The Infinite Dragon God Cannot Find Silence

Norns pursed his lips.

"Does it make any sense? Everything I say and do is within your expectations, isn't it?"

"I never try to predict."

The black-haired girl got up, walked to the television on the other side, sat down, picked up a controller and threw it at Norns, while picking up another controller for herself.

"It's no fun if you don't expect it. It's precisely because you don't expect it that I look forward to the surprises you might bring me."

As the black-haired girl continued speaking without a change in expression and with an unwavering demeanor, the television screen lit up.

"Humph."

Norns reluctantly sat down next to the other person.

"For you, adding weight to our side to balance both sides is the only way to create the most interesting stage for you, right?"

"Who knows? Sometimes it's quite interesting to watch one side crush the other."

After both sides selected their roles, a large countdown appeared on the screen.

"Besides, if that guy's plan succeeds, it will only do me harm and no good. You can figure that out, right?"

"You, who are so focused on interests, suddenly bring up things like benefits? That's such a low-level excuse, isn't it?"

As the countdown ended, both of their fingers began to move rapidly.

"This kind of boring stimulation is meaningless...it will only needlessly kill my interest."

"cut……"

The black-haired girl remained expressionless, while Norns gritted his teeth, and his momentary opening was seized upon by his opponent, who unleashed a combo attack.

...I didn't realize it before, but now it seems he really is a tough opponent.

She knew very well that if she couldn't pique the other person's interest, she could be thrown out of this place at any time.

However, she didn't have many cards to play.

...Although she really disliked doing things without any preparation, to be honest...for that guy, there was probably no other way out.

At least she still has one card to play.

Moreover, this person's help should have been within that person's expectations.

If you can't do that... then you won't even pass the first test, and then you're completely out of luck.

Thinking of this, Norns gritted his teeth again.

"Did you notice? Yes, although I really enjoy including others in my plans, I really dislike being in other people's plans. To convince me to do something so unfair, you'll have to offer enough incentives."

Accompanied by the sound effect of KO, the black-haired girl's calm voice seemed to be mocking the loser of this battle beside her.

"You know very well, don't you, my most perfect creation, how high a price you have to pay for what you want?"

"...To call an accidental creation the most perfect creation is really shameless."

Norns smiled weakly.

"For me, it is precisely because it was an accident that it is perfect."

The black-haired girl gave a completely unfazed response.

The roles were reselected, and the two sides started the next round.

Both sides remained silent, with only the shouts from the characters in the game continuing to emerge.

Norns lost nine consecutive frames.

She didn't speak until halfway through the tenth game.

"My soul."

"..."

The black-haired girl's expression remained unchanged, but her character paused for a moment before being taken down by Norns' combo.

"I see, that's a good strategy."

With her usual calm tone, the black-haired girl spoke again.

It's unclear whether she's referring to the game in front of her or a larger 'game' for her.

"I will not get involved in anything."

The words, which sounded like a declaration, were spoken by the black-haired girl in a completely flat tone.

"I know."

Norns responded.

For the woman beside her, all she sought was pleasure.

"Success is guaranteed the moment you take action; the outcome is determined the instant you make up your mind."

The girl spoke these words as if to herself.

This is not ignorance, not boasting, and certainly not arrogance.

This is a fact.

"So, for me, everything is boring."

That's why she doesn't get involved in anything; she simply observes from the sidelines, minimizing her own interference.

but……

"Since there's finally a good show that can pique my interest, I don't care if my role in it is that of an audience member, a clown, a puppet, a demon king, an evil god, or an old man who provides the ring."

Setting down the controller, the black-haired girl's dark eyes locked onto Norns.

"Congratulations, you've successfully piqued my interest."

She didn't care about Norns' reasons for making that choice.

But she was curious to know just how much the entity that could make her make this choice could actually achieve.

The black-haired girl stood up.

"To be honest, I don't really know what Order is thinking. It's a simple thing, but they've added five thousand years to it, making it incredibly complicated."

Rather than saying she didn't know, it's more accurate to say that she didn't want to actively explore the matter until the answer was revealed or until she couldn't resist her curiosity.

However... although it's unlikely, could that guy possibly have some kind of familial affection for his own scales?

If that's the case... then that would be quite unexpected.

But it also made things a bit more interesting.

"However, no matter what the outcome, it seems to be only bad for me at the moment."

Pulling out a storage box next to her, the black-haired girl began rummaging through it while speaking.

"That guy probably wants to take this opportunity to deal with me, this variable. Well, putting myself in his shoes, I wouldn't dare to mess with such an interesting guy. But what can I do? He's so boring; the unchanging order is utterly tedious."

The black-haired girl took out several high-end-looking props, then shook her head and tossed them aside.

"The wooden doll... is too worn out; the sword... well, it's a bit too old-fashioned; the bow... it's no fun if you use cheat codes; the dagger... forget it; the toothpick... it probably can't withstand the strain..."

Norns watched speechlessly as the other person rummaged through the box for a long time, using some nonsensical reasons to eliminate everything in the box that could probably fill an entire warehouse.

"Oh, right."

Finally, as if remembering something, the black-haired girl tapped her palm expressionlessly.

"This should be perfect."

She made another move, but this time the black-haired girl's hand didn't reach for the box from who-knows-how-many dimensions, but rather for the pocket on her short skirt.

Then, she pulled out a small, dark red, dull, ceramic-like shard, about the size of a palm.

Norns' eyes widened as he saw the irregularly shaped fragments.

"you……!"

With his remaining reason forcibly suppressing the reflexive force that was about to erupt, Norns gritted his teeth.

"You...did this?"

The black-haired girl tilted her head and thought for a moment, her face expressionless.

"Running across most of the void to arrange for some insignificant dragon cub? Hmm... thankfully, I'm not that bored."

As she spoke, a faint black aura emanated from the girl's hand and then merged into the thin fragments.

"To save a fragment of a scale from the clutches of Order at such a distance, and you know that's the real 'Order,' is quite a troublesome matter for me. I think you should thank me properly."

Norns was somewhat stunned and barely responded to what the other person was saying.

The black-haired girl shrugged and casually tossed the scale fragment in her hand over.

Norns reflexively accepted.

She wasn't stupid. Considering the Order's slow reaction during the previous ritual and the somewhat inexplicable actions it later took according to Orpheus, she could at least guess some of the owner's situation.

Even if those are just guesses, there's one thing that's absolutely true.

The dragon scales have lost their luster... their owner must have perished completely.

"Let's use that as a vessel. We can use the relics of a former comrade to unleash a power boost or something... There should be many similar plots, right? I don't dislike that kind of development. But it seems like none of you know that this comrade is dead... No, rather, you don't even know that this comrade existed?"

Although his tone remained completely flat, Norns seemed to sense a strong sense of sarcasm in it.

"So, you've achieved your goal, haven't you?"

The black-haired girl sat back down in front of the computer, and the berserker assassin on the screen turned around and waved at Norns.

"You can leave now. I look forward to the day when you two reach a conclusion. Please let me continue to watch this good show that has not yet happened."

Norns wasn’t sure if the previous mockery was just her imagination, but she knew that the intense malice she felt in those words this time was no exaggeration.

Then, by the time she realized what was happening, she had already returned to the time and space where she had started.

It was as if nothing had happened; only the shards of paper, stained with cold sweat, clutched tightly in my hand proved that it was not a dream.

……

……