System vs Rebirth

Chapter 401 Coming Back To The Zero Squad

Noel didnʼt expect Rose would become like this after that revenge. Of course, he didnʼt really mind, considering he managed to get the best person to be his secretary.

In fact, getting Roseʼs loyalty was beyond any reward that the system could give him in his current state.

Though, he had a concern with this reward.

While they were walking to their camp, Noel couldnʼt help but ask Ardagan. ʼWhatʼs with the reward earlier? Why can you give Roseʼs loyalty as a reward? Do you use your power or something to take over her mind?ʼ

He wanted Roseʼs loyalty, but he didnʼt want it to come at the expense of mind control. Rose had the right to make a decision for herself, so Noel had to confirm this.

Fortunately, what he feared didnʼt come, as Ardagan replied.

[No. I didnʼt do anything.]

ʼIf you didnʼt do anything, how do you explain her loyalty? Is it purely coincidence that she becomes like this? And how is it related to the unknown reward?

ʼYouʼre not telling me that the unknown reward is simply because you arenʼt sure of the reward, right? You arenʼt sure by how Rose acts, so you put that unknown reward and if she doesnʼt give me her loyalty or a reward that is equal to the mission, youʼre going to compensate me or something…ʼ

Noel just expressed his thoughts, but surprisingly, Ardagan agreed.

[Yes. I could give you missions like what youʼve seen before, but even I canʼt predict human action.]

ʼEven though you can predict the future?ʼ

[Fate is predestined, but your action is not.]

ʼWhat do you mean by that? Shouldnʼt my action have been destined?ʼ

[Fate is a kind of numerous possibilities. Those possibilities have been set like that, thus calling it Fate. But your action is not, you can stop walking right now and end up in different possibilities or you can walk here while opening your mask, getting into another possibility.]

[In other words, you choose your action, but what happens next has been destined.]

ʼAh, so thatʼs what your words mean. Iʼm the one choosing which possibility I enter… And those people from the Supreme Devil Organization had chosen to attack the valley while I chose to interfere. So, theyʼre destined to die…ʼ

[Youʼre not entirely correct. You could choose to interfere but give up halfway, moving into another possibility.]

ʼI see. So, all people have their own fates. When our Fates are interlinked at one point, that becomes a reality. In other words, all of the coincidences come from many peopleʼs fates intertwined with each other. Something like that?ʼ

[More or less. Fate or Destiny is hard to describe.]

ʼI donʼt really want to know to that extent, but I certainly love to learn some basics. After all, I can now understand why youʼre able to predict those missions. Also, it seems that the missions can change if there is another variable…”

[Yes.]

ʼI see. Thatʼs enough.ʼ Noel understood Ardagan a bit more. Ardagan could explain everything to him, but it seemed he wanted him to learn more before explaining it.

If he didnʼt grow up, Ardagan wouldnʼt give him the information. Sometimes, being ignorant could save someone from a lot of trouble. As a noble, he certainly understood it better than anyone else.

At the very least, he finally understood that Roseʼs loyalty came from her directly, not from the interference of others.

This was enough for him.

After a while, Noel could finally see the camp they were staying at and say, ”From this point onward, itʼs better if I go alone. Although it would be nice to have you accompany me, theyʼll get suspicious, considering youʼre still hurt…

”I hope that you can act that way for a while.” Noel glanced at Rose, asking her to act along with him.

After understanding Noelʼs circumstances, Rose knew why she had to keep her acting.

She was disappointed she couldnʼt do more, but she supported his decision.

”I understand. Iʼll stay here for thirty to sixty minutes before going back.”

”Thanks.” Noel nodded and finally walked to the camp, meeting the Zero Squad once again.

As if feeling his presence, the entire squad came out to meet this new guy, who was supposed to replace Noel and Anna.

”!!!” Noel widened his eyes. They seemed to fare better than Rose. At the very least, they didnʼt break down from the incident.

They observed each other. From their perspectives, they could only see a similar figure from Noel but other than that, the rest were completely different.

”Is this the Zero Squad of the Demon Relief Squad?” Noel asked with a more casual tone. If he was Noel, he would ask more politely, but because Iadre wasnʼt a noble, he had to use a more casual tone with them.

Hearing his question, Paul nodded and stated, ”This is the Zero Squad of the Demon Relief Squad. I am the Vice Captain of the Demon Relief Squad, Paul.”

Noel straightened his back and put his right hand on his chest, declaring his name. ”Reporting. My name is Iadre. Iʼm a swordsman and a fire spirit user!”

Seeing no similarities in his conduct, Paul dropped his suspicion and smiled, ”Weʼve heard about you from the reports. You would have become the best if Noel and Anna didnʼt exist in your generation.”

”I donʼt need to compare with those monsters. Iʼll simply do my tasks and take one step at a time. I donʼt care about the reputation as long as I get the last laugh.”

”…” Paul nodded in understanding. As he said, he didnʼt need any recognition as long as he got the last laugh. That was the reason why he bothered to use a disguise.

So, Paul explained, ”Well, youʼll be with us most of the time. There is one more person who has some matters to take care of. Also, I donʼt know if you have heard about it, but Anna and Noel were supposed to be with us if not for a certain accident. So, if possible, donʼt ask more about it.”

”Understood.”