The only response to Ferrudion's statement was silence and that irked him considerably.

『“Your reply?”』he asked Lemme om Apox through their soul link.

The woman winced considerably and answered in I!onian,

“Of course, Pelou Dean-agam.”

Ferrudion nodded satisfied and studied the woman sitting opposite him.

Unlike his own hair which shimmered with the same glint as steel, her hair was a matte black in color and fell unto her shoulders in tight curls.

Whereas his eyes were as golden as the godly flames in his father's forge, Lemme om Apox's eyes were reminiscent of the night sky, a blue bordering on black.

Realizing he had never quite spend the time looking at these mortals, he compared her to the man sitting beside her, Kalou Saha.

While her facial features were sharp, her prominent cheekbones giving her a strict appearance, his face was round with puffy cheeks. His eyes shone in an even darker hue than Lemme om Apox's, but his hair was even whiter than the iron-grey mane on Ferrudion's head.

Another difference was the coloration of their skin. While he was not nearly as pale as my mother, the Goddess of Salt, he looked paler than the former pahipiti. Her skin was a slightly lighter, less reddish brown than Ferrudion's.

Turning to look at the young mortal beside him, Ferrudion noticed that while Kalou Dan somewhat resembled his guardian, there were marked differences. Although his face was as round as Kalou Saha's, he lacked the older man's puffy cheeks and frown lines. His hair was a vibrant black, but unlike Lemme om Apox's, it was straight and short.

‘Three mortals, three different hair colors, huh?’

“What determines hair color?” Ferrudion asked with great interest.

He had not noticed the beads of sweat forming on Kalou Saha's temples. Nor had he taken notice of Kalou Dean trembling as he inspected him.

Despite his eyes registering the motion, his mind had assigned it no meaning. After all, he did not understand even half of the strange gestures and motions these mortals to communicate.

Lemme on Apox was the only one with the peace of mind to respond,

“Usually, it is passed down along family lines.”

‘Is it because their souls will be similar? Or because the newly formed souls happen to perceive those hair colors more frequently since they will be surrounded by family… Wait, do mortals spend time with their family after birth?’

Nascent greater gods spent their first few decades being nurtured by their parents. Proper nurture was important to help the freshly formed soul stabilize, lest it fall to be a lesser god instead. Since the first concepts they processed were granted to them by their parents, most nascent greater gods resembled their parents greatly.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“Can spending time with people of other hair colors influence a child's hair color?”

Kalou Saha smiled and replied,

“Not as far as we know, Pelou Dean-agam.”

‘That is barely an answer, duh. You mortals know next to nothing!’

He added the hair colors of mortals to the overgrowing list of mysteries he wished to investigate.

Fortunately, before he could return to staring at his mortal companions, they arrived at their destination.

Eager to get out of the cramped space, Ferrudion pushed past Kalou Dan and hopped out of the carriage.

They had pulled up to another marble building, this one both taller and broader than the office (opik) they had visited earlier.

Ferrudion barely glanced at the opulent façade of the building. Instead his eyes had already identified and locked onto the building's entryway.

‘Another big box, huh? Why do mortals enjoy enclosed spaces this much?’

‘There is too much. Both the material and the spiritual dimensions of this space are chaotic and disharmonious.’

For someone raised in the carefully crafted realms of two greater gods, the mess that was the mortal world was a little difficult to process.

He wanted novelty. He enjoyed novelty. But for the first time in his life Ferrudion felt overwhelmed.

He missed the ship. The environment had been constant and he had had plenty of time to get used to every aspect of it. This place, on the other hand, …

The thinly spread out layers of his soul registered hundreds of mortal souls rushing about in no particular order. It also detected countless magics, ranging from magical coins to magic constructs big enough to cover entire buildings.

One such construct was covering the entire complex in front of him, layering over the smaller magics he felt coming from its interior. It was ugly.

Ferrudion felt the urge to isolate his soul.

“Are you alright, Pelou Dean-agam?” Kalou Saha cautiously called out to him.

‘These mortal cannot see any of it, huh? They will need a lot of help.’

“Is this place not to your liking, Lord Dean Pelou?” The guide, Karla Sapuk, had finished her dealings with the carriage driver and had returned to their group.

“It is ugly.”

Through their soul links, Ferrudion got the vague impression that his mortals disagreed with his assessment.

Everyone kept silent until he sighed and continued,

“We can go inside.”

‘If they want to go here, it must be a fun place despite the ugly magics.’

At those words, Karla Sapuk rushed past him and jogged to the two mortals stationed by the entryway.

When Ferrudion slowly ambled up to them with Kalou Saha, Lemme om Apox, and Kalou Dean in tow, she had already finished her conversation.

They opened the entryway and wordlessly allowed the group to pass through.

An elderly man welcomed them as soon as they stepped inside:

“Honored guests, welcome to the Luminous Moon.’

The man's soul was surprisingly strong. While it could not match that of Lemme om Apox, it was slightly stronger than Kalou Dan's.

Their guide, Karla Sapuk, stepped forward and introduced them in Pakpak:

“My lords, please allow me to present Sir Fedinan Ksanten, the manager of the Luminous Moon.”

Sir Ksanten bowed in greeting.

Kalou Saha realized then that she had likely arranged this when she had called the carriage.

Karla Sapuk proceeded with her introductions in order of precedence,

“Sir Ksanten, it is my honor to introduce Lord Dan Pelou, youngest son of the Marquess Pelou from the Huhala Empire beyond the Hum mountains, his guardian, Dame Lemme om Apox, a baronetess of the Huhala Empire, his companion, The Honorable Dan Kalou, son of Baron Kalou of the Ironforest Kingdom, and Sir Saha Kalou, the young lord's guardian and a baronet of the Ironforest Kingdom.”

According to the customs of the Palevine Empire, as Ferrudion's guardian, Lemme om Apox took precedence over the higher ranked Kalou Dan when she was acting in that capacity.