North Sunia Sea, Morning Star City, inside the Mechanical Battleaxe Bar.
A burly middle-aged man with messy short yellow hair sat alone in a booth, savoring the wine unique to this city that resembled a vast factory.
Before long, two men and a woman arrived nearby. After ordering drinks, they began quietly exchanging intelligence.
"Captain, we've been here for several days now, and we've figured out the situation throughout the city...
"Oh, and they've recently been producing all kinds of weapons. Clearly, they intend to sell them to the countries currently at war." The young man in a pirate headscarf reported with some disappointment.
At first, he had thought there would be treasure here.
The middle-aged man known as the captain ignored him and turned to look at his female companion, who had lovely blue eyes and somewhat androgynous features.
After considering her words, the woman answered softly, "Captain, I think this place may belong to some secret organization. After all, there are no churches in this city, yet they worship an entity called the 'Mechanical Emperor'...
"I suspect the so-called 'Mechanical Emperor' is Emperor Roselle himself! Perhaps that great figure's followers drifted here after his death.
"But strangely, everyone here speaks Loenese..."
The captain nodded, then looked toward the last member of the group. He was a follower of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom and was especially skilled at observation and deduction. "Old Kerton, do you have anything to add?"
Kerton, dressed in a white robe and wearing brass-framed glasses on his nose, nodded.
"The people here look no different from those elsewhere, but there are many strange things about them...
"For example, they openly worship the so-called 'Mechanical Emperor,' but every morning, everyone waits for the sunrise and praises the 'Sun'... I suspect they are actually all