A while passed with uncomfortable silence. I buried my head in Rion’s jet-black hair, which cascaded down to her knees… silently waiting for her to respond.
Gulp…
Rion’s stiff body told me she was tense.
“What do you mean… how do you plan to take responsibility?”
After the silence, Rion suddenly threw the question at me. As for how I would respond… Well…
I said I would take responsibility, but did I really have a proper way to do so?
“Um… with my life?”
“Nonsense.”
Without hesitation, Rion dismissed my words and let out a deep sigh. It was an understandable reaction.
What was I saying about taking responsibility with my life? As I mentioned before, the stakes involved the fate of all Kivotos. If we break it down coldly, the math just didn’t add up.
One person versus the entire world.
No matter how important Aris was, it was not easy to gamble on the latter.
I knew this. I understood…
But originally, this situation wouldn’t have even happened if it weren’t for me.
Originally, Aris should have been living peacefully, getting caught in a brief incident, and almost awakening as the Nameless Goddess’s princess with everyone in Millennium and the Teacher working together to save her… But now, because of my intervention, she was facing death.
So, I had to take responsibility and save that kid. For everyone who treasures Aris.
And to prevent Rion from committing an act she might regret for the rest of her life.
“Rion, you know. My…”
“Yeah, your dreams that seem like you’re in a fantasy. The chances of them coming true are infinitely slim. It’s very far from rationality.”
Having said that, Rion took a deep breath. Then she placed her hand on my arm that wrapped around her waist.
“Mika. Can I ask you one thing?”
“…What?”
“Right now, let’s say you manage to prevent Aris from dying. Then, one day after, Aris awakens as the Nameless Goddess’s princess… If that leads to your loved ones getting seriously hurt or even dying… how do you plan to handle that?”
“…”
Rion prodded at a painful point. Just as she said, if saving Aris came at a cost to my lovers… I would certainly be in great anguish. I would blame myself.
“Accept reality, Mika. This is the best way.”
“This is the best way?”
“A conclusion that satisfies everyone is just a story that could happen in a fairy tale. By now, in Millennium and among your precious people, they’re probably scurrying around trying to figure out this place. Maybe they already have…”
Rion trailed off. I could guess what she meant.
That it was already too late for me to save Aris.
That’s why my role here was crucial. At this point, there was only one person who could stop Rion: me.
I had no way to logically convince Rion. Strictly speaking, this situation was more of those opposing Rion, making a fuss.
So, to cut to the conclusion, there was only one thing I could do—appeal to her emotions. That was all I had in terms of options.
Even if I overpowered Rion, I didn’t know Aris’s exact location. Even if I somehow subdued her to get information, I couldn’t afford to be cruel to Rion.
Could I hurt someone who had shown that she liked me, even if unknowingly?
Above all, Toki was still a factor.
Without Aabi Eshuh, I might have a chance, but if I pushed through with brute force to resolve this, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that things could spiral to the worst case.
…I had to judge calmly. To win against the child prodigies in strategy, I had to have confidence and be ahead in various aspects.
I had no particular confidence. Moreover, as I recalled the areas where I had the upper hand… I guess there were none, am I right?
When it came to Rion’s feelings, I could claim to have the upper hand, but to be frank, I wasn’t someone who could wield that card.
From the beginning, Rion was not the type to waver in rational judgment because of emotions.
And what if, really, if Rion had a means to take Aris’s life remotely…
Yes. If I decided to appeal to her emotions, I would push through to the end. No need to complicate things—just clash with honesty.
As long as my sincerity could reach Rion’s true desire for someone to put the brakes on…
“Rion… I have no means to persuade you.”
“Yeah, I figured as much. I thought that from the start.”
Rion answered quietly upon hearing my honest words. The steadiness of her voice felt like standing in front of an impenetrable wall.
“…Are you disappointed?”
“Not at all. I don’t know why you thought I’d be disappointed. Mika, drop trying to convince me about this. Once Aris has made her decision, it’ll only make things harder for both of us.”
“…”
…Right. Now that I think about it, Rion clearly said that.
Aris had resolved to sacrifice herself for everyone. She declared it was the path of her hero.
“Aren’t you ashamed?”
“…What?”
“Rion, I know what the fear of death is. In that moment when my last breath was drawing near, my mind went blank… I realized just how precious everything I loved truly was.”
As I carefully revisited my memories, the words that could provoke Rion lingered on my tongue.
“Aris has surrounded herself with far more precious people than I did at that time… Even so, to stand confidently and say she would welcome her death, what do you think Aris was feeling…?”
As I continued speaking, it occurred to me that perhaps it was me who was being provoked, not Rion.
My eyes stung. It had to be because of Rion’s hair.
“That kid has only spent less than a year among people, right? She has been learning the joys of life, making friends, and getting to know everyone. How do you think she felt, accepting her death while leaving all that behind?”
“…That’s…”
“Aris accepted her death for everyone, including you and me… Yet you’re really considering letting her go like this, without even a minimum of effort, just because she’s seen as a potential threat? How do you expect to prevent the coming doom when you give up at the slightest trouble…?”
“…Those two matters are different, Mika. Don’t blur the point. Stopping the impending doom—”
“We promised to join forces… that we would prepare for the future together… Yet you still trust no one. As a collaborator, you’re scheming behind my back. But why do you not…!”
I couldn’t tell if I was trying to persuade her or just expressing my frustrations. It felt like a mix of both, but I couldn’t be sure.
Feeling the need to calm down, I stopped talking and began taking slow, deep breaths.
In actuality, I wondered if my words were even getting through to Rion. Whining half-heartedly while muttering against her back and expecting her to understand was insane.
“Mika…”
“…Rion, preparing for doom isn’t a weight you should bear alone. If anything, it’s something everyone should carry together. Aris can even contemplate death for us, so why can’t we at least do half of that for her?”
“As I already said, it’s a different case. The risks involved are too high if we fail…”
“Then, applying your beloved rational thinking, Rion, the opinion of the overwhelming majority is more important in a group over a minority, right?”
“…Wrong, Mika. Majority rule is not a fundamentally rational decision-making method. If the absolute majority puts the group in danger, it cannot be accepted rationally. Therefore, I must reject that opinion for the sake of everyone.”
…Looks like I couldn’t win Rion over with words after all.
Yet, I couldn’t afford to stop. If I failed to persuade Rion here, we would lose far too much.
“Rion, I think if your actions are threatening everyone from the opposite direction, it cannot be considered rational either.”
“…What do you mean?”
“With the remaining threats unidentified, your actions this time have shaken the group’s unity. Regardless of whether your choice to prevent Aris from awakening as the Nameless Goddess was right or wrong, no one will understand that choice.”
“I don’t care. Others’ understanding is irrelevant. I’m merely acting on what I believe is right. Even if everyone rejects me in the end, I will not stop.”
…It felt like I was running on an endless parallel line.
No matter what I said, Rion’s faith was too resolute, and the emotions behind it did not stem from malice, which complicated things for me.
Convincing Rion was… perhaps an impossible task from the start.
It was an incredibly difficult dilemma. I wasn’t the kind of person who could exploit Rion’s feelings or overpower her, and I was not eloquent enough to persuade her with words either.
Thinking this internally, at the moment I found myself involuntarily considering giving up…
Pop!
“…A blackout?”
Silence…
Suddenly, the lights went out. The only source of illumination left was the faint glow of my Halo.
As I pondered the blackout while blinking, Rion suddenly said something I hadn’t anticipated at all.
“…We have to go.”
“Huh?”
“Right now, right this instant… we need to go to Aris. Mika, this is…”
I could feel Rion’s voice trembling, her whole body shaking.
“This is my mistake, Mika… I was wrong in my thinking.”
Only after hearing that did I finally realize how the situation was unfolding.
We were now witnessing the overture of doom.
