A completely abrupt remark.
No—It could hardly even be called a sentence.
Just two simple words.
Yet they caused the girl, who had remained perfectly composed even with three men surrounding her, to lower the folding fan in her hand.
A brilliant smile unlike any she had shown before blossomed across her face.
Even in this dark, damp alley, her smile somehow seemed dazzling enough to make the sun itself pale in comparison.
"Oh~?"
"You stand within this kingdom without even bothering to learn who its future ruler will be, then immediately address me with such insolence."
"If your crime were judged by how amusing you are, there would be no doubt that the sentence should be death."
"However, since you showed me something entertaining beforehand, I shall spare your life for now."
"Listen carefully."
"My name is Priscilla Barielle, the most noble person in this world."
"Do your utmost to carve my name permanently into your mind."
Just when Shiro thought she was about to say something like—
'Oh? So it's the same type of Stand as mine.'
The girl—Priscilla—casually sentenced him to death and then arbitrarily pardoned him instead.
Her tone was so completely natural that Shiro almost had the illusion she genuinely already ruled the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica.
Of course, stripping away the excessively self-centered parts of her speech did reveal some useful information.
The phrase "future ruler of this kingdom" made the girl's identity rather obvious.
"You're one of the Dragon Maidens participating in the Royal Selection too?"
"Hmph."
"With such an obvious clue, even the dullest fool should be capable of reaching that conclusion."
Even when she was agreeing with him, somehow everything sounded strange coming from Priscilla.
"You also have a Divine Protection related to the Sun, don't you?"
Shiro paid little attention to her condescending tone.
Along his journey, he had already met plenty of people with unusual personalities.
When it came to arrogance, many Elves in Orario were hardly inferior to the girl before him.
The difference was that most Elves buried their pride deep within themselves rather than openly displaying it as Priscilla did.
That was why most people found Elves relatively easy to get along with.
But if someone misunderstood that as meaning Elves were genuinely easygoing—And casually touched one because they believed they had become close—There was a very real chance the Elf would immediately become hostile.
In more serious cases, even an Elf who normally seemed perfectly approachable might attack on the spot and turn the encounter into an armed confrontation.
So while Priscilla's personality could hardly be called pleasant, it still fell within Shiro's tolerance.
At least normal conversation was possible.
"Also?"
"I see."
"So that pleasant presence I've been sensing beside me ever since earlier originates from you."
Priscilla smiled confidently.
"Judged by mortal standards, you have done reasonably well."
"At the very least, you are far more pleasing to the eye than those ugly clowns over there."
"So I shall specially permit you to state your name."
"Speak with gratitude."
"Who exactly are you?"
She closed her folding fan and pointed it toward Shiro.
"A title?"
"I don't really have anything impressive-sounding like that in this world."
Shiro thought for a moment.
"If I absolutely had to give one, 'Emilia's proxy knight' is probably the title you'd understand best."
"That half-devil?"
Hearing Emilia's name, Priscilla raised an eyebrow.
Without hesitation, she used the derogatory term commonly directed at Emilia in the royal capital because she was a half-elf.
Even after saying it directly in front of Emilia's proxy knight, Priscilla saw nothing improper about it.
She simply continued in her usual self-centered manner.
"Rather than following someone who is constantly dragged around by circumstances and possesses not the slightest glimmer of hope toward her inevitable descent into hell..."
"You would be far better suited serving me as my knight."
"As a reward, I may even specially permit you to kiss my feet."
"Sorry."
"I already agreed to act as Emilia's knight."
"So no matter how generous you think that offer is, I'm not going to betray her and jump over to your side."
"Hmph."
"A pointless obsession belonging only to common fools."
Priscilla's voice carried arrogance beyond anything an ordinary person could imitate.
"Listen carefully."
"I alone am suited to become ruler of this kingdom."
"Therefore, regardless of what happens, you will eventually become my subordinate."
"And when that time comes, even if you willingly submit to my commands, you will not escape punishment for your insolence today."
"Unfortunately for you, I'm not a citizen of this kingdom."
Shiro remained completely unmoved.
"Even if you take control of this country, you still won't have the right to treat me as a subordinate and order me around however you please."
"That is irrelevant."
"The world revolves around me."
"Nothing disadvantageous to me can ever occur within it."
"In other words, anything I desire will eventually be delivered into my hands by the world itself."
"You are no exception."
"If you ultimately fail to join my camp, then it merely means you lacked sufficient value for the world to present you to me."
"Then that's even more unfortunate."
"Rather than letting fate push me down a road I dislike, I prefer twisting fate itself into the path I want."
Shiro mercilessly undermined Priscilla's declaration.
Perhaps—In terms of ability, Priscilla was actually one of the people most compatible with him.
Both possessed blessings connected to the Sun.
And both could, to some extent, manipulate fate.
The difference lay in how they approached it.
Priscilla did not care how events unfolded because she firmly believed that whatever happened, the final result would always favor her.
Shiro, meanwhile, did not particularly care whether the final result was beneficial.
Instead, he manipulated fate so events themselves developed in the direction he wanted to witness.
Take the Royal Selection.
Joining Emilia's camp under the title of proxy knight was obviously not the most advantageous choice for him.
He could easily have aligned himself with a faction offering far greater personal benefit.
Priscilla, standing before him, was a perfect example.
If he genuinely joined forces with her—One person could forcibly carve his desired fate into the planet.
The other could cause fate itself to push events toward the outcome most favorable to her.
Working together, the success rate of almost anything Shiro attempted would approach one hundred percent.
Even killing Reinhard might become something worth attempting.
But if Shiro truly began ignoring the process and pursuing only results—He would inevitably fall into endless exploitation.
The reason was extremely simple.
Shiro could travel between worlds.
And because he could cross worlds—Everything contained within any individual world could eventually become meaningless to him.
If he cared only about profit, and someone placed two choices before him—Sacrifice an entire world to instantly double his strength.
Or slowly cultivate that same increase over time.
He would probably choose the former without hesitation.
But if he truly became someone capable of making decisions like that—Even Shiro did not know what kind of monster he would eventually become.
There was only one thing he could say with certainty.
By then—The version of himself that had completely discarded his humanity would no longer truly be him.
Perhaps that was also why Nangou Torajirou had shown such fear when discussing the philosophy behind Excessive Awakening.
In everyday life, Shiro treated promises he had made with exceptional seriousness.
Part of the reason was precisely to preserve the humanity within himself.
So when Priscilla attempted to recruit him—Shiro rejected her without even needing to think.
…