Ishtar stood on the floor, her eye level becoming the same height as Emiya's. Considering the height difference between the two, the goddess Ishtar's eyes were still slightly lower than his.
Emiya did not dodge or evade, just looking at her like that.
In the end, it was the goddess Ishtar who looked away first. She turned around, walked to the throne in the palace, and sat down calmly.
The goddess's lips curved into a smile, "Welcome, dependent of Hephaestus."
Saying this, she lightly clapped her hands, "Truly admirable, whether it's your strength, courage, will, or desire and ambition… A wonderful story. Even if I am the villain, no, the clown in this story, I must admit this."
"Well done, boy… no, man," Ishtar sincerely praised.
Seductive limbs, a voice that tingles the nerves, a sweet fragrance, an alluring gaze… Everything about the goddess of beauty that could make one fall into depravity was displayed before Emiya. And beyond all of this, there was an indescribable divine will.
Emiya was slightly stunned. To be honest, the reaction of the goddess Ishtar was a little beyond his expectations. However, considering that she was a goddess, a transcendent being, it seemed reasonable that anything could happen.
"A bet is a bet. As a god, I have the capacity to accept this much," The goddess Ishtar spoke to herself, as if answering Emiya's doubts, "Besides, the greatest wish of us gods is to witness 'interesting' stories."
"As for appearing in the story as a 'protagonist's' companion or as the 'clown' defeated by the hero, it actually doesn't matter much."
Ishtar smiled: "Well, there are some hypocritical bitc— gods, like Astraea or Athena, who refuse to play the role of a 'clown,' but I don't mind."
She gazed at Emiya with burning eyes, "I, Ishtar, am a goddess of love. A strong and ferocious male, ravaging all his enemies to take away a female…"
"To witness such a love story infused with desire and violence—no matter how greatly I have suffered, I just can't be angry now."
The same story, some goddesses see love, protection, and courage; while others see desire, plunder, and violence.
But the result was the same: such a story was enough to please a goddess.
Ishtar sighed, looking surprisingly moved.
Emiya: "So, in the end, it all comes down to 'force,' right? Because I have already taken Haruhime, you, Goddess Ishtar, have nothing more to say."
Ishtar chuckled: "Of course. You won her by your own ability. What else can I say?"
"The reason I can now stand before you so calmly is because I have already lost. Completely, utterly, and with no room for argument," She looked at Emiya, her violet eyes as deep as an endless abyss, "To be honest, I was actually furious… Back when I granted her my divine blessing, and saw that girl's [Status]. Do you understand how I felt? I was trembling with excitement because with that power, I could finally bring down that WRETCHED GODDESS!"
The goddess spoke passionately. That fox girl possessed a 'potential' that even the gods had not foreseen.
"Haruhime was my trump card! I was going to drag Freya into the ABYSS OF HELL!!", At the mention of the goddess Freya, the elegant Ishtar, for the first time, showed an expression of anger so intense it distorted her face.
But in the next moment, she regained her composure, "But still, I say—man, you did well."
Ishtar asked: "Let me guess. If the 'ransom' plan failed, you had a follow-up plan, didn't you?"
"Hmm. If negotiations failed, then it would have been war between Hephaestus Familia, Astraea Familia, and Ishtar Familia. Honestly, neither I nor the two goddesses wanted things to go that far."
Emiya said: "But we were indeed prepared to destroy Ishtar Familia."
There was also Takemikazuchi Familia, but their task was not to participate in battle directly. Instead, as Haruhime's kin and old friends, they would report Ishtar Familia's severe illegal activities to the Adventurers' Guild.
Ishtar showed a pitiful expression tinged with sorrow: "You are truly ruthless to the point of being heartless."
Seeing Emiya give no response, the goddess Ishtar shook her head and stopped pretending: "So, was the traitor Aisha?"
The goddess Ishtar asked, but before Emiya could answer, she let out a mocking laugh, "It could only be her… Even though in the beginning, Haruhime was hers… Forget it…"
Ishtar seemed to want to say something, but in the end, it only turned into a long sigh.
Then, the expression of the goddess Ishtar turned cold once more.
"Let's bring this story to a close, strong male… As a reward for coming before a goddess, I will allow you to make a wish."
"I wish to redeem Sanjouno Haruhime and Aisha," Emiya said.
"Ten billion valis. You may take them," Ishtar, "Haruhime is worth that price. As for that child Aisha, consider her a gift."
The ransom price of the prostitutes in Ishtar Familia was not fixed; it was determined by their appearance, physique, age, strength, and other factors. The lowest was three million valis, and the highest was Haruhime's current ten billion.
Emiya nodded: "Agreed."
At this moment, the goddess Ishtar felt a rare sense of disorientation.
Allowing any girl to redeem herself at will and blessing every prostitute who pursued love, this was a rule set by the goddess Ishtar from the very first day she founded her familia. It was also her belief and divinity as the 'Goddess of Love.'
At that time, she had only just descended to the lower world. The current "Goddess of the Night," ruler of the Pleasure Quarter, was once a goddess with nothing.
And in the beginning, Ishtar had picked up her first dependent from the garbage dump.
A beastkin girl who had been beaten to the brink of death.
The girl, originally a prostitute, had fallen in love with a client and wanted to use her savings to redeem herself. However, the brothel refused to let go of a golden goose. At the same time, those well-dressed, wealthy dignitaries were infuriated that a mere prostitute dared to defy them.
To them, a mere prostitute seeking freedom and love instead of obediently selling herself for their profit was an intolerable provocation.
The enforcers beat the girl to the brink of death and threw her into the garbage dump, where Ishtar found her first dependent.
The girl later died. Even though she had received the blessing of the gods, her utterly ruined body could not hold on until the second dawn.
After her death, the goddess Ishtar gained new dependents, but aside from herself, no one knew that the origins of the Goddess of Beauty's Familia lay in a garbage dump that had nothing to do with beauty.
And today, Ishtar finally realized—she had long forgotten that girl's name and face.
Ishtar: "I have approved Haruhime's ransom. From today onward, that girl is yours."
[The contract is sealed, a god's promise is unbreakable.]
Emiya: "Also, the goddess Astraea and her people, after various considerations, do not wish for the destruction of the Ishtar Familia. However, tolerance has its limits. I hope you will act accordingly."
Among them, [Aisha] and several Amazonian warrior women were not far from reaching Lv.4.
When they grew strong enough to inherit the influence of the Ishtar Familia, even without the goddess Ishtar, the order of the Pleasure Quarter could still be maintained.
"Did Astraea ask you to tell me this?", Ishtar asked.
Emiya: "No, this is something I wanted to say myself."
"On one hand, you act brutally and aggressively, leaving me with heavy losses and a loss of face, and on the other hand, you tell me to 'act accordingly'—men, you really are... intoxicating...", Ishtar said softly, "Since it was you who said it, then I understand."
Emiya nodded. That was all he had to say. He turned to leave, but Ishtar called out to him.
Ishtar: "If you're willing to sleep with me for one night, the redemption money can be waived... It seems you're not willing. Then, can you step on me? Just like you stepped on my children earlier. I can deduct two hundred million for you..."
Emiya: "..."
———
The next day, members of the Ishtar Familia arrived at the Hephaestus Familia's base and took away 800 million valis. [T/N: Bro sold his body. 😂]
Of that, 500 million was paid in cash, while the remainder was exchanged for equipment by the Ishtar Familia. In the entire labyrinth city, probably only a very few factions, including the Hephaestus Familia, could produce such a large sum at once.
Frankly speaking, even the goddess Hephaestus felt a bit of pain over the 800 million figure, but considering that this money was exchanged for Haruhime, an almost cheat-like skill user, and Aisha, a high-ranking adventurer, it was obviously more than worth it.
The value of the magic [Uchide no Kozuchi] couldn't be measured by money at all.
Moreover, Aisha could now level up. Aisha was still at Lv.3, but she could become a second-tier Lv.4 adventurer at any time.
Aisha had already accumulated enough stats long ago, but she had always lacked a great achievement, so she had been unable to level up. Yet this time, despite only experiencing one battle, being crushed by Emiya, she unexpectedly obtained the great achievement needed to level up.
Battles were not the only way to achieve great deeds. Though rare, there were cases in the Hephaestus Familia where someone achieved a great feat by forging an unparalleled masterpiece. It was said that in the Magic Nation, scholars had also been recognized for their contributions to the advancement of magic research.
Ryuu and Emiya, one easily defeated the only Lv.5 and Lv.4 of the Ishtar Familia, while the other wiped out the backbone of the Ishtar Familia: an adventurer group of twenty Lv.3 battle courtesans. Such a record was worthy of being written into an epic for bards to sing.
As for Aisha, who was at the origin of this incident, or rather, its initiator, she too had achieved great merit, something even she herself had never expected.
The goddesses, however, were not surprised. Their understanding of the divine blessing system far exceeded that of regular adventurers. In their view, although Aisha had not participated in the battle against the Ishtar Familia, her courage and sacrifice were the most critical factors in Haruhime's rescue.
It could be said that from the moment Aisha decided to betray, the downfall of the Ishtar Familia was already sealed.
After all, while Aisha was only a cadre in the Ishtar Familia, the captain and vice-captain above her were, respectively, a berserker with a mental disorder and the goddess's devoted attendant.
Neither of them actually managed the familia; they were only captain and vice-captain due to their level and strength. Meanwhile, Aisha, who had great prestige among the courtesans, was effectively the vice-captain who ran the familia.
That was why her betrayal was so deadly—not only did all their intelligence get exposed, but with Aisha covering for them, the Hephaestus Familia's actions never raised any alarms in the Ishtar Familia. For example, Emiya's frequent visits to the Pleasure Quarter were simply seen as him becoming [Lijie]'s favored guest.
To the members of the Ishtar Familia, Emiya and [Lijie] seemed like a "talented man and a beautiful woman," and whatever might happen between them was reasonable. The most they speculated on was whether Emiya was paying or she was offering herself for free.
Most of the sisters believed it was the latter.
It wasn't until the very end that the goddess Ishtar realized that the one truly involved with Emiya was Haruhime... Aisha had not only thrown herself in but also sent her sister to him.
But by then, it was too late. The outcome was set. The goddess Ishtar could only admire the overwhelming force of Emiya and the others while having no choice but to accept reality, allowing Haruhime and Aisha to convert to another familia.
Haruhime transferred to the Hephaestus Familia and moved into [Hostess of Fertility].
As for Aisha, due to her profession, the Hephaestus Familia, with its large number of hot-blooded male blacksmiths, was not a suitable place for her. For now, she remained in a "convertible" state while looking for a new home.
Although Aisha was not banned from the Pleasure Quarter, for the time being, she didn't dare, nor did she feel worthy, to approach the Ishtar Familia's territory again. So for now, she had no choice but to properly focus on her main job as an adventurer.
Fortunately, as an upper-tier Lv.3, Aisha was quite experienced in monster hunting. Despite meeting the conditions to level up, she wasn't in a rush. Instead, she planned to refine her basic abilities first.
At the very least, she wanted to train her Strength, Endurance, and Agility to A-rank, with the other two reaching at least B-rank. This was Aisha's personal goal, a high standard that might take her more than half a year to achieve.
Even though Emiya was on their side, being completely overwhelmed and crushed by him in battle was still a huge blow to Aisha.
Not only Aisha, but the battle courtesans of the Ishtar Familia who were defeated by Emiya also started frequenting the dungeon.
Amazons were a contradictory race, they desired to overpower men while also yearning to be defeated by strong and fierce warriors. After losing to a powerful male, they would train even harder.
For them, the stronger they were and the more they fought with all their might before being defeated, the more intense their pleasure afterward.
Ideally, their opponent should also not love them and never fall for them—that way, the Amazons would be even happier.
That was how Amazons were. While the males only needed to focus on fighting, the female warriors had many more considerations.
Aisha only stayed in the hospital for one night before grabbing her long sword and heading straight into the dungeon. Haruhime, on the other hand, seemed to have temporarily stepped away from being an adventurer.
———
"Um, my name is Sanjo no Haruhime. Please, sisters... take care of me," At [Hostess of Fertility] tavern, the fox-girl spoke nervously. Her clumsy but adorable demeanor was a stark contrast to her alluring beauty and voluptuous figure, creating an interesting sense of contradiction.
The waitresses reacted enthusiastically.
"Welcome, nya~"
"Haruhime-chan is so cute!!"
"I've never seen a fox-girl before—can I touch your tail?"
"Sniff, sniff..."
The cute girls of different races excitedly surrounded Haruhime, bombarding her with questions, nearly making the fox girl faint from embarrassment.
Although she was always surrounded by older sisters in the Ishtar Familia, the atmosphere of [Hostess of Fertility] was naturally completely different. For Haruhime, this was a completely new and unfamiliar environment, making her inevitably feel nervous.
At the same time, she was also worried. Could she adapt to this new life? After all, in the Ishtar Familia, the only thing she had learned was how to serve men...
Haruhime had only ever entertained one guest, Emiya, before being redeemed, but before being sent out, she had received knowledge guidance from her older sisters. Making her a theoretical expert without practical experience.
However, she soon found that she didn't need to worry about this.
"You idiot girls, move aside quickly! Can't you see Haruhime is about to faint?"
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