Momonga closed out what was, in his mind, a too brief meeting with the charismatic Brain Unglaus by saying, "I will have a maid give you a tour, then you will be brought to dinner to join your new companions."
"I look forward to it." Brain replied and looked around the room again. 'This is unreal… if I'd lived a different life I'd think it was the Heaven the priests always go on about.' And as he contemplated that, he considered his unusual host. 'Momonga, that was what he called himself, something is a little strange about him, but there's no denying he's likable. Somehow I just want to believe everything he says…' The blue-haired swordsman found himself already thinking ahead, and with that his thoughts turned to Gazef, his rival was the closest thing he'd ever had to a peer and a friend, and he barely knew the man save for their single clash that changed his life.
'A second duel, a chance to defeat him, I've lived for that and nothing else for years now. I never imagined it would be in a place like this, but anywhere will do.' Brain thought, his fingers twitched in his lap and a smile etched on his face while he thought over the inevitable hours or days ahead.
He barely caught Momonga's farewell, but recovered enough to smile and nod with as much courtesy as he could manage as Momonga left the room.
Outside, Momonga felt goosebumps on his flesh. 'This is marvelous.' He thought and stepped away from the door with a light-hearted single skip before he began walking normally again, 'Just having people around that aren't hanging on my every word, it's a breath of fresh air… I can make mistakes with them, and it'll be all right, I think. I don't have to appear perfect… god knows how I'd manage if I had to put on the air of the perfect ruler at every moment. But this does present a problem.'
As he walked, he turned that problem over in his head, 'The guardians will not want to accept new entries, particularly humans, into the fold. I need to buy time to come up with an answer.'
At least buying time was easy, Momonga went to the office he designated for his use when he was still the guildmaster of a thriving guild and after seating himself, he cast the spell. [Message: Albedo & Demiurge] "Come to my office at once."
"My Lord!" Their reply was instantaneous, and he killed the link before they could ask questions that he had to worry he wouldn't be able to answer.
While he waited, he shifted a little so that he could feel the fabric of his skirt beneath his robe, and played with the position of his hands. 'Flat on the desk, no, I'll look like a schoolboy. Down in my lap, no…' He shifted from posture to posture, neither worked, neither did having his hands folded behind his head, 'Too relaxed, undignified…' Letting his arms dangle felt sloppy.
Interlocking his fingers and setting his hands on the desk felt like he was about to reprimand them and worse, 'It'll look like I'm not busy and they can ask me questions. I can't have that.'
Finally he settled on something, he picked up a quill and a blank sheet of parchment and began to scribble absolute nonsense. Just random words that came to mind, almost poetic after a fashion, which he continued to write after the knock at the door and the entry of two of the three geniuses.
They knelt at once and he pretended to ignore them for a few seconds as he wrote the last line of nonsense before he realized, 'No, that's rude!' And stood up too suddenly, jerking the quill and sliding the parchment away with such force that it sailed off the desk and toward the pair.
'Shit!' He mentally cursed as it sailed out and up in a gentle arc, only for him to breathe a sigh of relief as the enchanted desk refused to allow the document to be lost and the paper drifted back into place.
Albedo and Demiurge bowed their heads all the deeper as if to ignore the obvious accident and Momonga cleared his throat. He set the quill down on top of the paper and folded his hands behind his back to hide the shivering of nerves in his hands. "Albedo, Demiurge, I have a job for you both."
"Lord!" They cried at once and raised their heads in perfect unity, their eyes wide and staring with adoration at the god who remained with them.
"Albedo, you are to venture in disguise into the capital of Re-Estize, investigate Princess Renner and any other persons of significance. Demiurge, you are to assist her, likewise in disguise. Prioritize preserving your lives if you are threatened, but find anyone of significance in talent beyond the common lot and report back to me when you are finished. Questions?" He asked, and he waited for not even one full breath before they replied…
"None, My Lord!"
'That's strange, they should have had some at least.' Momonga thought and asked, "Are you sure you understand my intent, no questions at all?" He pressed, and their fanatical eyes met his after briefly looking toward one another.
"None, My Lord! We will find the ones you seek! All of them!" She said with the glee of the happiest of servants.
"Ah… good, yes, very good, then you may go. Get what you need from Pandora's Actor and then send him to me." Momonga instructed, and then went back to scribbling nonsense.
Albedo rose beside Demiurge and they backed out of the room after a deep bow each, when they were out, they each took a side of the double doors and closed them together.
"You saw?" Demiurge asked, his tail lashing at his back as he took in the words.
"I did." Albedo replied, her wings trembled as if blasted by a sudden icy chill, she repeated the words she glimpsed on the parchment before the desk reclaimed the item.
Lost souls cast far from home
Lost lives reclaimed as treasures turned to trash
And trash to treasure once reclaimed
At home again
At home again
I find all that I want, restored
"Is it really possible?" Demiurge asked and rubbed his chin between two fingers.
"It must be at least possible, and it would explain why he brought us to this world." Albedo answered and hugged her arms around her body.
"But to think, the supreme beings reincarnated into… lesser beings? It is near blasphemous just to think about." Demiurge said, "But then…"
"It might make this world easier to rule if they understand their subjects?" Albedo finished his sentence for him, and Demiurge inclined his head in a respectful nod.
"Exactly. Perhaps something happened that made this necessary that we just don't understand yet. But at the very least we have understood our lord's intent, even if he gave us only a fleeting glimpse." Demiurge answered.
"Enough to let us know to be cautious, now that we know, the rest is up to us." Albedo said, and serene in their happy comprehension of their lord's plans, Albedo messaged Pandora's Actor and rattled off a list of things they would need.