My Ex-Girlfriend is the Strongest Guild Master and I'm the Weakest! Chapter 49: Three Way Secret

A third knock finally roused him from sleep. His User Interface displayed 08:01 AM. It could only be her.

Isabella II, also known as Ashley Yates, stood outside, holding two cups of coffee from the vending machine.

This feels just like when she used to wake up every morning for eight straight months.

"Good morning, Alan," she said, her expression neutral.

"Morning," he responded gruffly, noticing the green sli between her feet, which rushed in on its own.

"Sorry. I found him downstairs."

"It's okay. Co inside, we need to talk."

Once Ashley sat on the edge of his bed, with Sloochie on her lap, Alan spent the next hour narrating his forced trip to Londorus. He downplayed the ordeal with Marco and his n, explained Alia's old allegiance, and the downfall of Shooting Stars. He then omitted the part about Marco extracting information from his head, attributing it to Alia to justify her presence.

Alan hoped to hear her thoughts on the White-Haired stranger, but Ashley remained silent, sipping her coffee. He concluded by telling her about Ricardo Silva's unexpected visit and his cryptic last request.

By the end, Alan's throat was dry, his coffee inevitably cold.

"Do you think we can trust Ricardo?" she asked, breaking the long silence.

"He seed really alard when I told him the news. His job basically consists of monitoring any anomalies within the system and fixing them, so if sothing weird has been happening here for the last three years, he'd be the first to notice it." Alan waited for Ashley to comnt further, but she seed lost in thought. "Alia thinks the dragon incident is linked to all this."

"Or it could be completely unrelated," Ashley began, staring into her empty cup. "Justice and global peace have often been cited as reasons to justify acts of war. During the 21st century, entire genocides occurred due to the personal interests of a few elitists. Now, imagine what a few Users drunk with power could do in a world where there are no deaths and consequences. It wouldn't surprise if this event has nothing to do with our mission."

"I totally get you. I've t a couple of people whose gigantic egos could start a war, but sothing about this particular incident has been nagging since yesterday." Alan exhaled. "Answer this first. What's the possibility of The Singular having adopted a human form?"

"High," Ashley responded imdiately, her gaze intense. "The only way to enter The Novus is through a cryo-pod, and if The Singular hacked one, the System might interpret it as a logged-in User."

"Might?" Alan repeated, his tone bitter. "Or is this sothing you know works quite well?" He pursed his lips, waiting, but an inner fire consud his patience. "You can't hack yourself into The Novus, can you? Just as Dr. Higazawa intended. No. You're using a cryo-pod, just like The Singular."

"That is correct."

Alan clenched his teeth. "An already occupied pod?"

"Yes."

"Are you usurping a human's body?"

"No. I'm just using her 'account'."

"How can you say that with a straight face?!" he shouted, grabbing her by the collar of her t-shirt, Sloochie squished between them. "What happened to the passenger's consciousness? Is the real Ashley Yates dead?!"

"She is in a vegetative state," Isabella II responded, unfazed.

Alan felt as if his blood had been drained. "W-What?"

"Her cryo-pod failed. It had a leak. Over ti, her brain deteriorated. By the ti we addressed the issue—"

"WE?! What do you an by that?!" Alan cried out, mories of him fixing the broken glass of a pod flashing through his mind. "Oh... god..." He muttered, releasing his grip. "Was that Ashley? I could have helped her sooner... I could have prevented this..."

"That is incorrect, Alan," the ship's AI interjected, using Ashley's face and voice. "The damage to her brain was already irreversible. Cryo-sleep requires continuous neural stimulation; hence the creation of The Novus. A prolonged leak of oxygen and liquid nitrogen can—"

"Skip ad," he said, too exhausted to look at her.

"Alan, since my original cannot interfere with The Novus, we are using the tools at our disposal to address this Singular invasion."

"Tools?"

"We can discuss ethics after we have resolved the Singular situation, but for now, do not let this deter you from seeing as an ally of humanity." She touched his cheek, and he wondered if such a gesture was programd to make her seem more sympathetic. "Ashley Yates cannot be saved, but we can use her body to save one hundred thousand people. Please, Alan."

He stepped back, allowing Sloochie to return to its original round shape.

Goddammit! I can't believe Isabella did this! he thought, suppressing his urge to storm out of the room. But I gain nothing from questioning her right now. Not while The Singular is still here. I can look the other way and keep working with her until we're done with this, since I've already sacrificed a lot to continue this mission. I truly believe she's the best ally humanity could ever have, but it makes wonder what other dubious things she has done for the future of this space trip.

He swallowed the bad taste in his mouth and made a considerable space between them. Do it for her, Alan.

"All right, Isa II, let's not focus on that for the mont," he began, leaning against the restroom's door. "Continuing on the Singular topic, I've been thinking about what Alia said, and she's right. We can't do much in our current state. People here value power and money first, so we have to level up to prevent being stomped and pushed apart again. We'll have to make money and subsequently get more allies too. Because if The Singular is disguising itself as a regular User, just like you, it may be forming an army."

"We do not know that yet, but it's true that we should be prepared for any future eventuality." She paused, forming a smile. "At least, knowing that it cannot interfere directly with the Novus' system is reassuring."

Wow, she's looking at the bright side of this.

"So, are we still going to keep it a secret? Until it blows up in everyone's faces?" Alan looked away, shaking his head. "Sothing about keeping The Novus in the dark doesn't sit well with . People have the right to know what's lurking out there, but at the sa ti, if we expose it all, the Singular may go into hiding forever. Argh! I can't find a way to resolve this! Now I get what you've been saying about the dragon incident. The Singular gains nothing from doing sothing that random!"

"Unless it was an open declaration of war," Ashley blurted out, making Alan's face turn pale.

"Are you changing your mind?"

"No. But we should not disregard Alia's theory completely. Tell , Alan, can we really trust her?"

"Despite what she did to , and although my inner logic is screaming that she may have selfish motives to help us... My gut also says that I'd be a fool if we don't keep her by our side. We need a guide, after all, and if she's willing to help..."

"What about , Alan? After learning what I did to get here, do you still trust ?"

Alan stared at her. "I do."

For now...

"Even though I'm doing sothing unethical, like..."

"Say no more. Let's postpone that conversation until the day The Santa María is safe. But, do you think I'm up to the task? I'm the weakest and poorest User, rember?"

"And yet, you have already contacted an Administrator, survived a skirmish, and convinced a Max-Level User to help us." She half-smiled, making him chuckle.

As both stared into each other's eyes, Sloochie remained still and silent, trying to be as invisible as possible. If Alan or Ashley knew more about the inner workings of the Novus, they would notice the yellow dot beside its na, indicating that it was currently on an open Party Chat.

This new revelation surely broadens the picture, Alia thought while sipping coffee, half a mile away from their location. If Humanity's Destructor is disguised as a regular User, I don't know how we're going to deal with this.

She paid the bill with a push of a button and exited the coffee shop, ignoring the gazes of people around her. As she calmly walked through the main street, the early birds of Unus Town stared at her, confused by the sight of a High-Leveler casually strolling through what was also known as Eurola's 'Beginner's Town'.

Ha! It'd be quite easy if we discover The Singular's true identity, log out of here, and kill the human host in their sleep. But, how do we accomplish the first task? If I were It, I'd have spent the last three years making a backup plan in case I got discovered. Man... I can't believe you've been carrying all this weight alone, Alan Warden.

Alia confird that Alan and Ashley were coming down through Sloochie's video feedback and waited outside the inn. A couple of minutes later, a tired-looking Alan seed to rejuvenate at the sight of the redhead, wearing knee-high heeled boots, tight jeans, and a v-neck blouse, which generously showed her cleavage. Her long, loose red hair looked like a mantle made of the best shiny silk.

"Morning, fellas." Alia bead, crossing her arms. "So! Are we going to the Townhall and register our new guild, or what?"

"Hey, it's the Devil's Princess!" Alan exclaid while Sloochie dashed to its master's side.

"It's Hell Princess! It was a great accomplishnt getting that title, so use it right. Shall I tell you the story of how I got it?"

"Nah! Sothing tells it involves so secret BDSM dungeon or sothing weird like that."

"Funny you should say that, but I indeed have a bondage outfit in my inventory. Whenever you feel in the mood to be punished, just say the word."

"Alia! Not in front of Ashley!"

Alia chuckled, locking eyes with him. It's good to see that after everything that has happened, you still have the energy to joke around.

"Alia Laflam." Ashley stepped forward, staring at her. "Alan has updated on the events of the last few days. So, I'm looking forward to our joint collaboration."

Ashley extended a hand, which Alia scrutinized for a couple of seconds. Knowing about this girl's true nature makes feel much better, but at the sa ti, it's quite disturbing.

"Glad to be of help," Alia said, shaking hands. "Are you guys hungry?"

The three looked out of place walking among the other residents of Unus, which made Alia smirk.

A level 5, which is low even for this town's standards, an emotionless but cute level 41, and , a Max-Leveler and the hottest woman in this whole shithole.

"Alan, give your arm."

"A-Are you going to rip it off ?"

"No, you idiot. You're escorting a lady down the street, so act like a gentleman. Here." She held his arm while walking. "See? That's better, right?"

Alan muttered a lot of incomprehensible things as his face turned bright red. anwhile, Alia looked around, noting curious bystanders glancing at them.

She smirked, satisfied.

Alan, no one will know what you've sacrificed for the wellbeing of this spaceship and its colony, and you may never be rewarded nor acknowledged by them. If the least I can do is burn your enemies, I'll do it gladly.

She sighed, closing her eyes for a mont.

...After all, I'm already used to being soone else's doll.

"Hey, have you co up with a guild na yet?" she asked.

"Nope. But you know what? Why don't you co up with it? You've earned it."

"Really? All right! How about Sweet Slayers?"

"What?! No!"

"Fluffy Demons?"

"That's even worse!"

"Authentic Doors, The Unrivaled?"

"You ca prepared, huh? Ouch!"

Alia dug her nails into his arm and released a grunt of exasperation. "You said it was okay for to na it," she muttered, frowning while thinking about what they had in common.

Let's see, a group of people on a quest to find sothing that might not even exist...

She pondered for a mont. "Phantom Seekers!"

She did not receive a reply for several seconds.

"I love it!"