A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 2664: Chapter 1797: This Goddess Lacks Conviction

During the break, Lisetta gathered her courage to find Mary.

As a member of the Tribunal, Mary gave Lisetta a completely different feeling from Duanmu Huai. It wasn’t just about personality differences; compared to Duanmu Huai, Mary seemed to have a greater love for life.

Duanmu Huai had little interest in the tastes of ordinary people, whether it was eating and drinking or writing and drawing. What intrigued him the most was eliminating those Alien Creatures and listening to their melodious dying cries—a thoroughly Demon King-like behavior.

In contrast, Mary’s hobbies were more akin to those of typical humans; for instance, she liked music and novels, and... like now, when Lisetta found her, Mary was on a hillside enjoying the scenery with Hei Chuan Chi Yin while sipping afternoon tea.

"I understand what you mean, Miss Lisetta."

Mary put down the teacup she was holding and stared at Lisetta,

"But I’m sorry, I don’t think Mr. Duanmu’s thoughts are problematic. Those dangerous ideas indeed bring disaster to humans."

"Isn’t the idea of peaceful coexistence with other races correct?"

"No, it’s not."

Lisetta wasn’t surprised by this answer from Duanmu Huai, but hearing it from Mary left her quite surprised.

"Why, why?"

"I’ve followed Mr. Duanmu to multiple worlds and witnessed many human crises. Several of these were caused by Aliens."

Mary said this while having a sip of tea,

"Moreover, this situation is unavoidable."

"Is it really unavoidable?"

"Absolutely."

In response to Lisetta’s persistent questioning, Mary’s reply was resolute.

"Why?"

"The reason is simple, Miss Lisetta. If humans and Aliens simultaneously face a disaster that could destroy them, what do you think they would do?"

"Well... everyone would work together to overcome the challenge..."

"Wrong."

Mary shook her head,

"They would first ensure their survival, as it’s only natural. Any race would prioritize its own continuation; humans won’t risk extinction fighting for Aliens, and likewise, Aliens won’t sacrifice themselves fighting for human survival, wouldn’t they?"

"This..."

Lisetta was suddenly left speechless, but Mary continued.

"I once went through a human crisis with Mr. Duanmu in a galaxy with a human civilization and several Alien civilizations. They collectively formed a kind of Civilized Alliance, but human civilization, as a latecomer in the alliance, didn’t have a high status."

"..."

"However, at that time, a race called the Reapers suddenly appeared, attacking all civilizations. The Reapers were an ancient Evil Intelligence group that came every few thousand years to harvest organic beings. To the Reapers, begging and submission were useless. They’d annihilate all civilized races in the galaxy and then disappear."

"What happened then?"

Upon hearing this, Hei Chuan Chi Yin immediately showed interest.

"If this were a novel, the next part would be about each race jointly fighting against the Reapers, eventually repelling the enemy. However, the reality was different. The Reapers’ strength overwhelmingly surpassed that of the civilized races, and they weren’t opponents of the Reapers. Thus, the alliance quickly disintegrated, each civilization finding ways to guard their home planet."

"What about human civilization?"

"At that time, Mr. Duanmu discovered the secret of the Reapers and destroyed their Mass Effect Relay, preventing them from harvesting human civilization like they did with others. We then defended the human civilization borders in the galaxy and ultimately completely defeated the invading Harvester Legion."

At this point, Mary picked up her teacup and drank some black tea again.

"This is only natural; any civilization hopes to preserve itself. Humans are like this, and so are other creatures. I’ve also heard of another world where humans, threatened by an invading Insect Swarm, allied with an Alien Species that faced similar danger. Ultimately, that species betrayed the world’s human civilization in order to survive, and even after humans were wiped out, the Alien Species claimed everything as its own, seeing themselves as its master..."

"Hmm..."

Upon hearing this, Hei Chuan Chi Yin’s expression grew complex, while Lisetta was left speechless, stunned. Although she had saved several worlds as a Goddess, they were rather "justice versus evil," akin to children’s play. Even though Mary’s recount was brief, it was evident that the Tribunal’s world challenges were at least SSS Rank in difficulty.

"Aliens aren’t inherently evil, but for the Tribunal, it doesn’t matter."

Mary picked up the teapot and poured herself more tea.

"In another world, there exists beings called Ghouls. Their outward appearance differs little from humans in everyday life, at least not visible to the naked eye. Of course, only during combat would they transform. The problem with this race lies in their diet; they can only eat human flesh, unable to ingest or digest anything else."

"........."

Hei Chuan Chi Yin silently put down the waffle in her hand.

This topic doesn’t seem quite suitable for afternoon tea.

"Mr. Duanmu and I once investigated these ghouls. They are indeed pitiful. They also wish they could become human, and some ghouls show their goodwill by only eating the bodies of those who committed suicide to satisfy their hunger and thirst."

"But you still eradicated them, right?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It’s simple."

Mary stared at Lisetta.

"Even if you take a step back, can you guarantee they will only ever eat those who commit suicide? And if you take another step back, what if they indeed only eat those who commit suicide, but then start to encourage humans to end their own lives? Take another step back, even if they only eat people who commit suicide and don’t incite others, can you guarantee their offspring will have the same mindset a hundred years from now? Can you guarantee those ghouls will never consider, ’Isn’t fresh human meat more delicious?’ "

"Ugh......"

Faced with Mary’s repeated questioning, Lisetta was speechless. She indeed couldn’t guarantee any of those things.

"But, but......"

"The Tribunal’s mission is to protect humans at all costs and to eliminate any existence that poses a threat to humanity."

Mary blinked, and her differently colored gold and blue eyes fixed on Lisetta.

"No matter what those aliens think, from an objective standpoint, they do pose a threat to humans. Researching history is the same. Often when you peruse ancient texts and documents to investigate history, you discover that although people may have had other plans and ideas when making decisions, that doesn’t matter. The important thing is the result of their actions......"

"But, but just like you said!"

Upon hearing this, Lisetta suddenly seemed to grasp onto a lifeline, frantically shouting."

"Humans are the same, aren’t they?"

"Indeed, that’s right."

Mary nodded.

"So what’s the problem? The Tribunal protects humans, that’s it. We don’t protect them because they are kind, sincere, noble. We protect them because we are human too, so naturally we protect humans. No matter if they are kind or evil, as long as they don’t violate the Tribunal’s rules, they are our targets for protection. Or is it......"

Mary paused and once again looked at Lisetta.

"As a Goddess, do you feel that if humans are not kind, not noble, not as you hope, then they have no value for salvation?"

"I........."

Mary’s voice wasn’t loud, but her gentle words pierced Lisetta’s heart like a sharp blade. This was a question Lisetta had never considered. Lisetta always believed that, as a Goddess, she had to save humans. Because humans are threatened by the Demon King, and she doesn’t want those innocent, kind, lovely people to suffer, so she would save humanity, and in Lisetta’s view, there was nothing wrong with her actions.

However, the Tribunal’s approach is completely different.

Mary stated, the Tribunal doesn’t care whether humans are evil or kind. The Tribunal saves humans because they are human, they are kin.

This was a question Lisetta had never considered.

If humans are not what she hopes for, would she still save them?

Lisetta had no answer.

She finally understood the difference between herself and Duanmu Huai, and why the Tribunal’s approach to humans is different from hers.

Lisetta had always been very friendly to humans because she believed most humans are good people, so naturally she needed to treat them well. But in contrast, if the other party is unwilling to accept her goodwill, Lisetta would feel very pained.

But the Tribunal is different. The Tribunal doesn’t care whether humans are good or bad; they focus on the duty to protect humans. If it’s beneficial to protect humanity, it stays. If it’s harmful, it gets eradicated.

Just like now, Duanmu Huai determines that the ideology of coexistence with alien races in that territory is harmful to human continuity, so he wants to thoroughly eliminate it, just like that.

As for whether the people there are kind or love peace, none of that matters to Duanmu Huai. He has seen countless human civilizations perish due to friendliness towards alien races; it’s an objective fact, not something that can be changed by claiming to have a friendly and peaceful nature.

Duanmu Huai’s idea is like this, so......what about herself?

Lisetta couldn’t find the answer.

Could it be that she really was wrong?