The next morning, after Ishtar returned from her sleep, Mash and the others finished digging the path to the Underworld as planned.
With no further preparations needed, they simply had to leap into the gloomy pit to reach the Underworld smoothly.
"Speaking of which, aren't you scared? This is the Underworld. If you lose to Ereshkigal, you won't be able to return."
The cool Goddess of Venus sat perched on Maanna, her pristine little feet swinging back and forth. Among everyone, she was the most nervous.
But Ishtar couldn't help it. After all, the time she died at Ereshkigal-chan's hands, she was stripped naked, dragged before her, and then skewered by countless spears.
It was impossible for Ishtar not to have psychological trauma.
Following her words, Mash and Ritsuka grew even more cautious. They carefully planted each step on the path, remaining on high alert against the souls wailing endlessly within the birdcages.
Uruk's Underworld was like a steep valley, requiring them to descend continuously from the ridge at the very top toward the valley floor below.
"Miss Ishtar, of course I'm scared, but only we can do this, right? Besides, Sister Guinevere even lent me King Arthur's Holy Sword."
Mash and Ritsuka. Mash naturally carried her shield. If Guinevere hadn't lent out the Holy Sword, Ritsuka would have used the sword at Mash's waist.
This was also forced by Ereshkigal-chan's authority. As a Heroic Spirit, Mash couldn't do anything to Ereshkigal in the Underworld.
"Mash, cover me!"
The Underworld had Heroic Spirits and wraiths, so naturally, it also had evil spirits. Mash could handle them, of course, but it was only after obtaining the Holy Sword that Ritsuka, as a living human, gained the ability to harm the swarms of evil spirits.
Though she couldn't unleash the Holy Sword's true power, she could still use it for slashing.
One slash, and the evil spirit in front was cleaved in two. A second slash, and the evil spirit to the side was also cleaved in two.
Ritsuka's talent was truly remarkable. After several days of basic training with King Leonidas on the Absolute Demonic Front, her sword strikes had become faster, more precise, and steadier.
'Just the sword... If I were to describe Ritsuka's condition using Servant parameters, her Strength, Endurance, and Agility have all increased. They must be at least Rank C by now, right?'
Guinevere could easily judge what Rank A entailed, but for Rank C, she could only rely on experience to estimate.
Watching Mash and Ritsuka clear the path ahead, with Fou cheering "Fou, Fou~" from Mash's shoulder, Guinevere tilted her head, realizing she could offer more help.
As a Saber, she possessed the buff-type Skill [Hero Creation]. Though she understood this was likely a manifestation of her deeds in founding the Knight Academy as a Knight...
...well, she could use this Skill again now.
Slightly raising her hand and pointing at Mash and Ritsuka's backs, Guinevere applied the Skill to both of them.
Not only that, she also pulled out a batch of gems she'd taken from under Vimana, and seemed poised to crush them to buff the two of them.
"Hey, you're being way too wasteful!"
At this point, Ishtar had been hanging back at the rear of the group, but after Guinevere brought out the gems, she threw herself forward uncontrollably, grabbing Guinevere's hand that was about to apply force.
"Tsk, you're being influenced by Rin's body quite deeply, huh? Or do you just have no resistance to gems?"
"Hmph, what are you tsking at? It's normal for a girl to like pretty gems, isn't it? Using them up so recklessly like you wanted to is what's not normal."
Ishtar dodged the question, but the answer was already self-evident. The primary reason she was summoned and could possess this body was their perfect compatibility.
Calling it an influence was merely a natural consequence.
"Hey, say something. Since you're not insisting on crushing them, there must be another reason you deliberately brought the gems out, right?"
As she spoke, Ishtar's hand still gripped Guinevere's, her gaze darting back and forth between the gems and Guinevere's face.
Ishtar's desire was plain to see.
She paused, hesitated, then withdrew the hand that had been grasped. Instead, she pressed more gems into Ishtar's hand, watching her suddenly break into a foolish giggle.
"What a pity. Rin's legs are definitely good enough to play with for a whole year, but her chest is admittedly not very generous. No matter what I say, I can't help but tease you.
But for now, let's do an even exchange. Since you stopped me from using the gems for a buff, you, as the Goddess of Venus, will replace the gems and give them a buff instead!"
As she spoke, Guinevere stuffed more gems into Ishtar's hand. When there were too many gems, Ishtar bent her knees, using her body to create a larger net for the gems.
For a long while, until the net formed by her knees and lower abdomen could hold no more gems, she reluctantly placed them into [Maanna] and glanced at Guinevere, who was still tossing gems with a playful look on her face.
She understood now. The journey was boring, and Guinevere was amusing herself at her expense.
"Guinevere, as the King of Knights' Queen, you're quite caring toward your junior, aren't you?"
"Of course. Ritsuka used to call me Master, and now she calls me 'Onee-san' even more affectionately. I have to look after her, not to mention Mash. Galahad likes her, and from what I've seen these past few days, she's also a very hardworking and cute girl."
"Is that so? But unfortunately, I'm just a Pseudo-Servant of this Singularity. Even if you went through all the trouble to ask for my blessing for her, it won't stop her body from suffering from its innate flaws."
Ishtar intentionally lowered her voice when she said this, preventing Mash and Ritsuka from overhearing her words as they had in their previous conversation.
The only reason Ishtar would think this was because she held onto the conversation from atop the Vimana.
"Hey, what's with that look! Just because you saw through my intentions, you don't have to look at me with such newfound respect, do you? It makes it seem like I was a fool in your eyes before."
"Weren't you? Useless Goddess?"
"[Ishtar curses], Once we get back to the surface, we're definitely going to have a fight."
"Hmm."
With that, Guinevere chuckled softly. She then saw Ishtar actually bestow the blessings of the God of Fertility, the Goddess of Venus, the God of War and Destruction, and other gods upon Mash and Ritsuka.
And at the very moment the blessings fell, the group arrived in front of a strange gate, and Gilgamesh was sitting there waiting for them.
Is this the question and answer session from Ereshkigal-chan in the myths and legends?
Staring at the tightly closed gate, and after waiting a long time without hearing Ereshkigal-chan's voice from behind it, Gilgamesh chuckled and said:
"Sorry, it seems my earlier attempt to talk to her made her shy. She's now refusing all visitors, even the so-called Underworld Quiz."
There was no difference between before and after death. If anything, after finally getting a moment's rest, Gilgamesh felt even more energized.
He rose from the ground, his muscles flexing freely beneath his short-sleeved shirt. He was curious to see how Guinevere and the others would get past this obstacle.
"Guinevere-nee, can the Holy Sword be entrusted to Mash?"
"I can, but..."
"Mash, I order you with my Command Spell: Unleash the Holy Sword!"
After a night's rest, Ritsuka's three Command Spells had been restored. As she issued the order, one of the Command Spells faded away. The Holy Sword, which had passed through several hands before reaching Mash, truly began to glow with the light of liberation.
Seeing this, even Guinevere was bewildered. She had never imagined the Holy Sword would acknowledge Mash, who possessed Galahad's Spirit Origin.
"Is it the Command Spell, or is the Holy Sword really this shameless?!"
As she thought, Guinevere recalled Shirou Emiya's projected Holy Sword, Illya's projected Holy Sword after using the Red Archer card, and even her own fully unleashed Holy Sword.
She suddenly felt that this Holy Sword of the Planet was truly shameless. As long as it wasn't a formal meeting, anyone capable of wielding it could use it.