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The Harpy handed her an ornate scroll case no doubt filled to the brim with spatial expansion magic to house all the marriage proposals. “With that, I’ve fulfilled the primary duty I was given.” The Harpy said with a playful smile. “Now we can move on to more interesting matters. Although…”

She gave a small mental sigh, not outwardly showing anything of course. “Out with it.”

“Well, it is part of my position to keep up on many things, one of them being whatever interests the public. I’ve already gathered from the few moments we’ve been together that you’re not interested in those.” He gestured towards the scroll case. “I would never judge you for that decision, I frankly don’t mind either way, but I am curious as to the reason for your reluctance. You are, to say the least, in a very interesting political situation, and a strong alliance created by marriage would solve many of your problems quite neatly. If, say you already had someone in mind, that would be a good reason I could give everyone and the proposals would slow down.”

"You don't think that I'm just old-fashioned and think marriage should be for love?" She asked while allowing a faint smile on her face.

“That’s a reason I would happily accept as well, but I do not for a moment think that’s the reason in your case. You’re too intelligent for that.” He seemed to consider for a moment before elaborating. “Relationships based on passion and love are common enough in the Divine Planes, but marriages of that type are less common, and most immortals get over the love-phase after a few mortal lifetimes. Add to that the fact that most arranged marriages don’t mind a passionate fling or two on the side, making political and arranged marriages less of a burden. Even passionate lovebirds get bored of each other after a few thousand years. They want to spice things up, things get out of hand, and the fallout tends to be spectacular. When you take the long view as an immortal, you know you will take on more than one partner over your ridiculously long life. That tends to make people more tolerant of political marriages since they know they only need to tolerate it long enough that the alliance has stabilized or served its purpose. Now, you are young enough to still have more romantic notions, but we both know you're mentally much older than many would assume." The Harpy had gone as far as he could in calling her out as a reincarnator, in the process all but admitting he was one as well.

He wasn't entirely wrong either. Karna had long since noted the same tendencies he spoke of. No matter how much two people loved each other, eventually that love tapered out, and they grew bored. As he’d said, that usually ended in two possible ways. Either the couple separated or tried to spice things up to keep things fresh, and usually that went sour eventually as well. The tendency held especially true for reincarnators that had seen and tried everything already, and who had ever-growing problems when it came to forming connections. It was once again one of the reasons she usually frequented shorter lives. It was easy to have a 'romance of a lifetime' when that life was a brief one. Immortality placed a whole new slew of problems on relationships. That’s why the most lasting positive relationships between reincarnators were usually ones where the participants were friendly and fond of each other, or even a friendly rivalry like with Envy, instead those with a lot of passionate emotions.

“I’m not categorically against the idea. I simply don’t think it would serve my purposes currently, unlike what you think.” She replied, hinting at factors he wasn’t aware of.

Earlier the problem had been that since she didn’t have enough power or recognition, she would essentially have been selling herself to some House to be used as a broodmare and a potential path to the throne. She would’ve been a lesser partner. Now that different parties were starting to recognize her power and position, the idea became more realistic. It still had some of the old issues, but to a much lesser degree. The option was on the table at least, but it wasn't one that she would take unless necessary. It would complicate things in several ways, and she needed to be very careful with her actions.

“Fair enough. I’d like to get a confirmation on a few other things. You of course don't need to answer any of my questions, though I'll naturally be inferring my own answers to the questions anyway. I can also agree to not spreading any of the information you reveal until it is no longer tactically advantageous for you to keep it a secret." The Harpy suggested.

That wasn't a bad deal actually. As he said, people would speculate anyway. It could be useful to get the truth out there, at least in some cases, and the Harpy was a good way of disseminating that information. “You can ask, but I will not commit to answering anything.”

What followed was a short but intense duel of wits as the Harpy questioned her on her aspirations towards the throne, the leadership of the House Titannica, her recent crusade against the Netherworld, probing her opinion on contentious issues, and a dozen other topics, as the Harpy tried to tease as much information out of her as possible, while she tried to keep her revelations limited to what she wanted. A simple innocuous question that might have seemed just to confirm an earlier position could be worded in a way that would reveal a lot more about her position than she was prepared to say, as either confirmation or denial could paint her in a rather extreme light. The Harpy wasn’t trying to catch her in any sort of scandal or gaffe, as much as he was just enjoying the game and being genuinely curious. A good questioner always tried to tease out more information than the one being questioned was prepared to reveal.

The Harpy was genuinely a rather charismatic man in some ways. Smug and full of his own importance no doubt, but that smugness wasn’t unearned. He was a reincarnator with a lot of experience in such social situations and circles, and even though Karna only got a generic Name when she checked him, she got the feeling he might have been older than many others, and she’d just gotten unlucky in that regard. He could be a useful ally, or a very annoying enemy, as his solid hold on his current position meant he wouldn’t be replaced easily, and the Harpy could, by definition, sway the public opinion in many ways. He also knew that, and that's why he had barged into this negotiation as he had. He'd forced himself to become a player in the game they were playing, and Karna’s earlier distance had precluded him from utilizing his position. In short, he was forcing her to make an attempt to get him on her side. It was somewhat annoying for her, but it was also expected from his point of view.

The interesting part was figuring out what he wanted. She doubted he was after a position after she’d become the Heavenly Empress. He was already the Harpy, and by all that had been able to gather, he enjoyed the position. He was also wealthy, and while he might want an artifact created by her, he wasn't giving any hints in that direction. He also didn't seem to be after her body either, which was rather rare. In fact, the Harpy and the Grand Marshall were perhaps the two men who'd so far shown the least interest in anything like that in the Divine Planes. Aside from Arjuna of course. Her mother and aunt were both competing for the position of the Goddess of Beauty, and she looked almost exactly like them. Some would argue she looked even better. So, looks of desire or at least consideration were par for the course. The beauty of the Goddesses, and by extension her, wasn’t just something you dismissed by not being the type to gaze at beautiful women. They were divinely, and magically attractive in ways that forced even other gods to pay attention. Yet both of the men had given her a once over, mostly in what seemed like evaluation, and then largely ignored her looks. Even Valor, as virtuous as he was, snuck a look once in a while. The Grand Marshall had taken a look at her legs a single time, but aside from that, he seemed to almost entirely dismiss her for any such considerations, and the Harpy hadn’t done even that. So, what was he after? If she didn’t know what he wanted, it would be hard to get him on her side.

“Well, that’s good enough for now I believe. I do hope there will be more productive meetings in the future.” The Harpy finally stood up to leave.

“Next time I’d appreciate it if you sent word of your arrival beforehand.” The Grand Marshall stated, speaking for the first time in a long while. He’d been happy to let the two talk while remaining an observer. “I allowed it this time mostly out of consideration for Princess Ynnead but barging into my castle without a word would usually result in even you getting tossed out.”

“Of course.” The Harpy said blithely. “Military matters. I understand.” He didn’t promise not to do it again though, both of the others noted.

A servant came and escorted the Harpy out, leaving just the two of them in the office. “Well, that was interesting. Not entirely sure what his angle is.” Karna pursed her lips in thought.

“He has always been hard to figure out. He puts on a mask for everyone. I’ve noticed that he often allows others to assume what he wants, and then behaves as if they’d got it right. Mostly he seems to do it so that it would be easier to interact with him. Makes him a known quantity, at least in theory. However, I’ve never been certain if it’s just pretense, or if some of the things are truly what he wants. His fake desires mask his real ones almost perfectly. And I’ve dealt with him a lot longer than you’ve been alive. You dealt with him as well as anyone can deal with him. I’m not sure if I personally would’ve revealed as much as you did, but I’m sure you have your reasoning.” The Grand Marshall seemed thoughtful.

“Either way, you were about to get into the second reason you called me here when we were so rudely interrupted.” Karna prompted. The meeting with the man had done well before the Harpy showed, and she wanted to keep that up.

“Right. The crusade you and your friends conducted returned many worlds back to our control. A victory the likes of which we haven’t seen in several lifetimes of immortals. We’ll of course need to go through cleansing the worlds of the Netherworld’s taint, and a slew of other logistical hurdles, but that’s not something that concerns the people and the powers that be. What they are concerned about is that we have gained a victory of rather epic proportions, and they’d like to see more. And as the leader of the Host, it is my job to provide. I also think this is the perfect opportunity to strike a real blow against the Scourges. The first in a very long time. That blow will come whether you’ll be part of it or not, though it would be in both of our best interests if you and your allies were part of it. Being hailed as great liberators and conquerors would go a long way in putting you on the throne, just as an example. I’d like to hear your opinion on the feasibility of such an attack. I have my own thoughts, which I’ll share, but I’d like to hear yours first.”

Karna tapped her lip in thought. “I think striking a large blow is doable. Not sure if it would be tactically better to pick another Scourge aside from the Netherworld, but that’s for another time. The people are in the need of inspiration because things have stagnated for too long. We both know this. Our first crusade brought some of that inspiration, which is why they’re clamoring for more, but I don’t think striking a decisive blow against one of the Scourges could be done. Or to be specific, it could be done, but I don’t think we should.”

The Grand Marshall nodded as if her thoughts mirrored hers. “I’d like to hear your reasoning.”

“Well, the most obvious problem is that striking a quick blow like we did is completely different from the kind of protracted war that would be required for a decisive victory. One of the reasons why our crusade is getting so much glory heaped upon it is because the losses were so low. The whole thing was also quick. Once people start losing loved ones in a protracted fight that also consumes a lot of resources and time, their willingness to support such an endeavor will quickly disappear. Once their unity starts to crack, it will lead to internal struggle, which will lead to further trouble. There’s a reason why the Scrouges haven’t been eradicated yet, despite us clearly having the power to do so.”

Karna considered for a moment how to word what she was going to say next. “The existence of an external enemy has also been a great boon for the Divine Planes. If we didn’t have clear enemies, we’d be fighting each other. We already are to an extent, but the fighting would shift from plots to outright civil wars. Also, if we wanted to really push a Scourge to the limit, then we’d have to deal with their Rank 14 beings. So far, they’ve stayed out of the frontline just like ours, but I don’t for a second think the one we ran into is the only one. There's also a rather scary thought that came to me. The one we ran into was in a stasis-like state. What if the Netherworld has placed all their rank 14 beings in such stasis? We might get more of them, but they eventually all pass on for one reason or another. What if the ones for the Netherworld aren't passing on, and are instead all in stasis? For how long have they been gathering such beings? How many are there? Such beings aren't invincible so their numbers would inevitably not be enough as taking one down with people of lower rank isn’t impossible, but there would be losses. Many losses. Even if we matched the numbers or even outnumber them, in a fight between such individuals there would be collateral damage to the rest of our forces. And thus we return to the point of losses and public tolerance.”

The Grand Marshall had come to similar conclusions and for similar reasons. He thought they could push through the losses to achieve a more decisive blow, but at this point they would be arguing about whether they thought it was worth it. Each person had a different threshold of acceptable losses and as a military man he was more willing to take losses to secure a more permanent advantage. Something he also shared with her before moving on to the next point. “I was informed that you had acquired the help of a rank 14 being. I also know that the being has another being of the same rank as an ally. Would they help?”

Karna waved her hand in an unsure gesture. “They could possibly be persuaded to, but there’s a large difference between coming along as a deterrence and actually going out to look for enemies of their rank to fight. We aren’t that strong as allies. I couldn’t ask that of them, without providing something suitable as compensation.”

The Grand Marshall made a 'harrumph' sound as he considered her words. "We'll have to take that into consideration. The general staff is convening in a few weeks to consider the idea. We'll be making our recommendations to the Emperor after the meeting." With a shake of his head, he dismissed the topic for now. "I think before that happens though, we should resolve the issue with the leadership of our House. The longer that issue is left to fester, the worse it is for us, while on the flipside we have an opportunity strike now, while Kronus is still reeling from the revelation. We need decisive action. I suggest we both gather what support we can, including you confirming things with your father, and make the bid before the meeting of the general staff happens. If we are going to do this, the faster we make a move, the less time Kronus will have to mount a proper resistance.”

"Agreed. Let me confirm things with my 'father' first, so that there won't be any surprises from that direction. I need to ask though, how are things like this handled in our House?" Karna knew how internal succession had been handled in the past, but things could've changed many times since then.

“We summon the heads of families and other important personages of the House to the heart of our domain. If we wanted to contest the succession on some other grounds, you would need to either reach a quorum of those present, or challenge Kronus and have your challenge accepted. The latter part is important, as we aren’t a House ruled only by strength. The challenge could be anything really. However, since you are a proper and legal heir, you basically just announce your acceptance of the position.” The Grand Marshal explained.

“And Kronus then gets to present a challenge or try to win over those present.” She realized why he had explained the alternative method.

“Yes. He will no doubt try to argue that you are not fit for the position.” The Grand Marshall nodded. “You don’t need to accept a direct fight challenge, though refusing might sway some to his side when it comes to reaching a quorum.”

She’d never met Kronus, so it was hard to judge how powerful he was. She wasn’t too worried though.