Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

"Please let me finish, Ciel."

Astraea moved lightly and sat down beside Charles like a girl next door. She gently swung her feet and tilted her head back, as if gazing at the stars in the sky.

“Lyra and Kaguya are both pragmatists; they focus on the present. As intelligent as you are, you understand the situation clearly: a dark faction was harming an ‘innocent adventurer,’ so Lyra attacked you without hesitation.”

"Kaguya just has a habit of using foul language. She's just not very clean-mouthed; in the words of the gods, she's 'sharp-tongued,' but she's not a bad person at heart."

"So, I understand the reasons perfectly well, but is it related to my having to fight my way out of 'justice'?"

Ciel simply lay down on the bed, breathing in the unfamiliar fragrance. Hiding one's emotions before a god was pointless, especially after Astraea's direct, almost intimate, attack; Ciel had no way to escape.

Astraea's walnut-colored hair swayed with her cheeks:

"No, so I won't hold a grudge against you for this. Even if you asked Belle to hide the information that Alexie and the others would all perish in two years."

“I did not do such a thing.” Charles looked at the goddess’s back and spoke frankly.

This is true.

The goddess turned around, slightly surprised.

But this statement also indirectly acknowledges that he and Belle are acquainted.

“Then let it be a misunderstanding on my part.” She changed the subject and said earnestly, “I just want to tell you that if you really can’t forgive Leila, please don’t take it out on others and become evil.”

“This is our responsibility. So…” Astraea turned around and took Charles’s hand: “I can use the name of Astraea to forgive all the malice you have inflicted on me or my clan.”

Upon hearing this, Charles sat up again, staring at the goddess with a complex expression...

"Anything can be done?"

"Whether you choose to stand by and watch someone die or turn against them with swords, I will not let my child lay dead. In return, we will not kill you first. We will wait until you have vented all the evil in your heart. This is my sincerity."

Charles was silent.

The woman in front of me is a genuine goddess. What kind of goodwill is it that she makes by promising to take revenge on her "family" at will?

Don't underestimate this promise.

When Bell was offered up by the Takemikazuchi Familia monster and was on the verge of death, Hestia also made a bold statement: "If Bell dies, even if she returns to the heavens, she will cast a curse on those people that they can never escape for all eternity."

In this situation, unless the gods are killed on the spot, allowing them to enter a ten-thousand-year resurrection period and become gods during that time, there is basically no way to turn the tide.

Does Astraea's family not have any children she cares about? Obviously not.

"Why go to such lengths?" Charles stared at the Goddess of Mercy with a complicated expression.

Astraea sighed softly, "That's just how times are. We're too weak to save everyone."

"Justice and evil are like a balance scale. When one side outnumbers the other, the rate of their spread accelerates infinitely. The starlight of justice can no longer be seen in the skies of the city today."

Charles said calmly, "This is not a reason for me to forgive Lyra."

“But that’s just how reality is…” Astrea lowered her head: “Even gods cannot escape such problems. Like this attack, of our clan, only four are currently active in the city, while there are thousands, even tens of thousands of victims. We can only save the largest and easiest group.”

“Abandon those who take more time and have a slimmer chance of survival.”

Charles agreed: "It's certainly not worth spending the time to save a hundred people to save one. But the value of life is different for each person. Those who were abandoned cannot speak out. That's why those who survived can praise justice to their heart's content."

“I will not blame those who resent the rebirth of justice because they were not saved. I believe that justice delayed is not justice.”

Astraea looked up at Ciel with a knowing expression:

"Because of the injustice and wavering of the scales of justice, evil is born. Such stories have been playing out all the time in this era, and I don't want you to become one of them."

"There are many people like that, so why are you telling me?"

“Because you are special,” Astraea said.

Charles's eyes flickered.

She can find Belle immediately and stop her from acting in this world under her real name. She can even quickly analyze the current situation and give advice that can change Belle's mind.

Concerning the "Vortex of Chaos" and the "Laws" of this world, Ciel, a mere mortal, perfectly handled a problem that should have been dealt with by gods (us).

These facts are enough to show that Charles is extraordinary.

But right now...

“Don’t be nervous,” Astraea said softly. “It’s only because Lyra pushed you to the other side that I hope you can turn back. I don’t want a child who always upholds justice to cause a ‘great evil’ to happen because of a mistake.”

Charles turned his head and met the goddess's gaze: "I am just an ordinary adventurer. Even if I do something bad, you can easily suppress me. If you still have doubts, you can choose to eliminate me here."

Astraea smiled mercifully, closed one eye, and teased, "Are you challenging me, the goddess of justice? You've got some nerve!"

Astraea playfully flicked her wrist: "Don't underestimate me, I might even be able to knock Belle away."

Astraea teased Ciel in a joking manner. The goddess of justice wouldn't punish a child who hasn't yet made a mistake.

"Tch." Charles smiled knowingly. He knew there was no need to play dead any longer; this evasive tactic wouldn't end the conversation. "Since Your Majesty is so eager to convince me, then answer me..."

"Goddess of Justice, what is 'justice' in your eyes?"

Chapter 91 So-called heroes are nothing more than clowns being fooled on stage.

"Me, questioning the God of Justice?" Astraea seemed slightly surprised, and she appeared to ponder for a long time before giving her answer:

"To me, justice is like the stars in the sky, countless in number."

Astraea said calmly, "Children of the lower realm are always searching for the meaning of justice. But even the gods who govern justice cannot provide answers that children of the lower realm can understand. I look forward to seeing the children continue to move forward in their confusion as they search for justice."

"That includes you, Charles."

Astraea's eyes were sincere: "Can you tell me? What is justice to Ciel?"

I didn't mean for you to ask me a question in return.

Charles's face showed displeasure, but he did not refuse to answer: "To me, justice is 'living'."

"Alive?" Astraea asked, slightly surprised.

"Yes, unlike that noble elf (Leon), I am just an ordinary person, and my sense of justice is also very selfish."

Charles admitted, "I don't understand what you mean by 'evil' specifically?"

"I believe that the greatest evil in this world is not God himself?"

"Like spectators watching warriors and monsters fight in an arena, bestowing their blessings and cheering for the victory of one side."

"The evil god proactively provided the arena and the opponents, while the benevolent god blinded himself, constantly increasing the challenges for the warriors. The opponents gradually changed from monsters to criminals. Five consecutive victories, ten consecutive victories, and finally, an invincible 'Despair' was released as the final boss, taking away everyone's resources."

Ciel's expression was complicated: "Tell me, God Astraea, what exactly is justice in a world like this?"

Astraea gazed calmly at the boy: "Charles, at such a young age, you have already learned to see things from the perspective of the gods."

"Oh, so you're trying to trick me into killing my loved ones too?" Ciel thought to himself.

Astraea continued, "I have no right to answer that question. Even I, as the Goddess of Justice, am ridiculed by my fellow gods as a self-satisfied hypocrite."

She stood up and, for the first time, faced Charles with an attitude of equality:

"Gods descend to the mortal realm for 'entertainment,' and so do I. Even my sermons to you are part of that 'entertainment.'"

"Guiding people to do good and upholding justice is my interest."

"We who are omniscient and omnipotent could never have treated the entire lower realm equally from the very beginning, but justice is not such a superficial thing." Astraea simply smiled with her eyebrows lowered, the expression of someone accustomed to slander.

"According to your thinking, all I can tell you is that justice is god-slaying."

"Ironically, this is defined as a great evil by us!" Charles shook his head:

"I am not questioning you. Without a doubt, even among many goddesses, you are flawless and deserve to be number one."

He turned the handle and opened the door: "So, I just want to ask you one question."

Charles didn't turn around, and said calmly, "This is my friend's story. He knew the despair of the future, but to break free from that despair, he had to get his hands stained with blood and stop at nothing..."

"Tell me, God Astraea, if that 'friend' were to stray into the 'Wrong Path' and personally annihilate a god he dislikes, would such a person be considered righteous or evil?"

Astraea suddenly said, "I cannot praise this 'immorality' as justice, but I also have no right to refute your 'evil.'"

Charles smiled with relief and stepped out the door: "That's right, it was all your choice, Cami. Let the adventurers and the dark faction be placed in the small Orario, like raising poisonous insects, devouring each other, and giving birth to heroes."

"God Astrea, if you cannot stop the evil deeds of God at their root, then do not stop the Insect King from stepping on corpses."

"Wait." Astraea chased after him, paused for a moment, and called out to Charles, "The promise you made before still stands. No matter what your...friends want to do, please hold onto the last vestige of goodness in your heart."

Charles paused, stopped arguing, waved his hand, and went straight downstairs.

This heart-to-heart talk with the goddess wasn't a waste of time; at least I got Astrea as a life-saving charm. Even if the plan fails later, I can save my life like Vittoria.

at this time,

The plates on the table had already been cleared away by Ryu, and Alexie and Ryu were skillfully washing them.

From the other side of the living room, a slightly chaotic noise came from, and Belle seemed to be arguing with Kaguya and Lyra about something.

"Kaguya-san, if you could go back in time and save people who would otherwise die, but it would cause irreversible consequences for the future, what would you do?"

"Ha—" Kaguya sighed heavily.

"Ms. Kaguya?"

"You big idiot!" Kaguya cursed, "I hate this kind of stupid talk the most. Whether it's the ideals we abandoned or the choices we made, none of it can be retrieved!"

She hated Belle's eyes, which were as clear as Liu's, easily reflecting her own ugliness and showing her the illusion of ideal justice.

Layla smiled wryly, "Ah, yes, Belle-chan. Just like what I did to Ciel, if I had to choose again, I would do the same thing. Even if I knew I was wrong afterward, I would just swallow the bitter pill and not worry about something that could never happen."

Belle opened her mouth: "Miss Lyra, did you do anything very wrong to Mr. Charles?"

Lyra exclaimed, "I had a fierce fight with that guy, and I almost killed him. Of course, I was also badly injured. Although friction is very common among adventurers, it's a fact that we don't get along. I was prepared for him to retaliate and for us to end up taking each other's lives."

"How could that be? If there's a misunderstanding, Mr. Charles will understand."

Kaguya interrupted impatiently, "You don't seem to know that kid very well either. Let's not talk about him. What's the next step in this conversation?"

"But you don't dislike..."

"Ugh, it's the worst. But... even so, that unpleasant face in front of me won't disappear." Kaguya scratched her head.

She saw a similar foolishness in Belle and felt that she couldn't just let it go.