"It's not your fault. I just recalled some less-than-pleasant memories," Roselle said, shaking his head to shake off the grim expression. He glanced at Alaric and added, "As for the corruption, I owe that to my unscrupulous boss here. He's unreliable in most things, but in this matter, he's more dependable than anyone."
"Are you praising me or throwing shade?" Alaric shot Roselle a half-smiling glance.
Roselle immediately widened his eyes in an exaggerated display of shock. "I'm praising Your Majesty, of course! How could you doubt my loyalty? My gratitude toward you is like a mighty river, endless and unceasing, Your Majesty!"
Faced with Roselle's over-the-top, clearly insincere performance, Alaric couldn't hold back a laugh. "Pfft!" He waved a hand dismissively. "Alright, Lil' Rosey, you're dismissed!"
"Wait, why 'Lil' Rosey'?" Roselle caught the nickname and immediately protested.
Alaric looked at him with mock seriousness. "I promised to appoint you as the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Secretariat. I don't go back on my word."
"…How about you do go back on it? Or maybe appoint me to something else... like Prime Minister, that sounds nice," Roselle countered, raising his hand.
"Then I'd be a fickle ruler who changes decrees overnight. No, no, that won't do!" Alaric firmly rejected the idea.
"Aren't you already a fickle ruler?" Roselle asked, eyeing Alaric with skepticism.
"And that's why you're the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Secretariat!" Alaric replied with a cheerful grin.
"Fine, you win!" Roselle surrendered, throwing up his hands. "I can't outtalk you."
"What kind of cyber-villain are you? Completely unqualified!" Alaric shook his head, then turned to the Ancient Sun God, who had been curiously observing their banter. Smiling, he said, "I handled the corruption in Roselle's body…"
Alaric briefly explained his approach and process for balancing the corruption, concluding, "Barring any surprises, we can use the same method to temporarily resolve the corruption in Bethel's body. Tolzna's a bit trickier... I'm not familiar with the Mother Tree of Desire. I plan to study a few more samples before performing the procedure on Tolzna."
The Ancient Sun God listened quietly, then said with a touch of emotion, "They're truly fortunate to have met you."
The corruption of the Outer Deities wasn't something easily resolved. Even the Ancient Sun God, not yet a true God Above the Sequence, couldn't handle it.
In this world, Alaric was likely the only one capable of addressing this issue. Even without knowing the future's fate, the Ancient Sun God could guess that, without Alaric, Roselle and Bethel's best outcome would be to fall, and at worst, they could become playthings of the Outer Deities.
"Be confident... you're pretty lucky too," Alaric said with a smile, not the least bit shy.
The Ancient Sun God paused, then chuckled. "Indeed, I'm lucky as well."
Without Alaric, he would have marched toward a predetermined end, ignorant of the future, with no chance to aid his future self or save the world as he could now.
"…Your Excellency Lucifer, are you a Great Old One?" At that moment, the God of Steam and Machinery, who had been listening silently, finally couldn't hold back. He looked at Alaric and asked.
"Nope, just an ordinary Sequence 2," Alaric replied, shaking his head with a smile.
Sure, he was what he was, and he saw no need to pretend otherwise.
"Oh, absolutely ordinary. The kind that can summon the Ancient Sun God from a past era and make the Mother Goddess of Depravity wail in agony," Roselle interjected with a mocking expression.
The God of Steam and Machinery froze, his gaze settling on the Ancient Sun God with a flicker of realization.
He had been wondering how the Ancient Sun God could be here, even entertaining the thought that he might have been resurrected. Now, hearing Roselle's words, it clicked: the Ancient Sun God wasn't resurrected... he had been summoned from a past era.
But! But wasn't that even more outrageous?
Question marks practically materialized above the God of Steam and Machinery's head. While the idea of the Ancient Sun God's resurrection was astonishing but traceable... Adam had been trying to revive his father for ages, after all, and might have succeeded... summoning someone from a past era was beyond the God of Steam and Machinery's comprehension. For a moment, he even wondered if he was being tricked.
Could they all be in on it, deceiving him? Was this Ancient Sun God really the Ancient Sun God, or was it Adam in disguise?
The God of Steam and Machinery looked at the group with suspicion. It wasn't his fault for thinking this way... some things just sounded too unbelievable.
Alaric could tell what the God of Steam and Machinery was thinking, which made him chuckle. He glanced at Roselle. "Roselle, it seems your old flame didn't appreciate your hint."
"Pfft! Old flame? My preferences are perfectly normal, thank you!" Roselle retorted, his face darkening.
"Didn't deny you were dropping a hint, though!" Alaric said with a grin, looking at him.
Roselle's lips twitched. He turned to the God of Steam and Machinery, noticing the suspicion in his eyes, and let out a cold laugh. "Enough. Facts speak louder than words. This guy's always been this paranoid. You can talk till you're hoarse, but nothing works faster than giving him a good beating."
"I suspect you're sneaking in some personal grudges here, and I've got the evidence," Alaric said, glancing at Roselle with a smile. "But it's not a bad idea!"
Alaric could tell that Roselle's suggestion was largely driven by personal resentment... he'd probably wanted to punch the God of Steam and Machinery for ages but never had the chance.
Still, Alaric wasn't about to refuse. For one, he was protective of his people. Roselle, no matter what, was his subordinate, and standing up for his employee was what any decent boss would do.
Second, Alaric was getting a bit annoyed. The God of Steam and Machinery clearly wasn't as sharp as the Evernight Goddess, yet he kept doubting and questioning. Instead of wasting time arguing, Alaric figured settling things with fists would be more efficient.
When it came to people he didn't like, Alaric had little patience.
He turned to the Ancient Sun God. "Grisha, I'll need your help. No need to kill him... just teach him a lesson. Show him you're the real Ancient Sun God from ages past, not some small fry."
***
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