Souta didn't bother explaining the entire Aka ga Kill! story to Chelsea.
Too troubleso.
Instead, he simply pulled out his iPhone, opened the manga he had downloaded, and handed the phone to her.
"Everything you want to know is right here."
Chelsea took the phone and, upon seeing the cute, stylized artwork, was clearly a bit confused.
"...What is this?" she asked.
Souta explained, "The group announcent ntioned it before—in my world, you guys are fictional characters. This is the series where you appear as a character."
"Uh... am I the protagonist?"
"You think the protagonist would get their head chopped off and stuck on a pike as a public warning?"
"..."
Chelsea suddenly felt like she'd taken a critical hit.
So... her future was really that tragic?
"Am I really... just a fictional character?"
No matter how she looked at it, she found the idea impossible to accept.
"You don't need to dwell on that too much," Souta reassured her.
"I asked the system before—your world is real, and each of you are real people, not puppets. So, don't overthink it."
Chelsea gazed at the manga on the phone, her emotions complicated.
But as an assassin who had spent years taking lives, she quickly cald herself down and began reading.
Beside her, Kurumi, curious about the content, also leaned in to read.
Since the manga was in its original language, she helped translate as they went along.
Ti passed.
Before they knew it, night had fallen.
By the ti the iPhone displayed a low battery warning, Chelsea and Kurumi finally stopped reading, rubbing their dry, tired eyes.
Kurumi glanced at Chelsea's head, as if ntally comparing sothing.
That particular look made Chelsea feel extrely uneasy.
The scene of her own severed head stuck on a pike just wouldn't leave her mind.
She died way too horribly!
...Well, maybe not the worst death.
At least she still had her head intact—unlike Sheele, who got eaten alive and left with no corpse to bury.
As Chelsea sat there, her expression a mix of emotions, Souta approached, setting down two steaming cups of tea and a few plates of pastries.
"Here, have so snacks," he said.
"Hmm?" Chelsea looked surprised. "You went outside?"
"No."
"Then... these snacks?"
"I made them."
Souta lifted his right hand, palm open.
"Watch—I'll make you an apple."
The mont he finished speaking, a bright red apple appeared in his hand.
"A magic trick...?" Chelsea looked stunned. "That sleight of hand was insanely fast!"
"It's not magic."
Souta shook his head.
"It's my matter creation ability—whatever I want, I can create."
"..."
Chelsea's shock deepened.
"...Okay, I'm starting to believe you really are a god."
anwhile, Kurumi took a sip of her tea, her brows furrowing.
"This world... feels wrong."
As soone who despised tragedies, it bothered her deeply.
If she hadn't, she wouldn't have spent 30 years traveling through ti to save people.
And the world of Aka ga Kill!—so twisted and corrupt—made her feel a strong sense of disgust.
Souta moved closer and gently massaged her forehead, slowly smoothing out her furrowed brows.
Kurumi leaned into his palm, rubbing her face against his hand like a pampered cat, her voice soft and sweet.
"Thank you."
"No need to thank ." Souta chuckled.
"Just don't frown so much."
"Mm." Kurumi nodded obediently.
Chelsea, watching this unfold, suddenly felt like maybe she should step aside...?
Souta then turned back to Kurumi and agreed:
"This world really is twisted.
Sure, the Revolutionary Army wins in the end—but... they don't exactly seem like the 'good guys' either."
Chelsea: "..."
As soone working for the Revolutionary Army, she felt obligated to push back.
"Hold on, the Revolutionary Army overthrew the corrupt Empire and made life better for the people. Isn't that a good thing?"
"That's not necessarily true," Souta countered.
He tapped into his inner keyboard warrior mode and ripped into the Revolutionary Army's strategy:
"They collaborated with foreign tribes, letting them into the Empire—that's no different from drinking poison to quench thirst."
"You know what those tribes are like, right?
They raid the borders, slaughter civilians, and commit unspeakable cris—and the Revolutionary Army thinks it's a good idea to ally with them?"
"This isn't righteous strategy—it's sheer idiocy.
They'll soon realize that inviting them in is easy—but getting them to leave will be impossible."
"..."
Chelsea fell silent.
Of course she knew this.
She just chose to ignore it.
Right now, overthrowing the Empire was their top priority, and outside help was necessary.
"Alright," Souta suddenly smirked, "Let's drop this topic."
"We're here to gather faith, not argue politics."
Chelsea nodded.
"...Night Raid is already ford," she remarked.
"Based on the tiline, the story should be starting soon."
"Are you thinking about helping them?" Kurumi asked.
"If possible... yeah," Chelsea admitted.
"But..."
She sighed, frustrated.
"Even if I know what's going to happen, without the strength to change it, what can I do?"
"Don't worry about that."
Souta reassured her.
"You're part of the system now. You'll have plenty of chances to get stronger."
Then he offered:
"If you really want to save them, I can help—but I'll need your help first."
"My help?"
Chelsea was intrigued.
"What do you need?"
"Our destination is Path of Peace," Souta reminded her.
"When we et their leader, we'll try negotiating first—if he agrees to cooperate, great.
But if he refuses, then I'll have to imprison him for a while."
"And that's where you co in."
"?" Chelsea pointed at herself.
"Yup. If negotiations fail, I need you to disguise yourself as their leader using your Gaia Foundation Teigu. That way, you can keep the believers in line while I handle the rest."
Of course, the easiest solution would be to just buy a [mory Alteration Card] from Altair, use it on the leader, and brainwash him into submission.
But... Souta didn't like that idea.
That guy was genuinely a good person.
ssing with his mories and free will just felt wrong.
He wasn't going to compromise his morals just to gain power.
Chelsea stared at him.
"...Why do I feel like you're already assuming the negotiations will fail?"
"I'm just planning ahead." Souta smirked.
"I trust my negotiation skills." Souta
Kurumi: "..."
She shot him a playful, doubtful look.
Souta ignored her gaze and continued persuading Chelsea:
"Look, you're in the system now. You don't need to keep running errands for the Revolutionary Army.
If you really want to change this world, you need to stand at the top."
Chelsea hesitated.
Souta was essentially asking her to abandon the Revolutionary Army.
"...Give so ti to think about it."
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