"Tch, that foreign goddess always has to make such a scene. She's clearly a monster, yet she wields divine authority—it's just cheating." Ishtar's face soured.
"?" Amber looked at her, puzzled.
"She's one of the so-called Three Goddess Alliance you people talk about. Unbelievable."
Seeing that Amber still didn't seem to grasp it, Ishtar also showed confusion, then suddenly brightened with a smile.
"So you're not on Uruk's side after all. You don't even have a clue about the enemies you're facing. That golden bastard really didn't tell you anything, did he?"
It was a simple attempt to sow discord, one even Amber wouldn't fall for.
"I'm indeed not aligned with Uruk, but regardless, safeguarding the embers of human civilization is my responsibility."
"Hmph~ I don't dislike your type." Ishtar gave Amber another once-over but quickly averted her gaze.
"Since I don't dislike you, I'll give you a piece of advice. If your purpose is to protect humanity, you shouldn't go around saying such things outright, nor should you help humans without asking for anything in return."
Noting the rare seriousness in the goddess's demeanor, Amber assumed a listening posture.
"Any help given without expectation of reward only stifles growth. If you repeatedly aid someone without compensation, you'll only accelerate their decline. It's like a house cat forgetting how to hunt—intelligent beings like humans are even more susceptible."
Ishtar continued, "Compared to animals, humans fall into decay far more easily and swiftly."
"So that's why you wanted to take those gems earlier?" Amber asked, recalling the earlier incident.
"Exactly." Ishtar shrugged.
"In other words, Ishtar has also helped others without asking for anything in return before."
"Uh..." The words caught Ishtar off guard, and her expression shifted to one of embarrassment and irritation.
"That's none of your business! Prying into a goddess's affairs will bring divine punishment upon you!"
Seeing her like this, Amber couldn't help but be reminded of Rin Tohsaka again, though she quickly dismissed the impolite thought.
Yet, even after pushing the thought aside, she had to admit that the other's appearance had won her quite a bit of goodwill.
Fu Hua didn't have much to say on the matter. She had long understood this principle herself, but she'd realized it too late.
It wasn't until Schicksal and Anti-Entropy successively became the world's main forces against the Honkai, while Shenzhou remained inactive, that she understood her protection had been too comprehensive, leaving Shenzhou without sufficient awareness or will to fight the Honkai.
By the time she realized it, Schicksal had already monopolized almost all elements of Honkai resistance.
Though Amber had said she wanted to maintain the 'Phoenix Celestial' persona, even Fu Hua herself had forgotten how she thought during her time as the Phoenix.
It wasn't a matter of lacking memories. In fact, due to the system integrating all the Feathers of Fenghuang Down, she was now in an unprecedented state of completeness.
Though she had lost her physical body, she was also free from the influence of the Divine Key's 'Divine Voice.'
Moreover, with the full power of the complete Fenghuang Down and her mastery of the Taixu Sword Qi, while not at her peak, she was significantly stronger than when she was a MANTIS.
What Amber was imitating wasn't so much Fu Hua herself, but rather the Phoenix Celestial as envisioned in the young girl's own heart.
While emulating an idol isn't the true path, it isn't a deviation either; walking it briefly before finding one's own way isn't a waste of time.
Thus, aside from the initial instance, Fu Hua no longer had any intention to correct her.
Back to reality.
Though Amber wasn't particularly skilled in social interactions, as a seasoned 'second-dimensional' enthusiast, she was quite familiar with the tsundere archetype, even if it was a bit outdated. She knew not to provoke further at such a moment but to smooth things over instead.
Yet, she couldn't resist teasing the other party a little. After all, she was a tsundere.
"My apologies. I just didn't expect that Ishtar, known to the world as willful and self-centered, is actually a goddess who loves humanity."
"Hah? I meant no such thing! It was just a word of advice, don't go overinterpreting on your own!" Ishtar waved her arms exaggeratedly.
"I overstepped." Seeing her on the verge of blowing up, Amber finally stopped her teasing and, with a wave of her hand, piled up a heap of starstones in Ishtar's temple—about four or five thousand of them.
At the sight of the gems, Ishtar's attention was immediately captured.
She's way too easy to handle.
Originally, Amber had only planned to deliver the items and leave, but having witnessed this interesting side of the goddess, she wasn't in a hurry to go. However, remembering that she'd come out to practice her Taixu Sword Qi, she consulted Fu Hua.
'Daily rigorous practice is essential, but any training beyond the nightly sessions counts as extra. Missing one day won't affect anything.'
Having received the Celestial's approval, Amber spoke up again, "Earlier, you mentioned some business. If you don't mind, could you explain the details to me?"
"Ah? Oh...!" Ishtar was snapped back to reality by the girl's voice. Hearing the question, her expression stiffened slightly, and her eyes drifted away.
"It's really nothing major! This goddess can handle it easily on her own."
It seemed she wasn't willing to share.
Amber felt a familiar disappointment—the kind you get when you've finally managed to get time off to play a game's major new update, only to end up not playing at all. She hadn't understood it before, but now she did.
"Alright." Feeling a bit dejected, the young girl could only take her leave.
Only after Amber's figure had completely disappeared did Ishtar let out a sigh of relief.
I can't say it! I just can't say it! How could I tell a goddess from another land whom I just met: 'Ah, it's really not a big deal, just that I lost my most powerful, most useful Noble Phantasm, ohohohoho...'
Nothing could be more of a letdown or more humiliating than that!
Meanwhile, Amber, who had stepped out of the palace, quickly regained her composure. Even though her planned time off for gaming hadn't panned out, she couldn't just waste the leave she'd managed to get.
No matter how much she understood the benefits of training, she still lacked a tangible sense of it. Plus, now that she had someone to rely on, she'd lost that all-or-nothing mentality.
Fu Hua, of course, was well aware of the girl's state of mind.
A minor with a body age of 17 but a mental age probably around 13—even if she's sensible, she still struggles to truly comprehend the world, knowing the 'what' but not the 'why,' understanding right and wrong but not the meaning behind them.
Having faced little adversity in life besides illness and death, and always sheltered by family who were scarcely present, she hadn't developed a strong enough inner resilience.
Add to that the fact that she didn't start cultivating from childhood and is a complete amateur in the path of cultivation, without established training habits.
You could say she's practically covered in debuffs.
Thinking this, Fu Hua took a deep breath inwardly.
But none of that mattered. Since their fates were now bound together, she would naturally ensure the girl grew into someone capable of standing on her own.
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T/N: Before people get smacked by the reading comprehension devil, it was stated earlier that the mc was sick for basically a majority of her entire life, so if she spent her entire life in bed watching anime and playing games, it'd make sense for her mental age to not correspond to her actual age.
--+--
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.