Ed was not complacent. He could already tell his true emotions from Ikabard's unchanged expression and tone - a phrase that sounded like a compliment, but was in fact absolutely sarcastic.

Most of his "suspicions" have been raised and even tried to prove...... And all of Ikabrd's explanations were not for him at all.

Sean Fletcher frowned, focusing on the more practical question: "...... It doesn't make sense. ”

"It doesn't make sense. Hoyt Laval nodded in agreement.

It had been several days since the High Priest of Anduch had quietly come to Stunbuch. More clergy will gather at another water temple not far from here, the small temple on the other side of the Vinz River, on the shores of Lake Xi'an.

The plan that Sean said was underway. At one point, they thought that everything that had happened in Stonebuge recently was because the followers of Nessus had noticed something and were trying to sabotage it. They even knew about the anomalies in the sewers, but they hadn't had time to send someone to find out.

But in any case, tearing a rift into the ground of Stonebuch that leads to the Atlas is definitely not one of the "right" ways to destroy.

Such cracks destroy the world itself.

"To put it simply," Narya, who had a headache to hear, tried to understand in her own way, "if the world were floating on the sea...... A ship, we thought that Nesses wanted to snatch it and become the captain of this ship, but what his followers are doing now - tearing a crack or something - is scuttling the ship?"

Laval nodded in agreement again, not showing any displeasure in the slightest from sitting here as an ordinary girl with no status or power.

"That's right. He said, "If the ship sinks to the bottom of the sea...... Maybe he could get in more easily, but what did a world that had already been destroyed mean anything to him?"

"Well, I think there are at least two possibilities. Facing the high priest of Anduhe, Naria did not have the slightest fear, "Or, this matter is not a ...... at all Either they, or their gods, want nothing from this world at all, just something in this world. Like pirates, they will destroy a ship completely without any concern - as long as they can remove what they want before the ship sinks. ”

"That's true. Laval sighed slightly, "If it's the former, it's probably fine...... If it's the latter, it's worse than we expected. ”

They analyzed all the information in their hands over and over again before they came to the conclusion that Nethers wanted to be the only god in this world...... Or at least that is what his followers hope. All their means of coping were born from this.

But if Nesses didn't care what the world would become......

"Also...... Isn't it that bad?" Naria himself hesitated, "If nothing else, the followers of Nessus must continue to live in this world, right?"

"They have a million reasons to believe that their gods will promise them a better world. Laval replied calmly.

Ed nodded silently.

Naria had nothing to say—it was hard for a man who had never had such a devout faith to understand such a fanatic.

"You ...... Didn't you say you were looking for the bones of the gods?" Ed suddenly thought of this question, and naturally asked it, only to realize that it seemed a bit rude to bring up another topic so abruptly.

"Your friend may have gotten one of them. Laval replied disapprovingly.

Ed was stunned. Naria reacted faster than him, and Huo Ran got up: "...... You mean Tess, did you tell Tates to run to find that thing?!"

Her tone involuntarily sharpened, but Laval just shook his head, gentle and patient: "It's not her. ”

“...... Rosa?" Naria's momentum lowered unconsciously.

- It won't be Norvi!

"Rosa Latus is a reliable collaborator. Laval smiled and admitted, "She gave us a lot of useful information...... Although we initially considered Sesyana. Any elf is a devout believer in the gods, and it won't be hard to convince him – but it's not so easy for him to fool Tess Shepard. ”

He was so frank that Naria didn't know what to say.

"That thing is still in Shepard's possession. "We didn't ask Latus to snatch it...... Instead, she asks us to trust her judgment. ”

The old but dignified high priest actually laughed because of this: "Your friends are ...... It's funny. ”

Nalya didn't know if she should be happy about it.

"That...... Does it really work?"

Now that the Bones of the Gods had been mentioned, Ed simply asked. Iss disdainfully called it "the meat and bones of a dog", so he didn't take it too seriously. But it seems that at least Laval has not given up on this clue.

"If you want to know," said Sean, who had been silent for a moment, "I have another piece here." ”

There was a sudden silence in the room, and even Laval looked a little surprised.

Sean gestured, and Icabold turned to leave.

"It was dug up not long ago. Sean looked down at his hand with some strange oddity, as if the thing had been dug up by his own hands, and that he had something on his hand that could not be washed away.

"It's buried at the bottom of Lake Starnestle," he said, "and no one knows how long...... Perhaps it was when the old temple above the Holy Sepulchre was built, or even earlier...... Felicity sensed its presence. Or rather, she brought it to life. ”

Ed remembered the legend that when the Temple of Collins was built, the white-haired Sage buried an artifact at the bottom of Lake Starnestle. That's why that little lake has a unique power...... And he has seen it with his own eyes.

He thought that the legend might be true, but he didn't know that there was another story behind the legend.

Icabold quickly turned back, holding a small box in his hand. When he opened the box at Sean's motion, Ed involuntarily held his breath.

He saw a ...... Stone. At least the texture is more like stone, and the gray-white surface has been polished, and you can clearly see the slightest ripple-like lines, like the marble walls of the Temple of Collins.

What surprised him even more was its shape—it didn't look like the bones of any kind of creature.

“...... Isn't that an egg?"

Before he could speak, Naria asked, confused.