Chapter 289 The Vault's Secret [2]
Pausing for a moment, Lily stood completely still before looking at Ren and replying.
"No idea, it just appeared on my desk today."
Not expecting to get a real answer in the first place, Ren simply nodded his head upon hearing Lily's obvious sarcastic words.
After all, their allicin could be short-lived, as once they both exited the vault, they would be placed on opposing sides once again.
Their ideals were fundamentally different.
Lily wanted to save as many people as possible without any care for the constant death flags and plot changes she would be making.
Ren wanted to save the world as a whole, and for him, there was only one way.
In the book, there is a happy ending, and the world is saved.
So, in Ren's eyes, as long as the book is relatively followed, the world has a 100% chance of being saved.
Of course, he was fine with minor plot changes, some even caused by him, but the relative chain of events should remain the same.
However, as shown by his acceptance of Irene as a hero when she was a villain in the book, Ren didn't care too much about the characters but rather more about the proceedings of the events and incidents.
On the other hand, Lily's method didn't even guarantee the saving of the world, so how could Ren trust it?
Looking at Lily, Ren decided to do something that he had completely forgotten about since the first few weeks of his transmigration.
He had always said that talking it over with Lily would be impossible, but perhaps they could come to some sort of compromise.
But this was before Lily knew of his transmigration into this world as well, so there were some risks.
If their talks failed, Lily would basically gotten the information that Ren was also from Earth, while Ren would have gained nothing.
Now, though, things were different as Ren had nothing to lose by trying to negotiate or talk to Lily.
After all, if he had learned one thing from this entire robbery, it was that he and Lily weren't so different.
Leaning against one of the nearby shelves, Ren looked at Lily with a serious expression before asking.
"Do you know why we're even 'enemies' in the first place? You know I'm not just some psychopath who gets joy out of seeing people die and ruining your plans, right?"
Nodding her head, Lily took a seat on one of the racks on a nearby shelf before answering in an equally serious voice.
"Well, I would consider you a villain as you keep trying to ruin our plans. Whether it was on the cruise ship or even right now, you've always been on the opposite side of us."
Nodding his head, Ren agreed, confirming that what Lily said was true, before replying.
"Even thought about why?"
Pointing upwards at the ceiling of the vault, Lily seemed to think for a moment before saying in an anxious tone.
"Earth? You want to go back there, don't you?"
"How would I fighting against you and your posse take me back to Earth, though?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Lily looked at Ren before responding in a curious tone.
"To that, I don't know. But does the reason even matter in the end? Time and time again, you've shown yourself as an opposing force to us."
Manifesting a book with his corruption, Ren began flipping through the empty pages for a moment.
Seeing this, Lily confusedly stared at him, prompting Ren to turn the book over and reveal its title, which said, "Welcome to the Magic Academy!"
Confusedly, Lily stared at Ren, wondering why he had made a copy of the book their current world was based on.
Ignoring Lily's confused expression, Ren continued flipping through the empty pages, slowing down as he approached the last few pages of the book.
Reaching the very last page of the book, Ren stopped for a second before carefully flipping it over and handing it to Lily.
Taking the book from Ren, Lily immediately looked at it; however, her curiosity turned into confusion as she saw that the entire book, including the last page, was empty and without any words.
Seeing this, Ren asked.
"Whatever MAJOR events happen in the book are guaranteed to occur in this world, right? We can both agree on that since we've seen it time and time again, right?"
Nodding her head, Lily looked up at Ren for a second before saying.
"Major events, yes, but minor events are subject to change."
Nodding his head in approval, Ren once again confirmed.
"The things that go on in the major events are subject to change, but the major event itself isn't."
"For example, the invasion of the Elven tree was guaranteed to happen, but the way it was fixed was different from the book. You agree, right?"
Thinking over the words for a few seconds, Lily agreed.
"The events will always happen itself, but how the event is resolved or what happens as a result of the event are not the same."
"The cruise ship incident was going to happen no matter what, but what happened before, during, and after it is subject to change."
Seeing Lily on the same page as him, Ren stayed silent for a moment, thinking about how to word his next few sentences.
If he was too harsh or cruel, Lily's ideals could fall apart, and things could escalate, but if he was too vague and kind, Lily wouldn't grasp what he was saying.
But, before Ren could speak, Lily suddenly said.
"However, that won't always be true in the future. The changes we make right now could change future primary events."
"For example, Irene's future attack in the academy is a big event; however, it won't happen anymore."
"What you're saying has been true in the past, but it likely won't be true in the future."
Raising his hand, Ren said.
"That is...if we make too many changes to the plot. As you said, Irene's future attack on the school won't happen, but that is only because you made a change to the plot with Irene."
"Other future events should happen regularly if changes are not made, right?"
Mulling it over, Lily replied in a half-questioning and half-confident tone.
"Possibly..."