Chapter 10: Is the Goddess Having a Change of Heart?
To Rowe's disbelief, not only had he survived
He had become stronger.
The sensation wasn't born from his own body.
No, the source was external.
A key.
A permission.
The authority Gilgamesh had casually tossed him: the right to access the Gate of Babylon.
Within that golden armory were innumerable Noble Phantasms
Weapons, treasures, artifacts
Many of which granted automatic reinforcement simply by being connected to them.
For most people, this would be a blessing beyond value.
For Rowe, it was a disaster.
Strengthening himself only made it harder to die.
His gaze drifted toward the golden figure atop the throne. Their eyes met. Gilgamesh grinned like a smug lion.
"You can spare me your gratitude. This King has no interest in hearing a wild dog bark again."
He waved a hand dismissively.
"Originally, I intended to toss you some random treasure for your amusing little circus performance." Gilgamesh clapped once, pleased with himself. "But now you've gone and entertained this King even further. A greater performance deserves a greater reward."
He spread his arms in a grand gesture.
"So I shall lend you the right to use this treasury. Rejoice!"
Self-praising? Always.
Insulting others? Always.
Rowe knew refusing was impossible.
So he simply muttered:
"Idiot."
He hoped, perhaps naïvely, to provoke him again.
But Gilgamesh didn't get angry.
Instead, he looked… entertained.
For those he acknowledged as "kindred spirits," manners were optional.
"…"
Siduri watched this with the profound desire to double-check if the King had been replaced.
"Ahhh, how dare you ignore me?!"
Finally awakened from her shock, Ishtar pointed an accusing finger at both men.
Her crimson gaze snapped to Rowe.
She had seen very clearly that Gilgamesh had intervened. She had seen how Rowe had been handed power from the treasury.
But at this moment, she no longer cared about Gilgamesh.
The humiliation Rowe inflicted on her, calling the Goddess of Beauty ugly had shaken her more deeply than Gilgamesh's usual rejections ever did.
The goddess took a slow breath, settling the emotions in her chest.
Then her lips curved into a cold smile.
"Rowe, is it? I will remember you."
"This is the first time someone has dared claim that I am ugly, or that a goddess does not understand beauty."
The suspended dust glimmered in the beams of light falling through the high windows. Standing amid the luminous haze, Ishtar brushed her hair back, sunlight catching the gold on her skin.
Her crimson lips curved deeper.
"But next time we meet, I shall show you exactly what the beauty of a goddess means."
"You'd better be ready… you bastard."
Wait.
Weren't you here for Gilgamesh?
Why was he suddenly the main target?
Rowe stiffened.
He could already tell.
She felt more humiliated by him than by Gilgamesh.
In other words
She had essentially "switched targets."
Rowe opened his mouth to protest, but Ishtar didn't let him get a word out.
Her figure flickered.
And then vanished entirely.
A burst of laughter erupted from the throne.
"Hmph, hahahaha! As expected of a clown—you truly have talent! This King laughed out loud!"
Rowe turned, dead-fish-eyed.
"Then your sense of humor is as low as an insect's."
Siduri gasped sharply.
Even after everything earlier, she still hadn't adjusted to Rowe's outrageous manner of speaking. She couldn't even comprehend how someone dared address the King like this.
What shocked her even more was—
"Hmph, even if this King were an insect, then I would be a brilliant golden insect that could ascend into the sky and become the blazing sun itself! A radiant insect whose light pierces even the heavens!"
He actually admitted it.
Siduri nearly covered her face.
"Still an insect," Rowe said, climbing the steps. "Just a shiny stink bug."
"If this King is a stink bug, then what are you? A dung beetle?"
"If I'm a dung beetle, then you're the maggot living inside me."
"…"
Siduri watched the two of them bicker with perfect seriousness.
And then
She suddenly burst into laughter.
Both turned to stare at her.
"What?" Rowe and Gilgamesh said in unison.
She couldn't say it. She would never say it.
But to her eyes—
For the first time, Gilgamesh looked like someone who had a companion.
Someone he could banter with.
Someone he treated as an equal in his own strange, distorted way.
"Hmph," Gilgamesh snorted, regaining confidence. "You must also think this fellow is ridiculous, right?"
"You're the ridiculous one, Golden boy," Rowe shot back.
"Golden boy?" the young king repeated, confused.
"It means you walk around flashing gold all day pretending you're impressive."
"Flashing gold…?" Gilgamesh tilted his head. "…A fitting title! Very worthy of this great King!"
Rowe lost interest in continuing their verbal fight.
Too many things had happened today.
All his attempts at death had failed.
He needed a new plan.
He sat down casually at the steps beside the throne, massaging his aching temples.
And surprisingly, neither Gilgamesh nor Siduri objected.
Rowe's behavior minus the explosive temper perfectly matched what they viewed as a loyal retainer.
Especially his act of stepping in front of Ishtar earlier.
To them, it screamed loyalty, courage, and a willingness to sacrifice himself for the King.
With such "virtue," everything else became understandable.
Why isn't Gilgamesh angry at me? Rowe wondered.
Just banish me to the border already…
Siduri interrupted his thoughts.
"King, there is something I must report."
Gilgamesh waved a hand lazily.
"Speak."
His eyes regained the cold, regal glint of a monarch.
Siduri bowed her head.
"It concerns the forest of Demonic Beasts to the west."
Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed.
"Another riot?"
"Yes," Siduri said. "The disturbance has greatly troubled the people near Uruk's border."
"My suggestion is to send a powerful warrior to seal off the entrances to the forest completely, but…"
Gilgamesh finished her sentence for her, sneering:
"But only this great King has the strength, is that it?"
"A pack of mutts. Useless fools."
Siduri remained silent, but her eyes softened.
She knew.
The King would not refuse.