To become a king and a magician

But it's better than nothing; having this outfit saves a lot of trouble.

"Hmm~~~ You're impressive, but you also have a lot of tricks up your sleeve. Can you give me one too?"

"Huh? What are you going to do?"

"Just give it to me, why ask so many questions!"

That's really unreasonable. This is after Rin Tohsaka's personality has been neutralized. If she used her true personality, Natsukawa Torama would probably just kill her.

Despite this, Natsukawa Tora still used his imagination to materialize his own clothes and made a women's dress for Ishtar.

After receiving the dress, Ishtar twirled her fingers: "Turn around, I'm changing, don't peek."

"To be frank, I have no desire to look at your flat chest. Your legs are much more alluring—don't suddenly shoot me with Maana!"

"You rude bastard should just die. How dare you speak so arrogantly to my goddess? You really don't know your place."

If Ishtar hadn't known that she was no match for this guy, she would have riddled him with bullets long ago.

(By the way, this guy has pretty good taste; the clothes are quite nice... but why are there leg rings? And the stockings are asymmetrical too. Is this what clothes will look like in the future?)

Ishtar rarely looked at this body's memories. After all, she had no interest in the future. Since she couldn't go to the future anyway, she figured it was better not to look than to feel itchy.

So she didn't know what the clothes would look like in the future, but she was certain they wouldn't be the kind of emotionally charged style she already had.

(Come to think of it, I remember him living a decadent life with several women, which means these were the clothes he would give those women to wear when he was having sex?)

In a sense, Ishtar guessed correctly, but the opposite of what actually happened.

When it comes to clothing and outfits, Natsukawa Tora doesn't offer any advice. Instead, Sajou Rei and the others wear legendary skins every day to give him attack speed, armor penetration, and adaptive force.

"I said, you haven't changed yet?"

Natsukawa Tora's voice came through.

After glancing at his back, Ishtar snapped her fingers, removed her scant clothes, and put on the formal attire that perfectly highlighted her personal style.

After spinning around a few times to admire how the outfit actually looked on me, Ishtar smiled and commented, "Hmm, it looks good. You have good taste in this area. This outfit suits me perfectly."

"That's good."

(Yes, it really looks great. While Ishtar herself is beautiful, it's no wonder it was modified by Zero... It's absolutely perfect.)

Especially the delicate black stockings that covered Ishtar's buttocks and legs, the leg rings worn over them, and the curves from her thighs to her buttocks and waist...

(Thank you, Rei.)

After subtly suppressing his inner admiration, Natsukawa Torama said, "Then let's continue. Ishtar is in the deepest part of the Underworld, right?"

"Well, there will be some unavoidable obstacles on the way there. You'll have to handle them carefully yourself. You know the legends about me in the underworld, so I can't really help you much."

"The legend of being stripped of all powers by Ereshkigal, stripped naked, brought before her, and stabbed to death?"

"Bang----!"

In response to Natsukawa Torata was a demonic bullet fired by Ishtar in a fit of rage.

31. The Gates of the Underworld: A Just and Rational Place

The process of descending to the underworld was nothing special. Although it was the underworld, perhaps because Natsukawa Tora was wearing clothes that could disguise him as a dead person, there were no obstacles on his way.

Aside from Ishtar occasionally striking up conversations, the two's descent into the underworld went quite smoothly.

Until now.

"Is this the gate to the underworld?"

Looking at the stone gate standing in front of him, Natsukawa Torato asked Ishtar, "When you went down to the underworld, you met your end at this very gate, didn't you?"

"It's true, even though I don't want to admit it."

Ishtar nodded helplessly.

In Sumerian mythology, Ishtar, the daughter of the sky god, believed herself to be omnipotent after conquering Mount Ebif. So she went down to the underworld with great ambition, intending to conquer it as well.

However, the result was that during the descent to the underworld, he was stripped of seven powers, lost all his divinity, and was brought naked before Ereshkigal, where he was finally riddled with bullets.

“I remember you were cursed after that, that you would lose your power and divinity if you went through the door... It’s amazing that you’re willing to come to the underworld with me.”

"Don't you know a bit too much? I've never told anyone about being cursed by the Underworld and Ereshkigal." Ishtar frowned. "But so what? Do you think I'm the kind of person who's afraid? Besides, I'm using someone you know right now. Are you just going to stand by and watch me die?"

They're using Rin Tohsaka's body to gain personal benefits.

Xia Chuanhu gave a wry smile: "You really are fearless."

"This is called making rational use of resources—so, do you need me to explain the situation with the Gates of the Underworld?"

"No, no need, I know."

The Gates of the Underworld.

The gate that questions the soul's good and evil.

The gate presents a choice between two questions, and determines the composition of a soul based on the respondent's answer. If the gate judges the soul to be good, nothing will happen; however, if the gate judges the soul to be evil, it will receive divine punishment from the underworld's mechanisms. It is a fair and rational gate.

There are seven in total.

When Ishtar descended to the underworld, she was judged to be the most evil soul because she answered all the questions posed by the seven gates incorrectly, resulting in the complete stripping of her powers and divinity.

Now, it's Natsukawa Torato's turn to face these doors.

Answer it! Answer it!

Just as Xia Chuanhu arrived in front of the Gates of the Underworld, the image carved on the stone gate emitted a faint light, and along with the light, a long and majestic female voice resounded throughout the vast Underworld.

【O living beings who have fallen into the underworld~~~ Answer the question of how the soul exists~~~】

"Here comes the choice between two options. You'd better answer carefully, or you'll end up like me, stripped of your power. Otherwise, you'll be in trouble when facing Ereshkigal later."

Ishtar kindly reminded her—if Natsukawa Torama answered incorrectly, she would leave the Underworld immediately!

【So, let's ask the deeply sinful 'Natsukawa' a question~】

"Still specifying names? Although I expected that... What's the problem?"

Although the standards of beauty vary widely, they remain absolute: black can triumph over white, earth over heaven, and the moon over flowers.

So, between Ereshkigal and Ishtar, which goddess is more beautiful?

(I knew it...)

Natsukawa Tora had an expression of expectation on his face. Although the content of the question was slightly different, it was still the same in general.

All you need to do next is answer Ereshkigal.

"and many more!"

Ishtar abruptly interrupted Natsukawa Torato as he was about to speak: "This is different from the problem I had when I came here before! Shouldn't the problem with the door be the same?"

"Really? But the answer is the same anyway, right? You have to choose between two goddesses."

“That’s what I say, but I still feel a bit uneasy.” Ishtar stamped her foot. “Fine, just answer the question. The answer is obvious. Just say my name out loud.”

Ereshkigal is the goddess of plants and decay, while Ishtar is the goddess of beauty and harvest. Logically speaking, without knowing the actual situation, everyone should choose Ishtar.

After all, she is a goddess whose divine title is explicitly written as "Goddess of Beauty," and she is the prototype of Venus, the goddess of beauty in Roman mythology, representing the actual embodiment of the word "beauty."

To be honest, Natsukawa Torama also thought Ishtar was quite beautiful, especially after she wore the clothes he had given her.

but--

"Speaking your name probably won't work."

“Huh?” Ishtar frowned. “You mean Ereshkigal is more beautiful than me? That kind of shady character?”

"I didn't say that. I'm just considering the actual situation. You two are probably evenly matched right now, right? After all, you two are using the same bodies as pseudo-Servants."

Ishtar possessed Rin Tohsaka and manifested as a pseudo-Servant. At the same time as Ishtar manifested, Ereshkigal also manifested in a chain. Because of this chain, Ereshkigal is now likely also influenced by Rin Tohsaka, including but not limited to her appearance and personality.

That is to say-

"Do I look exactly like Ereshkigal now?"

"Perhaps, there might be some differences in the details, but they are generally similar."

Natsukawa Torato continued, "Therefore, it's not appropriate to compare who is more beautiful now. Besides, we're in the Underworld now, so I have to consider my master's feelings, right? How can I visit someone without praising my master?"

"Waaaaah~~~~"

Ishtar could understand what Natsukawa Tora meant, but even if she could understand, she was still extremely unwilling to admit that Ereshkigal was more beautiful than her.

"So you want to say her name?"

"No, we need to use a compromise here."

Having been surrounded by multiple women for many years, Natsukawa Torato has mastered some tricks for dealing with them. In situations like two women asking who's prettier, the most suitable solution is...

"I think both goddesses are very beautiful—"

"boom!"

As soon as Xia Chuanhu finished speaking, a huge chain flew out from nowhere and struck him, sending him flying to a nearby stone pillar. Ishtar also finished him off with a magic bullet.

While Ishtar understood, she felt it was necessary to give Natsukawa Torata a harsh lesson for his neutral approach of trying to please both sides.

"It hurts, it hurts..."

Climbing out of the stone pillar, Natsukawa Tora dusted off the rubble. "That really hurt. Is this the punishment from the underworld? Come to think of it, those chains looked vaguely familiar..."

“That’s not important. What’s important is your answer,” Ishtar urged. “Just answer Ereshkigal already. I’ll be patient for a bit—I’ll give you another beating up up there later.”

"Then I'll turn around and knock you flying."

"Hey! What's wrong with letting me vent a little?"

Xia Chuanhu held up two fingers: "You're not my family, and you're not my wife, so why should I be your punching bag? If you're upset, go bomb Mount Ebifu, why don't you just do it? Why hit me?"

"You—humph!"

After much hesitation, considering that she might need this man to protect her later, Ishtar had no choice but to swallow her anger.

I'll settle the score with him later!

32. The Sea of ​​Moonflowers in the Underworld