[After dealing with the void soldiers, Asta appeared within a cluster of blue flames and was steadily caught by Stelle.]
[After sending her to the medical room, Screwllum stated that she had only suffered some fright and was currently recovering. Besides her, the other missing persons had also been found one after another. The conclusion was that everyone was safe.]
["However, in this entire incident, there is still one major doubt that has not been resolved. And that is something I should handle."]
[…]
[At this moment, on the other side of the space station.]
[Duke Inferno's small flame was scurrying around everywhere. After summoning the void soldiers earlier, it had taken advantage of the chaos to escape. But now it was being fiercely dragged by a huge suction force and was quickly pulled into a cubic container.]
[The owner of the container was none other than Ratio.]
[While he was contentedly examining this cluster of flames, Screwllum's voice suddenly came from beside him. "I've been waiting for you for a long time."]
[Ratio turned to look at him. "The aftermath of the incident hasn't settled yet. Shouldn't you still have many things to deal with? Or do you mean the safety of the space station has nothing to do with you?"]
["Answer: I am here precisely because of this. After all, the true protagonist of the incident — is right here."]
[Ratio smiled faintly. He did not deny it. "…Since when did you start suspecting me?"]
["People engaged in academic research tend to find it very difficult to believe something. On the contrary, doubting it is much easier." Screwllum said unhurriedly. "From the very beginning, Mr. Ratio. I also have the same bad habit as you."]
["I feel deeply honored, Mr. Screwllum. But since you already saw through it, why didn't you say anything?"]
——
Nezha Conquers the Dragon King.
"Hah! This young master saw it long ago!" Nezha jumped up with a "whoosh," pointing at Ratio on the Celestial Screen. "This guy looks like a scheming old fox. Sure enough, he's the man behind the Annihilation Gang!"
Ao Bing sighed helplessly upon hearing this. "Nezha, don't be hasty. Let's not jump to conclusions yet."
"What's there to wait for!" Nezha flipped in front of Ao Bing. "Look at him, always keeping a straight face, mocking the sky, the earth, and the air. He definitely isn't holding back anything good!"
"The Annihilation Gang are subordinates of [Destruction] Nanook, while Mr. Ratio and Mr. Screwllum are both people of [Erudition]. He is also deeply trusted by the company. If Mr. Ratio is truly a bad guy, why would he help Stelle and help Screwllum? That doesn't make sense…"
"How would I know?" Nezha impatiently waved his hand to interrupt, grabbing a nearby immortal fruit and taking a bite. "You're just too quick to trust people! In my opinion, people who look like they have ten thousand schemes — nine out of ten aren't good people!"
Ao Bing chuckled lightly. "Then what about the remaining one?"
Nezha choked on the question, staring wide-eyed and unable to speak. He bit hard into the immortal fruit and mumbled, "Anyway… anyway, this guy definitely has problems!"
Ao Bing said warmly, "Perhaps. But I believe Mr. Ratio is a person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Although his words are quite aggressive, his starting point is always for the good of others — I have never doubted this from beginning to end."
——
["Out of curiosity. Logic: I made the same decision as you — accompany, observe." Screwllum said.]
["Oh… then when exactly did you become certain?"]
["Judging by the result, apart from mild mental damage, no crew member suffered any substantial harm in this attack. This does not match the style of the Annihilation Gang. Logic: there was a third party who saved them."]
[Ratio spread his hands. "If I hadn't accidentally obtained the spirit fire seed and intervened in the infernal fire's transfer, those people would have already become space junk floating outside the window."]
["You are more honest than my calculations predicted."]
["But ultimately still within your calculations, isn't it?" Ratio continued to ask. "One last question: Screwllum, a Genius like you, can you calculate the reason I did this?"]
[Screwllum could not be completely certain and could only make an inference. His actions contained both a doctor's benevolence and a scholar's strictness. Operating behind the scenes and controlling the overall situation — was a challenge sent to the Geniuses.]
["The monarch of Screwllum Star indeed understands the human heart. It is just a pity that, like the Geniuses, you are also far removed from ordinary people — you are still wrong about one point." Ratio looked toward the experimental equipment inside the window beside him. "Standing by and watching is the true form of healing: there is a stubborn disease in this world called [dullness], which is harder to eradicate than any other illness."]
["The Path of Erudition has neither reason nor logic. Geniuses stroll among the stars, while the mediocre cannot even catch up to a single footprint. The mediocre can only learn to walk independently, spending their busy lives falling and getting up again."]
["But a failed life is still a life. They have the right to taste it until the end. Only when they fall to the ground with no one to help them up can fools understand how to stand again." He turned back to look at Screwllum. "I have a cleanliness obsession. I cannot stand fools, idiots, or imbeciles. When I see them, I want them to die — unfortunately, this space station is the same as the Intelligentsia Guild. There are no Geniuses here, only mediocrity everywhere."]
——
KonoSuba.
Kazuma sat with his legs crossed on a chair in the Adventurer's Guild. Upon hearing this, he immediately elbowed Aqua beside him and grinned. "Hey, Aqua, did you hear that? The Professor Ratio you like wants to die the moment he sees you? For the sake of his life safety, sigh…" Kazuma let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Hah?! What nonsense are you spouting?"
Aqua slammed the table and stood up abruptly. Beer foam from the mug splashed all over her face, but she didn't care. Instead, she proudly puffed out her chest, her long water-blue hair swaying dramatically with the motion. "I am a Goddess! Even if he really wants to commit suicide, I can resurrect him immediately! No matter how many times he dies, I will definitely save him! And I guarantee that the first thing he sees when he wakes up is me!"
"What kind of torture is this…" Kazuma had a look of disgust. "Aqua, don't get moved by your own imagination. Is there a possibility that opening his eyes and seeing you is a punishment for Professor Ratio?"
"Nonsense!" Aqua puffed up her cheeks angrily. "Why do you always assume I'm an idiot by default? Is it possible that it's because of you, Kazuma? I'm an idiot, and you're an idiot too!"
In the noisy Adventurer's Guild, the two of them argued back and forth about who was the bigger idiot. Their voices grew louder and louder, drawing the surrounding onlookers who naturally formed a circle around them, cheering them on.
"These two idiots…" Yunyun held her forehead. She really didn't want to admit she knew these two.