Chapter 28: Gilgamesh Is Like a Husky
The kiss on his finger lasted just long enough to steal his breath, yet vanished the instant his mind caught up.
When Rowe finally blinked back to reality, the girl in front of him was gone. In her place stood the Venus Goddess again, her usual proud aura reasserting itself like a banner snapping in the wind.
"Hmph, you got off easy," Ishtar said from several meters away. She had already taken a step back, arms folded across her chest, teeth bared as if she were about to bite his head off.
The faint redness clinging to her cheeks betrayed her anyway.
Of course she could not be calm. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, she and Ereshkigal shared the same vessel. After Ereshkigal's consciousness returned to the Underworld, Ishtar inherited every lingering ripple of her sister's emotions.
The more clearly she felt that softness, that warmth, that shy satisfaction, the more irritated she became.
"Next time," she declared, voice rising as if sheer volume could crush embarrassment, "next time I will make you understand the beauty of this Goddess. You had better clean your neck and wait."
She vanished at once.
It looked less like a dramatic exit and more like a hasty retreat.
Ishtar needed to calm the throbbing in her body, and more importantly, to calm what that throb meant. Ereshkigal had already fallen. Ishtar refused to become the same.
That would be the ultimate disgrace.
Still, even a goddess had to save face at the end.
Rowe remained where he was, staring at the empty alley. He lifted a hand to his lips. The trace of that moment still lingered, faint and vivid.
Night had already thinned. A pale streak of dawn cut the horizon, slipping between rooftops and chasing the last shadows away. He shook his head.
Another night full of surprises.
And honestly?
It felt pretty good.
Ereshkigal's blessing was a small inconvenience, sure. But there was no such thing as absolute immortality. History was full of heroes with blessings who still met unnatural ends. If anything, he could probably use the Key of Heaven to toggle the blessing on and off, turning a permanent state into something he could control.
So his mood stayed bright.
"Enkidu is waiting. Let's go back."
With that thought, Rowe took a few steps forward, glanced back once more, then left the alley for good.
…
"Hmph hahaha, as expected of the talent discovered by a wise and great King like me. Not even the Goddess of the Underworld could escape your influence."
Rowe had not even reached his courtyard door when that laughter slammed into him.
He frowned, half worried the neighbors might complain. Then he remembered where he lived. The nobles of Uruk did not build compact homes. Their estates were wide, their walls thick, their courtyards deep. Even if someone heard, no one would dare say a word.
Rowe pushed open the gate.
Morning light spilled into the spacious courtyard. Greenery crowded the corners. On the roofline, a figure stood proudly on the eaves, gleaming gold as he announced his nonsense to the sky.
Rowe rubbed his forehead and stepped inside.
As he did, the front door opened beside him, and a familiar figure slipped out.
"Rowe is back." Enkidu skipped toward him, emerald hair swaying, plain white robe floating like a soft cloud. Her bare feet brushed through the grass with quiet grace.
Rowe ruffled her hair, then pointed toward the roof.
"When did that guy arrive?"
"Just now," Enkidu said, tilting her head. "Then he climbed up there and started saying inexplicable things. Annoying, but he seems interesting."
She was still a little bothered by Gilgamesh's earlier hostility. Because Rowe had interrupted their duel, the two of them had not reached the moment of true recognition. For now, the chain and the wedge could only meet through Rowe, the key wedged between them.
Up above, Gilgamesh finally noticed he was being ignored.
"You. Hmph. How dare you disregard a King like me."
His foot tapped once, and he jumped down from several meters high, landing on the grass as if the height were nothing.
Rowe gave him a sidelong look.
"I am not interested in entertaining a madman who starts barking before breakfast."
"A wild dog is a wild dog," Gilgamesh shot back, sneer sharp enough to cut stone. "Training does not change nature."
"True." Rowe nodded with exaggerated seriousness. "For example, some wild dogs still cannot speak in a way ordinary people understand."
Then he looked the King up and down. Gilgamesh was bare chested, wearing only golden skirt armor, looking like he had walked out of a war mural and into someone's yard.
"Did you go see Siduri?"
"She is my most loyal tool. If she falls, I lose conveniences." Gilgamesh turned his nose up.
"You are being tsundere."
Rowe clapped his hands, walked into the house, and Enkidu followed like a shadow. Gilgamesh snorted and came after them.
The Age of Gods did not mean the furniture was comfortable. The house held only what was necessary. Tables, chairs, a jar of water. Rowe poured a bowl and handed it over.
"My apologies for the poor hospitality," he said. "But this should be enough to drink. It might also wash out the stench you have been firing since sunrise."
Gilgamesh did not refuse. He took the bowl, sat on a stone chair, and drank as if it were his due.
"On account of you, this wild dog, putting on an excellent performance for me, this King will not bother to quarrel with you."
He laughed again, eyes narrowing into red slits as he studied Rowe and Enkidu.
A playful curve tugged at his mouth.
Even without being physically present earlier, they were now in the same city. With his highest grade Clairvoyance, he could still glimpse what had happened, hazy but obvious. He did not need to reach into the future to see it.
Setting aside the Chains of Heaven sitting right there looking like a quiet girl, even the Goddess of the Underworld had been drawn into Rowe's orbit.
Gilgamesh leaned forward slightly.
"Tell me how you did it."
Rowe had just sat down. He froze.
Gilgamesh shook the water lazily.
"Toying with that Venus Goddess and making the Goddess of the Underworld so fond of you. Even receiving a blessing that can only be given once."
Goddess of the Underworld?
Fond?
For some reason, the look in Enkidu's eyes beside him shifted.
"Rowe." She tilted her head, bright emerald eyes blinking as she smiled sweetly. "Who is the Goddess of the Underworld?"
Rowe went still.
A familiar chill crawled up his spine.
He turned to Gilgamesh.
The King was laughing so hard he looked seconds away from rolling over.
This was deliberate.
He had waited for a chance to bite back. Now he finally had it.
"Foolish."
Gilgamesh tossed the word out like a crown.
Then he laughed again, satisfied and smug. Judging by the way he preened and howled, he looked exactly like a husky that had finally won one round, just short of circling the room to celebrate.
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