Gawain was not surprised by My Little Pony... Melita's return. Ever since he had first rejected that dragon god's "invitation," he had known the matter would not end so easily. A god inviting a mortal could not possibly be a whim; there was no way it would simply come to nothing because he casually refused once—the gods were merely patient, and they did not mind waiting a while.
The only thing that surprised him was that the second invitation had come so soon, without even waiting through a single winter.
He nodded to the agent before him and asked casually, "Does your 'god' have something new to say this time?"
"It said that you may still refuse, or postpone your visit depending on circumstances. This is merely a friendly invitation," Melita said solemnly. When the topic involved gods, she became noticeably more cautious. "Also, it asked me to pass along one additional message."
"A message?" Gawain showed some curiosity. "What message?"
Melita lowered her head. "...Not all gods can depart as harmlessly as the Goddess of Magic. What binds gods and humans is more than just a chain."
Gawain's gaze turned grave in an instant.
He had actually been planning to refuse again. No matter how he looked at it, he had no room to travel all the way to distant Tarlonnd right now, much less take such an enormous risk. Yet the words Melita had relayed stirred something within him—the first half was easy enough to understand. Of course he knew that not every god could leave as harmlessly as the Goddess of Magic. To say nothing of more distant examples, the God of War over in Typhon clearly had no intention of departing quietly. But the latter half of that message...
More than just a chain... There was