"...But Quetzalcoatl's already on our side now. Isn't fighting her a bit unnecessary?"
Amber, thinking that Fu Hua's use of the Fenghuang Down might have left some memory gaps, offered the reminder.
Her voice still carried a dazed, distant quality, lacking much energy.
"Hey!"
The Herrscher of Sentience shot her a look of utter exasperation.
"We are the mighty Phoenix Celestial! Okay, fine, you're not really her, but you're wearing her skin! How can you embarrass us like this out in the world?"
"Huh?"
Still processing Fu Hua's earlier words, Amber failed to follow the Herrscher's train of thought. "Was it embarrassing? When I was doing the gacha earlier, I asked Sir Navigator to help control my body. It should've been fine, right?"
"Not that!" Seeing Amber's brain was still fried, the Herrscher of Sentience spelled it out. "The mighty Phoenix Celestial, drawing with some out-of-town god nobody's ever heard of? How is that acceptable? Perfect timing, now that I'm here to rip open imaginary space for you, let's go teach that poser a lesson!"
"..."
Finally, Amber snapped out of it.
So it's not about saving face, you just want to stir up some trouble.
The Herrscher of Sentience, who could read Amber's thoughts just as Fu Hua could, made a face that screamed 'you're such a fossil too'.
"If you keep this up, they'll never get to see how amazing we are! Weren't you just thinking about using the old timer's looks and reputation to show off a little? All talk and no action? Fine then, let me out there, I'll put on a real show for everyone."
"Huh..?" Amber hadn't expected Fu Hua's shared memories to be that detailed. She couldn't help but shoot an accusing glare Fu Hua's way.
Under normal circumstances, a glare like that would have given Fu Hua enough material to mentally choreograph a two-hour-long beatdown.
But given the delicate atmosphere that had just passed between them, seeing Amber's spirits recover actually made Fu Hua secretly sigh in relief. Plus, she had momentarily forgotten to safeguard the girl's privacy. She let it slide.
It wasn't that she was careless. It's just that Amber never really hid her inner thoughts, so Fu Hua never saw the need to hide anything on her behalf.
Watching the two of them still exchanging looks, the Herrscher of Sentience grumbled, "Oh, great. And here you were, calling me 'Little Senti' this and 'Senti-chan' that. What, it's fine with the old fossil, but you have to be all secretive with me?"
"Not really."
Amber scratched the back of her head, slightly embarrassed. "It's mostly that Fu Hua feels like an elder, so it's different. But with you, Senti-chan..."
In short, some things were fine for a parental figure to know, but would be downright mortifying if a friend found out.
"What do you mean? Doesn't this Master-Apprentice Aunt here count as an elder?" The Herrscher of Sentience puffed up indignantly.
"Uh, well..." Amber averted her gaze.
"I can't even." The Herrscher of Sentience took a deep breath, trying to calm her ruffled feelings.
But she wasn't one to sit still. "I'm not like this old fossil who can just hang around forever. You don't expect me to just stay cooped up inside the Fenghuang Down the whole time, do you?"
"Of course not..." Even as she said it, Amber had to admit she hadn't really thought that far ahead before pulling the gacha. She'd just wanted to, so she did.
Herrscher of Sentience: ...So I'm just the product of a spontaneous impulse, am I?
"Don't make things difficult for Amber," Fu Hua finally interjected. "In the end, we are merely consciousnesses attached to objects. We can guide Amber, but we should not actively cause her distress."
Hearing this, the Herrscher of Sentience looked utterly done.
For heaven's sake, who understands this better, you or me? Of course she knew that. But she understood human hearts better.
With a personality like Amber's, the last thing she feared was people causing trouble for her.
In fact, if no one went out of their way to stir the pot, this inexperienced girl would just drift aimlessly like a cricket with no sense of direction.
Amber might look troubled now, but this was precisely the kind of friction needed to help her grow up faster.
Plainly put, if you just went along with everything she wanted, never introducing any surprises, she'd never learn how to handle the unexpected or think on her feet.
And just looking at the memories made it clear; the girl had always been the one relying on others. Even now, as a combat force Chaldea heavily depends on, she just mechanically follows orders, hitting where she's pointed, never needing to think too much.
Making Amber work through a headache and actually think was the correct approach.
"Don't say that!" Amber, unusually upset by Fu Hua's words, retorted, "You're not 'attached' to anything. You're my Master, and my friend."
"And... I actually don't feel right hogging this body all by myself..."
Amber continued, "After all, this is originally Master's body."
"This body exists because of you," Fu Hua countered, not accepting this line of thinking. "Without your existence, neither this body, nor I... nor Little Senti, could possibly be here."
"Ugh! You really are a master and her apprentice, both as stubborn as mules!"
The Herrscher of Sentience couldn't take it anymore. "Let me give you the answer: You're both right, alright?"
Amber realized she was being overly serious, but still insisted, "Anyway, you're not just some add-ons!"
Finished, she turned to the Herrscher of Sentience. "As for you, Senti-chan, I need to figure out how to explain your existence to everyone at Chaldea..."
"Alright, alright, I'll leave the arrangements to you. But my patience isn't as bottomless as that old fossil's, you know." The Herrscher of Sentience wasn't actually in a huge rush.
She needed to study the current situation too, and going outside could wait a little while.
"Oh, right, open up the permissions for the Herrscher Core for me. It's a pain having to borrow the old fossil's Fenghuang Down every time."
"Okay." Amber nodded, then withdrew her consciousness from the Fenghuang Down.
The Axe of Marduk turned out to be unexpectedly massive, nearly a hundred meters long.
Fortunately, Quetzalcoatl had her pterosaur retinue. With several of the winged dragons pulling it, transport to Uruk would only take two or three days, putting them there around the same time as the group traveling on foot.
Having gained another powerful ally, the mood in Chaldea's ranks was high. But upon returning to Uruk, they were met with devastating news.
"Gilgamesh is... dead?" Even Ishtar was stunned. The group hurried back to the ziggurat.
The throne now stood empty, Gilgamesh's presence gone. Only Siduri remained at its side, her expression grave as she pondered something. Noticing the group's arrival, her eyes lit up and she quickly hurried over. "You've all returned safely..."
"Yes, but how did King Gilgamesh..." Merlin cut straight to the point. "He was a man who perceived the future. No one should have been able to kill him...!?"
Seeing their urgency, Siduri skipped the pleasantries and directly explained the circumstances of that time.
After hearing the full account, everyone from Chaldea fell silent. Even Amber and the Herrscher of Sentience were speechless.
"King Gilgamesh... died from overwork?" Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't believe it.
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T/N: A Certain Scientific Railgun Fanfic Up!
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.