"Okay, so the first question. If you have to choose between gold and jewels—enough to make you the richest person in the whole world, enough to never have to work again—or your friend, then what would you choose? Do you still choose your friend?" the hero asked with a mischievous smile, his tone playful but his eyes sharp.
Scarlett chuckled softly. "Ha! Why wouldn't I? I already have power, I already have agelessness, and I have my people. I don't need money," she thought with a confident smile curling at her lips. "And besides… Aoto is the son of a wealthy family. He doesn't care about money or jewels either. Wealth means nothing to us." She was about to give her answer without hesitation.
But then the hero's words twisted. He leaned forward with a sly grin and added, "Think twice. If your friend says no, then he will receive all that wealth I just mentioned… while you, on the other hand, will be cursed with terrible luck. No matter what you do, you will fail. You will never earn wealth again. And the worst part—your memory of this moment will be erased, so you will never even know why your life turned out this way." His voice was smooth, almost mocking.
Scarlett's smile faltered, and she clenched her fists tightly. Before she could speak, he rubbed his palms together and gave her a side glance. "Of course, if you say no, then you will get all of that instead… and your friend won't remember anything. So really, it's your choice."
"Ha! Trying to sow discord between us?" Scarlett scoffed, her voice cold but firm.
"I say yes!" she declared with pride, refusing to betray her friend no matter the consequences.
The hero chuckled, his harmless smile never fading as he moved on. "Hmm… the next question. If you had to sacrifice all your strength—knowing you would never be able to fight again and would have to bow your head against the world—just to save your friend… would you do it?" Viktor, the hero, asked sweetly, though his words carried a cruel weight.
Scarlett's throat went dry.
"Of course," Viktor continued smoothly, "if one of you says no, then that person will gain power strong enough to destroy planets with a snap of their fingers. Meanwhile, the one who chooses yes will lose everything… and become weaker than a toddler."
Scarlett gulped. Her whole body felt heavy. "Why… why is the hero acting so evil? Even the demon kings seem kinder than this," she thought, biting her lip. "No! This has to be a test. A test of my heart. I must not falter!"
She straightened her back, forcing down her fear. Her voice was steady as she declared, "Yes. I am willing to sacrifice all my strength to save my friend. Not only my friend, but anyone who is dear to me!"
"Good good, I like your resolve!", Hero viktor added with a clap.
"Hmm... It's time for last question!, But do you really think that your friend has said yes? Who knows he already said no!", He added with his sunny smile like talking about weather.
"Heh..do not play mind game with me, If he had said no, My memories would have already been deleted, Considering you are going to ask third question that means he said yes to all two too!", Scarlett added with a wide grin.
"Hero chuckled,"Pretty smart, You didn't only got looks it seems, Well then last most hardest question question even I failed at it!",
"Can you sacrifice your sexual feelings for opposite gender for your friend?", He asked.
"What?", Scarlett asked as she didn't understood what he said.
"It means that if, If one of you says no, That person will gain infinite stamina, An unbelievable charm, Even married women's couldn't hole back from sticking to him!",
"While loosing one can never get his thing up, and loose interest in women and saem for you, You will loose intrest in men as well!", he added.
"Ha! Did he not know that I like women? Of course it's a ye—", Before she was going to conclusions, A thought hit her mind
"Wait, but what about aoto? Can he take risk of loosing interest in women? That harem lover?", At once huge amount of flashbacks came to her mind, How aoto chased after women, Praise their beauty and sin glory of harem genre.
She immediately gulped Nd fell into dilemma,"I'm not afraid of loosing since it doesn't matter if I win or loose, But the chance of us getting the treaser will vanish!", she thought in her mind.
"It seems i can do nothing but put in faith on aoto!", She clenched her fist, if her heart wasn't dead and never beated, It would have already started beating like drum.
"Yes!—Ahh..",
The moment she said yes, The surroundings changed and she found herself inside hall of a palace like place,
The ground was filled with gold and jewelleries and other ancient relics.
As her gaze turned , She aw aoto standing there.
"So you said yes to all three too?", She said while chuckling with happiness.
"Why wouldn't I? It was pretty easy!", Aoto replied as he came forward towards her.
Then they also saw Chiyoko and ingrassia materialising out of thin air.
"Wait you both won the test too?", Scarlett asked, She found it slightly unbelievable given their character and lack of interaction with each other.
"Don't tell me aoto is getting cheated upon?", She thought but then Ingrassia's added.
"Test? What test?",
"Huh? So you didn't go through any test?", Aoto said with surprise.
At that moment, The hero viktor's Will matrailised again.
"Yes! I said I'm in hurry, Since they came together with you they won too, If you had lost the it would be their turn but you both won, Of course you'll get the first right to choose anything, And also you can ask question to me too, I'll provide answer based on my experience as great great great hero!", Viktor said.
"He talks too much!", Ingrassia thought in her mind.
"First right?" Chiyoko muttered under his breath, his voice low but sharp with frustration. That meant Aoto had the first right to choose the Sword of Athena—the legendary weapon that every warrior dreamed of.
But no matter how much it burned inside him, Chiyoko could do nothing about it. Rules were rules. He clenched his fist, watching silently as both Scarlett and Aoto scanned the treasure-filled chamber.
Without much trouble, Aoto's eyes landed on it. The Sword of Athena.
It gleamed with divine radiance, its golden and white blade etched with refined carvings that seemed almost alive. Even Scarlett's weighted virtual sword looked like scrap metal in comparison. The weapon didn't need any introduction—it stood out like a king among peasants.
Aoto reached out, his hand brushing the hilt. But before he could grip it fully, Hero Viktor's will echoed in the chamber, his deep voice filled with authority.
"Remember, if you wish to wield this sword, you must have only one woman as your partner. If you take others, you will lose the right to wield it forever."
The words struck the chamber like thunder.
"What kind of shitty rule is that?!" Aoto immediately blurted out, his voice dripping with disbelief and annoyance.
Scarlett tilted her head, tapping her chin in thought. "Oh, right! Avion told me about this!" she nodded, as if suddenly recalling.
Aoto's expression twisted with irritation. Without a second thought, he tossed the sword away like it was a piece of junk. "I don't want it then!"
The golden blade spun in the air, catching the light before it could hit the ground—only for Chiyoko's eyes to widen.
"Really?!" He jumped forward, almost desperate, and snatched the sword mid-air before it could touch the floor. His grip tightened around it as though he had just won the greatest prize of his life.
Aoto, meanwhile, ignored him. His eyes wandered across the chamber again until something unusual caught his attention. A sword with a crimson-red blade, shaped almost like a curved dagger, glowing faintly with ancient patterns carved along its length.
He bent down and picked it up, his brows furrowed. "What sword is this?"
Viktor's will replied casually, "That is the Sword of Lustrous. The weapon I claimed after hunting demon king lustrous. Unlike Athena's sword, this one is its opposite. The more wives and partners you have, the stronger it becomes. It carries many powers—charm, seduction, and abilities tied to desire itself."
Aoto froze, staring at the weapon, then his lips curled into a wide grin. His eyes shone crystal clear with excitement, as if the heavens themselves had handed him his destiny. "You should've said that sooner. This one's mine!"
Scarlett, meanwhile, had discovered a pair of twin swords resting in the corner. One shone with an ominous blend of dark blue and black, while the other glowed brilliantly gold.
Before she could speak, Viktor's voice explained again. "The black one is best suited for dark mages and swordsmen. The golden one, for white mages and those of light."
Scarlett held the black sword close to her chest, her lips curving in satisfaction. "Perfect for Irish," she whispered softly to herself.
Ingrassia stepped forward calmly and picked up the golden sword without hesitation.
As for the rest of the treasures scattered across the chamber, none of them seemed eager to divide them yet. They exchanged silent glances—some treasures were better left untouched until they were certain.
"You can come here anytime you wish," Viktor's will continued, his tone unusually light. "Think of this place as your secret ground."
Just as relief settled in, Viktor suddenly paused, his gaze drifting into empty air.
"Oh… I just remembered," he said, almost absentmindedly. "I'm keep forgetting it, There is someone buried twenty meters deep, right in front of a Rainbow eucalyptus tree, two kilometers from here. Could you check who it is and why that person is there?"
The words came out of nowhere, making Scarlett blink in confusion. "Huh? Where did that come from…?"
"You want us to find that person?" Aoto asked, raising a brow.
"Person? What person?" Viktor tilted his head, his tone innocent, almost mocking.
"The person you just told us about!" Chiyoko insisted, frowning.
But Viktor only rolled his eyes, replying as if he had said nothing at all. "Did I say anything?"
The four of them froze, exchanging uneasy glances. A chill crept into the chamber. None of them wanted to admit it out loud, but they all heard him.
And so, in silence, they each decided it was best not to ask further.