Feeling the familiar yet cold aura faintly emanating from Seele, Bronya was suddenly stunned. An extremely surreal thought sprouted in her mind.
Seele↘↗!
Why can't I see your character card in the simulation?
Why did Ron switch teams and get locked into your faction?
Why did you run to find Ron the instant the simulation ended?
There could only be one answer!
Seele↘↗!
You're a player too!
Bronya looked at the half-smile on Seele's face, her hand behind her back clutching the hem of her clothes so tightly she was about to rip them.
She was so angry.
Why did it turn out like this...
Seele was clearly her trusted helper in the simulation, and Ron was her most respected and trusted subordinate. The two of them together should have brought about a better ending...
But it was all because Seele, this player, had no sense of sportsmanship! After learning of Ron's strength, she tried every trick in the book to snatch him away! It's one thing that I lost the last simulation because I used AI control, but do you really expect me to hand Ron over to you in reality?
In your dreams!
Bronya grit her teeth and said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes:
"I need to see the situation with my own eyes, lest I be deceived without even knowing it... I won't trouble you, Seele."
"See it with your own eyes? That's fine. Go find Sampo yourself. That guy is waiting for you at the old place."
Seele shrugged, speaking nonchalantly, but then she suddenly moved closer to Ron, her true intentions revealed like a dagger from an unrolled map:
"The Underworld is perfectly safe. If you're just going to ask the mining team a few questions, you don't need a personal guard, do you?"
"Wildfire has run into a bit of trouble recently. Some vagrants have clashed with the mining team. It's a bit much for me to handle alone. I'll be borrowing your guard for a while."
"No!"
Bronya took a step forward, blocking Seele's path without hesitation:
"I'm sorry, but my personal guard is not available for loan... The Underworld is so chaotic; my life and safety depend solely on Ron's protection."
"I don't see what you need protecting from, Big Miss of the Overworld."
Seele sneered. "The Underworld isn't as chaotic as you think. And with Sampo guiding you, as long as you pay him enough, that guy can handle any trouble for you... I'm borrowing your guard."
Bronya frowned, her tone hardening a notch:
"I said no, and I mean no."
"Tch, so stingy. You just know how to waste talent..."
Seele shrugged and leaned in to whisper in Bronya's ear.
Barely making out what Seele said, Bronya subconsciously thought of the previous two simulations where Ron had died because she had dragged him down. Her fingers clutching her hem tightened.
She took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and released her grip. With a cold laugh, she whispered back:
"True, I'm not as good at using talent as you are... After all, I wouldn't allow him to go to his death."
"Unlike you, who can always use him in the right place, squeezing out every last drop of his value until he's completely spent."
Hearing this, Seele's previously natural expression stiffened, her face becoming strained.
"...That's still better than you dragging him down every time."
She was silent for a long moment before she managed to squeeze out that quiet sentence.
Standing to the side, watching the two of them huddle together and inexplicably start whispering to each other, Ron was completely baffled—
What's with these two? Why did they suddenly get so close and start sharing secrets?
Moreover, Ron keenly sensed that the atmosphere between the two was a bit strange...
It felt a little... confrontational.
Could it be that Bronya had awakened her past life memories after a night's sleep and decided to give this not-so-angelic Seele a little "Banya-shock"?
Otherwise, why would the two of them be targeting each other so inexplicably?
Ron scratched his head in confusion, but he also quietly and slowly backed away until he was back in his room, gently closing the door.
Although he didn't know why these two were at each other's throats, according to Ron's philosophy of life, he knew he absolutely could not remain standing there.
After all, to Ron, Bronya was his boss, his direct superior, the woman who paid him a monthly salary of 1.5 million credits.
And Seele was an extremely reliable teammate in the last simulation, not to mention a local powerhouse in the Underworld. To live peacefully in the Underworld, one had to more or less be on Wildfire's good side.
A confrontation between these two was a true clash of titans. If a small personal guard like him got caught in their dispute, he'd likely be crushed to dust. The outcome would probably not be pretty.
After all, this was reality, not a simulation—besides the little boost from his traits, Ron didn't have those nearly-maxed-out attribute values from the game.
Playing it safe was the correct path.
Ron let out a soft sigh, then unhesitatingly flopped back onto his bed, preparing to go back to sleep.
—Since Bronya didn't have time to put him to work right now, it wouldn't hurt to slack off for a bit, right?
He had stayed up way too late playing the game yesterday. He had only slept for an hour or two when Bronya came to call him. With his lazy dog nature, it was absolutely unbearable not to make up for it with a twelve-hour hibernation...
Now that he had the chance, he was naturally going to slack off to his heart's content!
Meanwhile, outside the door.
Both Bronya and Seele saw Ron carefully retreat into his room, but both tacitly agreed not to stop him.
They just stared at each other with extreme hostility, both fuming because of the other's verbal attacks.
After a long silence, Bronya looked at Seele and said with a serious tone:
"For the sake of my dream... Seele, I will not give Ron to you."
"Ron was never yours to begin with. Why would I need you to 'give' him to me?"
Seele didn't back down an inch. "Besides, who doesn't have a dream? I will absolutely not let Ron go."
"...So there's nothing to discuss?"
"There was never any possibility of discussion."
Another long silence.
"Just arguing like this won't produce a result... I know you are also doing this for Belobog, Seele."
In the end, it was Bronya who broke the silence, speaking earnestly:
"Since we are both doing this for Belobog, then all we need to do is compare the futures produced in the simulation."
"As for who Ron truly belongs to, let us make the next simulation the deciding factor. How about it?"
Seele gave Bronya a deep look.
"...Fine."
"After all, it's just the two of us players. No matter how we simulate, a winner and loser will emerge, right?"