Unwilling to provoke the silver arm, we retreated a short distance to hold a strategy meeting.
"Ultimately, what even is that thing?"
I knew there probably wasn't an answer, but the question slipped out regardless. Naturally, it seemed no one else had any leads either. After a brief silence, a series of unexpected voices replied.
『Everyone seems to have noticed, but that isn't a kin of Gurnalava.』
『It is far more than that. It is a clearly alien existence. Could it be interference from the Outer World?』
『I wonder why Garna-chan was so worried about it, too. This area isn't even within Garna-chan's sphere of influence, is it? I wonder how she noticed the abnormality.』
The speakers were, in order: Ren-kun, the Spirit God, and the Luck God. They had appeared in the middle of our circle like semi-transparent holograms before I’d even realized it. Thankfully, the Luck God wasn't wearing one of her eccentric outfits; she was actually dressed properly like a goddess for once.
"Wh-who on earth are you people?"
Confronted by this sudden development, Mr. Abarum questioned them in a high-pitched, trembling voice. He seemed to sense something divine about them, as he looked positively awestruck.
That’s impressive, I thought. I didn't feel anything like that at all... maybe I was just a bit dull to those kinds of things.
『We are... well, their related parties—no, let's go with their Related Gods.』
"H-huh? Related Gods?"
Ren-kun gave a brief, vague explanation, but naturally, Mr. Abarum couldn't make heads or tails of it. Since it couldn't be helped, I gave him a proper introduction to our divine guests. Mr. Abarum’s eyes were rolling back in his head, though, so I wasn't entirely sure if he was actually processing the information.
"Halfa, Shiroru, and I have the Divine Protection of the Destiny God, while Lowell and Spira have the Divine Protection of the Spirit God. As for the Luck God... well, I'm not actually sure why she’s here."
『How cruel! After all the time we’ve spent together!』
『This one is still after Ruto—I mean, Tort. She keeps sneaking into my Divine Domain to poke around. She just happened to be with me when I came over today.』
"Apparently, that's how it is," I summarized.
"...I see. I have realized that this is simply beyond my understanding. Forgive me for interrupting. Please, proceed with the conversation and pay me no mind."
I’d tried my best to explain, but Mr. Abarum seemed to have simply given up on comprehension, his eyes going hollow. Well, I suppose it’s hard to stay calm when gods start appearing out of thin air.
On that front, the rest of my party accepted it nonchalantly, likely because they were used to it by now. Even though I’d told them about the Luck God before, this was technically their first time meeting her face-to-face.
『So, Lord Ramuyadas. In the end, what is that shiny silver thing?』 Shiroru asked, bringing the conversation back to the matter at hand while ignoring Mr. Abarum, who was desperately trying to erase his presence.
Unfortunately, no one had a clue as to its true identity.
『Don't we just have to ask Garna-chan? She's the one who probably understands the situation best right now, isn't she?』
The Luck God was the one to cut through our stalled debate. She suggested we talk directly to Garna-chan—in other words, the Evil God Gurnalava.
『And how would we do that?』 Ren-kun countered. 『She doesn't listen to a word we say. She won't come out even if we call for her.』
He had a point. They had been enemies for a thousand years, after all. It wasn't like they had a direct line for negotiations.
However, the Luck God seemed to have anticipated that rebuttal. She grinned and wagged her finger.
『You're so naive, Lam-chan! We can't talk to Garna-chan directly, but there's a human she's connected to, isn't there?』
I see. Even if it was a one-sided connection, there was a human capable of hearing Gurnalava's voice. Most of them were crazy evil cultists, which made reasoning with them unlikely, but there was one person we could actually negotiate with.
"Ah, I've got it! It's Mr. Demuad!"
Halfa blurted it out before I could. It seemed she was right, as the Luck God gave a satisfied smile.
After all, the reason we’d even thought to look for this place was the "voice" that had reached Mr. Demuad. If Gurnalava's goal was to monitor this location through his eyes, then making contact seemed plausible.
However, the crucial Mr. Demuad was currently busy working in Orcus, and contacting him normally would take far too much time. If we tried to bring him here conventionally, it would take at least two weeks. I didn't feel comfortable leaving that silver arm alone for that long, so I decided to take a more forceful approach.
I prepared a dark golem, the Dream-Viewing Mirror, and the Magic Tool Enhancement Cream. It was a bit of a hassle, but by teleporting a few times, I could fetch Mr. Demuad and bring him here along with the mirror.
And so...
"I've brought him!"
"Whoa, whoa, where the heck am I? I have work to do, kid! I have to earn enough to support those two, you know!"
Mr. Demuad, suddenly snatched away from his life, was grumbling up a storm, but this was an emergency. I just needed him to bear with it for a moment.
Incidentally, the three gods had hidden themselves. If Gurnalava was sharing Mr. Demuad's vision, we didn't want to make her wary.
"We're in the mountains east of Berhes. It's likely the place Gurnalava was so concerned about."
"Ah, I see. You could’ve just told me how it turned out... So, did you actually find something? It's a steep canyon, sure, but nothing looks particularly out of the ordinary."
The silver arm was currently obscured by my golems, which were acting as a makeshift wall. From a distance, the area looked perfectly normal.
"Please peek through the gap in those golems. And please, try not to make any loud noises."
"O-oh. These are golems? What on earth..."
Mr. Demuad seemed taken aback to realize that what he’d thought was a rock face was actually a golem, but the real shock was yet to come.
"Wh-what is th—!?"
Seeing the silver arm through the gap, Mr. Demuad almost let out a shout, but he instinctively clamped his hand over his mouth. I felt it was a little too late, but fortunately, the silver arm didn't react. Instead, something reacted above his head. A faint, blurry silhouette appeared, glaring at the silver arm with a bitter expression. She looked like a young woman, but there was no doubt—that was Gurnalava!
『How can this be? To think it has reached even here—...』
『Secured!』
Just as Gurnalava was about to say something more, Ren-kun and the others leaped out from hiding. In the blink of an eye, they had her bundled up and neutralized like a rolled-up rug.