Cthulhu Gonfalon

“The Goddess of Wealth actually managed to think of a viable solution…”

In the misty darkness, the God of Aristocracy opened his eyes. His eyes had changed over the years. At the start, they were sharp and piercing like the dark and mysterious sea, and they alarmed anyone who saw them. Now, his eyes were more violent, like a dangerous sea in a storm. While there was less depth to them, they remained creepy and scary.

The God of Aristocracy’s body had also become big and strong as if he was trying to suppress something but was unable to. He sat on a golden stage surrounded by black water of a seemingly bottomless depth. Black mist rose from the water. If one were to closely inspect the setting, the evaporation was due to the golden stage absorbing the god’s strength while the water expelled it out.

Outside the pool of water, the God of Diplomacy stood in a silver pavilion that was shrouded by white curtains that could not be penetrated by the mist. Nevertheless, he was careful to use his magic to layer himself with protection. If anyone were to come in contact with even just a drop of the black water, it would greatly affect their magical powers. Unlike the Goddess of Wealth, he did not possess the greatest extent of power and had to take care to defend himself against losing what precious little things he had.

Upon hearing the God of Aristocracy, he nodded and said, “After the plan was proposed, the originally exaggerated tension has now died down. The aristocrats and merchants are now finding allies and are bringing many benefits to the common folk to convince them, which isn’t a bad thing.”

“While the idea is decent, I am sure that it is not the Goddess of Wealth who thought it up.” The God of Diplomacy thought for a while, then said slowly, “The only one who could have thought of this is the Void Mask! That jellyfish never follows common sense; his brain is full of strange thoughts. A large conference combining the upper and lower echelons of society, who else could have thought of it!”

The God of Diplomacy nodded and said, “The lord said that as well! He even told me that if you were unable to think of such an idea, you may have to give up your latest advancement.”

The God of Aristocracy smiled bitterly, acknowledging his situation. “Well, if I couldn’t even handle such a small matter, how can I fight for a more powerful position?”

“That’s true. So what do you plan to do?” the God of Diplomacy asked.

“Create some trouble, of course. If I let them get away with such a solution, I’d look like a fool,” the God of Aristocracy replied coldly. “Help me liaise with the God of Conspiracy, and tell him that I want to spread a rumor. You can claim that the Goddess of Wealth is organizing this conference under the pretense of settling the conflict between the merchants and the aristocrats but actually plans to secretly help the merchants rise up in society and accord them equal status with the aristocrats. That way, the aristocrats will no longer be the elite societal group, and we can exaggerate the situation to include the future, where if an aristocratic family is replaced or displaced, the merchants will then be able to use the conference to weaken them further and reduce their power greatly. In this way, the aristocrats’ power will be lowered, and they may not even be able to compete with the merchants in the future. That’s the rough idea, I think you understand?”

The God of Diplomacy hesitated for a while, then nodded. “I understand. I will tell the God of Conspiracy.” Upon saying that, he thought further and clarified, “Actually, we could settle this situation ourselves. It is not really necessary to involve a third party as if the news spreads in the future, it could ruin your reputation.”

The God of Aristocracy laughed coldly, shut his eyes and said, “My reputation? This is the exact sort of reputation that I want!”

He did not explain further, but the God of Diplomacy understood enough. As a usual messenger among the gods, he did not hesitate further nor try to persuade the God of Aristocracy to change his mind. He just sighed and walked away.

The God of Aristocracy waited until his counterpart had left before reopening his eyes. He gazed into the distance in the direction where the God of Diplomacy had left in silence.

If he didn’t make such a gesture, how could he expect the lord to promote him to a more powerful position? With his natural wisdom and wit, he had to find a way to worsen his reputation to prevent the lord from having the misunderstanding that he wanted to overthrow him…

The God of Aristocracy smiled slightly and gloomily.

A few days later, the news had spread around the Commonwealth of Gold Coins.

Every aristocrat who received the news furrowed their brows in worry, especially those who had weak younger generations or were facing inheritance issues. In response, the two most respected marquees of the Commonwealth of Gold Coins met in secret.

No one had any idea what they discussed, as they had met in a secret room and talked privately. The bodyguards who accompanied the marquees were also only privy to the knowledge that after the private meeting, the marquees started to oppose the idea of a mass conference.

Naturally, the news eventually spread to the Goddess of Wealth and Sui Xiong as well.

Sui Xiong was shocked. “The aristocrats have such strong men as their pillars of support?! How could they have projected so far otherwise?”

To the common folk, their foresight and vision were limited to the upcoming few years. To predict the development of the far future was seen as something that only geniuses could do. Amongst the mages, there were actually a few such people, but they were usually tight-lipped about such knowledge. Besides, the mages felt that the aristocrats were easier to control than the merchants.

“I’ve received a divination that behind all these rumors is a meddling god, but I can’t identify which,” the Goddess of Wealth pointed out.

“You can’t identify which god it is?” The God of Justice, Yorgaardman, snorted. “I’m pretty sure it’s that bastard again!”

Everyone understood what he meant. For a divination not to work, either the god had to have a very high status, or their status was unique. If this condition was considered along with the type of rumor, it was obvious who was behind the whole situation. Apart from the God of Conspiracy, no one else could have been responsible.

“Why does he want to give me trouble and create chaos?” The Goddess of Wealth had assumed so as well, but she couldn’t understand the logic behind the God of Conspiracy’s move. “Have I ever offended him before?”

Yorgaardman smiled bitterly and said, “He’s a god known for evil, he doesn’t require any reason to do such things. In my opinion, we should find an opportunity to get rid of him soon.”

This suggestion was met with agreement amongst all the gods, but it was a longstanding suggestion that had never come to fruition. In the past, there had been many assassination attempts and plans made to destroy the God of Conspiracy, but he had simply disappeared for a few years before reappearing. No one could find his true physical self and the position of his kingdom. Even the most enthusiastic god for this idea, the God of Justice, could not do much to help the situation. Furthermore, at this point in time, the main aim was still to help the Goddess of Wealth settle her crisis first.

With the rumors spreading around, the aristocrats naturally had a change in attitude, and the Gods required an efficient plan to prevent a physical fight from eventually breaking out…