At night, Shirou Emiya stood guard outside the camp.
As the quiet stretched on, his thoughts drifted back to Ishtar's behavior during the day.
Savage really was the only word for it.
Just as that thought surfaced, a gentle voice spoke from behind him.
"Who are you calling savage?"
Shirou Emiya didn't turn around.
"Who else?"
"Your dear sister, of course."
Ereshkigal was standing there.
Or rather, Ereshkigal was possessing Ishtar's body.
Shirou Emiya glanced at her calmly.
"Could you not compare me to that woman?"
Ereshkigal's tone carried clear dissatisfaction. She sat down beside him, her posture careful, then looked at him with curiosity.
"I really didn't expect you to actually pull Ishtar into your camp. That was a terrible decision."
"Was it?"
Shirou Emiya sounded unconcerned.
"I don't think so. With Ishtar around, our chances of invading the Underworld and capturing you just went up."
"Eh?!"
Ereshkigal froze.
Her face turned red almost instantly as memories of their earlier exchange resurfaced.
"W-what kind of nonsense are you saying at a time like this?!"
She shook her head rapidly, as if trying to physically fling his words away.
After a short pause, she spoke again, this time hesitantly.
"I've never met anyone like you."
"You tease a goddess the moment we meet."
"Don't you fear me?"
"Or dislike me?"
"Of course not."
Shirou Emiya answered without hesitation, a faint smile on his face.
"To be honest, I'm quite interested in you."
"I-Interested?!"
Her face flushed even deeper.
Clearly unable to handle his straightforwardness, Ereshkigal hurriedly shifted the topic, her expression turning serious.
"You said you plan to fight the Three Goddess Alliance."
"So tell me."
"How do you actually see us?"
Shirou Emiya didn't interrupt.
"The Goddess of Demonic Beasts had no room for reconciliation from the start," Ereshkigal continued.
"As for the Goddess of the Forest, I'm not sure either. The cultural gap is simply too large."
"What she sees as kindness might be malice to humans."
"After all, she's a descendant of another celestial body."
She paused.
Then pointed lightly at herself.
"The real issue is the third pillar."
"Me."
Raising her head, Ereshkigal looked straight at Shirou Emiya.
Her gaze was unwavering.
"I cannot forgive the current Mesopotamia."
"I cannot accept humans abandoning the gods and trying to create a world that belongs only to themselves."
"There is only pain down that path."
"Humans cannot escape suffering."
"And they cannot escape the fear of death."
Her voice remained calm, but there was weight behind every word.
"Human intelligence has grown too far."
"Too far to accept reality as it is."
"In the Age of Gods, this pain could be eased."
"Because 'things humans could not understand' existed."
"By pushing countless unreasonable, cruel, and cold-blooded events onto the gods, humans were able to live with broader hearts."
She lowered her gaze.
"I have always believed that way of existence was good."
"And I endured like that for thousands."
"No-tens of thousands of years."
"That's why I joined this alliance."
"To turn the human world into a world shared by humans and gods."
"I am not the enemy of humans."
"I am the enemy of the human world."
Ereshkigal looked at him again.
"I'm only telling this to you, Shirou Emiya."
After listening to her speak so openly, Shirou Emiya felt something stir inside him.
He had already known her reasons.
But hearing them directly was different.
Very different.
"You really are gentle," he said quietly.
"Ereshkigal."
"W-what are you-!"
Her composure instantly collapsed.
Flustered, Ereshkigal looked like she wanted to flee on the spot.
"Th-that's enough for today."
"I'm going back-"
"After hearing all that," Shirou Emiya said calmly, turning to face her.
"I'm even more interested in you."
She froze.
Then he continued, his tone serious.
"It's decided."
"I'll make you my companion."
"That's impossible!"
Ereshkigal shot back immediately.
"We're enemies!"
But the strength behind her words was weak.
"No," Shirou Emiya replied.
"I think we'll become partners."
"That's impossible!"
"I'm the enemy of the human world!"
"Why is it impossible?"
Shirou Emiya tilted his head slightly.
"As long as I enter the Underworld and defeat you, won't you become my partner?"
Hearing him bring that up again, Ereshkigal jumped to her feet.
Her face burned with embarrassment and anger.
"As the Mistress of the Underworld..."
"I will not lose!"
"Fine," Shirou Emiya said without hesitation.
"If you lose, then you have to behave."
"No resistance."
"Then if you lose," Ereshkigal snapped back,
"I'll take your soul and make you stay with me in the Underworld forever!"
"It's a deal."
"It's a deal!"
The bet was sealed.
The two stared at each other, neither backing down.
Both eyes were filled with absolute confidence.
"Oh, right."
Shirou Emiya suddenly remembered something.
His expression turned serious.
"To prevent you from surrendering instantly."
"If you accept our recruitment and join us..."
"That also counts as your defeat."
"Fine."
Ereshkigal agreed without hesitation.
She couldn't imagine herself surrendering anyway.
A faint smile formed on Shirou Emiya's lips.
Victory was already in his grasp.
After all, on their side...
There was Fujimaru Ritsuka.
A protagonist with maxed-out talk-no-jutsu.
Even if Shirou Emiya couldn't defeat Ereshkigal in the Underworld...
Ritsuka was still there.
"Still," he thought,
"Ritsuka hasn't had much contact with Ereshkigal."
"I'll need to create some opportunities."
The smile on his face deepened.
"Since I'm definitely going to win," he said aloud,
"Calling you Ereshkigal every time feels like a hassle."
"I'll just call you Eresh from now on."
"Eresh?!"
That was the final blow.
Ereshkigal didn't even try to argue.
She turned and fled on the spot.
Watching her retreating figure, Shirou Emiya laughed openly.
"Hahahahahahaha-!"
-
"Welcome back, my excellent warriors!"
"And the goddess who shamelessly ran away from home and came crawling back-"
"Care to share your feelings about taking refuge under my banner?"
From atop his throne, Gilgamesh laughed loudly.
Ishtar immediately snapped back.
"Who said I'm taking refuge under you?!"
"I'm the far-sighted Goddess Ishtar!"
"I merely signed a contract with Fujimaru Ritsuka as a business partner!"
"Just you wait."
"This kid will definitely become a formidable Master."
Shirou Emiya leaned casually against a stone pillar nearby, watching the argument with a relaxed expression.
It wasn't until Siduri stepped in that the two finally stopped.
After that, the discussion shifted.
To the Goddess of the Jungle.
Quetzalcoatl.
According to Gilgamesh, to defeat the Avenger Gorgon, they first needed to obtain the Axe of Marduk.
As an avatar of Tiamat, the axe that once slit Tiamat's throat was the perfect counter.
A divine weapon specifically meant for her.
That weapon was currently abandoned.
In the territory of the Jungle Goddess.
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