Chapter 31: The Trash Goddess’s Backdoor Deal

Although Ishtar hadn't personally witnessed the battle for Babylon, she managed to piece together the general situation from fragmented reports.

Caught in the surge of Magical Beasts, the refugees who blindly rushed toward Uruk's northern defensive wall met a grim fate. War is never merciful—nor is it a game where one can simply try again.

Even when thousands of refugees gathered outside the city, the Uruk commanders guarding the frontline had no choice but to abandon them. After all, tearing open the northern wall to let in that crowd was easy—but patching it up quickly and holding the line afterward? Nearly impossible.

Behind them loomed a tide of Magical Beasts, closing in with predatory intent. They looked like lions herding prey into a kill zone, ready to strike the moment chaos broke out. It was clear these creatures were sharpening their claws, just waiting for the perfect time to pounce.

If anything went wrong, the defensive line humanity had painstakingly built would collapse. The earlier loss of the northern highlands was already a painful lesson born from similar lapses in judgment and compassion.

The people outside the walls were pitiable—but so were those still inside Uruk. To keep their homeland from ending up like the ruins of Babylon, the defenders had no choice but to steel their hearts.

In the end, fewer than one in a hundred of those who fled to the Absolute Demonic Front's northern wall survived. And that figure didn't even include those dragged off by Magical Beasts, or those who died from illness, exhaustion, or internal violence along the way. The actual death toll was far more horrifying.

In that sense, Samael's group was lucky—they hadn't headed toward the Babylonia defensive line. Still, the longer escape route and all the unknowns along the way had taken a heavy toll. According to the man's account, after reaching Mount Ebih, they were attacked by Magical Beasts again and scattered. Now, he was the sole survivor of his group.

"Human, there's no need to grieve—nor to feel regret. You've done well!"

Ishtar's expression grew solemn as she gently patted Samael on the shoulder, her gaze softening further.

In addition to love, marriage, and harvest, she also presided over war. So, for brave fighters who showed wisdom in battle, Ishtar held deep admiration.

"By the way, since you managed to escape, why didn't you head for a city?"

"If you were lost, considering how hard you've tried, I could give you a ride on the Boat of Heaven Maanna."

But the moment she said it, Ishtar wished she could slap herself.

The gems! If he ran off, what about the gems?! What a stupid thing to say!

While the goddess silently cursed her slip-up, Samael—having gathered most of the gems—looked at her with a serious, solemn expression.

"Ishtar-sama, the reason I came to the Holy Mountain was because I heard of your reputation as a goddess of war. I wanted to strike a deal with you."

"As for the payment—these are the gems we brought out of Babylon!"

A deal?!

What kind of deal? Whatever it is, I'm in!

Ishtar's eyes lit up, instantly catching the scent of opportunity. She almost wanted to toss aside her dignity, grab this slow-talking man, and scream at him to hurry up.

"Ahem. If you have a request, speak freely. The gods are merciful."

Yet the moment the words left her mouth, she polished her true thoughts into something more refined, posing with grace and composure.

"Merciful? Heh..."

"If the guardian god of Babylon were as open-minded as you, why would we have had to take gems from the temple?"

Samael sneered with quiet scorn, his right hand unconsciously gripping the bundle tighter, the pressure whitening his knuckles.

Then, as if venting his anger, he shoved the gems into Ishtar's arms.

These came from Marduk's temple? No wonder the quality's so high!

Ishtar's eyelids twitched. Excitement flickered across her face, but a flicker of concern followed.

The King of Kings himself was Babylon's patron god, and in a sense, these gems were tied to him. Even if Marduk hadn't responded to his people's prayers, anything housed in his temple technically belonged to the gods.

Still, greed and poverty were slowly drowning out Ishtar's hesitation toward Marduk.

Babylon's already fallen. Your people have given up on you and turned to me instead.

And even if someone comes looking—what does that have to do with me?

Even if...

Even if what?! Once they're in my pocket, they're mine! Not even Father Anu could take them away!

Looking like a miser, Ishtar clutched the bag filled with gems tightly, bared her fangs, and swore viciously in her heart.

At that moment, Samael picked up a clay tablet that had fallen to the ground and fell into a heavy silence, mourning deeply.

Ishtar curiously leaned in. She quickly noticed that the tablet appeared to contain the war and reconnaissance records of a Babylonian general, with detailed information about the Magical Beast waves. On the back, the general had outlined the movement routes of the beasts and marked the location of the source of the beast disaster—Blood Temple—somewhere in the Cedar Forest region.

To Uruk, still locked in a struggle against the beast tide, this was a priceless artifact. Its importance was self-evident.

From the pauses between the lines and the precision of the reconnaissance data, Ishtar sensed the strong scent of blood. She didn't know how many lives had been sacrificed to obtain this vital information. Perhaps the team that had ventured into Mount Ebih had separated from the refugee masses and made this long detour for the sole purpose of preserving this precious tablet.

With the pieces falling into place, the goddess no longer doubted the soldier's identity or mission.

"Ishtar-sama, my entire team was killed by the claws of the blue dragon Bašmu that chased us!"

"I was too weak to avenge them. No god but you would hear our prayers!"

"So please, for the sake of these gems—slay that blue dragon!"

Samael's voice was heavy with grief and anger, his gaze burning as he looked at Ishtar.

You want me to slay a dragon?

The goddess's breath caught slightly. Her expression tensed.

"Even you, the one who governs war… are you not willing to avenge us?"

"Fine then. I'll use these gems to hire mercenaries, form a team, and find a way into the Cedar Forest to kill that dragon myself!"

Noticing Ishtar's hesitation, Samael moved to snatch the bag of gems from her hands.

"What are you saying! It's just a dragon! Leave it to me!"

Ishtar forced a smile, clutching the gems tighter as she patted her not-so-bountiful chest and boldly accepted the task.

"Yes! Thank you, goddess!"

The honest, straightforward soldier nodded earnestly, exhaling in relief—as though the bag of gems had weighed on him like a burden of duty.

Ishtar kept up her fake smile, mumbling inwardly.

No matter what, get the gems first.

As for slaying a dragon? I didn't hear anything! If it's that troublesome, someone else can do it.

What if he finds out? What could he possibly do?

Hah. Like he'd really dare ask a goddess to repay a debt.

Seriously, lambs this easy to fleece are hard to come by.

If I don't teach them what pain feels like now, they'll just keep getting conned in the future.

Ah, I really am too kind.

Eager to get away from the scene and count her spoils, Ishtar immediately summoned Maanna, the Boat of Heaven, which hovered in the sky, and leapt aboard.

Just before departure, the goddess had the vague feeling that she had forgotten something important.

What was it I came here to do?

But after a moment's thought, her gem-dazzled mind remained a muddled mess.

Whatever. Can't be that important. Hiding these gems comes first!

Immediately, the Boat of Heaven turned into a streak of light and shot toward the mountaintop temple—returning, fully loaded.

...

"You handed her the entire bag of gems that easily? Not even a binding contract?"

"You do know she's not exactly famous for her honesty, right?"

"Tsk… I can't believe even you got tricked by a god…"

The ghost lantern at his waist flickered faintly as Shamhat's tone dripped with schadenfreude.

"Is that so?"

"She may have won for now—but I won't lose in the end."

The ancient serpent narrowed his eyes, watching Ishtar's figure vanish into the distance. The corners of his mouth curled into a faint smile.

Now then… how much should I skim off Gilgamesh's ore vault?

...

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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