Incitement and Fabrication (2)
“It seems, then, that there’s a rotten traitor in Blue, Ms. Lee Sanghee. The culprit who murdered the Guild Master, I mean.”
When I finished speaking and looked around, I could see the hall wrapped in a strangely heavy silence.
Lee Sanghee had her lips pressed tight together, and Hwang Jeongyeon, who had originally been discussing this matter with me, was nodding slowly.
Those who had nothing to do with the matter were glancing around uneasily, while Lee Seolho and the old men all wore twisted expressions.
Even if they insisted they were not the ones who murdered the Guild Master, the words “rotten traitor” would have already bored through their ears and begun echoing in their skulls.
This much is true, after all.
Of course, work like this is not something you can pull off with slander and fabrication alone. The foundation has to be truth.
Fabrication only needs to serve as seasoning on top.
To be precise, the seasoning may be a little too strong, but when lies are mixed with truth, they acquire an astonishing degree of persuasive force.
I am not smart. I am not especially eloquent, either.
I can read a person’s tendencies through Mind's Eye, piece together their general personality, and build a story around how they’re likely to move.
If I hadn’t known their dispositions, I might not have been able to come up with a proper scenario at all.
The reality was that I relied on my ability to a large degree. If I were a real genius, I probably wouldn’t have to work my brain this hard.
As expected, the old men who were ready to jump in immediately came into view.
“I understand why you’d want to stir up trouble for nothing, but... I-I think the timing is rather poor, Mr. Lee Kiyoung.”
“I understand how you feel, but right now, shouldn’t we be dealing with what’s about to happen first? Ms. Lee Sanghee, for now, please return to your seat...”
“No. I think it would be best to hear him out to the end.”
“But...”
“I’ll hear him out to the end.”
Unfortunately for them, Lee Sanghee was on our side.
She wasn’t stupid, either.
She may already have sensed that something was off in their behavior. From the fact that reinforcements hadn’t arrived quickly to the fact that they had wanted to avoid the expedition in the first place.
She had probably doubted them more than once.
What had kept those suspicions from taking root was the affection she had built up with them over the years.
That bond, rooted from having been together since so long ago, had kept suspicion from growing.
All I have to do is keep feeding her water and fertilizer.
All I needed to do was water Lee Sanghee.
“Some vested interests are simple creatures by nature. The moment they think someone’s taking what they have, they foam at the mouth and stop caring what methods they use. And Blue has that kind of human as well.”
I didn’t name anyone.
Instead, I never stopped directing my gaze in one direction. I wasn’t saying it out loud, but everyone probably knew who I was referring to.
Seolho.
After all, the sort who snarl and bare their teeth openly is often less detestable than the one who keeps nudging you and sneering behind a smile.
I may not know much about anything else, but I can confidently say I’m the best when it comes to provoking people.
I could see Lee Seolho’s face reddening as he looked back at me.
“Your imagination is running a little wild. Ho-ho.”
“I’m sure our Seolho must be deeply pained by how much reality has changed since the old days. He was one of Blue’s founding members, a hero who shared in the guild’s glorious past and contributed so much to its growth. So of course he’d be dissatisfied with the Blue of today.”
“......”
“For the sake of his own future and for the guild itself, he may have had no choice but to make extreme decisions. For instance, reaching out to another guild for help... Or perhaps he felt inferior toward someone. I can understand why he’d be impatient, seeing as a rookie who’d only just joined managed to successfully forge an alliance with one of Lindel’s major guilds.”
“What are you—”
“The idea of trying to pull in a major guild from another city is the sort of thing only a washed-up, incompetent old man would think of, but I’ll commend the effort. I’ll give you a six.”
While I kept sneering, I lightly moved my mana, and the report I had received from Lee Jihye began to flutter through the guild hall one sheet at a time.
I half wanted to set up a projector and give a presentation afterward.
It was a little awkward, but there was no trouble reading the contents printed on the papers drifting slowly through the air.
The information that they had colluded with the Japanese from the free city of Celia had already been confirmed. Every single detail of when, where, and at what time they had met was recorded without omission.
It had only been three meetings, but the material was unquestionably true.
“And where did you get data like th...”
“I’m the sort of person who’s always a little suspicious and keeps plenty of contingencies in reserve.”
“That information is fabricated, Ms. Lee Sanghee.”
“Whether it’s fabricated or not will be revealed soon enough. Party leader Kim Hyunsung from the Seventh Party and the Black Swan Guild are doing their utmost to determine the identities of the people who attacked me.”
“We have nothing to do with the people who attacked you in the first place! Mr. Kiyoung, I understand that you’re angry, but trying to frame innocent people with such fabricated materials is absurd.”
“I don’t know what you’re basing this repeated insistence that it’s fabricated on, but... are you confident?”
“What are you talking about...”
“Are you confident that this material isn’t the truth? Truth comes out once you dig it up. You foolish, incompetent people. Even if I generously grant that you didn’t meet with the Celia guild, how are you going to explain those empty slots in your schedule?”
There was no way they could explain it.
It was an undeniable fact that they had actually met with the Yamato Guild.
More than anyone else, those men probably knew it themselves.
In fact, it was better if they kept denying it.
That only helped me.
No matter how much they tried to conceal the fact that they had met, once you started tearing through things from beginning to end, the evidence would come out eventually.
If it was proven that they were lying, I’d be the one having a field day. Honestly, I wanted them to deny it a little harder.
It was right then that Lee Seolho finally opened his mouth.
“It is true that we met them, Ms. Lee Sanghee.”
......
“However, I swear I know nothing about the Guild Master’s death or this recent attack.”
What a load of shit.
That was when I realized I wasn’t the only one who could use slander and fabrication.
They were adding lies of their own, carefully mixed into the truth.
That they had nothing to do with the Guild Master’s death was true. That they had nothing to do with the attack was fabricated.
They were trying to swallow part of it while denying the rest.
They would probably come out with some obvious line about wanting to help the guild.
The voices came at once, word for word.
“We only wanted to be of use to the guild.”
“......”
“Blue was in a state where no one knew when it might collapse. We had to consider the possibility that Ms. Lee Sanghee might not be able to return. We had to do it to preserve the Blue that the Guild Master had protected. Everything we did was for Blue.”
“Was there any reason I should not have known that beforehand?”
“We simply wanted to help. The Guild Master and I built this guild together. No one loves Blue more than we do. Murdering the Guild Master? That’s nonsense, Ms. Lee Sanghee.”
“Shu... shut up.”
“Ms. Lee Sanghee.”
“I said shut your mouth... Lee Seolho.”
The attempt was good, but the effect was negligible.
It was only then that they seemed to realize that it wasn’t me, but Lee Seolho, who was the one sprinkling water and fertilizer now.
There is no wall that can block the seed of doubt.
Lee Seolho’s fallback wasn’t bad, but it was still only a fallback. The fact that they had been in collusion with another guild did not change.
“You really are slick with words, you crazy old men... ‘For Blue,’ my ass. When the highest authority in a group makes secret deals with another faction without telling them, that’s called collusion, you incompetent bastards. I never imagined you’d be so shameless about admitting you were working together behind the guild’s back.”
“Collusion? How dare you say such utter nonsense! We were merely making preparations! It was difficult to assemble a rescue team within Lindel, so we had no choice but to ask external forces for help. To call that collusion is absurd! There are limits to how much troublemaking you can do!”
“You’re spouting a familiar kind of nonsense, aren’t you. Listen here, old men. There’s a common trait among the people who ruin a country or a group, and that’s that they always drag in outside forces.... I don’t know why none of you have any creativity. The ones stirring up trouble are you crazy old bastards. Not us.”
“We were going to tell Ms. Lee Sanghee everything. Of course. Naturally.”
“You wouldn’t have told her. The fact that you’ve hidden it until now says it all, doesn’t it? In the first place, you never even intended to assemble a rescue team and send them to our side.”
“We simply wanted to proceed as perfectly as possible, Ms. Lee Sanghee.”
“If that’s true, then your incompetence pierces the heavens. You’re bragging like it’s something to be proud of, when you couldn’t even organize a single rescue team for over a week... pfft. And in the first place, that wasn’t even true, was it? Our Mr. Lee Seolho. The fact that you intentionally delayed the formation date has already been confirmed by the Black Swan after their investigation through the people in the square.”
“What kind of bullshit is that!”
“You’re the one talking bullshit! You insane old bastard! Wasn’t the reason you kept refusing to go to the Cursed Shrine that you were hoping the search party would be wiped out? Ms. Lee Sanghee, this disgusting traitor was planning to take over Blue with his own hands after our entire group was annihilated. Of course the Guild Master left behind in Blue would have been a target too.”
“Don’t spout such ridiculous nonsense! What do you know? How long do you think the Guild Master and I spent together? He was like a little brother to me, like family. I had absolutely no reason to harm Ju Seungjun with my own hands.”
“Murder cases usually happen because of greed, don’t they?”
“This is a frame-up! I swear to God, I have never harmed the Guild Master!”
“Really? I’m sure you haven’t. You’ve never harmed him, have you, our Mr. Lee Seolho. Then what’s this?”
What I took out was the potion I had received from Lee Jihye.
Once again, everyone’s attention turned toward me.
“What...?”
“Your acting is truly exceptional. Our Mr. Lee Seolho... you know better than anyone what this is, don’t you? Hmm?”
As I kept sneering and shook the bottle of potion with a clink-clink sound, I could see the man trembling.
“You tried to kill me in the first place because of this too, didn’t you? You old bastard.”
“What the hell are you talking about now... Ms. Lee Sanghee! This is a frame-up! I would never do such a thing...”
“This old relic is the one framing people, Ms. Lee Sanghee. This potion was what Lee Seolho used when he murdered the Guild Master. It’s a kind of tranquilizer, a medicine that can help the human body in some cases, but for certain people it can be rather fatal. It’s a potion that slowly kills those who are already close to death.”
“I’ve never seen or heard of anything like that! How dare you! Where do you get off trying to frame me!”
“Ordinary people don’t know this, but these kinds of potions sometimes leave traces. When you open the stopper, tiny particles floating in the air cling to wool. If we test the clothing Lee Seolho is wearing for the substance, the answer will come out immediately. No, we don’t even need to test the substance.”
Slowly, I began reciting an incantation, and the potion in my hand started to glow little by little.
The same was true of Lee Seolho’s clothes, which also began to be swallowed in patches of light.
I glanced at Hwang Jeongyeon, and she gave a small nod. She was telling everyone that there had been no tampering in the magic I had cast.
“I don’t know why the same substance as this potion is being detected in the clothes our Mr. Lee Seolho is wearing.”
“This is a fra, frame-up! Ms. Lee Sanghee! This is a frame-up! I had absolutely nothing to do with the Guild Master’s death! Why would I do such a thing!”
The way he was panicking was almost a sight to behold.
And it wasn’t just Lee Seolho.
The old men beside him weren’t shouting at Lee Sanghee anymore, but those criminals’ excuses were hardly worth hearing.
“A frame-up? What nonsense... You disgusting, incompetent people. Absolutely vile, Ms. Lee Sanghee. Mr. Ju Seungjun probably died in tremendous pain. While he was still keeping hold of the thread of consciousness, too. How heartbreaking must that have been. To be betrayed by the people he trusted...”
“How dare you spout such bullshit! Even now! Sanghee! Believe this uncle’s words. Everything that filthy alchemist says is a lie.”
Now they were appealing to affection.
That sight was downright ridiculous.
“From the moment I first came here, I always treated you and Seungjun like my own family. In a place with no family, you two were my family. I would never do such a thing. You know that better than anyone. Everything that alchemist is saying is a lie. Jeongyeon! Say something too... Everyone, this is all a lie!”
“What a load of lies.”
The way to use Lee Seolho was very simple.
If anyone ever asked me to write a manual on Lee Seolho, I’d describe him like this: incompetent, greedy, and hot-tempered.
I kept lifting the corners of my mouth, and the faces staring back at me only grew redder and redder.
“The truth is going to come out anyway.”
“You bastard...”
“Have the guild guards get rid of that crazy old man right now...”
“You damned fool!! How dare you! You were the problem! You were the problem all along! You were the cancer eating away at this guild!”
“I don’t know who you’re calling cancer, but anyone can see that the incompetent one here is you. No, honestly, it’s a relief that you’re incompetent. I’m glad you left traces.”
“How dare you! How dare you frame me like this? Try to pin this crime on me, a man who has protected Blue his entire life?! You won’t let go of me? Are you all seriously believing that lunatic’s words? Let go of my hand! How dare you try to...”
The sight of him shaking off the guards was a mess.
I kept grinning, and perhaps because he couldn’t hold back his rage any longer, he came charging straight toward me.
“You filthy bastard! You were the problem! You were the problem!”
Of course, this time I still didn’t bother avoiding Lee Seolho.
Needless to say, I wasn’t putting my faith in Yuliena. I was putting my faith in Lee Sanghee, who was already shedding tears.
As if answering my expectations, Lee Sanghee, drowning in grief and fury, opened her mouth wide.
“You beast worse than an animal!”
With a crashing sound, Lee Seolho’s arm was severed and sent flying into the wall.
Bravo!
It was a masterpiece of a scene, as if drawn by hand.