Gudako POV
"...I-Is this...Ishtar's Temple?"
"A-Are those cats, master?"
"I-I'm not sure, Mash."
We arrived somewhere around midday; the sun positioned slightly more to the west than when we departed as we stood in front of what was surprisingly Ishtar's Temple. Standing before us, positioned like knights, two golden statues of what I assumed were kitties stood on either side of the shiny steps' first set, each holding a board with illustrated symbols.
Following that, the second pair of steps loomed shortly in the distance stretching widely as far as my eyes could see before narrowing out at the top where a lusciously gold and white marbled temple sat overlooking it all.
The mountain range resting behind it enclosed the building and everything surrounding it inside perfectly, wrapping it like a gift into a memorable view for sightseeing. Mash and I both stood admiring every aspect in awe while our three other party members moved forward not sparing a second glance.
"I understand the adorableness of the cats very well, master, but we can't stare at them all day. " Atalanta scolded Mash and me pulling us along even as her tail wagged excitedly, and she looked away doing her best to hide the obvious red coloring her cheeks.
"So you say Atta, yet you're just as ecstatic. Not that I blame you, there weren't any Greek gods who decorated their temples with adorable lawn cats."
"...S-Shut up."
"Hehe."
I smiled giving a light laugh at the two's warm exchange. Looking ahead under the shade of my hand the temple appeared to be empty as we further climbed the first flight of steps with Bahamut still in front.
"Hold on."
Halting our ascent, he thrust out his arm keeping us from moving any further.
Two beams of white and blue surged forward circling from behind the temple threatening to mow us down.
Atalanta repelled the two shots letting loose arrows of her own, they collide in a display of teal lights creating a small blast. Dust rises from the rocky terrain blowing around like smoke. Narrowing my eyes, I make out a small object moving through, stopping on the steps, the haze clearing to reveal Ishtar sitting on Manna with a nerve-wracking glare aimed my direction.
"For what pleasure do I owe this slap in the face to? A human attempting to walk on sacred ground, you'd best have a good reason for this."
She summoned an arrow to her hand shifting gazes from me to Atalanta whose drawn bow was staring pointedly at the ground.
"Oh, I see..."
Ishtar's hands shook, the pupils of her eyes became hidden behind the bangs of her hair as she bit down on her teeth in annoyance prepared to fire another shot from Manna.
"Having another divine archer show up on my steps, so that golden brat is planning to have me replaced is he! I WON'T STAND FOR THIS INSULT!"
(Why is she always getting pissed from misunderstandings!)
Ishtar flew higher in the sky firing the arrow from above, Mash moving to the front with her shield only to be blown back after intercepting the attack.
Bahamut quickly kicked the cart to Merlin who grabbed me teleporting us to the edge of the mountain a safe distance away from the pursuing fight.
Bahamut rose to the skies flying about with the use of his dragon wings as Atalanta ran along the ground firing arrow after arrow at any opening she saw aiding in the battle.
Despite the team's dynamic having never fought together, they moved like a well-oiled machine with Bahamut canceling out Ishtar's destructive offense while the duo of Mash and Atalanta kept things fairly grounded, not allowing her to move in the open area at insane speeds.
"Fujimaru-kun."
Merlin called my name amongst the constant vibrations, his line of sight still focused on the fight, tracing every moment of it before turning to look at me.
"You have a plan, don't you, Fujimaru? We should put it into action before long. Bahamut's holding back extremely well, but I imagine if Atalanta gets hurt he might lose his patience."
"Can't go hoping for a united front if we go straining our bond with Ishtar even further."
"I know, I might have an idea, though, it's a bit reckless quite possibly suicidal."
"Sounds like cause for concern, but alright, just tell me what you have in mind."
I filled Merlin in on my strategy holding the bag of gems safely in my arms. Another vibration shook the earth, the dust settling uncovering Mash laying in a small crater breathing heavily struggling back to her feet.
Free from the three-way deadlock she fired off consecutive arrows enclosing them around Atalanta before throwing Manna like a weapon forcing her to the ground, just narrowly missing Atalanta as she rolls across the floor her bow on the other side, Ishtar wasting no moment to engage in an aerial chase with Bahamut.
"Merlin!"
Rushing forward I pocket the small pouch looking as if I'm charging for Ishtar herself. Yelling her name, gathering her attention my way she stops mid-flight aiming a finger.
"Putting yourself at risk yet again, charging out here for the sake of your servants. I warned the next time you did something so stupid I'd put an end to your foolish existence!"
Discharging a beam from her hand it burns through my flesh; Merlin's illusion fades bursting into flowers Ishtar's unable to hide her surprise as every inch of her body is hugged by Bahamut's chains the next instant.
"Anti-divine weapons, seriously!"
Ignoring the struggling Ishtar, I lock eye contact with Bahamut who lowers himself to the ground grabbing my outstretched hand before lifting me into the sky.
"You're utterly stupid." Leveling me with Ishtar he looked back at me in annoyance slightly increasing the strength of his grip.
"Because I'm asking you to throw me into enemy arms?" I joked hiding my fear behind a cheerful smile.
"More like because you're asking me to throw you, don't blame me if the force from the wind pressure tears you to shreds before you even hit her."
(That's...frightening)
Raising his arm at an angle level with the side of his face I felt his breath tickle my nose as he breathed out, Fou who was propped on his other shoulder letting loose an adorable noise of what I assumed was GO!, I'm thrown like a javelin.
I close my eyes and mouth to keep me from biting my tongue as Ishtar became closer, having finally freed herself from the chains she turned and faced me, her expression turning to one of a deer in headlights as I barreled into her midsection sending us tumbling out of the air, the two of us screaming as loud as our lungs would allow.
We crashed at the edge of the temple in front of the golden cat statues. Ishtar lay below me her face glazed over, the pupils of her eyes replaced with swirls as I sat up only to fall back, three varying versions of Mash and Atalanta rushing towards me in concern.
"Senpai!"
"Master, hey master are you ok?"
"A-A-ok, just the normal ringing of my head."
"I see...however, for any future occurrences please refrain from having Bahamut throw you, his level of strength has never been good at handling gentle things."
"Hey, that's a bit out there don't you think Atta? ...It mostly depends on my mood."
"And what mood would this qualify as?"
"...Neutral, probably, I think."
Joining the rest of us Bahamut touches ground while Mash attempts to prop me up as Ishtar lets out a long groan on the verge of stirring from unconsciousness.
Stumbling to my feet with Mash's help I remove the bag placing it beside Ishtar, the four of us quickly and quietly running off to catch up with Merlin before we're spotted.
...
Hours later, putting enough distance between the temple and us the first light of dusk had begun to show, setting up camp on the outskirts of a deserted town, me, Mash and the other servants sat around a freshly burning campfire.
"Remind me master, what is it we're doing out here?" Atalanta asked, taking another bite of an apple Bahamut had given her.
"We're waiting for our bait. Gilgamesh said to give Ishtar the gems and other items but to do it without it sounding like an offering in her name. So, the plan I came up with after having Bahamut throw me into Ishtar was to purposely leave the small bag of gems by her."
"If she has the slightest bit of kindness she'll track us down and return the gems using a little bit of trickery and deceit we'll buy her off with the big cart of treasures I had Merlin run away with earlier using them to officially hire her as a mercenary. At least, that's what I'm hoping for."
"...Normally I wouldn't recommend or condone lying to gods, even if they are only half-truths master, but considering the type of goddess we're dealing with it's likely the best way to convince her."
"Yeah, but there's one uncertain reliability Atta, she has to actually show up. If she does surprise us it won't be out of the goodness of her heart, but her growing curiosity of whether we have any more gems."
"That's fine in itself, as long as she shows is our first step in reaching victory. Since we're staying the night out we have until morning and if Ishtar doesn't show up we can always revisit the temple. If things escalate to another fight tomorrow I'll let you throw me again as an apology."
"Oh, another opportunity to kill you again is rather...tempting."
"Cut it out, regardless of it being a joke I don't find this amusing, you need to behave yourself Bahamut."
"Ara Ara, are you sure about saying such things, Atta. I am the only person fueling you with those golden apples you love so dearly."
(So that's where she gets them from)
"You can use magic to conjure food Bahamut?"
"Using elemental-based magic, yes, it's rather simple; ...you want me to cook some sort of dinner, is that it, human?"
"I didn't want to outright ask cause it seems rude but...can you?"
The moment I ask my stomach rumbles with an unsatisfied growl making my face grow cherry red in embarrassment. Holding my stomach while looking away I could hear Merlin and Mash giving small laughs as I peeked up at Bahamut through my bangs who began walking off.
"Bending over, all because of a little hunger, you should take care of yourself regularly. The little ounce of respect I'm trying to build for you is disappearing that much faster. Don't let it happen again, understood?"
"...Yea."
Despite his tone and semi-harsh scolding, the words he spoke lacked their usual venomous bite. The exchange was light and welcoming almost as if we were learning to build a dynamic with each other.
Sitting around listening to the peaceful sparks of the flames I ate dinner with Mash and the others, the signs of dusk turning into a full night sky as I found myself falling asleep under the light of the full moon.
Silva POV
The campsite became quiet after dinner. Gudako was the first to succumb to the sandman with Merlin, Mash, and Atta following suit leaving me alone with a burning ember in the dimly lit wilderness.
"Typhoon," I called the name of my friend watching as the dormant pendant gradually warmed up growing brighter until I could feel their presence coming through from the other side.
"I figured you'd be sleep."
"You know why I hate sleeping. I only do it to make Nero and Okita worry less, thank goodness they're not here tonight."
"I'm sure if you told them your reasons they'd understand."
"...What do you make of the Hero King's plan? Think I can steal back my memories from the land itself?" I ignored the topic of myself quickly changing the point of interest with another question, Typhoon sighing deeply deciding to indulge me as much as they wished not to.
"It's not like you need my confirmation. You were reading him the entire time to see if he was lying. Is there even a point to this question?"
"I guess not, it just gets lonely at night. Even Fou has left me to go sleep next to the demi-servant, the traitor."
"...Is there an actual reason you called me?"
"To discuss Act I of course, if this plan is going to work we need to take care of every inconsistency that threatens to get in our way, now and in the future."
"And you're suggesting what?"
"I can't go revealing major spoilers like that Typhoon, the readers simply aren't ready for it."
"Are you fuckin' with me?"
"Am I, I don't honestly know, but...I can say it's about time to wake everyone up. Ishtar's a bit earlier than I anticipated but it won't be a problem. It's officially time to start Act I."
END
"Another chapter finished! I didn't make an appearance but I won't complain! Hey master, how did I do, did I say the intro well?"
"Yeah, nice job Riessa. No complaints."
"I'm kind of surprised author-san isn't doing this instead. What happened to him, Silva?"
"Disappeared said he isn't coming back in forever."
"Huh! After I went and shared my dango he ups and leaves without a word!"
"Hey swordswoman, how come Riessa didn't get any treats?"
"Uh, well...you weren't around for the last preview. ...Wait why are you getting close- WAIT NO!"
"Silva help she's trying to eat me!"
Next: Another Slice of Heaven