Chapter 1328 - City of White (5)
Chapter 1328: City of White (5)
Unlike the naive-looking little queen and primitive giant, the battle angel version of Celia before Rhode was almost exactly the same as the original Celia. Whether it was her serious and earnest temperament, or her calm demeanor, there was no difference between her and the Celia from his memory. No, perhaps he should say that there was still a difference; this battle angel possessed an incomparably powerful aura like a tall mountain moving toward him head-on, giving him a heavy sense of pressure.
Rhode, who noticed this, was shocked. Because in reality, he had never felt such a powerful aura from Celia. Although she was somewhat rigid on a regular basis, she was still a meek and honest young lady. Unlike now; the aggressive aura from this battle angel made him want to lower his head, kneel on the ground, and bow down before her.
Could she be the real Celia instead?
“I can’t take this any longer. Don’t all of you have more important things to do? It’s so boring to watch you argue over such trivial matters!”
With a flap of her wings, the battle angel landed in front of the two. Compared to the naked giant and the little queen clad in a magnificent dress, the third Celia was dressed in a way that caught Rhode’s eyes even more. At that moment, she wore a platinum armor; her entire body was wrapped in a golden glow. An armor and cape embellished with gold on the edges accentuated each other. And paired with her flowing, blonde hair, in an instant, her presence felt even stronger than Lydia’s, where even the archangel didn’t have such an imposing presence as her. Rhode also noticed that the sword in her hands wasn’t the one wielded by the original Celia. Instead, it was a sharp blade coalesced from light. Other than the solid hilt, the other parts of the sword were made of light… It seemed more like the weapon of a Jedi[1] in Star Wars[2].
Faced with the arrival of the battle angel, both the little queen and giant took a few steps back, clearly wary of her presence. But the battle angel seemed completely unconcerned. She simply swept the crowd in front of her with a cold glance, before letting out a snort. Then, she looked up at the giant before her.
“As a girl, how can you not wear any clothes? How disgraceful! Put on some clothes now!”
As the battle angel yelled, she pointed her lightsaber at the giant. In a dazzling, golden flash of light, the giant, who was naked before, was suddenly covered in a plain outfit. And after doing so, the battle angel looked at the little queen on the other side with dissatisfaction. When the little queen witnessed her stern gaze, she, who had been jumping around like a lamb being stared at by a tiger, let out a yelp, retreated hurriedly, and hid behind Rhode. She peeked out from the back and stared at her as if Rhode could completely resist the razor-sharp gaze of the battle angel. Despite that, the battle angel didn’t even look at him, but stared at the little queen and spoke with displeasure instead.
“As the ruler of a country, you have many things to do. But you actually wasted your time over such a trivial matter; how unruly! Now, get out of here right now and go back to your country to do what you’re supposed to!”
“Trivial matter?!”
Upon hearing those words, the little queen was clearly unconvinced. She had even forgotten her fear toward the battle angel and instead, rushed out from behind Rhode with her hands on her hips and glared menacingly.
“I’ve just made a deal with that giant lady! It’s part of our agreement! She helps us reclaim Candy Mountain and I’ll make her a citizen of our country! How can that be considered trivial?”
“Agreement?”
Upon hearing the little queen’s response, the battle angel frowned, turned around, and looked at the giant, who was staring at her in amazement nearby. The battle angel shifted her gaze back to the little queen and replied resolutely.
“You can’t even manage your own country and you want to make an agreement with an outsider? I declare this agreement null and void! She can live in Candy Mountain, but she will not be a citizen of your country!”
“What—?!”
Upon hearing her words, both the giant and little queen squealed in unison. On the contrary, Rhode didn’t react in the slightest. Instead, he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes to carefully examine the three Celias in front of him. Judging from the interactions between them, he seemed to gradually realize what sort of relationship the three of them had with the original Celia.
“Why? What does this have to do with you? Why do you want to kick her out? She’s obviously a very nice person!”
Upon hearing the battle angel’s remarks, the little queen clearly disagreed with her. She jumped, pointed her finger, and reprimanded the battle angel. And after hearing the little queen’s retort, the battle angel raised her eyebrows and put away her sword. She reached for a logbook from inside her cape and flipped it open.
“I judge that you don’t have the strength to handle and command her. As a giant, she is very powerful and doesn’t know how to control herself. Can you guarantee that she will not make any trouble in your country? She has robbed you of food more than once in the past and even destroyed your city. You were unable to do anything about her and now, you want to make her a citizen of your country? Can you guarantee that you can manage her? Can you guarantee that the people of your country can accept her? What if she destroys your city again?”
“T-That…”
Faced with a series of rhetorical questions from the battle angel, the little queen was too stunned to say a word. It was apparent that she hadn’t considered these questions at all. And at that moment, the giant, who was originally standing beside her, raised her hands in great dissatisfaction and waved them vigorously in protest after hearing those questions.
“I wouldn’t do anything like that! I was just too hungry before, and I’ll never do it again!”
In the face of the giant’s protests, the battle angel, however, looked really calm. She just swept a glance at the giant and spoke in a harsh tone.
“So you won’t do it just because you said so? What if you get hungry later and can’t find anything to eat? Wouldn’t you break the agreement?”
“I…”
Faced with this interrogation from the battle angel, the giant was completely speechless. The latter stood there pitifully and gaped, but didn’t know what to say. She didn’t understand much about this subject to begin with, and at that moment, it was almost as if the giant couldn’t understand many of the words the battle angel said. For a moment, the atmosphere became much more awkward along with the silence of the giant and the little queen. Seeing that both sides stopped protesting any further, the battle angel cleared her throat and handed down the final judgment like a judge.
“In that case, I shall make the decision. The giant can live in Candy Mountain, where she has enough food without worrying about going hungry; it’s also not a violation of the agreement between the two of you. If you want to visit her later, you can always come to Candy Mountain. What do you both think of this proposal?”
“…”
Faced with this proposal from the battle angel, the two were unable to refute in the slightest. After all, from any perspective, this was the most reasonable choice. And in fact, Rhode also admitted that this proposal was beneficial to either party. But obviously, it wasn’t something that everyone could accept. Because it was at that moment when the little queen’s voice broke the silence again.
“I’m not going to listen to you! I’ve decided that she’s our honorary citizen and I’m going to build her a nice, tall house in the city! What do you say? That’s a good idea, isn’t it?”
The little queen yelled and turned to look at the giant on the other side. And in response, the giant stretched out her hand to scratch her hair with some embarrassment, before revealing a bitter smile.
“I… Think anywhere is fine as long as there’s enough food. Besides, I think this place isn’t that bad either.”
“You…!”
Upon hearing the giant’s reply, the little queen puffed up her cheeks and soon, her large eyes glittered with crystal-clear tears. At the next moment, the little one stamped her foot hard and turned away. Then, one could hear her sobbing voice from afar.
“Go wherever you like! I don’t care about you! Hmph!”
“Ah…”
Faced with the little queen’s departure, the giant looked somewhat worried. She gaped, but in the end, her extended hand dropped weakly. And upon looking at this scene, the battle angel nodded, before turning to the giant.
“It’s all settled then. This is your home from today onwards.”
“But… She…”
Although it was definitely a good thing for the giant to live in Candy Mountain, her expression, at that moment, didn’t appear excited at all. On the contrary, she stared blankly in the direction where the little queen had left and had a complicated expression on her face. And upon seeing her expression, the battle angel gave a light snort and said.
“Why? Do you still want to go back now?”
“N-No, it isn’t about that…”
After hearing the battle angel’s question, the giant waved her hand in a fluster. But even so, she continued to gaze somewhat reluctantly in the direction the little queen had left in. The giant was at a total loss.
And at that moment, Rhode, who watched indifferently from the side, finally figured out the existence of those three. They were more like the physical embodiments of Celia’s inner spirit. The giant was much more naive and innocent, curious about everything, and didn’t understand much about human emotions and what to say. She was supposed to represent the most primitive part of Celia’s ‘instincts’.
On the other hand, the little queen was more self-centered, so she was the proof of Celia’s ‘ego’. As for the battle angel, it was obvious that she was the symbol of Celia’s ‘rationality’. Judging from the relationship and status of these three parties, ‘rationality’ was her strongest point, while ‘ego’ was her weakest flaw. This was also in line with Rhode’s impression of Celia.
In fact, there were many things he did that Celia disliked. For instance, he once summoned the undead army to massacre innocent civilians during the war in the south. And later, he caused confusion and disorder in the border cities of the Country of Light and also bombarded Casabianca. All of these were hard for Celia to accept. In the end, she didn’t voice her objection openly, but at the very most contributed with reluctance.
At this thought, Rhode shook his head. Was this how Celia struggled whenever she faced his decision? Like now; perhaps she didn’t like it and her instincts were against it, but in the end, her ‘rationality’ overrode everything and made her choose to remain silent. Rhode wouldn’t change his ways for anyone, or he would have already done so. But he thought that he would be able to communicate better if he could. And if Celia had to struggle like this every time she was faced with an order that went against her will, he wouldn’t be able to feel at ease at all.
It seemed like this trip to the mental world wasn’t the slightest bit in vain… Rhode had never expected to be able to discover the hidden issues within Celia’s heart in a world that seemed like a childish fairy tale. Perhaps this was what was necessary for the holder and card spirit to have an inner communication for awakening.
But now wasn’t the time for that. Rhode sensed that the key was how to deal with the conflicts between the three of them. The battle angel was too sensible and mature, while the giant was too naive and innocent. She could have clearly not said those words earlier, but she still said them and ended up angering the little queen. And it was true that the little queen was devoted to the giant’s good and also wanted the giant to be a citizen in her country. However, the little queen was just thinking from her own point of view and not the other’s, so naturally she would be dissatisfied with the giant’s choices and statements. Despite that, the battle angel wouldn’t pay attention to this contradiction. She saw her decision as the best way, so she wouldn’t abandon it just because there was a conflict between the two sides.
A fairy tale-like mental world sure has a lot of trouble.
At this thought, Rhode couldn’t help shaking his head. This was Celia’s mental world, but what would happen if he were in Celestina’s instead? She had always been at odds with him. Although he used the ‘bullying’ method to force Celestina to change, he couldn’t be sure that he could figure out the demon young lady’s inner thoughts.
And when he returned to the candy city, the world had taken a completely different look.
The bustling city was now cold and cheerless. The azure sky was covered by thick, dark clouds with rain pouring down and enveloping the entire city in a torrential downpour. This scene wasn’t too strange to Rhode. This was Celia’s mental world and the little queen, as one of the representatives of Celia’s personality, would naturally affect it. And now, it seemed like she was clearly in a bad mood. Not only was the rain pouring down, but thunder was also clapping as if the world were reaching its end.
Rhode entered the royal palace again, and this time it was dead quiet. The two battle angels who guarded the place before were also nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, upon hearing the vague sound of sobbing, he managed to find where the little queen was. He had to admit that it felt rather creepy to be alone in this deserted, fairy tale-like castle, hearing the echoing cries of a little girl among the heavy downpour, flashes of lightning, and thunderclap that was going on on the outside…
Knock, knock, knock.
Rhode stopped in front of a door made of candy apples. He reached out his hand and knocked lightly on the door. Soon, along with this action, the crying from behind the door stopped. After a few moments, the little queen’s sobbing voice rang out.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me, Your Majesty. Rhode.”
“Mr. Traveler?”
When the little queen heard Rhode’s response, she responded plainly before paddling her way to the closed door. The door opened slowly and the little queen appeared in front of him in pajamas. He could tell that she was in a bad mood and had just cried buckets. Her eyes were still red and listless. Upon seeing her current state, Rhode sighed inwardly, looked at her, and revealed a charming smile.
“May I come in for a seat?”
“Yes… You may…”
Facing his question, the little queen nodded, pulled the door open, and let him into the room. The two of them sat down on the chairs by the window. Looking at the little queen in front of him, Rhode shook his head and said.
“Are you upset?”
“Yes… Mr. Traveler. I thought things through for her, but I never expected her to say something like that. It’s so disappointing!”
As the little queen grumbled, she clenched her fists again. It was clear that she was really disappointed with the giant’s answer.
“So you just gave up?”
“But… That annoying person was also right…”
“Of course, I know she’s right.”
Rhode smiled as he interrupted the little queen. At that moment, he already knew how to handle the relationship between the three of them.
“But at many times, not being wrong doesn’t make you right. Your Majesty, you’ve indeed considered a lot for her. But those are your thoughts, after all. Why don’t you listen to what she has to say?”
“That…”
Upon hearing Rhode’s words, the little queen couldn’t help but feel surprised.
“Is that really fine?”
“I guess you can give it a shot, Your Majesty.”
Facing the little queen’s doubt, Rhode revealed another gentle smile.
“I think as long as you try your best, you’ll get somewhere.”
[1] Leaders and peacekeepers in the Star Wars universe.
[2] An American epic space-opera media franchise.