"Lady Castorice, I prepared some snacks this morning. You must be weary from the long journey; please, have some."
"Lady Castorice, I've brewed some barley tea. You must be thirsty, right?"
"Lady Castorice~ Lady Castorice~"
Watching Ushiwakamaru fussing over Castorice nonstop, Ana clicked her tongue in irritation.
What are you, a loyal puppy? The moment you see Castorice, your tail starts wagging like crazy...
"Thank you, Ushiwakamaru."
Castorice, a bit flustered by Ushiwakamaru's fervent attention but unwilling to outright reject her kindness, could only offer a passive thanks.
Hmm... Ushiwakamaru's nonexistent tail seemed to be wagging even more enthusiastically now...
Currently, Castorice, along with Merlin, Ushiwakamaru, and Ana, had left Uruk and begun making their way toward Mount Ebih.
That was the location of Ishtar's temple.
The purpose of their journey was to persuade Ishtar to become an ally of Uruk.
Gilgamesh couldn't leave his post, and Siduri needed to assist her king, so this task naturally fell upon Castorice's shoulders.
Accompanying her were Merlin as their guide, and Ushiwakamaru serving as both attendant and bodyguard.
And of course, there was also the masterless, slightly sour little loaf, Ana.
Along the way, it wasn't as if Castorice hadn't tried talking to Ana, but each time she was met with nothing but sarcastic remarks.
When it came to the little one being jealous, Castorice didn't really have a good solution either...
She'd just have to coax her slowly. Given Ana's personality, she'd probably get over it on her own soon enough. She wasn't the type to hold a massive grudge; she was just having a little trouble adjusting right now.
After half a day of travel, Ushiwakamaru's initial excitement had worn off, and Ana's sour mood had dissipated. Everything had returned to normal.
Well, except for the fact that Castorice couldn't quite figure out why Ana was giving her these strangely lingering, melancholic looks.
"Speaking of which, will Ishtar really agree to our request? That woman seems incredibly willful from what I've seen."
Ushiwakamaru couldn't help but voice her doubts about their objective.
She'd witnessed Ishtar's capriciousness firsthand, and she certainly didn't seem like the reasonable type...
"It should be fine. Ishtar might be a bit willful, a bit tsundere, a bit spoiled, but overall, she's a benevolent goddess. Besides, with the secret technique Gilgamesh gave us, it should be manageable," Castorice said with a light laugh.
"Maybe she'll agree as soon as you ask. After all, that goddess seems to think quite highly of you," Ana chimed in from the side.
"We're just friends. Plus, I'm one of the few people who still actively offers her tribute. It's normal for her to have some goodwill towards me," Castorice replied, feeling a bit embarrassed by Ana's teasing.
"But still, even if she isn't a bad goddess, her actions can be pretty contradictory," Ana added.
"You're talking about how she attacked the ranch to protect it from the magical beasts?" Castorice looked over at Ana.
"Yeah, doesn't that seem weird no matter how you think about it? Destroying the ranch herself to prevent it from being destroyed by magical beasts..."
Ana couldn't resist complaining.
Wasn't that a bit like, 'To prevent the hostage from being killed by the ruffian, we'll just kill the hostage first—problem solved!'
Totally a 'Russian move,' so to speak.
Of course, the analogy might not be perfect. After all, while Ishtar destroyed the ranch, there were no human casualties, and she did eliminate all the magical beasts.
Ishtar didn't deserve to be judged that harshly; at worst, it was a case of being heavy-handed.
As for extorting wealth from the rancher, Castorice didn't have much of an opinion.
Ishtar had, after all, genuinely saved the rancher's life. Taking some gold and valuables in return was understandable.
Once you lose your life, you've lost everything.
Even if her methods were clumsy and tsundere, Ishtar was genuinely trying to protect Uruk in her own way.
Pulling the donkey cart laden with gold, silver, and jewels, Castorice and the others soon arrived at Ishtar's temple.
Mainly, its glittering, golden facade made it instantly recognizable as Ishtar's domain.
Just as the group was about to enter the temple, a blast of light shot down from its summit.
"Look out!"
Ushiwakamaru reacted swiftly, unsheathing her sword and slicing the light blast in two. The divided beams shot past Castorice and the others, obliterating two massive boulders behind them.
"You have the nerve to show up here so brazenly for a sightseeing trip? First, you get beaten to a pulp by the Beast Goddess, and now it's my turn? You really have no respect for gods, do you? And... who gave you permission to climb Mount Ebih and enter my temple?"
Ishtar stood atop Maanna, glaring down at them with clear displeasure.
Evidently, she had misunderstood the reason for their visit.
"Even if we wanted to knock, there isn't exactly a door..." Merlin muttered helplessly.
"You should probably keep quiet," Ana said, equally exasperated. They weren't here to pick a fight. What if they actually managed to piss off this goddess?
"It seems my previous attitude led to some misunderstandings. I am different from you humans. Continuing to associate with you damages my dignity. I am the Goddess of War and the Venus Goddess, Ishtar, renowned as the goddess among goddesses."
"From your formation, it doesn't look like you're here to subjugate me, but it doesn't matter! I, Ishtar, would rather jump off this mountain, crash into the ravine below, than ever agree to become your ally!"
With that, Ishtar, gripping her golden sword, charged at them.
However, during the skirmish, Castorice instinctively maneuvered so that Ishtar's attack struck the bag of gems she was carrying.
Instantly, a shower of gems filled the air, scattering in a riot of colors.
And in that very moment, Ishtar's eyes went wide.
As stated before, as a goddess who adored gems, Ishtar lacked the Golden Rule.
From times past till now, the only gems she possessed came from offerings. And now, without believers nor offerings, she naturally had no source of gems...
"Oh no~! All the gems we intended as tribute to you have been spilled!" Castorice exclaimed, delivering the line with painfully stilted acting.
Under normal circumstances, Ishtar would have immediately spotted the act, but now... her eyes were utterly captivated by the gems.
"What? What is all this? So many gems! So many!" Hovering mid-air, Ishtar stared in shock, her eyes filled with utter avarice.
In an instant, her resolve was severely shaken!
--+--
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.