Meanwhile, above the pitch-black night sky, a magnificent ancient garden floated amid the clouds.
The figure seated in the pavilion elegantly set down his teacup. The vertical pupils gazing down upon the mortal world split with cross-shaped glimmers, as though he had discovered an interesting melody, and the corners of his lightly pursed lips curved upward in faint delight.
"What are you looking at? You seem rather happy."
A lazy voice came from across the table. The Assyrian Empress, yawning like a snake about to hibernate, forced herself to stay alert as she lifted the teapot to refill her master's cup and casually asked.
"A small stone thrown upon the water's surface. It counts as... a rather interesting discovery."
Samael withdrew his gaze from below, lifted his teacup, and took a sip of the black tea brewed at the perfect temperature and strength. Smiling, he looked meaningfully at Semiramis, who waited upon him across the table.
A stone cast upon the water would inevitably stir ripples and set waves in motion.
The wind began at the tip of a blade of duckweed, and great waves arose from tiny ripples. Every earthshaking change often began from some inconspicuous source.
For something to catch his interest, the "small stone" hidden underground by the Thousand Tree family clearly carried at least some weight.
But only "some."
"So that was why you had them retreat?"
The Empress toyed with her cup, raising her narrow eyes as she looked thoughtfully across the table.
"There was no helping it. It happened too suddenly. We wandered around the Thousand Tree family's doorstep without enough preparation, and there were too few cards available to us. The first encounter let us exploit an information gap and catch them off guard for a small advantage, but if we got greedier,