Fate: Question And Answer System of Traversing Heroic Spirits

"Alright, enough." Gilgamesh cut off Ishtar's self-introduction with a disdainful snort. "I thought the little girl would summon someone interesting, but instead it's just a useless goddess like you."

"What? You arrogant idiot, Gilgamesh!" Ishtar leaped down from the Sky Boat Maanna, her finger pointed accusingly at him. "I descended here to put an end to you! So prepare yourself!"

Gilgamesh merely sneered in response. With a casual wave, the Enkidu chains flew out from his treasury, binding Ishtar in place almost instantly.

"Ugh! Could you not use that cursed thing!" Ishtar struggled in vain against the chains, jumping in frustration. There was little she could do—Enkidu was designed specifically to restrain divine beings, and the stronger her divinity, the more unbreakable it became.

"And why have you shown up in such a strange form?" Gilgamesh observed her critically, a mix of curiosity and amusement. "Your personality seems… different. If it were the old you, I'd already be dealing with that idiot bull you love to summon."

Ishtar scowled, huffing. "None of your business why I'm like this!"

Standing nearby, little Rin was utterly bewildered. She'd initially been thrilled to summon a goddess, she even shared Ishtar's face! But her joy was short-lived, and reality crashed in as she watched Ishtar being easily subdued.

In truth, if they'd been in an open battlefield, Ishtar would not have been captured so easily. Even with Gilgamesh's chains, a direct fight between them would've been far more chaotic and destructive. But Ishtar, harboring Rin's consciousness, had no wish to level the Tohsaka family's home. So she held back, choosing not to unleash her full strength within the confines of the estate.

If she had fought seriously, the Bull of Heaven alone would have likely reduced the place to rubble.

"A Pseudo-Servant," Tohsaka Tokiomi murmured, quickly assessing the situation. He'd done his research to summon Gilgamesh and had encountered the concept of a Pseudo-Servant, a human host possessed by a heroic spirit. He hadn't anticipated that his own daughter would serve as a vessel for one, especially not a goddess.

But any initial pride he might have felt was quickly replaced by anxiety. He knew all too well about the tension between Gilgamesh and Ishtar in their myths. If these two started fighting here, there would be nothing left of the house.

And so, the atmosphere in the Tohsaka household grew tense, as the two ancient rivals simmered in an uneasy truce.

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The next day…

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[Ding! The question-answering session will begin in ten minutes. Please be prepared.]

[Ding! New members "Red Hare," "The Second," and "Goddess Venus" have joined the group chat.]

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Red Hare: "Oh, Master, is this the chat group you mentioned?"

Chihiro: "Yes, this is it. I'll show you how to use it…"

Waver: "Right, we all know about Red Hare, but who's this 'Goddess Venus'?"

Goddess Venus: "Hahaha! I am Ishtar, the goddess of beauty who rules over Venus. Show proper respect, mortals, and seek the blessings of the goddess."

Chihiro paused in the middle of explaining the group features to Red Hare, thrown off by the message. Ishtar's here? How did this goddess end up joining the chat? The group usually only admitted participants in the Fourth Holy Grail War. Did this mean someone had summoned Ishtar as a Servant?

If that were the case, the most likely candidate was Rin Tohsaka. But… didn't she only receive a bronze treasure chest? That shouldn't be enough to draw a powerful entity like Ishtar.

"Chihiro, do you know this 'Goddess Venus'?" Zhang Jiao asked, sensing his companion's surprise.

"Yes," Chihiro replied, refocusing. "Ishtar is the goddess of beauty, war, and harvest in Mesopotamian mythology."

He quickly summarized Ishtar's background for Zhang Jiao.

"Hahaha, so she's Gilgamesh's eternal rival?" Zhang Jiao laughed heartily. "That's pretty amusing."

Chihiro, however, didn't find it all that funny. If Ishtar really was serving as Rin's Servant, then she and Gilgamesh would be under the same roof. The fact that they hadn't already destroyed each other meant they must have reached some sort of agreement.

Except… No, that doesn't seem likely, Chihiro thought. Gilgamesh wasn't the type to negotiate, and Ishtar was as prideful as he was. There had to be another reason they weren't fighting outright.

As it turned out, Chihiro's guess was only half-correct. Gilgamesh and Ishtar had not come to any mutual understanding. Instead, they had been temporarily restrained by Tohsaka Tokiomi's intervention. Ishtar had reluctantly agreed not to escalate things for the sake of Rin's father. Only then did Gilgamesh withdraw the Enkidu chains and allow her to leave.

To avoid future clashes, Tokiomi arranged for Rin, her mother Aoi, and Ishtar to relocate to a nearby hotel. He knew that while the goddess and the King of Heroes had promised to coexist peacefully, keeping them under the same roof was inviting disaster.

In truth, Tokiomi had already considered moving his wife and daughter out for their safety. Serving Gilgamesh was an exhausting responsibility, and the King's unpredictable moods left his household in constant tension. But he hadn't dared move Aoi and Rin out of Fuyuki due to the lingering threat of Zouken Matou. Now, with Ishtar's presence, that threat was mitigated, and his family could find temporary refuge.

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Kenneth: "A goddess? You're an actual deity?"

Goddess Venus: "Of course! I am a true goddess."

Kenneth: "But how… how could a god become a participant in the Holy Grail War?"

Kenneth's reaction was understandable. He'd studied the mechanics of the Holy Grail War and knew it was designed to summon heroic spirits, humans who had attained legend. Gods, by their very nature, were supposed to be above such matters.

In fact, the Holy Grail had never summoned deities before for two main reasons. The first was choice: heroes who answered the call of the Grail typically had lingering desires or regrets. They were willing to fight to achieve something. Gods, however, rarely held such human aspirations and saw little point in competing for the Grail.

The second reason was balance. Gods wielded tremendous power; their presence alone would break the delicate equilibrium of the Holy Grail War.