Why Am I Here?
The place where I had agreed to meet the leader of Blue Moon was unexpectedly somewhere else.
It was the trade city of Lashut in the northeast of the Croisen Empire.
Why Lashut? Because it was a major city adjacent to our Lheinhatz Kingdom, and close enough to my hometown Lawrence Fiefdom that it felt almost like home.
Who could have imagined that Blue Moon’s base would be right on our doorstep?
‘Is Blue Moon based in the Croisen Empire?’ I wondered.
The place where I had saved Evelyn before was also a border zone called the ‘Neutral Zone’ between the Croisen Empire and Dragon Land.
And now the place I was invited to was located in the Croisen Empire, so suspicion naturally followed.
Then there was a slight problem.
The Croisen Empire was an enemy state with no possibility of improving relations with our Lheinhatz Kingdom.
‘No, wait. There is no guarantee this is the headquarters. They may have simply chosen a nearby base close to our Lheinhatz Kingdom.’
I shook my head.
With the information I had, it was still too early to accurately identify the enemy.
I had to meet the leader of Blue Moon to gauge their true situation.
Using Mankyung’s displayed emotional states, I could infer lies, and the more I conversed, the deeper my understanding of them would become.
‘What I need to confirm today is Blue Moon’s scale, their activity purpose, and alliance possibility.’
What I lacked right now was an information organization.
I already had one, but only three months had passed since its activation, so I was struggling with overseas information gathering.
Moreover, domestic activities were not going well either.
Although we were quickly expanding our force, we still lacked talented people from the underworld.
So, through cooperation with Blue Moon, if we could borrow their talents or obtain information, it would be perfect.
“It has been an honor to keep you waiting. I am late. I am George Bayson, the leader of Blue Moon.”
And shortly after.
A man who had introduced himself as the leader of Blue Moon, along with Gregory and Auguste, entered the reception room where I was waiting.
“It is not a problem. The tea was excellent, so the waiting time was quite enjoyable. Right?”
“It is not bad at all.”
In response to my words, Arsia, who had been released from Evelyn’s escort for once and was now with us, nodded.
“Haha, that is good news.”
I closely examined the man in front of me.
He was around 190 centimeters tall, with a well-maintained muscular body reminiscent of a knight.
His features were Caucasian, but his skin tone was dark and his hair was dark brown, making him look like a Hispanic person from Earth.
This was the typical appearance of a Croisen Empire citizen.
Incidentally, the dragon race had been part of the same country until their empire fell, but our Lheinhatz Kingdom’s racial characteristics were closer to Eastern Europe than Hispanic.
Well, one country did not necessarily have only one ethnic group, but due to these completely different ethnic traits, was there no sense of homogeneity between Croisen Empire citizens and Lheinhatz Kingdom citizens?
Even if they had roots in the same country in the past, there was no sense of unity between Croisen Empire citizens and Lheinhatz Kingdom citizens.
George Bayson Baron / Aura Expert
Species: Human
Age: 49
Affiliation: Baron of Bayson Fiefdom in Croisen Empire (disguised) / Leader of Blue Moon
Talent: Learning (High), Administrative (High), Command (High), Political (High), Physical Ability (Medium), Aura (Medium)
Characteristics: Excellent Con Artist, Stealth
And while examining his information, something felt off.
It was lower than I had expected, even though he was supposed to be excellent.
No, with four high talents, he was clearly outstanding, but compared to other top talents, he seemed lacking in some areas.
I continued viewing the rest of his information.
Relation: Favor / Alliance
Status: Interest / Tension
I felt my unease turn into suspicion.
‘When had he shown such friendly reactions? And the relation is alliance?’
Was that why I frowned with doubt in my expression?
Gregory and Auguste were on high alert, preparing for combat.
But the leader of Blue Moon, George Bayson, said firmly to them,
“Both of you leave. Since no escort is needed, do not eavesdrop and completely withdraw.”
“Huh? But……”
He was not a combat type.
Even as an Aura Expert, he would be treated as a normal person before me, the 7-circle archmage, and Arsia, the Aura Master.
Moreover, since my reaction toward the leader was not good, even though it was an order, they could not easily leave their seats.
“Uhm.”
But due to Bayson’s firmness, the two reluctantly left the room.
Only after their presence disappeared did I express my suspicion.
“Who are you?”
It was not a philosophical question.
I simply wanted to know his true identity.
From the information displayed on Mankyung, he appeared to be a lower noble of the Croisen Empire hiding his identity as the leader of Blue Moon, but the feeling was strong that there was more to it.
The man sitting opposite me stood up and approached closer.
Although his combat power was negligible, considering the existence of artifacts, a person’s physical strength was not everything.
So Arsia reached for her sword and prepared for any situation.
“It is an honor to meet you.”
However, what he did next was beyond my and Arsia’s expectations.
He immediately knelt before me and prostrated himself on the floor like a royal audience.
“W-what?”
I stood up in shock, grabbed Arsia’s hand, and backed away.
An inexplicable action like this, rather than sudden attack, aroused even more caution.
And the words that followed made me shudder as if struck by lightning.
“Great mage, one who continued the legacy of Manuel Lucas.”
“……”
What? This guy.
At the same time, my head went cold, and dozens of times per second, murderous intent rose and fell.
Was that why I lost my words and simply stared at him?
His emotions had changed from tension to fear.
I walked back to my seat and sat down with a thud, organizing my thoughts.
If the fact that I was the successor of Manuel Lucas became known, the world would be in chaos.
Right now, even just the Brigham Empire and the Prius Republic were at war over my fabricated successor that I had made.
And yet, despite knowing that, he did not try to exploit my weakness and simply prostrated himself and trembled?
From this situation, only one conclusion could be drawn.
“You are an associate of Lucas Archduke.”
“Yes. The previous leader of Blue Moon was Lucas Archduke.”
It had turned out that way, I understood with my head, but my heart did not accept his existence.
Murderous intent to kill him for the sake of secret guarding rose repeatedly.
“I knew this place was not simply prepared for Blue Moon and Lawrence Marquess Family’s cooperation. Please explain this situation in detail.”
I told him the reason I could not kill him.
To that, the leader of Blue Moon, George Bayson, raised his head and took something from his pocket and placed it on the table.
It was a cube-shaped metal, a high-performance terminal device commonly used in nobleman’s residence offices.
When he touched the top of the metal with his finger, a sentence from the Lucas Archduke family appeared, with the meaningful English word WHY engraved on it.
And a person appeared in hologram.
[This is the first time I have seen you like this.]
“Chester?”
[Hello, Adrian.]
An extremely familiar old man’s appearance.
He was Chester, an artificial personality created by replicating Manuel Lucas’s memories and the manager of the legacy.
‘What? Why am I here?’
Of course I should have had a dumbfounded expression.
“Ah, wait……”
Then I realized something and asked with a hint of doubt.
“Is this also part of the legacy?”
To that, Chester showed an awkward smile with a mix of surprise.
[Yes, that is correct.]
Looking at Chester’s expression, I could roughly guess the situation.
[Blue Moon was supposed to be the reward for clearing Quest 8 of the legacy.]
Quest 8 clear reward.
It meant that the legacy left by Manuel Lucas Archduke included not only material but also power.
“But unexpectedly, pre-contact has been made.”
[That is correct. It is clearly my mistake.]
I had heard that the leader of Blue Moon, having heard about the Evelyn assassination incident involving Gregory and Auguste, was causing a commotion and had ordered that no one related to me should be harmed.
Even at that time I did not understand why the leader was doing that, but if Chester was managing Blue Moon, it made sense.
[Five years ago, when Adrian stepped into the final route for acquiring the legacy, various preparations were made to reactivate activities. And Blue Moon was included among them.]
Five years ago. It was when Chronicle Online had just started.
When I realized the legacy was hidden in Chronicle Online and was searching by leveling up my scout character, I think it was around the time I first found traces of Lucas Archduke in the ancient ruin dungeon.
[I woke up the dormant Blue Moon and began external activities to expand their influence. Thanks to that, the organization has stabilized now. But as a result, I made contact with Adrian faster than planned, and the choice for efficiency turned into a mistake.]
“Then who is this George Bayson?”
[He is my representative and the manager of Blue Moon.]
Unlike material rewards and homunculus Arsia, having a human as a reward felt a bit uncomfortable.
Is it truly trustworthy?
“Do not worry. His life is in the hands of Adrian and Chester.”
“What do you mean?”
[A seal is placed on him. It is also a seal woven by Lucas Archduke’s 9-circle magic. Because of that, he cannot reveal the secret of the legacy.]
I exhaled a deep sigh while feeling relieved.
Although I had learned that Blue Moon was a reliable organization as one of Lucas Archduke’s legacies, since it was a power that would be given as an 8-stage reward, it meant that contact at this stage was pointless.
Why did they invite me here for…….
They could have just revealed it in the game.
[What can I do about something that is already done? I cannot yet recognize Adrian as the leader of Blue Moon, but I will not stop forming a cooperative relationship.]
But Chester’s generous attitude surprised me with a sigh.
“Oh, is that true?”
[It is because of my negligence as a manager. Please consider it a reward for causing harm to the user as a manager. I am sorry for the past incident.]
Even though Blue Moon’s tendency was to guarantee the autonomy of members, if he had only given the order not to contact me in advance, the surprise attack incident on Evelyn would not have happened.
In fact, it was not much of a threat, but it was clearly his mistake.
Therefore, I did not need to refuse the compensation he offered with an apology.
I smiled slyly and looked down at the leader of Blue Moon, George Bayson.
“Let’s get along well, Baron Bayson.”
It turned out I had gained a reliable ally to rely on.
And one whose betrayal I did not need to worry about.
[I will do my best to support Marquess Lawrence.]
Although I could not say it was entirely mine yet, the leader of Blue Moon, George Bayson, was already acting as if he were addressing me as master.
Today I had come here with three purposes.
1. Scale of Blue Moon
2. Purpose of Blue Moon’s activities
3. Confirmation of alliance possibility
I had confirmed 2 and 3, so only one remained.
The scale of Blue Moon, which would soon be entirely mine.
I asked Chester in detail about the scale of Blue Moon and what they could do.