Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1713, Chapter 1709: Inanna

Captain Miller put down his carbonized reed pen, ending his day's work.

He handed the clay tablet to his student, then rose and walked to the window, parting the linen curtains and pushing open the transparent glass window that shouldn't have been made in this era. The setting sun on the Mesopotamian coast, carrying the sea breeze, barged in unceremoniously, casting a shower of orange-red fragments of light into the room.

What kind of achievements can a human being attain if they dedicate twenty years entirely to a skill or career? Now he felt he could answer that question. Twenty years is enough time for his hair to turn gray, his knees to ache, and even the softest cashmere couldn't alleviate the back pain that comes with age in a high-backed chair made of precious Mesopotamian wood. None of that happened. He still looked like a middle-aged man, his dark skin roughened by years of labor, but he remained strong and healthy—a gift from the emperor. After becoming a nominal priest, the emperor had given him a bottle of red potion, a drug that could maintain his youth and life—twenty years was enough time for him to transform from an astronaut into an educator. He had combed through and mastered the cuneiform script of Eridu and its surrounding areas, which brought him a very high social status. The children who had once been taken away from their homes by caravans had now become shrewd and capable young men, like the student beside him.

They wore simple linen uniforms that were strikingly different from those of the local inhabitants, and they had a way of thinking that was completely different from that of the times. These children had seen the Emperor not long ago, but Captain Miller had not. He hadn't seen the Emperor in a long time, and the Emperor seemed to have no desire to see him either. Captain Miller was quite content that he was able to coexist peacefully with the Emperor.

"The Venus Festival is coming soon, teacher. The Temple Avenue will once again be covered with flower petals," the student said respectfully from the side.

The firing of clay tablets was handled by specialists, eliminating the need for students to participate directly. After the tablets were fired, new apprentices would copy them onto parchment and archive them in the temple's archives. The emperor had brought significant changes to Eridu; alloy weapons and simple gunpowder-equipped firearms, which shouldn't have been produced in this era, were now worn by students at their waists. Weapons were essential for people of this time, especially for students from the temple, almost all of whom were symbols of wealth. The students' safety was not a concern in Eridu and within a few hundred kilometers, but further afield, it was difficult to guarantee that no one would be tempted by their wealth. Seemingly to prevent accidents, all students participated in basic weapons training, learning how to use short swords and fixed gunpowder weapons.

Elidu has undergone more than just these changes in the twenty years since the emperor's arrival.

"Your marriage application has been approved, Cadmos. I know that, and I'm willing to give you the day off," Captain Miller said gently, like an elder. "Venus Day is the best opportunity for couples to unite, and you shouldn't give up on that girl."

"But my job application was also approved."

"You didn't tell me about this," Captain Miller raised an eyebrow. "What job?"

"I don't know, the Guardian Order told me. The angel told me I passed the test, but I didn't actually take it." Kadmoz grinned sheepishly. "Only the best apprentices are allowed to accept missions from the Guardian Order. I was required to go to the temple for training. Anyway, it's a good thing, isn't it?"

Kadmoz did not see his teacher's expected surprise; on the contrary, he was somewhat angry.

This left him bewildered, thinking he had made a mistake.

"This is not your fault, son, you did a good job." Captain Miller said, barely suppressing his anger.

Every year, the Guardians of the Order would take away the best children from their side.

Kadmoz was a mechanical engineering student, his knowledge invaluable in this era, yet the Praetorian Guard still decided to take him away, seemingly believing he had a more important purpose. He wouldn't know what kind of training those outstanding students received. Captain Miller's authority allowed him to know that the Emperor had established an organization under the Praetorian Guard's jurisdiction, but that was all the information he possessed. This organization had some unknown purpose, operating according to a logic he didn't understand, but Captain Miller knew that the chosen students would never appear before him again; they would become the Emperor's agents, far from this city to the Mediterranean coast north of Mesopotamia or even further to Egypt, becoming informants for the Emperor and the Praetorian Guard, gathering intelligence or committing murder.

He heard some rumors.

Legend has it that along the narrow Red Sea coast before the Suez Canal was built, some people had seen "blue angels." This rumor, passed down for decades by merchants, was quite certain that the so-called "blue angels" were some kind of alien. The Emperor did indeed keep his promise to fight all enemies, including alien creatures, for the sake of humanity. However, Captain Miller knew he could not bear such a responsibility, nor did he want his most valued student to waste his life on sword fights against the enemy.

They have an even greater responsibility: to pass on the knowledge they taught to future generations.

"You should enjoy your life, Kadmoz. Go out with that girl, get married, and have a few kids. I'll talk to Constantine. Don't worry about Venus Day; Inanna would be happy if you could attend her festival."

Inanna was a guest of the emperor and is now one of the temple's mistresses.

Twenty years ago, when the emperor first ordered the inhabitants of Elidu to clean the city, pave the roads, and scatter flower petals along the avenue leading to the temple, Inanna became his guest. The breathtakingly beautiful young woman walked that road, led by the emperor's equally exquisitely beautiful maid. She wore a coat woven from bird feathers, resembling wings, and a gold necklace inlaid with lapis lazuli beads; otherwise, she was completely naked, her soft, smooth skin exposed to the sunlight, radiating a dreamlike glow. Even walking barefoot through the street, Inanna's fair feet remained spotless.

Without a doubt, this is a deity.

On that day, all the inhabitants of Elidu witnessed the emperor standing in the square before the temple to greet the woman. The "Golden-Armed Angel" presented gifts to the goddess on behalf of the emperor. The gifts included a lion skin skinned by the emperor himself after a hunt, fragrant soap (primitive soap existed in this era), dates, milk, wheat, and a rose knot seal symbolizing her status. From then on, the rose knot seal became the symbol of this deity. After the goddess donned the lion skin given to her by the emperor, she announced to the emperor's subjects that she lived in the wilderness and had come to this city to gain the emperor's wisdom.

After that, Inanna moved into a corner of the temple.

The people of Eridu believed that every morning, the priests of the temple would prepare a bed for Inanna, sprinkling perfume on the cashmere mattress. Inanna would then cleanse herself with soap and passionately lie on the fragrant cashmere bed to perform a sacred union with the emperor. Inanna would then experience satisfaction and pleasure, and bless the women of Eridu. Therefore, young and pregnant women of Eridu would bring clay cakes adorned with clear images of fertility worship to the temple, where, guided by the messenger Ninshubur, they would receive the blessing of Inanna, who was dressed in full armor. They called her "Goddess of Paradise" and "Lovers of the Gods," and they worshipped her, not for marriage but for love.

All the people of Elidus know this. More precisely, it's a myth that Eliduans are allowed to know: Inanna complains to the ruler of Sweetwater, the god of knowledge and crafts, and the god of wisdom, about the unfair treatment she has received. The emperor tells Inanna that she already possesses power, so he will no longer grant her any. The emperor bestows upon Inanna sacred objects, including abstract concepts such as truth, victory, and advice, as well as the techniques of writing and weaving, the social structure of law, priests, and monarchs, along with armor, a bow and arrows, and a live lion. The day Inanna arrived in Elidu was designated the Festival of Venus, a festival attended by all men and women of marriageable age from Elidu and the surrounding areas. Every year on the Festival of Venus, the energetic and tireless Inanna, wearing high-heeled sandals, goes into the crowd, encouraging young girls to embrace their inner impulses and welcome their lovers.

Regardless of what the so-called deity is, Captain Miller's understanding is significantly different from that of others.

Captain Miller knew that reality was far from the idyllic myth. He didn't believe that a cold, rational man like the Emperor would accept a woman sharing half of his bedroom. The so-called "Ninshubul" was actually the Emperor's maid, Dina. The Emperor placed the maid beside the goddess to monitor this so-called deity from the wilderness. However, it was undeniable that Inanna held a certain position in the temple. The once young female officials were now of childbearing age, and Dina had ordered them to train a new batch of young girls to serve the Emperor. These girls now served Inanna as well. There were also rumors that the Emperor had built a garden for Inanna filled with flowers that would never fade, but Captain Miller knew that this so-called garden was actually an experimental field for students majoring in botany, biochemistry, and pharmacy.

Day after day, the Emperor sat on his throne, and for twenty years every commoner and priest permitted to enter the temple had seen Him. On a smaller throne below the steps of the main hall sat a young woman, who squirmed unhappily under Diana's stern gaze, seemingly because the soft, delicate cashmere clothing made her far more sensitive skin itch. She looked longingly at the Emperor as he carried out his duties on the throne, then was repeatedly tormented by the tedium of the workplace. Whenever she tried to crane her neck to eavesdrop on the Emperor's conversation with the guards, a maid in a long dress would block her way, unceremoniously pressing her shoulders to firmly anchor her to the throne.

The emperor waved his hand, "You haven't finished your weapons training for today."

"Because you've been writing all this time!" Inanna shouted in dissatisfaction.

Compared to how she looked when she first entered Elidu twenty years ago, Inanna has completely changed her clothes.

To restrict her movements, Dinah deliberately chose a 21st-century tight-fitting evening gown and high heels, so much so that even Inanna couldn't maintain her balance. However, she adored these deadly high-heeled sandals, and Dinah couldn't understand why her restrictive measures were ineffective; even the evening gown couldn't restrain Inanna in any way. She was the goddess of sex and love, a deity born from the early worship of fertility and reproduction in human civilization. When she entered the city, she wore nothing but a feathered coat and lapis lazuli jewelry.

Compared to the clothing of women in this era, even a backless evening gown with a slit up to the thigh could be considered conservative, or even fashionable. The only effective restriction was Diana's strict control over cosmetics and daily necessities; Inanna couldn't bear to part with things that could only be obtained in Elidu. Otherwise, this scheming deity would have already wreaked havoc in the city—Inanna thought she had obtained the sacred relics of Elidu, the most precious civilization, but the emperor's abilities showed that what the people of Elidu had acquired was of little value—she ran a farm with the emperor, learning planting and animal husbandry, but she didn't believe she had mastered all the knowledge.

"Your training doesn't require my involvement."

The Emperor glanced at her irritably. He disliked being disturbed while working, but his contract with Inanna couldn't bind her at this moment. After all, he was dealing with "routine matters," not "emergencies," and Inanna had every right to occupy his time. Inanna was in charge of sex, reproduction, and war, and also associated with justice and political power. Her arrival in Elidu was no accident. The Emperor had witnessed Inanna transforming herself into a feline—a talent, as Bayonetta and Joan of Arc could also transform into felines without incantations—and believed that the sadistic tendencies of the Shadow Witches might have an unknown connection to Inanna. Even more reliable evidence was Inanna's appearance. When he lived and united with the witch, he had seen a vision, which he had initially thought was Bayonetta in the Mesopotamian plains before Christ. But Inanna's appearance now showed that the vision he had prophesied in the 21st century was actually Inanna, not Bayonetta.

The Sorcerer Supreme may have realized this, which is why he persuaded Him to accept Inanna; the entanglement of His fate with the Shadow Witches' race was far more profound than imagined. This was one reason the Emperor accepted Inanna—she was so much like Bayonetta. Another reason was the Emperor's need for a sufficient supply of high-quality labor, and cooperating with Inanna was the best option. Given the fertility worship prevalent in Mesopotamia, the southern Mediterranean coast, and ancient Egypt, Inanna could increase the birth rate in Eridu. Combined with the midwives trained by the Emperor, the birthing tools created by mechanical engineering students, and the herbal extracts produced by pharmacists, Eridu's infant mortality rate had decreased to ten percent, and the average annual population growth rate had reached six percent.

Thanks to the emperor's construction of collective farms, dikes, and the manufacture of large agricultural implements to improve efficiency, Elidu's current food production is more than enough to feed its more than 7,000 residents, plus all the villages within a 30-kilometer radius. Only with sufficient food can the emperor's small factories be supported in producing qualified industrial goods. Both collective farms and factories are labor-intensive industries, and the emperor needs a large population; Inanna is the best choice.

"But I want you. Day or night, Venus above or below the horizon. Every year on this day, you are mine!" Inanna wriggled on her throne, finally standing up. She raised her voice, like a roaring lioness asserting her dominance, much like Bayonetta and Joan of Arc in their anger. "I will fight alongside you, Anne (her address to the emperor), this is the condition we agreed upon!"

Inanna's willfulness infuriated Dinah, who glared at the goddess fiercely, seemingly intending to teach her a lesson again.

The former proudly puffed out her chest, accepting Diana's challenge, completely oblivious to the consequences that had occurred repeatedly before and seemed destined to continue. Perhaps due to the similarities between Inanna and Bayonetta, Diana frequently clashed with Inanna. While the Emperor had explicitly forbidden physical conflict, their squabbles remained relatively manageable; almost every time, Inanna would concede defeat, begging Diana to return the confiscated jewels, perfumes, and cosmetics, forgetting her previous lesson and provoking Diana again. Their relationship wasn't always so bad; Inanna could offer Diana assistance with her duties in other ways, and the latter readily accepted Inanna's advice, as Inanna did indeed share the Emperor's bedroom, destined to be entangled with the Shadow Witches.

"My lord." Diana stopped persecuting Inanna and regained her professional composure. "Captain Miller wishes to see you."

"It's time." The emperor nodded. "Let him come. We no longer need him for our teaching duties."