Mash: It Was Clearly Me Who Arrived First!
"Is this Uruk?"
Walking along the bustling streets of Uruk, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash were both deeply fascinated by this civilization from before the Common Era.
Traces of daily life were everywhere, and the tenacity of the Uruk people, clad in simple robes, as they fought tenaciously against the surrounding demonic beasts, was truly a scene rarely witnessed.
"This is the final fortress city of humanity," Merlin said, stepping in to introduce it. "The current state of Uruk."
"Although it is currently wartime, the city is still just as lively as ever."
"I imagined quite a few scenarios in my head when I heard it was an ancient city," Fujimaru Ritsuka exclaimed. "But reality is truly beyond my imagination."
"Everyone looks so full of life; you'd never guess how severe the situation outside is. The local ruler seems to pay great attention to the welfare of the people."
"Although the Sumerians entered the historical stage around 4000 B.C.," Merlin began to explain, "their civilization is extremely sophisticated. Starting from their departure from village-based societies, the addition of irrigation and agriculture, and the increase in grain yields, they formed national city-states of tens of thousands of people."
"With cities of such scale, it's only natural that they would develop writing and education. The fertile lands of the Mesopotamia river valley birthed high-quality clay, and the Uruk people used this clay to construct all sorts of ramparts."
"This is the dominion of mud, clay, wheat, and sheep—Mesopotamia."
"While I know you're very interested in Uruk, the current priority is to go to the Ziggurat in the city center to meet King Gilgamesh," Merlin said. "You can tour Uruk a bit later."
"The Ziggurat?" Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the stepped structure in front of her.
"Is that the temple and altar of Mesopotamia?" Mash murmured upon hearing this.
"It's not actually far, it's just ahead..." Merlin reached out, just about to point the way, when he caught sight of a familiar white-haired figure standing at a street stall, haggling with the produce vendor.
"What's wrong?" Seeing him freeze, Fujimaru Ritsuka curiously followed his gaze.
"So beautiful..." At the very first glance, she couldn't help but exclaim.
"That is..." Mash also looked over curiously. "Uh, that outfit doesn't look like a local's. Is that a Servant?"
Anna only glanced at her once before moving her gaze away.
And Merlin...
'No way. Why is this walking disaster inside Uruk?'
'Wasn't she playing house with Ishtar? How did she get bored so quickly?'
'Ishtar, you're so useless!'
Right at that moment, the girl seemed to notice their gazes as well. She turned her head, and upon spotting Merlin, she flashed a brilliant smile toward them, waving quite vigorously.
"Yo! Merlin, you're back," Xia Yu said, walking over while clutching the vegetables she had just purchased. "Are these newcomers?"
"Ah... Miss Kiana," Merlin's expression looked more painful than a funeral. "Weren't you over at Ishtar's temple? How do you have the free time to return to Uruk?"
"Oh, I felt Ishtar's temper was a bit high recently," Xia Yu said with a smile, shaking the produce she had bought. "So I came to pick up some lighter ingredients."
"Haha... I see..." Merlin replied stiffly.
"So these few... uh," Xia Yu's gaze landed on Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"Hello, I am..." Fujimaru Ritsuka was about to introduce herself, but before she could finish, Xia Yu interrupted her.
"Wait, don't speak yet," Xia Yu reached out to pinch her chin, tilting her head left and right. "This face... and this hair..."
"Um, Miss Kiana, right?" Seeing this, Mash nervously clasped her hands together, her fingers twisting anxiously. "Please let go of Senpai!"
'How could she do this? Pinching Senpai's chin and getting her face so close... I haven't even done that!'
"Oh, right, and you too," Xia Yu let go of Fujimaru Ritsuka and reached out to ruffle Mash's hair. "This texture..."
"Oh, Miss Kiana, what are you doing..." Seeing this, Merlin narrowed his eyes, his hand ready to activate his staff at any moment, and Anna stood by, ready to draw her own weapon.
"Do you know these two guests?"
"I don't," Xia Yu shook her head. She released Mash's little head, looked at her wary expression, and smiled at both of them. "But I've heard about them from a friend."
"Greetings, two Saviors," Xia Yu offered an elegant salute. "I am Kiana Kaslana, a Valkyrie and Herrscher from Schicksal."
"Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash Kyrielight, right?" Xia Yu smiled and winked at them. "I've heard about you from Firefly. You're both very good friends of hers."
"Wait, you know Miss Firefly?" Fujimaru Ritsuka's expression paused for a moment before she immediately asked, "How is she doing now? That illness..."
"You mean Entropy Loss Syndrome?" Xia Yu replied, "She's fine now. The effect of The Third Magic was quite good."
"Wait, Firefly? Is that the same Firefly you mentioned last night, Ritsuka?" Merlin hurried to ask.
"Uh, yes," Fujimaru Ritsuka turned to reveal a brilliant smile. "It's that Miss Firefly, though I didn't expect to meet her friend here."
"So this bizarre world is also a part of your journey as Saviors?" Xia Yu tilted her head. "To be honest, I thought I had accidentally stumbled into some strange World Bubble when I woke up."
"It seems I've been drifting for too long to have ended up here."
"So you stumbled in by accident?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked curiously. "Uruk is very dangerous right now."
"Dangerous? It's alright, I guess," Xia Yu nodded. "Right, are you two currently going to..."
"To meet King Gilgamesh," Fujimaru Ritsuka answered quickly.
Merlin, standing to the side, wanted to say something but stopped himself.
'Tch, I should have warned them last night.'
Anna, standing by, never let her guard down, as she had long since been warned by Merlin.
"Going to see him, huh," Xia Yu stroked her chin. "That's convenient, I happen to be heading there to find him as well."
She naturally reached out to hook her arm around Fujimaru Ritsuka's. "Firefly's friends are my friends. Let's go, together."
"Ah, okay," Fujimaru Ritsuka blinked, beginning to feel unconfident in her earlier guess.
That's right, she remembered. In that strange Fuyuki City, Miss Firefly and Furina had seamlessly switched between each other and deceived everyone for a long time. Plus, she had said she would reunite with Chaldea afterward...
And she had specifically mentioned the Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia. So, before she even arrived, Fujimaru Ritsuka had prepared herself for a reunion.
But she hadn't expected to miss Miss Firefly and find a Kiana instead.
When the other party mentioned the name "Firefly," Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately identified her identity. That absurdly powerful Miss Firefly was likely indulging in her peculiar sense of humor again, having changed her identity to play around.
Moreover, "Firefly" was probably just the name for that identity; Fujimaru Ritsuka still didn't even know her real name.
But Kiana's action of casually hooking her arm around her shoulder like they were old friends made Fujimaru Ritsuka lose her nerve.
Looking back on the time she spent with Miss Firefly, she hadn't been this overly familiar. At most, she liked petting cute girls.
Fujimaru Ritsuka walked in the front, deep in thought, while Mash, walking beside them, watched the back of the two figures walking arm-in-arm, stuck together. Her heart felt so aggrieved she could cry.
'Senpai... it was clearly me who arrived first... such an intimate gesture... why isn't it me...'
Mash, the little sour-grape, has logged on.
"Haha, the weather is truly nice today," Merlin looked left and right, changing the subject. "By the way, Kiana, were you the one cooking over at Ishtar's temple?"
"Looking at how you're shopping for produce, you seem very familiar with all this."
"That's right," Xia Yu said helplessly. "After all, you can only count on Ishtar, that lifestyle-incompetent person, to cook, right?"
"As a captive and hostage, if I don't do this work, who will? There's no one else in that temple."
"Captive? Hostage?" Fujimaru Ritsuka was shocked. 'No, Mesopotamia is just that crouching tiger, hidden dragon? Someone was actually able to capture her? And she's being used as a hostage to force her to cook?'
She and Mash exchanged a look, then gazed at the Ziggurat in front of them with newfound awe.
'How should I put it? As expected of the Age of Gods!'
Merlin's fake smile was on the verge of collapsing. 'Sister, do you want to hear what you're saying?'
If he weren't afraid of shattering their little romantic dynamic and drawing her ire, Merlin would have started complaining ages ago.
Anna, meanwhile, watched Merlin with a look of suspicion.
'Is this what you called the major disaster that must never be provoked in Uruk? It doesn't sound that scary.'
"How should I put it, the goddess Ishtar has an innocent and lively personality," Merlin managed to say stiffly. "Self-centered and arrogant, so... perhaps the reality is different from what you think."
"She is indeed quite innocent," Xia Yu echoed. "A goddess who runs away in a panic after one wall-pin; she deserves the description of innocent and lively."
"Wait, wall-pin?" Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the arm hooked through her own.
'Are you saying you performed the legendary ultimate move of wall-pinning on a goddess?'
Fujimaru Ritsuka started to break out in a cold sweat.
'Sister, you're not normal!'
'Is it too late for me to pull my hand back?'
"Yeah," Xia Yu said after hearing her question, looking down at her slowly freezing face. "I have to admit, Ishtar is very cute."
"Ah... I see," Fujimaru Ritsuka forced a smile, then turned her head to Mash and started signaling frantically.
'Mash, save me!'
But the eggplant had already fallen into her own delusions the moment the "wall-pin" was mentioned.
'Girls and girls... wall-pinning... Senpai...'
Mash's face turned red instantly, and she quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at anyone.
Naturally, she didn't see the increasingly desperate look on her Senpai's face.
'Mash, what exactly are you doing!' Fujimaru Ritsuka's mouth slowly stiffened. 'Why won't you look me in the eye!'
"Ahaha, your hobbies, Kiana..." Merlin chuckled awkwardly.
Anna, standing by, cautiously took a step away and shot a look of pity at Fujimaru Ritsuka. When she accidentally met Kiana's gaze, she hurriedly lowered her head and reached out to pull down her hood to cover her face.
As a renowned figure in Greek Mythology, she knew far more than the eggplant; what kind of scenes hadn't she heard of?
"Mainly because Ishtar is just really fun," Xia Yu didn't show any intention of restraining herself. Feeling the stiffness of the Fujimaru Ritsuka pressed against her, she smiled wantonly. "You guys don't know, but if you tease her just a little bit, she'll show the cutest expressions."
"Is that so?" Fujimaru Ritsuka's heart was crying. When her arm was first hooked, she thought it was just a close friend showing affection. She never expected that because she let her guard down, she had walked straight into the tiger's den!
"And I discovered something," Xia Yu looked at the Savior beside her. "Ritsuka, your expression is also very fun."
'No, I'm not fun at all!' Fujimaru Ritsuka wanted to shout that at the top of her lungs.
But remembering the record of Miss Firefly taking down a Beast in ten minutes that day, she shamefully lowered her head in humiliation.
'I'll endure it!'
'Isn't it just sacrificing a bit of my good looks? If she's Miss Firefly, then I'm not losing out at all! I can recruit such a powerful combat force, if not... Firefly's friend should be quite strong too, right?'
She had already prepared herself to act cute and flirt; everything was for the sake of saving the world!
Just then, the hand Xia Yu had hooked through her arm suddenly released. "Sure enough, Ritsuka is a child who is very easily embarrassed."
"Just a small joke. Firefly told me you're a child with a hard life, having to go save the world before you've even reached adulthood." She leaned toward Ritsuka with a beaming smile. "You don't mind, do you?"
"N-no, not at all..." The beauty-blitz of Kiana's exquisite face mixed with the inherent heroic spirit of Flamescion instantly pierced Fujimaru Ritsuka's psychological defenses.
'Wait... if it's like this... I'm not at a loss at all?'
'She's too beautiful!'
Fujimaru Ritsuka's heart started beating rapidly in a very disloyal way.
'Mom, I think I'm in love!'
'How should I put it, she, who spends every day hanging out with Mash, definitely had some thoughts on her mind~~~'
But the next moment, Xia Yu retreated.
"Speaking of which, Merlin," she looked at the Merlin to the side. "Why haven't you been coming as often lately? I've been counting on your dreamscape for a good night's sleep every day."
"Um, it's been truly too busy these past few days," Merlin could only smile. "Once things are finished, I'll definitely resume the dreamscape!"
"Alright then, I'll wait for your good news," Xia Yu chuckled, then looked at Anna. "And this is..."
"This is Anna," Merlin introduced her. "A Servant I encountered outside, so I brought her along."
Anna wanted to give Merlin a scathing remark, but after noticing Kiana's gaze, she immediately lowered her head and pulled the hood on her head down once again.
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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