Tiamat Smells So Good
Upon hearing that the so-called Herrscher's mission was to destroy civilization, Leonidas and Tomoe Gozen, who were standing to the side, had already gripped their weapons.
They had thought they were inviting a wolf into their home.
"Hoh, what a bold statement."
Hearing this, Gilgamesh rested his chin on his hand and looked down at the white-haired young girl below. "Enemy of Civilization... can This King assume you are a member of the Three Goddess Alliance?"
"Three Goddesses? No, no, no," Xia Yu shook her head upon hearing this. "I have nothing to do with them."
"After all, I am not a native of Babylonia."
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly. "Actually, my task is very simple. I'm here to exchange experiences with a peer."
"Hmph, a peer?" Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes. "A peer in destroying the world?"
"You could say that," Xia Yu nodded. "It's just that my peer's current state is a bit muddled..."
Of course, she wasn't afraid of leaking the Herrscher's mission. After all, Gilgamesh was a smart man; he wouldn't tear up all pretenses with her right here.
Furthermore, she had also hinted at a few things, preparing to fool Chaldea later on.
Speaking of this, she smiled faintly. "She seems to be in a poor state, so I can't complete my mission for the time being. I can only find a place to stay first and slack off for a bit."
"...You want to stay in Uruk long-term?" Gilgamesh furrowed his brows. He really couldn't grasp the background of the person in front of him; when he looked with his Clairvoyance, all he saw was a veil of mist.
He couldn't see any useful information at all.
Logically speaking, such an unstable factor shouldn't be allowed to stay in Uruk. However, her strength was simply too great. Even if they fought and won, Uruk would be reduced to scorched earth.
"Well, it's not really a big deal," just then, a lazy voice came from behind everyone. "It's just a single room. Uruk can still provide that, right, oh wise King Gilgamesh?"
Xia Yu looked back and saw Merlin smiling at her. "This is a suggestion from your Chief Court Magus."
"Hmph, smooth-talking Merlin." As soon as Gilgamesh saw his expression, he knew that Merlin's Clairvoyance had probably been rendered useless as well.
Clairvoyance varied from person to person. Some could see the present, some could see the future, and some could see the past.
There were also ridiculous ones who could see everything.
Gilgamesh and Merlin basically possessed top-tier Clairvoyance, yet even they couldn't see through her...
Merlin was sweating bullets, screaming internally: 'Where did this monster come from?!'
He had painstakingly coaxed Tiamat to sleep in the Persian Gulf, and now another super-strong individual had suddenly appeared, opening her mouth only to talk about destroying civilization.
Although his Clairvoyance couldn't discern her origins, he could completely feel that the threat radiating from her was not the slightest bit inferior to Tiamat's.
Merlin's back was already drenched in sweat.
Dealing with just Tiamat required him to risk his life. If another one came... people would actually die!
"Beautiful lady," Merlin bowed respectfully to Xia Yu. "Please listen to me."
"What's so good about destroying civilization? If civilization is gone, where will you find so much entertainment?" He laughed exaggeratedly. "Just as you said, if civilization is gone, you'd have to personally sow, irrigate, and harvest handful by handful just to have a meal."
"Even eating a bit of salt would require you to manually filter and refine it bit by bit, not to mention that to live better, the variety of materials needed is countless."
"If you destroy Uruk, who will farm the land? Who will herd the sheep? Who will make clay? Who will weave?"
"And life requires more than just these things. Human society has developed to this point, and the various classified materials are too numerous to count. Can you really make them all one by one?"
These words weren't meant for Xia Yu to hear. After all, she had already made her stance very clear.
They were meant for Gilgamesh and the two Heroic Spirits, to get them to relax a bit for the time being.
So they wouldn't stay so tense, looking like a fight was about to break out any second.
"Talking to smart people sure saves effort." Xia Yu glanced at Merlin, then at Gilgamesh on the throne, before stepping forward to pat the former's shoulder. "Little Mei, I have high hopes for you. This Chief Court Magus will definitely keep rising through the ranks. Perhaps one day, even that throne wouldn't be entirely out of reach."
Hearing this, the people in the grand hall almost couldn't hold back their reactions.
"Oh? Miss Kiana knows me?" Although the nickname 'Little Mei' was weird, Merlin didn't make a fuss about it. Instead, he stared intently at Xia Yu to see if some old friend had put on a disguise to stir up trouble.
After all, was 'Little Mei' something just anyone had the right to call him?
"I actually don't know you," Xia Yu shook her head and sighed. "It's mainly because Artoria often talks to me about a swindler."
"Ah?" Hearing this, it was Merlin's turn to be dumbfounded.
"You know my Artoria?" he asked tentatively.
"Of course I know her," Xia Yu nodded readily. "We had a great battle back then. It's just a pity that her Master didn't have enough Magical Energy. Otherwise, with her stats, I could have enjoyed the fight a bit more."
"This..." Merlin was somewhat at a loss for words. Heaven knew where Kiana had encountered Artoria.
"Little Mei, heh, hahahaha, Little Mei." Right then, Gilgamesh on the throne spoke as if he had been greatly amused. "Good, haha, very good. Just based on this nickname alone, you may enter and reside in Uruk!"
"Then thank you," Xia Yu smiled and said. "That's really great. Now I won't have to live a savage life out in the wild."
"Hmph. Since that's the case, Tomoe Gozen, you were injured today as well, so there's no need for you to patrol the Northern Wall," Gilgamesh spoke up. "Take her back to your residence. I'm giving you three days of leave!"
"Then what about the Northern Wall?" Tomoe Gozen was a bit stunned to hear this.
"Of course, whoever can spare the time will go," Gilgamesh looked teasingly at Merlin below. "Right, Little Mei?"
"But I'm just a weak and powerless Magus," Merlin hurriedly begged for mercy upon hearing this. "Are you really going to make me guard it?"
"Say no more," Gilgamesh waved his large hand. "Alright, you are all dismissed. This King still has official duties to handle!"
Saying so, he picked up a clay tablet from the side and began to read it.
"Miss Kiana," Tomoe Gozen looked at Kiana beside her. "Please follow me."
"Alright," hearing this, Xia Yu directly reached out and linked arms with Tomoe Gozen's right arm. "Big Sister Tomoe Gozen, is your residence spacious?"
Seeing Xia Yu's intimate action, Tomoe Gozen froze for a moment at first, then simply linked arms with her and walked outside.
They were both girls anyway, so it didn't matter if she was acting a bit overly familiar.
Of course, the main reason was that the other party had just saved her not long ago, yet she had subconsciously become guarded against her just now. She felt somewhat guilty in her heart.
"Mhm, our residence is quite spacious," Tomoe Gozen explained as they walked. "The Heroic Spirits all live there."
"It's a two-story building with over a dozen rooms."
Just like that, the two left the Ziggurat arm in arm.
"It seems our troubles are increasing, esteemed King," Merlin watched them walk away, casting Magecraft to monitor the entire Ziggurat once more before looking at Gilgamesh.
"Have you ever heard of the origins of this so-called Herrscher?"
"Unheard of," Gilgamesh couldn't even be bothered to use his sharp tongue, speaking with a serious expression. "But this term, Enemy of Civilization..."
"It's highly likely to be true," Merlin continued.
Although both of their Clairvoyance couldn't see her origins, they could still deduce a little bit of information.
"I apologize, we were the ones who brought her into Uruk," hearing this, Leonidas realized he had caused a disaster. "I thought she was a warrior fighting for Human!"
"It's not your fault," Merlin consoled him upon hearing this. "With her abilities, even if you didn't bring her back, she could have forced her way in."
"This isn't like those petty Demonic Beasts. I estimate that even the Three Goddess Alliance... a single pillar goddess probably wouldn't be able to hold her ground against her."
They had invited an ancestor back—no, it should be a bomb that could explode at any unknown time.
"Sigh, we can't arrange for such an expert to stay anywhere else either. I can only trouble you guys to keep a close eye on her."
"Hmph, Uruk does not keep freeloaders." Hearing this, Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes. "Starting tomorrow, assign her tasks."
"Only those whose hands have labored are qualified to enjoy food."
"Ah, won't this really anger her?" Merlin asked in response.
"Leave it to Siduri," Gilgamesh sighed, adding another burden to his subordinate. "She will handle it well."
For some unknown reason, he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over his body.
The Human body is just so fragile... and this was only after a few days of overtime.
"Then about the Northern Wall..." Merlin was eager to try.
"No, you're the only one who can spare the time!" Gilgamesh refused without hesitation.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Xia Yu had already arrived at the Heroic Spirits' station arm in arm with Tomoe Gozen.
Tomoe Gozen somewhat shyly pulled her hand away. "Miss Kiana, I'm very sorry, just now I..."
"Oh, don't mind it," hearing this, Xia Yu shook her head. "It's standard procedure. I can understand, of course. Not to mention the title Enemy of Civilization is still hanging over my head."
"It's normal for you to be tense."
"By the way, is there no one in this house during the day?"
"Oh, everyone is very busy," Tomoe Gozen replied upon hearing this. "Merlin has to search everywhere for the various things King Gilgamesh needs. I hold down the northern defense line, Lord Leonidas holds down the east, and Lady Ushiwakamaru and Mr. Musashibo Benkei hold down the west and south."
"You guys are really stretched thin on manpower," Xia Yu shook her head at this. There wasn't even anyone to cover a shift change.
"Oh, you misunderstand," Tomoe Gozen hurriedly explained. "Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't spend all our time patrolling."
"It's a sudden emergency right now, so everyone has stepped up to hold the line. Usually, when there are no missions, it's quite relaxing."
"I was wondering why. No wonder," Xia Yu nodded, then stretched lazily. "Alright, just find me a room to rest for a bit."
"I'm a bit tired after running around outside for so long."
"Oh, then this room is empty," Tomoe Gozen walked straight up and opened a room, but there was nothing inside.
"Ah, sorry, I forgot there wasn't any furniture arranged in here," she hesitated for a second, then immediately turned and opened her own room. "Miss Kiana, if you don't mind, please come rest in my room."
"Hm? What about you?" Xia Yu looked at the shallow wounds on her body. "You're injured quite a bit too, aren't you? You need to rest more."
"It's alright," Tomoe Gozen smiled gently upon hearing this. "My bed is very big."
Xia Yu was deep in thought.
Tomoe Gozen was lying right next to her.
She felt as if her little hands really didn't want to behave.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong!
From teasing Ereshkigal at the very beginning to the various intimate physical contacts with Tomoe Gozen later on...
She had proposed resting simply because she wanted to study this body.
Because she noticed she seemed to have become much more proactive.
In the past, the most she would do was pet lolis, like Bronya or Illya.
When did she start getting interested in married women?
Xia Yu began her research on this body.
Hmm, she found nothing.
So... could this be the influence of Kiana's deep-seated fetish for beautiful girls etched into her very bones?
That's not right. Could it really work like that?
Thinking of this, Xia Yu actively recounted the bodies she had acquired.
Furina was light and flexible, nothing abnormal there.
Tarnished still had the Frenzied Flame in her body, though it couldn't make any waves.
Acheron being eroded by Nihility was terrifying enough.
The same went for Firefly's Entropy Loss Syndrome.
Bailu... well, she was just as cute as Furina.
So, as long as it was a slightly stronger body, it would have some sort of side effect?
Then the side effect of Flamescion's body was... liking to get close to beautiful girls?
Xia Yu looked at her own body with an 'old man looking at his phone on the subway' expression.
What a powerful Kiana!
After studying the body, Xia Yu closed her eyes.
She began recalling the plot of the Absolute Demonic Front.
What benefits could she reap from this world... First, she had to look at Tiamat.
The Usurper of Talent was still on her.
There were simply too many good things on Tiamat.
For example, the Sea of Life.
Beast II was the very ocean that birthed life. By circulating the True Ether from Earth's Genesis, this ocean could supply an infinite amount of Magical Energy.
It randomly bestowed skills such as Self-Modification, Ecological Change, Ecological Fusion, and Individual Proliferation upon those imprisoned in the Black Mud and sunken into the sea.
When emerging from the ocean onto the land, one must complete a cellular-level contract with Beast II... known as the Amino-Geass, automatically becoming an enemy of Human.
As long as there was enough Magical Energy, this skill was overpowered enough.
There was also Independent Manifestation.
A skill that allowed one to independently appear in The Living World. Once manifested, she could seize the Indian Ocean in seven days. After manifestation, she would endlessly create monsters without sleep or rest, enough to devour Human completely.
An excellent unit-spawning skill.
There was also the overpowered skill Anti-Genesis. As long as this skill was active, any creations or attacks related to Human could not threaten her main body.
It's so fragrant!
★ ★ ★
T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
★ ★ ★
Shilling time!
Members of my [email protected]/quickinquickout can read advanced chapters on quick-tl(dot)com—and even customize translated terms to match their preferred names and terminology!