In mythology, the Mistress of Heaven was by no means a well-behaved child.
The Epic of Gilgamesh mentions that Inanna once proposed to the legendary Sumerian king, Gilgamesh, but was rejected.
The reason was simple: the goddess of Venus, who held the title "Mistress of Heaven," had a mischievous and unruly personality, often acting on a whim without any regard for the feelings of others.
Moreover, Inanna, who could be described as a gender-bent version of Gilgamesh at his worst, had a rather "uninhibited" view on love. The moment she saw a man she liked, she would declare her affection, not even caring if he was human or not. And once she grew tired of them or had "broken" them, she would cast them aside. The reason the mythological Gilgamesh rejected Inanna was precisely to avoid suffering the same fate as her many previous husbands.
However, as everyone knows, the mythology of the Type-Moon universe, which primarily caters to the otaku crowd, is different from the mythology of Earth.
The most obvious example of this is the relationship between the "Big Dog" and a certain dual-wielding b[leep]a. In Earth's mythology, Cu Chulainn learned from Scathach by following her daughter's guidance, pressing his sword (and this was likely a literal sword, not a euphemism) against his master's cleavage, and forcing her to teach him a bunch of useless skills. The Type-Moon BBA, however, has no daughter, and the Dog, having lived his entire life in the shadow of a certain BBA, probably wouldn't have the guts to pull off such an audacious maneuver.
Similarly, the Ishtar of Type-Moon's history isn't quite as promiscuous as her mythological counterpart.
But one thing remains unchanged: Type-Moon's Ishtar is based on the earthly Inanna and still bears the shadow of that Mistress of Heaven. Even after fusing with a certain perpetually broke young lady, the Useless Goddess retains some of Goddess Ishtar's core traits.
For example—
Being proactive.
---o---
"Offer up your possessions and become my husband!"
Likely modeling her proposal on the memory of how the heavenly tyrant Inanna confessed to Gilgamesh, the goddess, who had long felt that a certain man suited her tastes, declared haughtily to the chief god lodging in her temple.
It came without any warning, leaving both Li Zihan and the nearby Ling completely stunned.
Especially Ling.
She had been desperately hoping to see the scumbag suffer a setback. After seeing a parade of girls give in so easily, she was already in a foul mood, having reluctantly begun to accept the fact that he was actually succeeding in building a harem.
And now she was witnessing a girl who wasn't even just "giving in easily," but was actively throwing herself at him and proposing marriage?
Is this woman an idiot?
Ling, who vaguely recalled that a certain Herrscher of Thunder who shall not be named was about to recognize Otto Apocalypse as her adoptive father just so she could inherit Schicksal's hat wholesale factory as the "Green Herrscher," was dumbfounded.
Hey, hey, hey! Are you serious about proposing to a scumbag like Li Zihan? Haven't you seen that his fiancée, Mei, is about to develop cervical spondylosis from the sheer weight of all the green hats he's put on her?!
Then, Ling remembered that Ishtar didn't know Mei.
Oh, well. Never mind then.
---o---
"Why?"
The youth, who didn't quite understand why this Useless Goddess would suddenly propose to him, looked at her with a slightly bewildered expression.
"Hmph, do you even need to ask?"
The goddess, who was immensely satisfied with Li Zihan's behavior since his arrival at her temple, broke into a smile. It was a brilliant, captivating smile, filled with the unique charm of a goddess of beauty, as well as… an aura identical to Aqua's.
"I have seen everything you have done for me."
Li Zihan likes me.
Ishtar was certain of it. It was a conclusion one could reach with just a little analysis.
The goddess of Venus recalled the events of the past few days and couldn't help but smile.
Her first encounter with him hadn't been pleasant. He had knocked her out of the sky with a rock.
"Lodging is ten gems per person per night. Thirty gems for the three of you until you find a new place in Uruk. How about it?"
That wandering sun god had said to her as she lay there after falling from Maanna.
Probably due to the dignity of a god (and the need to haggle!), Ishtar had refused.
And then, he knocked her unconscious.
If this had been a divine battle, it would have been perfectly normal for her to be killed next. But when Ishtar awoke, she found she had only been tied up and left in the cold wind for a while.
To be honest, Ishtar had been furious at the time. What she wanted to do most was summon her Noble Phantasm and blast that bastard sky-high.
But then, the unexpected happened.
"Dear landlady, are you here to collect the rent?"
The youth, whose aura was so similar to Gilgamesh's, had cheerfully paid her a large sum of gems.
"This… is… rent for me?"
The goddess, who had been about to smack him in the face with her Noble Phantasm, froze all her attacks and stared at the floating jewels, her eyes shining with desire.
"The rent is only thirty gems. The rest is an offering to the goddess of beauty."
The master of the sun is making an offering to the goddess of Venus? That's definitely strange.
And then, even stranger things began to happen.
The youth, whose divinity was even higher than her own, began renovating her temple and planting flowers.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Ishtar had asked him, seeing as he was only supposed to be staying for a short while.
"I'm creating a beautiful environment for the cutest goddess in history," the youth had replied with a smile, handing her gems and treasures under the guise of payment for all sorts of trivial labor.
Every day since, she had received three meals a day, all prepared by him, along with his smiles.
He had practically showered her with wealth, renovated her temple, and personally cooked for her…
Without a doubt, he was in love with her.
In that case, she should respond to this affection, shouldn't she?
Just like in the myths, the goddess who actively pursued love, smiled.
"Li Zihan, state your name as a god, and let us be wed under the witness of my father."
"My name as a god?"
The youth, who was now vaguely recalling that Ishtar was, in fact, another goddess who gave in easily, narrowed his eyes and then spoke as if troubled.
"I'm sorry, but it seems I only have a name as a human. I don't have one as a god."
"Did you forget it?" Ishtar asked, stunned, clearly unaware that he was a mortal who had ascended to godhood.
"Perhaps."
"Ehh? You forgot your own name? How pitiful." The goddess, who only knew that he was a sun god from a foreign land, frowned. After a moment of thought, a bright light shone in her eyes.
"If that's the case, then I shall give you a name."
"Nergal, will you accept my love?"
Author's Notes:
1: Time for some lore-bending and shenanigans!