In the end, Rhode convinced the little queen to speak to the giant again, and the little queen also accepted his suggestion. He initially thought that no matter how much he spoke, it would be hard to change the little queen’s mind. Because to the little queen, he was just a passing traveler, and this was her country and not his, after all. The little queen represented Celia’s ‘ego’, so it should be hard for her to listen to others. However, Rhode didn’t expect her to agree with what he said without any hesitation. It seemed like the real Celia still had a certain amount of deep-seated trust in him. This was what affected the three different Celias at the mental level. If not, no matter what Rhode said, perhaps Celia’s inner instincts would resent it, let alone accept it.
And when the little queen, who had been convinced by him, arrived at Candy Mountain again, she was surprised to find that the giant was also looking miserable. It was apparent that she was now living on Candy Mountain and there was no lack of delicious sweets and desserts everywhere, where she could eat as much as she wanted. But now, the giant looked so sad as though the world were coming to an end. Upon seeing the arrival of the little queen and Rhode, the giant poured out all her troubles as though she met her lifesavers.
It turned out that although the battle angel allowed the giant to live here, the former also set a lot of rules for her. The giant initially thought that she could eat whatever and as much as she wanted since she lived in Candy Mountain now. But it turned out not to be the case at all. Not only did the battle angel restrict her to three meals a day, but the amount in each meal was also strictly limited. Furthermore, the giant also had to wear this ‘particularly uncomfortable’ set of clothes.
This made the giant feel as if she was in hell. She used to be free, so how could she possibly be bound by such limitations? The battle angel watched her closely, ensuring that she followed the rules accordingly. And now, the giant was already regretting her decision to agree with the battle angel’s condition as even starving in the wilderness was better than this treatment… For the giant, there was nothing more important than being free and doing as she pleased. But now, being monitored so closely by the battle angel left her incredibly depressed. At that moment, when she saw the arrival of the little queen and Rhode, she opened her mouth and complained to them unceasingly.
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to leave? That fella is so annoying anyway. It definitely isn’t good staying here any longer!”
After hearing the giant’s complaint, the little queen waved her fists and made her decision with pride. And upon hearing her suggestion, the giant also nodded as if she really intended to take action. But just as they were about to turn their thoughts into action, Rhode, who kept quiet beside them, let out a light cough, looked at the two of them, and asked.
“So… What about the problem with food in the future?”
“Huh? About that…”
Upon hearing Rhode’s question, both the giant and little queen stared at each other in astonishment. However, they didn’t know what to say. It was only after a moment when the little queen gnashed her teeth and replied.
“No problem, I can give it to her! Hmph, aren’t they just candies and desserts? Now that Candy Mountain is mine, I can get her some candies and desserts every day!”
“But what if she wants to eat whenever she wants? Will you be able to keep enough food on hand for her?”
“Ugh…”
The little queen was speechless at Rhode’s further questions. She frowned and pouted, pondering hard for a few moments.
“But… But… But…”
“We don’t necessarily need to come up with a new approach.”
Looking at the distressed expressions of the little queen and giant, Rhode shook his head and got straight to the point.
“Personally, I also think that the battle angel’s suggestion was actually really good. But the problem is that she doesn’t care what either of you think. While it is true that she is looking out for your best interests, this isn’t the right thing to do. Both of you haven’t embraced her intentions in a heartfelt way, and neither of you are used to it. So I think what is needed now is not to come up with a new approach, but to improve on the battle angel’s suggestion…”
“That’s right. Improve, improve!”
Upon hearing Rhode’s explanation, the little queen, who was pondering bitterly, raised her hand in excitement as if she discovered a new continent like a drowning person finally grasping a life-saving straw. She widened her mouth and shouted in unparalleled excitement. And when the giant heard her cheers, she also raised her hand in delight. But just as she was about to respond to the little queen, a serious and earnest voice rang in their ears all of a sudden.
“Haven’t you two given up yet?”
“———!”
Upon hearing that voice, the little queen and giant tensed up instinctively. They raised their heads to the sky and soon, spotted the battle angel fluttering her wings and descending from the sky. The battle angel stared at the two of them, and her sharp gaze emanated an ice-cold and majestic aura. Feeling the imposing presence of the battle angel, the giant whimpered and curled her huge body into a ball like a frightened puppy. The little queen also took a few steps back. But perhaps after being reminded of her duty, she forced herself to hold her chest up and look at the battle angel before her. Then, she grunted.
“Of course not! You’re the only one who accepted what you said before and none of us have! This won’t work! I demand an… improvement! That’s right, improvement! At least make your conditions acceptable to all of us!”
“Acceptable?”
The battle angel furrowed her brows slightly in the face of the little queen’s words.
“I don’t see what’s so unacceptable to you. I’m merely suggesting according to your individuality. It will benefit you two as well. In the end, it is the both of you who will ultimately benefit from it. It may sound a little harsh, but without rules, nothing can be done. How can you sustain if you can’t keep your agreement? Both of you don’t…”
“Aaaahhhh! I’ve had enough!”
But this time, before the battle angel finished her sentence, she was interrupted by the little queen who jumped up fiercely and placed her hands on her hips, before pointing at the battle angel in rage.
“Every time, every time, every time! You’re always the one who says what is the right and wrong thing to do! I’ve had enough! I don’t care if you’re right or wrong, but this is unacceptable! I’m not afraid of you! Hmph! Whether you’re right or not, I just don’t like it!”
“What you’re doing is futile.”
In the face of the little queen’s ‘resistance’, the battle angel’s voice became deeper, and the chilly air that exuded from her body almost turned into a substantial cold breeze that froze the entire world around her. Meanwhile, the little queen, who finally stood upright and bravely after gaining the support of Rhode, no longer cowered in the face of the battle angel like before. Instead, she looked ahead and showed complete disdain for the battle angel’s imposing presence.
“It is not up to you to decide whether or not it is beneficial for us! It’s up to us to decide! I don’t like it, and I don’t think it’s good! And the same goes for her. What’s wrong with saying what we like out loud!”
“Y-Yeah…”
As if responding to the little queen’s words, the giant beside her, who didn’t dare to speak up earlier, cautiously peeked and spoke up. Right now, the conversation between the three of them was somewhat puzzling to Rhode. It was obvious that the issue they were discussing now seemed to have become more than just the home of the giant; it wasn’t strictly about how this matter should be handled. It had been skewed to a completely abnormal track.
Although Rhode didn’t show any signs of panic, he was, in fact, getting increasingly nervous as he watched the three of them arguing in front of him. The more unharmonized their words were, the more intense the three different mental states they represented were, which would lead straight to the core of the problem. Judging from this point, what the three of them were discussing now wasn’t about cream and cake at all, but rather the true feelings that were hidden deep within Celia’s heart, ones even she wasn’t aware of.
“This isn’t right! No matter how you look at it, I don’t think this is going to end well! All we have to do is maintain the status quo!”
“But I don’t want to maintain the status quo! I don’t think this is good at all! I’m one of the parties involved and I have the right to voice my opinion and views!”
“I really like it, so why can’t I just do what I like?”
“This just isn’t right! You two will only bring trouble…!”
Without realizing it, the three of them began to argue. And along with their argument, the original scenery vanished, only to be replaced by a sticky white mass. At that instant, Rhode noticed a black void appearing beneath his feet. At the next moment, the heavens and earth turned upside down. As if being caught in the white whirlpool, Rhode was surrounded by the whirlpool and began to spin wildly. The arguments of the three in his ears became increasingly louder, to a point where it was almost impossible to hear their words clearly.
And after an unknown amount of time, the noise in his ears finally vanished. The world in front of his eyes changed yet again. Right now, what was in front of him was no longer the fairy tale-like world, but a pure white field instead. At that moment, he stood on a stone plate that looked like a huge circular plaza. As far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but the color white everywhere. The battle angel, on the other hand, half-knelt on the ground in exhaustion as if she had just been through a war.
“This is…”
Looking at the world in front of him, Rhode was bewildered. It seemed like this was the core of Celia’s mental world. But… Why now?
Come to think of it, what the hell just happened?
“Mr. Rhode… Why did you do that?”
And at that moment, the battle angel finally spoke. For some reason, Rhode noticed that this Celia wasn’t as cold and rigid as before. On the contrary, he heard a strong resentment from her tone… Resentment? This sentiment was a rare one for her. Not only that, but it was also the first time she had called out his name. Before this moment, she had never spoken with him, as if he didn’t exist at all.
But now… The situation didn’t seem good either.
“You shouldn’t have come here, Mr. Rhode. This has nothing to do with you. I think that’s the best judgment as no one gets hurt that way. It might be a little hard to accept, but considering the end result, I think it’s acceptable…! Why? Why did you do that? You just don’t understand!”
“Yes, I really don’t.”
Rhode was quick to acknowledge her speech.
“But it’s precisely that I don’t understand, which is why I’m doing it… No matter what, I’m bound to make a choice since I’m here.”
“As expected… This has always been your style, Master…”
With those words, Celia raised her head slowly. Her expression turned increasingly serious, angry, and ice-cold. Almost at the same time, a huge golden bird cage suddenly appeared out of nowhere, descended from the sky, and shrouded them within. Not only did she change the way she addressed him, but her outfit also transformed. Soon, the gorgeous and heavy white-golden armor vanished, only to be replaced with the armor that Celia wore in her daily life. It could even be said that the current battle angel finally returned to being the original Celia.
“But I don’t like it, Master… It should have been me first. Why did things end up this way?”
“Celia?”
Celia’s speech became even more confusing, leaving Rhode at a loss. However, he raised his guard instinctively as the tension in the air and the level of danger he felt were far above the level of the previous fight between the three mental entities. Right now, the atmosphere was filled with dense murderous intent. And the moment he raised his guard, a blade ray flashed past his eyes.
Clang!
If he hadn’t raised his guard in time, perhaps the blade ray would have pierced right into his body. But in the face of this ambush from Celia, Rhode was able to block her attack and took the opportunity to draw a distance away from her. But even so, his eyes glinted in an unbelievable flash.
“Celia?”
It wasn’t surprising that he was stunned. Celia was one of his most loyal subordinates. But now, she seemed like she was going to annihilate him!
What have I done to make her hate me so much? I neither toyed with nor threw her aside, so what’s with this?
“Master, since you want me to say it, I will do so…”
As Celia spoke, she raised her sword and aimed at him.
“I have always been very unhappy with what Master has done!”
Swish!
Along with those words, another blade ray swung down at him. Rhode dodged in a swift maneuver, but that didn’t stop her. Instead, she continuously brandished her sword at him. Not only that, but she also didn’t stop yelling.
“Why did you sacrifice so many innocent people? While they may have gone too far with things, many innocents were implicated! Master, you care too little for their lives! You’ve gone too far! I don’t like that! And you’re always plotting against people with some nasty scheme! Don’t you think it’s evil? I wish my master were more upright! Why do you have to do those nasty things when you obviously have a resolute side on the battlefield?!”
Along with her accusations, she flourished her sword at Rhode unceasingly. Fortunately for him, this was a mental world, so his attributes weren’t restricted by the outside world. He maintained the strength of a Void Dragon, so even though Celia’s attacks were fierce, it was still easy for him to dodge them. However…
Seems like Celia has a really big grudge against me.
Hearing the accusations from her, Rhode was speechless. He knew that Celia definitely disliked what he did. And as the holy sword card that had followed him for the longest time, she could be said to have witnessed his journey from the beginning until now. And no one knew better than Celia what he had done…
Up until that moment, everything seemed normal. But it was only later when her complaints deviated from the norm.
“Master, you are so unruly! Even with all the pretty girls around you, you’re still messing with others! And to do that kind of outrageous and shameless thing to so many girls, you’ve gone too far! And you obviously didn’t even spare Big Sister! Why don’t you care for me?! You like girls so much, but you’ve never looked at me. Am I no better than Big Sister?!”
“Huh?”
Rhode was taken aback by her confessions.
What in the world is going on?
