System vs Rebirth

Noel didn't expect Rose would become like this after that revenge. Of course, he didn't really mind, considering he managed to get the best person to be his secretary.

In fact, getting Rose's 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 couldn't help but ask Ardagan. 'What's with the reward earlier? Why can you give Rose's loyalty as a reward? Do you use your power or something to take over her mind?'

He wanted Rose's loyalty, but he didn't 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 didn't come, as Ardagan replied.

[No. I didn't do anything.]

'If you didn't 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?

'You're not telling me that the unknown reward is simply because you aren't sure of the reward, right? You aren't sure by how Rose acts, so you put that unknown reward and if she doesn't give me her loyalty or a reward that is equal to the mission, you're going to compensate me or something…'

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

[Yes. I could give you missions like what you've seen before, but even I can't predict human action.]

'Even though you can predict the future?'

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

'What do you mean by that? Shouldn't my action have been destined?'

[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.]

'Ah, so that's what your words mean. I'm 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, they're destined to die…'

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

'I 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 people's fates intertwined with each other. Something like that?'

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

'I don't really want to know to that extent, but I certainly love to learn some basics. After all, I can now understand why you're able to predict those missions. Also, it seems that the missions can change if there is another variable…"

[Yes.]

'I see. That's enough.' 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 didn't grow up, Ardagan wouldn't 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 Rose's 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, it's better if I go alone. Although it would be nice to have you accompany me, they'll get suspicious, considering you're 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 Noel's circumstances, Rose knew why she had to keep her acting.

She was disappointed she couldn't do more, but she supported his decision.

"I understand. I'll 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 didn't 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 wasn't 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. I'm a swordsman and a fire spirit user!"

Seeing no similarities in his conduct, Paul dropped his suspicion and smiled, "We've heard about you from the reports. You would have become the best if Noel and Anna didn't exist in your generation."

"I don't need to compare with those monsters. I'll simply do my tasks and take one step at a time. I don't care about the reputation as long as I get the last laugh."

"…" Paul nodded in understanding. As he said, he didn't 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, you'll be with us most of the time. There is one more person who has some matters to take care of. Also, I don't 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, don't ask more about it."

"Understood."