It's Time

"Do you mean... all of these are offerings from the people?" 

In the evening, Siduri looked at the large boxes piled up in the offering hall, her face filled with disbelief.

Beside her, a young priestess nodded and answered.

"Yes, these are all offerings from the people to the Goddess of Venus. There are eight boxes in total, four containing grains, two with fruits, one with flowers and herbs, and one with gemstones."

Siduri stepped forward, casually picking up a handful of gemstones from one of the boxes.

As she observed these gemstones, they couldn't compare to those in her king's treasury, but they weren't common either. Some had even been polished, showing that some thought had been put into their selection.

'If the goddess were to see these gemstones, she would surely go crazy...' Siduri thought silently, a wry smile tugging at her lips.

She placed the gemstones back in the box and nodded to the young priestess.

"Put these offerings in the warehouse, and then—"

"Hmph, so many offerings? That disgraceful goddess sure is lucky..."

As Gilgamesh and Arkhan walked in, Gilgamesh glanced at the neatly arranged boxes and remarked with a mocking smile on his face.

"Your Majesty? What brings you here?" Siduri waved away the nearby young priestess and approached her king.

"I'm here to inspect today's harvest of course." Gilgamesh said as he circled the boxes containing the offerings, shaking his head. "Just the thought of that disgraceful goddess getting all this without lifting a finger really irks me."

"Your Majesty, are you planning..." Siduri suddenly felt a sense of uneasiness.

As if to confirm her suspicions, Gilgamesh waved his hand and a large golden ripple appeared out of thin air, swallowing all the boxes containing grains and fruits.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing?" Siduri's eyes widened in shock.

"Don't fuss. That disgraceful goddess doesn't need to eat anyway. These things are much needed by my soldiers fighting on the front lines." Gilgamesh said calmly. "I'm not the kind of person who takes things for free."

"But, isn't this a bit..." Siduri looked helpless.

"Consider this me purchasing these goods." Gilgamesh added and opened the Gate of Babylon once again.

Soon, countless gemstones poured out like a waterfall from a golden ripple, forming a small mountain on the ground.

"These goods, consider them bought by me. Do you have any objections now?" Gilgamesh asked, glancing sideways at Siduri.

Siduri breathed a sigh of relief and bowed her head slightly to him.

"Of course not, Your Majesty. Thank you for your kindness."

"From now on, all the food offered by the people should be sent to the front lines. Understood?" Gilgamesh said calmly.

"Yes." Siduri nodded.

"It seems like this ritual plan is successful, and the people's faith in the Goddess of Venus is gradually being restored." Arkhan chimed in and nodded slightly as he observed the gemstones in the box.

"It's all thanks to you, Lord Arkhan." Siduri said, nodding slightly to him.

"No need for formalities." Arkhan waved his hand. "Let's take advantage of the current situation and start preparing for the next ritual."

"Understood." Siduri said solemnly, nodding.

===

Two days later, Siduri once again conducted a ritual in front of the ziggurat.

Although the scale of the ritual hadn't changed much, the number of people who came to witness the ritual was almost three times more than last time.

This basically included nearly one-fifth of the population of Uruk.

It was evident that the previous ritual had indeed left a deep impression on the people of Uruk.

Siduri glanced around and realized that almost everyone who attended the last ritual was present this time as well.

That was a good sign.

Like before, after Siduri finished reciting the prayer, the sky once again showered with brilliant golden light particles, as if countless stars were descending from the heavens, dazzlingly bright.

Seeing this scene, some who were attending the ritual for the first time no longer had any doubt. They immediately knelt down on the ground, devoutly praising the Goddess of Venus, Ishtar.

"Damn it, this is sucks... It's clearly all my effort, yet these ignorant fools are thanking that foolish and disgraceful goddess..."

Morgan, who was manipulating a magic circle inside the ziggurat, muttered as she heard the cheers outside.

Sitting beside her, Arkhan shook his head helplessly.

He wasn't sure if it was because of Gilgamesh's influence, but even Ishtar was now being referred to as a disgraceful goddess by his sister.

Although that money-grubbing goddess was indeed quite disgraceful.

"C'mon, just hold on a bit longer. It's all for the ultimate victory." Arkhan comforted.

"I heard there are two other goddesses besides this disgraceful one. Even if you deal with her, what's your plan for the other two?" Morgan asked while giving him a side-eye.

"Although there are indeed three goddesses descending upon Uruk this time, our real enemy is actually just one. As for the rest, they're fair game for us to win them over."

Arkhan answered, gazing up at the patterns on the ziggurat ceiling, murmuring softly.

"It should be about time."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless flower petals suddenly fell from nowhere.

Morgan snorted coldly, raising her hand and shooting a bolt of lightning toward the flying petals.

"What the—!!!"

Amidst the familiar cries, Merlin emerged from the petals, narrowly avoiding the lightning bolt, sweat dripping down his face.

"If you pull off this flashy stuff with flowers again, I'll personally zap you into oblivion." Morgan's eyes flashed with anger.

Just seeing this white-haired scoundrel, she couldn't help but remember how he had tricked her into allowing him to tutor Mordred—her mood instantly turning sour to the extreme.

"Yes, yes, got it, got it." Merlin, devoid of any sense of his usual frivolousness, immediately nodded and bowed with a flattering smile on his face.

Arkhan shook his head helplessly, standing up.

"How's the task I assigned to you?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it's completed successfully!" Merlin said proudly. "I've located the whereabouts of Tiamat and managed to drag her into the realm of dream."

"Good, then..." Arkhan nodded, turning to look into the distance.

A cold wind swept by, and a black spear, wrapped in a thick aura of death, appeared in his hand.

"It's time for us to sound the horn of counterattack."