Having dealt with old Edward, the "Legendary King of the Hunt," Murphy was in an exceptionally good mood.
Of course, while enjoying the show, he hadn't forgotten who had brought him this amusement.
So, as the Origin Vanguard was about to reach the forest elf territory where the giant tree of Castia stood, Murphy took a little time to make arrangements for Lumina's group of unlucky elf-obsessed nerds, who were about to be hunted across the continent by the Moon Sisters.
But his available forces were stretched thin. With the Witch Cult active throughout the elven kingdom, he couldn't send Triss off alone, either. After thinking it over, he realized that supporting the unlucky bunch without disrupting his current work would require some "outside assistance."
So Murphy contacted his collaborator, who was still recuperating in the Sea Abyss Divine Kingdom.
Come to think of it, Murphy hadn't contacted Mannis once since Palom's flying headbutt sent him to the ICU. That was pretty inconsiderate of him as a partner.
But Murphy had his reasons for keeping quiet.
He'd promised to give Mannis that artificial divine spark. Then plans had changed, and he'd handed it over to the Underworld as a gesture of good faith. After that, things had worked out in such a way that Hades, the Netherlord Bug, picked up the big payday that should have belonged to Mannis.
Given the kind of person the Endless One was—the sort who'd make a fuss even when he had no reason to—Murphy couldn't imagine what would happen if Mannis got hold of this dirt on him. If he reached out first, what terrifying storm would Mannis make of it?
To make matters worse, Mannis had just gotten back together with his girlfriend Li Ji, a master of the art of tea. The