"Jeanne, let me ask you something."
The relaxed atmosphere around the tea table gradually fell silent.
Jeanne set down her teacup and looked at Mystryl attentively, ready to listen.
"Do you know what Gaunt and Herpo are planning, and what their ultimate goal is?"
Jeanne honestly shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lady Mystryl. We have very limited information. At the moment, all we can determine is that Gaunt is doing everything he can to expose the wizarding world to Muggles."
There was a hint of apology on her face as she spoke.
She had always wanted to help shoulder some of Tom's burdens, but when it came to the Sun Chasers and Gaunt, she really didn't know much.
"But why he wants to do that, and what the Quetzalcoatl behind him actually hopes to accomplish, we only have a few clues. According to Tom, the Feathered Serpent God, Quetzalcoatl, needs humanity to know that it exists. That might help it recover from its injuries."
"Exactly. I came to the same conclusion." Mystryl nodded slightly. "This probably has something to do with the foundation of its existence. Many gods actually depend on humanity in one way or another."
"When a god's fame grows stronger, it can draw power from that fame. When its legends gradually fade from memory, the god itself will decline along with them."
"It resembles the power of faith in some ways, but it isn't quite the same. There is one point we need to consider, though. You said this is the Quetzalcoatl's objective. But what about Gaunt?"
"He isn't a fanatic like Jeanne. He's a calm and selfish Slytherin. Is resurrecting the Quetzalcoatl really that important to him?"
Mystryl's questions left everyone deep in thought. They, too, noticed the contradiction.
Corvinus Gaunt's interests clearly weren't the same as the Quetzalcoatl's. Yet judging from everything they knew, he had spent practically the last several centuries running around working for the Quetzalcoatl.
"I think I understand."
Grindelwald nodded thoughtfully.
When it came to schemes and understanding the human heart, no one present could compare with him.
Even Morgan, who was known as the Witch of the Fairies, was no exception. If Morgan were truly that good at reading people and plotting against them, she wouldn't have been toyed with by Merlin so thoroughly.
"Let's look at it from his perspective. The fact that Gaunt is willing to help the Quetzalcoatl means he's getting plenty of benefits out of it. That could include the god's inheritance. But if that's all he's getting, I don't think he'd willingly put another master over his own head."
"So whatever he's getting out of this must be far greater than we imagine. And no matter what side you're on, anything that can increase your strength is valuable."
"So let's just let Gaunt keep working at it. Once he's brought all those benefits out into the open, we can reap the rewards afterward."
A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Grindelwald's mouth as he finished speaking.
He understood people like this all too well. Or, more accurately, he understood ambitious people.
The more fiercely someone proclaimed their loyalty, the more outrageous the things they usually wanted in return.
Mystryl nodded with a smile. "That's more or less correct. But we can't simply sit back and watch. You also need to apply a little pressure and force him to reveal more of his potential. Just as Tom's existence has made him feel threatened. Otherwise, he wouldn't have helped Herpo resurrect in the first place."
Ravenclaw couldn't help stealing a glance at Mystryl.
'So this is how a god thinks?'
Strip away the layers and go straight for the heart of the matter.
At best, this was divine wisdom, always approaching a problem from the most rational possible perspective.
But wasn't it also a form of indifference?
All Mystryl saw was profit and loss, whether she or Tom stood to gain something, whether their strength could be increased. There was simply no consideration for anyone else in her words.
Ravenclaw had met plenty of cold and indifferent people before, but Mystryl's indifference was different.
She wasn't deliberately ignoring ordinary people. She genuinely didn't include them in her calculations.
They weren't variables. They weren't factors that could influence the outcome.
They were simply... nothing.
Mystryl had never considered how many innocent people might be dragged into the conflict and lose their lives if Corvinus Gaunt were allowed to continue exposing the wizarding world.
With Mystryl's intelligence, there was no doubt she could think of such consequences.
She simply... didn't care.
Mystryl seemed to sense something. She turned her head slightly and met Ravenclaw's gaze.
That faint smile remained on her lips as she gave Ravenclaw a gentle nod.
Ravenclaw withdrew her gaze somewhat guiltily.
She hesitated over whether she should raise an objection, but after thinking it over, she decided to keep the thought to herself for now.
She would discuss it with Tom first.
Ultimately, Mystryl didn't care in the slightest what Gaunt was plotting.
She was simply approaching everything from the perspective of what would benefit Tom the most.
And, when it came down to it, that was what everyone in this space should be doing.
"So what should we do next?" Grindelwald asked.
"I'll talk to Tom." Mystryl thought for a moment, then lightly tapped one finger.
The illusory stars twinkling overhead suddenly dimmed.
A moment later, a streak of blue light leaped from her fingertip into the night sky.
It was as though a thin veil had descended over the sky. Even the surrounding wind came to a complete stop.
Everyone instinctively looked up.
Runes arranged themselves across the sky, hovering silently above their heads. Each one rotated slowly. Every now and then, two would collide, causing new strokes and symbols to branch out from them.
"These are the characters I used before. I've already mapped them onto the language of this world, so start learning them."
"Even after adapting them to this world's system, their underlying meaning still can't be translated perfectly. You'll need to master the language itself before you can truly understand it."
Everyone looked carefully at the drifting runes.
At first glance, they were nothing but tangled lines. But the longer they stared, the more the strokes seemed to shift, as if each rune were quietly trying to tell them something just out of reach.
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