"C… Contract?"
When Rozen's words reached everyone present, not only Ereshkigal but the rest were also taken aback.
Only Altera and Mash, as if they already knew what Rozen intended to do, focused their gazes on him.
Rozen maintained his posture, hand outstretched, eyes fixed steadily on Ereshkigal.
Ereshkigal, for her part, froze.
Utterly froze.
It was a long moment before she reacted.
"What do you mean by that?" Ereshkigal asked, her tone a mixture of suspicion and surprise. "Why would I make a contract with you?"
Rozen had only one answer to that question.
"Of course—it's to let you atone." Rozen locked eyes with Ereshkigal. "Don't you think you can't do anything? Don't you want to save humanity? Then I'll give you the chance!"
As the goddess offered as a cornerstone to the Underworld, Ereshkigal truly could not leave it.
So when things happened on the surface, she could only watch, unable to act. If not for her connection with Ishtar allowing her to borrow Ishtar's body at night, she wouldn't even be able to form alliances with other goddesses.
However, if she formed an Absolute Contract with Rozen, that would be a different matter.
As a record engraved into Rozen's very soul, it would allow him to summon this goddess to the surface at any time.
Granted, Rozen and Ereshkigal hadn't met many times, and their interactions were limited.
Under normal circumstances, their current level of trust shouldn't be enough to meet the conditions for an Absolute Contract.
But if Ereshkigal's love for humanity was as deep as it seemed—and if she truly had as much hope and faith in Chaldea's Master as she appeared to—then perhaps the conditions could just barely be met.
Moreover, Rozen no longer bore hostility toward this goddess. What he felt now was sympathy and pity.
Naturally, he made the offer.
He explained the Absolute Contract openly in front of everyone.
"Well? Will you do it?"
Rozen's question was direct, aimed straight at Ereshkigal.
"This…"
Ereshkigal was left speechless, both dumbfounded and at a loss for words.
Most of the others looked the same.
"Absolute Contract…" Ishtar looked astonished, then glanced at Altera as if in realization. "So that's the kind of contract you made with this human Master?"
Altera didn't answer, but her silence was enough to tell the truth.
Ishtar and Ereshkigal finally understood why a destroyer and invader feared by the gods of the ancient world would obey Rozen without question—and why Rozen dared to treat such a being as a mere Servant.
It turned out their souls had already fused, becoming inseparable.
If this so-called Absolute Contract was truly as miraculous as Rozen claimed, it was no wonder he had no fear of Altera harming him.
Because no matter who she might harm in this world, Altera could never harm him—nor could she defy him.
Such an incredible contract was truly shocking.
At the same time, Ishtar and Ereshkigal felt reassured.
At the very least, bound by this contract, Altera could never lose control and bring about another ancient catastrophe.
Unless, of course, Rozen chose to restore her true form and awaken her full power—but that was another matter entirely.
Then…
"Isn't this a good opportunity?" Ishtar poked her head out from Rozen's clothes, looking at Ereshkigal with an air of casual indifference. "Since it's come to this, why not form that Absolute Contract with this human?"
For Ereshkigal, this should be a good thing, right?
First, after making the Absolute Contract, she would no longer be bound by the Underworld's restrictions, nor lose her freedom.
Second, she could finally erase her past regrets in one stroke, fighting for the humans on the surface.
Even if entering the contract meant becoming Rozen's familiar and bound to his will, it wasn't as if she'd be serving the wrong person.
In Ishtar's opinion, this choice was worth considering.
On top of that, Rozen was a traveler wandering through all eras.
For Ereshkigal, who had rarely seen the sky or soared across the land, traveling with him shouldn't be an unacceptable prospect.
That was Ishtar's perspective.
However—
"…That is impossible."
Ereshkigal was silent for a long time before letting out a sigh and speaking.
"I am indeed lonely… but that doesn't mean I want to abandon this responsibility."
Ereshkigal was genuinely devoted to her duties as the goddess of the Underworld, with no complaints about managing the souls of the dead.
Thus—
"I will not abandon the Underworld or my responsibilities as a goddess just to indulge myself. Don't lump me together with someone as willful as you."
Ereshkigal directed those words squarely at Ishtar.
"You…"
Ishtar was about to snap back angrily—
—but Rozen cut her off first.
"Even if you say that, the truth is you can't keep this responsibility much longer, can you?" Rozen said bluntly. "It's already the end of the Age of Gods. Humanity has formally declared its farewell to the divine."
"And with the end of the Age of Gods, the gods have left the surface, left this world entirely. That includes you. If not for this coincidence of your summoning, you would never have returned to this land."
"The Underworld is no exception. With the end of the Age of Gods, it will gradually vanish. If not for your return this time, perhaps it would already be gone."
"So, even if you don't make a contract with me, the Underworld will eventually end. Your fate will be to vanish silently along with it—perhaps even to be utterly erased into nothingness as the incineration of human history progresses."
"Even knowing that, you still won't set aside the Underworld to lend your strength to me, to humanity, and to Mesopotamia?"
Each sentence Rozen spoke struck directly at Ereshkigal's soft spot.
Indeed, as he said, her duty and mission would not last much longer.
The Underworld would eventually disappear, and so would she.
Given that, wouldn't it be better to form the contract with Rozen, to let her remaining strength serve a final purpose, and to let her life end in fulfillment?
The thought left Ereshkigal inwardly conflicted.
Rozen, however, did not rush her. He waited patiently for her answer.
The others did the same—except for Ishtar, who looked like she very much wanted to say something—watching Ereshkigal quietly.
"…Hah."
No one knew how much time had passed before Ereshkigal exhaled, as if giving up.
Then—
"I will make a contract with you."
Ereshkigal spoke at last.
"But I have conditions."