Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 181

A luxurious teal bundle sat on the desk.

Kiriel pushed the bundle toward me. "Here’s the item you asked for. My sister crafted it herself."

"Tell Ariel I said thank you."

"No. You tell her yourself. You have no idea how much she nagged me about how difficult it was to make…"

Kiriel grimaced, looking as if the mere thought of the lecture made her shudder.

She’s right, it would have been difficult.

The Stone of Truth was a Unique Grade material, the only one of its kind in Myrillin Saga. It was such a precious item that I hadn’t even dared to use it as an alchemy ingredient for fear of it breaking. Crafting something from it would have required painstaking effort.

If I hadn’t saved her younger sister’s life, Ariel probably wouldn’t have accepted my request to craft it in the first place.

"Alright. I’ll thank her in person when I get the chance. For now, let me check the item."

I untied the bundle and pulled out a smooth wooden box. It was about the size of a lunchbox—far too large to hold just a ring.

As I tilted my head in confusion, Kiriel explained, "She tucked a few other things in there as well. Said they were for you."

I nodded and opened the lid.

Inside was the Blessing of the Forest—a gift elves give as a sign of deep gratitude—along with valuable alchemy ingredients that could only be found in the Sea of Trees.

"Ooh."

There were rare ingredients that were incredibly hard to come by, like agarwood berries and the roots of moonlit wildflowers. They would be invaluable for my research.

"She went to a lot of trouble."

"I gathered some of them myself. This one, and this one," Kiriel boasted, clearly fishing for a compliment.

I offered her some well-deserved praise. "Good work. The roots aren’t damaged, and they’ve been well-preserved. I’ll put them to good use."

After examining the ingredients, I took out the jewelry box and opened it. The ring inside was crafted from the Stone of Truth I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had found in the Spooky Dungeon. I was curious to see how it had turned out.

Click—.

I opened the jewelry box, which was lined with dark purple velvet. My eyes fell upon a brilliant chartreuse ring resting on a soft cushion. A chartreuse gemstone sparkled within a platinum band, emitting a soft glow reminiscent of the dawn.

This was the Stone of Truth, possessing the power to discern reality from lies.

With my gloved hand, I carefully picked up the ring.

[Ariel’s Ring of Truth]
>
- Classification: Accessory
- Rarity: Ancient
- A ring crafted by the High Elf Ariel Silverwalker. It is the only one of its kind on the continent and is said to possess the power to discern the truth.
- Mana +5
- Can be designated as a bound item.
- When equipped by the designated target, [Time of Truth] can be activated.
- Durability: 100/100

I held the ring up to the light and smiled.

It was crafted perfectly.

The ring had come out with the exact performance I had intended. It was a little disappointing that it wasn’t Legendary Grade, but that was only to be expected. No matter how skilled the continent’s greatest master artisan was, not every item they created could reach a Legendary rating.

If anything, it’s more surprising that a novice like me managed to craft a Legendary Grade item by sheer luck.

In any case, the ability of Ariel’s ring, [Time of Truth], was literally the power to reveal whether someone was telling the truth. Like a lie detector, it could determine the truth through simple yes-or-no answers.

However, that was just one of its passive abilities. If I activated [Time of Truth] directly, I could place the target under a sort of hypnosis and force them to confess. You could think of it as something similar to a truth serum.

Of course, there was no guarantee that the information obtained would be objective fact. If the person being interrogated held incorrect information or didn’t know the answer at all, I wouldn’t get what I needed.

Well, even considering that, it’s undoubtedly a useful item.

I examined the elegant ring for a moment before handing it to Kiriel.

"Kiriel, try it on."

"M-Me?" Kiriel pointed at herself, startled.

At the sudden suggestion, Ciel shot me a displeased look.

"..."

I ignored the look and held the ring out to Kiriel. "Yes, I need to test its performance. It won’t work if I wear it."

What was the point of me using a lie-detection item on myself? I had to use it on someone else to confirm it worked.

"Okay. I’ll try it."

Kiriel took ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the ring, her hand trembling slightly. As she tried to slide it onto her ring finger, I cut in.

"Don’t put it on your ring finger, you idiot."

"I-I wasn’t going to!" she snapped back before slipping the ring onto her index finger instead.

Kiriel clenched and unclenched her hand, her eyes sparkling. She seemed to quite like the ring.

I began the test. "Let’s start with a simple one. Did you have dinner today?"

It was quite late in the evening. Unless she was on a diet, she would have eaten.

Kiriel nodded. "Yeah, I ate."

The ring on her finger remained a steady, glowing chartreuse. That meant she was telling the truth.

"So you ate. I’ll ask again, but this time, lie. Did you have dinner today?"

"I didn’t eat dinner… Whoa."

Hummm—.

The moment the lie left Kiriel's lips, the ring vibrated and emitted a sharp red light.

"The effect is certainly there."

If the target lied, I would know instantly. The ring’s performance was stable.

"You can take it off now."

"…I want to wear it a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠little longer," Kiriel muttered, looking a bit sad to part with it.

"Really? Fine. Since you’re wearing it, answer a few more questions. Are the preparations for the academy festival going well?"

"P-Preparations? They’re going very smoothly."

Hummm—.

"Ack."

The ring vibrated and glowed red the second she answered. It seemed things weren’t going so smoothly after all. It looked like there would be plenty of opportunities for me to get involved in the festival’s organization.

"Sounds like you’re having a tough time. Next: are you doing the homework I gave you?"

Before the summer break, I had given Kiriel an assignment: to complete a Spiritology workbook.

"Of course! I finished all of it. I’ll bring it tomorrow."

"..."

The ring remained silent. Surprisingly, it didn’t seem to be a lie. Did she really finish her homework? I was a bit suspicious, so I rephrased the question.

"Did you solve it all by yourself?"

Maybe someone else did it for her, or she’d had help.

"O-Of course! I did it myse—"

Kiriel answered confidently, as if offended I’d even ask, but…

Hummm—.

"Eek!"

The ring mercilessly revealed the truth. It was true she had done the homework, but she hadn't done it entirely on her own.

"The performance is solid."

"I-I’m taking the ring off!"

"Suit yourself."

I took the ring from Kiriel and placed it back in the jewelry box. To be honest, I could easily tell when Kiriel was lying even without a magic tool like this, so it wasn’t particularly meaningful to use it on her. And it wasn’t like I was going to use [Time of Truth] on Kiriel to dig for her secrets.

I’d save that function for the enemy lackeys I caught in the underworld.

"Jeez, making me put it on for no reason," Kiriel grumbled, rubbing her finger.

I made a suggestion. "Since you’re here, you might as well study. Let’s review what you’ve learned."

*

The next day.

An elderly man in a stylish suit arrived in front of the Student Council room. Dressed in a pristine white suit and matching shoes, the old man greeted me.

"It is a pleasure to see you again."

It was Watson, whom I had briefly met during the sports festival a few months ago. He carried the same relaxed, refined air about him.

I took his hand and shook it warmly. "Thank you for your cooperation in this matter."

"Not at all. I would gladly give my life for the sake of the Union."

Unlike usual, Watson was wearing a longsword at his hip.

"That’s reassuring. Shall we go?"

*

Accompanied by Ciel and Watson, I visited the underworld once more. Watson looked around at the dark scenery and spoke.

"The atmosphere is certainly different from usual."

"Have you been here often?"

"I have visited a few times on business. I am also acquainted with Sir Alfredo."

"Then things will be simpler."

I had been slightly worried about how to introduce two men from completely different worlds, but this put my mind at ease.

A short while later, we arrived at the western branch. Alfredo and Watson shook hands warmly. Alfredo bowed his large frame and greeted him politely.

"It has been a long time, Sir Watson."

"Indeed. Is this the first time since Lady Rebecca was appointed as the branch manager?"

Alfredo, the true power in the underworld, and Watson, the Chairman’s secretary. The two old gentlemen, dressed in contrasting black and white suits, stood together. It was a magnificent sight.

After exchanging greetings, we got straight to the point.

"What’s the situation?" I asked.

Alfredo rubbed his eyes, his expression grim. "It is not good. The northern and southern branches have also pledged their cooperation to the enemy. It seems they intend to carve up the western branch’s territory after winning the civil war…"

"They have big dreams. They’re just going to be tossed aside once the war is over anyway."

Far from dividing up the land, they wouldn’t even be left alive. Once this was over, all their heads would roll.

"That is what I was thinking," Alfredo said with a deep sigh. He spread a map of the underground city, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠which snaked around like an anthill, across the table. "With this, we are now facing all the other branches, meaning we are completely surrounded. In the worst-case scenario, we must consider escaping to the continent through Stella Harbor."

"It seems you are at a significant disadvantage in terms of numbers," Watson remarked.

Alfredo continued, "Yes. I am well aware of Sir Watson’s skills, but I have heard that the opposing side also has a powerful being with strange abilities. Her name is Carmilla—the same name as the vampire queen who existed long ago. It has not been confirmed if she is the same person, but…"

I cut Alfredo off and said calmly, "She is the same person."

"…Is that true?"

"Mm. Unfortunately, it is."

As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, news had spread that the legendary Twelve Honored Ones were part of the enemy forces. It was one disaster after another.

Alfredo sighed deeply. "Hoo… we had heard about the re-emergence of the Twelve Honored Ones, but I never thought it would affect us directly…"

"Indeed. That’s why Sir Watson has joined the fight."

"The Chairman must be concerned as well," Watson added. "After all, if that truly is Carmilla, it is a matter directly related to the safety of the Union."

Alfredo composed himself and continued his briefing. "Even if Sir Watson deals with Carmilla, we are still lacking in terms of overall strength. The quality of our troops is superior, but we are severely outnumbered. And we are desperately short on commander-level personnel."

The enemy had three branch managers and had absorbed the central headquarters where Big Brother used to be. Having inherited the Panopticon organization as it was, they had many staff officers and commanders to lead their forces. On top of that, Carmilla’s minions had joined them, giving them formidable power.

In contrast, the western branch had trained powerful soldiers with its abundant supplies and funds, but it lacked knight-level combatants to command them. Knights were not a force that could be easily trained with money alone.

However.

"You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already secured the cooperation of the Devalis Knights."

"Is that true?"

"Yes. They will be more than enough."

Although they hadn't been very active in the battles outside the wall, the significance of a knight was special. If regular soldiers were infantry, then knights were walking tanks. A knight who could ignore any attack not imbued with sword ki and slice through shields and armor like tofu was nothing less than a reaper on the battlefield.

"In that case… we truly have a fighting chance."

Alfredo clenched his fist. The glimpse of a possibility of victory seemed to ignite his fighting spirit. While we couldn’t be considered superior in strength, we had at least secured the minimum force necessary to oppose the enemy.

Now was the time for strategy and tactics.

To make a plan, I first need to observe the enemy’s movements.

I asked Alfredo, "Have you received any information?"

"Yes. Just last night, we caught a few of their lackeys who had infiltrated our western branch."

"Oh, you caught spies?"

"We did. But they are stubborn bastards; they won’t say a word."

Refusing to talk despite torture. They might be well-trained, or they might have some kind of mental restriction placed on them.

At the mention of the enemy not talking, Ciel gave me a look, and I nodded.

"Perfect timing."

The ring crafted from the Stone of Truth had just come into my possession. It was the perfect tool for extracting information from the enemy.

"Lead the way."