"Of course, make yourself at ho." Ritsuka naturally had no objections and invited Ishtar to sit beside him.
Ishtar smiled and nodded at him, then shot a glare at expressionless Amber, who imdiately realized she had now switched to Ereshkigal.
"You were quite shocked seeing Uruk's current state today, weren't you?" Deliberately sitting as far away from Amber as possible, Ereshkigal spoke in a tone that suggested she was sulking.
"Well..."
Ritsuka fell silent for a mont, recalling the jungle city he'd entered following Jaguar Man, then nodded.
"Even though Quetzalcoatl brought everyone back, they all seed so listless... And... it didn't seem like exhaustion from training. It's completely different from Uruk."
"That's true, but in this era, Uruk is actually the unusual one..."
Ereshkigal sighed, her expression tinged with sadness. "After all, not all humans are that strong... There are people who, no matter how hard they try, cannot succeed. It has nothing to do with courage or cowardice—it's simply that living beings have inherent strengths and weaknesses."
"Moreover... even Gilgash and Quetzalcoatl don't understand... no, they haven't prioritized this. If the world only acknowledges the strong and brilliant, then the weak and shadowy have no place to stand."
"It's not about protecting others because they're weak, but rather that so things can only be seen through the eyes of the vulnerable."
"I don't want to scorn this. I wish for all things to be equal."
These weren't words Ishtar would ever say, Ritsuka easily concluded.
He couldn't refute her, because the goddess's words weren't wrong.
Nor did he need to refute her, because the goddess's wish was undoubtedly beautiful.
Amber likewise found no fault with it.
Seeing their tacit agreent, Ereshkigal felt a flicker of joy inside—her efforts to organize her thoughts hadn't been in vain.
"Thank you for opening up to us, and... about before, I'm sorry," Amber spoke up.
"Before?" Ritsuka initially thought she was talking to him, but quickly realized otherwise.
Rembering the night Amber and Ishtar had shared watch duty, he understood they must have had a previous conversation that ended badly.
"N-Now's not the ti for that! I won't forgive you just like that!" Ereshkigal's cheeks flushed crimson as she recalled how Amber's few words had made her feel both wronged and angry, ending with her fleeing in disgrace.
"I just thought, since you reluctantly count as my friend! I ca to warn you! If you get taken out by so other goddess before facing , I won't forgive you even if you end up in the underworld!"
"Ah..."
Amber, who had only been offering a polite gesture, hadn't expected her to still be so upset.
She didn't think she'd said anything that offensive last ti. How co Ereshkigal and Quetzalcoatl had reacted so differently to the sa words?
Rembering Ishtar's comnts about 'she good, I evil; she evil, I good,' Amber began to wonder if she had indeed said sothing offensive without realizing it.
Or perhaps her thought processes were just more aligned with that South Arican alien's?
"You an you didn't even take it seriously!? Unbelievable!" Ereshkigal, watching Amber's distracted expression, flushed even deeper—this ti clearly from anger.
"About that previous topic! Why don't you tell what happened!" Ritsuka quickly interjected.
"Hmph, fine."
Ereshkigal had a favorable impression of Ritsuka too. Having hit a wall with Amber twice now, she hoped a third party could judge. She recounted the conversation between her and Amber, including many details Amber herself barely rembered.
It was clear she'd been deeply affected by it...
Amber was already considering how to appease the underworld goddess.
After listening to the whole story, Ritsuka rely nodded thoughtfully and said, "I see."
If she hadn't spoken with Amber, Ereshkigal might not have cared much about getting a specific evaluation.
She would do what she felt was right regardless. Though she secretly longed for praise and recognition, having never received it, she didn't truly expect it.
However, now, with her anger stirred by Amber, Ereshkigal wasn't satisfied with Ritsuka's neutral response.
"So, what do you think? Master?" she pressed.
"Eh..." Ritsuka's mouth twitched as he realized he'd picked up a hot potato.
"Don't tell you're going to say the sa things as Fu Hua?" Ereshkigal's expression turned upset—a mix of anger and sorrow that was genuinely heartbreaking to see. "You don't agree with either?"
"Ah..."
Ritsuka very much wanted to say that was indeed the case, but how could he say that to that face?
Noticing the goddess's focus had shifted to Ritsuka, Amber interceded out of pity. "I don't think this is a matter of right or wrong, but rather one of perspective and choice."
Ereshkigal knew that, but she just wanted soone to affirm her.
When she had no friends, she never received recognition or praise. Now that she had friends, it was still the sa. What was the point of having friends then?
She knew that compared to that South Arican chief deity, her own thoughts, feelings, and even actions were sowhat selfish.
But... perhaps influenced by her vessel's personality, she now preferred expressing her thoughts and feelings rather than suppressing them.
"I'm going to sleep."
Not wanting to continue being unreasonable, Ereshkigal pouted, stood up, and left.
Amber and Ritsuka exchanged a look, mutual embarrassnt clear in their eyes.
Realizing this, Ritsuka couldn't help but feel amused. The more ti he spent with the Celestial, the more he sensed she wasn't cold or unfeeling.
Beneath that cool, detached exterior lay a warm heart—she just wasn't very good at expressing it.
Ti quickly passed, and morning arrived.
Ritsuka had ultimately been unable to fight off his drowsiness. Or perhaps he understood that, to maintain his energy, even three or four hours of sleep were necessary, so he'd forced himself to sleep in the latter half of the night.
After gathering their wits, the group discussed how to infiltrate Quetzalcoatl's temple. The best opportunity would be when Quetzalcoatl left for Uruk again—the unguarded temple would allow them to wreak havoc freely. But Ritsuka vetoed that plan.
After thinking it over last night and reaching a decision, Ritsuka didn't intend to make destroying the temple their goal.
Just as with his conversation with Ishtar, he hoped to win Quetzalcoatl over to their side completely.
If that was the case, they absolutely had to face the goddess directly and respond to her passion—otherwise, they could never earn her recognition and help.
Chaldea was never the decision-making body, but the support system. The one being supported was, of course, Ritsuka, humanity's last Master, who had already survived six Singularities.
In a Singularity, Ritsuka's will was, therefore, Chaldea's will.
rlin didn't have any objections either. Though he preferred safely retrieving the Holy Grail and resolving this Singularity, the Grail's whereabouts remained a mystery. To confront the potential greatest crisis, having Quetzalcoatl at full strength was far more valuable than a weakened one.
And so, steeling themselves for a direct confrontation, the group followed Jaguar Man into Eridu, the city where Quetzalcoatl's temple stood.
-- --
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.
User Comments
0 comments from readers