After Being Sold Out By The Empire, I Decide To Assist The Demon King

"The strong should have the beliefs of the strong, and the weak should have the nobility of the weak... Perhaps this world was meant to be so, but it was not like this from the beginning, because the strong remained aloof."

"I was merely a seeker of truth. That is how I defined myself, not simply encapsulating it as being 'strong.' Therefore, I did not think the destruction of the world was bad; I was even somewhat pleased. Was I doing the right thing?"

"As a fellow strong being, what was the source of your perseverance? I wanted to know the answer to this question."

"..."

Yila rubbed his eyes and sat up from his bed. He looked somewhat troubled at a figure, talking to himself, whose body resembled the night sky full of stars... The other party did not deliberately hide but simply came into his room.

So, the moment the other party appeared, Yila was already awake... And it seemed the other party noticed that, hence the long-winded speech.

Obviously, this was yet another being, like Ernie, here to seek 'answers.'

However, the other party's mind seemed more mature, maybe not as easily duped as Ernie... No, it was about becoming his partner.

"So, you beings outside the norm, if you want to be more noble... you could start by considering things from others' perspectives, like not disturbing someone's sleep in the middle of the night."

Yila complained like this.

And evidently, the Starlight Body, who never needed 'sleep,' had never considered this issue, so after a brief pause, nodded and replied, "Sorry, I'll disturb you after you wake up naturally next time."

Quite polite, indicating at least an ability to communicate... But was it 'he' or 'she'? What was the gender of this being?

Yila wondered this as he began to dress, responding at the same time, "It's alright, waking up early isn't bad. I could start dealing with the relocation tasks... How should I address you?"

Starlight Body: "Just call me Starlight Body."

It sounded like someone who played cards.

*Yila mocked inwardly,* nodding to show he understood. He once again entered a guiding state and said, "So, do you think you can obtain the 'answers' you seek from me?"

Maybe, maybe not, even the Starlight Body didn't know.

"From my perspective, of course, I didn't want you beings outside the norm to remain aloof."

Yila spoke as he sat in the same spot where he conversed (duped) Ernie and said, "Naturally, I hoped you would objectively help to resolve calamity-related events."

It was a reasonable expectation, known to the Starlight Body from the start.

"However, when it came to being 'right' or not, as long as you didn't wish to destroy the world, I did not consider you similar aloof beings outside the norm wrong."

Yila said this, secretly mocking the cute expression of the Starlight Body tilting its head. After pondering a bit, he said, "Suppose there was a railway..."

"..."

No, there weren't any railways or rails in this world...

"Ahem..."

After a few light coughs, Yila thought for a moment and then corrected himself, "There were these two small paths, one with five people tied on it, and the other with one person tied on it."

Although it was a rather absurd topic shift, the Starlight Body listened patiently... An eternal lifespan provided the capital to listen to such trivial matters.

And besides, Yila wasn't that dull of a person.

"At this moment, a group of runaway horses ran towards the path with five people tied up, and you happened to see this. With a slight guidance, you could direct the horses to the other path... Would you do it?"

Yila said this, indicating for the Starlight Body to think about the problem... This was the Federation's well-known 'trolley problem' — Suppose on a railway track five people were tied up, and on a spare track, one person was tied up. Then a runaway trolley was speeding towards the five people, and you happened to have a lever beside you. You could pull the lever to let the trolley go onto the spare track, killing that one person, saving the five. You could also do nothing, killing the five, saving the one.

At this time, different people made different choices, and more interestingly... Regardless of the choice, they were correct, whether they chose to do something or to do nothing; each had its rationale.

Whatever someone said, 'I would XXX because of XXX,' it was correct. The only wrong thing was stepping forward to refute others' ideas after hearing similar words — those were idiots.

Of course, there were also those witty idiots.

"..."

The Starlight Body pondered. It understood Yila's scenario was a 'one-way choice,' meaning the chooser 'you' wouldn't be someone who could easily obliterate the horses, like a professional.

"I won't do anything because those six people had nothing to do with me."

The Starlight Body said this, nonchalantly tilting its head, adding, "If they were closely related to me, maybe I would give a different answer... Do you think I chose correctly?"

Yila simply nodded in agreement with the Starlight Body's response.

"Then, Yila, what would you do?"

Under the Starlight Body's inquiry, Yila responded straightforwardly, "I would save. Letting life find its path naturally is one way, but I think... At least I would leave a bit more, even if that meant being forced to sacrifice some things."

"Does it sound noble? But thinking carefully, isn't it unfair to that 'one person'? Maybe on the side with five, they collectively overthrow the horses, isn't it possible?"

Yila said, spreading his hands, "Therefore, my decision might not be correct. Each person's correctness is only their own correctness, nothing more... I couldn't stand on a moral high ground to condemn your approach."

The Starlight Body nodded thoughtfully at Yila's words, leaning back in the chair as if reminiscing about something, looked out the window, and said, "I wanted to know why gods were willing to sacrifice themselves to resist chaos."

"No..."

The Starlight Body noticed the ambiguity of its words, self-refuted, and rephrased, "I did not want to know how strong chaos was, but I wanted to know what the gods were thinking... Why did they trust us."

"..."

"Because the gods loved us?"

Yila responded.

"No, I wanted to know more specifically. At this moment, I sought such 'truth,' thinking about what greatness resided in the hearts of the gods."

The Starlight Body said, gently sighed, stood up, and said, "I wanted to go to the theocratic country, to see the Pope who tried to find the future, sought truth (prophecy) with all his might, could you make an introduction for me?"

"I also wanted to... Try like the gods."