Any being powerful enough to create something as anomalous as the system is bound to see things differently from mere humans like us.
Although Lord Black Dragon is closely linked with humanity, the rest of the dragons were quite willing to eradicate every one of us.
We must not forget that.
To a god, mankind is little more than rubbish.
“Yes, I imagine it is at least in part just for fun. D sees this world as nothing but a toy for her amusement. I’m sure she could have saved this planet without a roundabout method like the system if she really wanted to.”
Mr. Hyrince is right.
This world is only a toybox to D.
She forced humans and demons to war against each other, added monsters into the mix, and watched mankind struggle and fight to survive.
When I think of it that way, it makes perfect sense to call someone so cruel an evil god.
But it is true nonetheless that this planet has escaped destruction, thanks to the system.
We toys cannot rebel against our owner.
“Erm, if this person really is that powerful, does that mean she might be able to grant both the ivory god’s and the ebony god’s wishes? Think about it! Maybe we can talk to her face-to-face and convince her!”
Sir Schlain speaks with the conviction of someone who’s had a brilliant idea.
True enough, I am sure D does have the power to do so.
However, that would be…
“So you’re depending on gods again?”
I can sense Lady Ariel’s immense anger even through telepathy.
As I suspected, Sir Schlain’s proposal struck a nerve with her.
“You can’t do it yourselves, so you turn to a god. How’d that work out for this world last time, huh?”
We humans turned to Lady Sariel for help, and even now, we continue to repay her kindness with cruelty.
For Lady Ariel, who is striving to save her, asking a god for help is unthinkable.
“…I’m sorry. That was thoughtless of me.”
“If you weren’t a reincarnation, I’d probably kill you where you stand.”
Her threat sounds serious enough that cold sweat runs down my back.
It drives home the depth of the rift between our side and hers all over again.
Though we understand each other’s words, we can never understand each other’s feelings.
I am sure it seems that way to Lady Ariel as well.
If anything, she seems to believe even more strongly that we cannot agree.
Humanity has betrayed Lady Sariel for so long after all.
Perhaps trying to persuade Lady Ariel any longer would only be wasting our time.
“That won’t do at all, Hero. We’ve got to win this on our own, or it won’t be worth anything. Besides, from what I’ve seen of our world all this time, D’s not likely to do us any favors.”
Chief Reise chimes in with an easygoing drawl.
I can easily picture them shrugging languidly as they speak.
“Yes, I agree. D seems to cherish fairness, from what I can tell. If we make such a request of D, she will expect something of equal value in exchange. When Güliedistodiez asked her to save this planet, she created the system and ordered us to save it with our own sweat and blood. And we have no way of paying the price she would demand this time.”
If fairness is truly important to her, is this her way of evening the playing field in spite of her divinity?
Placing limits on herself because she could otherwise do anything she wanted?
Of course, knowing that would not help us negotiate when we have nothing to offer, just as Sir Hyrince said.
But if she truly values fairness, then perhaps…
“This could be D’s method of divine punishment.”
I blurt out the thought through telepathy as soon as it strikes me.
“Even if the ivory god’s side loses, mankind will still pay for their crimes. Perhaps she decided that this would be the fairest outcome, from a god’s perspective, and that is why she issued the world quest.”
If that were the case, perhaps we should simply resign ourselves and accept our punishment.
The thought drains all energy from my body.
All this time, I have worked tirelessly to defend humanity, no matter the cost.
But in truth this was merely stubbornness: I felt that since we betrayed Lady Ariel, we must commit to that stance until the bitter end.
And as a result, divine judgment has deemed that humanity must be punished.
Which means…all this time, I’ve just been…
“I cannot deny the possibility, but it is still a mystery why D decided to create the world quest. The only way to find out is to ask her directly. We cannot waste our time on pointless theories and conjecture. Let’s continue the discussion.”
At Sir Hyrince’s words, I pull myself together.
Although I am not sure what else there is to discuss, since it seems we cannot come to an agreement…
“…Hyrince, Dustin, that Ronandt fellow, and any interested reincarnations. Ah, and throw in Balto as a representative of demonkind. I will allow those people, and only those people, to enter.”
Just as I was about to give up, Lady Ariel makes a proposal that I can scarcely believe.
“…Are you sure?”
“Isn’t this exactly what you people wanted?”
It is, and yet I am utterly bewildered.
Lady Ariel has no reason to accept our pleas.
Just as she told us multiple times, the ivory god’s side need do nothing but continue to focus on defending the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
There is no need for her to allow us inside.
Lady Ariel’s offer is all risk and no reward for her faction.
I can understand why she excluded the other ancient dragon chiefs.
They are the only ones who can stand up to the ivory god’s forces at this point.
But even if we do not pose much of a threat in battle, it is still dangerous to allow those of us with ruler authority to enter the core of the system.
The ivory god’s side’s conditions for victory are that the ivory god herself must win, and they must prevent anyone from entering the system’s core to prevent its destruction.
Only those with ruler authority can stop the system from being destroyed.
If she allows anyone with that authority to enter the core, they could easily do just that.
“Does this mean you have decided to trust us?”
“Of course not. How could I possibly trust you? It’s just that I wouldn’t mind meeting D and having a few words with her myself.”
If she is acting on her own desires instead of trusting us, that does somewhat explain her change of heart.
Though I still cannot understand why she would allow such a risky venture.
“Thank you.”
Still, it is an incredibly fortunate turn of events for us.
Even if this is a trap and I am to be killed, there is nothing else that the ebony god’s side can do.
My life would be a small sacrifice to make.
“I’ll be waiting in the Great Elroe Labyrinth, then.”