DanMachi: The Epic of the Heroic Spirits of Emiya Shirou

Ishtar stood on the floor, her eye level becoming the same as Emiya's. Considering the difference in their heights, Ishtar's eyes were actually lower than Emiya's.

Emiya neither dodged nor avoided the other, simply staring at him.

Finally, the goddess Ishtar was the first to avoid it. She turned around, walked to the throne in the palace, and sat down calmly.

The goddess smiled and said, "Welcome, Hephaestus's retinue."

As she spoke, she clapped her hands gently: "It's truly admirable, whether it's your strength, courage, will, or desire and ambition... What a wonderful story, even as the villain, no, the clown, in this story, I have to admit it."

"Well done, kid... no, man."

Ishtar exclaimed from the bottom of his heart.

Alluring limbs, a voice that sends shivers down your spine, a sweet fragrance, a seductive gaze… all of this, the goddess of beauty, that makes one fall into depravity, is displayed before Emiya. And above all this lies the unspeakable divine will.

Emiya was slightly taken aback; to be honest, the goddess Ishtar's reaction was a bit beyond his expectations. However, considering that she was a god, a transcendent being, it seemed that whatever happened was perfectly reasonable.

"I'm willing to accept defeat. As a god, I still have that much magnanimity."

The goddess Ishtar spoke to herself, as if answering Emiya's questions.

"Moreover, what we gods desire most is 'interesting' stories."

"Whether you appear as a 'protagonist' in the story or become a 'clown' defeated by the hero, it doesn't really matter."

Ishtar chuckled: "Well, there are some hypocritical bitches... Gods, like Astrea or Athena, would refuse to play the 'clown,' but I don't care."

She stared intently at Emiya.

"I, Ishtar, am the god of love, a strong and fierce male who will utterly ravage his enemies in order to steal a female..."

"Having witnessed such a love story fueled by desire and violence, even if I suffered a great injustice, I wouldn't be able to get angry at this moment."

In the same story, some goddesses see love, protection, and courage; while others see desire, plunder, and violence.

But the result is the same: such a story is enough to please the goddess.

Ishtar sighed, and she looked rather touching.

Emiya: "So, the key is still 'force,' since I've already taken Haruhime, so you, Goddess Ishtar, have nothing to say."

Ishtar chuckled: "Of course, you got it by your own skill, what can I say?"

"The reason I can stand calmly with you now is because I have already lost, lost completely, lost desperately, and lost with complete acceptance."

She looked at Emiya, his purple eyes like an endless abyss.

"To be honest, I was absolutely furious... When I bestowed divine grace upon her and saw that girl's [ability stats], can you understand how I felt? I was trembling with excitement, knowing that with that power, I could even bring down that despicable goddess!!!"

The goddess spoke at length about how the fox-man possessed "possibilities" beyond what the gods had foreseen.

"Haruhime is my trump card! I'm going to push Freya into the abyss of hell!!"

When Freya was mentioned, the elegant Ishtar showed her anger for the first time, her expression contorted with rage.

But she regained her composure in the next moment.

"But, as I said before, you did a great job, man."

Ishtar asked:

"Let me guess, if you can't 'buy your freedom,' you have other options, right?"

"Yes, if negotiations fail, it will become a war between the Hephaestus Familia, the Astrea Familia, and the Ishtar Familia. To be honest, neither I nor the two goddesses want it to come to that."

Emiya said:

"But we were indeed prepared to destroy the Ishtar Familia."

There is also the Takemikazuchi Familia, but their mission is not to participate in the battle directly. Instead, as fellow countrymen and old friends of Haruhime, they report the serious illegal activities of the Ishtar Familia to the Adventurers' Guild.

Ishtar looked somewhat dejected and pitiful: "You guys are really decisive to the point of being ruthless."

Seeing that Emiya did not respond, the goddess Ishtar shook her head and stopped acting: "Then, was Aisha the traitor?"

The goddess Ishtar asked, but before Emiya could answer, she couldn't help but chuckle.

"It can only be her... After all, Haruhime was her from the very beginning... Oh well..."

What Ishtar wanted to say ultimately turned into a long sigh.

Then, the goddess Ishtar's expression turned cold again.

"Let's bring this story to a close, mighty male... As a reward for coming before the goddess, I grant you a wish."

"I want to redeem Sanjou Haruhime and Aisha."

That's what Emiya said.

"Ten billion Fali, you can take them away."

Goddess Ishtar: "Haruhime is worth the price. As for Aisha, she can be a free gift."

The redemption price for prostitutes of the Ishtar clan fluctuates, depending on factors such as their appearance, figure, age, and strength, ranging from a minimum of three million faiths to a maximum of one billion faiths, which is currently the case for Haruhime.

Emiya nodded: "Okay."

At this moment, the goddess Ishtar was in a daze.

Allowing any girl to "redeem herself" according to her own will, and blessing every prostitute who pursues love—this was originally a rule established by the goddess Ishtar from the very first day of creating her Familia, and it is also her creed and divinity as the goddess of "love".

At that time, she had just arrived in the lower realm. The "Goddess of the Night," who now owns the Pleasure Street, was once a goddess with nothing.

At the beginning, Ishtar found his first familiar in a junkyard.

A beastman girl who was tortured to the point of near death.

A girl who was originally a prostitute fell in love with a "customer" and wanted to use her savings to buy her freedom. However, the brothel was unwilling to lose its golden goose. Meanwhile, the well-dressed, wealthy tycoons were even more furious at being provoked by a mere prostitute.

In their eyes, a mere prostitute, unwilling to obediently offer herself to them for profit, dared to dream of freedom and love—this was an unacceptable provocation.

The thugs beat the girl to death and threw her into a junkyard, where Ishtar found her first kin.

The girl eventually died; even with the "gift from God," her utterly destroyed body couldn't survive until the second day.

After her death, the goddess Ishtar gained new followers, and apart from the goddess herself, no one knew that the "beauty goddess's followers" originated in a junkyard that had nothing to do with "beauty".

And it wasn't until today that Ishtar finally realized that she hadn't thought about that girl's name or figure for a long time.

Ishtar: "I have granted Chunji's redemption. From today onwards, that girl is yours."

The contract is made, and the divine promise remains unchanged.

Emiya: "And, the goddess Astrea and the others, for various reasons, do not wish for the destruction of the Ishtar Familia. However, there are limits to tolerance, so please take heed."

Several Amazon warriors, including [Lijie], are not far from reaching Level 4.

When they grow up to be able to inherit the influence of the Ishtar Familia, the order of the Wind and Moon Street can still be maintained even without the Goddess Ishtar.

"Did Astraea ask you to tell me this?"

Ishtar asked.

Emiya: "No, it's what I wanted to say myself."

"On one hand, they used brutal and tyrannical methods, leaving me with heavy losses and no face to lose, and on the other hand, they told me to 'take care of myself'—men, you really are intoxicating..."

Ishtar said softly:

"Since you said it, then I understand."

Emiya nodded, having said all he needed to say, and turned to leave, but Ishtar called him back.

Ishtar: "If you're willing to sleep with me for one night, the ransom can be waived... It seems you're unwilling. Then can you step on me, like you just stepped on my children? I can reduce it by two hundred million..."

Emiya: "..."

107

Chapter 107 The New Life of Chunji and Aisha.

The next day, the Ishtar Familia arrived at the Hephaestus Familia's encampment and took away 800 million Families.

Of the 500 million, 500 million was paid in cash, and the remainder was exchanged for equipment by the Ishtar Familia. In the entire Labyrinth City, probably only a very few factions, including the Hephaestus Familia, could come up with so much money at once.

To be honest, even the goddess Hephaestus felt a pang of pain at the thought of spending 800 million, but considering that this amount of money could buy her the cheat-like sorceress Chun Ji and the high-level adventurer Aisha, it was clearly worth every penny.

The value of the magical [Mega Hammer] cannot be measured in money.

Furthermore, [Lijie] Aisha can level up now. She is currently only Lv.3, but she can become a Lv.4 second-level adventurer at any time.

Aisha had already accumulated enough stats, but she lacked a Great Achievement, so she couldn't level up. This time, even though she only experienced one battle where she was crushed by Emiya, she unexpectedly gained the Great Achievement to level up.

Battle is not the only way to achieve greatness. Although rare, there are indeed examples of the Hephaestus Familia achieving greatness by forging unparalleled masterpieces. It is said that in the Land of Magic, there are also scholars who have achieved greatness by advancing magical research.

Ryu and Emiya, the former easily defeated the only Lv.5 and Lv.4 members of the Ishtar Familia, while the latter wiped out the core of the Ishtar Familia—a group of twenty Lv.3 battle prostitutes who were also adventurers. Such achievements were enough to be written into an epic sung by bards.

Aisha, the originator or "instigator" of the incident, also achieved a great feat as a result—something that even Aisha herself could not have foreseen.

The goddesses were not surprised by this. Their understanding of the "divine grace" system far surpassed that of ordinary adventurers. In their view, although Aisha did not participate in the battle against the Ishtar Familia, her courage and sacrifice were the most crucial factors in Haruhime's rescue.

It should be said that from the moment Aisha decided to "betray," the defeat of the Ishtar Familia was already destined.

Because, although Aisha's official identity is only that of a cadre of the Ishtar Familia, the commander and vice-commander above her are, respectively, a berserker with mental problems and a loyal servant of the goddess.

Neither of them actually participated in the management of the clan; their positions as clan leader and vice-leader were solely due to their rank and strength. Aisha, who enjoyed high prestige among the prostitutes, was, in effect, the vice-leader in charge of managing the clan.

Therefore, her "betrayal" was so fatal. Not only was all the intelligence exposed, but under the cover of Aisha's clan, none of the Hephaestus Familia's actions aroused any suspicion from the Ishtar Familia. For example, Emiya's frequent visits to the pleasure quarters were simply interpreted as him becoming a lover of [Reige].

From the perspective of the Ishtar Familia members, Emiya and Reggie were a perfect match, and it was reasonable for anything to happen between them. At most, they would speculate whether Emiya was paying for things or Reggie was the one paying for them.

Most of the women thought it was the latter.

Only at the very end did the goddess Ishtar learn that the one truly colluding with Emiya was Haruhime... Aisha not only offered herself up, but also sent her "sister" to him.

But it was too late; what's done is done. Goddess Ishtar could only admire the ruthlessness of Emiya and the others' actions while accepting reality and allowing Haruhime and Aisha to "convert."

Haruhime transferred to the Hephaestus Familia and moved into the residence of the "Abundant Mistress".

Aisha, due to her profession, is not well-suited to be accepted by the Hephaestus Familia, which has a large number of hot-blooded male blacksmiths among its members. She is currently looking for a new family while retaining the "can convert" status of the God's Grace.

Moreover, although Aisha was not blacklisted by the Pleasure Street, she probably wouldn't dare to in the short term, and she also felt guilty about getting close to the influence of the Ishtar Familia. So for now, she can only honestly continue her main job as an adventurer.

Fortunately, Aisha, whose combat power is at Lv.3, is also very skilled at defeating monsters. Although Aisha is still Lv.3 and her stats and achievements have met the requirements, she is not in a hurry to level up. Instead, she wants to hone her basic stats first.

Aisha set a high bar for herself, requiring her to train at least one of strength, endurance, or agility to A level, and the other two to at least B level. This was a high standard that would likely take her more than half a year to achieve.

Although Emiya was on their side, Aisha was still greatly affected by the fact that he was defeated in such a crushing and brutal manner.

Not only Aisha, but also the battle prostitutes of the Ishtar Familia who were defeated by Emiya have begun to frequently enter the dungeon.

Amazons are such a contradictory race. On the one hand, they desire to possess overwhelming power over males, and on the other hand, they crave to be defeated by strong and fierce men. After being defeated by powerful males, they will hone themselves even more rigorously.

For them, the stronger they are, and the more they fight with all their might, the more intense the pleasure they experience when they are defeated.

At the same time, it would be best if the other person was a man who didn't love her and would never fall in love with her, then the Amazons would be even happier.

In the Amazon, the males can simply fight to their hearts' content, but the female warriors have many more things to consider.

Aisha only stayed in the hospital for one night before heading straight into the dungeon with her longsword the next day, while Haruhime, on the other hand, seemed to have temporarily distanced herself from her identity as an adventurer.

"Um, my name is Sanjou Haruhime. Please take good care of me, ladies."

In the tavern, the fox-girl spoke somewhat nervously. Her movements were clumsy yet endearing, completely at odds with her beautiful and alluring appearance and body, creating a peculiar contrast.

The waitresses responded enthusiastically.

"Welcome, meow!!!"

"Haruhime-chan is so cute!!!"

"This is the first time I've ever met a fox-person. May I touch your tail?"

"Sha, sha..."

Cute girls of different races excitedly surrounded Chun Ji, asking her all sorts of questions, making the fox-girl almost faint from embarrassment.

Although she was always surrounded by her older sisters in the Ishtar Familia, the atmosphere of the "Abundant Mistress" was completely different. This was an entirely unfamiliar environment for Haruhime, and she couldn't help but feel nervous.

At the same time, she was also worried about whether she could adapt to her new life. After all, in the Ishtar Familia, she had only learned how to serve men...

Haruhime was redeemed after only serving Emiya as a guest, but before leaving the palace, she had received knowledge guidance from her older sisters and was a theoretical expert without practical combat experience.

However, she won't have to worry about that for long.

"Idiot girls, get out of my way! Can't you see Chun-hime is about to faint?"