Rain didn't know if the reason was due to Celestia's condition or if the action time had already passed, but the mystical power sealing the room was already gone.
Seeing no obstacles, he quickly cleaned himself up and left the room, glancing back at Celestia and the chaos they had left behind.
With a fresh smile, Rain stepped out into the hallway. He was immediately noticed by Celestia's butler, whose name was Ekos.
From the moment Rain entered the room, Ekos hadn't moved a millimeter, remaining standing in the same spot. He held his gaze on Rain. His eyes seemed to be able to reach into his soul and learn everything about him.
'Did he hear something?'
Rain wondered, seeing Ekos' inquisitive gaze.
Suddenly, realizing something, the butler's face twisted, as if he were looking at his worst enemy. He didn't give Rain time to think about it, and he came quickly toward him, his hands around his neck. Just as Rain was ready to fight him back, his calm voice sounded.
"Your collar is crumpled, young master."
Said Ekos, with experienced movements correcting it.
When he deemed that one looked tidy enough, he relaxed, adding.
"Remember, your appearance is an indicator of your status. And your status is the face of your family."
'From memory, Ekos had been responsible for teaching Rain etiquette as a child and had been extremely meticulous about it. His behavior was understandable then.'
With a slight nod, Rain walked further down the hall. But when he remembered something, he stopped and turned around.
"Ekos, Aunt Celestia is very busy right now, so she asked that no one disturb her for the next few hours."
'With her strength, it wouldn't take that long to recover, but it was best to be reassured. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't have even passed out, but given that this was new to her, it wasn't surprising.'
For a second the butler's gaze was doubtful, but it quickly disappeared, replaced by the same reverence.
"I got it, young master."
Having settled this matter, Rain quietly went on his way, contemplating his next steps.
Rain didn't realize that even after he turned and walked, Ekos' gaze was still fixed on him and only retreated when Rain turned the corner.
Walking down the empty corridors, Rain, not wanting to waste time, called up the system.
"System, can you tell me about yourself?"
[...you weren't in much of a hurry.]
A muffled voice sounded.
After reading his thoughts, the system gave him an answer.
[Disgust. You cannot live in the same world, as you are natural enemies. They will always wish to humiliate you, just as you will wish to dominate them. Though with your awakened consciousness, this may not be as noticeable.]
The awakening of consciousness.
Rain remembered that the Goddess of Darkness was also talking about something like that while she was reasoning with herself.
'Can you explain what it is?'
Since the system could hear his thoughts, Rain decided to address her using them.
[A consciousness awakening is a phenomenon in which someone acquires an independent consciousness, free from the ideas and desires of the World's Will. Although this sounds simple, it is extremely rare.]
'Then no wonder I acted like an idiot when I met the hero and couldn't beat him. I had no chance of that in the first place.'
All because of that nasty Will of the World.
Rain was still mad as hell at her for destroying him. But now the realization that she'd been in his way from the beginning, turning him into a pathetic puppet for the hero's ascendancy, added to it, and that made his hatred multiply.
'Are you saying that everyone around me are puppets controlled by a higher existence?'
[In a way, yes. Although the Will of the World does not control their every thought, she can set the general trajectory of their path, thus ensuring that she has proper control over the fate of the world.]
After realizing what was happening, Rain asked the most important question of all.
'And how can you help me in a situation like this?'
With obvious sadness in her voice, she replied.
[Originally, my goal was to help you defeat the heroes, but due to your specialization, it was changed.]
'What's that now?'
[...stealing women.]
Because of the system's quiet voice, Rain couldn't hear her very clearly and wanted to ask again, but something moving quickly down the corridor caught his attention.
When Rain looked closer, he noticed a chubby hog rushing right at him.
***
My novel has finally passed vetting from the Webnovel administration, so I decided to post another chapter today.
Thank you all for your support!