My life didn't dramatically change just because I became free.
Vast plains. I just wasted time looking at the green pastures.
Where should I go? Only that thought lingered.
Should I go back to the group that followed me?
They would probably welcome me with open arms.
Like a king of a nomadic tribe, I could become a plunderer and sweep through this area.
But I didn't want to be a leader.
That is not my path.
I can only accept a few people, rather than shouldering the many.
I cannot become a king of humans like Gilgamesh.
"...I guess I'll just walk."
I walked forward endlessly.
Not knowing east, west, south, or north, I just walked forward.
When the moon had risen five times, I arrived at a small forest.
In the forest, I felt a familiar aura. It was divinity.
It was a similar feeling to Ishtar's, but not perfectly the same.
It was ambiguous. To use a metaphor, twins?
I headed deeper into the forest.
"...I can't do this. I'm not supposed to come out like this."
I peeked from behind a tree.
"So these are trees and grass. How fascinating...."
The goddess Ishtar was treating weeds as if they were a sacred relic.
Not jewels, but just weeds.
Not only that, but instead of trying to wash her dirt-stained hands, she lovingly kneaded the dirt as if it were a luscious fruit.
'...Am I going crazy?'
Ishtar's state was so strange that it made me think such a thing.
No matter how many times I blinked or slapped my own cheek, Ishtar was still the same.
The crazy one wasn't me, it was Ishtar.
She even tried to talk to an earthworm...!
"It's an earthworm! Hello? What's your name?"
"Stop it!"
I immediately jumped out and threw the earthworm in Ishtar's hand far away.
"The Ishtar I know doesn't do things like this."
"Wh-what are you doing!"
A spear appeared in Ishtar's hand. She pointed its tip at me.
"Who are you?!"
I felt something strange again at her tone, as if she were dealing with a complete stranger.
Is she a different... god?
But that shimmering golden hair and red eyes are definitely the face of a god.
Not only that, she looks exactly like Ishtar. On a doppelgänger level.
"What's wrong with you, Ishtar? Did you eat something bad? Is the pain of heartbreak so great that you have to befriend earthworms?"
"Ishtar? Who do you take me for, such a fool! I'm not Ishtar!"
Ishtar isn't the type to self-deprecate, so it was right to assume she was really a different person.
We had a short conversation. I was able to figure out her identity quickly.
She was the goddess of the Underworld, Ereshkigal.
The reason she resembles Ishtar... I can't remember.
When I worked in Uruk, Siduri explained the characteristics of the gods.
But since Ereshkigal is the goddess of the Underworld, she didn't tell me about her as I wouldn't meet her unless I died.
What I know for certain is that she is not supposed to leave the Underworld.
"Why is the god who manages the souls of the dead on the surface world?"
"...Hic."
Don't tell me this goddess is shirking her duties....
"No! It's fine because I came out legitimately!"
"Legitimately? Then did you hand over control of the Underworld?"
"I... I found a substitute and came."
It was a mind-numbing statement.
Ereshkigal waved her hands vigorously and explained.
To summarize her explanation, it could be summed up as, 'Ishtar did an Ishtar'.
The beginning of it all was, of course, when Gilgamesh soundly rejected Ishtar's confession.
Ishtar felt greatly insulted and tried to take her anger out on me as I was returning to Uruk.
Of course, the curse didn't work. I survived, and Ishtar got even more stressed.
And then, as I entered Uruk to persuade Gilgamesh, she, who was waiting outside, watched as Gilgamesh and I had a huge fight.
This was a great shock to Ishtar.
Because I, a Sage King of sorts, was almost killed by Gilgamesh.
I was pushed back because I had no intention of fighting seriously, but that's not how it looked in Ishtar's eyes.
It looked like Gilgamesh was trying to kill a god.
Ishtar felt the fear of death, and to overcome it...
She invaded the Underworld!
"...But why?"
"I don't know either."
If you don't want to die, don't you usually get stronger or look for the elixir of immortality?
But Ishtar was a goddess who had lost her mind long ago.
She deliberately went to the Underworld, Ereshkigal's home ground, and picked a fight.
Of course, there was no way she could win.
Ereshkigal said that after giving Ishtar a good beating, she imprisoned her in the Underworld.
"I understand that Ishtar has lost her mind, but that doesn't seem like a reason for you to be able to leave the Underworld."
"It's just for a very short while, just for tonight...."
It was pitiful. Even an abandoned puppy would be more confident than Ereshkigal.
"I. I've never been to the surface before... I just want to see it like this once... I can't?"
It was a violent assault on the heart.
Teary eyes, slumped shoulders, a youthful face that inspires a desire to protect.
I now felt that Ishtar was using that face all wrong.
"...You don't need to ask for my permission, Ereshkigal."
"Eh. But I... I'm doing something bad, aren't I?"
Ereshkigal, who tapped her index fingers together and turned her head away, was incredibly cute.
Does she have the Authority of Fascination?
My heart pounded and my face flushed against my will.
I tried to calm myself down and spoke nonchalantly.
"Wanting to enjoy nature is a natural right. I don't think it's a bad thing. One needs rest from work as well."
"R-Right? I suppose so, right?"
Ereshkigal, overjoyed, her face lit up.
She took my hands and jumped up and down.
It seemed she had a guilty conscience.
Having abandoned her duties in the Underworld, she probably couldn't enjoy herself with a clear mind.
Now that I had told her it was okay, Ereshkigal was as happy as a foal.
"I worked so hard for 5 years! There must have been a slaughterer on the surface, because 100 souls came in every day and I had no time to rest. I don't even have enough cages to keep them... I was exhausted from working every day!"
"Cough...!"
Guilt.
An indescribable guilt tormented me.
So a slaughterer on the surface sent souls every day. I don't know who it is, but they seem like a really bad person.
I didn't have the courage to meet her eyes.
Unaware of my turmoil, Ereshkigal even teared up as she expressed her gratitude.
"I really worked up the courage to sneak out... I'm so happy you told me it's okay."
My heart aches.
Not as much as when I cursed Tamamo for being like a fairy... but it pricked my conscience to a comparable degree.
"I-I'll reward you with something. The Underworld doesn't have treasures as splendid as the surface, but... we have some!"
"No. It's alright, Ereshkigal."
I tried to let go of her hand.
But in that moment, a single tear fell from Ereshkigal's chin.
"D-Do you hate me now...?"
"No. That's not it…."
Her head sank toward the ground.
And in a voice more gloomy than anyone in the world, she berated herself.
"Just as Ishtar said, I'm a troublesome woman. I'm sorry. I... I just wanted to be friends. I didn't know you'd hate me. No... it's only natural, isn't it? A gloomy goddess of the Underworld like me. Who would want to be friends with...."
I took Ereshkigal's hand.
I held both her hands tightly.
"Ereshkigal."
"Y-Yes."
As her skin was so pale, the way she blushed bright red was also very apparent.
I was probably blushing a similar shade, but for a slightly different reason than her.
"Let's be friends. Us."
"R-Really?"
Her expression visibly brightened.
My intuition warned me. It said nothing good would come from getting too close to her.
Of course, I ignored it.
How could I do such a heartless thing with this pitiful goddess right in front of me?
I still have a human heart.
I pulled her clasped hands. In an instant, she was in my arms.
Ereshkigal looked up at me blankly.
Her gaze was fixed on my lips.
I uttered words that met her expectations.
"Today is Day One."
"O-Okay. Please take care of me."
While feeling that our understanding of the situation was somehow mismatched,
I couldn't take it back.
I felt like I was slowly taking a step into hell.
I struggled with all my might to ignore the encroaching anxiety and the blaring red warnings from my intuition.