Ishtar truly did not want to go to a place like the Underworld. She could go anywhere else, but the Underworld was her natural enemy. If she went there, she was guaranteed to have bad luck.
But out of everyone present, she was the only one who had been to the Underworld before, so they obviously needed someone to lead the way.
And besides, they had already pulled out the goading tactic. At that point, she could only grit her teeth and bring everyone inside.
"Sigh… this is all your fault."
As expected, after passing through those gates, the divine power on Ishtar's body was stripped away, and she turned into an extremely tiny little Thumbelina.
She knew this would happen. The moment she entered the Underworld, she was bound to get unlucky.
"Not gonna lie, you actually look pretty cute like this," Koji said with a grin.
Tiny Ishtar could be held right in one hand. She was just too small to use as a cup.
"Do not use 'cute' to describe a goddess," Ishtar said irritably.
In this form, she felt that being called cute was nothing but mockery.
Damn that Ereshkigal. She had actually turned her into this state, making her lose face so badly she was practically being humiliated.
"So many people have come to see this king."
Gilgamesh walked out. His expression had not changed much, but Koji keenly noticed that there was something just a little off in his gaze.
"Yo, Goldie, I already warned you before, and you still managed to work yourself to death," Koji said teasingly.
He had told the truth, but Gilgamesh refused to listen. Now, of course, he had to make fun of him properly.
Gilgamesh's expression stiffened for a moment. You really have a talent for bringing up the one thing that should not be mentioned. Couldn't you at least leave this king a little dignity?
"This king's death this time was merely a moment of carelessness. It is nothing worth mentioning. The Underworld is practically this king's own backyard," Gilgamesh said, forcing himself to keep up appearances.
In front of so many people, he naturally had to preserve his dignity.
"I understand now. In other words, King Gilgamesh, you're very familiar with this place, so this probably isn't your first time dying," Fujimaru Ritsuka said, clapping their hands together.
Gilgamesh: "..."
His expression almost broke entirely.
What nonsense are you blurting out? Why are you saying the blunt truth out loud? How is he supposed to recover from that?
He really was very familiar with the Underworld. He had been here before, and now he felt thoroughly irritated.
He had originally planned to tease Ishtar a little, but now he was no longer in the mood for it.
Forget it. Better to go see the mistress of this place. He might call it his backyard, but the true owner was Ereshkigal, who resided in the palace deep within.
Following the winding, twisting road, Koji and the others arrived at the palace.
"We're here, Eresh," Koji said with a smile, waving at her.
Ereshkigal's face turned red on the spot. Being called that in front of so many people was too much for her thin skin to handle.
Was this a joke? If he called her that in private, she would only be a little shy. But now? This was social death.
Hadn't he seen how Ishtar was already laughing so hard she was about to bloom?
"You know each other?" Gilgamesh asked, his expression strange.
Addressing a goddess who ruled over death like that… this really was eye-opening. Still, he had no intention of saying anything. Quietly watching the drama was good enough.
"Hahahaha! Ereshkigal, seeing you blush like this is really rare!"
Ishtar laughed without restraint, and Ereshkigal's face immediately darkened.
Did she not realize what state she herself was in right now? Who exactly had given her the courage to laugh so recklessly?
Boom!
A bolt of lightning suddenly fell. Ishtar let out a scream and instantly curled into a little ball.
This was no ordinary lightning. To Ishtar, it was lethally effective.
"Ereshkigal, you hateful—"
Boom!
Ereshkigal remained expressionless and raised a hand, bestowing another bolt of lightning upon Ishtar. The moment Ishtar opened her mouth, black smoke puffed out.
Boom!
Ishtar was still stubbornly talking back, and Ereshkigal showed no mercy at all, continuing to greet her with lightning strikes.
Everyone twitched at the corners of their mouths. Just looking at it hurt. Ishtar really was miserable.
"Eresh, that's about enough. She wasn't exactly bright to begin with. If you keep striking her, she'll probably turn into a brain-damaged goddess," Koji said with a laugh.
With Ishtar's personality, getting her to soften up in front of Ereshkigal was practically impossible, so the only option was to persuade Ereshkigal instead.
"Fine. For your sake, my friend, I won't stoop to arguing with this idiot," Ereshkigal said with a nod.
Even if Koji had not said anything, she had already planned to stop. Venting a little was enough.
"She's about seventy percent done, right?" Fujimaru Ritsuka said, sniffing the air as if they could smell roasted meat.
Yikes. Ereshkigal really was ruthless. Getting struck by that kind of lightning had to feel unbelievably intense.
"Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Yes, I'd say she's a little cooked."
Gilgamesh folded his arms across his chest and gave his evaluation in the tone of a seasoned gourmet.
"You lot, enough already. Are you actually planning to eat me?"
Ishtar's tiny body trembled, and the blackened scorch marks flaked off, but her face looked exhausted. Clearly, she was not completely fine.
This feeling was awful. After being struck by lightning again and again, the drive for revenge inside her no longer even felt like her own.
Why was it that after coming down to the Underworld, she was only here as a guide, yet she was the only one who got hurt?
That overwhelming sense of unfairness shattered her mentally. If she were not afraid of embarrassing herself, she would probably be crying and throwing a tantrum right there.
"Eresh, join our side."
"Okay."
Ereshkigal agreed without even thinking. Ishtar's mouth twitched. She really had accepted that fast.
Whatever. There was no point thinking about that sort of thing. Being able to make a friend at all was already no easy thing for Ereshkigal.
"I'll help dissolve that alliance contract."
Koji glanced at the old man standing on the cliff and gave a slight nod. Strictly speaking, this should have been the job of that Grand Assassin.
King Hassan nodded and silently disappeared. Aside from a select few, no one noticed the figure of this Grand Servant at all.
"Eh?"
Ereshkigal felt a hand land on her head, and her cheeks immediately turned red again. It was actually a headpat.
She felt like her brain was about to overheat. In a situation like this, what was she even supposed to do? She truly had no idea.
For a goddess like Ereshkigal, when had anyone ever dared touch her like this? She had absolutely no resistance to it.
Koji quickly withdrew his hand. The alliance was already undone.
"Cough… thank you," Ereshkigal said softly, embarrassed out of her mind, hurriedly pretending to compose herself.
Ishtar's mouth dropped open, and her eyes went round as saucers. Was this really the Ereshkigal she knew? What kind of joke was this?
She could not believe her own eyes. This was not the mistress of the Underworld at all. She was obviously just a delicate little girl, with not a shred of majesty to be found.
(End of Chapter)
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