---o---
"I plan to propose to your older sister. I'm counting on you to be the matchmaker!!"
The words struck like a bolt from the blue.
They fell upon Miss Ereshkigal's ears, leaving her completely stunned.
Suddenly finding out someone wants to propose to you, what do you do? Waiting for replies online, it's urgent!!
"Um, I think I understand what you mean."
The goddess of the underworld, whose true identity was hidden behind Ishtar's appearance, wore a slightly stiff smile.
That bastard Ishtar actually sold her out just like that!!
As expected, nailing that woman to the gates of the underworld back then was the right choice!!
The Queen of the Netherworld, who, according to myth, had a track record of nailing the Useless Goddess to a post, thought viciously.
But cursing Ishtar wasn't enough to quell her panic.
"But, I still want to ask, are you really sure you want to propose to the goddess of the underworld?"
The goddess, still maintaining her identity as Ishtar, held a cup of tea and took a light sip, her expression nonchalant, as if the matter being discussed had nothing to do with her.
However, upon closer inspection, one would notice that the goddess's lips never even touched the tea, and her hands were trembling.
She looked perfectly composed, but inside she was panicking like mad.
This was probably the perfect description of Miss Ereshkigal at this moment.
Miss Ereshkigal was actually a rather tragic girl. None of the Sumerian gods wanted to go to the godforsaken underworld, so they offered the newborn goddess to it as a sacrifice.
Having barely seen the outside world, she could be considered a naive young girl, ignorant of worldly affairs.
And now, she was being proposed to.
"I recall that you don't even know Ereshkigal, do you? Is it really okay to propose to her so casually?"
The goddess, who would have probably turned into a steam engine by now if she didn't need to maintain her Ishtar persona, held her tea and asked with great difficulty.
"Ereshkigal is the goddess of decay and death. Her compatibility with you, a symbol of the sun, is exceptionally poor."
It was a fact that the gods of the underworld generally had a bad reputation.
This could be seen from the treatment of the most famous underworld god—Hades.
Hades, King of the Underworld, is the god most hated by mortals—Iliad, 9.159.
Hades of the Underworld is a place loathed by all the gods—Iliad, 20.65.
The idea that he was a stand-up guy was just a modern interpretation; in reality, no ancient wanted to be associated with such an unpopular god.
Mortals were so terrified of him they dared not even speak his name.
In the myths, the great heroes were always picking fights with Hades: shooting him in the shoulder, imprisoning his subordinates, leading away his guard dog, stealing his wife, and going around proclaiming that his wife was having and maintaining sexual relations with multiple men...
These stories could all be seen as the wish-fulfillment fantasies of the ancients, who loathed death and wanted to overcome its master.
Just think, even Hades, who also held the identity of the sun god Helios, was slandered to such a degree. One could only imagine the reputation of other underworld deities.
"Is that so?"
The youth smiled faintly as he spoke.
"But I believe Ereshkigal must be a very gentle, very cute, and very kind girl."
A very gentle, very cute, and very kind girl?
Hearing such unrestrained praise, the girl's face turned a little red. But she quickly remembered her current identity was Ishtar and forced her delicate face into a tight expression.
However, a faint blush still lingered on her jade-white cheeks, like a fine jade carving that had been blessed with human color, making her exceptionally beautiful.
"I remember you've never even met my sister. How can you have such a high opinion of that gloomy woman?"
I've played FGO before, how could I not know Ereshkigal?
She's one of the Four Girlfriends (Besides Mash), the freebie goddess who surpassed even Jalter.
In truth, the youth had a strange feeling while planning his conquest of Miss Guda.
If he had been blown into the FGO worldline back then instead of the FSN worldline, he might have actually transmigrated as Gudao (though a guy like him would only be a Caster—possessed by Chen Gong or Merlin).
And now he was pursuing the gender-bent version of Gudao, Gudako...
It was a bit ridiculous.
But the priority right now wasn't whether conquering Miss Guda was ridiculous, but rather trying to marry this woman.
The youth, who had almost no resistance to pure, beautiful, and innocent girls, looked at the goddess whose appeal to him was no less than that of Seele, who had made him instantly surrender, and thought seriously.
"It was the guidance of fate."
The youth, feeling like he could almost call himself Fujimaru Ritsuka, chuckled and said.
The guidance of fate?
The goddess, who never expected this fellow to say such a thing, was stunned.
"I asked the goddess of fate where I could find a girl who was kind, beautiful, and willing to form a bond with me."
"Fate guided me here, to Uruk, and told me that the girl who fits my heart's desire is in the underworld."
The youth chuckled, his face beaming with a smile.
Willing to form a bond?!
Hearing that description, even though she was trying her best to suppress her emotions, Miss Ereshkigal's face turned as red as an apple.
Her black hair, too, had unknowingly turned golden due to her emotional turmoil.
Hey, hey, hey, what kind of line is that?
Love destined by fate?
"I think the goddess of fate wouldn't deceive me, would she?"
The youth, who did in fact know the whereabouts of a goddess of fate but had barely interacted with her, smiled as he looked at the girl whose hair and eye color were changing.
"Then you might be disappointed. Ereshkigal, even if she is a good girl by nature, would have turned into an ugly, corrupt monster after being eroded by the underworld."
Extremely awkward words came from the mouth of the girl, who didn't realize she had already revealed her true form.
"I think you will surely be disappointed when you see what she looks like."
An ugly, corrupt monster?
Looking at the goddess's charming face before him, Li Zihan was taken aback.
Was she trying to redefine "ugly" and "corrupt" in the same way the High Immortal redefined "fleeing in a panic"?
"Then we'll just exchange our divinities. I'll use the radiance of the sun to restore her beauty, and I will go and become the sun of the underworld."
The youth smiled faintly, not minding in the slightest the idea of ditching his current divinity and hunting for another with the "Creation" trait if it came down to it.
He's willing to abandon the radiance of a sun god for my sake and become a king of decay?
The goddess felt her heartbeat quicken.
"Alright, I get it."
"I'll pass these words on to my sister."
"When my sister notifies you to come to the underworld, I hope you don't flee in a panic."
She stood up, then turned her head away and walked towards Ishtar's chambers.
She needed to be alone to calm down.
Then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, the goddess of the underworld turned back and added a sentence.
"As for the reward you mentioned earlier, forget it. Keep it for yourself or give it to my sister."
---o---
Author's Note:
PS: I feel like such a scumbag.