Chapter 242 - Familiarity

After my personal meeting with Ariel.

I returned to the central temple where Atlas and Katana were waiting after walking along the coast of Latis City, the submerged city, with Ariel.

And Ariel... said she had something to do and parted ways in front of the temple. Though she smiled and waved at me until the end, there was something dark about her expression that left me feeling uneasy. Of course, I felt bad too, but what couldn't be helped couldn't be helped. How could someone who was sick carry out terrorism? Her ability probably wouldn't be a match for Stardust anyway.

Well, Ariel would understand with time.

With that thought, I entered the white temple and went to find Atlas and Katana who would be waiting for me.

There they were, standing in front of Atlas's precious pottery... exhibition? in one corner of the massive temple.

There, Atlas was continuously talking about something to Katana standing beside him, chuckling as he spoke.

"...Yes! Isn't it amazing that such intricate and beautiful pottery was made in the 1300s? What's even more remarkable is that it maintained its luster even under the ocean's pressure. From the moment I first saw this, I realized that I had to revive this maritime kingdom. I've been rambling. Anyway, let me explain slowly. The markings engraved on this pottery surface mean..."

He was practically force-feeding Katana an in-depth explanation about pottery.

Katana stood there with a blank, soulless expression, quietly listening to Atlas's pottery lecture with unfocused eyes.

"....!"

That's when Katana noticed me approaching from behind.

At that moment, her unfocused eyes fixed on me, her pupils dilating.

Then, as if she'd met a savior, Katana urgently spoke with a face colored with relief.

"Ah... Mr. Egostic is here!"

"This was made using the black inlay technique... Huh? Ah, Egostic! Haha, you've arrived?"

Atlas finally stopped talking and turned toward me.

Before Atlas could say anything more, I smiled and quickly spoke first.

"Yes. My conversation with Ariel went on longer than expected, so I'm a bit late. I feel sorry for taking away from our meeting time."

"Haha, not at all! I was just introducing my pottery collection to Katana here and lost track of time myself. Now, let's see... Oh my, it's already time. I'll guide you, follow me."

"Yes."

With those words, Atlas led us to the guest reception room, chuckling heartily.

...Phew. Mission accomplished. It's fortunate I mentioned the meeting first; otherwise, I would have been stuck here listening to Atlas's Introduction to Pottery. And I've already heard all of this content before.

"...."

Meanwhile, Katana, finally free from the clutches of pottery, let out a small sigh of relief and thanked me with her eyes. It must have been that boring.

...Well. I found it quite interesting to listen to. Look at that pottery. It's made of glass, and somehow water has been inserted on the surface rather than inside. I still don't understand how it works.

Anyway, we sat facing each other in the cozy reception room Atlas had prepared and chatted about various things until Kathedal began.

This place, with its white and beautiful medieval European court atmosphere and even coffee biscuits and refreshments prepared, seemed completely at odds with Atlas's rugged image. Perhaps Ariel decorated it?

The conversation was mostly about personal matters. How things were going lately, how much the heroes were running wild. That sort of thing.

Atlas, being an SSS-class villain targeted by all the strongest heroes in the world, was extremely busy. Of course, being as strong as he was, he didn't even get scratched.

As for Katana... since the international association had lost its function and no multinational subjugation order had been issued, she was living quite well despite having effectively taken control of Japan as the head of the villain association.

...Even I felt quite envious when I thought about that Methel or whatever American hero who had come to Korea.

Of course, unlike me, Katana was now a true power player, and she said it was quite difficult to make various decisions from a position of responsibility. That's why she was regularly contacting our Lee Seol-ah, the power player of Korea, and learning a lot from her. It was impressive to see them exchanging knowledge warmly as national powers, transcending the hero-villain divide.

"...Of course, I still feel most comfortable talking with you, Mr. Egostic."

And at the end, she slightly confessed her feelings with a subtle smile. So that's why she'd been contacting me more frequently lately. Well, it's lonely at the top. The number of people who can see the world from your position drastically decreases. I felt remorseful for thinking about Katana's international call costs first whenever she called. But then again, she's Japan's leader, so money wouldn't be an issue.

"I enjoy listening to you too, Katana. So, feel free to contact me anytime you're comfortable. I'll be there to listen."

So I just smiled back at Katana and answered like this.

"Hahaha! You two have quite the pink atmosphere flowing between you! Young people's romance is always a delight to watch. Reminds me of my wife. Haha!"

By the way, as we were talking, Atlas was heartily laughing like that while devouring a piece of cake in one bite.

...It's truly lamentable that Atlas was such a malicious matchmaker.

"Haha, we're not like that. We're friends, just friends."

I smiled and said that on behalf of Katana, who had lowered her head with her cheeks and ear tips slightly reddened, though her face itself appeared calm.

...Hmm, so even Katana, who always maintains a cold poker face, gets embarrassed at such jokes. I should remember that.

"Hahaha! Yes, yes. Everyone says that at first. Hmm, did I say something tactless? Let's just move on. Haha!"

Atlas continued to joke until the end.

...It was a bit dizzying, but anyway. After that, I said what I needed to say. Since Japan and Latis City were essentially my allied nations, I talked about the Moonlight Church Gate. Of course, this was something we would discuss at this Kathedal as well, but I could explain it much more directly and in detail to them.

Atlas, being deep underwater, was safe and had no problems. In the original work, these monsters just die when they fall into water. I don't understand why alien creatures would die in water—it's not like they breathe oxygen—but that's how it was. Maybe they just can't move their bodies in water?

So naturally, Katana was the one who listened most attentively to what I had to say. I had brought it up a few times before, but this was the first time I explained it in such detail. I especially told her about countermeasures. First, dig lots of bunkers.

As we talked about various things, the time for Kathedal approached.

"Shall we go now?"

"Yes. That would be good."

"Right. Let's go."

So we went outside to prepare for Kathedal.

BOOM!

"...?"

By the way, before we left, there was a sound of something exploding from one side of the city, along with a huge water column rising, and something about a princess... but seeing Atlas's calm expression, as if this was a regular occurrence, it probably wasn't anything serious.

Anyway, as I tore the letter, I felt my body swaying and arrived in a corridor of what looked like a cathedral.

The Kathedal cathedral, now so familiar it felt like my own home.

"Hello, Mr. Egostic."

As always, our white-robed acolyte bowed to greet me. It felt like we had an internal connection. Is this person assigned to me? The face of the person waiting in the corridor every time I come is the same.

By the way, I was currently separated from Atlas and Katana. Since we each tore our own invitations, we were transported separately.

...It was a bit funny thinking that we'd meet again in the conference hall right after parting, just by walking down this corridor. Maybe we should have just torn one invitation and moved together?

Anyway, I walked down the gray corridor and arrived at the main conference room with a large round table under a chandelier.

"...."

And immediately I saw Katana, who had walked in from the opposite corridor just like me.

...Meeting each other just minutes after parting made me smile involuntarily. What is this?

"Hello, Egostic."

"...Yes. Hello, Katana."

Of course, we greeted each other shamelessly as if we were meeting for the first time, with straight faces. Why? Well... because it's fun.

Katana also seemed to be holding back laughter, finding the situation amusing. I'm seeing many different expressions from Katana today.

"Hahaha! What are you all standing around for? Sit down!"

Following Atlas who arrived just in time, we each took our seats at the round table.

It seemed like we arrived at just the right time, as many other villains were already seated. They all seemed to have become friendlier with each other, as there was noticeably more conversation between those sitting nearby. This too must have been what Celeste, the founder of this meeting, wanted.

"Everyone has arrived."

Finally, Celeste, wearing white saintly robes with her eyes closed and looking somewhat tired, came in last and took her seat.

And so began what must have been the umpteenth meeting.

As for me, the full information this time was less interesting compared to previous ones. I wasn't particularly interested in the meeting itself since it was just going to be another explanation about portals and monsters.

However.

"...."

I was more interested in how to bring Li Xiaopeng, China's greatest villain sitting over there, to my side.

...How could I persuade him, who desires the collapse of the Chinese government?