Chapter 1034: Group Decision

Now within Kuzon's Golden Palace, separated from the world beyond, we all sat opposite each other, most our gazes on the man of the hour.

Kuzon's voice broke through the silence, his tone heavy with grim determination.

"I suppose it's time I told you all why we're here..."

He was the one who approached us on the prospect of a meeting, and I could tell that everyone was anxiously waiting for what he would say. Since we had concluded our business in this world, there was nothing else that tied us here.

Nothing except the apprehension that leaked from Kuzon.

"It's about Neron." Just as I expected, he revealed the root cause.

The atmosphere in the room grew tense as Kuzon's words hung in the air, their weight pressing upon most of us like an unspoken truth.

Aloa and I pretty much knew what the topic was about, and Ciara seemed to get the gist of the situation. Only Edward was left completely lost, and from his confused expression, it was left obvious.

"What about Neron? What's going on?" he asked, his brows furrowing with concern.

I exchanged a knowing glance with Kuzon, my mind already racing with possibilities.

Neron was our hero. We all knew how dear he was to each of us, so it was natural that this sort of discussion would be difficult to have.

I wasn't personally in support of it, since I felt we could just confront Neron on the issue, but merely doing that wouldn't satisfy Kuzon.

... And he was the one who had the key to take us home, so I just had to go along with it.

"It's about whether or not we should get him," I replied, my voice laced with a mixture of caution and determination.

I fixed my gaze upon Kuzon, a slight smile on my face. "Right?"

Kuzon nodded solemnly, his eyes reflecting the gravity of the situation. "We need to discuss the steps we should take concerning Neron and whether we can trust him going forward."

Curiosity and concern flickered in Edward's eyes as he leaned forward, his voice filled with inquiry. "What do you mean? Can't we trust him?"

Aloe's voice cut through the room, its edges sharp with caution. "Neron might not be all he seems to be. We cannot ignore the possibility that he might be an enemy in disguise. Or at least have some hidden agendas that will cause us more harm than good."

The weight of Aloe's words settled upon Edward, casting a somber pall over the room. The realization that someone we had come to rely on, someone who had basically saved the world, could potentially be plotting against us seemed absurd... or was I the only one who considered that?

"I personally feel we should just trust Neron. His methods might make us uncomfortable, but maybe..."

"Are you ignoring the fact that we've met other variants of Neron, Jared? Crazy Neron said not to trust any of them, and guess what? He's been proven right every time!"

"The Neron I encountered in the world I was transported to wasn't like that!"

"Are you so sure?"

"W-well..." I mean, from everything I noticed, he wasn't a villain at all.

He did everything for those he loved, and he genuinely cared about the world. He was more similar to the Neron from our world than any other version we encountered.

"We should consider all angles," Aloe interjected, her voice firm. "If it is determined that Neron poses a threat, we need to be prepared to eliminate him."

Silence followed her words as the gravity of our situation sunk in. Kuzon and Ciara nodded gently, all in agreement, while Edward still seemed confused.

"You guys... have you considered the possibility that Legris planned all of this to intentionally sow discord between us and Neron?"

"Jared. I don't think that excuses Neron's intentional inaction to send us sprawling across the branches without even telling us anything." Kuzon narrowed his gaze in a glare.

"He must have had his reasons." I realized how weak my argument was but I genuinely thought so.

"You're just being blinded by bias," Aloe sharply responded.

It was surprising that Aloe, of all people, would take this stance, but I could understand why. It must have been due to her interaction with Chad.

"Neron is our most powerful ally. You realize we need all the help we can get with the way things are going now, right? We can't just turn against Neron at a critical time like this."

"I know. Which is why I'm not suggesting we turn against him. I'm just saying we should be prepared for the worst. We can't fully trust him, so until we can determine whether or not we can trust him, we shouldn't rely on that possibility."

Edward, after receiving a refresher course from me through the use of Magic to bring him up to speed, finally spoke up.

"But how can we be certain? Based on what you're saying, how do we even. determine if we can trust him?"

I nodded, snapping my fingers as I acknowledged the validity of his concern. "You're exactly right, Edward. At this point, what will satisfy you all to the point where he can be absolved of suspicion?"

Nothing could change the fact that Neron lied to us, or rather, refused to tell us the truth about everything until it was too late.

He risked the lives of our friends and families, and all without consulting anyone.

"Even if he should present a valid reason, his actions remain. I'm sure you'll find it hard to trust anything he says regardless of what he posits."

Kuzon's voice cut through the heavy silence, filled with determination. "We cannot afford to be complacent, Jared. I don't dislike Neron, but I refuse to have blind faith."

"I'm with Kuzon on this one." Aloe raised her hand. "If Neron decided to play God, he should be capable enough to justify himself."

With both Aloe and Kuzon on the other end, I stared at Ciara to see her take on the issue.

"Neron has always been a stranger to me. The fact that he separated me from Jerry is enough to warrant my dissatisfaction."

I knew it! Even Ciara was on the opposite end.

"But, I won't antagonize him or anything. I don't think we could stop him even if we tried."

This was yet another issue they had to account for.

"Neron is currently more powerful than any of us. Even if we discover he has bad intentions, what can we do about it?"

"I recommend taking a detour. Let's simply not save Neron, and just return home." Ciara snapped her fingers.

At that moment, we all stared at her with raised brows.

'Haaa... why did we even involve her? She just wants to quicken the journey so she can see Jerry faster.'

"I couldn't do that even if I wanted to. The Blu Blu automatically takes us to our destination, and I can't properly operate it." Kuzon admitted with a shrug.

'I'm sure he's thought of it, but since he doesn't have the expertise, he decided to let it be.'

I tried using [The Chariot] to connect to the device—at least to see if I could.replicste it, but the interference was too strong that my Arcana didn't work at all.

Crazy Neron must have made this thing to be exempt from tinkering.

"What do you think Edward?" I asked, turning to the unusually silent God King.

"I think we should have more trust in Neron. Even if he did this for a selfish end, he has saved all of us in the past. Shouldn't we at least hear him out with an open mind?"

A smile formed on my face as I heard Edward's proposal.

It was the kind I would expect from someone like him.

"I agree with Edward." Declaring calmly, I established my position. "Neron is my friend, and he's someone who hasn't given us a reason to doubt him before."

He saved my life. He taught me how to grow stronger. He defeated the Aether, and despite all his power, he never really sought any selfish gain.

Why would he start doing so now? What could he possibly hope to gain?

"Well, Jared... I hope you and Edward are right." Kuzon made a wry smile. "And I hope we don't have to pay for your naivete."

I could tell that Kuzon was in stark disagreement with me, yet it didn't seem like he was going to reject my proposition.

"Fine, then. We'll trust him and see what he'll do."

"Thank you, Kuzon." I was glad he placed his trust in me.

"Not so fast, Jared. I'm only doing this because I owe Neron too."

I heard it was Neron who brought Kuzon into Ainzlark Academy and catered for him while he was in the Eastern Kingdom.

It must have taken a lot of gall for Kuzon to suddenly suspect him, so I understood what a tough call he had to make.

"But Jared, if Neron isn't who he says he is..." Kuzon's eyes narrowed as he stared at me.

It felt like his gaze was burrowing deep into my soul, and the silence felt utterly overwhelming.

"... It's all on you."