Chapter 212: The Headstrong Ishtar

There is a saying: Even when meeting, they may not recognize each other...

This refers precisely to the scene before them; given the circumstances, no words could describe it better—basically, nothing could be more fitting than this saying.

As the mastermind behind it all, Xia Zhi remained outwardly calm, watching the two sides greet each other as if they were strangers. He knew exactly what both sides were thinking, after all, this misunderstanding was something he had deliberately orchestrated.

Though it seemed he had simply said a key sentence at the crucial moment, successfully bringing about the direction.

But in actuality, prior preparation was the key.

Just like normal magecraft, though it can make things seem to happen instantly, it actually requires much preparation beforehand. Whether it is the magecraft of mystery concepts or the magecraft of the field of magic trick performances, both are the same.

For example—

The false name Master Lady had long been accustomed to using; under his arrangement, Fujimaru Ritsuka was used to it, feeling no sense of incongruity when introducing herself; also, the clothes on her body were specially made, garments that could both provide strong defense and change the wearer's wavelength, causing her wavelength and aura to change greatly, to the extent that even Ishtar, having become a Servant, could not directly confirm her identity.

It was precisely because of this that, under Xia Zhi's deliberate misdirection, neither side noticed anything amiss.

And causing the subsequent developments to proceed along the wrong direction at full throttle.

Ishtar silently evaluated the Shiraye Baiye before her in her heart, feeling that although the other party had a striking resemblance to the girl she knew well, she was ultimately not the same person. This subtle difference did not cause much fluctuation in her heart, and her attitude remained appropriately cold.

At the same time, while observing Miss Ishtar, Fujimaru Ritsuka also felt the other party's coldness and aloofness toward her. Therefore, she naturally believed that Miss Ishtar was not summoned by Chaldea's system, but was summoned in this Lostbelt by Mr. Xia Zhi in his personal name, without memories of the Seventh Singularity.

In that instant, both sides reached the same conclusion in their own ways.

They both became more convinced of their own mistaken judgments because of the other's reaction, and then, because of their own mistaken judgments, sent reaction signals to each other that led to mistaken judgments.

This was great; Xia Zhi silently observed the two beside them, then nodded secretly.

And at this time, Fujimaru Ritsuka, or rather Miss Shiraye Baiye, also quickly adjusted her mood, very quickly slipping into the identity she had long been familiar and accustomed to.

"Princess, we discovered some abnormalities deep in Wales Forest; I worry this may involve some conspiracy."

She no longer dwelled on the situation with Ishtar, but turned to Xia Zhi, her expression unusually serious: "The Mirror Technique previously established was interfered with and destroyed, the teleportation point malfunctioned, and the local Fairies were taken away; I believe we need to take this seriously."

"Mm, I'm listening; you continue."

Xia Zhi blinked, his expression becoming focused as well.

Although he didn't really care much, after all, the entire matter from beginning to end was under his control; placing the mission location assigned to Master Lady specifically in Wales Forest was originally to kill two birds with one stone, and to warn Oberon, who had been restless lately.

But he couldn't appear too casual, not taking it seriously.

So he might as well listen to Ritsuka ramble on for a few sentences first; anyway, afterward he would directly push this troublesome matter onto Artoria, letting his sister-in-law have a headache.

He happily made the decision; being a hands-off boss was so comfortable, he just didn't know if at this time, the Knight King still working overtime day and night handling government affairs in the Royal Palace, would suddenly feel an inexplicable chill?

"... Mr. Oberon said that the old name of Wales Forest was formerly Autumn Forest, always a gathering place for powerless insect-type Fairies; they had no power, low intelligence, and could not enter the Fairy Cycle of the Fairy Kingdom that imitates human society..."

"... These losers driven out, small Fairies not accepted by the Fairies, no matter how you look at it, they have no value for making a big fuss over, but strangely, the incident did happen, so we suspect the small Fairies of Autumn Forest must have mastered some secret, thus attracting covetousness..."

When talking about serious matters, Fujimaru Ritsuka also clearly entered a serious work mode.

Although there was the reason of unconsciously maintaining the current Miss Shiraye Baiye identity in front of Ishtar, it was not all pretense and bluffing; she also had real work experience.

Although the girl had once been confused, she could not get an answer. Moreover, people always need to find something to do; even if in some sense she had left Chaldea and its affiliated Alignment, losing the main line and goal of struggle, she could not truly live leisurely; doing nothing would only make her fall into anxiety.

—People cannot be idle; if idle, they will indulge in delusions.

—And for Fujimaru Ritsuka, it would be anxiety without end.

After all, the essence of anxiety is fear of losing control; when people face unknown, uncertain situations, it brings a feeling of not being in control, making them feel unsafe.

Master Lady was exactly like this; facing the uncontrollable status quo, she tried to find countermeasures but was at a loss. However, if she did nothing and just spent her days emptily, then anxiety would engulf her like a tide. Therefore, she could only unconsciously choose to embrace her current life—as long as there was something to do, keeping herself as busy and fulfilled as possible, she could avoid falling into the trouble of anxiety.

Although her mindset was being subtly changed under the influence of daily life, she still constantly reminded herself—

Her actions had reasons and meaning.

Although it couldn't be seen now, as long as she understood more secrets of this era as much as possible and participated in more events of this era, she would eventually accumulate enough advantage for Chaldea of later generations at some point.

It was precisely relying on such self-comfort that Master Lady could continue forward without too much psychological burden.

And after several years of tempering, she indeed became a competent Kingdom official.

"... I understand, but don't worry; I will handle this matter next."

Listening to Fujimaru Ritsuka finish reporting the whole matter, Xia Zhi seemed to ponder for a while, then slightly nodded.

Master Lady breathed a sigh of relief.

Probably in her view, as long as Mr. Xia Zhi took it seriously, this matter would surely be easily resolved.

After all, in the face of absolute strength, any conspiracy or trick was just a small thought unworthy of the table; only Fairies who remember eating but not beating would try to play some conspiracy in front of a non-human who can push Asteroids... Hmm, wait, why did she have such a thought? Suddenly reacting, the girl fell silent at once, and her mood suddenly became somewhat complex.

The higher Mr. Xia Zhi's non-human level, the less chance Chaldea's side would have of winning, right?

She still subconsciously thought for him, viewing problems from his perspective—what was this?

—Although in this current era, it had not yet reached the time of hostility, and the other party also took care of her very much...

"..."

"..."

Because of Fujimaru Ritsuka's sudden silence, the scene became quiet for a short while.

Xia Zhi didn't think much of it, glanced at the girl before him, then glanced at Medusa, saying in a commanding tone: "You have been rushing about all day; you must be rather tired, so go rest now."

At this time, Master Lady also reacted.

She nodded with a complex mood, lightly replied, then couldn't help but glance at the Goddess beside her, before moving her gaze away.

—Such an encounter was not the first time, nor was it a rare thing.

—For Fujimaru Ritsuka, reunions with familiar Heroic Spirit Servants often brought an unexpected sense of unfamiliarity.

The girl lightly sighed in her heart; such things should also be gotten used to, right? Just like Miss Artoria, wasn't it the same situation? Miss Ishtar was probably no exception either.

But it didn't matter! Just treat it as getting to know each other again; wasn't her relationship with Miss Artoria now very good?

Chaldea's Master Lady quickly cheered up, thinking as optimistically as possible; her mindset was still good, and her self-regulation ability was still strong.

"..."

"..."

"This girl is quite capable; I admire her a bit."

Watching Fujimaru Ritsuka's back leave the square, Ishtar, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke, her expression indeed one of keen interest.

"Does Goddess Ishtar take an interest in ordinary people?"

Xia Zhi gave a noncommittal reply.

"You... why are you so petty? It's just something I said before, right?"

The Goddess immediately grew displeased and subconsciously began to argue: "And I'm not interested in ordinary people, mainly her—Shiraye Baiye—is that her name, let me tell you, she really looks like..."

Speaking with great enthusiasm, the latter half of her words suddenly dropped to a whisper, finally cutting off abruptly.

"..."

"..."

"Like what?" The youth narrowed his eyes slightly and asked doubtfully.

"Cough cough, nothing, I mistook her..."

Ishtar decisively shook her head repeatedly and gave an embarrassed dry laugh.

How could she be so lacking in vigilance? Obviously she had explained this matter again and again this morning because of this question, and now she was bringing it up again herself—wasn't that just stubbornly ramming her head into a steel plate...

The Goddess was indeed willful, but Xia Zhi had unleashed Realm Power, making her understand what "the realm of the rich and the realm of the poor" meant, so she naturally couldn't maintain her haughtiness.

Xia Zhi naturally knew the reason, but it didn't stop him from continuing to take this opportunity to apply pressure and pin down Miss Ishtar. So he still narrowed his eyes, staring at the girl with great suspicion, his complexion looking as if he were seriously thinking about something.

The Goddess of Venus suddenly felt as if she were sweating profusely.

Damn it, isn't this fellow just rich with a few stinking coins? Why should Miss be so afraid of him! No, be haughty! Must be haughty!

Thinking this, she felt a bit more courage in her heart, suddenly raised her head to look at Xia Zhi, and then—

"Th-that, right! Master, aren't you curious about my Noble Phantasm? How about experiencing it now?" The Goddess forced out a smile and extended the invitation.

"..."

"..."

"Your Noble Phantasm?"

Xia Zhi raised an eyebrow. "Fine, let's take a look. I am indeed somewhat curious."

Even having just entered the realm of Planetary Life, he no longer cared too much about the power of Ishtar's Noble Phantasm, but he did want to explore and study the form of its manifestation.

Because it was said that when using that Mountain Noble Phantasm, the Goddess would first teleport to Venus, use the administrator's permission, take Venus's concept into her hand, and load it as a Conceptual Planet into Mana's magazine to fire it, completing an act that even gods would fear.

So—

Whether it was the administrator's permission of Venus...

Or the phenomenon of instantly teleporting to Venus...

In his view, both were very worth exploring.

"Good, let me first call out Mana—achoo!" Ishtar sighed in relief and nodded repeatedly, but before she could finish speaking, she suddenly couldn't suppress a sneeze.

And then—

The Goddess's head of black long hair instantly turned golden hair under the moonlight.

(Chapter End)