The Nameless Sage
"So you want Mount Ebih for yourself?"
An, father of the gods, lord of the heavens, and supreme deity, sat upon his throne and looked down at Inanna. He propped his chin on one hand and drummed the armrest of the throne with the other as he continued.
"You used to want to smash it to pieces. Why claim ownership of it now?"
"If you don't want to give it to me, then don't. You know what I'm like."
If I cannot have it, I will destroy it.
That was what Inanna was saying, only dressed in softer words.
An sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead.
"What on earth has gotten into you, Inanna? What is it you actually want?"
"Do I really have to tell you why?"
"…No. Hearing the answer would probably frighten me more."
"Then just do what I'm asking."
"Haa…"
An let out a long, heavy sigh. And yet, in the end, he granted Inanna ownership of Mount Ebih. From that moment on, the mountain was officially hers.
Inanna left the palace of the supreme god with a light step. A man approached her as she went.
"Congratulations, Inanna. You finally wrung out what you wanted, didn't you?"
"What's this? Grandpa Enki coming all the way out here to congratulate me?"
"Of course — though you're still a brat without so much as a single city to your name."
"…I should've known you couldn't just say something nice."
Inanna shook her head and brushed past him. Dragging out a conversation with that slippery old fox was a sure way to land herself in some tiresome mess later.
"One more thing, Inanna."
Enki called her back. There was a peculiar force in his voice that stopped her mid-stride.
"What?"
"You've been awfully quiet lately. I was starting to wonder if something was going on."
"Something? There's nothing. Mind your own business."
Inanna set off again. Enki watched her retreating figure with a suspicious eye.
"That tomboy sitting still is what's strange."
The quieter she was, the more unnerving it became. Was she saving up for some far larger disaster?
A genuine chill ran down Enki's spine.
"Should I follow her in secret?"
"Greetings, people of the village beneath the mountain!!"
Inanna went straight to the settlement at the foot of the mountain. When a girl appeared from the sky radiating divinity, the villagers trembled with fear and bowed their heads. It was only natural.
"I am Inanna, goddess of love and war. Your village is so beautiful that I have decided to become its guardian deity."
"O goddess…"
"I shall bestow my blessing upon you."
At her words, the people of the mountain village shook with deep emotion. In those days, a god's blessing meant promised prosperity. From now on, they would enjoy the same abundance and luxury as Nippur and Eridu.
"In return, you must keep one rule."
"A rule, my lady?"
"Yes. You are not to climb Mount Ebih. Obey that, and wealth and honor will walk beside you."
A few among them murmured uneasily.
"M-may I ask why?"
Kubatum carefully lifted her head and asked.
"Kubatum!!"
Enede cried out in alarm and tried to stop her. Incurring a god's wrath for no good reason had left more than a few people crushed to pulp — or worse off than dead.
"You dare question my command?"
"No, I only—"
"I'll let it go this once. Be more careful from now on."
"…Yes."
Fortunately, Inanna seemed willing to let the matter drop, and the villagers breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Kubatum!!"
Once Inanna had left, Nibar, chief of the mountain village, rounded on Kubatum. His face was flushed red; even someone with no sense of tact could tell he was furious.
"Because of you alone, the entire village nearly suffered a catastrophe. What if the goddess's whim had turned hundreds of our people into fodder for beasts?"
"…I'm sorry."
There was nothing she could say. Kubatum, well aware of how serious the situation had been, looked thoroughly downcast.
"Why did you even ask?"
Her younger sister was usually sharp enough. Enede guessed that Kubatum had risked offending a goddess only because something about the order had truly bothered her.
"There's a sage living on Mount Ebih."
"…What can we do? It's a pity for the sage, but the village comes first."
Climbing the mountain just to warn him risked angering the goddess all over again. Nibar swallowed the rest of what he might have said. He had not wanted to make this decision. Was there a single person in the village beneath the mountain who had never received Sunya's help? Nibar himself had been indebted more than once. He had even invited the man down to live among them several times…
"There's that, yes — but something else is bothering me."
"Something else?"
Nibar echoed, caught off guard by Kubatum's words.
"I once heard a rumor that the sage often spent time with a red-haired girl. I even saw them from a distance myself. I never got a look at her face, though…"
"Why not?"
"I don't know. Whenever I tried to get closer, it was… oppressive, somehow? Approaching that girl felt uncomfortable. Just like when Lady Inanna descended a moment ago."
Gods carried a unique, indescribable pressure. Unless the god themselves permitted it, simply standing before one drained the spirit. It was a matter of instinct.
"And now that I look, Lady Inanna has red hair as well."
"…So?"
Outwardly he showed doubt, but Nibar understood exactly what Kubatum was driving at.
"The goddess already knows about the sage. No — she may well have forbidden us from climbing the mountain because of him."
"…Is it really that serious?"
"That serious? Do you have any idea how handsome the sage is?! And Lady Inanna is a woman, too!!"
"Even if you put it that way…"
"You're a demigod yourself, Chief. You know perfectly well that gods aren't free of lust."
Kubatum was right — Nibar was a demigod, a half-blood born of a god and a human for reasons of his own. Cases like his made it plain that gods taking carnal interest in mortals was nothing unusual. Even so, the idea that Inanna — of such noble blood even among the gods — would seal off Mount Ebih over a mere man still felt childish.
Nibar looked to Enede for support, but she seemed to be siding with her sister.
"She does have a point…"
"And what's gotten into you?"
It wasn't only Enede. Most of the women of the mountain village standing there were nodding along without quite realizing it.
"Even so, sealing off a mountain over one sage is a bit much."
"But—"
"I understand what you're saying. Still, what I want to say is…"
Nibar paused, choosing his words carefully before he spoke again.
"I don't understand putting in that much effort for a single human. If she wanted him, taking him by force would be nothing at all."
"Maybe Lady Inanna is more merciful than we thought. Or rather — maybe she's not as reckless as she seems, at least in this."
"You little—!! How many times have I told you to watch your mouth?"
But everyone present knew the truth, even if no one said it aloud: just how much of a willful, headstrong tomboy the goddess Inanna really was. Digging seven pits just to trap a single lion. Breaking a bird's wings because she was bored. Cursing out Enlil and Enki to their faces. Frightening innocent people or turning them into animals… Stories of her large and small disasters arrived with almost regular frequency.
And a goddess like that has taken an interest in the sage.
It was pitiable in more ways than one. And yet, strangely, no one felt the least bit worried.
I just can't picture that man looking troubled by any of it.
Inanna did not stop at the village beneath the mountain. She visited every other settlement nearby that might have reason to approach Mount Ebih, declaring the mountain her property and forbidding unauthorized entry.
Only when the sun stood high overhead did she finish her rounds and make her way to Sunya. She had come to see him every single day since their first meeting; by now it had become routine.
"I'm here, Sunya!!"
She pushed open the door and walked in as if she owned the place. Sunya greeted her with a smile.
"You're a little late today."
"Mm. I was busy with all sorts of things."
"I see."
"Want to know?"
"Pardon?"
"Aren't you curious what kept me so busy?"
"I am rather curious, yes."
"…You don't look curious at all."
"Heh. If you wish to tell me, you will. If not, you won't. I have no desire to pry with questions that might make you uncomfortable, Lady Inanna."
"Honestly, you are such a… Fine. I'll just say it. The point is — I am now the owner of Mount Ebih!"
"Is that so? Congratulations."
As Inanna puffed out her chest with pride, Sunya clapped for her.
"So I told everyone not to come up the mountain from now on."
What she said next, however, left him a little taken aback.