[Zero's Pov]
"King of Mensch, do not be mistaken. I may be unfamiliar with this world, and although I do not have a lot of experience in these stupid political schemes, I am not someone you can buy. I have not been placed here on Tella as a tool for you to use. I am here to do everything I can to make sure the allied races have a future."
'Please make it stop! This is not the route I want to take!'
Once again, I had lost control of my mind with 'Zero' taking the wheel. However, this was a Zero that I hadn't experienced before.
Instead of crumbling down in tears, I was now filled with determination, a determination to make sure that even the king of Mensch wouldn't try to use me as a puppet. In some ways, the words that I was speaking were reflecting my thoughts, but if I wanted to use the king in the future, there was nothing wrong with letting him think he had me under his thumb.
Before this meeting, I had been worried that I would lose control when I saw Sarah, but it appeared that Zero had no feelings for her at all, more than thinking she was beautiful. Instead, the king's insinuation of me collaborating with him triggered my relapse.
Seeing the surprised faces of the royal father and daughter, I knew that whatever happened would happen, so instead, I opted to just lean back and see how Zero would deal with the situation. Of course, I was simultaneously desperately trying to think of ways to save the situation later...
Seemingly catching what I was doing, I flinched a bit, "Ah! My apologies, Your Highness! Please forget what I said... It was... I was just..."
Shaking his head, the king held strong to his confidence, "Don't worry about it, Zero. I understand, and I also apologize for making a very inappropriate suggestion. But I must say, you managed to surprise me once again. Though I guess that it is not that surprising for you to hold onto your convictions."
Raising a brow, the king continued on, "But to say that you will do anything you can to make sure the allied races survive? If you don't mind, could you be bothered to bless this old man with your thoughts?"
'Hmm? Yes, what does 'Zero' actually think about all of this?'
It was a great question to ask, something I had been wanting to ask myself as well. Sadly, I knew that I would never be able to get an answer, but maybe I could hear the answer now.
Bringing out a huge smile, 'Zero' didn't hesitate to bestow his view of the current state of the world, "King of mensch, no... I would like it if you could hear my answer as George Lindt, not as a king."
Somehow, my stupid words had brought a much larger reaction than I thought, with the ruler getting caught completely off guard, "Not as a king, but as George? Do you mean to say that me being king is irrelevant to the subject?"
Shaking my head, Zero opened our mouth once again, "That's not quite right either... But I think there is a lot more worth to talking to you as an individual than as a representative of your country."
Turning my eyes to Sarah, Zero was somehow managing to pinpoint all their weaknesses in just a couple of sentences, "Ms. Lindt, you also want your father to take off his crown more often, right?"
'Stop it! Don't do that to her!'
An immensely flustered Sarah was having a hard time responding to the youth who had somehow shown that he understood her on a much deeper level than she was comfortable with.
"I... I don't know... Maybe, yes?"
Trying to regain control of the conversation, frustrated by the fact that the white-haired kid in front of him seemed to be able to read the emotions of his daughter, George urged him to explain himself.
"Alright, I will try my best and view this talk through the eyes of George Lindt, not as the king of Mensch. Now, what were you going to say?"
'Yea, what was I about to say?'
It didn't take long until we both got our answer, with the son of god clasping his hands as if praying, "I believe that you also realize this, but there isn't much difference between a king and a citizen, just like there isn't much difference between me and my classmates."
"What do you mean?"
"We are all the same. Even if you wear a crown and I wear a title, in the end, we are all the same."
'Oh no...'
No surprise, Zero, and James were similar in many ways, and the fact that Zero also believed everyone to be the same proved it. Though I suspected that the conclusions we made based on that fact were different, it didn't stop the king from hearing the words he had heard from a certain man locked in a cell.
*DON!*
A surge of mana surge out from the king, a vein clearly showing underneath his brown hair. Just like his daughter, the wind responded to his call, making the royal garment flutter around wildly, "You...!"
'Well, I had a good life. Or did I? To be honest, it was pretty shit until the end... Haaa... This was not the way I wanted Zero to die...'
"Father, calm down!"
Luckily, a certain princess managed to catch his attention and bring him back to reality, "Oh, excuse me, Zero. You reminded me of a certain someone... Please forgive this foolish old man..."
Yet, Zero remained unphased, now wearing a bit of a mischievous but still warm smile on his face, "It's okay, George. Hehe, doesn't this prove my point though?"
"So, what Ms. Turner said was right... you can read the emotions of others. You knew I would react like this from the start..."
"Sorry about that, George, but I felt like it was necessary for you to understand my point of view. In my eyes, political schemes and bureaucracy are all nonsense. Ah, I don't mean to devalue your work, I also understand the value of modern society. However, right now that is not what we need."
This time, it was Sarah who interjected, her eyes shining weirdly, almost as if there was something about what Zero was saying that resonated with her deeply, "Then, what do we need?"
Scratching my cheek, Zero collected his thoughts for a bit, "Well, that's... I think that George is on the right path, unity is going to be necessary. However, I don't believe it should be based on politics. I think it would be for the best if everyone started caring about each other..."
'Am I really that naïve? Really?'
To no one's surprise, the king shared my criticism, "Do you truly think that's possible? That everyone will unite just for the sake of each other? Although I think it's a nice sentiment, I don't think I can believe in such a thing..."
And then, something absurd happened.
"Zero?!"
Another power entered my body, a foreign power that should have no connection to me at all. Suddenly, the body of Zero started to shine in a deep blue, as if to show the king that he truly was the son of the sky.
Smiling warmly, it was as if he was taking them both into his arms, showing them the world that could be created. The world he would fight for, the world he would live for and the world he would die for.
"And that's why I'm here. Humans, elves, dwarves, beastmen... All of the races of Tella are part of my family, and we are all children of Theia."
Suddenly, a blue ball of wondrous magic was expelled from my hand, floating over toward the king and his daughter. Then, it started showing images of all kinds of people living on Tella.
From the kid stealing to survive to a crying dwarf that had just lost his wife. A human that screamed in happiness as he managed to get accepted by the battle academy he wanted to attend, to an elf being born, being happily taken in the arms of a young mother with tears in her eyes.
"George and Sarah, I understand that you might not see the world I see, but believe me when I say that I will do everything I can to let these people live their life to the fullest. However, I am but one, and I will need help in the future to make sure everyone can live on."
Somehow, I felt like I began to understand what was happening.
'-Loki! Is this your doing?!'
'-Why yes, young apostle. But don't worry, it appears that your mind is working wonders with the gift I gave you.'
Before I could question the insane god anymore, my focus was grabbed by the acting of Zero once again. For some reason, I felt like I knew what he was going to say. 'Please, don't tell me... Do I actually believe my own lie?'
Still shining with a heavenly blue, Zero stood up, making sure to keep a comforting smile on his face as he told the king the 'truth'.
"George, I won't have much time in this world, but I can promise you this. With the short life I have, I will do everything in my power to make sure that this world can live on."
'Holy shit! I'm delusional!'