The meeting ended in an hour.
Souta and the rest went back to the mansion in the third zone. The warriors who participated in the battle rested and Souta stayed in his room.
He was thinking about the battle.
The battle in this land was quite different from the Fedru Republic and Bruim Principality. The battle in those two lands was extremely brutal. It was like a grinding machine that killed people every second.
He could understand it since those two places didn't have the All Filter Barrier Formation. The Army of Gluttony could attack as they wish.
Souta leaned on the chair and stared at the ceiling.
"What do you think, Saya?" He asked.
'I don't know what the enemy's plan is but... One thing is for sure, they haven't moved today since they couldn't pass through the barrier. It means that when they make a move again they have a way to break the barrier. They didn't risk any of the Shackled Realm's life today so when those experts appear it will be chaotic.' Saya expressed her opinion.
"I see..." Souta nodded at her words.
Then, what about the Tears of Divine Might? There was supposed to be a sign of it yet he found nothing. He was sure that it would appear in this nation. That's the only thing that he knew and it should appear here.
A mythical grade fruit...
It just appeared out of nowhere and a huge battle broke out in the Selnes Country. In the end, one player obtained the mythical fruit despite all the participants in the battle.
'If that player could do it then I could too...'
It shouldn't be a matter of strength. The participants were all stronger than that player. The Head of the Five Master Clans alone were already insanely powerful. There were also experts from the Army of Gluttony.
Two sides fought yet neither of them obtained it.
Does that mean that the player manipulated the battlefield while hiding in the dark waiting for the right opportunity?
If that's the case then it's a great achievement. Even Souta wasn't confident that he could obtain the fruit if he was any weaker.
He turned his head and a knock echoed in the room.
"Come in."
The door opened and Alice stepped inside the room. She looked around before she asked, "Is there something you need? I have been looking at you and it seems that you have something in your mind."
"It's nothing much... I'm just placing myself in the situation of the Army of Gluttony. If I'm the commander of the enemy then how am I going to defeat the Alliance army and the Five Master clans?" Souta said. Well, it was false since he was thinking about the Tears of Divine Might just now but he couldn't tell it to her.
Alice sat down and said, "You're always like that. You're always thinking about something not telling us a single word."
"Really?" Souta raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"Yeah, grinning to yourself while rubbing your chin." Alice grinned and rubbed her chin copying Souta's movement. "Like this."
"That's how I look? Damn..." Souta looked up and his brows narrowed down. "I didn't realize it but it helps me think."
Alice sighed looking at Souta's face.
"So what's the matter?" Souta asked. "You're not the type to come here for nothing."
Alice stared at him for a few seconds before she smiled and asked, "What if I come here just because I feel like coming here? Will you believe it?"
"Well, yeah..." Souta nodded and said with a laugh. "If it was in the past I wouldn't believe it. Look at yourself."
He waved his hand and the mirror in the corner of the room moved in front of her.
"Look."
Alice looked at her reflection and was confused. She moved her body to the side and looked at him before asking, "What's there to look at? It's just me."
The smile on Souta's face grew wider. "You didn't realize it. In the past, when I first met you, you wouldn't budge at all. You have that expressionless face all the time."
"Really? I feel like nothing has changed." Alice looked once again at the mirror as she placed both of her hands on her cheeks.
"Yep, you started to open up to us. I know that you trust me so I will believe your words too." Souta crossed his arms in front of his chest and closed his eyes.
"Hmm... It's true." Alice grabbed the mirror and placed it on the table. She glanced at him from the corner of her and said, "You've changed... You were a little bit different before we left to clear all those dungeons and labyrinths. I have noticed it since I've known you for quite a long amount of time. You can hide it from others but not from me. I shouldn't left you alone after the incident in Hall Plains."
Souta just stared at her.
After a while, he laughed and said, "You did the right thing. You grow stronger and I've grown stronger."
"No, I'm not talking about that." Alice shook her head.
"I'm fine, you don't have to worry about it." Souta waved his hand.
Alice sighed after hearing his answer. "It seems that you haven't fully trusted me yet."
She stood up and added, "I'll go now. If you ever want to talk about it then I'm always here."
After saying those words, she started to walk.
Souta stared at her back and said, "I trust you. It's just inconvenient for me to talk about it."
Alice stopped for a moment. She waved her hand and opened the door.
Souta sighed after seeing her leave just like that. Alice really knows him so it was hard to hide things from her.
'Are you really not going to say it to her?' Saya's voice echoed. 'She's with you all the time. When she found out that you are a monster, she didn't question it. She waited for you to tell her after dealing with the matters of the Witch Clan. She even told you about her past and identity.'
"Should I tell her that I've absorbed millions of souls? And experienced deaths for over a thousand years in my mind. No, it will make this matter more complicated. I don't want her to get involved in this. If there will be a time when the world knows what I did, I will bear full responsibility for it." Souta said in a low tone.
'Various factions will hunt you for the so-called Soul Arts. Even if you surrender the artifacts, it will not change that you removed millions of souls from the cycle of reincarnation.' Saya said. 'Killing is fine since gods knew that souls would simply go to the soul realm and be born once again. In the eyes of the gods, it's not a complete death. It will probably be fine if you destroy a few souls. I'm sure that god did it before and I remember doing it too when I still had a physical body. But destroying millions of souls...'
"I know... The matter of soul is very sensitive." Souta said.
'But I'm curious about the Great Lumb... Although the rules are broken, they must have noticed that millions of souls didn't return to the cycle of reincarnation.' Saya said.
"Great Lamb... I've received the blessing of the Great Lamb before." Souta suddenly said.
'What?! You...!!' Saya raised her voice in shock.
"I forgot that you didn't know it. I received it before I arrived in Ladros City. I met the Great Lamb in a forest and told me a few things." Souta recalled what happened that time.
'W-What did it say?' Saya was still shocked that she could properly speak.
Souta smiled and shrugged his shoulder. "I don't know... I couldn't understand what it was saying so I put it in the back of my mind."
'Why?! Argh, if I was there I would have understood it! It was the first time I've got angry at you!' Saya said.
In Souta's mind, he could see a woman's silhouette covered in red baring her teeth at him.
Souta laughed, "Don't be angry. I know that the Great Lamb is important. No God Emperor even fought it in the past but its blessing didn't give me anything else. It just increased my strength for a little bit. Even a purple grade weapon has a larger boost than its blessing."
'You don't understand it at all! You, you received the blessing of the Great Lamb. It wouldn't give a blessing to some random people. Even if you met it in the past, the chances of you receiving a blessing are close to zero. Back then when I was alive, I met a few Great Lambs but I didn't receive a single blessing. You know what it said to me?'
"What?"
'The Great Lambs said that I don't have the Scent of Imperium. The fate of Imperium isn't with me and only people with the power of Imperium are qualified to obtain the Blessing of the Great Lamb. You... Souta, you should have the power of Imperium. I understand now why you are growing at an insane speed. It seems like there's no limit as you could even carve inner spells out of nowhere. It all makes sense now. You have the support of the Imperium.'
