Chapter 310: Round Table (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 310: Round Table (4)
The Earth Witch was alive. I had several reasons for recycling this information. Among them, the top one was that it was a way to screw over Auril Gavis, who had been looking forward to the information I was going to provide.
"Ha..." He seemed to be at an actual, literal loss for words, given the way he could only groan, an incredulous look in his eyes. The sight instantly warmed my heart. Well, that wasn't the only reason that I threw out that piece of information, though.
That brought us to the second point: this tidbit was quite useful. My source? Me. I had been very surprised when I first heard it. At the risk of being dramatic, I actually felt my heart drop when he told me, although I hadn't let it show, unlike these guys. Put simply, it was the best piece of information to make me look impressive.
Flick.
I slowly studied everyone's reactions. They were uniform. At first, their faces seemed to say, Huh? What is he on? Then they processed what I was telling them and all turned toward the same spot—the center of the Round Table, where the jewel was situated, the place where the truth was stored. Soon, the jewel glowed green.
"It's green."
"Then that must be the truth..."
"At least, that's what this man believes."
At the sight of their astonishment, I chuckled. Yeah, that should be enough to prove my credentials.
So, you never told them about that, huh?
That was my third reason. By asking this question, I could discern how much information Auril had offered his members. If Auril had been sharing this kind of high-quality information with them this whole time, the light wouldn't have turned green.
Well, I expected that to be the case when I realized they didn't even know his name.
There was also a fourth reason: sharing this information with the members. After all, there was no mention of the Earth Witch being alive in the game. I interpreted this to mean that the old man had intentionally hidden this information for some reason.
Yeah, secrets are best when exposed.
I'd pretty much just spilled poison on this group. Although I didn't know the side effects of this poison, how lethal it was, or whether it would pass with nothing more than a slight sting, judging by their sour expressions, it seemed I had succeeded. I had learned a secret that Auril was trying to hide from the four veterans in this gathering. This would definitely set off a chain reaction that wasn't in Auril's favor.
"To think the Earth Witch was alive... I will start researching this from now on." Fallen Scholar, who took the form of a child, pondered this bit of news with a studious glint in his eyes.
"I'm sure the palace knew about this, yet kept it hidden. Perhaps this could serve as a weak spot in their armor." The face of the head of Orcules was bright with determination, like I had just handed him a powerful weapon.
"If the witch really is alive... where is she now?" The woman echoed the same question I had asked Auril.
Oh, you even look smart.
"What is your name?"
The woman in fancy dress frowned at my question. "...Ravi," she said softly.
Ravi. I couldn't even be sure if that was her first or last name. Actually, I couldn't be sure it was her real name at all. Well, I would look into it later.
"But why are you asking that?" she wondered aloud.
That was obvious. She was the only one here whose name I didn't know. Of course, I couldn't say something as boring as that, though.
"Because you ask foolish questions. Is there a reason I should answer your question?"
It would be strange for me to speak respectfully to these people when I didn't even use honorifics with Master, so I just treated her as an inferior. But did that piss her off a little? Ravi bit her lip and glared at me. My year of experience as Lion told me that this was the perfect time to offer her a carrot.
"However, if you say something interesting, I could be moved to give you the answer you seek."
My arrogance made her pause before she nodded in apparent understanding. Then she closed her eyes for a beat and looked at me. "You want us to prove ourselves too. All right." There was a competitive fire in that glare of hers.
I expected this reaction. These elites had all been gathered by the Master, after all. Their egos wouldn't be run-of-the-mill, and it made sense to get frustrated hearing something like that from a mysterious man you were meeting for the first time. The other members seemed slightly fired up by my challenge as well.
Okay, I think this should be enough bait... Huh?
Sensing eyes on me, I turned in that direction to see Auril staring right at me. The look in his eyes seemed to ask, Who the hell does this bastard think he is?
Starting with me, the meeting proceeded clockwise.
"I guess it's my turn now?" The second person to go was Auril, who was to my left, so I kept my ears open. Information that half of these experienced veterans had to be unaware of? Whatever he said here would have to be useful. "Then allow me." Auril then imparted his knowledge to the group. "Ms. Ravi, the Earth Witch is where everyone's hopes go."
Oh, you clever old man. I was going to use that on my next turn. Well, it's probably because he knew I was going to, that he said it first.
Auril would have realized by now that stopping me from recycling information was his only way of getting to see what cards I really had.
Shaaaaaa.
Naturally, the green light came on. The members each muttered to themselves as was the custom at this point.
"Where everyone's hopes go..."
"That must mean the labyrinth, right?"
"You could interpret it like that, but it could also be referring to outside the castle walls."
So these guys couldn't pinpoint a place, either.
"Now, now. We can talk more later so for now, let us continue." Auril prodded the conversation along and the meeting resumed.
The next person to speak was the middle-aged man, Kagureas. Amelia had never heard the name, either. Perhaps it was a pseudonym.
"Haha, I've never done anything like this so I'm not sure what to say."
"Speak freely. Someone like you is bound to have at least one piece of information. Something important that other people don't know about."
"Yes, but..." The muscular man seemed to ponder if it was worth sharing the information he had here before letting out a sigh. "I must take this seriously since Master is here. Here I go."
"Go ahead."
"There is a portal in the palace's basement."
When the green light came on, questions burst from everyone's lips except Auril's.
"A portal? Is it connected to the labyrinth?"
Although he had no reason to reply since his turn had already passed, Kagureas shrugged and even provided an answer. "I learned about it by chance, so I can't be sure, but I do not think the portal is connected to the labyrinth."
"Because you ask foolish questions. Is there a reason I should answer your question?"
It would be strange for me to speak respectfully to these people when I didn't even use honorifics with Master, so I just treated her as an inferior. But did that piss her off a little? Ravi bit her lip and glared at me. My year of experience as Lion told me that this was the perfect time to offer her a carrot.
"However, if you say something interesting, I could be moved to give you the answer you seek."
My arrogance made her pause before she nodded in apparent understanding. Then she closed her eyes for a beat and looked at me. "You want us to prove ourselves too. All right." There was a competitive fire in that glare of hers.
I expected this reaction. These elites had all been gathered by the Master, after all. Their egos wouldn't be run-of-the-mill, and it made sense to get frustrated hearing something like that from a mysterious man you were meeting for the first time. The other members seemed slightly fired up by my challenge as well.
Okay, I think this should be enough bait... Huh?
Sensing eyes on me, I turned in that direction to see Auril staring right at me. The look in his eyes seemed to ask, Who the hell does this bastard think he is?
Starting with me, the meeting proceeded clockwise.
"I guess it's my turn now?" The second person to go was Auril, who was to my left, so I kept my ears open. Information that half of these experienced veterans had to be unaware of? Whatever he said here would have to be useful. "Then allow me." Auril then imparted his knowledge to the group. "Ms. Ravi, the Earth Witch is where everyone's hopes go."
Oh, you clever old man. I was going to use that on my next turn. Well, it's probably because he knew I was going to, that he said it first.
Auril would have realized by now that stopping me from recycling information was his only way of getting to see what cards I really had.
Shaaaaaa.
Naturally, the green light came on. The members each muttered to themselves as was the custom at this point.
"Where everyone's hopes go..."
"That must mean the labyrinth, right?"
"You could interpret it like that, but it could also be referring to outside the castle walls."
So these guys couldn't pinpoint a place, either.
"Now, now. We can talk more later so for now, let us continue." Auril prodded the conversation along and the meeting resumed.
The next person to speak was the middle-aged man, Kagureas. Amelia had never heard the name, either. Perhaps it was a pseudonym.
"Haha, I've never done anything like this so I'm not sure what to say."
"Speak freely. Someone like you is bound to have at least one piece of information. Something important that other people don't know about."
"Yes, but..." The muscular man seemed to ponder if it was worth sharing the information he had here before letting out a sigh. "I must take this seriously since Master is here. Here I go."
"Go ahead."
"There is a portal in the palace's basement."
When the green light came on, questions burst from everyone's lips except Auril's.
"A portal? Is it connected to the labyrinth?"
Although he had no reason to reply since his turn had already passed, Kagureas shrugged and even provided an answer. "I learned about it by chance, so I can't be sure, but I do not think the portal is connected to the labyrinth."
"This... is very interesting."
"Then where in the world does the portal lead...?" Fallen Scholar muttered, sounding more like an old man than a child.
In unison, the four men and women naturally shifted their gazes to Auril Gavis and me. Everyone kept their mouths shut, but the hunger in their eyes was clear as day.
You two know, right?
That hunger for answers was a sight I'd encountered countless times while living as a Lion.
"...Haha." Auril simply laughed it off.
I just kept silent like I wasn't at all affected by what was going on. This was something that had been drilled into me over and over again through experience, and it always got me halfway to wherever I wanted to go—Lion Style Form Two: Sit Tight. Of course, even in Form Two, my gears were frantically turning as I tried to get my thoughts in order.
A secret related to the palace, huh? Perhaps he's on the palace's side.
Kagureas—what kind of man was he? The fact that I knew next to nothing about this guy, unlike the head of Orcules and the Fallen Scholar, made me even more interested in him.
However, it seemed someone didn't want to let this pointless silence drag on. "Then it's my turn." With that, Fallen Scholar dropped his bomb without delay. "That which keeps the labyrinth's mana circulating is vitality."
As soon as I heard that, a question mark formed in my head. But it seemed I wasn't the only one drawing a blank.
"...Lord Ruingenes, could you explain in simpler terms? Unlike you, we know little of the ways of magic."
"Simpler? All right." Fallen Scholar provided further explanation at Kagureas's request. "Contrary to what's commonly believed, the labyrinth is not sustained by mana. For mana to continue to circulate through it like it does now, it requires a different resource." To me, this all sounded like an alien language.
However, it seemed the woman named Ravi knew a thing or two about magic. "And you're saying that that resource is vitality," she said in apparent understanding, and Fallen Scholar nodded.
"But so what?" Kagureas asked, sounding disgruntled. "I don't think anyone here is all that curious about how the labyrinth works."
Actually, I felt the same way. Where were we supposed to use this information?
"Tsk, how annoying." When Fallen Scholar clicked his tongue, Kagureas clammed up. Seeing a muscular man tiptoe around a kid wasn't as strange a sight as one would think. Although he looked like a child, Fallen Scholar gave off the aura of someone who shouldn't be trifled with.
"Then may I explain instead?" Ravi said.
"Do as you wish," Fallen Scholar said, seemingly sulking.
"Vitality as the resource needed to create mana stones means that the labyrinth is sustained through life force. If I understood that correctly... this changes everything."
"What do you mean?"
"This means that humanity was not revived and this city was sustained by the discovery of the labyrinth. The labyrinth was sustained by the existence of this city and its people."
The back of my head tingled.
Wait, hold on... Is that true? If what she said is correct...
"...So the adventurers who die inside the labyrinth essentially serve as its fuel. Which the palace must be aware of." Thinking along the same lines I was, the head of Orcules verbalized the same conclusion I had just come to.
"Well, that's how I understood it, anyway." Ravi shrugged and glanced at Fallen Scholar.
"There is no doubt that vitality is the resource that maintains the circulation of the labyrinth. And suspicions about the palace are logical and can be derived from this fact."
"I-I see..."
"Now, is that enough? I think this is just as valuable as a vague declaration that an unidentified portal exists under the palace."
Kagureas laughed sheepishly at Fallen Scholar's sharp remark. "Haha, don't get angry. People like me don't understand stuff unless they get everything explained to them."
...Is this guy a barbarian?
I felt a strange sense of déjà vu from his manner of speech, but determining his race from that would be too much of a leap. There were plenty of adventurers who talked like him.
"Now it's Ms. Ravi's turn." All eyes turned to the woman at Auril's words.
I had some hopes riding on her, too. Not only were the previous two pieces of information extremely interesting, but this woman had met my challenge earlier head-on. Even if it wasn't to put me in my place, I was sure she'd want to prove we were all on a similar level.
"I guess it's my turn." She opened her mouth and then shared a completely unexpected piece of information. "The Primordial Dragon is dead. You all may not know this, but it happened over ten years ago."
I was stunned. I had just been wondering what incredible piece of information she was going to reveal with that determined look on her face, but that was it? I almost wanted to laugh, but the light on the jewel was green. Auril would definitely have known this already, so that meant the other three were hearing it for the first time.
"...I see. No wonder the dragon tribe has been quiet recently."
"So that's the situation."
"It's a shame that he who lived through the age of the Immortal King has died."
The trio took in this information like they were hearing a hard truth. At first, that seemed strange to me, but it made sense when I thought about it. From what I remembered, it was only after the Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos, killed the Primordial Dragon that the new Primordial Dragon was elected.
So that was roughly around this time, right?
Since I hadn't studied the exact history, I couldn't remember the year, but that seemed to be the case.
But I didn't realize the secret was so well-kept that even these guys didn't know about it.
I pursed my lips in disappointment, but I guessed she didn't notice.
"What do you think? Was that interesting?"
"I don't know." I didn't really get why they were reacting to the death of the dragon tribe's chief like this in the first place. I couldn't believe that she was acting all pompous over something like this. Wasn't the information that was shared before hers clearly much more useful? So I just gave my honest opinion. "I don't think it's particularly valuable."
"...You're saying you're vetoing it." Ravi glared at me like I had hurt her pride. I also noticed a hint of suspicion mixed into her expression. She was probably wondering if I was putting on an act to intentionally put her down.
If you're going to act high and mighty, bring me something more interesting.
For the sake of information quality, it was necessary to kill her spirit a bit.
Is it time to bring out Form Three?
I tapped my fingers on the arm of my chair absently and said, "It's not my turn yet, but I'll say this now."
"What do you—"
How dare you speak when the Lion is speaking?
There was a chance I might be able to pass through the next round for free, so without leaving any room for interruption, I continued in one breath. "The one who killed the Primordial Dragon is a dragon man named Regal Vagos."
"...Huh?" The woman stopped mid-objection. After a short pause, the jewel turned green.
Shaaaaaa.
The silence was all too familiar to me. As it fell, I looked at Ravi and spoke like I was kindly explaining something to a bug crawling on the ground. "What do you think, is that explanation enough?"
[Lion Style Form 3: Disrespect for the Weak]
"This... is very interesting."
"Then where in the world does the portal lead...?" Fallen Scholar muttered, sounding more like an old man than a child.
In unison, the four men and women naturally shifted their gazes to Auril Gavis and me. Everyone kept their mouths shut, but the hunger in their eyes was clear as day.
You two know, right?
That hunger for answers was a sight I'd encountered countless times while living as a Lion.
"...Haha." Auril simply laughed it off.
I just kept silent like I wasn't at all affected by what was going on. This was something that had been drilled into me over and over again through experience, and it always got me halfway to wherever I wanted to go—Lion Style Form Two: Sit Tight. Of course, even in Form Two, my gears were frantically turning as I tried to get my thoughts in order.
A secret related to the palace, huh? Perhaps he's on the palace's side.
Kagureas—what kind of man was he? The fact that I knew next to nothing about this guy, unlike the head of Orcules and the Fallen Scholar, made me even more interested in him.
However, it seemed someone didn't want to let this pointless silence drag on. "Then it's my turn." With that, Fallen Scholar dropped his bomb without delay. "That which keeps the labyrinth's mana circulating is vitality."
As soon as I heard that, a question mark formed in my head. But it seemed I wasn't the only one drawing a blank.
"...Lord Ruingenes, could you explain in simpler terms? Unlike you, we know little of the ways of magic."
"Simpler? All right." Fallen Scholar provided further explanation at Kagureas's request. "Contrary to what's commonly believed, the labyrinth is not sustained by mana. For mana to continue to circulate through it like it does now, it requires a different resource." To me, this all sounded like an alien language.
However, it seemed the woman named Ravi knew a thing or two about magic. "And you're saying that that resource is vitality," she said in apparent understanding, and Fallen Scholar nodded.
"But so what?" Kagureas asked, sounding disgruntled. "I don't think anyone here is all that curious about how the labyrinth works."
Actually, I felt the same way. Where were we supposed to use this information?
"Tsk, how annoying." When Fallen Scholar clicked his tongue, Kagureas clammed up. Seeing a muscular man tiptoe around a kid wasn't as strange a sight as one would think. Although he looked like a child, Fallen Scholar gave off the aura of someone who shouldn't be trifled with.
"Then may I explain instead?" Ravi said.
"Do as you wish," Fallen Scholar said, seemingly sulking.
"Vitality as the resource needed to create mana stones means that the labyrinth is sustained through life force. If I understood that correctly... this changes everything."
"What do you mean?"
"This means that humanity was not revived and this city was sustained by the discovery of the labyrinth. The labyrinth was sustained by the existence of this city and its people."
The back of my head tingled.
Wait, hold on... Is that true? If what she said is correct...
"...So the adventurers who die inside the labyrinth essentially serve as its fuel. Which the palace must be aware of." Thinking along the same lines I was, the head of Orcules verbalized the same conclusion I had just come to.
"Well, that's how I understood it, anyway." Ravi shrugged and glanced at Fallen Scholar.
"There is no doubt that vitality is the resource that maintains the circulation of the labyrinth. And suspicions about the palace are logical and can be derived from this fact."
"I-I see..."
"Now, is that enough? I think this is just as valuable as a vague declaration that an unidentified portal exists under the palace."
Kagureas laughed sheepishly at Fallen Scholar's sharp remark. "Haha, don't get angry. People like me don't understand stuff unless they get everything explained to them."
...Is this guy a barbarian?
I felt a strange sense of déjà vu from his manner of speech, but determining his race from that would be too much of a leap. There were plenty of adventurers who talked like him.
"Now it's Ms. Ravi's turn." All eyes turned to the woman at Auril's words.
I had some hopes riding on her, too. Not only were the previous two pieces of information extremely interesting, but this woman had met my challenge earlier head-on. Even if it wasn't to put me in my place, I was sure she'd want to prove we were all on a similar level.
"I guess it's my turn." She opened her mouth and then shared a completely unexpected piece of information. "The Primordial Dragon is dead. You all may not know this, but it happened over ten years ago."
I was stunned. I had just been wondering what incredible piece of information she was going to reveal with that determined look on her face, but that was it? I almost wanted to laugh, but the light on the jewel was green. Auril would definitely have known this already, so that meant the other three were hearing it for the first time.
"...I see. No wonder the dragon tribe has been quiet recently."
"So that's the situation."
"It's a shame that he who lived through the age of the Immortal King has died."
The trio took in this information like they were hearing a hard truth. At first, that seemed strange to me, but it made sense when I thought about it. From what I remembered, it was only after the Dragon Slayer, Regal Vagos, killed the Primordial Dragon that the new Primordial Dragon was elected.
So that was roughly around this time, right?
Since I hadn't studied the exact history, I couldn't remember the year, but that seemed to be the case.
But I didn't realize the secret was so well-kept that even these guys didn't know about it.
I pursed my lips in disappointment, but I guessed she didn't notice.
"What do you think? Was that interesting?"
"I don't know." I didn't really get why they were reacting to the death of the dragon tribe's chief like this in the first place. I couldn't believe that she was acting all pompous over something like this. Wasn't the information that was shared before hers clearly much more useful? So I just gave my honest opinion. "I don't think it's particularly valuable."
"...You're saying you're vetoing it." Ravi glared at me like I had hurt her pride. I also noticed a hint of suspicion mixed into her expression. She was probably wondering if I was putting on an act to intentionally put her down.
If you're going to act high and mighty, bring me something more interesting.
For the sake of information quality, it was necessary to kill her spirit a bit.
Is it time to bring out Form Three?
I tapped my fingers on the arm of my chair absently and said, "It's not my turn yet, but I'll say this now."
"What do you—"
How dare you speak when the Lion is speaking?
There was a chance I might be able to pass through the next round for free, so without leaving any room for interruption, I continued in one breath. "The one who killed the Primordial Dragon is a dragon man named Regal Vagos."
"...Huh?" The woman stopped mid-objection. After a short pause, the jewel turned green.
Shaaaaaa.
The silence was all too familiar to me. As it fell, I looked at Ravi and spoke like I was kindly explaining something to a bug crawling on the ground. "What do you think, is that explanation enough?"
[Lion Style Form 3: Disrespect for the Weak]