NABC Page 23
Page 23
"careful!"
Ushiwakamaru reacted quickly, drawing his sword and slicing the light cannon in two. The two halves of the cannon grazed past Xia Die and the others, blasting the two boulders behind them to pieces.
"You dare to brazenly come here for sightseeing, only to be utterly defeated by the Goddess of Beasts. Now it's my turn? You have too much respect for the gods! By the way... who gave you permission to climb Mount Ebif and enter my temple?"
Ishtar stood above Maanna and said unhappily.
Clearly, she had misunderstood something about their arrival.
"Even if we wanted to knock, there wouldn't be a door..."
Merlin said helplessly.
"Just say a few words less."
Anna, standing to the side, said helplessly, "This isn't a fight. What if we let this goddess get carried away?"
"It seems my previous attitude caused you to misunderstand. I am different from you humans. Continuing to entangle with you would be a loss of face for me. As both the goddess of war and the goddess of Venus, I, Ishtar, am hailed as the goddess among goddesses. Judging from your formation, you don't seem to be looking to attack me. But it's no use. Even if I, Ishtar, were to jump off this mountain and fall to the bottom of the valley today, I would never agree to become your ally!"
With that, Ishtar charged forward, golden sword in hand.
However, in the midst of the battle, Xia Die subconsciously caused Ishtar's attack to land in the jewel pouch she was carrying.
Suddenly, countless gems rained down from the sky, displaying a dazzling array of colors.
And Ishtar, in that instant, was dazzled by what she saw.
Despite being a goddess who loves jewels, Ishtar lacks the Golden Rule. From the past until now, the jewels Ishtar possesses have relied solely on tributes from her devotees. Now, without devotees, she naturally has no source of jewels...
"Oh no! All the gems I wanted to offer as tribute have been scattered!"
Xia Die read it aloud with her clumsy acting skills.
Normally, Ishtar would have noticed something was wrong, but now she was blinded by the jewel.
"What? What are all these? So many gems, so many!"
Floating in mid-air, Ishtar watched this scene in shock, her eyes filled with covetousness.
For a moment, she was deeply shaken!
ps
It's almost the end of the month, please give me your monthly votes! They'll expire if I don't vote soon! The bounty is still up!
Xia Die (Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia) : 34: Ishtar: Nice to meet you, my master~
"That's right, these gems are all to be offered as tribute to you."
In response to Ishtar's question, Xia Die nodded and said.
"What?! All of this is for me?! Who's the god here, you or me...?! Damn it..."
Looking at the jewels scattered on the ground, Ishtar covered her head with her hands, her mind in turmoil.
Bewitched by the numerous gems, Ishtar's eyes widened in disbelief. Clearly, the gems were so dazzling that even her love interest was somewhat overwhelmed.
“We wish to hire Ishtar as a fighting force in Uruk. With a formidable enemy at hand, we need the help of a god like you. Of course, this is also the wish of the people of Uruk. At the same time, King Gilgamesh has promised to open the treasure vaults of Babylon. If you are willing to help us, we will offer you 20% of the minerals in the treasure vaults.”
"You...what did you say?"
Upon hearing Xia Die's words, Ishtar began to gasp for breath, finding it difficult to accept this shocking news.
That's twenty percent of the treasure!
But... even the Babylonian treasury, wasn't it... the one Gilgamesh created for the future? The one Gilgamesh created for the future... as long as it's completed, the treasure will be inexhaustible, and it's said that at that time it will be equivalent to the total assets of mankind.
Under the smiling gaze of Xia Die, Ishtar still wanted to be stubborn, but the more she talked, the more she wavered.
"If that's the case, how about 25%? That's the limit of what I can decide."
"25%? Can the price be raised further?"
Her eyebrows trembled violently; Ishtar was deeply shaken.
"These treasures still can't sway you? But King Gilgamesh has given me only this much authority..."
Xia Die looked sad: "I really wish you could become my companion, so I could see you every day... Actually, over the years I've traveled the earth and accumulated quite a few gems. I wanted to take this opportunity to present them to you, but since you weren't even tempted by the gems in the Babylonian treasury, you certainly don't care about mine either..."
"Since that's the case, then I guess I'll just have to take these back with me..."
"Wait, if this treasure leaves me... I'll die of grief!!!"
In the end, Ishtar couldn't escape the fate of being both unyielding and ultimately swayed by adversity...
"It's...it's not because of those treasures. I just didn't want to hurt you. It's definitely not because of greed! That's right, what can I say, I'm a soft-hearted god."
Ishtar said, glancing at the treasure-filled cart while looking at the butterfly.
"Thank you for your understanding, goddess Ishtar."
Xia Die nodded gently and said with a smile.
"As expected of Miss Xia Die! She managed to persuade that goddess so easily..."
Ushiwakamaru looked at Xia Die with an expression of admiration.
"Money can make the world go round..."
Anna couldn't help but complain as well.
"Just call me Ishtar, after all, I have a feeling we'll be spending a very, very long time together..."
"Thank you for your understanding, Ishtar."
Before Xia Die could finish speaking, she saw Ishtar sitting upright in mid-air, then stretching her jade feet out in front of her.
"Our relationship is so good, I won't ask you to kneel in front of me. Feel honored to kiss the goddess's instep... I am a servant after all, and I should have the proper ceremony."
Ishtar looked at Xia Die with a smile.
"Why is it so complicated to conclude a contract!"
Anna, who was standing to the side, saw what was happening and quickly said something.
"That's right, how come I didn't think of that? Logically speaking, I should have kissed Miss Xia Die's hand after signing the contract. I regretted not doing so before because of Miss Xia Die's special constitution. Now it seems that using my foot instead is not a bad idea!"
Seeing this, Ushiwakamaru suddenly remembered something and said with great interest.
"Hey, don't get in the way! Besides, aren't you Japanese? Japanese people swear allegiance, they don't have any relatives!"
Anna was getting anxious. Just a moment ago, everything was going so well, and the mission was completed smoothly. It was such a happy occasion, so why is Ishtar interfering now?
Moreover, Ushiwakamaru is up to no good, absolutely up to no good!
Seated atop Maanna, Ishtar's beautiful legs, covered in black stockings, were now elegantly stretched out before Xia Die. Beneath the foot stockings, her white jade feet were within reach, her five round and smooth toes slightly curled before Xia Die, and the arch of her foot presented an elegant curve.
Xia Die could even smell the faint fragrance emanating from the other person.
As a deity, one's body cannot have any unusual odor.
"Let's kiss your hand instead..."
To be honest, if they were alone together, she would have been willing to do anything, let alone a light kiss. But there was no way around it; Anna would probably explode if she did that, and it just felt weird. So, Xia Die could only give Ishtar a light kiss on the back of her hand as a sign of respect.
Of course, even this kind of action was enough to make Anna extremely jealous.
Ushiwakamaru would frequently glance down at Xia Die, his eyes seemingly filled with eager anticipation.
[Contract successfully signed: Goddess Ishtar.]
"Oh?"
As if sensing something, Ishtar looked at Xia Die with great interest, her eyes revealing a mystery.
"Then, I look forward to working with you from now on, my...master."
She looked at Xia Die, her eyes full of provocation, and said.
......
After successfully concluding the contract, the group had a brief conversation before heading back to Uruk. After all, time was of the essence, and they had other missions to complete. There were only nine days left before the enemy attack.
"good evening."
At night, by the campfire, Ishtar's gentle voice reached Xia Die's ears; however, Ishtar would never speak in such a gentle tone.
In addition, it's currently nighttime, so it's time for Ellie to arrive.
Since their brief encounter in the underworld, Xia Die has not seen the other person again.
But by now, the other side should already know about Hanada's situation, right? After all, the underworld is under their control, so they must have discovered it by now.
"Are you still keeping watch? Aren't they the Servants? You, as the Master, should be getting some rest."
As she approached Xia Die, Ai Lei gently bent down, the flickering lights of the night illuminating her exquisite profile.
Although it's just a face, the gentleness that Ereshkigal displays when using this body is something Ishtar never possessed.
Xia Die (Absolute Demonic Front: Battlefront!): 35: Xia Die: Why does life slumber?
"I am not that fragile. As a golden descendant who has walked on the earth for thousands of years, my physique is different from that of ordinary people. Although I am still human, I am much stronger than ordinary humans."
"Hmm...that's true. Ordinary humans couldn't do what you did."
To be able to grow flowers in the underworld... Xia Die is certainly no ordinary person.
"May I sit next to Yide?"
Ai Lei looked at Xia Die with a smile, wanting to get closer and observe her.
"Of course you can, but please be careful not to touch my hands. Even if your body is that of a god, something bad will happen if you touch them."
Ai Lei looked at Xia Die beside her, wanting to sit down, but felt a little distant, so she slowly shifted her body, reducing the distance between them to a very close range.
"I never expected... that you could actually recruit Ishtar as a companion, or... was it love at first sight?"
Ai Lei looked at Xia Die, her eyes filled with unreadable thoughts.
"?"
Xia Die looked at Ai Lei with a puzzled expression.