*BZZT*
Putting my hand under my desk, I checked my smartwatch and saw a ssage from the very person in front of .
[Ruby: Are you really planning to go?]
[Ren: Well... it's not like I have a choice.]
[Ruby: Oh, so now, you decide to act like a normal human being when making decisions?]
[Ren: ... what do you an by that?]
[Ruby: Was trying to save the World Tree, completely alone as a re D-rank, a good and rational decision?]
[Ren: You know, there is no such thing as a good or bad decision, right?]
[Ruby: Yeah, that's what delusional people say when they make a terrible decision for the hundredth ti.]
[Ren: Guess it'll be the hundredth and one ti, now.]
Putting down my smartwatch, I looked up at the roof, seriously thinking about her words.
Use the resources around ?
What resources did I have?
No one and nothing.
I had so money, but that was it.
Raven and Zeng were useful occasionally, but what good were they in fighting battles and making strategies?
I was the only one on the battlefield, risking mine and only my life.
The main cast had various mbers, each powerful and useful in their own right: Zach with his buffing spells, Liam and Kevin with offensive attacks, Lily with defense, and Alya with long-range.
They had connections that basically ant they could procure any needed items or resources for free.
They had all the resources in the world.
Everything... the main cast had it all: power, connections, money, knowledge of the future, and intelligence.
All of that... and they still lost to every single ti.
Every single event, I was one step ahead of them and every ti, it ended in the exact scenario I wanted it to end.
Not a single event went the way they had envisioned it.
All of it was my perfect victory and conclusion.
They could have all the resources in the world, and I would still bet on myself winning every single ti without any doubt.
Resources didn't an shit.
And I was the evidence.
I didn't need anyone to do what I did successfully.
Unlike the main cast, I wasn't even saving the world for the correct moral reasons; I was doing it for myself.
I didn't have any conviction or moral superiority.
Then, what made so successful?
That... was a question I couldn't yet answer as I didn't know it myself.
Was it my ruthlessness or selfishness? Or even my small bits of selflessness and occasionally kindness?
Looking up from the table, I noticed that everyone was done, and both Lily and Alya were ready to depart.
Waving goodbye to Ruby, who was getting dragged around by Irene, I silently followed Lily and Alya out of the palace.
Leaving the main gates, I noticed that the guards were greeting us with slightly more positive expressions than earlier.
The news of the humans supporting the Elves should have spread by now... I wonder how the rest of the world will react.
The demons had made their first public move in over fifty years... and the future was more ssed up than ever, mostly my fault.
What would change?
The future was still useful information to , but it could also bite in the back if I relied on it too much.
But... it was slowly becoming less and less valuable like a stock.
Irene's transformation into a villain should occur when we get back to school, and I had no intention of forcing that event.
I guess this would be Lily's first win over if we're even counting it.
Two major villainesses in Ruby and Irene are now partially heroes... that would make for an interesting future.
After this trip, the main cast should enter a dream together and all advance to C-rank, and I would probably follow.
Now that Ruby and Irene are back in the equation, though, would they enter a dream with the main cast or do it alone?
Heading out of the gates, I followed Alya and Lily from a distance, only catching up to them once we stopped at the first store.
As we headed into the store, which had a variety of hats and caps on display outside, I began experinting with "Ren's" feelings.
Watching Alya head to the cashier to ask about sizes, I sat down on the bench beside Lily and simply looked around, seeing how my feelings erged.
However, the feeling of regret was no longer there.
It was like that for the rest of the day.
Even as I walked side-by-side with Lily through the bustling streets of the clearing, the feeling never appeared.
Even though I didn't say a single word to Lily throughout the whole day.
Even though Lily didn't say a single word to .
Even when I attempted to leave and ditch them as a test, the feeling never appeared.
As the sun slowly set, bathing the city in a bright orange from above the branches of the World Tree, the three of us went our separate ways.
Well... that was useless.
As the day ended and the new one started, I packed up my bags with Jin and Han, who were sowhat annoyed, and headed to the exit of the clearing.
At the exit stood the Elven queen alongside a bunch of guards who were supposed to see us off.
As I was the last to exit the clearing, Liana was able to pull aside for a short mont without being noticed.
"Take this."
"A pager?"
"Just use it if you need ."
".I-"
"And don't say you won't ever need help."
After Liana essentially stuffed the pager into my hand, I followed the rest of my classmates and officially exited the Elven realm.
The trip out of the forest was uneventful as we quickly arrived back at the plains, where our carriages stood.
As we stood outside the carriages, it seed that Liana had got the last laugh as the carriage Jin, Han, and I had arrived here on was gone.
Instead, a bigger carriage stood with an official Elven crest and my na printed on it.
But my na was not the only one printed on the massive carriage...
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