“Look, you’ll have to deal with it,” said Marie, who was sitting beside Aziz and talking to Abele. “Your boss gave the orders. So did mine. I have operational security to maintain, since we are on an operation after all.”

She glanced pointedly at Aziz, who mumbled yet another apology. Slightly mollified at that fact, she turned back to look at Abele, who was finishing off his fourth cup of water glumly.

Aziz tapped the table and added some words to Marie's own. “You have your learning objectives. So why not at least fulfil them? You don’t want to be stuck here until you learn whatever Maylin wants you to learn, right? We can cooperate on that front, but you must be willing to learn.”

Abele clicked his teeth, but Aziz could sense something from that particular gesture, and pressed on with his words. “Besides, the new world will be one that sees an integration between the great gods and us mortals. The great gods have descended; there is no going back. It would be best for everyone if harmony was possible.”

“You are a mayfly, an insect with a transient lifespan. You will vanish with the passing of time,” said Abele. “Why do we need to accommodate you?”

“This attitude will lead to war between the gods and mortals. A Third Extermination,” Marie replied. “Do you want that to happen? People like Queen Hyperion exist. Godslayers exist. Such an attitude will not just doom us, but you and those you care about too.”

Pausing for a moment, Abele refilled his cup of water with a fingersnap, and then downed it once more. Aziz didn’t quite understand what the point of such a gesture was, but it was probably a habit of his.

“We let you mortals rule the Five Lands, and look at what happened,” Abele replied.

Aziz sighed. “Yes. The Human God got involved and wiped out most of the beastfolk. What else did you expect from a — by all accounts, mad — god?”

“That’s just one incident,” Abele replied coldly. “So many wars have taken place between the nations over the past ten millennia, let alone hundred. If it were the gods who ruled the Five Lands, nothing like this would have happened.”

“You’re very confident, aren’t you? It’s easy to be when you’re speaking in hypotheticals.” Marie shrugged. “But orders are orders. Believe me, I would love to maintain operational security, but since Minister Eventide told me to, I have no choice. It’s the same for you. So either we work together, or we don’t. Your choice.

Abele snorted, and then refilled his cup for the sixth time. “Fine, insect.”

“…You can start by not calling us insects. We have names, you know. At least try to call us something polite,” Marie replied. “I guarantee you that Paragon Maylin will treat you a lot better once you learn to call us something that’s not rude.”

“Really?” Abele glanced at her, suspicious. “Is that all she’s looking for?”

“It’s a good start. She just wants you to treat people normally,” Marie replied. “Not with prejudice or ill will.”

“But I’m not doing that?”

Marie slapped her head. “Believe me. You are. Looks like we have a long way to go, if that’s what you think.”

“Really?”

“Trust me. How about this? I’ll inform you every time Aziz or I think that you’re being rude, and we’ll explain why too. On your part, you document it down and see whether you can make changes and things like that. Easy?”

“Hmph. I’ll bite.”

“We have an agreement, then?” Marie paused, and then sighed. “I mean, we have to do this either way.”

The sigh that followed was something that encapsulated how Aziz felt. After sharing a few words in commiseration, Abele wandered off into the fortress’ depths, leaving the two of them alone.

A shiver ran down Aziz’s spine. Marie’s gaze was now fixated on him, a gaze that reminded him of a harsh winter during one of his more memorable trainings, back when Oberon and Titania were his trainers.

“Yes?”

“I think you forgot ‘ma’am’, Aziz.” Marie’s smile was also chilly.

“How can I help you, ma’am?” Aziz forced out a grin.

“You…aii. Never mind. It’s not really your fault either, is it? It’s probably something Maylin came up with.” Marie patted Aziz’s shoulder. “I apologise. I didn’t mean to blame you or anything. It’s just…”

“There’s extra work, and we have operational security to think about?” Aziz asked.

“More than that,” said Marie. “As much as I’m all for trust and cooperation between the nations of the Five Lands and the Divine Kingdoms, I also think that we need to be guarded against them when it comes to sensitive things like operations and whatnot. There’s no automatic happy ending reserved for the aftermath of the demon invasion — assuming we even make out unscathed — and simply overcoming this crisis won’t make everyone swear off wars.”

“That’s…”

“I know what you want to say, Aziz.” Marie sighed. “But the attitudes I’ve seen recently suggest that the other nations aren’t exactly going to exchange flowers with us. The Second Extermination still burns hot in most of our hearts, especially Ark City, who has a military that is steps and bounds away from almost every other nation.”

“But we also need to close the divisions between the great gods and the Five Lands too,” Aziz replied. “Or else we might really end up with a Third Extermination.”

“I brought that up as a whim, but do you also think that’s possible?” Marie asked.

“We have a nation explicitly dedicated to limiting the influence of the great gods,” said Aziz, referring to the Mortal Light Dynasty. “And when the day is out, who knows if we still want the great gods to be around?”

“What do you mean?”

“When we see the damage caused by the Demon God’s invasion, will the average person tolerate beings of such power residing in the same world as them? Will they accept that their servants, the familiar spirits, will probably enjoy privileges normal people will not?” Aziz smiled, but he couldn’t find any humour to infuse into his expression.

“I wish I could say that you’re overthinking things…” Marie sighed.

“But you can’t say that I’m wrong off the bat.”

“I get a feeling that I’m worrying about things that’s way beyond my pay grade.”

“That’s my line, not yours!”