Just how should they decide?
Lin Qi instinctively looked around, wanting to see the opinions of the others.
If this were a situation where Lin Qi himself had to risk his life, he might not hesitate much. But this was, after all, a matter for everyone, and even Euryale herself...
'No, I don't like this at all!'
The moment his gaze lifted, Lin Qi rejected this decision in his heart. The confusion in his eyes was swept away, leaving only clear, resolute determination.
Why should they have to sacrifice an innocent person just to resolve a Singularity and save this broken world? Why?
Yes, even if they killed Euryale here, it wouldn't mean the real Euryale was gone. They'd only be killing a duplicate.
By any measure, this was indeed the optimal solution.
But was the optimal solution necessarily the right one?
Lin Qi could accept failure resulting from his own powerlessness, but he absolutely could not accept raising a hand against a trusted companion for such a lousy reason.
This moral hurdle was something Lin Qi simply could not ignore.
It was like a multiple-ending game Lin Qi had played before. After carefully considering every decision, he achieved an ending he was satisfied with.
But just when Lin Qi, full of fighting spirit, went for another ending, hearing the heroine's hesitant but still supportive voice regarding his decision, Lin Qi hesitated.
Why should he force himself to achieve an ending he didn't even like?
Lin Qi asked himself this question back then, then smiled in realization and gave up on the idea of completing all endings.
Perhaps he was just the kind of person who, no matter how many times, would only ever choose the same kind of ending.
Besides—
'Do you think I'm protecting everyone so desperately for no reason?
It's precisely because I hate the feeling of loss that I fight so hard!'
So even if everyone agreed with Euryale's decision, he would absolutely never agree—
"I don't want. Euryale, die. I will, protect Euryale!"
Under Euryale's astonished gaze, Asterios suddenly stepped forward, using his large hands to shield her, staring stubbornly at everyone.
Lin Qi had reached his decision quickly, but he was still a step slower than Asterios, whose thoughts were pure and simple.
As mentioned before, if someone was good to Asterios, he would be good to them in return.
The simple-minded Asterios, realizing what Euryale intended to do, didn't even stop to think before directly placing himself in front of her.
Seeing Asterios take the lead and step forward, Lin Qi smiled, a relaxed smile.
A phrase he'd heard before surfaced in his mind.
"When you have the chance to make a decision, don't let yourself regret it…"
Lin Qi softly read the sentence from his mind aloud, then lifted his head to look at Euryale.
"If we just listen to the Goddess-sama's words and let Goddess-sama leave the field by our hands, I would definitely regret it."
"Therefore, I will defy the Goddess-sama's decision!"
"—After all, we've come all this way. You should at least accompany us to the very end, shouldn't you, Goddess-sama?"
Hearing Lin Qi's words, the pirates, their blood boiling over, cheered loudly:
"Well said! I'll also defy the Goddess-sama's decision!"
"Me too…"
"+1!"
Sigh... It seems I was being presumptuous...
Having finally steeled her resolve, only to be immediately contradicted by Lin Qi and the Minotaur right then and there, and then having a bunch of people chime in, a faint blush couldn't help but rise to Euryale's cheeks.
It was both the fluster of being directly opposed, and the shyness of being cared for.
However, the red tint lasted on Euryale's face for only a brief moment; if one didn't look carefully, they might not even notice her face had flushed at all.
"Defying a goddess's command is one thing, but to actually dare demand that I, a goddess, accompany you… You are truly both greedy and bold, my Master."
Maintaining her composure, Euryale returned to her usual slightly tsundere demeanor.
"But no matter what you all say, with my power, I'll only be a burden to you. So, do you want to change your minds now?"
"This is your last chance, you know~. After this, even if you beg me, I won't change my mind again."
Euryale spoke in a flippant tone, smiling as she looked at Lin Qi.
Naturally, Lin Qi had no intention of changing his decision again.
He just glanced back at the pirates, then said with a smile, "Of course. Right now, we are pirates. In a sense, isn't the treasure we take into our hands also a burden?"
"If we can't even protect our own treasure properly, then what kind of pirates are we?"
Drake, standing nearby, heard this and excitedly threw an arm around Lin Qi. "Well said! I didn't expect Little Lin to understand this so well! Could it be you're a natural-born pirate at heart?"
Drake made a bold guess.
"Perhaps? What do you think, Boss?" Lin Qi blinked.
"Emmm, although your performance on the ship has been good, you're just a bit too reserved. If you could fix that, you'd be a pretty qualified pirate!" Drake pondered for a moment before saying with a chuckle.
After laughing for a short while, the surroundings suddenly fell silent.
The smile slowly faded from Drake's face. She looked up and only then noticed that everyone present was staring at her.
"Uh, don't tell me you need my stance on this too?" Drake pointed at herself, her face full of surprise.
"Euryale is someone I invited onto the ship with great difficulty. No matter how lousy I am, I wouldn't agree to my crewmate doing such a inexplicable thing, right?" Drake spread her hands.
It seemed that everyone present who could make a decision was the type who wouldn't easily abandon a comrade. Euryale's worry had been unnecessary from the start.
"To compare a goddess to your treasure… you're getting even bolder, Master."
"But forget it. Just remember to protect me like you would your most precious treasure, okay?"
Things had reached this point. If Euryale dragged it out any further, it would just seem affected.
"Mn. I will protect, Euryale," Asterios said, his gaze firm.
Even if he died, he would stand in front of Euryale!
After mentally preparing themselves...
Lin Qi, Drake, Asterios, Euryale, Orion, and Artemis jumped ashore one after another.
The pirates, after they had disembarked, sailed the ship away from the shore to avoid becoming a liability or getting caught in the fighting.
On the other side of the island, dazzling magical light flashed, and a rainstorm of arrows fell from the sky.
Clearly, the final battlefield was over there.
Without hesitation, everyone hurried in that direction.
"By the way, isn't Artemis a goddess too? Would she be fine if she touched that [Ark of the Covenant]?" Drake couldn't help but ask the question she'd been wondering about.
"Eh hehe, although I am indeed Artemis, in essence, I'm actually Orion, you know~"
"I don't even have the basic [Divinity] that a god should have!" Artemis said, a proud expression on her face.
What are you so proud about?!
Orion facepalmed with his paw.
…