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"We COULD just get out, walk there and meet Milly on the other side."

Asuna/Rosencrantz B
Asuna/Keith C

Jarvis/Marcia B
Jarvis/Belphegor B
Jarvis/Serena C
Jarvis/Milly B

Marcia/Rosencrantz C
Keilee/Rosencrantz B

Momo/42-1 C
Momo/Yliss C
Momo/Keith C

Yliss/Keith B
Yliss/Milly B

With nothing left to do in the fair city of Methiant, the party begins bundling into Milly's carriage. The time is four in the afternoon, and it will take you about two hours to get out of the city. The nearest town north of Methiant is Zorestra, which will be another two hour trip, where, in all likelihood, you will stay for the night, before making the day journey to cross the Wybernian border.

There are questions that need answering, however; what the Godddesses are so intent on hiding from the world, what Satan was planning that they never clarified, and who else was inquiring into the matter of the Goddesses.

---

Fifteen minutes ago......
A mournful, canine whimper issued from Lycia as he limped away, kept up by Orobas.
"....tch. You'll heal up, boy."
"That Piper....he's a monster. Whatever he's doing....I need to do that. And double it."
"Losing to him....no, the real loser's the one who gives up, not the one who gets knocked down first. And I'll never give up."

"Sir!"
"H-hey! Old guy!"

Orobas whirls around to face the people calling him, to see two young men, awestruck and staring at him. They could not have been older than twenty, at least; definitely greenhorns in comparison to Orobas, and probably adventurers, judging from the four Emblems marking them as Midgardians.

"What is it? I'm busy."
"We.....we saw that fight! Between you and that.....Keith dude."
"Keith? Wasn't his name like.....Kurt? Kyle?"
"No, it was definitely Keith."
"Hey, man, maybe you misheard! It was a pretty big riot in there-"
"You gonna keep wasting my time? The only thing I hate more than loudmouthed shits are loudmouthed shits who keep me waiting."

Both men suddenly bow down in supplication to Orobas and Lycia.
".....you gotta train us!"
"Please, sir, train us! We...we saw how you fought and....we wanna learn how to fight like that! How to be built like you! How to box like you!"
"And that line.....how the real loser is the one who gives up? That's classic! I want to be taught by a man like that!"

"You want me. To train you."
"You two have shit up to your ears if you think I look like some coach. Go find someone else."
"Please, sir! We'll pay you! We're desperate!"
"We just wanna be cool! Like you!"

Lycia lets out a small grunt and a series of howls. Orobas just stares at him for a moment.
"_{.....money has been short. And....perhaps keeping myself occupied.....will get me on my feet to beat Piper......}"
"....fine. Put your hands up, kids. I ain't trainin' weaklings. I want to see what you're worth. I want a fight. Right now. Right here."
The two men swallow nervously.
"......a-a fight?"
"A-aren't you supposed to fight AFTER you train?"
"You want my training, this is how you get it. Now fight me, you little bastards!"

Orobas was going to enjoy this.
......
Ten minutes ago....

Kazuto examines the Chaos Emblem currently in his possession, idly flipping it over and over in his hand. The group calmly walks towards the Discordian Temple, the temple doors open with clerics cleaning up the debris of cans and trash from the suppressed riot.
"That was a pretty easy Emblem. Man, to think they handed those out for practically nothing. Nice cash reward too."
"That was pretty cool. Even if hitting them with dual-wielded broomsticks is less cool than the power of cleansing fire."
"Easy for you to say that it was easy, Kazuto. You're practically cheating. Compared to Miss Can't-Hit-A-Stationary-Target here...."
"...."
"Easy or not, it was a good warm-up. And our new guys.....did a good job, I must say. Especially Rena."
"I was only doing my job. Don't flatter me so."
"Luv, 'tween you n' Kazootoe ovah 'ere-"
"Kazuto."
"You two practically shredded 'em. If lil' Terracelayer here hadn't needed 'em a lil' 'elp....."
_{"I could've done it alone, you know..."}
"....I'm just hoping Discordia will help explain why I'm here. She's always nice even when the others call me names so....maybe she'll help me out one more time."
"....more I hear about the Goddesses, the less great being up there sounds. Seriously, this Serena chick.....no way I'd let something like that go."
"Serena's nice to me too, you know. She always stands up for me when the others are mean...."
"Alright. Borea, you and I are going up there. It's your sister, so...."
"....okay."

The Goddess of the Winds and Kazuto approach an old-looking man, appearing to be the leader of the clerics.
"Children of the Goddesses, how may I help you today? Would you like to offer prayer to Our Lady of Entropy?"
"A friend of mine here's gotta speak to the guys on high."
"That is.....not how it works. The prayer rooms are being cleaned, though I can put in a prayer for-"
"P-please! I need to speak to my sister. I have a question I must ask her!"
The old man looks over at Borea, eyes widening.
".....that's not possible. The Goddess Dragons are.....Detect Lie."
Placing a hand over Borea, the old cleric casts a spell, hoping to discern the truth, before....
"......a Goddess, in the flesh? Impossible. Lady....Borea?"
"Yes! Yes! And I need to speak to my sister, Discordia!"
"If more people had Detect Lie, maybe we'd have an easier time convincing people that Borea's the real deal-"
".....I cannot allow it. Sorry, my lady, but I have been given orders to keep you away from communication with Lady Discordia. Clerics! We must retreat immediately!"
Suddenly, the clerics cleaning the temple doors retreat inside without a further word. Kazuto clenches his fists.
"Hey listen, pal, we're asking you a question-"
"No more questions! We cannot break an order from the Goddesses themselves! That is the very decree of Heaven!"
And before Kazuto or Borea can say much of anything, the temple doors are shut in their face, locking firmly closed. Terrorslayer and the others run up to them, with Taro looking confused.

"What did the greybeard say?"
"Just left us with more questions than answers. Apparently the Goddesses just told them to stop Borea here from communicating with them."
"Discordia would never! She.....she must be worried sick about me....."
"If you want, I could use the power of the great abomination Garsabadon contained within me to throw aside the doors of this consecrated place and MAKE them answer our questions!"
"What the young master means is if perhaps we might need to break in by force. Between the gargoyles, Rena and myself, we could be quite enough to break down the door."
"Don n' I could 'ave a go! That door doesn't look 'alf soft compared ta us gargoyles!"
"Bad idea. I'm pretty sure it's bad karma to break down a temple door, for one, not to mention the.....mess...."
"Taro's right. We're not getting in there by breaking the place down. And it's a temple, so they probably have a ton of protective charms on the place. Even with all of us, I wouldn't risk it."
"How else are we going to find out about how I ended up here? I was hoping Discordia would have the answers...."

".....oh Goddesses, a bunch of weirdos looking for Discordia."
An irritated young female cleric, face concealed by her habit, just grumbles at them from the side.
"....making a damn racket isn't going to help you find her faster. And I hate that old windbag who just told you to scram, so....."
......
Five minutes ago....
"What do I do, what do I do....
A lone naga slithered away from the stadium, clutching her axe to herself tightly. Looking around warily for any straggler adventures, she sighs, before quietly sniffling, looking down at the ground.
"Lady Leviathan will be so disappointed I didn't give my all...."
"....i-if I capture one of them....maybe she'll forgive me. And....and I have to avenge my sisters!"
"But....h-how do I...where do I begin-"
As the young naga looked down at the ground, a wagon trundled past, a brown-haired woman and a blob sitting atop, and open windows into the interior of the wagon.

And within was the vampire who had challenged her mistress, the whip-wielding Revivian who had flirted with her mistress and....the scary sword-wielding woman.

The wagon goes past. The young naga tightens her grip.
"....."
".....I'll do what I must."

She sets off after the wagon, to follow it where she could.

---

That night....
"What an absolute disaster."
Lucifer sighs, grumbling as he packs as much of his stuff as he could into a small bag. He had other foxholes around Generia, places he could ride out the storm, but.....

Leviathan finding him out so soon was not in the plan.
".....I've worked past worse, but....I'll need some time. Some way to get past this. Laying low for a while....I'll need to tell Satan, of course, and Asmodeus."
"....I have to warn them. Leviathan might come after them! Damn it. Damn it!"

Suddenly, his tablet rang, signalling him recieving a call. Lucifer wasn't in the mood for paramours. He picked up.

"Yes? I'm very busy right-"
"Lucifer, where are you? I need you here, right now!"
Satan, and at the least convenient time.
".....look, this is not the best time-"
"Don't give me that, you idiot! You promised to help out here, and I CAN'T mess this up! We're on thin ice! Thin fucking ice! This plan with the Grand Prix has to go off without a hitch and you're the only one I know who can help, got it?"
"But-"
"Listen, you're packing up there in Bastapa, and then I'm coming to collect you in an hour. No excuses! You better be ready and NOT screwing some barmaid!"

And with that, he hung up.

Lucifer stared at his half-packed bag, barely fitting enough fine clothing of cashmere and velvet, and at the door to his room at the Cashmere, before checking on the time.

".....shit."
........
Meanwhile, in Penultia....
".....it is as you suspected, my love. More of the Generals are turning against us, Thanatos lied, and....they do have a Goddess on their side. And....I was right about my suspicions this whole time. The Goddesses....they won't even DARE acknowledge what they did."
".....thank you, my dear. Get some rest. You look.....tired. We'll discuss this when we can. Don't trouble yourself."

Leviathan and Mammon were speaking to each other using the power of a scrying pool, a pool of reflective water turned into a window to another area. Tablets were too common, and in any case, neither knew how to use one; scrying pools were less easy to discover and less easy to use properly, and most importantly, difficult to spy upon unless someone knew where one end of the pool led.

The vampire queen smiled gently at her husband, before the pool rippled, and the vision of her within scattered. Mammon sighed, looking up around him, in the tent he called home for the moment, maps of Penultia scattered on a simple wooden table in front of a small bed roll.

His troops wanted him to sleep somewhere more permanent, warmer, and sturdier, but Mammon was a man of honor. Where his men slept, he slept. What his men endured, he endured. Where his men fought, he fought. He led from the front, and the war at Penultia was just beginning.

The one comfort he allowed himself was seeing his wife, every night.

And now....this.

The dullahan exhaled. He knew it shouldn't be possible; his head was a hundred miles away, across the sea, safely hidden in the Demon Lord's fortress, but the gesture let him vent a little stress, giving him a moment of brief respite. When his wife wasn't around, every moment of respite helped.

Mammon couldn't remember a moment where he had been at peace and his wife hadn't been the reason for it.

These discoveries troubled him. All of it; the Goddesses' curse, the betrayals, everything.

He needed time to think. He needed time to act.
"....to think our forces would be so easily swayed....."
".....Lucifer cannot be trusted. Neither can his friends. And we've just left them in charge of the operations in Bastapa, Wybernia and Midgardia......"

The demonic knight clenched his fist with resolve.
"I will have to take action. Now. Before everything is jeopardised by these fools."
"....I'll have to arrange for someone to take over here for me. At least for the moment. Satan and I will have to.....discuss....some new arrangements."

---

One week later.....
"Alder Bouwman!"

Today was the second day of applications for the Cizek Grand Prix.

One of the greatest sporting events in Wybernia, adventurers, wyvern ranchers and daredevils alike signed up for the race at special centers all around Wybernia. Thousands of applications were processed, many denied; the best of the best raced, and nobody else. Adventurers were the exception, as part of a deal with the Adventurer Guild of Wybernia, who provided security for events in exchange for letting their adventurers have a first whack at the racing table and using the events to award Emblems. Ten places were saved for adventurers, often filled within the final day of sign-ups.

"Accepted, you will take racer number 42! Next, Senija Mededeva!"

Aside from the prestige of racing in one of Wybernia's greatest events, there was one more incentive that many adventurers took up; the prize money. Entrants were given 2500 rhea to show up, and another 2500 to place top 25 of 50. The top ten took hom another 2500, and the top 3 took home another 2500, with the winner getting a further 5000 rhea on top of all the prizes. Needless to say, the race often got viewed as a get-rich-quick scheme by unscrupulous participants.

Or, in some cases, a last-ditch opportunity.

"Denied! Next, Marta Kowalski!"

A young woman sitting down nearby perked up at the mention of her name. The plans for her craft, the "Vainglory", were folded away, tucked neatly into her satchel.

She really needed this.

Marta smiled.
"Yes?"

"With what, a call? Look, I'm seriously not helping with this. This sounds like some crap my brother would come up with and the Goddesses know I've had to put up with enough of those."
And with that, Rosencrantz walks off to seek the company of people less intent on what he thinks are boneheaded schemes.

---

"S-sure, as long as you remember the h-house rules. I-If you make a mess, you're cleaning up after it, alright? N-not that you wouldn't."

"Look, clearly, we know what's going in here, there's no reason to break in, so I'm not going to help you break in here. Besides, there's probably like a thousand different alarm spells on the back door if we try to get inside without being let in. It's a temple, not some guy's house."

"Look, I can't do that. Not in good conscience. If I don't want to get arrested, I definitely don't want my....party members also getting arrested, alright?"

Keilee gestures for Rosencrantz to talk to her out of earshot of the front door group. Once he does so, she speaks to him with a casualness that is probably not normal for someone to talk about this with.
"Wanna try sneaking in the back to see what Freya is trying to hide?"

"....what? No! I...I'm not a thief! Well....not...a real one."