"Something so simple?" Erin's smile gradually faded.
He looked directly at Rayleigh without looking away. "But she over there seems to be at a loss for words. In that case, could you enlighten me?"
Ryuu grew flustered at his words.
She was straightforward person.
Perhaps a bit too straightforward.
Gods were unpredictable and highly skilled at twisting words, especially evil Gods.
But even more skilled at deception and temptation were those deities who walked the fine line between good and evil.
Erebus belonged exactly to this category.
Rayleigh knew that if he tried to debate right and wrong, he would lose without a doubt.
Trying to out-argue a God who had lived for hundreds of millions of years—what kind of self-inflicted hardship was that? Heh.
Thinking about this, Rayleigh could not help but chuckle.
But to the other two, it looked like he was laughing at Erin's question.
"Ryuu is still inexperienced, but she is walking the path of justice," Rayleigh said with a warm smile.
His tone was filled with confidence.
"Elves have long lifespans—though not quite as long as the Gods. The day she finds her own answer lies in the near future." His steady voice carried a clear hint of pride.
This deep trust made Ryuu feel its heavy weight and left her feeling a little embarrassed.
After saying this, Rayleigh finally answered Erin's question. "You ask me what justice is. My answer is this: justice needs no definition. Even if you want to call it self-satisfaction, to the people who are saved, it is still a good thing. You want to twist the concept, ignore the facts, and only discuss the intentions behind the actions. That is an outdated way of looking at things."
Even against a God who had lived for hundreds of millions of years, modern theories of good and evil could easily hold their ground.
"Finally, if you are asking me what my personal justice is, I will give you an answer."
There was a line he had wanted to say for a long time.
It was a line so powerful, willful, and self-centered that it ranked high among the most boastful quotes ever spoken.
Its sheer impact could rival any strongest declarations by anime protagonist!
"My heart and actions are as clear as a mirror. All my thoughts and deeds are justice!"
When Rayleigh spoke those bold words, Ryuu froze completely.
She was a dedicated disciple of justice.
She was a faithful follower of the Goddess of Justice, Astraea.
She upheld justice, and she enacted it.
Yet today, she had been swayed in her core beliefs by mere words.
In the end, it happened because she lacked true conviction and confidence.
But she never imagined that Rayleigh held such lofty, unshakable ideals of justice within his own heart.
'My heart and actions are as clear as a mirror... All my thoughts and deeds are justice.'
'What unwavering faith!'
'Was it just self-satisfaction?'
Whether it was or not did not matter anymore.
Persisting in what you believe is right, bringing bright smiles to people's faces, and saving others from deep suffering—this is what justice is.
It's a very simple thing.
Is it a sin to feel satisfied when seeing the grateful smiles of the weak after they are safely saved?
If it is, then what does it really matter to bear those sins?
A person only needs to keep moving forward!
She was not alone!
At the very least, Rayleigh was walking far ahead of her, leaving no room for doubt. Only by chasing after him without any hesitation could she ever hope to reach this man.
Rayleigh's firm words not only shocked Ryuu, but they also left Erin feeling somewhat dumbfounded.
After a brief moment, he burst into loud laughter.
This time, it was not a feigned smile but a genuine laugh that crinkled the corners of his eyes.
"Hahaha, you're truly interesting. I've never met a child quite like you before. Indeed, the mortal realm is full of wonderful surprises." Erin wiped a small tear from the corner of his eye, his laughter lingering in the air.
He then asked, "It seems you want to be a guardian of justice. But what good does that do you?"
"A beautiful girl's smile is a priceless treasure to me," Rayleigh replied with a very serious expression.
Erin was taken aback.
This boy was doing all of this... just for that simple reason?
He was just like a certain old pervert God he knew!
"This chosen path is very difficult. You might drown while clinging to your heavy ideals," Erin warned.
'Whoa! Are you a transmigrator from another world too?' Rayleigh was deeply startled by the specific phrase "drown clinging to your ideals."
It was surprising.
He honestly wondered if he could successfully exchange secret codes with the God by chanting "I am the bone of my sword" right now.
"I will not regret it," Rayleigh said instead.
"Is that so." Erin laughed a bit more, clearly satisfied. "Ah, today was truly interesting. It's a day worth remembering in my long years. Young man, what is your name again?"
"Rayleigh."
"Rayleigh, I hope you can overcome it. Well then, goodbye."
What he meant by the word "overcome"—was it a reference to the Necessary Evil plan, or was it something else entirely?
These Gods.... each one of them always speaking in confusing riddles and were so very troublesome to deal with.
"Can you?" a soft voice asked. "Um, Rayleigh, your hand... can you...?"
'Huh? Oh.'
Rayleigh quickly withdrew his hand from Ryuu's head.
Realizing what he was doing, he immediately apologized. "I'm sorry..."
Seeing his sudden nervousness, Ryuu felt anxious and blurted out, "It's fine, I don't dislike it."
Rayleigh was stunned.
She did not dislike it? He had just been directly touching her skin!
Ryuu reached up and touched the spot on her head where Rayleigh had just been resting his hand.
She could still feel the lingering warmth left by his palm.
"It's true, my body did not reject you at all."
Rayleigh's expression turned a bit strange.
He knew Ryuu did not mean anything weird by that, but those specific words could easily be misunderstood.
And it really was a strange occurrence.
When they first met, Ryuu should have naturally had some strong resistance toward him touching her.
Could it be because they had simply become much more familiar with each other over time?
No.
Since this change appeared much later, there must have been a specific turning point.
But what was that turning point?
'Wait, could it be right after i gave her Haineko?'
In his view, the strict sense of cleanliness known to the Elves should also be a problem deeply rooted at the soul level.
In this world, soul is a very mysterious thing.
For one, souls can be reincarnated—for example, Bell, Finn, the Amazon sisters, Ryuu, and many others.
In the distant past, they had all lived completely different lives.
Take Bell as an example.
The earliest heroic tale of this current era, the story of the hero Argonaut, is actually Bell's previous life.
At the same time, Argonaut was also known as the very first hero.
Because of this deep connection, Bell Cranel, the "last hero," is technically also the first hero.
Souls reincarnate across time.
Skills that originate from the soul also reside within it as hidden potential.
Finn's Magic, Hell Finégas, was directly inherited from his sister Fianna in his previous life.
In this current life, after becoming a member of the Loki Familia and receiving the God's Falna, the hidden potential within his soul was fully awakened.
This allowed the Magic of Hell Finégas to reappear in the world once again.
'Could it be that Haineko became a direct bridge connecting their two souls?'
Through Haineko, Ryuu's inner soul had completely opened up to him.
Because of this bond, her strict Elven habits entirely lost their effect around him.
Moreover, due to their unique soul connection, intimate actions between them might even produce a sense of extra comfort and warmth.
This theory was probably not just true for Ryuu alone.
It should be exactly the same for all the other girls too.
'Wait, hold on a second.'
'The list of other Zanpakuto wielders currently included...'
'Could it be that Ottar is also...????'