Vol 3 Chapter 53 – World Peace

Melia stared intently at Al’s face.

Her expression was a complete blank, as if every last emotion had been drained from her.

Yikes, that’s creepy…

I don’t know Melia, of course, but she never struck me as the kind of girl who would make a face like that…

If Alan or Ruru were here, I could ask them what was going on, but unfortunately, the only other person here is Al, who seems to have discarded the emotion of fear somewhere along the way.

He’s not going to see things my way, is he…

“What is the meaning of this? Are you trying to insult my love for Rayphia-san? I will not permit such a thing, no matter who you are!”

Melia’s anger erupted.

She was fuming, but having just seen that perfectly vacant expression, it felt completely and utterly fake.

“Hm? Ah, I certainly don’t deny love. Love is, without a doubt, justice.”

“What kind of logic is that?”

I don’t get it. I don’t get what Al is saying.

…Or so I thought, but he’s basically been an incomprehensible existence twenty-four seven.

It’s only natural that I don’t get it.

I felt a sense of relief.

“However, I feel no justice from that love of yours. In other words, it is a fake.”

“Huh…?”

Hey, isn’t that just an unprovable claim…?

He’s saying it without a shred of evidence, so there’s nothing the accused can do.

It was utterly absurd.

And yet, Melia didn’t deny it…

“――――――To think I’d be found out for a reason like that. I’m surprised.”

She affirmed it with a faint smile. Her expression was placid, as if the fierce passion from moments ago had never existed.

The contrast was ghastly.

Just what is going on with her emotions…?

“Honestly, your holy sword over there is saying the same thing, but what kind of logic is that? Can one really feel justice from love?”

“It would be impossible for an ordinary person. But for a true emissary of justice, such as myself, it is possible.”

“A true emissary of justice…?”

Who is this guy talking about…?

That’s not a title for someone who’s been nicknamed ‘Despair’ or ‘Murderer’.

And yet, Melia laughed, looking amused.

“Fufu, now that you put it that way, I suppose it might actually be true. From your set of values, what I have done is likely not justice at all.”

“Indeed. Whatever your reasons, betraying humanity is a grave sin. Of course, I will kill you and have you atone for that sin, so you can rest easy.”

How can this man declare he’s going to kill someone so brazenly, with his chest puffed out like that?

Isn’t his mental fortitude a little too strong?

In response to Al’s words, Melia shook her head.

“That would be a problem. You see, I have a very precious and important dream. I cannot allow myself to be killed before I make it a reality.”

“A dream?”

I honestly wanted nothing more to do with any of this, but I heard a word that piqued my interest and couldn’t help but chime in.

A dream. An ideal, a yearning that every human has held at least once.

What kind of dream could Melia, who had orchestrated something so outrageous, possibly have?

“Yes. My dream is――――――”

Melia stated proudly, her chest puffed out.

“World peace.”

“Uh, umm… I-Isn’t that impossible?”

The words just slipped out.

I absolutely must not say anything that would contradict this crazy woman.

It was the worst possible move.

That’s why I had intended to just go along with whatever nonsense she said, but I just couldn’t hold my tongue.

World peace.

It has a nice ring to it and sounds like a wonderful ideal.

“I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been a single second of peace for the entire world since humanity began. I mean, the fact that someone like me was even born is proof enough.”

But it’s just too idealistic. Too unrealistic.

As long as people form symbiotic societies with others, conflict is inevitable.

A moment when true, literal world peace was achieved has likely never existed in recorded history.

In response to my words, Melia didn’t fly into a rage, but nodded virtuously.

“You are certainly correct. However, just because there is no precedent doesn’t mean I can give up. A world where everyone can live in peace. That is a truly wonderful thing.”

“Hmph… A splendid idea. I, too, am constantly acting for the sake of world peace. I strive to make the world a better place, even if just a little.”

“Wh-!?”

I stared at Al, startled.

W-World peace…? Is that what he’s been working toward this whole time?

If that’s the case, his methods are awfully… violent. And brutal. And reliant on force…

Oh, maybe he’s joking?

As I was thinking that, Melia clapped her hands in admiration.

“Ah, how wonderful. To think our paths would diverge like this…”

“It is a matter of methods. I will continue to crush evil until it is eradicated from this world. You, however, did not choose that path.”

“That’s… right. At first, I was the same as you. I performed good deeds, believing that no matter how small, they were surely helping the world. But along the way, I realized something. To advocate for peace in a world like this, my actions were far too small, too crude.”

Melia’s gaze drifted to a faraway place.

She must have started out by bravely trying to achieve her ideal through legitimate means.

And when that didn’t work, she broke.

She couldn’t bear the tedious effort, the lack of visible results.

“Well, it’s true that evil doesn’t exactly go away when you’re working alone.”

“Exactly. So, I thought I’d try to find allies to help, but… it didn’t go very well.”

Melia gave a bitter smile.

Yeah, that sounds about right. It’s a tough business.

“To begin with, why is evil so rampant? While I crush one evil, ten more are born and committed in its place. The reason was simple.”

Melia had already found her answer.

She stated the conclusion she had drawn from her long years of anguish with a bright smile.

“There are too many people.”

“Ah…”

This is a lost cause…

Melia hadn’t said anything else, but I had already given up.

I knew exactly what she was going to say.

“So, I gave up on trying to achieve world peace through steady, good deeds. I decided on a more drastic treatment.”

“Which is?”

“I will join forces with the demons and start a war. In it, I will drastically reduce the human population to a number that I can manage. Then, I will reduce the numbers of the demons who helped accomplish this. By doing so, I will realize my dream of world peace!”

…

N-Not yet. There’s still hope.

Although the fact that Al has suddenly gone completely silent is terrifying!

“Um, so, in other words…?”

“I will kill and reduce the numbers of both humans and demons to a level that I can manage in order to bring about world peace.”

“Huh…?”

What is this, some kind of slaughter cyborg…?

All I could do was stand there, dumbfounded.