The opening of the windowed doors to the balcony brought Isabella out of her thoughts. Startled that they were opened, her gaze flew up from the report she was reading, until a familiar set of white wings entered her view. 

“Ah!” Isabella stood up and bowed to the goddess together with her maid, Lizzy who stood next to her desk. “My greetings to Lady Ezme.”

“Have you written a new chapter yet?” The goddess asked hopefully.

Straight to the point, eh? Always pushing me for new chapters!

A wry smile spread on Isabella’s face as she gestured to Lizzy to wait outside. She opened the drawer containing her latest work, before she held it out to the goddess. Lady Ezme immediately reached for it, but Isabella withdrew the papers in response before the goddess could grab them. 

A flash of anger appeared in the goddess’ eyes. “Insolent mortal! What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Lady Ezme. You haven’t forgotten our agreement, have you?” Isabella said with a smile. Although she knew she was being audacious, she also knew that their beloved goddess was quite forgiving.  

“That-” The goddess frowned before she crossed her arms. She considered for a moment before she let out a sigh. “Fine. But it’ll have to wait until next time.” 

“That’s not what we agreed.” Isabella replied calmly. “And it’s difficult for me to come up with new things without something that can give me inspiration.”

“Come on!” Ezme exclaimed. “That’s unfair, I need it! And I don’t have any new pictures for you yet!” 

“Then, how about you just tell me about your current relationship with Lady Amara? That will do.” Isabella said as her smile grew.

“That’s...fine.” The goddess eventually conceded. Isabella clenched her fists in her mind as she handed over her work.

Yes! I can finally learn how Lady Ezme views their relationship in detail!

With Isabella’s urging, they were seated in the sofas in the center of the room. Barely able to hold her excitement in, she shot out the first question. “Lady Ezme, why don’t you tell me about yourself and Lady Amara? What do you do when you’re together?”

“Well..mostly we just sleep. If we’re not sleeping, then I advise her. We talk about Amara’s progress and ideas...or…” The goddess blushed as her voice faded.

“Or?” Isabella asked curiously.

“Well, sometimes...just sometimes, we kiss.” The goddess’s face grew beet red and averted her eyes towards the end with a fidgety appearance. After calming herself, she turned back towards Isabella with a fierce glare as if expecting to be mocked, before her eyes widened in surprise. “Princess.”

“Yes, Lady Ezme?” Isabella replied with a wide smile. “Don’t stop on my account, please continue.”

“You’re bleeding.” Ezme pointed out.

“Oh?” Suddenly realizing that the warm and wet feeling on her upper lip wasn’t her imagination, she pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it against her nose. “How unsightly of me. I apologize.”

“...Are you alright? Do you need me to heal you?” Ezme asked with a concerned voice.

“I’m phine. Pleese, conthinue.” Isabella said, grateful that she could partially block her excited expression with the handkerchief.

“Alright.” The goddess sighed as she contemplated. “...Actually, that’s pretty much it.”

“Eh?” Isabella let out a surprised voice.

“What?” Ezme frowned as she looked at her. 

 Hold on. This doesn’t add up. 

“Let me get this straight.” Isabella said as she finished wiping her nose. “You still haven’t gone any further in intimacy, than beyond what would be considered normal when courting one another?”

“...That’s right.” The goddess replied.

“And you’re sleeping together?” Isabella asked.

“Yes.” (Ezme)

“With clothes on?” Isabella asked in a surprised tone.

“Of course with our clothes on!” The goddess retorted. 

Oh no. Lady Amara, how you must be suffering!

Already living married life, without getting to taste the grapes!

Hold on...the paintings! During all this time?!

Isabella shook her head vigorously. “Lady Ezme. This will not do!” 

Ezme frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You must get intimate with Lady Amara! Immediately!” Isabella retorted. “How long are you intending to let her suffer!” 

“What do you mean, ‘suffer’!” Ezme howled in response. “She isn’t suffering!” 

“She is!” Isabella shouted. “Try to see things from a mortal’s perspective!”

As a pin-drop silence ensued after she shouted at the goddess, Isabella felt regretful. 

Oh no. I shouted at Lady Ezme!

Looking at the goddess however, she realized that she hadn’t taken offence. Instead, Ezme was merely confused. 

“Lady Ezme, I apologize for my rudene-” (Isabella)

“I don’t get it.” Ezme protested. “How is she suffering?”

Isabella let out a sigh of relief before she answered. “You said that Lady Amara was a mortal human? That even if she has ascended to godhood she is, for all intents and purposes, just a mortal with greater powers and immortality. Correct?”

“Yes?” (Ezme)

Isabella nodded in understanding. “Then, from a mortal’s perspective, this is not acceptable. Has she not asked to have a more intimate relationship with you?”

The goddess blushed as she replied. “That’s no concern of yours!”

“I see, so she has.” Isabella sighed before she explained. “Lady Ezme! Lady Amara is essentially living a married life with you, without getting the greatest benefits that a marriage provides! If that were to happen here, we would suspect there was something wrong with the relationship!” 

“There’s nothing wrong with our relationship!” Ezme retorted angrily.

“I’m not saying there is!” Isabella replied. “But normally, you sleep together after or at the same time you get between the sheets. The only time mortals don’t do that, is in a marriage of convenience, where the spouses dislike or have no interest in one another.”

Or when one party isn't able to do it, but I doubt that's the case. I'm not even going to suggest it...Lady Ezme would probably be mad.

Watching the goddess’s expression as she was digesting what Isabella was saying, she continued. “That is why Lady Amara is suffering. She might even start to think that you have no interest in-”

“You’re mistaken.” The goddess blurted out. “And Amara isn’t a human from this world, so your norms don’t apply to her.”

“Oh?” Isabella asked curiously as she realized she had overlooked an important detail. “Then how is it in the world where she came from? Do they hold back on intimacy there, even once married?”

Seeing the goddess’ twisted lips, Isabella got her answer. “As I thought. Lady Ezme, to have a healthy relationship, intimacy is required for us mortals. She might not let it be known out of kindness, but Lady Amara is enduring. And if your relationship has been like this for so long, then I don’t know how long she’ll be able to continue enduring.”

The pair were silent for a while, before Ezme spoke. “It still feels a bit early to me.” 

“For you, as someone who is used to immortality, perhaps.” Isabella replied. “But for a mortal like Amara, it’s already late. If this goes on, it could damage her expectations of a romantic relationship - if it hasn’t already!”

Another silence ensued as Isabella watched the goddess contemplate. Poor Lady Amara. But with this, their relationship might progress. 

Lady Amara evidently makes Lady Ezme happy, but she can only continue to do so if she’s happy herself!

“Alright. I'm not saying I will, but if i was...how should I go about it?” The goddess asked. 

Isabella’s lips curved up high, straining her cheeks. “Simple. Just follow what I taught you in my stories. Lady Amara will undoubtedly accept you wholeheartedly, so all you need to do is push her down and-”

“Princess. You’re bleeding again.” (Ezme)

“Oh my. I apologize.” Isabella replied as she lifted her handkerchief again.

“Are you sure you’re not sick?" Ezme said with a cocked head. "Seems like it might be a regular occurance.”

“I’m phine. If it was dangerous, I whould have died long ago.” Isabella replied.

“...If you say so.” Ezme said with a shrug.

A sudden knocking on the door brought a halt to their conversation, as Isabella could hear her maid.

“Princess, the archbishop is here and requests an audience.”  (Lizzy)

With a glance at the goddess to get permission, she called back. “Let him in.” 

As the archbishop entered with Lizzy, they both bowed to the goddess. “Greetings, Lady Ezme. Forgive me for intruding, but I heard that you had arrived, and thought you might be here to discuss matters regarding our progress.”

The goddess cocked her head. “Well, now that you’re here, we might as well. I suppose it’s been some time since I told you to prepare for war.” She looked over at Isabella. “We can continue that discussion at another time.”

When will that be! You almost never come here! Isabella retorted in her mind, but didn’t show it outwards as she looked at Lizzy. “Can you prepare tea for us?”

When Lizzy was serving tea for them, Isabella noticed how her maid was glancing at her with displeasure. It wasn’t until she noticed Lizzy glance at the blood-stained handkerchief that she realized the maid was angry. 

Don’t be foolish Lizzy, I’m not going to faint while Lady Ezme is here! That would be the height of wastefulness!

“So how are things progressing? As expected, I hope?” Ezme asked as she sipped on her tea. 

“Actually...things are slow.” The archbishop admitted. 

The goddess frowned. “Slow? How?”

“Well, all of the preparations we can do would cost resources. As it is, preparations thus far by the different nations have been limited to estimating the costs of any preparations and arguing for the benefits and downsides of them.” The archbishop looked at Isabella. “Perhaps the princess can elaborate on the matter.”

Of course. Throw me under the carriage, will you!

Just like father, when he chose to throw everything regarding the war preparations as part of my duties!

Isabella maintained a friendly smile as the goddess turned to look at her. “Anything we do will cost resources. If we wish to build new forts for instance, it will require both materials and manpower. Which needs to be paid for, but nobody wants raised taxes. So at the current rate, even building one new fort will take decades.”

Isabella drew a breath before she continued. “As for conscription, it means that people are taken out of the workforce for the duration. When large parts of the people are suddenly not working, but also getting supplied and trained to fight in a war, the economy will take a hit.”

Isabella paused for a moment before she continued. “And that’s just the start of it domestically. Then comes the problem of international cooperation - nobody wants to commit more resources for it than others.”

As Isabella finished and looked at the goddess, she saw that Lady Ezme was angry. The goddess turned to glare at the archbishop. “I thought I told you to tell people that the demons are coming if the defensive line in my brother's domain falls.”

“They are aware, Lady Ezme.” (Archbishop)

“Then why isn’t anyone doing anything!” Ezme exclaimed.

“That’s…” The archbishop began. Isabella sighed as she decided to step in and explain.

“It’s because there’s no incentive to. The danger is in the far distant future, so people feel no sense of urgency. For most, preparing for the invasion of demons is like throwing coins into the water. It might eventually block the river, but nobody wants to throw their own coins.”

“That’s-!” Ezme exclaimed before she buried her face in her hands while groaning.

Is this really something to be surprised about? Shouldn’t Lady Ezme have expected it?

A sudden thought crossed Isabella’s mind. “Lady Ezme...has your domain ever been invaded before?” 

The goddess shook her head in response. A chill went down Isabella’s spine. 

Lady Ezme has never had to prepare her domain for war before...just like me, or any other figure of authority here on Ramay.

But if she doesn’t know how to do it, who does?

Isabella’s anxiety grew, until she got an idea and asked hopefully. “Lady Ezme, what about your siblings? How do they get the people in their domains to prepare?” 

The goddess leaned back and crossed her arms. After a while, she replied in a quiet voice. “They don’t.” 

Isabella jaw dropped at the unexpected answer. The archbishop seemed just as surprised as he asked the goddess. “Not at all?”

“...They usually give a heads up before the demons arrive, I suppose?” Ezme replied with a troubled voice.

A silence descended upon the conversation as they all fell into contemplation.

Seems like Lady Ezme is the only one among the gods that cares about mortals, if none of the others are willing to give us ample warning and help us prepare.

We truly are fortunate to have such a compassionate goddess. But what are we supposed to do to prepare?

“Please permit me to speak.” (Lizzy)

They all looked up at the maid who broke the silence. Isabella, who was familiar with Lizzy, knew that she would rarely speak up unless she had an idea. Ideas that more often than not, Isabella found exceptional. 

Isabela glanced at the goddess, who was appraising the maid with a curious look. “Granted.”

“Thank you, Lady Ezme.” Lizzy bowed her head. “What about Lady Amara? Could she help us?”

Lady Amara?...Lady Amara! Lizzy, you genius!

Isabella drew an excited gasp as she turned to the goddess. “Yes! Lady Amara!” 

The goddess frowned in confusion. “What about her?”

“We could ask her for guidance!” Isabella explained. “She’s a human, so she should have an understanding of our struggles! We can ask her how to go about preparing, and how to get the nobles and the wealthy merchants on board!” 

Ezme’s frown deepened. “But Amara wasn’t a leader or administrator on Earth. She has no experience...and the people here have no relation to her.”

“She’s related to us as your companion! And she’s going to get the experience she lacks soon anyway, isn’t she?” Isabella asked excitedly as her mind was making positive connections that made Lady Amara perfect for the role. “After all, you said she has her own domain that she has to rule and also prepare for war? In fact, since she’s currently not busy fighting the demons, she would be the most suitable person to help us!” 

The goddess inclined her head as she contemplated. “...I suppose she might have some basic understanding for how wars are fought and prepared for. After all, there was always a war going on somewhere on Earth at any point in time...it might be considered common knowledge for her.”

“Does that mean she knows how the rulers went about preparing the people for war?” The archbishop asked in a contemplative tone. 

“I'm not sure. But I think she has methods to obtain the knowledge she lacks with ease.” The goddess replied.

“Then she indeed seems to be the most suitable person to aid us.” (Archbishop)

“...I’ll ask her for ideas.” The goddess conceded.

A smile spread on Isabella’s face, and she looked over at Lizzy with gratitude as she mouthed a ‘thank you’. The maid merely smiled in response. 

“Well then.” Ezme stood up and stretched her back and wings. “Was there anything else to discuss?” 

Isabella opened her mouth to say there wasn’t, when the archbishop spoke up. “Well...there’s that incident at the village.”

Isabella met the archbishop’s gaze as she was reminded of the tragedy that she had discussed with him during their last meeting. Ah. I suppose we have an opportunity to ask her.

“Incident?” Ezme asked with a raised eyebrow.

Isabella stood up and walked to her desk to get the report she had received on the incident. “There was a monster attack on one of the villages.”

“That’s...unfortunate. But don’t monster attacks happen quite often?” Ezme asked with a frown.

“They do, but this time it was different.” Isabella sighed before she continued. “Normally, dark trolls can be handled by a silver-ranked team of adventurers. But the group that accepted the request was decimated.”

“A dark troll?” Ezme asked.

Isabella nodded as she returned with the report in hand. She handed over the page with the drawing of the monster to the goddess. “Most semi-intelligent monsters stay away from human settlements, even when agitated. The team therefore thought that the troll wouldn’t chase them into the village, but it did. It wreaked havoc in the village, and wasn’t stopped until the platinum-ranked team that responded to the emergency put it down. According to them, whether a gold-ranked team would have been able to defeat it is questionable.”

Isabella looked at the goddess, who seemed to be staring at the drawing of the dark troll with an increasingly distressed expression. Seeing her anxiety, Isabella’s own grew as she feared one of the possibilities she had discussed with the archbishop might be true.

“Lady Ezme. There certainly are differences in strength between individual monsters of the same race, but to the extent it requires an adventurer team two ranks above the standard...is not normal. Could...could it be possible that the strength of the dark troll is related to demons? Could it have been...a scout? A prelude to demons’ arrival?” Isabella asked hesitantly. 

The goddess was brought out of her anxious brooding by her question, and turned her pained expression up from the drawing. Isabella’s fears grew even more intense, until the goddess looked back at the drawing and spoke quietly. 

“...No. I don’t think so. Demons generally don’t...yes, this is probably an isolated incident.” (Ezme)

Isabella let out a relieved sigh. The archbishop seemed more relaxed as well, as he seemed to let out the breath he had been holding in. 

Although the goddess’ expression remained pained, her words had been clear. Demons weren’t involved with the incident, and they didn’t have to fear suffering something like it again. 

The goddess truly loves us. For her to be this pained over the loss of life...we’re truly fortunate.

A gentle smile spread on Isabella’s face as she watched the goddess. “It’s a tragedy. But if the demons aren’t involved, then we can rest easy and mourn without fearing that it will happen again.”

“Yes. A tragedy…” The goddess murmured before she looked at Isabella. “I think I might know the cause, so I’ll confirm it.” The goddess pointed to the thin pile of pages Isabella had taken the drawing from. “Is that the rest of the report?”

Isabella handed the pages to her. “Indeed. If I may ask, what do you believe the cause to-”

“Good. I’ll look into it - unless I say otherwise, you don’t need to worry about it.” The goddess spoke firmly.

I wonder what the cause is. But if she doesn’t want us to know, it’s likely for our own good. As long as monsters aren’t suddenly growing stronger, we can let it pass.

Isabella noticed from the look the archbishop gave her behind the goddess, that he seemed to be mirroring her thoughts that they should consider the matter settled. She nodded in understanding with a smile to the goddess. “Yes, Lady Ezme.”

Ezme nodded and turned towards the balcony to leave as she flipped through the pages. She suddenly stopped and turned to look back at them. “Oh, and make sure that rumors don’t spread about the incident.”

Isabela nodded. “Yes, Lady Ezme. We wouldn’t want the people to feel worried.” 

The goddess looked out at the sky above the city as she replied in a distracted tone. “Yes...others shouldn’t have to worry about it.”