Chapter 623: Preparation (3)

“No— seriously?”

After standing frozen for a moment as if she found it utterly absurd, Seollang soon looked at Deus as if she could not believe it.

“......Why is something that sounds like it came out of a novel suddenly happening in reality—”

Rine likewise looked at Deus as if she found it ridiculous and spoke.

“But did no one expect it?”

At that, when Radan spoke, Seollang and Rine sharply turned their heads and gave Radan their gazes.

“No, how are we supposed to expect this?”

“Right. It’s not like we’re prophets. How would we know something that happened behind us?”

At that, Radan awkwardly scratched his head.

“No, when the Karma Seat appeared earlier, Deus was the only one who did not really do anything, right?”

“......Huh?”

“Come to think of it.......”

For a moment, Seollang and Rine thought carefully.

Certainly, a little while ago.

The moment the Karma Seat arrived, unlike the others who had immediately rushed in to attack the Karma Seat...... they realized Deus alone had shown no action at all. Soon, they looked at Deus with expressions that said, Wow—

“Wait— it seems there is some misunderstanding—”

At the reaction of those two, Deus hurriedly opened his mouth.

“The thing is, I am also bewildered right now. The moment I saw her...... my memories returned as well.”

“......Your memories returned after seeing her?”

“Yes.”

When Rine asked as if confirming it, Deus nodded. Then he held his head as if dizzy.

“I do not know why this happened, but my memories have only just returned. So— I am somewhat confused.”

He murmured that.

Around the time Deus had fallen into his own confusion like that.

“......So, in other words.......”

“Yes.”

“You and Deus were engaged?”

“That is right.”

Alon also stared blankly with his mouth slightly open at Sharon’s continuing story.

“......You, a Karma Seat, were engaged to Deus?”

“Yes.”

“Truly?”

“Yes.”

At Sharon’s answer, as she nodded without the slightest hesitation, Alon looked at her and ended up asking without realizing it.

“......Why?”

It was difficult to understand at all.

The woman before his eyes was a Karma Seat.

From what he had actually heard, she and Alon had been enemies.

And yet, even though they had definitely been enemies...... he could not understand at all how she had ended up in that sort of relationship with Deus, so Alon had no choice but to ask back like that.

At Alon’s question, Sharon smiled with a soft ohoho—

“He saved me.”

“......Saved you? From a life-threatening crisis?”

“Yes. To be more precise—”

Sharon looked into the air for a moment as if recalling that time, then began steadily telling him what had happened together with Deus.

“......So, it was probably when you and I were fighting with our lives on the line, Father. At the time, I had also grown considerably well and was in an extremely strong state, so it was basically not strange no matter who won.”

Her words continued.

“But that evenly matched fight was eventually ruined because of Deus. His joining was fatal to me. So, at the moment I was defeated, I tried to use my ability and self-destruct.”

“......Self-destruct?”

“Yes. It was the feeling of, if I was going to disappear anyway, then everyone should die together.”

Alon was aghast at Sharon, who casually told such a frightening story, but she continued speaking.

“Ah, but I failed in the end. Deus dragged me into an imaginary space.”

“......An imaginary space?”

“Yes. Well, to be precise, it was a space that had form. There was a meadow...... Though it was literally only a meadow.”

On and on.

“In any case, the two of us fell into that place. At first, we fought a tremendous amount. We worked hard to kill each other. But the result did not come out easily. Of course, we tried to get out, but °• N ?? v ?? l i g h t •° we could not get out either.”

On and on.

“After fighting so hard like that...... I was injured. Since I had already used most of my power when I self-destructed, I had no strength left, so it was a natural result. But— when Deus saw me injured after we had been fighting so hard, he suddenly started treating me—!”

Endlessly.

“And so, at some point—”

Alon blankly listened to Sharon’s words.

Somehow, all the important content seemed to have been gathered at the beginning, and from a certain point on, it was mainly about how she and Deus did something in an empty meadow, or did this, or saw that.

......How should he put it? It was less information delivery and more words without much meaning.

But because she herself was speaking very earnestly, Alon quietly listened to her.

He thought, Well, it will end soon.

“But then Deus suddenly hugged me without saying a word, you know? All sorts of thoughts really came to mind. Actually, I was not that cold, either—”

......That was what he thought he had been thinking around forty minutes ago.

“.......”

Alon looked at her while trying his best to focus as she continued speaking hard, without even giving him time to rest. Only after about another thirty minutes had all passed.

“Anyway, that was how we eventually returned.”

Sharon finished the story that had continued for about two hours.

And.

“......So, in other words, you spent an extremely long time together with Deus in that imaginary space...... and became lovers. Is that it?”

“And after we came out, we even got engaged.”

Even if he added Sharon’s final comment, the situation could be summarized in about three lines. Alon pressed his lips shut.

......Because that overly talkative side reminded him of someone.

After briefly thinking, Do people grow similar if they spend a long time together? Alon nodded as if he roughly understood.

“......In short, can I interpret this as meaning that, strictly speaking, you are on our side?”

“Mm— that is right? No, definitively.”

It is not as if Deus would ever attach himself to the other side anyway, Sharon continued.

“Deus is on your side, Father, and then I am on your side too.”

“.......”

“And since there is no way my dear would change his mind, I am definitively on your side.”

Sharon nodded, finishing her summary.

At that, Alon nodded back, then asked after a thought suddenly came to mind.

“By the way, for someone who has that kind of relationship with Deus, you did not greet him. Why?”

“Because he would be watching your reaction, Father?”

“......Deus would?”

“Yes. So I kept the order.”

It is the feeling of greeting Father first, then greeting Deus— If I do this, Deus, from whose perspective Father is engraved into his mind almost like a compulsion, will feel more at ease, Sharon added.

At her consideration, Alon newly nodded again. This time, she asked.

“By the way, Father. May I ask you one thing?”

“What is it?”

“By any chance, the current Deus is not engaged or married, is he?”

Sharon asked with a smile.

For some reason, feeling as though the atmosphere had grown heavy, Alon answered somewhat quickly.

“......I remember that he was neither married nor engaged.”

“Is that so? As expected—”

“......What would happen if Deus were married?”

Alon asked out of pure curiosity.

“Mm— even then, it cannot be helped—”

At that question, Sharon answered with an unexpectedly ordinary smile.

“We would have no choice but to reach an agreement by eliminating the spouse first.”

While saying words that could never come from an ordinary smile.

####

After ending the conversation with Sharon like that.

Alon introduced her to the gathered kids with a rough explanation of the situation.

“Mm— I look forward to getting along with you all?”

And from her, who exchanged greetings with rich sociability unlike the other Karma Seats, Alon was finally able to hear quite a lot of information.

‘The total number of Karma Seats descending after forming an alliance is eight. Among them, three of their abilities have been confirmed.’

Information that might perhaps be ambiguous to call good information.

But at the current point, it was information they needed very much.

On top of that, although it was truly unexpected, if the Karma Seat of Benevolence really joined as an ally, then it was certainly a reinforcement in terms of combat strength.

Because she was a “Karma Seat.”

And a Karma Seat who had endured in the previous world while all the other Karma Seats disappeared.

Thinking that far, Alon looked at Sharon, who was receiving all sorts of questions.

As he looked at her, who had somehow given off the atmosphere of a good wife and wise mother by saying that, to ease Deus’s worries, rather than greet him first, she had first greeted Alon, whom Deus cared about—

“Deus.”

“Yes.”

“Let us talk for a moment.”

He soon called Deus aside briefly.

Glance—

Even while receiving the others’ greetings, Sharon’s gaze followed Deus the moment he moved, as if all her attention had been on him.

However, despite that, Alon took Deus and briefly went up to the upper part of the Mage Tower.

“First, I heard the story.”

“Yes. I apologize for failing to tell you in advance.”

Watching Deus immediately apologize at the words that followed, Alon shook his head.

“No. There was no time to talk about your memories. And as for her...... no matter what you do, I respect you.”

At that, seeing Deus’s eyes widen slightly, Alon cleared his throat with a hmm-hmm.

“However, the reason I called you like this is because a confirmation process is necessary.”

“......Confirmation, you mean?”

“Yes. I heard from the Karma Seat, but— is it true that you and she were engaged?”

Of course, looking at the atmosphere, it seemed certain that even if it had not gone as far as engagement, there had undoubtedly been some sort of relationship.

But because he believed there could still, just in case, be a lie in the words she had uttered, Alon needed a confirmation process from Deus, whom he could trust for certain.

Because simply listening to and watching her words and actions and believing them would be foolish.

‘......Of course, considering that, it does seem like she told me all the information she knows.’

As Alon thought that far and looked at Deus, he seemed to hesitate over his words for a moment, then carefully nodded.

“They are confusing memories, but even so, the conclusion is...... although it was informal, we did do it.”

“......You got engaged?”

“Yes. The— both of us did it just before dying, so—”

At Deus’s words, Alon let out an ah.

“......I see.”

Alon newly became curious about the situation at that time, but he did not bother asking.

Because he felt that, at least for Deus, it was probably not a good memory.

Therefore, after thinking for a moment, Alon opened his mouth again.

“Deus.”

“Yes.”

“In your view, do you think she might think of betrayal?”

A somewhat more serious question.

In fact, even after receiving confirmation from Deus, his suspicion did not easily fade.

No matter how she had come because of events from the first round, those were still events from the first round.

There was no knowing whether she now harbored other thoughts.

“......At least, judging by the memories that have surfaced now, I do not think so.”

But at Deus’s following words, Alon thought for a moment, then silently nodded.

And then he decided.

He would try trusting Deus once.

Though he would not cast aside the minimum amount of suspicion.

“I see.”

After answering that, Alon decided to ask what he was truly curious about this time.

“By the way.”

“......Yes.”

“From what I heard from the Karma Seat— no, from Sharon, she said that later, while you were fighting, when Sharon was badly injured, you treated her. Is that true?”

Alon’s curiosity was precisely that.

Deus was the sort of person who clearly separated enemy and ally.

In other words, he was not the type to show mercy to an enemy.

However, in the story he had heard from Sharon, Deus had made a different judgment from the Deus he knew, so he had asked.

At that, Deus fell silent for a moment.

“......Should I speak honestly?”

He asked.

“Yes, well...... if you are all right with it?”

Alon nodded while looking somewhat puzzled.

And after a brief silence passed.

“The truth is.......”

“The truth is......?”

“I treated her wounds...... recovered her somehow, then thought I might extract her power and return to reality.......”

Deus said.

“.......”

“.......”

“Deus.”

“Yes.”

“......I think it would be better for you to keep the truth to yourself.”

“......I think so as well.”

The two of them made a promise that absolutely had to be kept.

A promise that had to be kept no matter what.

......In every sense.