As a rule, powerful nobles in this world seldom left their own houses' territories. First, once a House Head or another important officeholder left, looking after their kin and subordinates became difficult. Second, in a sense, a powerful wizard made easier prey than a powerful monster.

Stealing mana might be considered a graver crime than cannibalism, but wasn't the very reason an act was condemned that there were people who committed it?

In that sense, the appearance of Talis in Karmine's capital was extraordinary indeed. He was the Zahar House Head's younger brother, the great house's second-in-command, and a great noble whose mana placed him at the very pinnacle of the top-ranking tier.

Turan clenched his teeth and dug his nails into his knee to keep his turmoil from showing on his face.

'Talis Zahar...'

The noble he suspected was probably his grandfather.

The moment he learned the man's identity, he understood the familiarity he had felt earlier. Those slightly deep-set eyes that looked fierce when his face went expressionless, the prominent nose, the dark, iron-gray eyes—everything Turan had thought unlike his mother whenever he glimpsed his reflection in water resembled this man.

The lord of Komad and Reto had good reason to think Turan was related to Talis. Had the two of them been commoners, anyone would have taken them for father and son, about twenty years apart.

"... Zahar?"

"The Zahar of the Enril Desert?"

"I hear he's the House Head's younger brother."

"Why would someone so important come all this way?"

Talis's arrival seemed unexpected to the Karmine nobles as well, and the conference room swiftly filled with chatter.

Then Turan realized Talis was staring straight at him. To Talis, Onil, whom Turan was impersonating, should have been merely one among more than a dozen Karmine nobles.

Before he could wonder long about why, he saw the bridge of Talis's nose twitch slightly, as though sniffing something.

'... Don't tell me he can read my emotions?'

He must have noticed that, for a fleeting moment, Turan had felt something different from everyone else. It was a technique Turan used quite naturally on others, but being on the receiving end sent chills down his spine. It truly felt as though someone were reading his mind.

Striving to calm himself, Turan discreetly lowered his eyes. Thankfully, when he looked up a moment later, Talis's gaze had already moved on.

"As the Karmine House Head just explained, I have come to mediate this war. Surely great houses should not fight one another in a world as troubled as ours."

"And how do you intend to mediate? We would be most grateful if you promised to join the war on our side."

The speaker was Jemel, father to the Onil whom Turan was currently impersonating. The other Karmine nobles seemed to agree.

"Quite right."

"With Zahar supporting us from behind the scenes, we might even use this opportunity to diminish Arabion's power."

Given what was publicly known, the arrangement was easy enough to understand. Zahar and Arabion had fought a war twenty years ago. Naturally, then, Zahar would interfere if Arabion tried to crush Karmine, a neighboring great house. Wasn't the enemy of one's enemy a friend?

Yet while most of the Karmine nobles delighted in these hopeful prospects, a few looked far less pleased—as though they believed Zahar would never cooperate with them.

'The pleased ones know nothing about what's happening behind the scenes... and the others know everything?'

Considering that the gods of Arabion and Zahar were on reasonably good terms, and were instead hostile to Karmine's god, this alliance should have been impossible from the outset. In other words, those who looked displeased were very likely the ones who knew all the hidden secrets.

'The Karmine House Head, three established nobles, and two young ones... Jemel is one of them, too.'

He had noticed it at Arabion as well: the gods tended to be paranoid about concealing the fact that they ruled the houses by possessing human bodies.

He could roughly guess why. If Turan had been an ordinary high-ranking noble, with gods above him who lived forever by changing bodies...

'Of course I'd want a place among them. Who would want to die when the secret to eternal life was right before their eyes?'

Moreover, according to Ymir, this reincarnation was not something easily accomplished at no cost. In other words, the number of available seats was limited.

Under those circumstances, the more widely the secret spread, the more rivals there would be. Perhaps the many denied the right to reincarnate might even rebel to seize that privilege from the few who enjoyed it.

While Turan was deep in thought, Talis continued.

"Of course, we cannot support you openly, but we intend to make full use of Zahar's specialties to assist you. The composition of Arabion's forces, where they are moving... we can tell you everything."

"Stealth and tracking. Both important elements in war."

"With Zahar nobles secretly helping us, we might stand a chance."

"But can you really call this mediation?"

As many of those present brightened, apparently gaining considerable confidence, one noble raised a hand.

"Could you not enter the war directly?"

"No. Direct involvement is absolutely out of the question. Those are our House Head's wishes."

"A pity."

Unlike moments before, when he had seemed nothing but an uninvited guest, Talis now led the meeting as though he were a Karmine noble himself. Watching him discuss what assistance Zahar could provide in the war and how Karmine should cooperate, one would have thought him the perfect ally.

'When in reality, they've been gathering intelligence behind their backs.'

Having only recently witnessed a Zahar spy digging up information on Karmine, Turan could only marvel at the audacity.

While Talis immersed himself in discussions with the Karmine nobles, their House Head watched quietly from the seat of honor. He spoke only after about two hours, when everyone was beginning to run out of things to say.

"Then let us conclude this meeting here. Naturally, our cooperation with Zahar must proceed in strict secrecy. Noto, Onil, Aris."

"Y-yes!"

"Understood!"

"Yes, sir!"

Since Onil was among the three names suddenly called, Turan answered hurriedly. Fortunately, the other two looked similarly startled, so he did not stand out.

"I understand you have let your tongues slip several times already. If anything similar happens again, I will not overlook it. Remember that."

As he bowed deeply at the chilling warning, Turan realized Talis was regarding him with interest.

A short while later, as he left the conference room, someone behind him planted a hand on his shoulder.

"Onil."

"Yes, Father."

"Do not forget what the House Head said today. If our house's secrets leak because of you, I will kill you myself. Do you understand?"

"Yes..."

Turan lowered his head and answered in the same cowed voice Onil had used in life. His performance must have been convincing, for Jemel appeared not even to suspect that someone else had replaced his son.

"Good. See that you do. I have a few more things to discuss with the House Head, so go home ahead of me. Tsk. If only you were always as well behaved as you were today."

A few more things to discuss.

That alone smelled promising. Turan bowed obediently, said he understood, and left. Then, pretending to head out of the House Head's residence, he quietly concealed himself once he was out of sight.

* * *

Turan had visited the Ravista House Head's residence before, but the defenses at the Karmine House Head's residence were on another level. Walls, doors, even corridors throughout the building bore unidentified spells that made him reluctant to touch anything.

Fortunately, most had been deactivated to accommodate the many visitors attending the meeting, making it easy to move about under stealth.

Tracking Jemel's presence after their recent parting, he soon spotted him walking down a corridor. Beside him were the woman said to be the House Head's first cousin once removed and her son.

"What are they thinking? Has Caesar suddenly broken with the other side?"

"Surely not. Those two worked together perfectly in the war just recently."

"Well, I'm sure our esteemed Lawyer has something in mind. It looked like they'd reached some understanding. Let's go hear him out."

Between the title of Lawyer and the sight of mother and son chatting as casually as friends, it was clear they were all gods' vessels.

A short while later, the three entered what appeared to be the House Head's sitting room. The Karmine House Head and Talis were already waiting there, each reclining on a long, low sofa.

"Took you long enough."

"I don't have to listen to that from a guest in our own house."

"Your house? Not your boss's?"

"Same difference."

Unlike the formal manner befitting their apparent ages that they had used earlier, Talis and Jemel now snapped at each other like young men who did not get along. The incongruity was oddly unpleasant, as though youths inhabited those middle-aged bodies.

Preparing for a lengthy conversation, Turan perched by a pillar in an unlit corner of the room. Once he entered the shadows, the mana consumed by his stealth spell dropped noticeably.

'Whew...'

Though not to the same extent as House Berg's mansion, this place also had brilliant lights throughout its rooms and corridors, making it difficult to remain hidden indefinitely. Had he not impersonated Onil, he probably would never have gained even this opportunity.

As he privately congratulated himself on his judgment, a voice came from behind him.

"So, who's who this time?"

"You first. No, I think I know. You're Jujak, aren't you?"

"... How did you know?"

"None of Caesar's underlings loves snide remarks as much as you do. I'm Yuri. These two are Toratora and Rainbow."

"Well, well. I thought you were Rainbow. You've become quite talkative since we last met."

"It's been at least five or six hundred years since we got together like this. I was due for a change."

"Nearly a thousand for me, I think! I was sitting out last time because there wasn't a suitable body."

"You sound lively. Must be that young body."

Talis and the Karmine nobles chatted amiably like friends reunited after a long absence. Since they were explaining who inhabited each body, perhaps they could not tell merely by looking.

The small talk did not last long. When the Karmine House Head, whom Turan presumed to be the Lawyer, raised a hand, everyone fell silent.

"It's good to catch up after so long, but let's discuss business first."

"Right, explain this to us. Why is Caesar suddenly offering to help? Let's be honest—we haven't exactly been friends."

"Exactly. It's suspicious. You must already know we're having trouble controlling the merfolk. Perhaps you two are joining forces to finish us off while you have the chance..."

At Jemel's question, the three Karmine nobles glared at Talis, as though their friendly conversation moments earlier had never happened. Talis gave a faint snort before replying.

"I'll have to repeat what I've already explained to your boss. Fine. To put it bluntly, our partnership with the other side... with Arabion, was suspended recently."

"Why?"

"They stabbed us in the back. And they believe we stabbed them in the back, too."

"Didn't you actually do it? I doubt he'd talk nonsense. Much as I hate to admit it, he's the smartest of us."

Perhaps knowing that Arabion's leader, the Biologist, could detect references to himself, they spoke indirectly, using phrases like "he" and "the other side." Turan, who had privately hoped to learn his name, found that disappointing.

But what had just been revealed was enough to bury that feeling. The partnership between Arabion and Zahar had broken down. It was priceless intelligence he could never have obtained by any means had he not infiltrated this room.

"What on earth happened?"

"As for what they did to us... their boss secretly built an artificial dungeon in our territory, recreating the Night Hunter Job Advancement quest. Unfortunately, someone we'd been raising got caught up in it and died."

He was probably referring to the underground labyrinth and Perga Zahar. From the way he spoke, had they failed to realize Turan had been involved there as well?

That alone made thoroughly concealing his traces and refraining from collecting the scattered magic tools more than worthwhile.

"Well, we confronted them at the time and got an apology... but not long afterward, they tried to blame us for the escape of the body Gabi was going to wear. Said a spy we'd sent seemed to have helped."

"Oh, that skeleton?"

"Well, it was enough of a masterpiece to warrant suspicion. One of the finest bodies ever made."

"You fought that last war to create it in the first place. No wonder they're suspicious."

The "body" they were talking about was undoubtedly Maysa. Judging by their conversation, Turan's taking her away seemed to have caused the breakdown in cooperation between the two camps. Arabion's god had jumped to the conclusion that Zahar had engineered it.

But they had fought a war to create a body? What was that supposed to mean?

Hoping they would explain in detail, Turan listened closely again.

Then the Karmine House Head, who had remained quiet, spoke.

"I personally investigated what Jujak just told you. Maysa Arabion did indeed run away. Apparently Mario's body escaped recently as well. I don't know the details, but it's wandering somewhere around the South Sea."

"We've had an unusual run of bad luck these past few years. We had quite an uproar ourselves recently."

"What happened?"

At Talis's question, the Karmine noble glanced at the House Head, who nodded permission to speak.

"One of the children secretly spread word of our secret. We were busy bringing things under control internally."

Apparently, one of Karmine's nobles had discovered the gods' secret and been stopped while trying to spread it within the house. Dealing with the fallout had left them no time to intervene in subduing the great sea serpent's wraith.

Turan had little time to enjoy having that mystery resolved before Talis made an inscrutable gesture, flexing his index and middle fingers, and complained.

"You've had your share of headaches, too. Being a god certainly isn't easy."

"If only we had our original bodies, we wouldn't have to deal with all this bother."

"Well, back then we could just smash everything and be done with it."

From their conversation, they felt less like gods who had lived for thousands of years than managers exhausted by practical responsibilities, or old people reminiscing about the past.

So this was the truth of the Freyans humanity worshipped...

Ymir had given him some inkling of it, but he felt disappointed all over again.

Then Talis tapped the floor with a finger to draw their attention.

"Oh, there's one more thing you should know."

"What?"

"There's a Zahar noble outside our control now."

"Then catch him. Who could possibly evade you if you were serious about the chase?"

Talis shook his head at the Karmine noble's incredulous expression.

"Given how tracking works, pursuing someone without a medium isn't easy. Besides, as I said earlier, we've been busy dealing with the sudden death of someone we intended to use as a body. We'll start searching in earnest now."

From that alone, Turan felt he knew whom Talis meant.

"So, who is it?"

"Turan. He's probably this body's grandson, so I suppose Turan Zahar would be the proper name."