The deity statue

"Nothing here either..." Neph walked out of the room, her figure and face concealed by a long hooded cloak and a mask, and sighed.

The way Mr. A organized his gatherings was unexpectedly slapdash. According to Fors, the "Magician," the gatherings had three possible venues.

One could visit the corresponding venues once a week to check. If a gathering was going to be held there, one would find the appropriate mark inside. Each of the seven days of the week had its own mark.

Unlike gatherings with strict screening, Mr. A's gatherings were very loosely organized. There was no vetting of attendees at all. Even without an acquaintance to bring you in, you could attend on your own as long as you knew the time and place.

Neph found this baffling, because leaving a mark at one of the venues would be effortless. In other words, now that she knew about it, she could leave a mark herself, pretend a gathering was scheduled, and make everyone show up for nothing. For a moment, Neph had genuinely been tempted, but she quickly abandoned the idea. Surely someone else had thought of something similar. The fact that no one had done it couldn't possibly mean she was especially brave, could it?

Besides, she wasn't some "God of Mischief."

After checking the last venue, she had predictably found nothing. Neph stopped by the roadside, looking troubled.

Of course, she had a shortcut for finding Mr. A, but the True Creator's responses were a headache in the literal sense. If she could find him on her own, Neph would really rather avoid that experience.

However, there was probably only a month left before Backlund's Great Smog. Unless the plot veered drastically off course, Mr. A would be locked away by the Goddess then. If