Chapter 24: The Hunter's Plea

"What about this gem?" Qiye held up the lapis lazuli gem and showed it to Gilgamesh.

"The reward for inviting me to drink, do you think I would take back what I threw away?!"

'Oh, this king is as generous as ever.'

Gilgamesh didn't purchase all the fine wine brewed by Qiye and Semiramis at an exorbitant price. Instead, he chose to send the chief priest Siduri to negotiate with them, buying their fine wine at a fair price and establishing a trade relationship.

From a long-term perspective, exchanging several barrels of fine wine for a lapis lazuli gem is a loss for Qiye. Several barrels of fine wine can only be exchanged for some possessions.

In the courtyard outside Qiye's house, Gilgamesh behaved as if he were a member of the family, treating Qiye and Semiramis as his own. He invited Qiye to the courtyard as a host and directed Semiramis to the kitchen to bring wine and food. He specifically requested beef and mutton, nothing else.

Semiramis's face turned black with anger, but she cooked the dishes herself, mixing wine into every appetizer, in order to quickly get the barbaric tyrant drunk so that he could be carried away from the house by the soldiers.

The people who enjoyed this banquet were not only Gilgamesh but also Qiye, who accompanied Gilgamesh to eat and drink. Looking at the pile of alcohol-infused appetizers, Qiye felt his nose becoming stuffy, and his appetite churned.

Although good wine is good wine, when mixed with such random food, it can make one feel queasy.

"The women in your family don't seem to know how to cook at all." Gilgamesh, sitting in his seat, looked displeased. He was probably repulsed by the food and drink.

"Ahem, that's right. That's why I stopped Semiramis from going to the kitchen earlier," Qiye said helplessly. In truth, Semiramis is skilled in cooking. However, apart from Qiye, Gilgamesh was the only other person who tasted her cooking, and that's why she made such terrible dishes.

"You are truly pitiful. Should I find a woman who is good at cooking to take care of you?" Gilgamesh said, raising his wine glass.

Semiramis, who was listening from inside the house, instantly became vigilant. After serving the appetizers, she left the courtyard and returned to the living room beside it.

"I should have poisoned those dishes... Anyway, Qiye won't be poisoned." Semiramis muttered. She said this out of nervousness, but she would never actually poison Gilgamesh. After all, it could cause trouble for Qiye since Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk.

Semiramis listened intently to the conversation outside, curious about how Qiye would respond to Gilgamesh's joke.

Qiye smiled lightly at Gilgamesh and replied, "Little Pigeon is excellent. She takes care of most of the affairs in this household. Although she can be a bit temperamental at times, which gives me a headache, it's also part of her charm. I don't need anyone else to take care of me."

In the room, Semiramis laughed happily. Gilgamesh sneered as he raised his wine glass to Qiye, and Qiye clinked glasses with the king.

At that moment, Gilgamesh was no longer the arrogant king of Uruk but an ordinary person who enjoyed fine wine. Fine wine and time were the two things that bonded their relationship the most.

Getting along with Qiye, an outsider, Gilgamesh unexpectedly felt relaxed. He didn't sense the kind of timidity that bored him from Qiye, and he enjoyed this feeling.

However, their relaxed time was quickly interrupted when a soldier entered and stood outside Qiye's house. He whispered a few words to Gilgamesh.

"Huh?" Gilgamesh smiled with interest at the soldier. "Let him in. I want to see what strange mud monster he encountered."

"Yes!" The soldier who received the order left, and Gilgamesh turned to Qiye. "The hunter from the forest south of Uruk approached me. He said he encountered a mud demon there."

"So, you should feel honored to lend me this place to handle this matter."

"...I can only say 'Of course, I'm honored' now," Qiye replied helplessly. Gilgamesh had made the decision without consulting him first. How else could Qiye respond?

As the soldiers left, a heavily clad hunter soon entered. After stepping into the courtyard where Qiye and Gilgamesh were, his expression turned dark.

The hunter wasn't frightened by Gilgamesh's majesty but rather by the overpowering smell of alcohol.

"Ahem." The hunter coughed and looked suspiciously at Qiye and Gilgamesh in the courtyard. He couldn't determine which one was the king of Uruk.

If he called the wrong person, it would be troublesome.

Sympathetic to the hunter's predicament, Nanaya raised his wine glass and gestured to Gilgamesh. "This is the king of Uruk, the most generous king."

"That's right, I am the king of Uruk. So, hunter who has climbed mountains and waded through rivers to reach Uruk, why have you come here? *hiccup* " Gilgamesh intended to introduce himself with majesty, but after drinking too much wine, he couldn't help but hiccup, which diminished his grandeur. Now, Qiye was holding back his laughter.

The hunter became even more suspicious. He doubted whether the king of Uruk was as powerful as his father had described.

Haunted by the mud demon, the hunter sought advice from his father, who told him, "In the city of Uruk, two-thirds of its inhabitants are gods, and one-third are humans. Their king is unrivaled in might and possesses wisdom akin to the stars. Seek his help."

Driven by curiosity and respect, the hunter came to the city of Uruk. However, what he witnessed wasn't a majestic king but a man drinking and hiccupping in broad daylight—a drunkard!

"But their wine is so damn sweet..." the hunter mumbled, looking for an excuse.

"Oh, Lord of Uruk, I am plagued by a mud demon. It has an indistinct human form and wanders in the mountains. It grazes with wild animals and soaks its feet in ponds. I am afraid and dare not approach it. The demon fills up the traps I've set and tears apart the lassoes I've prepared. It causes beasts and wild animals to escape, interfering with my livelihood. Therefore, I hope to receive a solution from you."