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POV: Third Point Of View

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[Congratulations on passing the path of greed. Welcome to the third trial: Balance of Greed.]

At that moment, Raphael felt a sense of confusion and distortion; for a moment everything went dark, and the next moment he was standing on what appeared to be something made of pure gold...

'What is this...?'

He looked around and, without losing his composure, tried to understand his situation. By this point, he had understood many things: such as the deception they had been living all day, as well as the fact that they were now being tested to see if they were worthy of obtaining what they had found before.

Legacy sites and testing sites are a very important find, as they are not easy to come by, and if one has lasted so long, it means that it was left by an important figure and that what lay there was very valuable.

In these cases, the finds are often more valuable than just ruins with magic or old objects that would probably be incomplete or badly damaged.

So he did not want to miss this opportunity.

'She is... Lirena.'

As he understood his surroundings, he realised he was on a huge golden scale, because there was another one just like it next to him.

On the other side was someone he was more than familiar with, Lirena Argent, someone he had studied with at the academy and got on very well with, as she was practically like family.

She was talented, ranking in the top five in her graduating class, not to mention that she was from an influential family, the Argents; and although she turned out to be a half-elf, she was a legitimate daughter and the most talented in her family in her generation.

She had more than enough background to create her own strong faction, the fourth faction of her kingdom in her generation, but she did not do so, and instead had become his second in command.

She was the deputy leader of Raphael's faction and someone he trusted greatly, as they had been through many dangerous situations together, and he was honestly a little unsure of what their current situation meant.

[[ufff~, I arrived just in time. Ahem... well, once again, congratulations on passing the first two tests. This is the third: the Balance of Greed. As you can see, each of you is standing on a huge scale. The counterweight will begin to show the person's greed towards the objects in my city. But beware: this is not your own greed, but the greed of the other person.

This test is performed with those whose karma is most intertwined. This way, we can see which of the two weighs more heavily on the other's heart and determine whether people are truly more important than material things. The test begins now.]]]

The voice that seemed to come from everywhere began to sound, and unlike before, when it sounded more muffled, now it sounded more like the man who brought them here.

And unlike before, when they had to fight someone without any context or walk along a path surrounded by many treasures without any explanation, now the rules and the objective had been explained to them more clearly.

Plack!

A loud sound rang out, and on the other side of the scales, many things appeared. Some Raphael could recognise as objects they had found while exploring the city. He looked at Lirena's counterweight, and things had appeared there as well.

"..."

Raphael wanted to speak, but no words came out. He could only look at her, and she seemed to be the same. It was a situation where they depended on each other.

Although places like these are sought after, it does not change the fact that many of them are lethal, and without knowing exactly what kind of place it was, he had to assume that failure was deadly.

"..."

"..."

Silence surrounded the place. Although objects had appeared, the scales did not move at all, and the explanation was not really enough to understand their situation and what would happen next.

Plack!

It was when the tension and doubts were at their peak that he heard a loud sound again, and they both looked to see even more things appearing on the other side of their scales. It seemed that the weight on the other side would increase over time.

..

.

Plack!

It was the sixth time that more items suddenly appeared, but neither of the two scales had moved at all, and that was when finally...

[[Truly, I am impressed. Of all the pairs... you two are the only ones who haven't wavered even a little, there wasn't the slightest hesitation and not the slightest doubt that the treasure was worth more than the other person.]]

At that moment, without warning, the man who had brought them there, the same man whose voice they had heard earlier, appeared before them. He looked like a normal person, except that he was floating and, if they looked closely, he was slightly translucent.

[[I really wish there were more people like you in my era, people who are not forgotten by greed. Haaah~, people like you show that humanity is not entirely lost. Ah, by the way, you may speak now.]]

"What is the reason for all this?"

[[Nothing, lad. As that bastard brat outside said, I just want to distribute the wealth I accumulated in my life and defended to the end, sacrificing so many things, to worthy people. Haaah~, I just don't want it to fall into greedy hands. Is that so hard to understand?]]

"No, it's reasonable, sir.'"

[[Arthur, you can call me that.]]

"I understand, Sir Arthur."

[[Boy, you're nicer than that brat outside. Well, normally this would end here, but your tests were so perfect that they fulfilled a hidden condition, and the test will be extended. Regardless of whether both fail, they will move on to the next stage, but if they pass, they will have the opportunity to choose an extra item at the end.

"We can refuse."

[[Oh, you really are nice, and that girl too, she seems to agree with whatever you choose, that's how couples are these days?.]]

"...We're not a couple!"

"Yes, it's as Sir Raphael says /_ \"

[[Really? Hmm, but you... hmm, you're like the girl outside... hmm... is it really strange, or am I just misinterpreting the obvious? This seems like a confusing era... Anyway, if anyone deserves more of my legacy, it's people like you, and that's why I'll continue. You have nothing to lose. Next is the greed in your hearts, what you desire most versus what...]]

"Wait, sir, I don't think—" Thwack!"-Gyaaaa!"

"..."

[[...]]

"..."

[[...Boy... I assume that's your family, right?]]

"Yes... she's okay, right?"

[[Yes, she is... uff... I think I should have made them base their greed solely on material things... that was my mistake again.]]

It all happened so fast, and Artur thought there would be a struggle for balance, but once again it seems that humans are not so simple.

They may not be greedy for some things, but that does not mean that such emotion does not exist within them.

And it had just been proven: as soon as the deepest greed appeared on the opposite end of the other's scale, there was an overwhelming conclusion and it was decided in an instant.

The weight caused Lirena, who seemed to want to stop this at the last moment, to fly away, overwhelmed by the weight of Raphael's greed.

Raphael remained as stable as ever. As Artur said, the one on the other side was Raphael's family, and for him, keeping them together and safe had always been his ambition. The weight did not seem even close to that of Lirena.

'That means I failed.'

[Yes, rather, wasn't that a bit too one-sided? I mean, oh boy, I think you're in trouble. Surely she's not your girlfriend? I mean, look what appeared on the other side of your scales.]]

"... she's my subordinate... and we're like family, that's all... I think."

The problem was that on the other side of Raphael's scales, another Raphael had appeared, creating a perfect balance. The meaning of this could be varied, but Autur didn't seem to like the situation.

[[Yes, you're still in trouble. She also appears in your greed, but... Ugh! I hope she doesn't take it personally. Now I feel bad for getting you into this. You know, women can be so petty sometimes! I speak from experience]].

"...Sir, wasn't that what the test was about?..."

Raphael did not understand Artur's sudden... pity, so to speak. Obviously, the test seemed like something that would create conflict and rifts due to greed.

[[Yes, that's true, but you had passed. And I only did this to give you more rewards. Ugh! I shouldn't do anything unnecessary.]]

'...'

[[ Anyway, in this test, the first to fall was the one who passed. Well, she will be able to choose two objects if she passes the remaining two, and you lost your chance. Hmmm, but seeing that she is your family, lad, you really are someone I think I can understand. Yes, I wouldn't have found anyone else connected to my descendant, I would have given you my most precious legacy. Hhaaah~ it seems that karma is not in your favour.]]

"..."

[[Yes, I really like that you are respectful, calm and not materially greedy towards people. Anyway, move on to the next test. Oh! And I'll give you a little advantage for doing so well: the fourth and final tests are connected, keep that in mind.]]

"I understa—"

It was a strange encounter, but before Raphael could say anything else, everything began to feel confusing and his surroundings became distorted, causing slight dizziness. It was brief, and he finally felt his feet on the ground again and...

'A dining room?'

Calmly once again, Raphael looked around, analysing his surroundings and trying to understand as quickly as possible what this place was. It was a large dining room with a central table where there was food, but at that moment there was a visible barrier surrounding it.

He quickly noticed that there were several other people besides him, but more importantly, as he looked around, he noticed someone right next to him staring at him intently.

"눈_눈, I'm so glad you're all right, Sir Raphael."

"Yes, Miss Lirena, I'm glad you're well too. But about earlier..."

"Noon_Noon, don't worry, Sir Raphael, but I have a question. Since it happened so quickly, I couldn't see very well, but several people appeared on my counterweight, including some girls. Who were they?"

"...They were my family"

"Ah! I see, and you really don't have to worry about what happened. It wouldn't be reasonable for me to get angry about that. I understand perfectly."

"...Thank you for understanding."

"Ah! but one more thing, sir Raphael, 눈_눈could you tell me what appeared in your counterweight?"

[I'm talking directly into your head; this is to correct my mistake. Just tell her that a mature woman with purple hair—bloody sexy! Ahem!, forget that last part—and a girl with platinum hair. Oh! And tell him that you fell shortly afterward too; that will balance things out a bit.]

"...A purple-haired woman and a platinum-haired girl, I didn't see them clearly because I fell shortly afterwards."

Raphael didn't really understand why Artur was helping him even with this, but he understood that it was a good way to avoid unnecessary conflict at such a critical moment. He thought he would deal with it later, once things were safe.

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