Chapter 933 — The Joint Proposal

"Certainly, I'm glad to," Daniel handed the pages back, a faint smile on his face. "I'm glad to serve His Majesty—and the matter itself seems to have some meaning to it."

...

"Typhon has responded rather actively to the signal we sent—the joint declaration on the Goddess of Magic's fall and the corresponding farewell ceremony," Gao Yang said, glancing at Amber beside him with a faint smile. "I thought Luo Yan would deliberate longer—after all, this is intelligence from his 'rival,' and it involves a very dangerous god."

"Typhon's God of War church is already in a bad way. Luo Yan surely doesn't want the Goddess of Magic affair to set off a second crisis. The proposal you offered is the most effective way to calm things and stabilize the situation—accepting your invitation can only benefit him," Amber said offhandedly. "As for why he replied so quickly... that is indeed rather surprising, but I imagine he has his own sources of intelligence to confirm the authenticity of our news."

The late-autumn wind blew across the paths between the flower beds. Sunlight fell upon her face, and in those amber eyes there seemed to be a gleam as well, bright and shining.

It was early morning, a relatively idle hour. Gao Cen was strolling in the garden as usual, and Amber was trotting along beside him as usual.

The latter seemed long accustomed to this—first she had given up trying to match Gao Cen's pace on foot, then she had given up protesting his walking speed. Running was no great difficulty for her anyway; those two short legs could churn along quite fast.

"The Augustus family has been entangled with the 'curse of the gods' for two hundred years. Luo Yan understands the true face of the gods as well as I do, and on matters involving the gods, his cooperation with us should be reasonably sincere," Gao Yang nodded. "According to the plan, we'll set up a temporary coordinating office to ensure the memorial ceremony goes smoothly, and at the same time raise its influence as much as possible so that everyone clearly knows what has happened. Then these tidings will spread through the two nations' respective commercial networks, carried by merchants across the whole human world... and even to the realms of other races beyond humanity.

"This is the first time in history that humans have held a funeral for a god. If we can smoothly turn such an inconceivable thing into 'a normal thing,' then when other gods run into trouble later, the people will find it easier to accept, and there won't be such great social upheaval.

"Of course, before any of that, we must first formally announce the news of the Goddess of Magic's fall. The 'funeral' can wait; the news cannot. It's been two or three days already, and the mages are growing more and more uneasy. Unease breeds rumors, and once the public takes rumors for truth, an official announcement afterward will lose much of its effect."

"Don't worry, it's already underway—we've gathered the most renowned figures in mage circles and made a great show of forming an investigative panel. Right now everyone is waiting for the panel's word," Amber said. "The day after tomorrow they'll reach their 'investigative conclusion,' and the news of the Goddess of Magic's fall will be announced together with Typhon."

As she spoke, she could not help but let a rueful expression show. "Speaking of which, this really is incredible... that we're actually doing all this together with Typhon."

"Before the Calamity of the Gods, all are equal. The God of War has already fallen, and the Goddess of Magic has likely sensed the danger and chosen this moment to flee. That 'countdown' is probably almost upon us... This generation cannot escape this crisis, and I fear even more gods will fall in the days to come," Gao Yang shook his head. "Faced with a disaster that crosses borders and races alike, joint action is the best choice. This cooperation between Typhon and Cecil is the first, but it will not be the last... it will likely serve as a reference for the future."

"You plan to establish some sort of permanent joint institution?" Amber deduced Gao Song's intent almost instantly, blinking her eyes. "A transnational organization dedicated to handling matters of the gods?"

Gao Yang glanced at her with some surprise. "...Your mind is growing quicker by the day."

"But of course..."

Gao Yang had long since grown accustomed to Amber's smugness and her habit of pushing her luck at every turn. Ignoring her was the best way to handle it, so he withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward—but after only a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

Amber, who had been trotting along just behind and to his side, promptly ran her head straight into his arm.

"Oh, Mom..." the half-elf yelped. "Why'd you stop all of a sudden—huh? Someone you know?"

A poised and elegant figure in a pale violet gauze dress had at some point come to stand ahead, a faint smile directed at Gao Yang.

"Good morning," Metz Penia, paying her sudden visit, bent slightly toward Gao Yi. "I hope my unannounced intrusion has not caused you any trouble."

"Trouble, no—but you coming to me of your own accord is quite the rarity," Gao Yang said, somewhat surprised, sizing her up from head to toe. The agent still wore no veil this time, and her complexion had clearly fully recovered; there was not the slightest trace of the grave injuries she had suffered last time—one had to marvel that the dragon race's constitution was truly formidable. "Is there something you need?"

Metz drew a very shallow breath, then said solemnly, "I have come to invite you again."