressions.

Bai Mo patted Ereshkigal on the shoulder and said, "Are you alright now?"

Hearing these words of concern, Ereshkigal raised her head slightly. The thought that Bai Mo was actually willing to talk to her, a powerless goddess second only to Ishtar, brought her some comfort.

"Waaah... I'm sorry, I couldn't be of any help this time."

"What are you saying? Without your support, I probably wouldn't have dared to take the risk. And although the process was a bit complicated, I was able to leave this time thanks to you."

Bai Mo squatted down next to Ereshkigal. If Caren were here, she would find Bai Mo's tone of voice very familiar, as if she were coaxing a child.

"Really... really?" Ereshkigal asked timidly.

"Of course, after all, I'd have a headache if you weren't around."

At this moment, Ereshkigal was unable to read Bai Mo's thoughts. She felt a surge of relief, along with a secret joy that she herself was unaware of.

Of course, if she knew that Bai Mo was primarily Authority of the Underworld, her mood, which had just turned from gloomy to sunny, would likely immediately turn into a downpour.

Just as Bai Mo was about to get up, he suddenly felt a pressure from behind, which pushed him to the ground.

Arcueid! Could you please greet me in another way?

Bai Mo turned to look at the large golden cat that was holding down his limbs, and used his strength to break free from its hold.

"Hmph, this time you had to use force to escape from me, you could call that progress."

Previously, Bai Mo's speed in extricating himself was so fast that Arcueid couldn't even detect it, but now Arcueid can clearly sense the power Bai Mo used to escape. This rate of growth is nothing short of heaven-defying, considering that Bai Mo's agility is absolutely top-notch.

"Yes, you've indeed progressed very quickly, but you still need to solidify your foundation these next few days. Very good, keep it up."

Nodding in agreement, Arcueid's progress was indeed as she had imagined. Arcueid's temperament meant she would hardly encounter any bottlenecks, making the path to her Complete Realm realm a smooth one.

Arcueid chuckled inwardly: You yourself asked me to keep this up~ One day, you won't be able to escape it.

Gilgamesh, standing not far away, calmly put away the recording Magecraft prop in his hand and asked:

"It seems you've encountered quite a few unexpected events this time. Let's talk about it here. Ereshkigal, you stay too. What happened to you? How did you end up like that..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gilgamesh suddenly shifted his perspective and saw a figure flying towards them through the window—it was Ishtar.

Wait, Ishtar?

"Ereshkigal, if Ishtar is over there, what are you doing here? This isn't the Underworld, and you two don't share a body, do you?"

In the distant reaches of the heavens, across countless light-years, deep within the Azure Radiance Galaxy, Ninkigal slowly opened his eyes.

"I never expected such an accident. Rest assured, broken soul of a stranger, I will grant you eternal peace once you reach the end of your journey."

She frowned, looking at the mirror opposite her, and said with some dissatisfaction, "No, this is too cold-hearted. This might be the first soul from outside the realm I've acquired; it has to leave a deep impression."