In an instant, the administrators of the various factions all issued corresponding orders.
On the other hand, the Tacet Discord group didn't have as many thoughts compared to the humans.
The reason was simple: although the Tacet Discords had gained intelligence now… their thoughts, at least for the moment, couldn't be considered complex.
Only a very few, like the Crownless or the Lampylumen Myriad, enjoyed deep thinking.
Most of them, like the Thundering Mephis, were more inclined toward a love for battle.
Meanwhile, the story on Scar's side was unfolding just as people had expected…
—
[ Scar: "I presume everyone would only scramble to make more wishes, thereby ignoring that they themselves might become the price for others' wishes to be fulfilled."
Scar: "Hehehehe… how interesting…"
Rover fell into deep thought after hearing this, until he found another diary.
Looking at the words densely written on it—"Alien," "Expel her," "Monster," "It's all because of her"—everything seemed to connect, recalling what Scar had said about the villagers and the little girl.
Scar: "Later, the Shepherd told the lambs that the culprit behind the thinning of the flock was the only black sheep among them."
Scar: "In the end, the cute little lambs welcomed the sun that rose as usual, but the black sheep was nowhere to be seen."
Scar: "The Shepherd brought new rules to the village, but that black sheep had broken the rules."
Scar: "The hidden truth was revealed; the Shepherd no longer fulfilled wishes for the lambs, and no more sacrifices occurred."
Scar: "Seeing the black sheep's actions and hearing the Shepherd's authoritative words… what kind of behavior do you think the lambs would take toward that black sheep?"
Scar: "These poor and foolish lambs do not know that the most terrifying demon has been right beside them all along."
At this moment, Rover and Scar arrived at the center of the dilapidated village. Scar saw the deep-in-thought Rover… and felt that his story had taken effect.
Scar: "Very good, not even the smallest detail escaped your eyes."
Scar: "I am curious, what do you think the story in this village is now?"
Scar: "After this, I will tell you the truth about this village."
Scar: "In your opinion, who is the culprit behind the disappearing flock?"
Rover took a deep breath. It was clear that this story was not complicated for him, but the outcome was simply not what he had hoped to see.
However, he still wanted to know what Scar intended to say next, so he answered Scar's question.
Rover: "It's the flock itself, isn't it?"
Scar: "Hehe. You not only understood the implications of the story, but you also saw through the appearance to the essence."
Scar: "From a deeper perspective, the true murderer responsible for the flock's depletion is the other white sheep who indulged the Shepherd."
Scar: "The Shepherd never forced them to do anything; he simply threw out a condition and guided the lambs."
Scar: "For the flock, as long as there were no wishes, no lambs would disappear. It was their inner greed and indifference toward others that caused everything that followed."
Scar: "Then, the second question: what is the price for fulfilling a wish?" ]
[ .....]
Everyone in the chat group became silent upon seeing this.
This question had already been asked in the Q&A earlier, but was the flock really the culprit? They were clearly the victims, weren't they?
At this moment, people's thoughts collided violently. They knew that the so-called flock referred to the villagers of that village.
And from a human perspective, their first instinct was naturally to push all the blame onto the Shepherd.
That was the demon from outside the village; people felt that if he hadn't appeared… then the flock would certainly not have been harmed.
As for that black sheep and her warnings, they had long chosen to ignore them.
The Tacet Discord group, however, found this secretly satisfying. The greed of humans was deeply imprinted in their blood.
They had originally thought the victims were other species, but never expected them to be so merciless when harming their own kind…
Wasn't that Shepherd referring to someone specific? So the final result wasn't hard to guess.
The Shepherd, being the culprit, was inevitable… if one were to judge the crimes, he would be the first to face judgment.
But as for the flock that acted as accomplices, wasn't every outcome a result of their own doing?
By the time things developed to the end, regardless of whether the Shepherd retired in success or was brought to justice…
By that time, the village would be completely gone; everything would have reached an irreversible point.
Even if the Shepherd were ultimately brought to justice and all the harshest punishments were inflicted upon him… would right and wrong still hold much meaning by then?
Furthermore, when the village was destroyed… the Shepherd's outcome would more likely be a successful retirement.
So, the flock that could have avoided all the tragedy pushed all the sheep into the abyss, step by step…
What meaning did right and wrong have at this point? It truly fits the saying that only children care about right and wrong, while adults always think about gains and losses.
In this story, the most desperate one was clearly the black sheep who saw through everything, because she wanted to save everyone… she wanted to tell them the truth.
But the result was that everyone told her they knew the truth, yet their greed made them incredibly confident that they wouldn't be the next sacrificial lamb.
Persuasion failed, and in the end, she was labeled a "heretic." Aside from watching the village fall, the black sheep… she could do nothing.
—
[ At this moment, Rover gave his answer.
Rover: "The price is naturally the lives of the flock."
Scar: "Ah. It's always like this. What else is more precious than life?"
Scar: "My last question: where did the black sheep go?"
Scar: "Don't be in a hurry to answer this question, Rover. This time, tell me the story as you see it."
Scar: "What is the truth that you have pieced together?" ]
[ .....]
〜Exposure Chat Group〜
Cantella: "A trap of rhetoric? But it's ultimately too obvious… good enough to fool ordinary people."
Yinlin: "Indeed, it seems like he's letting you give your own answer, but in reality, you're just following his line of thinking… isn't the conclusion obvious?"
.....
" In Between "
Who could say otherwise?
At this moment, Rover thought to himself that if Scar appeared before him again, he would just agree to join the Fractured. Then, once he met the leader… if he could see which old acquaintance it was, all the problems would become simple.
.....
( Translator-kun: Ayooo, Aemeth is in 3.1, and we've barely started on the inventory, so Aemeth won't show up anytime soon. IIRC, when Author-san started writing this, the version at the time was 2.6? We have Augusta in the chat, but we still haven't seen even a silhouette of Galbrena. Or who knows, maybe Author-san added her earlier than expected. )