Marie bowed; her right hand raised to her heart. “We have imposed on your hospitality for too long. We thank you for saving us, offering shelter and aid in our time of need. Thank you, Familiar Spirit Rene.”

“Rene will do,” the Demigod replied. “And there is no need for thanks. Though the gods and the mortals have had their conflicts, we are, ultimately, on the same side. We are allies in many senses, and more.”

“And more?” Marie asked. Her eyes flickered over to Aziz, who looked back quizzically. “I see. By the by, I’ve received a message from the Republic, regarding this Conference of the Five. Did your master receive an invitation too?”

“Yes,” Rene replied. “For once, the Five Lands has information that needs to be told to us gods. We will be there. But I don’t have any details about it.”

“Ditto,” Aziz muttered. Raising his voice, he said, “Who called for the conference and even invited the great gods?”

“Why don’t you make a guess? And you too, Rene.” Marie grinned, a mischievous light in her eyes.

“Hmm.” The familiar spirit tilted her head. “It seems that you’re right in guessing that I won’t know the inviter, because I really do not. But if you ask me which of the countries are the most mysterious, it’ll be a toss-up between the North and the West. And since the Mortal Light Dynasty is the Mortal Light Dynasty, I’d say it was the Western Holdings.”

“What do you think?” Marie turned to Aziz.

“I was about to say the West, but she already answered that.” Aziz rolled her eyes. “For the sake of fun, I’ll say…it’s the North.”

“Well, at least one of you got the answer right,” Marie replied. “It’s the North.”

“As expec— what?!”

“That virulently anti-us nation, inviting the great gods for a talk?” Rene’s eyes were on the verge of popping out. “What joke is this?”

“Not a joke, I assure you.” Marie took out a slip of paper from a small satchel. She had recovered it a few days into their convalescence, when Rene popped into their room and passed them whatever items they’d left behind at the Great Divide during that fainting spiel.

She passed it over to Aziz, who immediately began to decipher the shorthand message that had been spat out from their Radio artefact. Missed messages could be stored up to strings of fifteen letters, and officers were expected to learn how to decipher them.

The colonel frowned as he continued to decode the message.

Well, I’ll be. The Mortal Light Dynasty actually extended an invitation to the great gods. And it’s something about the demons too. One would think that the North would let the great gods die out first before doing something, but… The whole thing didn’t really make sense to Aziz all that much, but life had a nasty habit of being illogical and contradictory.

If simple things like military orders and directives could go against each other, something like politics could definitely one-up that.

Shaking his head, Aziz nodded at Rene. “It’s indeed true. The North actually invited all the great gods. Even the Human God, by the looks of it. The only thing was that I’m not sure what subject matter would make the North of all things invite their nemesis to a meeting.”

“Well, it’s not like there’s going to be any danger,” Marie replied. “The participants in the previous Conferences of the Five were honour-bound to put aside all grudges and to address key matters at hand. Most of these matters were related to things like resource exploitation, exploring Heritage, surveying the Never-ending Ocean and people rights.”

“No danger, eh?” Aziz rolled his eyes. “I know we’re going to become gofers again. Which esteemed member of the State Council do you think we’re going to escort?”

“If you ask me?” Marie tilted her head. “Stardust and Thunderbolt are going to be escorting the entire State Council. This is a huge event, diplomatically speaking. No nation is going to ignore this summons lightly. Even the convener would host this event with the greatest grace and elegance possible. The mysterious Pinnacle and his Oracle will definitely make an attendance.”

“The Lord will definitely make an appearance too,” said Rene. “This is the first time in a hundred thousand years that the mortal and the divine are going to interact on a shared stage. And…it is the best method to build up our relations, in light of the impending invasion.”

“Business opportunity,” Aziz noted wryly. “Might I interest you in the South’s skewers?”

Marie laughed. “Funny one, as always. Maybe we should add on a cultural culinary exchange to the list too. What do Demigods eat? Does the Worldshaper have a preferred diet?”

“No, we don’t need to eat, but we do have our preferences.” The familiar spirit cleared her throat. “We still have our, uh, desires. Food is a part of that.”

“I wish I could study you guys in greater detail, but it’s not like you’re some observation specimen, right?" Marie checked her belongings. “Anyway, thank you so much for your help and assistance. We won’t forget this.”

“That sounds more like a threat than anything else,” Rene replied, a grin on her face. Brushing her red hair over her shoulder, she looked up at the sky. “Noon has passed. Your trip home should be far more pleasant — albeit slower — than your arrival here.”

Aziz patted down his clothes and nodded. His belongings…well, whatever few items he brought on the way, anyway, were all there. And the surveillance network the Republic wanted them to install at the Great Divide were also fully functional, judging from the messages Marie received.

“Everything’s set.” He nodded at Rene. “May we meet again.”

“Sooner than you think, if you ask me,” Rene replied. “See you at the conference.”

“Let’s go, Aziz.” Marie waved goodbye at Rene and took to the skies. Aziz looked at Rene one last time, who winked back, and then followed the marshal as she left.