Just as I am about to open a gate and leave, Lin grabs my arm and starts dragging me away. She drags me straight to the suite, pushes me onto the bed, and climbs on top of me. She aggressively takes the lead through three rounds of fun before she ends up exhausted.

Once she recovers enough to move, we have a meal together and cuddle for a while. Then, when she is ready to head back to the library, I gate back to the fort. First I check in with Leonarr, but nothing happened while I was gone.

Then I have him send word around to warn everyone that the castle is going to appear. I wait for a few minutes for the word to be spread, then set the castle to floating above the fort. I move it so that the main gate is accessible from the tower of the fort.

Then I task Leonarr with picking the combat units for my kids to join. I make sure he picks ones with leaders who are going to be able to order my kids around. After all, it takes guts to shout orders at something that can easily eat you.

I know that my kids would never do that, but that doesn't mean the beastmen know that. Even if they did, it is hard to believe something like that when staring at big teeth. Still, it will do the beastmen some good to have more contact with the kids.

I'm not really worried about the kids, there isn't much out there that can hurt them. Some of the empire's top mages and angels are the only ones that I can think of. I would be more worried if they were going to war, but this isn't a full scale war.

Breaking into places and freeing slaves is a lot different from armies confronting each other. If this were a normal war, I would keep the kids with me so that I could protect them. Still, before I let the kids run off I make sure they know to run away if things get dangerous.

I don't want them thinking that they will be in trouble if they run away. Sometimes, running away is the smartest thing that you can do and I make sure to tell them that. Luckily, most of my kids have a good head on their shoulders, which puts them ahead of me.

I don't let them split up completely, I make sure Ekard and Mushu are with a sibling. They are still a little on the small side to be running around and fighting on their own. Surprisingly, they don't make a fuss about it and even seem to be happy.

With their teams decided, I stop lecturing them and send them on their way. I trust Leonarr to take some extra steps to make sure they are taken care of. Once the kids have left, I head into the castle and then open up a soulscape.

I go ahead and invite both goddesses, but I am not expecting Seronia to accept. It hasn't been long enough for her to have cooled off, but she surprises me. She glares at me once she arrives, but she does arrive so I won't hold it against her.

Stolen novel; please report.

As soon as both of them are here, I explain what Lin told me about Holos. Then I tell them our theories about what we think is going on in his pantheon.

Krenocia says "Alright. Supposing that your guesses are right, what do you want to do?"

"First, let me ask, have you done all the stealing that you can?"

Krenocia says "Yes, we stole back what we could get to. Anything else is in places that we can't go."

"So, the only reason left to keep hiding is to prevent being attacked?"

Krenocia says "That's correct. Why?"

"Before all of this, was the pantheon of the southern empire your enemy?"

Krenocia says "I wouldn't say we were enemies, but we were in conflict. When our followers are at war, we tend to also get into arguments. Besides, since our followers were the ones to summon a demon, they probably hate us by this point."

"I had forgotten about that. That could definitely cause a problem."

Krenocia says "Just what are you planning?"

"I don't really have a plan yet. I am trying to figure everything out and to do that I need as much information as I can get. For instance, is it worth it if in getting rid of Holos the two of you get discovered?"

Krenocia says "No, it isn't. If any of the pantheons finds out about us, all of them will eventually know. We are too weak, we would be either captured or killed."

Seronia says "Most likely captured."

"Why is that?"

Krenocia says "Even among the pantheons, we are considered beautiful. Add to that the fact that we are twins and we are even more desired. The only thing that protected us in the past was that our pantheon was strong."

"Oh, I understand. The southern empire's pantheon is ruled by a woman. Wouldn't she be more inclined to talk?"

Krenocia says "Maybe, but she would want us to join her pantheon. In the realm of the gods, anyone who isn't in the same pantheon is an enemy. Or at best a rival. Sometimes even other gods in the same pantheon aren't to be trusted."

"So, the gods basically act just like humans, got it. Come to think of it, are there any non-human gods?"

Krenocia says "No, not that we know of. There might have been, but they were probably wiped out a long time ago."

"Too bad. They probably would have made good allies. That really limits my options. The only thing I can think of is to wipe out his church and force Holos to leave the peninsula. The problem is that I have no way of knowing if he will spread word about you two."

Krenocia says "Based on what you have said about his personality, I doubt he would. Telling others about us would mean admitting his actions and the fact that he lost."

"That's true. However, if he is feeling petty, that might not stop him. It will all depend on how pissed off he is at losing the peninsula. I guess we are just going to have to chance it."

Krenocia says "That's fine. My sister and I have gotten used to taking crazy chances. You, for example."

"Well, I certainly can't argue with that. By the way, what is it about me that would allow gods to know about you? Is it because I am your champion?"

Krenocia says "Exactly. If they saw you, they would know instantly because only living deities can have champions. If we died, you would immediately lose all the benefits you gained from being our champion."

"Alright. Is there a way to hide it? Like if I upgraded the cloak?"

Krenocia says "Hiding it from others is easy, but from gods? No, there is no way. You would need a divine item that is of a higher rank than the god you want to hide it from. We can't make an item that powerful, so there is no chance that you can."