But allow me to say this much.
“Ms. Oka, you did nothing wrong.”
“Please don’t try to cheer me up…”
“I’m not. This is just my honest opinion.”
Interrupting her objections, I press forward.
“Listen. Your actions were not pointless, far from it. Everything we do results in change. Just by taking action, you have already altered the outcome. If you hadn’t done anything, things might have been far worse. So how can you say it was for nothing? Even now, most of the reincarnations are still alive. I wouldn’t call that ‘nothing’ at all.”
“…Do you really think so?”
“I do. Besides, I happen to think that there’s no point in beating yourself up over the past. Ms. Oka, are the students you wanted to save really the kind of people who would be happy to see you suffering like that?”
“Well…no, of course not…”
“Then it’s time to stop brooding and start looking ahead. The only ‘pointless’ action is continuing to cause yourself harm.”
“…You’re right. I’ll do my best.”
Though I’m afraid it came out as a lecture, I know that Ms. Oka was an adult in her past life, even if she looks like a child now. I’m sure she understood what I was trying to say.
Whether she can truly recover from this point forward is up to her.
For now, at least, Ms. Oka should be fine.
She seems relatively calm, for better or worse.
Since she’s already hit rock bottom, she can’t sink any lower, even if she isn’t bouncing back up yet, either.
That’s not exactly the ideal emotional state, but in an emergency like this it might be for the best.
There’s no way of knowing which actions will lead to the best results.
I can’t judge whether what Ms. Oka did was good or bad, either.
But even if I could, it wouldn’t help to hear it from someone else.
She has to find a way to sort through her feelings and accept it on her own.
Fortunately, the reincarnations I saw in the spaceship seemed to think favorably of Ms. Oka.
They didn’t look like they were uncertain; if anything, they seemed to feel guilty.
I’m sure they’ll be able to make amends as long as nothing goes terribly wrong.
That’s just one more reason we have to prevent humanity from being exterminated, in order to make that brighter future a reality.
With renewed determination, I leave Ms. Oka’s side to speak to Elder Ronandt.
“Humph. You’re not here to give me an old-mannish speech, too, I hope? I won’t hear it from a whippersnapper like you.”
“Ha-ha. I do have the memories of someone who’s lived far longer than you, you know.”
This person continues to view me as Hyrince, it seems.
A part of me is pleased, while another part is less than thrilled that he’s still treating me like a child.
“Memories? Pah! That doesn’t mean you experienced it yourself, though, eh? Memories that you can’t put to good use are just a waste of space.”
“I suppose you have me there.”
It’s hard to argue with that logic.
After all, when Elder Ronandt was attempting to craft a rune to teleport to D’s location and asked if I had any useful information from Güliedistodiez’s memories, I could give him no answer.
I do not carry the entirety of his vast memories, you see.
That would exceed the human brain’s storage capacity.
It is more that I remember certain important moments and details.
There are many holes, to the point where I sometimes have few memories of use when it would matter most.
“So, do you think you would be able to create the teleportation conjuring on your own?”
“…Not likely. At this stage, I believe the teleportation itself would work well enough, though there’s no telling where it would send me. Even if I did manage to make my way to D’s location, I’ve no guarantee it would be in one piece. I might come out on the other side as a lump of flesh, or some such nonsense.”
“Yes, probably best to avoid that.”
“I know, eh? That’s the best I can do on my own, though it pains me to admit it.”
While he looks genuinely frustrated, I think that’s still very impressive.
It is a difficult thing to use a skill in more powerful ways than its settings specify.
The system is not designed for that to be possible.
But a few rare geniuses like Elder Ronandt have found a way.
They don’t call him humanity’s strongest mage for nothing.
Most likely, Elder Ronandt really will succeed in teleporting to D’s location if he has the support of the system core.
I have full faith in him.
There’s probably no need for me to worry about Ronandt.
Next, I approach the two people who look queasiest of all.
“Are you all right?”
Slumped on the floor, the pontiff and Mr. Balto raise their heads weakly.
“It would be difficult to describe my current state as ‘all right’ per se, and yet I must not complain in a situation such as this. I shall see this through to the end even if I must crawl to get there.”
“I feel the same way. I must speak with the Demon Lord, if not the so-called evil god D as well. I cannot allow myself to collapse before that happens.”
Despite their deathly pale faces, both the pontiff and Mr. Balto have a sharp glint of determination in their eyes.
I suppose they’ll be fine after all, then.
Hopefully, this break will help prevent them from pushing past their limits and passing out.
They should last a little longer, at least.
Still, it’s strange to look at them together like this.
One is the Word of God pontiff, representing humanity.
The other is Mr. Balto, representing demonkind.
Under normal circumstances, the two would never meet.
But now, they are working together toward a common goal.
It would have been unthinkable not long ago.
“It is rather strange to be sitting side by side with you, I must remark.”