"I personally don't claim to have any proof," Komaeda says lightly, not seeming concerned by having to say as much. "Incontrovertible or otherwise, for or against any of the theories we have. To be honest, I've never even seen Sotero or Votelli with my own eyes. But if I may be frank..." He brushes his hair back. "It does seem as though the old gods are, if not relying primarily on we new gods and our shinki for information, then at least not sharing much information - never mind evidence - that they've gathered themselves.

"I agree that we don't have much to go on, and even less that would satisfy any burden of proof...but exactly what information should we be going off of instead, if not what we've found out for ourselves? We don't really have the luxury of any evidence that isn't flimsy at the moment, and most of us aren't accustomed to being asked to wait decades, or centuries, for results. Especially on an issue that, to put it mildly, seems to be affecting the new gods and their shinki far more directly than the old gods."

He smiles at Suijin. "It just seems to be a strange practice to question what little evidence does exist, without having anything concrete to contradict it. In the trials I've been part of, generally existing evidence is only overturned by new evidence that contradicts it, or by some proof that the evidence was forged. Without that, in this case, it's reasonable to assume the letter is what it appears to be until proven otherwise."