Ada stood next to the large rectangular blackboard which covered the entire wall of the front of the conference room. She addressed everyone who just sat down. "So are all of you situated?"

Quietly to herself, she muttered, "Well, that took a little while."

After they had arrived at the main atrium and with an awkward rushed introduction between the Gunders and Sçæaisøh, Ada had proceeded to take them on a rushed tour of the palace. If the mortals had their preference, the tour would have taken forever and though Ada felt proud of her home, she felt that she didn't have the luxury of time at the moment. She needed to address with them important matters before they reached Ruciella's Academy. Despite only covering the communal spaces, the tour still lasted over an hour. The entire time was a series of gasps of admirations from Ruciella and the Gunders. Ruciella asked numerous questions as usual and the Gunders joined in as well with Leanne acting as translator.

Speaking of Leanne, even the Seer vocalized admiration since there were still features she didn't notice before which was a pleasant surprise for her -- for instance, the distinctive decorative motifs of geometric shapes carved on the columns. Ada struggled but managed to hold back her urge to give an impromptu lecture to the group on one of her favorite transcendental planar curves -- the butterfly curve, which can be seen as a mathematical analogue of leaves and insects. With everything happening so fast, Ada wondered when she would have time to start with her school of knowledge for her followers. Though a god liked Yuano saw his followers as ignorant and likely kept them ignorant of whatever he knew (which Ada thought was very little), she felt an innate urge to spread what she knew. Educating her followers thoroughly was a critical part of her "nefarious" plan to spread the knowledge of modern science, technology and basically everything to the world. After encountering the members of the Galacia Club and the Academy as well as learning the history of the Club of Rose, clearly there were numerous people in this world who respected and sought knowledge.

Lastly in her entourage, there was the reaction of the former thug named Sçæaisøh. He remained mostly quiet though his eyes revealed admiration and surprise. On this man, she planned to take some time to talk to him. Ever since his forced conversion, he has been mostly watching from the sidelines. Maybe part of that was because they were talking in the Divine Tongue but he thought the man would eventually take more of an effort to integrate. Sçæaisøh has ignored the Gunders since he met them. Ada wanted to ensure that he wasn't thinking of betraying her. She had no plan of having a drooling slave; Compulsion would be reserved for a last resort.

There were two tables in the conference room. Though she personally liked round tables since that was more egalitarian, she saw the benefit of the traditional rectangular conference table as the main table. She would likely be leading a lot of meetings around here. She had told them there was no assigned seats but she wasn't surprised to see that Leanne sat to the right of Ada as her right-hand man -- or rather, woman -- whereas Ruciella sat opposite of Leanne. Ada suspected that Ruciella must be one of those annoying students who sat in the front of every classroom and asked the professor excessive number of questions. When Ada was in high school, there was a know-it-all who everyone hated since he would constantly disrupt the class with his endless inane questions. Finally, the teacher gave him a limit on the number of questions he could ask every day. If Ruciella interrupted too much, Ada would implement the same rule.

Sçæaisøh sat next to Leanne. The pair of older farmers, Alfre and Tyra, were situated one after another on the same side as Ruciella. Ada wasn't sure what to do with the kids so she has created fifty wooden blocks which the three children were now happily building a tower with. They sat in three small chairs around a small round table which was placed next to their parents. The brothers treated each other well or maybe it was because the mom hawkishly looked at them periodically to ensure they were all playing nice.

Leanne nodded. "Yes, we are all ready."

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...

A stack of heavy books bound in gold coloring appeared in the center of the conference table. Ada gestured at the impressive tomes in front of them. "Each of you, take a book. These are notes that I have taken of the gods and other entities as well as a detailed map of Urth."

Ruciella grabbed the book on top of the stack immediately as if she was a kid at a candy store been told that there was free candy. Leanne took one gingerly treating it with immense care. Sçæaisøh hesitated for a moment but followed with the same cautious approach. The Gunders merely stared at the tomes as if they were forbidden treasure which plebeians were unworthy to touch. Leanne said a few things which appeared to slowly alleviate their concerns. After a minute of convincing with some inputs from Ada informing them that the books were not given but rather lent, the couple looked at each other and proceeded to ginger take one each.

Ada looked to Leanne. "Thanks for helping me convince them. Now, I know that they won't be able to understand this since it's in the Divine Tongue but later if you can translate them to me, I can write one in the language they understand."

Leanne looked perplexed. "Sorry but you know they cannot read or write. Most people in this world cannot."

"Doh! That's right. Universal education is definitely not around. Well, I think it'll be good to translate any way since most people here wouldn't be able to speak the Divine Tongue even if they could read and write. Just translate what I'm saying here so that they understand everything and as usual, questions are welcome. If you're willing, I think you'll be perfect as a teacher for them on reading and writing the local tongue. The Divine Tongue can come later."

Leanne consented with a nod. Ada thought that perhaps she should add Universal Translator to Leanne's current title. All these titles were just that -- titles with no significance in terms of the System. Ada wondered if she could actually endow titles with some skills or status upgrades similar to what she has read in LitRPG.

Ruciella looked up from the book that she has been immersed in. "This is a lot! When were you able to compile all this information? The world map is extremely detailed. I had no idea there was another continent in the southern hemisphere."

"While we were traveling here on ostrich, I had some time to compile my thoughts. The world map is a secret which gods all know."

Leanne shook her head with disbelief. "To think that there was another continent of people that we never knew. The gods indeed have many secrets."

Ruciella blinked. "Well, I have to say, thanks for giving this info so readily. I'm sure the Galacia Club would love to know this."

"Can you keep it a secret for now? I'm not sure I want to share it just yet. From what I understand, the Club was formed with the consent of the gods which leads to me be wary of their undue influence. Maybe the Academy would be a better choice..."

"You're probably right," Ruciella agreed. Then she grumbled, "I wasn't thinking of telling anyone at the Academy though. They're all ostrichheads and fishbrains."

Ada ignored her comment. She would find out for herself soon enough whether or not any of Ruciella's jaded views of her peers and elders there held any water. She continued, "As you can see, a lot of the information on the gods are missing. Since I am a new goddess on Urth, I need to know a LOT more."

Ruciella pointed to Leanne. "Um, shouldn't she have told you everything already? As I said before, I know I don't know a whole lot about the gods."

"Two heads are better than one or maybe I should say five heads are better than one. If you count me, that'll be six heads. Leanne, can you be the translator?"

Ada struck impeccable timing for Sçæaisøh asked a question immediately after she said it. Leanne translated for Ada. "Sçæaisøh is wondering what his role here is."

Good point, Ada thought. If Ruciella knew little about the gods, Sçæaisøh probably knew even less. Yet, his knowledge might still be of value given that he understands the shady criminal world in which some of the gods undoubtedly played some role in -- Yuano was likely one and definitely the God of Thieves. She looked at the man and addressed him directly while Leanne translated. "Your knowledge of how the criminal underworld operates and how the gods utilize them will be of great assistance."

Sçæaisøh nodded. Was that a genuine acknowledgment of cooperation or not? Ada hoped that he didn't still hold any loyalties to any of his former compatriots. If the Goddess of Truth was here and Ada's side, that would be quite helpful. Alas, Ada doubted that Serina would be on her side. In the Rift War, that goddess has fought on the side to constrain the knowledge of mortals. Possibly, she thought that the mortals didn't deserve to know the truth. These speculations led to her first topic at hand.

"Let's formally start the meeting. We're going to go down the list of the gods and compile as much information as possible on what we know about them -- abilities, motivations, perspectives on mortals, recent happenings, past history, relationships with other gods, forms of worship, types of followers, etc. By the way, if at any point, the kids are bored just sitting here, Mr. and Mrs. Gunder, you can take them out and walk around. One of us can update you later."

Leanne translated and the two farmers nodded. I hope that didn't make them feel like that they're completely useless to me, Ada thought. What god would they know most about? Possibly the God of Farmers? In that case, she should start with Karren first before the kids became bored. On another note, that would be a good choice since that's the god who stole Ayula's seeds.

Ada glanced at the three Gunder children; they were still immersed playing with blocks. They were rather ambitious in their undertaking -- they were not just building one tower but instead an entire city. The attention span of the average child on Earth under the age of 12 was approximately that of a gnat fly. Since this society didn't have the Internet, videogames, or TV, she had hope that their attention span would be significantly greater.

"Let's start with the God of Farmers Karren. What do we know about him?"

Ruciella wrinkled her nose. "The farmers and the village priests are the only ones who interact with Karren. From what I heard, he's rather reclusive and doesn't engage much with the other gods. I don't recall him being recounted in any battle during the Rift War or any recorded conflicts in the last several centuries."

"All the more surprising that it was he who chose to steal from Ayula. We'll dredge out the truth from him one way or another."

Ruciella chuckled. "You beat up Yuano easily enough. I doubt Karren would be much of a challenge."

Leanne has been faithfully translating their conversation. Alfre suddenly spoke up. Leanne translated. "The God Karren has a rotating schedule visiting different farming villages on the continent every harvest season. When he arrives, the accepts the gifts from the villagers and depending on how much and what is given, blesses the land accordingly. The last time he appeared to Alfre's home village was three years ago. The next time that he would appear at the same village would be three years from now."

"This is very good to know. Alfre, do you happen to know when and where Karren would appear next?"

Leanne translated. "The harvest season starts exactly two months from now and lasts for 14 days. Karren would visit a different village each of those days in the same area. Since last year he visited the eastern part of the continent, it's expected that he would visit the southern part of the continent this time. As far as to which villages he would go to, no one knows exactly. He would always go to the villages which gave him the most gifts and sacrifices."

Ruciella remarked, "Why am I not surprised that this guy is an opportunist just like that fishbrained Yuano? Hopefully he's just as dumb."

Ada muttered quietly to herself, "I daydreamed being a detective when I was a kid. Never knew that I'll actually implement my childhood daydreams here. Now I just need to get a trench coat."

To the group, she said, "Thank you, Alfre. This is going to be very helpful in tracking him down. What else do you know about him?"

Leanne translated. "Not much except for what he has observed in the ceremony, he says. The priests always inform everyone in the village only the day before Karren arrives. Every village in a region tries its best to outdo its neighbors in preparing sacrifices of bulls, goats and chickens along with piles of vegetables to draw Karren's favorable attention. The farmers corral the animals to an enclosure on a plot of land outside of the village reserved for the god's visit. The vegetables to be presented are put in crates and placed on the same plot of land. When the god arrives, there's always a thunderclap and a thick smoke. No one is allowed to interact with the god except for the priests. Everyone else was supposed to kneel and not even look at the god. Those who do sneak a peek would be cursed with poor harvests and ill luck for the remainder of their lives.

After a short conversation between the god and the priests which the common people are not privy to hear, the animals are slaughtered one after another and their meat tenderly cooked. The God of Farmers sample the meat and the vegetables. If the food's quality and quantity pleased him, he would take the entirety of food into his palace. Then, he would bless the villagers' land with bountiful harvests for the next decade. If it isn't pleasing, he would usually do nothing but express his displeasure. On rare occasions when he was extremely dissatisfied, Karren would curse the entire land for the next several years."

Ada suddenly had an unpleasant thought which she voiced aloud. "Is that what happened to his village? Was it cursed by Karren?"

Leanne translated Ada's words. There was no reply from the man. He shifted in his seat as if he was suddenly sitting on hot coals. Seeing that he wasn't going to offer an answer, his wife Tyria broke the awkward silence. Leanne translated. "It is though her husband hates to admit it. There's no denying that the god was displeased with the pitiful lack of offerings three years ago. The head priest there was a good man who tried to explain that the lack of rain and a recent upsurge of banditry was the cause but Karren refused to listen. He blamed the villagers for growing lazy and having too many children which ate up all the food which was meant for him. The land was cursed for ten years. Most of the villagers either starved or left. Her family stayed as long as they could to take care of her ailing parents but in the end for the sake of their children, they decided to leave."

Ada's eyes grew large. She took a deep breath to calm her rage. "That's just terrible!"

Leanne looked stunned as well and stopped translating. "I have always thought Karren as a kind god for the farmers of the land. This is news which shocks me to the core."

Ruciella pounded the desk with her fists. "This is exactly why I've no respect for these gods and goddesses. They treat humans as if they're worthless fools if not tools. I don't mind helping with Ayula's request if that's the type of guy we're dealing with him. Ada, you better thoroughly bury him worse than Yuano when you meet him."

Ada nodded grimly. "I plan to. Figuratively and literally."