Abi Mountain, in the mountain-top temple.
Goddess Ishtar rubbed her hands, walking step by step towards the bed, an evil and excited smile on her face:
"Finally, you’re in my hands!"
Was she about to force him into submission?
Luo En instinctively took a step back, assuming a defensive posture.
However, contrary to expectations, the infamously notorious War Goddess did not violate him. Instead, she put one hand on her slim waist, and pointed with the other hand towards the empty room next door, saying proudly:
"Kid, from today on, you’re my person. Stay here and don’t run around."
"Weren’t you not interested in me before?" Luo En was somewhat puzzled.
"But I’m interested in money! If Siduri wants to save you, she’d better pay a price that satisfies me!"
Luo En was speechless and suddenly realized he hadn’t run into a blind date, but rather a female kidnapper.
He sighed and reminded her:
"I remember that Siduri is your friend..."
"Friendship is one thing, and market value is another. She was the one who sent you, acting like she’d pay any price to get you back. I’d be failing her eager face by not extorting her."
Seeing Ishtar’s self-righteous look and hearing those awful words, Luo En couldn’t help but find it amusing:
"I think you misunderstood, Siduri and I are just ordinary friends, she has no obligation to redeem me. Besides, I’m a free man and under no obligation to cooperate with you..."
"Once it’s done, I’ll give you thirty percent!"
Ishtar leaned into Luo En’s ear, smilingly murmured,
"Siduri and my brother are filthy rich, if you stay here with me for a few days, we just might strike it big! By then I’ll take seventy, you take thirty, and we’ll enjoy roasted meat and malt wine together!"
"Why is it only thirty percent?"
Luo En initially intended to sternly reject this immoral proposition, but the moment he heard the key percentage, an inexplicable impulse bubbled up in his DNA, and he blurted out this question.
Ishtar glared at Luo En, a look of disdain in her eyes, and said:
"Forty percent, no more."
"It’s not about the money..." Luo En wanted to correct his slip of the tongue, to pick up the decency that had carelessly fallen to the ground.
"Fifty percent! Take it or leave it!"
Ishtar, with clenched teeth, offered her final plan, her words tinged with some frustration.
Luo En was silent for a moment, looking at Ishtar before him, and asked:
"Are you really that short on money?"
"Of course, I am! I’m so broke now that I can barely afford to maintain the temple!"
Ishtar replied irritably, looking as if she carried a deep grievance and hatred.
Luo En furrowed his brows, a bit puzzled:
"How can that be, aren’t you the Babylonian Goddess of War and Fertility? Your divine authority and status are top-notch in the Pantheon of Gods and have always been revered by a vast number of Sumerians. How have you fallen to such a state?"
"That was before." Ishtar explained gloomily, "Ever since I had a falling-out with Uruk, those city-states around began to delist me as a Chief God in their offerings, and those Sumerians refused to pay tributes. I ended up having to spend my own money to keep the Temple running. Now, I’m increasingly in deficit, if I don’t find a way to earn some money, by the time I leave Abi Mountain, I might not even have a place to stay."
Luo En listened, and tentatively asked:
"Was it about the seven-year drought with Uruk?"
Ishtar nodded, not denying.
But then, she noticed a subtle change in Luo En’s gaze and tone, and suspiciously asked:
"Did you hear something outside?"
"Not much, just some rumors."
Based on the "Epic of Gilgamesh", Luo En recited the records regarding Ishtar.
Ishtar didn’t wait to hear it all before her face turned livid with anger, angrily accusing:
"Slander! They’re slandering me! It must be that bastard Gilgamesh’s doing!"
Hearing Ishtar accurately identify the protagonist of the epic, Luo En was greatly surprised:
"Why are you so sure?"
"Isn’t it obvious? I bear a grudge against that bastard! He can’t stand to see me doing well!"
Ishtar coldly laughed and then spoke out about her past grievances with that Hero King of Uruk.
After the birth of humans, Eridu, as the first established city-state on earth, gradually moved towards prosperity, and as the City Guardian God, Earth God Enki also became the most revered existence among the Babylonian Pantheon of Gods;
But as time passed, many city-states began to rise, seeking to replace Eridu’s dominance to become the civilization center of the Babylonian Divine Era.
Uruk was one of them.
At the time, Uruk rose through agriculture. As the region expanded and the population grew, Ishtar, who held the Authority of Agriculture, was increasingly elevated, gradually becoming the mainstream belief of the Sumerians then.
And in order to further become the "City Guardian God" of Uruk, and leading this land towards greater prosperity under her protection, Ishtar secretly went to Eridu’s Water Temple, and through schemes, took from Earth God and God of Wisdom Enki the "Me", symbolizing the authority of civilization, also known by the others as "Heavenly Destiny".
These "Me" contained the core elements of human development such as agricultural technology, laws, and arts, as well as the foundational grain seeds of agricultural civilization.
After succeeding, she evaded the pursuers sent by Enki and returned to Uruk, granting the hard-won "Heavenly Destiny" to this city. Uruk thereby obtained the key resources driving social progress, establishing its position as the center of Sumerian civilization and ushering in a period of rapid development.