A pale golden curtain, like a barrier separating reality from illusion, silently drew shut beneath the Golden Oak Tree. Gawain's figure vanished amid the fallen leaves stirred by the breeze, and quiet returned to the square.
Beside the square table, the oldest god and the deities who governed the domains of nature and magic withdrew their gazes. Amun shook his head slightly and muttered, "He really can't sit still..."
"If he ever did sit still, we probably wouldn't have the leisure to waste time here," Milmina said casually. Then she looked up at Enya beside her. "He's about to go to Tarlonnd... Don't you have any thoughts on that?"
"That is no longer a place where I can interfere," Enya said slowly, her expression calm. "I only hope everything he does afterward goes smoothly... I left far too many messes behind in Tarlonnd. Yet neither I nor the dragons of today have the power to solve the problems at our own doorstep. Letting those burdens fall upon someone who had nothing to do with them was never the dragons' way."
"Who hasn't left behind a mess?" Amun suddenly laughed. "People like us, who came here to hide away in peace... we all left the troubles of the outside world to mortals."
"After all, staying in those positions would only cause them more trouble," Milmina said unhurriedly. Then her gaze swept across the square table before her. "Ah, there are only three of us left now—how about switching from mahjong to cards?"
"Can't you care about something besides this stuff?" Amun grumbled helplessly. At the same time, he casually brushed a hand across the ancient stone table, and the scattered mahjong tiles silently turned into playing cards. As he reached for them, he continued muttering, "You're practically becoming a useless card-playing