PinkSnake - New WorldShadow - 371

Chapter 371: Let Gamma Suffer a Little, I’ll Bear the Stigma of a Traitor. Together for a Lifetime

The doors of the Mitsugoshi Café opened, setting the wind chime beside the entrance jingling. A silver-haired elf led the way, pulling a blond Therianthrope along by the arm, with several others following behind them.

“Standing outside will get in the way of business. Come in and have some tea. My treat.”

Releasing Zeta’s arm, Beta turned to the others with a gentle smile.

“Really? That’s great! This is my first time coming to such a fancy place.”

The moment she heard Beta was paying, Kanade immediately cheered. Forgive her embarrassing reaction. Given how poor she was, a single visit to a lavish place like this would cost her several months’ worth of living expenses.

“Didn’t you come here once before?”

Sensing Cid’s gaze, Kanade froze mid-celebration. She met his eyes and blinked.

“You mean that time we didn’t order a single thing and still got attacked by zombies?”

“Yeah.”

At Cid’s nod, Kanade’s expression instantly turned sour.

While Cid and Kanade were getting along perfectly well, Alexia had finally reached the limit of her patience.

“Hey, Natsume, isn’t she the one who punched me back then? Why are you hanging around with her?”

Alexia glared at Zeta. She had burned the face of the girl who punched her into her memory. Never in her life had she suffered such humiliation.

“Well... she’s a friend I made in the Beastman Kingdom. You know how chaotic things are over there. Anyway, what would you all like to drink?”

Beta gave a faint smile, deliberately downplaying her relationship with Zeta. She was already prepared to sever ties with Alexia if necessary. After all, her identity as Natsume was nothing more than a cover to begin with.

“Huh? Natsume, don’t try to change the subject! She punched me...”

“Alexia, enough. You said something that willful out on the street. It’s perfectly normal for someone who saw it to step in and punch you.”

Christina cut Alexia off before she could finish.

“Huh? But...”

Alexia wanted to argue, but then she saw Cid talking with Kanade behind Christina and remembered what Cid had told her that day. In the end, she stopped trying to defend herself and could only admit that she had indeed been in the wrong.

“All right, Natsume-sensei, you can just call me Christina. And... who is this?”

After settling Alexia down, Christina turned toward the silent blond Therianthrope beside Beta and asked tentatively.

“...Zeta.”

Zeta had no desire to answer, but when she realized everyone was looking at her, especially Cid, she thought for a moment and finally gave her name.

“That’s a lovely name. I know I already said it once, but thank you again for saving us earlier, Zeta-san. Otherwise, we really might have died at Eliza’s hands.”

By the time Christina finished thanking her, the group had reached a large table and taken their seats. A server came over and handed them menus.

“Have you decided what you’d like to drink?”

At Beta’s question, Cid and the others exchanged glances before eventually turning toward Christina. She was the one who had brought them here, after all.

“Um... do you have any recommendations, Natsume-sensei? You seem like you come here pretty often.”

“Not especially. I just happen to like Mitsugoshi products. But if you want a recommendation, the black tea here is very good. I especially like hot Earl Grey. It’s delicious.”

After giving it some thought, Beta recommended what she usually drank when relaxing. She had not lied to Christina and the others either. Things produced by her own people were certainly more reassuring. Who knew, eating random things outside might turn you into a zombie.

“Well, in that case, we’ll have the same as Natsume-sensei. Four hot Earl Greys. Is that all right?”

After learning Beta’s preference, Christina had already made up her mind, but she still turned around to ask the others she had brought with her.

“Actually, Natsume and I have pretty similar tastes. Fine, hot Earl Grey.”

“I don’t mind. You can decide, Christina-san.”

“I... I’m the same as Cid-kun. I don’t mind.”

With that, their drinks were decided. But when the server turned toward Zeta, she was immediately intimidated by the cold aura radiating from her and the constant trembling of her leg.

The longer Zeta stayed here, the more she felt that she was wasting time. She should have been in the Beastman Kingdom, directing the fight against the Cult of Diablos, not sitting here talking about this pointless game of make-believe.

“I still have some things to deal with, so I’ll be...”

“No need, Zeta. They’re the friends I wanted to introduce to you. They’re also part of the investigation into the large-scale disappearances taking place across multiple countries.”

Beta interrupted her halfway through. She was blatantly cutting off Zeta’s escape route, prompting Zeta to narrow her eyes.

Beta, if Master weren’t here, I’d knock every one of you unconscious right now and leave by myself.

That’s exactly why I’m keeping you here while I have the chance, you traitor. Whatever needs to be said, we’re settling it all at once!

Zeta lost their silent battle of wills. Fighting was much more her specialty than arguing. With no other choice, she reluctantly sat back down, though she resolved not to say another word.

Unlike the secret struggle between Beta and Zeta, Christina immediately grew excited after hearing Beta’s explanation.

“Really? So you’re another ally Natsume-sensei brought in? Then again, I suppose we never would have met otherwise.”

Christina’s reasoning was simple. In hindsight, Alexia’s original reasoning for pulling her into the alliance might have been somewhat questionable, but Natsume-sensei, who had been dragged into it by Alexia just like her, certainly had no problem. Naturally, any ally introduced by Natsume-sensei would also be trustworthy. They were all companions who shared the same ideals.

“Wait. Since when did those two have an alliance?”

Cid, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally noticed something was off. He had always thought Beta and Alexia simply enjoyed taking shots at each other.

“Hah. They call it an alliance, but really it’s just a little girls’ clique. For all we know, they spend all their time badmouthing each other behind their backs.”

Picking up on Cid’s confusion, Kanade immediately hit the nail on the head.

“It did count as an alliance before, but after we lost one member, it more or less fell apart. Now... we’re just acquaintances.”

After giving a brief explanation, Beta cast Alexia a teasing glance. Alexia merely clicked her tongue in annoyance. Who could have predicted that right after their alliance was formed, a certain blond upperclassman would suddenly murder her own father and then take the lead in defecting to the enemy?

“Hehehe...”

Unlike Alexia, who looked thoroughly displeased, Christina could barely suppress the grin spreading across her face after hearing Beta’s words.

“In that case, Natsume-sensei, could this friend of yours join us?”

“?”

Even Zeta, who had been sitting there with her eyes closed and pretending not to exist, opened them at Christina’s startling proposal.

“Think about it. Natsume-sensei’s friend was willing to take such a huge risk and infiltrate the Kingdom of Midgar just to uncover the truth. Someone like that can’t be a bad person. So why shouldn’t we invite her to join us?”

Under everyone’s gaze, Christina rose from her seat and began proclaiming her grand ambitions.

“The greatest darkness that ruled the Kingdom of Midgar is gone. Every member of the Thirteen Nightblades is dead, and then there was the disaster that fell from the sky a few days ago. The entire Kingdom of Midgar is now in desperate need of rebuilding. But that is exactly why the parasites infesting this kingdom are crawling out now, taking advantage of the chaos to squeeze the people dry. I want to stop them.

“So I’m inviting all of you to join me. Let’s form an alliance dedicated to protecting peace and justice in the Kingdom of Midgar. This time, I won’t let a single opportunistic turncoat or traitor join us. What do you say? Let’s spend our entire lives working together to achieve this goal!”

When Christina finished speaking, the entire table fell silent.

Cid glanced left and right.

Good. Since Beta owned the place, there was no one else nearby.

“Wah! Christina-sama, I support you! I’ll follow you for the rest of my life!”

To Cid’s surprise, the first person to respond was Kanade, normally the most cowardly member of the surrender faction.

“What? Cid-kun, got a problem with that?”

Apparently noticing his stare, Kanade stopped clapping and glanced back at him.

“What are you trying to do?”

“Isn’t it obvious? This is my chance to become part of a second Thirteen Nightblades. Just imagining the whole country looking at me once we succeed makes me happy.”

“I see.”

In short, Kanade was desperate to move up in the world.

“...You vain little bastard.”

Having figured her out, Cid shot Kanade a contemptuous look, disgusted by the vulgarity of her ambitions. Kanade glared right back.

“Oh, sure. You’re so noble and amazing. You don’t care about vanity at all.”

“No, I’m just as vain as you are. That doesn’t mean I can’t look down on you. There’s no future in being a sycophant. Watch closely and learn.”

Cid shook his head. He had to admit that he might be the vainest person in the entire world. After all, he had gone so far as to create an entire terrorist organization just to attract attention.

“Christina-san, do you really understand what you’re saying?”

“I do.”

Christina answered Cid’s question solemnly. She knew that, from the king’s perspective, her actions might look like an attempt to create a second Thirteen Nightblades. She simply did not care.

“No. What I mean is, do you truly understand what ‘for the rest of your life’ means? Anything can become dull once it stops being a hobby and turns into work. People can also change their minds. Do you have the resolve never to waver, not even for a single moment, until you’re lying in your coffin and breathing your final breath?”

A silence even heavier than before descended over the table.

An inexplicable weight settled over everyone’s heart. The others stared wide-eyed at Cid after hearing those words.

Christina, however, reacted differently. Rather than frightening her, Cid’s words struck something deep within her, and her expression became even more determined.

“Yes. I’ve had enough of those traitors who abandoned us over the slightest setback and ignored the lives of the missing citizens. So I’m ready. Let’s devote our whole lives to achieving this goal together.”

Christina looked toward Cid, her eyes filled with a desire for his approval.

Cid drew in a deep breath, then slowly let it out.

“Then think of it as a game. A game where the decision to continue is yours. Until the day you choose to end it, I’ll keep playing this game with you for the rest of my life.”

“Cid...”

Christina gazed at him with obvious emotion, her voice soft.

Embarrassed, Cid quickly looked away from her and met Kanade’s eyes instead. He raised an eyebrow.

“Learn anything?”

“Learn my ass.”

Cid gave her a disappointed look.

She really had no appreciation for good intentions.

As for whether any of this would cause trouble... it was fine. If something went wrong, he would just put Kanade in front of him.

“Wait. You weren’t just feeding Christina a line back there, were you?”

Once Kanade thought about it, she realized something did not add up.

“Promises and stuff like that? Of course they’re all lies.”

Cid flashed her a brilliant smile before looking away.

Nothing more needed to be said.

He did not believe Christina would actually keep this up for the rest of her life. There was a ninety-five percent chance she would give up halfway through. At that point, Christina would be the one who broke their promise first, so naturally the whole promise would become meaningless.

Fortunately, he had already given Christina an easy way out.

“So, Zeta-san, what do you think?”

Under Christina’s expectant gaze, Zeta fell silent.

Logically speaking, even if Master had joined, and even if Christina had been influenced by Master’s words, Zeta should still return to where she belonged and continue fighting.

Therefore...

“Same. I’ll join this alliance with Cid for the rest of my life.”

Zeta swore that she had simply found Christina strangely likable all of a sudden.

“Yay!”

Christina ignored Zeta’s awkward phrasing and cheered.

Beta quietly watched everything unfold. She set down her cup of black tea, lightly filed her nails, then folded her hands together beneath her chin and gave them a bright, gentle smile.

“Then I’ll join too.”

To avoid one person having to support a thousand others, Beta had made her decision.

She would betray Gamma first.

From now on, she would shift the burden of work toward Gamma. Gamma could suffer a little, while Beta took the stigma of being the traitor.

Of course, she was not Epsilon. This was only a fake betrayal.

She would make it up to Gamma later.

“Huh? Wait! Are you people serious? We’re talking about the rest of your lives here!”

In the end, only the Second Princess was left watching helplessly as everyone turned the tables on her. With the tide already against her, she could only accept the inevitable and allow herself to be overthrown.

As for the alliance’s name, Christina proposed calling it the “End Alliance,” signifying their desire to bring an end to the darkness plaguing the Kingdom of Midgar.

...

Somewhere in Japan, Cao Cao wore a grim expression.

“Cao Cao, look at this.”

He examined the photograph of Shadow before him, which had been transmitted from World No. 4. The time had been specifically marked. It had been taken before the worlds merged.

After looking at it, Cao Cao shook his head.

“There’s nothing much to say. At most, this confirms our previous theory. We already expected that, didn’t we?

“Compared to that, the huge errors in our maps caused by the arrival of the new world are a much more urgent problem.”

As he spoke, everyone turned toward the blue cat displayed on the screen in front of them.

“You’ll help us for free, right?”

“Yeah. Once my young lady handles it.”

With those words, the blue cat vanished from the screen.

...

In an underground space somewhere, a black-haired girl who looked on the verge of dying from overwork lifted her head from the computer and cursed.

“Damn Shadow. Damn World Fusion. Why did the price go up again?”

After venting her anger, Asagi Aiba slumped back down as though she had finally died.

“Hey, Young Lady. The people who asked you to make that Spirit Vein map before are looking for you again.”

“That’s World Fusion’s fault. Tell them to take it up with Shadow, not me. I don’t provide after-sales service, Mogwai.”

Asagi Aiba immediately tried to shift the blame, but to her surprise, Mogwai shook his head on the computer screen.

“They paid us. Double, in fact.”

“Give me the computer. I’m doing it right now.”

“Sure. Also, Young Lady, that group chat is discussing how to deal with Shadow...”

“I’m not interested in that.”