Mid-March, Sea Circle Calendar 1521.
Inside the Divine Palace of the Babylon Temple, sunlight slanted through the high arched windows. The occasional birdsong drifted in from outside.
Sephiroth sat behind his desk. Several open documents lay before him, their edges held down by paperweights.
He held a report on the trade route to Elbaf, lingered over a few rows of figures, then picked up his pen and added several notes in the margin.
Conis was the secretary on duty today. She sat at a small table beside his desk, with a communications terminal, a notebook, a tea set, little ornaments, and other items arranged before her.
Conis wore a white nun's habit. Her long, pale-blond hair was tied into two cute buns, with the loose strands tucked behind her ears.
...The traditional Angel Island hairstyle looked like two snail antennae. It was just too ridiculous.
Sephiroth rarely interfered with local customs, but he had made one specific demand: that hairstyle was forbidden inside the Temple.
Though he had not banned it everywhere, people followed the example set at the top, and the antenna hairstyle had all but vanished. It had since evolved into twin buns.
Reiju sat in a visitor's chair across from the desk, with a cup of black tea Conis had brewed before her.
Today, she wore a white women's suit, her medium-length pink hair gathered into a low bun at the back of her head.
"Lord Sephi, regarding this month's trade with Elbaf..."
Reiju spread the report across the coffee table before her, sounding somewhat incredulous.
"Elbaf has increased its supply of treasure tree Adam wood to three times the amount in our original agreement... What did you do over there?"
Sephiroth tapped his temple with his index finger. Most Giants were straightforward and repaid kindness. Judging