FATE: Target of Grand Master

Xia Yan now wishes he could slap himself twice for what he did just a minute ago.

Why do you have to answer so quickly?

Why not pretend to think about it before you speak?

Now that the open-book exam has become a closed-book exam, Xia Yan has absolutely no idea what questions Ai Lei will ask next.

Feeling dejected, Xia Yan arrived at the third door.

"Hmph, opportunistic humans, I'll show you that no amount of cheating will work against the mistress of the underworld!"

In stark contrast to this imposing manner was a shy and coy tone that came from the stone gate after a brief pause.

"Do you still have your first kiss?"

"ha?"

Upon hearing Ai Lei's question, Xia Yan almost thought he had misheard, while Morgan and Nero, standing beside Xia Yan, simultaneously pricked up their ears.

"Hmph. How about it? This is a difficult question to ask, isn't it? After all, it's a very private matter, and even I, as the mistress of the underworld, dare not answer it easily."

"I still have my first kiss," Xia Yan replied calmly. "After all, I've been single since birth."

"How...how could you say that so easily?!"

From the stone gate came Ai Lei's stammering voice, filled with surprise.

Xia Yan shrugged: "There's nothing wrong with asking."

"I never imagined you could be such a shameless person!"

Hearing Ai Lei's evaluation, Xia Yan twitched his eyebrows.

"No, how is this a lack of shame? Besides, if we're talking about a lack of shame, isn't it you, who raised this question first, who is even more shameless?"

"Hey! Stop talking!"

Ereshkigal, hiding in the deepest part of the underworld, was crouching on the ground with her head in her hands, wishing she could dig a hole and bury herself in it.

Seeing that Shi Men had not responded for a long time, Xia Yan decided not to dwell on the matter any longer.

"So, you can let me pass now, right?"

"Can."

After Ai Lei gave a weak reply, the third stone door opened.

Xia Yan was barely suppressing the urge to laugh, his whole body trembling, which prompted Nero beside him to ask with concern, "Player, are you alright?"

"I...I'm...okay... *sigh*..."

As expected of Ereshkigal, even if she's intentionally trying to make things difficult, she can only ask questions of this level. I was just scaring myself, but now that I think about it, it's even more ridiculous.

Morgan, on the other hand, rolled his eyes and said, "If I had known this goddess of the underworld was such a simple-minded person, I wouldn't have made so many preparations."

Xia Yan asked curiously, "Morgan, what preparations have you made?"

"Nothing much. Just some high-damage magic items that can be cast instantly, and various potions with curse, poison, and paralysis effects."

As expected of Morgan, he's practically ready to twist the head off the goddess of the underworld.

"Haha, no need, I'm confident I can persuade Ereshkigal."

The three continued downwards, but Xia Yan frowned.

not there?

Why isn't Gilgamesh here?

In the original work, he should have met Fujimaru Ritsuka under the third door after investigating Enkidu's body, but when it was his turn, where did this guy go?

Even after Xia Yan and his companions reached the fourth door, Xia Yan still hadn't seen Gilgamesh.

"Heh heh, I've thought of another super difficult question, and you definitely won't be able to answer it this time."

The voice coming from the stone gate became confident again.

"explain."

Xia Yan was still pondering Gilgamesh's question and had no time to fool around with Ereshkigal.

"Ugh... You're so fierce."

Xia Yan thought for a moment, and decided that instead of letting his imagination run wild, it would be more direct to ask Ai Lei directly. As the mistress of the underworld, she knew everything that happened in the underworld.

"Ereshkigal, do you know where King Gilgamesh is?"

"Ereshkigal? You mean me? How dare you abbreviate the full name of this goddess, Ereshkigal! This is utterly disrespectful!"

"But the name Ellie is cute and sounds nice."

On this one point, Xia Yan could guarantee that it was absolutely from the bottom of his heart.

"Huh? Is that so?"

Ereshkigal, who had just been about to unleash his power, immediately wavered.

"Of course."

Xia Yan nodded with unwavering determination.

"Well... alright, this goddess will allow you to call me by that nickname. No, this is a test, so let's be serious!"

"Alright, alright. Could you please answer my question first, Your Majesty?"

"What's the problem? Oh, Gilgamesh, he's right here... Wait a minute, why should I answer your question first? This is my test!"

Although Ereshkigal didn't say where Gilgamesh was, judging from her tone, it at least meant that Gilgamesh was alright, which relieved Xia Yan a little.

"Very well, Lord Ereshkigal. Ask your question."

Xia Yan waited obediently for Ai Lei to ask her questions.

"Hmph, that's more like it. But I won't let that stop me. Listen carefully, my question is: which do you prefer, the silver-haired woman on your left or the blonde woman on your right?"

Xia Yan's smile froze on his face.

As the saying goes, even a fool can have a brilliant idea. I never expected that Ai Lei, with her thick eyebrows and big eyes, could come up with such a life-threatening question.

Xia Yan turned his head, and sure enough, Morgan and Nero were both watching him.

I'm really sweating now.

"I'm talking about Ellie."

"Um?"

"This question is like asking whether you prefer your left hand or your right hand; there's no answer to that because both hands are irreplaceable."

"Well said, but now it's your turn to be tested. Answer my questions honestly. If you can't answer them, I won't open the door for you."

Damn it, why did I have to fall for it at a time like this?

After much deliberation, Xia Yan finally decided to take a gamble.

"Ereshkigal! In this underworld, I love Ereshkigal the most!"

To leave room for explanation later, Xia Yan added a condition before the answer, while simultaneously using telepathy to explain to Morgan and Nero: "It's all for passing the test."

Although Morgan and Nero were both dissatisfied with Xia Yan's answer, they still considered the overall situation and did not lash out.

"Huh? Is this a confession? This is a confession! What should I do? I don't know you very well, and I don't know how to respond to your feelings."

Xia Yan felt that Ai Lei was poking each other with the index fingers of her left and right hands at that moment.

"How about you take your time thinking about it, Ellie-chan, and we open this door first?"

"Oh well."

And so, taking advantage of Ai Lei's CPU being overloaded by the "confession," Xia Yan successfully passed through another door.

She's passed Ereshkigal's hurdle, but she's now stuck with Morgan and Nero's.