On the road northeast toward Kutha, the group passed several pastures managed by Uruk.
As a result, the investigation team took on a new task—inspecting these pastures.
The reason was simple: every single one had been attacked by Ishtar. The once flat and fertile grasslands were now riddled with large craters.
It was the aftermath of Ishtar's indiscriminate aerial bombardnt. The grazing fields were ruined, the sheep pens destroyed, and the herders were at their wits' end.
"My family has worshipped the goddess Ishtar for generations! To suffer such heavy losses while she laughed like that... it's just too much!"
"The sheep scattered in every direction after being shot at! She even killed all her own Magical Beasts while laughing like a maniac!"
"After all that destruction, she even stole all the jewels from my family! She laughed and said, 'Hand over the jewels and I'll let you off easy!'"
The herders vented their frustration and grievances one after another.
Shiomi, Scáthach, and Morgan were all left speechless. Sakura, on the other hand, looked like she might storm Ishtar's temple on Mount Ebih that very mont.
There had been no casualties, and no valuable sheep were killed—but even so, the looting was beyond unacceptable.
"That's not a goddess. That's a demon."
That night, while camping on the Tigris River in the reed-covered Phragmites Prairie between Kutha and Uruk, Shiomi shared his thoughts as they discussed their findings over dinner.
"She's quite different from her mythological image. Ishtar is definitely a goddess with a fondness for jewels and treasures… but I've never heard of any stories where she directly robs people," Scáthach said with a wry smile.
After all, bad deeds tend to spread like wildfire. If she'd done sothing like that, at least so version of it would've been passed down.
"About that…" Sakura suddenly rembered. "Right before we left, Ms. Mari ca to and told sothing about the goddess Ishtar."
"Why didn't she just tell all of us?" Shiomi frowned, referring to Mari.
That Magus always acted like as long as the big picture was fine, the details didn't matter much. The fact that she made a point of telling Sakura ant even Mari saw it as important.
Sakura looked at them. "When the Magical Beasts appeared in the north, the witches at the Temple of Uruk secretly perford a ritual behind the king's back. They tried to summon the city goddess Ishtar. Since she's also the patron deity of Uruk, so people with questionable motives believed she could protect the city."
"But at this point in ti, the gods no longer exist in this world. To descend, they need a 'host.' Without a vessel, they can't remain here," Morgan added, her voice calm but firm.
Sakura nodded emphatically. "So they prepared a human girl, and in the end, they managed to summon Ishtar—rged with the girl's own consciousness."
"In other words, the current Ishtar is probably different from the one in myths because their personalities fused?" Shiomi nodded in realization.
But Sakura pressed her palm to her forehead. "Honestly, doesn't she remind you a lot of my sister?"
Whether the girl used as a vessel was Rin Tohsaka herself, or perhaps her incarnation from the distant Age of Gods, Sakura couldn't say.
But she felt strongly that the girl's soul was almost identical to her sister's. As blood relatives, every ti she saw Ishtar, she couldn't shake the feeling that sothing was off—as if their family had sohow ended up cursed.
Regardless of the truth, Ishtar was part of the Three Goddess Alliance. She was a threat they couldn't avoid forever—sooner or later, they would have to face her.
"Still not sleeping?"
While Shiomi was crouched by the river, pondering the future course of action for the Singularity, Morgan's voice sounded behind him.
"I woke up naturally today, and it's just past nine… not exactly the easiest ti to fall asleep." Shiomi glanced back at her with a smile. "You know I never turn in before ten."
"True." Morgan nodded. "So, you're thinking about Kutha?"
"Yeah. They say the city lost contact with Uruk after the Three Goddess Alliance appeared. By the ti the investigation team arrived, everything had gone completely silent. There wasn't a single wound on any of the citizens—just peacefully passed, as if they'd fallen asleep." Shiomi stared at the flowing river. "We've already seen how Ishtar fights. She prefers to attack with jewels or so other thod—"
Morgan raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying?"
"That kind of death—dying in one's sleep—it feels more like a 'curse of death'… no, calling it a curse doesn't quite fit either. It's just… this kind of calm death doesn't seem like sothing Ishtar would do." Shiomi went on, "Even when she wanted revenge on Enkidu for killing the Bull of Heaven, Gugalanna, she had to rely on other gods."
So then—who killed the entire population of Kutha? And did it with such gentleness?
He felt like the answer was right in front of him, just one step out of reach—
"Don't overthink it. So things only beco clear when they're right in front of you. That's when you can gather more information and plan your next move. Guessing blindly won't get you anywhere."
"It's just a bad habit of mine. I always feel like if I can't grasp the situation, I'll end up dragging everyone into danger." Shiomi stood up. "I… have a responsibility to protect them."
"As an adult? A father? A teacher?"
"All of the above," Shiomi t Morgan's gaze. "And as a husband."
"Then fulfill your responsibility as a husband."
Morgan looped her arms around his neck, her lips drawing closer.
Knowing full well it wouldn't end with just a kiss, Shiomi gently pressed a hand to her shoulder. "Let's not… Sakura's still at the camp. Aren't you worried she'll catch us?"
"That's… a serious issue," Morgan murmured, seemingly accepting his reasoning.
But before the tension could settle, Scáthach's voice chid in, making the whole thing moot.
"No need to worry. I cast a sleeping spell on Sakura. She'll be out until morning."
Her sudden appearance left Shiomi completely flustered.
"You're way too cooperative."
He pulled Morgan into an embrace, then freed one hand to take his master's extended one.
Even as he said that, Shiomi had no intention of letting go of such a tender mont.
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