Outside a milk tea shop in the amusement park.
"Elysia, are you sure this is really okay?" Eden asked with a hint of exasperation, looking at her best friend—who, like her, was wearing sunglasses.
Compared to Elysia, Eden needed more disguise. And… well, asking her manager to cover for her while she secretly slipped away—this was her first time doing such a thing. She had to admit, it was a little thrilling.
"Mmm… Well, even though I've said I wouldn't give up, I'm still scared of hearing Silas's answer…" Elysia murmured softly, stirring the milk tea on the table with her straw.
They had arrived at the amusement park earlier than Silas and the others, and when the group split up, they quietly followed behind them.
Then they witnessed the following scene:
The haunted house staff member—who had been shoved back by Silas—hadn't yet recovered from his frustration. He was just about to try scaring the two girls following behind… only to be completely ignored as they walked past without even a glance.
The poor man sank into deep doubt about his professional skills.
"With Silas's personality, the moment we meet, he'd probably blurt out his answer right away," Elysia said, glancing toward the bumper car area.
Eden sighed lightly. "Elysia, if you believe he'd do that, then why not at least try to guess what his answer would be?"
"Silas's answer… Honestly, I'm not sure at all," Elysia admitted. "Because before I could find out, he first admitted that he had feelings for Lilith—even if he thought they weren't enough to be called love. You know how good Lilith was to him in our previous life, right? And besides… I never expected that the invitation I sent before the final banquet would end up being the reason I couldn't see him."
Eden looked down at her own cup of milk tea. She had almost never drunk this kind of beverage—usually it was wine. But most girls, Elysia included, liked milk tea… so she figured it was worth a try.
Still, wasn't this kind of heartfelt storytelling supposed to be accompanied by fine wine?
Well… not that it was possible to get any here.
"When I had just been reborn, I talked to Silas," Elysia continued. "He told me that the invitation I sent made him feel like I didn't trust him…"
"Because from start to finish, I never thought you would fall for me," Silas's voice came from right above their heads.
Elysia nearly jumped in surprise, while Eden merely gave him a slightly startled glance. After all, it was nearly impossible to make her lose her composure—unless Kevin smashed her piano, in which case she'd just beat him up with Cosmic Harmony. (Cosmic Harmony = Name of Star of Eden from P.E.)
"I already had the feeling we were being followed back in the haunted house," Silas explained as he pulled up a chair and sat down. "When we were lining up for the bumper cars, I confirmed it with Sakura. She said she noticed someone tailing us too, though it didn't seem malicious."
He had recalled catching a glimpse of pink hair earlier, and after thinking about it, realized there was indeed one pink-haired beauty who had split off from their group. So he came up with a quick plan—letting Pardo and Sakura go ride bumper cars while he blended into the crowd to get a better look at the suspected follower.
He hadn't recognized Eden right away, but Elysia? She was impossible to hide.
"Maybe we should have a proper talk," Silas said, spreading his hands.
Elysia took a deep breath and gave a small nod.
"In that case, as a third party, how about I pick a starting point for the conversation?" Eden suggested. Since Elysia didn't want to hear Silas's answer too soon, she would guide the discussion instead.
Silas leaned back in his chair. "Fine by me."
Elysia agreed as well. "Then I'll leave it to you, Eden."
"First of all," Eden began, "Silas, why did you never once consider that Elysia might fall for you?"
Silas fell silent. How was he supposed to explain? Elysia was the daughter of God, a companion to all mankind. Her love was a universal love. Back then, he wasn't even a Herrscher—just an ordinary human. From any logical perspective, there was no reason to think Elysia would feel anything toward him that was different from what she felt toward everyone else.
It wasn't that he was overly obsessed with the game's lore—
The key point was that everything set in the game's story had actually happened. How could he not believe it?
The truth was, he still hadn't placed himself on the same level as everyone else.
Because to do that, he'd have to go back to the original question—
How exactly had he crossed over in the first place?
He still couldn't figure it out. He'd just gone to sleep, and then woke up buried under rubble like the Monkey King under Five Elements Mountain. It wasn't like he'd been hit by some performance-driven truck or anything… So how did he get here?
Second question: What was the purpose of his transmigration?
That one, he could answer—
To save the Thirteen Flame-Chasers.
They deserved a better stage!
Especially Elysia. She needed to know that her successors included many Herrschers who fought for humanity—
And they were all unbelievably adorable girls!
As for how things had ended up like this… he honestly didn't know.
Was it because he had volunteered for Mobius's experiments one too many times, even serving as her guinea pig more times than he could count?
Or because he'd seriously discussed magic with Vill-V, helped with the Anti-Kevin Arsenal, and even released Pure Evil?
How did it turn into this?
And now, as for Eden's question—
What should he say? Make up some excuse to brush it off?
That didn't feel right. After all, Elysia had always answered him truthfully whenever he asked something. If he lied now, it would feel like a betrayal.
Then… should he come clean that he wasn't from this world at all, that he was a transmigrator? And that the world they lived in was, in his world, just a video game?
How would he even say that? Could he even say that?
After thinking for a long time, Silas finally spoke:
"The exact reason… forgive me, but I can't tell you right now. I'm sorry. Just know this—I knew from the very start that Elysia was a Herrscher. From the very first moment—when she pulled me out from under the ruins."
Elysia and Eden were both stunned.
He knew from the start?
Silas propped one hand against his forehead, staring down at the table.
"The Herrscher of Origin. The First Herrscher. God's daughter, the companion of mankind… Yeah, I knew from the beginning."
When she came back to her senses, Elysia asked hesitantly,
"Then why did you…" not tell me?
If that was the case, she finally understood the magnitude of the hurt she'd caused him by sending that single invitation before the final banquet.
If he had known from the very beginning that she was a Herrscher—and she had never told anyone—that meant he had always trusted her.
Yet she had still sent that invitation in the name of a Herrscher, summoning him to come and hunt her down.
"After all, you yourself didn't openly acknowledge your identity as a Herrscher until around the time of the Twelfth Herrscher incident, right?" Silas looked at Elysia.
"You've always considered yourself human. Even when you already knew you were born a Herrscher, you still stood in that banquet hall and asked every guest whether you had become 'human.'"
Elysia and Eden both fell silent.
After a long pause, Eden finally spoke:
"Silas, if you didn't attend the final banquet, how did you know all this? Did Kevin tell you?"
It seemed like the only possible explanation.
"No. I already knew before that." Silas looked at Eden.
"Not just before the banquet—more precisely, before I even met Elysia… I already knew."
"You… exactly what are you…" Eden wanted to ask what Silas really was, but hesitated.
Because by his account, if Elysia was the daughter of God… could that make him the son of God or something?
Otherwise, why would he have known all this from the start?
And Aponia had said that Silas had taken on the fates of others, bearing their karmic burdens. Elysia also had no corresponding thread of fate…
Silas chose not to answer.
"…That's all I can say. Let's change the subject, Eden."
Eden was just about to press further, but Elysia spoke first:
"I understand now. You're like a prophet—someone who knows in advance what's going to happen in the future, aren't you?"
"You could think of it that way." Silas nodded.
"As for the answer to the question you asked me… I actually spent a long time thinking about it yesterday. If I sort through it, it goes like this:
"At first, my feelings for you were admiration—admiration for everything you would accomplish in the future as Elysia. Later, when we fought side by side in your squad… from then until I confessed after the Sixth Herrscher incident, I truly fell in love with you. Not because you were Elysia, but because you were simply… you."
"But you turned me down. So later, I thought about it. In the future I've seen, you like everyone. You're only interested in things you like, but you like everything—isn't that right?"
"And because of that… I let go of a love I believed would never be returned. But everything I've done since then was really to try and overturn the future where you'd be forced to sacrifice yourself."
"I'm sorry. I failed."
He had truly thought it through, but the answer was beyond what either he or Elysia had expected.
That's what Eden thought.
So then…
"Why apologize?" Elysia asked softly.
"Why do all of this for me? Why… face an enemy you could never possibly defeat?"
Even after seeing that future, after seeing that inescapable fate, he had still chosen to fight against it—for her…
And yet… he had let go.
"If I don't try, how will I ever know?" Silas smiled.
"At least now, I've found a little hope, haven't I?"
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