Raphael was using Audrey to digest his potion again.
He had not expected Audrey to retain such naive ideas even after becoming a Saint.
Raphael first explained his views on Official Beyonders. He had to acknowledge that they maintained basic order in the Beyonder world.
But that did not mean they represented absolute justice. They fought and struggled among themselves, too. When the forces of justice opposed other forces of justice, which side was just?
Then Raphael continued, "In fact, every one of us is guilty, including you and me.
"We clearly possess abilities far beyond those of ordinary people, yet we don't use those abilities to solve the difficulties they face. Instead, we use them to advance ourselves, competing and fighting.
"Would you say we're right or wrong?"
Audrey fell into thought again. These were things she seemed to have noticed before, without having any clear concepts to explain them.
Now Raphael had once again laid this moral paradox before her.
After waiting a second or two, Raphael continued, "We're right, because we have to survive, too. As Beyonders, if we don't advance and fight, we'll die. No one will come to help us then.
"So when our lives are threatened, there's nothing wrong with setting aside all morality and doing everything we can to protect ourselves."
Audrey suddenly understood. "You mean-you mean our moral standards can actually be a little more flexible."
Raphael snapped his fingers. "We're finally on the same wavelength."
Unfortunately, his potion had not digested any further.
In other words, Audrey had already worked this out before. She simply had not understood it as clearly as she did now.
Audrey smiled slightly, then asked, "Why did you suddenly bring this up today?"
"I originally hoped to digest some of my potion this way, but it