A smile crossed Olivia's face. "You mean, given that I asked you to do the exact opposite and leave your teacher to die, why did I turn around and ask the opposite of the ones that want to lead this town?" She bluntly voiced the underlying question. Being connected at the level that they were, Greg knew that Olivia was perfectly aware of the fact that he was still displeased with her over the fact that she had been so willing to abandon his teacher to her death while they got away. Greg's expression didn't shift in the least, feeling no shame over his displeasure and seeing no need to deny her words, blunt as they were.
"Like I said before, Roka, Olivia was right to ask you to run. Losing your li..."
"That's okay," Olivia cut off his teacher who was speaking up in her defense. "The reason is simple, Roka. I'm willing to have them abide by the principle of self-sacrifice because I couldn't care less about any one of them," she stated succinctly in a voice so cold it was a wonder fog wasn't coming out of her mouth. "I didn't save any of them because of the goodness of my heart. They could have been animal feces right now and it wouldn't have made a difference to me." These weren't just words. Greg could both hear it in her voice and see the complete indifference in her eyes. "I don't care about your teacher either," She went on to say, clearly unbothered by the fact that the healer was seated just across the table from her. On her part, his teacher didn't seem surprised let alone ruffled by the statement. "To the degree that she is beneficial to you, I am positively predisposed toward her. But should we ever find ourselves in a situation where it's either you or her or any other person for that matter, I will pick you! Every! Single! Time!" Olivia stated, uttering the last three words with absolute finality.
That is, until your true self shows up, right?
These were the words that almost made it past Greg's lips in a burst of anger. It took every bit of self-control that Greg could muster at that moment to keep from just saying them outright. He, however, was uncertain what reaction this would garner from his familiar. Would she admit to it? Would she summon her true self instead? Would her true self modify the system in some way Greg couldn't detect? Or would she just take it away altogether? In his presently weakened state, Greg didn't think he would survive another takeover by Morpheus so close to the last one. If Olivia's true self came down, he would be completely at her mercy. No, provoking Olivia or her true self by revealing that he was aware of the charade, wasn't a smart thing to do currently.
But while the words never made it past his lips, both the statement and the emotions attached to it provided him a moment of clarity. In truth, this was Greg's greatest issue with Olivia. Ever since Greg learned of Olivia's true nature all those months ago, it had bothered him. Even though she'd never done anything to harm Greg, he'd never been able to quite fully trust her. It was as if there was some wall between them that couldn't be breached no matter how much he wanted to. It's only today that everything had clicked into place and he finally understood the reason why. He had, after all, used a hive scroll before and made several copies of himself. When casually interacting with them, it would be next to impossible to tell which was a copy and which was the true him. His copies had feelings, personalities, and thoughts just like any real individual.
The only problem was that, all that went out the window as soon as Greg gave an order. In other words, no matter how real a copy or avatar of an individual appears to be, they are still beholden to the whims of the one who created them. All this to say that, Olivia wasn't a real person. Like the copies Greg had made of himself, she was a copy of someone else. And while she might swear to high heaven that she was loyal to Greg and only to him, that in itself couldn't possibly be true as she had no free will in the matter. As soon as her true self asked her to do anything, even things that would be detrimental to Greg, she'd comply without a moment of hesitation. This, in turn, called into question everything that Olivia did as Greg couldn't be certain in whose best interest the familiar was acting. Whether it was his, or that of her true self? He didn't know.
But by the same token, however, wasn't he a hypocrite? He was skeptical of Olivia and her true self, suspecting that they had plans of their own that wouldn't necessarily be to his benefit. The thought of him being used and then disposed of when he was no longer useful, didn't sit right with him. However, apart from the fact that he was currently in a weakened state, Greg was unwilling to provoke Olivia because there was a very real chance he might lose the system as a result. Greg wasn't deluded in the least about the fact that, without the system, he probably would have died several times over. And that is to say nothing of all the benefits that having such a powerful system accrued to him. Losing such a boon, especially while he was still so weak, would be worse than losing a limb! In other words, he was willing to make use of Olivia and the system her true self had created, at the very least until he was powerful enough to stand on his own.
They were both using each other for their own ends. An arrangement that was almost certain to end in disaster! Still, what could Greg do but forge ahead despite this...
***
Greg stood calmly before the gathered townspeople waiting for the arrival of the heads of the two families that had tied for the lead in this competition for the position of Town-head. His posture was ramrod straight, chest out with hands calmly held behind his back. But while everything about him outwardly appeared confident, Greg was doing all he could not to squirm under the looks of awe and respect that he could see coming from the men of the village. When Olivia had told him that she had earned the awe and respect of the men while wearing his face, what Greg had been expecting was a few nods of acknowledgment and pats on the back. He'd thus been completely unprepared for the almost reverent regard that the men of the town showed him whenever he encountered them. Even young boys stood straighter when he passed by. More than once, fathers had mentioned in passing that they'd be willing to have their sons come under him as students and learn from him. Whatever Olivia had done, it had left an impression in these people's hearts and minds that wouldn't be forgotten any time soon.
Greg had been forced to take off the DISCERNING ring to keep from being overwhelmed by the sensation of lust coming from the women, especially the younger ones. They may have not been on the front lines of battle, but the tale of 'his' deeds had probably already been told and retold a thousand times over. And considering the game of telephone that had probably taken place between one telling and the next, Greg dreaded to imagine what they thought him capable of. Still, it was a boon that Greg fully planned to take advantage of. Whatever fantasies of a dashing warrior these women had concocted in their minds, he was more than willing to indulge fully.
Standing beside him, was his teacher. Greg felt quite guilty for having the healer come out to be by his side instead of letting her rest and recover from her injuries. It had, after all, just been a day since they got back to town. She would probably need a few weeks to be back in tip-top condition, and though he didn't let it show, the same was true of him. Her quiet presence, however, was a subtle show of force on his part. Regardless of how the day ended, one party would ascend to leadership and one would be going home empty-handed. Which family would be which? Greg didn't as yet know. Greg, however, knew that tensions would run high. The disappointed party even turning violent wasn't too far out of the realm of possibility. Hence why he'd asked his teacher to just be present. Someone might be willing to put his newly gained reputation to the test. None among the three families, however, would be willing to cross his teacher.
