Chapter 156: A Step Towards Destruction!
The next day, morning.
"Ideals and reality? What's this, did Alise or Kaguya influence you again?"
The pink-haired Pallum girl sat in a chair, swinging her feet happily, unable to touch the ground.
According to the plan, their Astraea Familia was set to depart for the dungeon after lunch today.
At this moment, Lyra was doing the final check of the items that might be needed for this mission.
Several strange-looking items were scattered across the table, which she skillfully disassembled and then reassembled.
Beside her was the still troubled elf girl, Ryuu.
The argument with Kaguya yesterday had not reached a conclusion, and Alise's words had added new doubts.
Unable to rid herself of the troubles, Ryuu could not adjust her mindset to face the upcoming battle.
So she sought Lyra to discuss this matter.
The Pallum girl, not taller than 120 cm, with peach-colored hair, did not look up at Ryuu.
She continued her inspection while responding to the elf girl with a flippant smile:
"For that kind of stuff, just put on a puzzled face, nod your head, and say 'hmm' in agreement."
"Just pretend you understand, then crawl into bed and sleep. Wow, incredibly, all your worries will just disappear~"
"I'm seriously discussing this with you!"
Lyra's dismissive answer clearly did not satisfy the stubborn elf girl.
"Although I really dislike Kaguya, rejecting her outright would only narrow my own perspective."
"And I'm also concerned about what Alise said... If I don't face and absorb different points of view, I'll never solve this problem."
"Ah, elves can really be a hassle."
Lyra interrupted Ryuu's words with an impatient tone.
Contrary to her young and adorable appearance, Lyra's way of speaking had never been 'cute'.
Just like the contradiction between her appearance and her words, Lyra's own thoughts were also quite twisted.
"It's not like you have to come up with an answer right away, right? Not to mention these are the answers you heard from others."
In theory, Lyra, who seemed to have nothing to do with 'justice', should have been completely incompatible with the typical elves with mysophobia.
But surprisingly, whenever Ryuu was troubled, she would first seek advice from Alise, followed by Lyra.
Lyra's opinions were always straightforward and unreserved, often hitting Ryuu with thoughts she had never considered.
It had always been this way; Lyra's to-the-point remarks could not be ignored by anyone in the Astraea Familia.
Though appearing careless, her words always struck the core, making Ryuu subconsciously rely on Lyra.
"Just listen to half of everything, whether it's Kaguya's or Alise's words, just listen to a part of them."
"After all, it's someone else's thoughts."
"Do you plan to turn yourself into Kaguya or Alise?"
"In the end, the 'answer' you seek still depends on yourself, only you can come up with 'answers' that satisfy yourself."
"So listen to all sorts of opinions halfway, then think for yourself and come up with your own 'answers'."
Ryuu looked at Lyra, somewhat shocked.
Such philosophical words did not seem like something Lyra would say.
After all, the pink-haired Pallum girl was very good at lying.
"If only you could always be this serious, Lyra..."
"What the hell, Lion, I've always been this serious and sincere, right~"
"...Please place your hand on your chest and carefully think about what you have taught me over these past few years."
Bringing this up made Ryuu feel as though she had been 'tainted'.
Over these years, Lyra had taught her all sorts of unsavory things.
The method to see through lies was still acceptable.
Beyond that, there were extortion, negotiation, deceit, intimidation, as well as sure-fire ways to win in gambling and cheating techniques.
'To eliminate these groups of scum, understanding their thoughts and actions is necessary.'
'Just with nice words, you can't be a messenger of justice, you know~'
Every time, Lyra would use these seemingly logical arguments to force the blonde-haired elf to learn these skills, which were actually completely unrelated to justice.
Over the years, the originally pure elf had learned a vast array of 'unnecessary' skills.
"After all, Lion is a naive little elf who doesn't know much about the world, I'm looking out for you."
"...Compared to you, I do admit I'm a bit naive."
Listening to Ryuu's resigned response, Lyra wickedly curved her lips.
"Listen well, Lion."
"Knowledge is a weapon, intelligence is a delicacy!"
"Whether it's shady tricks or trivial knowledge, everything you remember can become a power to assist you."
"Remember everything, and use everything."
Lyra didn't know why she was saying so much to Ryuu today.
But the unease swirling in her heart made her pour as much of her 'philosophy' into Ryuu as possible.
Now thinking about it, perhaps Alise and Kaguya had made the same choices she was making now?
"Think hard until your head hurts, use your brain until your ears bleed."
"If there is no equipment or items, use the surrounding items in the dungeon; if not available, then don't hesitate to use the dropped items."
"Anything can be used as a substitute, even if a single item is useless, the possibility of them being useful increases significantly when combined."
"Although you may not be good at it, at least learn to observe and listen."
"The nature of monsters, the effects of materials, the crafting of items, survival methods, the movements of people's hearts, all these will become your driving force for progress."
Lyra stared at Ryuu with utmost seriousness, as if wanting the elf girl to never forget her words.
"Excess knowledge might waste a lot of time, but it's far better than ignorance."
"It doesn't matter if you spend a bit more time, turn 'knowledge' into 'wisdom'."
Lyra's expression was like a petite older sister watching over her younger sister.
And her words also took root in Ryuu's heart.
...
After lunch.
After a brief rest, the fully prepared Astraea Familia was ready to enter the dungeon.
"Rudra Familia is the only remaining 'force' in Evilus."
Alise stood at the entrance of the dungeon and said to all the members:
"This mission is a great opportunity to completely eliminate Evilus."
"There may be traps waiting for us ahead, but it could also be an opportunity to thoroughly cleanse evil!"
"Once we defeat the Rudra Familia, the remaining Evilus remnants will be nothing."
After emphasizing the importance of this mission to everyone, Alise turned and led her team into the dungeon.
Taking the first step towards the ending of 'destruction'.
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