Reborn as an Evolving Space Monster: Harem Of Otherworldly Beauties-Chapter 375: Rea, II

"Remember the quiz nights we used to have when you were a kid?"

"How can I not?" Rea sighed. "June still talks about those every time we see each other."

"Hahaha! Competing between cousins is nice."

"So what’s your point?"

"It was fun, wasn’t it?"

"I guess."

Rea peeked at Sina, who was watching the stars above, and was surprised to see such a wide smile on her mother’s face.

"We asked the most random questions with no real thought put into them. The points were entirely meaningless, but you kept score. Those points weren’t a real thing, but you would get so happy whenever you got one right, and so mad when you would get one wrong."

"S-So...?"

"Those points weren’t real either, were they?"

"Proves all the more the absurdity of it all, no?" Rea said coldly. "What’s so different about seeking money or a higher score in a video game? One is useful and one isn’t, sure. One can be used to buy food, but beyond the basic necessities, what’s the point of chasing a higher score?"

"Because it’s fun?" Sina shrugged. "Way more fun than chasing a virtual score respected only by the people who play that game. Money is respected by all. It’s the ultimate score to chase after, played in the real world as your map. There’s nothing quite like it. The ways of increasing your score are infinite, and there’s no real limit to how high your score can get."

"Hm..." Rea scratched her head, frowning at the ground.

"At the end of the day, keeping score isn’t just about keeping score. It’s about telling the winners from the losers. Which side will you choose?"

"So the winners are those who end up with money and the losers those without?"

"That’s the game we’re playing as a society."

"That’s a shitty game that I’m not interested in."

"Tough luck, because you’re already in." Sina shrugged. "I can still remember the Rea who always wanted to win, no matter the game, no matter how boring you found it or how much you disliked it, what was most important to you was winning."

"Even then, I decided which game to play. I took the decision of participating. This and that are different things." Rea muttered. "I do remember starting to play every game that June enjoyed just to beat her with ease. But this is different. It’s my life we’re talking about. I can’t let it be decided because of the society I was born in. I mean... In a place where money wasn’t important, would I just chase whatever that society values? It feels less like playing the game and more being an NPC guided by the part of the map you drop it in." She sighed and massaged her forehead. "I don’t want to be a bum or a loser, but I also don’t want to do things I don’t want to do just to be seen as a winner. Following rules I didn’t agree on is just-"

"Who said anything about following rules?" Sina raised an eyebrow.

"Right, I forgot that I was talking to a billionaire who is actively working with a gang of criminals and on a first-name basis with their leader."

"The rules mean nothing," Sina started, ignoring the remark on her collaboration with Kira, the Red Dragon. "If we were to speak about how society judges winners and losers, then Kira would be a loser, wouldn’t she?"

"As the head of a criminal organization, I suppose."

"To me, she’s the furthest thing from a loser," Sina argued. "She’s always been a winner in my book, even when her mother told she wasn’t fit to be the head of the Red Dragon."

"Huh?" Rea frowned. "How long have you two known each other?"

"What matters isn’t what the rules say exactly or what society says. Within the confines of our world, there are infinite possibilities. What matters is what you think."

"What I think...?"

"What do you think makes someone a loser or a winner? What is a loser in your books? What is a winner?"

"A winner...?" Rea scratched her chin. "Someone who does exactly what they want whenever they want?"

"So we agree."

"HOW?!"

"People who do exactly what they want whenever they want are unequivocally amazing people. And money always finds its way into amazing people’s pockets. Those who do what they want will either end up crumbling in front of their inadequacy and giving up, or prove themselves and keep doing what they want."

’Hm... In a way, that’s true whether talking about money or not,’ Rea thought. ’We only managed to go on such an adventure because the people with me were amazing enough for us to survive. Before Cero joined us, we were inadequate and only suffered. With Cero, we had the strength to see it as exhilarating freedom instead.’

"Take your friend Cero, for example," Sina said, making Rea feel like her mind had been read. "By all standards, he is amazing, right?"

"Sure." The daughter shrugged.

"I doubt he spent much time thinking about money. But money still found its way into his pockets, didn’t it?"

"Right," Rea nodded slowly. ’The crystals from Serolia...’

"Even if you don’t care about money, even if you don’t search for it, as long as you do what you want, as long as amazing people keep doing amazing things, money will follow. This brings us to my definition of a loser," Sina raised a hand to her chest. "Anyone who cannot make a ton of money while doing exactly what they want is a loser."

"High and mighty,"

"You’re damn right. So tell me, Rea," Sina started, a daring smile on her face. "Can you do what you want and make a ton of money in the process? Can you achieve real freedom? Are you... Amazing enough to do that?"

Rea blinked and felt her heart start beating faster.

"I think..." A hand slowly moved to her chin. "I can do that."