In the temple hall, the air was so quiet that they could hear each other’s breathing.
Doros stared straight at the Goddess before him, whose face was so flushed it looked like it was about to drip blood.
His mind felt as if it had been stuffed with a tangled mess, with all sorts of chaotic thoughts swirling together.
Iga was Ereshkigal.
My capable assistant, the young girl I dragged in every day to handle paperwork and whom I constantly dangled carrots in front of—she was actually my direct superior, the guardian deity of the Kusha City-State, and the Goddess of the Underworld?
What kind of situation was this?
He recalled all his past actions.
“Iga, this stack of clay tablets is for you.
The capable should do more, right!”
“Iga, it’s so great to have you here.
I’m just like a fish that has found water; what would I do without you!”
“Come to think of it, Iga, you really do look a bit like the Goddess.”
…One by one, item by item, looking back now, it was simply a massive scene of social suicide.
What was he thinking back then?
To actually dare to treat her as an ordinary priestess and order her around right in front of her face, and even compare her to herself?
It was fortunate that it was Ereshkigal; if it had been anyone else, they probably would have already hit him with a gun-cage.
Thinking of this, Doros didn’t feel afraid; instead, he felt like laughing.
Watching himself…
act like an idiot, treating her like a tool and exploiting her relentlessly.
He hadn’t expected her to just endure it all this time, silently helping him handle those tedious government affairs, offering the most crucial advice when he was lost, and even trying to step out to protect him when Ishtar came to pick a fight.
This Goddess…
how should he put it?
She was a bit too cute.
Looking at her flustered appearance, unable to even speak clearly and looking like she was about to cry, the embarrassment and shock in Doros’s heart were instantly replaced by a complex emotion mixed with amusement, heartache, and warmth.
“Eh~ that’s not…
I…
you…
list-listen to my explanation.”
Ereshkigal was so anxious she spun in circles on the spot, her long hair whipping back and forth.
She didn’t know where to put her hands, grabbing the hem of her skirt one moment and waving them about the next.
She completely lacked the calm and steady “Iga” demeanor she usually had, let alone the majesty of the Goddess of the Underworld. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“I…
I didn’t mean that…
I just…
I just thought the Underworld was…
very boring, so I…
I came up to take a look…” She explained stutteringly, her voice growing quieter and quieter, as she herself felt the excuse was pale and weak.
Doros looked at her and finally couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
This laughter was like pressing a pause button, causing the panicked Ereshkigal to stop abruptly.
She looked up, her ruby-like eyes still misty, looking at Doros with a mix of confusion and grievance.
“You…
what are you laughing at!” She puffed out her cheeks, a hint of shy annoyance in her tone.
“I…
everything I said is true!
Don’t laugh!”
“Sorry, sorry.” Doros quickly waved his hands, trying hard to hold back his laughter, but the corners of his mouth refused to stay down.
“I just think that you, Goddess, look very cute right now.”
“C-cute?”
Ereshkigal was completely stunned.
These two words seemed to carry some kind of magic, causing her brain to instantly crash.
She had lived for thousands of years and heard countless praises and expressions of awe, but this was the first time anyone had used the word “cute” on her.
And it came from Doros’s mouth, no less.
Boom!
The blush that had just barely faded rushed back to reclaim her cheeks with even greater intensity, and even her fair neck and delicate earlobes were tinged with a faint pink.
“Who…
who is cute!
I am the Goddess of the Underworld!
Majesty!
Do you understand majesty!” She retorted stubbornly, but her eyes began to dart around, not daring to meet Doros’s gaze at all.
“Yes, yes, Your Majesty the Goddess.” Doros nodded readily, then stood up and walked over to her, his tone becoming much softer. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“So, Your Majesty the Goddess, you must have worked very hard staying by my side as Iga, handling so many official documents, right?”
“Ah?” Ereshkigal hadn’t expected him to suddenly say this and couldn’t react for a moment.
“Especially those clay tablets regarding the City-State’s finances and grain reserves; they were so many and so complex.” Doros continued, his tone carrying a trace of sincere apology.
“Before, I didn’t know, and I always pushed the most troublesome tasks onto you.
It was…
truly inconsiderate of me.”
“N-no, it’s nothing…” Hearing this, Ereshkigal’s momentum instantly weakened.
She muttered softly, “Actually, it was…
it was fine.
Handling those matters was much more interesting than counting wandering souls in the Underworld…”
“Is that so?” Doros looked at her, his eyes filled with a smile.
“Then, in the future, should I address you as Iga, or as the Goddess Ereshkigal?”
This was a crucial question.
Should they maintain the status quo, or lay everything out in the open?
Ereshkigal understood his meaning, too.
She bit her lip in conflict, head lowered, her fingers constantly twirling a lock of her golden hair.
After a long while, she said in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum: “Outside…
outside the temple, just call me Iga…
I don’t want…
I don’t want to cause a commotion.”
“And what about inside the temple?” Doros pressed.
“Inside…
inside the temple…
when it’s just the two of us…” She looked up, stole a glance at Doros, and quickly lowered her head again.
“You…
call me whatever…
whatever you want…”
Maybe it’s not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”