"......"
After following Guy into the White Ice Palace—after he had "separated" Ria, Rain, and Misery by force—I was trapped in silence until the man seated on the throne finally chose to speak.
The silence was unbearably awkward. After inwardly praying five or six times for him to just say something already, Guy finally opened his mouth.
"So... what exactly were you thinking when you gave [Blanc] a body and a name?"
...The silence was gone, and now an uncomfortable question had taken its place.
Well, at least he didn’t seem genuinely furious, considering he hadn’t started by hurling magic at me.
"...I don’t think you really need to ask me that. I’m sure you already know."
There was no way Guy didn’t know why I had brought Ria here, or how I felt about her. He was the one who had snatched me away right in front of her and dragged me out of hell in the first place. Of course he knew.
On top of that, if it was Guy, then he definitely knew I had visited [Eldorado] to find the [Underworld Gate] Jonne was guarding.
Given how sharp he was, he had probably already seen through the fact that I was searching for ways to travel to hell.
He probably could’ve sent Rain and Misery to stop me, and just chose not to.
The reason Guy hadn’t stopped me beforehand—and had called in only me and Ria separately—was probably because my actions were an "opportunity" that could bring him tremendous benefit.
If [Blanc] descended into the material world, then like he said, the balance of the world would likely collapse. But if she descended as [Ria], that was a different story.
"...To begin with, wasn’t Ria descending into the material world something you half wanted yourself, Guy? You didn’t stop me because, in the end, you wanted me to mediate between you and Ria and turn her into an ally."
"......Oh? Go on."
Just as I thought.
Guy didn’t deny it.
Which meant that savage look from earlier had been his own kind of help... no, a test. A test to see what choice I would make after achieving my goal of reuniting with Ria.
"Once I obtained authority over the [Underworld Gate] from Jonne, I only had two possible choices. I could serve Ria again and betray you, Guy... or stay on your side together with Ria. Of those two, you were certain I’d choose the latter. Because you know what kind of person I am."
"And then?"
Guy’s voice didn’t sound angry at all.
If anything, it sounded like someone curious to hear what answer would come back to the question he had asked.
Once I noticed that, I let go of my tension and continued speaking as usual.
"If that happened, then without any effort on your part, you’d gain one more [Primordial Demons]-class asset. And I’d achieve my own goal too, so it would be a win for both sides."
Guy needed more power.
Especially Veldora and the four [Primordial Demons]—those were exactly the kind of forces he desperately wanted.
To win the [game] against the Hero ruling the [Eastern Empire], he needed overwhelming individuals more than tens of thousands of soldiers.
That was why he hadn’t called me out on searching for Ria even though he knew.
If I stayed by Ria’s side, she wouldn’t run wild recklessly, and that meant the balance of the world wouldn’t be strained either.
"Am I wrong?"
At my question, half full of certainty, Guy bared his teeth in a fierce grin.
And naturally, that grin meant—
"No. That’s correct."
It meant I was right.
"After having you as my subordinate for all this time, I learned what kind of creature you really are. So I was sure you’d bring [Blanc] back with you. And that’s exactly what happened."
As he said that, Guy tilted his head up and looked at the ceiling.
Then his fierce grin shifted into a wry smile, and he gently changed the subject.
To the thing I was most worried about right now.
"...That said, it seems one problem has come out of this."
Flinch...
"Everything else is fine, but... what are you planning to do about Rain and Misery? Rain aside, even Misery won’t let this one slide."
"........."
At Guy’s words, Rain’s question flashed back through my mind, and I froze up like stone.
I had never imagined I’d end up caught in this kind of romantic disaster. What was I even supposed to say?
"...Well, thankfully, it looks like they evolved after fighting those [Seven Angels of Origin] bastards, so you probably won’t die."
Maybe even Guy, who had no idea about the romantic mess, could tell I was completely screwed, because he offered something that was not quite encouragement.
The problem was—
".........That doesn’t sound reassuring at all..."
That it didn’t help in the slightest.
...Seriously, what am I supposed to do?
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