Ch.110Week 3 Wrap-up

I really hate black-and-white logic. After all, there’s no such thing as perfect good or evil in this world.

So I don’t want to hear any of that nonsense about taking sides and claiming “I’m right” or “you’re wrong.”

But right now, I want to argue for that kind of black-and-white logic. I want to claim that the Demon King is pure evil, completely distant from anything good.

From the beginning, I thought the Demon King’s logic was flawed. There must be countless people who don’t want a life under control.

But directly denying that would mean denying all the people who sacrificed themselves for that stupid plan.

And if that was truly the best option for humanity that the previous Demon King saw…

Sometimes it’s more helpful not to know. If you don’t know anything, you don’t need to agonize like this.

Still, I think it’s better to know. No matter what the truth is, it’s meaningless unless I make my own judgment.

So I’m going to fight the Demon King. I absolutely don’t want to see a damned world where the meaning of choice disappears, regardless of what’s right.

But Leo probably doesn’t think the same way I do. I have a feeling he might think the opposite.

Still, if there’s hope left, it’s worth trying. So with the desperation of grasping at straws, I asked Leo.

“What are you planning to do now, Leo?”

“I’m going to defect to the Demon King’s army.”

My ominous premonition, as always, proved to be exactly right. Couldn’t it be wrong just once?

Whatever the case, things proceeded exactly as that damned prophecy had foretold. Just like the prophecy about a traitor appearing.

Yet somehow, I don’t feel anger rising within me. I should be furiously annoyed, but right now I just feel empty.

Perhaps I still haven’t faced reality. No, I’ve been continuously denying reality.

“…Why did you bother telling me this?”

“To explain that what’s in front of you now is just an enemy.”

Leo directly drove home the fact that we would be fighting each other from now on.

Of course, I don’t want anything like that at all. So I tried desperately to persuade Leo.

“I’m sorry, but this is my choice.”

But all that came back was a truly firm and empty voice. Still, I wasn’t going to give up.

So I tried to persuade Leo again, but I lost consciousness due to a strong impact on the back of my neck.

***

I came to my senses thanks to Rebecca’s voice suddenly reaching my ears.

“I found Lady Lite collapsed in front of the previous Saint’s grave, so I moved her here. Did something happen?”

As soon as I regained consciousness, I looked around. I saw my room in the lodging.

Fortunately, it seems I wasn’t subjected to anything unusual. No, unfortunately, did Leo betray us?

In the end, things went according to fate. Now I think I can somewhat understand how Rebecca feels.

For now, Rebecca must know that Leo was going to betray us today. That’s probably how she found out I was here.

This isn’t a problem I can solve alone anyway. Rather, it’s a much bigger issue for people like Rebecca and Agath.

Just as I was about to offer Rebecca some words of comfort, I heard something strange.

“By the way, have you seen Leo?”

“…What?”

“I’ve been looking for him but can’t find him anywhere. He should normally be researching magic at the magic experience booth.”

Suddenly, an insane anxiety swept over me. Maybe I made a needless mistake?

No, this could just be another false alarm. So let’s listen first and then judge.

“Rebecca, do you know what’s going to happen today?”

“Yes, even if I didn’t want to know, I was forced to see the future, so I couldn’t help but know.”

“Then in the future you saw, what was Leo like?”

“Leo said he would fight the Demon King together with us.”

“…Could you tell me more details?”

“After the festival ended, on our way back, he suddenly said he would fulfill his duty as a hero and fight.”

I said I really hate black-and-white logic. But it was actually me who fell into that kind of thinking.

Why did I think fate would only change in a positive direction? Why didn’t I even consider the possibility of ruining everything like this?

If I hadn’t needlessly brought Leo outside, nothing would have happened. But I did bring him out.

Then what about the prophecy Parthia mentioned about a traitor appearing? Hasn’t this situation turned out exactly as prophesied?

No, that was just one possibility. So I created a butterfly effect that turned that possibility into reality.

In the end, thanks to my unnecessary actions, Leo took off his mask. And things ended up like this.

At least for Leo, this is probably truly fortunate. He finally accepted himself after continuously denying who he was.

But for us, it’s a truly unfortunate fact. At the very least, I didn’t want to fight someone who was once a comrade.

Suddenly, the trolley dilemma came to mind. Choosing between sacrificing one person to save five or sacrificing five to save one.

My current situation is exactly like that. Either letting Leo be free while putting us in danger, or oppressing Leo while preventing anything from happening. Which one is right?

Whatever the case, it’s certain that things have escalated to the worst situation for us. But how should I explain this?

What if speaking up makes things worse? No, if I keep quiet, we might not be able to resist when Leo launches a surprise attack.

Alright, I’ll tell everything. Everything I know about this.

At least unlike Leo, I think knowing is much better than not knowing, no matter how tragic the truth might be.

“Rebecca… I’m sorry… I… I ruined everything…”

And so, crushed by guilt, I conveyed everything I had heard to Rebecca.

***

I confessed everything. But rather than feeling relieved, I felt even more uncomfortable. Of course, that’s natural since I revealed all the past that Leo had tried so hard to hide.

What will Rebecca say to me now? Will she scold me, asking why I did such a thing?

While I was hanging my head low with such thoughts, Rebecca patted my back to comfort me.

“It’s okay. Leo made that choice himself. So you did nothing wrong, Lady Lite.”

Rebecca’s voice was deeply etched with sadness. Perhaps the one who needs comfort is not me but Rebecca.

“…Are you okay, Rebecca?”

“It would be a lie to say I’m fine. But it’s not all over yet, right? So we just need to bring Leo back to our side.”

After finishing her words, Rebecca headed out of the room and said to me.

“I’ll let the others know about this. So please go rest now, Lady Lite.”

“…Is it really okay to expose Leo’s secret like that?”

“Leo was the one who deceived us first.”

Her voice sounded both angry and sad. Indeed, the bond those people had with Leo was truly deep.

After Rebecca left, I was alone in the room again.

But Leo always wore a mask when dealing with us. Then did Leo also feel that we were comrades?

The more I think about it, the more heartbreaking it becomes. At least for now, I just want to sleep without thinking about anything.

So I untied the ribbon around my neck and carelessly threw it nearby. Then an overwhelming fatigue swept over my body. Thanks to that, I fell asleep very quickly.

***

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw the black space and the Goddess. Come to think of it, today was Sunday.

This might actually be good. At least the Goddess might be able to give some useful advice.

Just as I was about to ask the Goddess a question, she asked me first.

“There’s only one week left. How is the persuasion progressing?”

“Leo has become a traitor.”

“…What?”

Come to think of it, the Goddess is always so busy working that she doesn’t have time to see the world. I should explain everything that happened today.

So I told the Goddess everything about what happened to Leo and the current identity of the Demon King. The Goddess sighed and said.

“Escaping fate isn’t always positive.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m not trying to blame you, Lady Lite! It’s just my thought! So please don’t think strangely!”

Thanks to the Goddess constantly watching my reaction, the atmosphere became extremely awkward. She really is incompetent after all.

But that’s separate from her advice. At least her way of thinking might be much better than mine, so let me share all my concerns.

“Goddess, what should I do from now on?”

I really hate fighting someone who was once a comrade. And I also really hate fighting against twisted beliefs rather than pure evil.

That’s probably because I have no beliefs of my own. I’ve just been fighting to survive, so facing such beliefs is difficult.

Of course, I think those beliefs are wrong. But what’s the standard for making that judgment?

It’s clearly wrong, but I don’t want to admit it’s wrong. Maybe I’m using beliefs as an excuse to run away from the fight?

…It’s not that I’m trying to run away—I am running away. Yes, that’s natural. After all, I’m just an ordinary person who can’t achieve great feats.

As an ordinary person, I was lucky enough to be given special abilities and somehow managed until now, but this time I don’t have confidence to do anything with those abilities.

And now even the most reliable person has betrayed us. How can we fight under such adverse conditions?

And if I try to do something and mess things up like this time…

While I was completely dejected and blaming myself, the Goddess asked me with a firm tone.

“I don’t know either. But still, I would like Lady Lite to defeat the Demon King.”

“…Why?”

“Because in the end, all that will remain are humans who are treated like livestock.”

The Goddess seems to have a very negative stance toward the Demon King. I wish my position was as clear as hers.

While thinking about that, light began to gather around me. It’s time to return to reality soon.

As I was heading back to the reality I wanted to escape from, the Goddess looked at me with desperate eyes and said.

“So I’ll ask you once more. Please defeat the Demon King and save the world.”

And I returned to the damned reality I wanted to escape from. What should I do now?