Informal Discussion ③

Pope's Perspective

Third entry today

Call it a nightmare of the labyrinth—no response.

Calls himself Shiro, with no particular emphasis.

No change in expression. Emotions remain undetectable.

Eyes closed. Impossible to discern anything from that.

"the eyes speak louder than words," a proverb from Sajin’s past life.

I thought it a fitting observation when I first heard it.

When conversing, I maintain eye contact.

It is a matter of courtesy, and also because movements of the eyes reveal a person’s emotions.

Closing one’s eyes means withholding that information—alternatively, it could be interpreted as rejecting the information gained through sight by blocking it out.

Or perhaps, one can perceive enough through sound and the flow of air alone, without relying on vision.

In any case, should we assume that the Pope regards us as having passed, based on Shiro’s demeanor?

To have announced oneself was to imply that sitting at this table held sufficient value to merit continuing the discussion.

That is what one would wish to believe. Yet.

From the image of the white spider drawn in that book, it became clear that Shiro was connected to the Nightmare of the Labyrinth.

Considering the peculiar nature of the Nightmare of the Labyrinth, the conclusion followed inevitably.

The Nightmare of the Labyrinth was a reincarnate.

Once that was known, the rest was self-evident.

One could now be certain that Shiro was the Nightmare of the Labyrinth.

Given only fragmented information, one was led to this deduction.

Only upon explicitly stating this conclusion did the table hold sufficient value to justify presence.

We had been tested.

By the girl who claimed to be the Administrator.

We had not entirely dismissed the possibility, based on the contents of the book handed to us.

Yet, when confronted directly with the claim of being the Administrator, disbelief remained a tangible feeling.

Strained to conceal any reaction, yet uncertain if it had succeeded.

It likely had not.

If she truly occupied the position of Administrator, then the state of the world would be as clear to her as if she were holding it in her hands—eyes open or shut.

Even if not, having evolved from a spider-like creature, her perception of the world would differ fundamentally from that of humans. No surprise there.

Closing her eyes was not an inability to see. It was a decision that seeing was unnecessary.

This was an unfamiliar situation—confronting an adversary who held full control from the outset.

It reminded him of the meeting with the Black Dragon.

Whether she was truly the Administrator.

Whether the contents of the book given to him were genuine.

These were the matters that needed to be clarified during this meeting.

In addition, even if all of it were true, she must be made to believe that engaging in conversation with her holds sufficient value.

The fate of all humanity might well be decided in this meeting.

Assume it is true. Must not provoke her displeasure.

Yet this attempt may already have failed before it began.

Impossible that both of her companions were reincarnates.

Both harboring significant negative sentiments toward humanity.

Sophia Kelen.

One of the daughters of the former Baron of Kelen, a territory under the rule of the goddess cult state of Sariela.

The Kelen territory, destroyed in a war designed to weaken the power of the goddess cult.

Baron and Baroness Kelen perished.

The girl had been missing. Given that even the divine cult’s intelligence network could not confirm her status, it was presumed she had died long ago—or been taken by the elves.

Still, since she had been mentioned in connection with the Black Dragon, the likelihood of her having fallen into elven hands was considered low.

That she had evaded detection by our intelligence network entirely and ended up in the demon realm was unexpected.

She likely crossed over to the demon territories immediately after that war.

Should this be attributed to the Black Dragon’s guidance?

From her tone, she appears to understand that the divine cult was the driving force behind that war.

Her perception of us is unequivocally hostile.

Lars.

I have never heard that name before, but I recall the ogres rampaging across the empire, causing widespread devastation.

The possibility that those ogres were reincarnated beings only deepened the suspicion.

The circumstances that led him to oppose humanity remained unclear. At that moment, he was consumed by rage to the point where coherent speech was impossible.

Likely activated a skill from the "Wrath" lineage.

The skill of wrath activates a significant boost to stats, but carries the drawback of completely overriding rational thought.

After repeated conflicts with humanity, he had activated his skill and lost his reason, it seemed.

The empire abandoned attempts to eliminate him, instead forcing the demon clan into their territory and successfully pressuring them.

That was the expectation. Yet he seems to have regained his reason, and now participates as a member of the demon race.

What made it frightening was that, unlike Sophia, his degree of negative sentiment toward humanity remained unknown.

The intent behind the probing gaze directed at me is clear.

It would be natural to inquire about his character in a previous life, but asking here is not feasible.

Wait.

He declared with certainty that he could learn his former name by asking Sajin.

That implies Sajin knows him.

They shared some form of connection?

Yet Sajin was always kept at hand.

Even when dispatched elsewhere, he was never left alone.

Then what is this?

The only possibility is when he was an ogre—when he sent Sajin to meet a reincarnated soul?

But Sajin stated that no conversation was possible at that time.

That report contains no falsehood.

Other members of the covert unit reported the same.

Then perhaps the face?

Shiro-sama’s face, according to Sajin, is nearly identical to that of the former Wakaba-hime.

Could it be unusual if Lars’s face were identical to his previous incarnation’s?

Then, would Sophia’s face also be the same as her former self?

Wishing to confirm with Sajin, but that is not currently relevant.

The key point is that Shiro-sama brought these two here.

The fact that they were brought deliberately implies a reason sufficient to justify it.

Sophia and Lars are not straightforward cases.

Is the intention to assess how to handle this complication?

Either way, the tension remains high.

Three seconds passed.

Something is wrong. No progress at all!