My Destiny Illustrated Book of the Moon

Chapter 720: Afternoon in the Palace

It was noon, and Ishtar's brother Shamash rode on a golden chariot, pushing the new day's journey to the sky to its climax. The scorching golden light filled the entire hall, the yang energy flourished, and all things flourished.

The fire on the divine chariot turned into sunlight, and they cheered and jumped for joy. They held hands and walked through the streets with children. They lay on the eaves and bridges, holding up their heads and looking at the smiling faces of passers-by. Sometimes, they even squatted down and playfully poked the shadows hidden in the corners, until they lazily turned over and curled up into a line, then they stood up proudly and walked away.

But when passing through the tall columns, the pace of "light" slowed down, as if it was infected by the solemn and depressing atmosphere.

From noisy to serious, from child to witness.

The midday sun penetrated the tall pillars of the Uruk Palace like a sharp blade, and like a witness holding weapons, it silently illuminated the king's brilliant golden hair and the desk piled with clay tablets and documents.

This picture has not changed since early morning. The king's snake eyes quickly scanned the pieces of text, immersed in endless government affairs, writing down instructions from time to time, then putting the completed clay tablet aside, and taking out another one in a hurry.

Although everything outside was boiling and noisy, he seemed trapped on this magnificent throne, shouldering the burden of the entire Uruk alone.

Time seems to have lost its original vitality here, replaced by a heavy sense of responsibility and imperceptible fatigue.

Only the steady footsteps of the young man stirred up the palace that was almost settling down.

"The sun is shining brightly outside, and the people of Uruk are enjoying a new day." Shuoyue's voice was uniquely peaceful. "Although government affairs are busy, you have been working for several hours straight. I think you should take a break. Perhaps this will help you better handle the next affairs."

Gilgamesh did not raise his head, nor did he stop turning the clay tablets. "I do not need to rest. Besides, the future and prosperity of Uruk depend on me. My fatigue is not worth mentioning."

The white-haired young man nodded slightly, as if he had expected such an answer. "I understand, but not resting for a long time may affect your judgment, right? Humans have their limits after all, even demigods do."

Gilgamesh finally stopped what he was doing. He raised his head slightly, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if smiling:

"Interesting, a mere cook dares to speak so bluntly. Even Siduri has never said this to the king."

"Oh, it's my pleasure."

"..." The wise king raised his eyebrows, but soon lowered his head again, "Forget it, I'll forgive you this time. My health condition does not need to be taken care of by a mere cook. I will decide when to rest by myself."

Shuoyue did not say much, but nodded slightly again, as if this concern was just a statement of some kind of duty, or perhaps because some kind of emotion had long surpassed the superficial dialogue. After a brief silence, a new light lit up in his eyes again. Seeing that the wise king lowered his head and did not look at him, the young man muttered a few words with some dissatisfaction, then stepped forward.

He reached out and took a bunch of grapes from the plate full of fruits next to the table where the clay tablet was placed.

"I thought you were going to help me share some of the burden." The wise king waved the clay tablet in his hand and said unhappily.

"Oh, I'm not stupid." Shuoyue bit the front of the grape lightly, squeezed out the flesh skillfully, and then threw the peel into the replacement space. "I'm afraid that as soon as I pick it up, you will use the king's treasure to hit me hard."

"It seems that you are not as stupid as that goddess." Gilgamesh snorted, "So, what exactly do you want to see me for?"

"Didn't I tell you that I'm here to negotiate terms?"

"Stop talking nonsense. I am very busy and don't have time to entertain you. If you just want to have fun, go find that guy from Chaldea..."

"I want the Axe of Marduk."

"impossible."

Facing the sudden request from Shuoyue, Gilgamesh refused without a second thought. When he came to his senses, the wise king narrowed his eyes even more angrily: "Is this the reward you are asking for for helping me until now? If that's the case, I will ask the guards to kick you out right now."

"I see. You don't have money, and you won't give me your life. You are such a freeloader." Shuoyue muttered, then raised his voice, "I said it was a deal. You kept the Axe of Marduk just to get rid of the Goddess of Warcraft." "In that case, can't I help you defeat the Goddess of Warcraft?"

Facing Shuoyue's exchange conditions, Gilgamesh rolled his eyes: "Are you finally willing to take action against the Three Goddesses Alliance?"

"She's just the goddess of Warcraft." Shuoyue said with a smile, "At most, I'll give you detailed information about the alliance."

The virtuous king frowned and said seriously: "But, I don't even know who you are, and how you are standing here..."

"If you keep bargaining, I'll have to go get it myself."

"Tsk." After the negotiation, Gilgamesh put away the expression on his face and sat back on the throne. "That's it. Submit the report later. Now get out of here."

"Hey, hey, you don't recognize me after you pull up your pants, right?"

The voice gradually faded away, and Gilgamesh soon concentrated on handling government affairs again. At one point, he suddenly spoke: "By the way, did you know that I once had a close friend?"

There was no response. Wang raised his head coldly and then stood there in a daze.

The palace was already empty.

Yes... there is no one left who will stand there and look at him with the same gentle smile.

The king looked at the empty palace in a trance.

However, something else still quietly emerged——

Grapes, dates, cherries, and apricots lay quietly before Gilgamesh, their bitter skins peeled off, even so considerately that even the cores and seeds were removed.

This is definitely not something the cook could do.

Even though he was overwhelmed by many political affairs, Gilgamesh could come to such a conclusion.

It couldn't be Siduri either, she knew what the King wanted her to do more than this.

Throwing the crystal clear grapes into his mouth, feeling the sweet juice as he chewed them, the wise king narrowed his eyes, not knowing what he was thinking.

When Gilgamesh came back to his senses from his recollections, he was shocked to find that he had already eaten all the fruit, and his mental fatigue was being relieved at an alarming rate.

The only thing that remained unchanged was the clay tablets piled up into a small hill.

Looking at the work that has not been started yet, Gilgamesh was stunned and couldn't help laughing:
"In the end, I was still fooled by you..."

After a pause, he did not utter the word "cook". He just lowered his head and busy himself with his duties as king again.

Time flowed slowly and irresistibly. The sunlight reached out cautiously and touched the imperceptible curve at the corner of Wang's mouth.

So warm.

(End of this chapter)