Chapter 369: Black Star (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 369: Black Star (2)
My concerns about the GM did not last long. It wasn't like worrying would help me figure anything out, right? Rather than wasting my time on something pointless, it made more sense to do what I could right now—for example, surfing the web.
Click, click.
Unlike in modern times, web surfing wasn't simply a fun pastime here. It was a valuable opportunity to gather and aggregate information to survive the next month.
"...Hehe, hehehe."
Ugh, why is this stuff so funny? It's hurting my pride.
Click, click.
As my mouse flitted back and forth, scrolling through the posts, hours flew by.
Is it almost time?
The time had come to enter the Round Table.
***
A white man sitting inside an old-fashioned library threaded his fingers together, lost in thought.
"To think that man was working with Baekho Lee."
It wasn't that he hadn't consider that possibility, but it definitely wasn't an ideal situation. Baekho, who could only be described as out of control, was stressful enough alone, but this just added to that.
"...Just where did this guy come from?"
Elfnunna joined the community about three years ago. Lion appeared at the Round Table around the same time.
He joined, pretending to be a newbie.
Why did the man enter the community? His combat power was likely no lower than Baekho's, and judging by the superior information he had access to, it seemed he had established his own faction too.
...Watchers of the Round Table.
At the time, the GM had tentatively concluded that this man's objective was simply to enter the secret chatroom. The user nicknamed 0720 was an evil spirit from another realm who had secretly infiltrated the community. He was also the whiz who had created the club called Watchers of the Round Table and filled it with big names like Corpse Collector himself. The GM had concluded that Lion must have something to do with that man.
He didn't seem to know him, though.
He had thought Lion would have some kind of reaction to seeing that chatroom password, but in reality? He had gotten no reaction until the end of the conversation. And when the GM finally mentioned it himself, it made no difference. The man seemed unable to even take a stab at why he was bringing it up.
Well, that may have been another act... But if they really aren't connected, did he join the community just to be able to contact Baekho more easily? Hmm, that could be the case.
The man reviewed and reconsidered various possibilities.
"I'm sorry. There was a problem on the bulletin board, so I wasn't able to come immediately when I got your message." A white woman appeared in the study, the nickname Soul Queen above her head. "So, why did you want to see me?"
The woman sat on the sofa across from him, and the man gave a brief summary of what had just transpired. "Lion. I met with him."
"...I see. How did it go?"
"He threatened me. To lift the ban on Baekho Lee."
"So... what are you going to do?"
"Thankfully, he said he would give me three months. I plan to make a decision within that time."
"But... do you really think he has that kind of power?" she asked cautiously.
This was something the GM had also been debating and worrying about. He knew nothing about the man except for the fact that he was a player from Korea.
Squeeze.
The man subconsciously clenched his fists.
Goddamn Koreans.
It was ridiculously unfair. The GM had only met a few Koreans since creating this community. That was because there were very few who played this game—in terms of numbers alone, their proportion of players was significantly lower than in most Western countries. But when you looked at their performance? Though he had entered the game much later than the GM, Baekho Lee had become a force to be reckoned with. And then there was the new addition of Elfnunna.
Not to mention the chances of Elfnuna being Korean are very high.
At this point, he was even starting to wonder if they were born with special genes or something.
Anyway, I didn't get to ask why he chose a nickname related to Elfnuna. Well, I guess he wouldn't have answered, anyway.
The GM believed that whoever cleared the original version of the game before coming into this world was likely to be Elfnuna. While everyone else took the easy way out and enjoyed the modded versions, that person kept slogging through the original.
"Master?" the woman called.
"Ah, I was thinking about something else." The man returned to the present and gave her orders. "It is as you say, Soul Queen. We don't have any information about him yet. So, I want you to look into it more actively. Provoke him as little as possible."
At the man's instructions, the woman paused for a moment. She usually handled things with confidence, but in that moment her voice was full of reluctance. "...I'll try."
***
Putting on my mask as usual, I crossed the quiet hallway and arrived at the room that housed the Round Table. Everyone was already inside by the time I entered.
"...You're here! I was worried, pshehe!" Clown, who had apparently been anxious that I might skip the Round Table this month, stood up and welcomed me.
When my eyes met Queen's, she awkwardly glanced away. Well, considering what happened last time, and since my meeting with the GM earlier would have already reached her ears by now, I got it. When I sat down, I noticed Fox was across from me. She acknowledged me with a look as soon as our eyes met.
"Tsk." I felt a constant disappointment when I looked at her. If I hadn't suddenly been transported to the past, I could have used that situation she was in to uncover her identity.
"Um..." While I was busy trying to bite back my displeasure, Fox cautiously spoke up. "Did I do something wrong...?" At first, I wondered what she was talking about, but I quickly realized what it was.
Oh, it's because I clicked my tongue.
Just like how if you threw stones willy-nilly, sometimes you killed a frog by accident, it seemed like Fox and the others were scrambling to figure out why I was mad at her. I made no effort to clear up this misunderstanding.
"Hm." It was an ambiguous answer that neither confirmed nor denied anything. Fox gulped at that. She seemed to think she'd made some kind of mistake without realizing it.
Welp, that makes me feel a bit bad... Let's just change the subject.
"Then let's begin."
Just in time, open entry came to an end and the door to the Round Table closed, so the others stopped worrying about whatever mistake Fox supposedly made and focused on the present.
"But... do you really think he has that kind of power?" she asked cautiously.
This was something the GM had also been debating and worrying about. He knew nothing about the man except for the fact that he was a player from Korea.
Squeeze.
The man subconsciously clenched his fists.
Goddamn Koreans.
It was ridiculously unfair. The GM had only met a few Koreans since creating this community. That was because there were very few who played this game—in terms of numbers alone, their proportion of players was significantly lower than in most Western countries. But when you looked at their performance? Though he had entered the game much later than the GM, Baekho Lee had become a force to be reckoned with. And then there was the new addition of Elfnunna.
Not to mention the chances of Elfnuna being Korean are very high.
At this point, he was even starting to wonder if they were born with special genes or something.
Anyway, I didn't get to ask why he chose a nickname related to Elfnuna. Well, I guess he wouldn't have answered, anyway.
The GM believed that whoever cleared the original version of the game before coming into this world was likely to be Elfnuna. While everyone else took the easy way out and enjoyed the modded versions, that person kept slogging through the original.
"Master?" the woman called.
"Ah, I was thinking about something else." The man returned to the present and gave her orders. "It is as you say, Soul Queen. We don't have any information about him yet. So, I want you to look into it more actively. Provoke him as little as possible."
At the man's instructions, the woman paused for a moment. She usually handled things with confidence, but in that moment her voice was full of reluctance. "...I'll try."
***
Putting on my mask as usual, I crossed the quiet hallway and arrived at the room that housed the Round Table. Everyone was already inside by the time I entered.
"...You're here! I was worried, pshehe!" Clown, who had apparently been anxious that I might skip the Round Table this month, stood up and welcomed me.
When my eyes met Queen's, she awkwardly glanced away. Well, considering what happened last time, and since my meeting with the GM earlier would have already reached her ears by now, I got it. When I sat down, I noticed Fox was across from me. She acknowledged me with a look as soon as our eyes met.
"Tsk." I felt a constant disappointment when I looked at her. If I hadn't suddenly been transported to the past, I could have used that situation she was in to uncover her identity.
"Um..." While I was busy trying to bite back my displeasure, Fox cautiously spoke up. "Did I do something wrong...?" At first, I wondered what she was talking about, but I quickly realized what it was.
Oh, it's because I clicked my tongue.
Just like how if you threw stones willy-nilly, sometimes you killed a frog by accident, it seemed like Fox and the others were scrambling to figure out why I was mad at her. I made no effort to clear up this misunderstanding.
"Hm." It was an ambiguous answer that neither confirmed nor denied anything. Fox gulped at that. She seemed to think she'd made some kind of mistake without realizing it.
Welp, that makes me feel a bit bad... Let's just change the subject.
"Then let's begin."
Just in time, open entry came to an end and the door to the Round Table closed, so the others stopped worrying about whatever mistake Fox supposedly made and focused on the present.
"I'm already looking forward to how interesting the discussion will be this time, pshehe."
"Then I guess we're starting over there?"
At Crescent's question, all eyes turned to Deer, who was situated on my left. This was an unspoken rule of the Round Table. The round had to start from my left so I would go last. These guys revealed their information first, and my job was to listen to it, judge it, and then reveal corresponding information.
Whew, I really did establish a good position for myself.
"...I'll go first." Deer kicked things off by calmly presenting the information he had prepared. "The National Incorporation of Evil Spirits bill was brought up in a royal assembly again for the first time in 150 years. Of course, the motion was immediately removed from the agenda due to overwhelming opposition." It was a short tidbit that was difficult to understand unless you'd worked in public office.
What does that mean?
I had no clue. Of course, that wasn't a problem. Whenever I faced a lack of knowledge, there was always a guy who took the initiative to help me out.
"National Incorporation Bill...?" Goblin asked, his voice small.
Soul Queen stepped in to explain. "The proposal is to not condemn evil spirits as the enemy, but rather embrace and accept them as subjects. It was proposed once 150 years ago, but struck down for various reasons."
"I-I see... But it's very surprising to hear something like that from the palace..."
"Pshehe, it sounds to me like they're low on manpower—"
"I don't know. At the very least, this proves you know nothing about the palace's manpower."
"...Why are you always picking fights with me?"
"Oh my, so self-conscious. I only spoke the truth."
When Soul Queen laughed breezily, Clown shut up. He was strangely weak against her. Was it because she already gave him a couple of verbal beatdowns?
That bastard is the embodiment of a coward...
Anyway, Deer's information received a green light on the first attempt, marking a promising start to the meeting, and we immediately moved on to the next person.
This time, it was Goblin. "Ahem, a few days ago, the Church of Reatlas received a prophecy."
"You're... not finished, are you?"
"Haha, of course not. Anyway, when I looked into it, the contents were quite strange."
"Why don't you stop dragging it out and just get to the point? It only makes you look ridiculous, pshehe."
At Clown's accusation, Goblin glanced at him as if to ask why he always bullied him before finally getting to the point. "'The king's blood bears a black star, so help the one who will become its master.' That was the prophecy."
Reatlas was the Goddess of the Stars. As this was a prophecy from a god who governed fate and the future of souls, there was plenty of room for interpretation.
"A black star, huh? Could that be referring to treason?"
"I think it could be interpreted as the king having secret communication with Noark."
"But... 'help the one who will become its owner?'"
"Perhaps it means the queen is pregnant. And the kid is Black, pshehe!"
"...Must you always be so offensive?"
"Why? What's wrong with being Black? Was I being racist?" Clown cackled like he'd told a hilarious joke, but the reactions of the people around him were cold.
"I'm already looking forward to how interesting the discussion will be this time, pshehe."
"Then I guess we're starting over there?"
At Crescent's question, all eyes turned to Deer, who was situated on my left. This was an unspoken rule of the Round Table. The round had to start from my left so I would go last. These guys revealed their information first, and my job was to listen to it, judge it, and then reveal corresponding information.
Whew, I really did establish a good position for myself.
"...I'll go first." Deer kicked things off by calmly presenting the information he had prepared. "The National Incorporation of Evil Spirits bill was brought up in a royal assembly again for the first time in 150 years. Of course, the motion was immediately removed from the agenda due to overwhelming opposition." It was a short tidbit that was difficult to understand unless you'd worked in public office.
What does that mean?
I had no clue. Of course, that wasn't a problem. Whenever I faced a lack of knowledge, there was always a guy who took the initiative to help me out.
"National Incorporation Bill...?" Goblin asked, his voice small.
Soul Queen stepped in to explain. "The proposal is to not condemn evil spirits as the enemy, but rather embrace and accept them as subjects. It was proposed once 150 years ago, but struck down for various reasons."
"I-I see... But it's very surprising to hear something like that from the palace..."
"Pshehe, it sounds to me like they're low on manpower—"
"I don't know. At the very least, this proves you know nothing about the palace's manpower."
"...Why are you always picking fights with me?"
"Oh my, so self-conscious. I only spoke the truth."
When Soul Queen laughed breezily, Clown shut up. He was strangely weak against her. Was it because she already gave him a couple of verbal beatdowns?
That bastard is the embodiment of a coward...
Anyway, Deer's information received a green light on the first attempt, marking a promising start to the meeting, and we immediately moved on to the next person.
This time, it was Goblin. "Ahem, a few days ago, the Church of Reatlas received a prophecy."
"You're... not finished, are you?"
"Haha, of course not. Anyway, when I looked into it, the contents were quite strange."
"Why don't you stop dragging it out and just get to the point? It only makes you look ridiculous, pshehe."
At Clown's accusation, Goblin glanced at him as if to ask why he always bullied him before finally getting to the point. "'The king's blood bears a black star, so help the one who will become its master.' That was the prophecy."
Reatlas was the Goddess of the Stars. As this was a prophecy from a god who governed fate and the future of souls, there was plenty of room for interpretation.
"A black star, huh? Could that be referring to treason?"
"I think it could be interpreted as the king having secret communication with Noark."
"But... 'help the one who will become its owner?'"
"Perhaps it means the queen is pregnant. And the kid is Black, pshehe!"
"...Must you always be so offensive?"
"Why? What's wrong with being Black? Was I being racist?" Clown cackled like he'd told a hilarious joke, but the reactions of the people around him were cold.
This son of a bitch clearly never had any friends. That's why he was playing Dungeon and Stone... God damn it.
I stopped that train of thought there because I sensed that it could wreck my self-esteem. Just in time, the conversation around the prophecy wrapped up. Most prophecies were like that—no matter how much effort you put into interpreting them, in the end, you only found out what they really meant later.
"It's my turn now." The third turn was Crescent's. He used to bring us epic information about the Genesis Treasures, but there hadn't been anything like that recently. Unfortunately, today was more of the same.
Jeez, he always tries to get through his turn with information on the war. Well, I guess it'll still come in handy someday.
Since I wasn't leading a clan, though, it was difficult to get much out of this information. In that sense, next.
"The palace has begun passing on military ship manufacturing technology to the civilian population. It seems it was unavoidable since they needed help to repair damaged military ships in a timely manner. There's a chance we'll see large clans traveling on military ships soon." Fox's information was just like Crescent's. It was in line with her interests and she explained its implications logically, but that was all.
This round was mediocre, though maybe it's because it's the first.
If there was anything of interest, it was the information about the prophecy and the motion raised in the palace meetings.
Accept evil spirits, huh? Will that ever happen?
Even as I entertained the thought, I didn't have high expectations. Deer said so himself: it was mentioned only once and quickly disappeared from the agenda thanks to the opposition.
"Pshehe, then it's my turn."
We were now halfway through the round, meaning it was Clown's turn. Unfortunately, his information was not helpful to me, either. Rather, it made my life harder.
"Lighthouse Keeper is dead." Starting with something everyone here knew about, Clown proceeded to rat on me to the Round Table. "The public thinks it was the work of Blood Spirit, but in reality, that's completely wrong. It wasn't Blood Spirit, but a strange man that wild woman brought along with her."
"...Strange man?"
"Yes, at first I thought she was just dragging him along as a replacement for Bjorn Yandel when I saw he had Orc Hero's Giantization."
"Riehen Schuitz. The palace is also keeping an eye on him."
"Pshehe, was that his name? Anyway, I want information about this man at the next Round Table, so I'll go into more detail. I don't know where this guy came from, but he is an outrageous monster that even the four of us couldn't kill together. Pshehe."
"...Someone like that exists?"
"Wait, the Golden Wizard didn't say anything like that in her report. Are you certain?"
"If not, would the green light have come on?"
The members of the Round Table were astonished and expressed a deep interest in Clown's words.
Ugh, what should I do about these bastards who all want to investigate me now?
I sighed inwardly.
What the—why is this woman looking at me?
I felt eyes on me, and when I discreetly glanced in the direction I sensed them, I could see Soul Queen had her gaze locked on me. For some reason, she was muttering something to herself at a volume only I, the person beside her, could hear.
"Giantization... joined three years ago... Blood Spirit..."
Had she noticed something? No, it was likely she'd hit the final stage of puzzle solving where you put the last pieces in place, the solution almost within your reach. But it seemed she wasn't the only one who was picking up on the fact that something was off here.
It started with Goblin. "Wait, what if it's not a substitute but really him? Giantization is not a common skill. You said he even had an ogre's essence..."
Fox nodded. "Even someone like Blood Spirit wouldn't go so far as to hire a stand-in and call him the same name she called him..."
Clown laughed their suspicions off. "Pshehe, what are you all talking about? Bjorn Yandel is dead."
"What if he's alive? And has grown stronger without anyone knowing? Then it would make sense that the Golden Wizard omitted this from her report," Deer said, almost to himself.
"That makes sense. After all, he was exposed as an evil spirit not long after his disappearance. It's possible he faked his own death for that reason," Crescent theorized.
"If Bjorn Yandel really is alive..." Queen glanced at me. "That period overlaps with the period during which Mr. Lion disappeared."
At that moment, all eyes turned to me. Are you Bjorn Yandel? they wanted to ask, but having had bad experiences with me in the past, they couldn't bring themselves to open their mouths and openly question me.
Well, I'd considered the possibility of this happening. Now that it was, I didn't feel particularly cornered. That was because all I needed was one good alibi, right?
"That again?" I placed my hand on the Round Table's jewel and said, "Since it seems everyone is curious about me, I'll go before Soul Queen this time." My tone was mocking, like I found their suspicions amusing. "The first time I came to this community was twenty-two years ago."
The green light came on.
This son of a bitch clearly never had any friends. That's why he was playing Dungeon and Stone... God damn it.
I stopped that train of thought there because I sensed that it could wreck my self-esteem. Just in time, the conversation around the prophecy wrapped up. Most prophecies were like that—no matter how much effort you put into interpreting them, in the end, you only found out what they really meant later.
"It's my turn now." The third turn was Crescent's. He used to bring us epic information about the Genesis Treasures, but there hadn't been anything like that recently. Unfortunately, today was more of the same.
Jeez, he always tries to get through his turn with information on the war. Well, I guess it'll still come in handy someday.
Since I wasn't leading a clan, though, it was difficult to get much out of this information. In that sense, next.
"The palace has begun passing on military ship manufacturing technology to the civilian population. It seems it was unavoidable since they needed help to repair damaged military ships in a timely manner. There's a chance we'll see large clans traveling on military ships soon." Fox's information was just like Crescent's. It was in line with her interests and she explained its implications logically, but that was all.
This round was mediocre, though maybe it's because it's the first.
If there was anything of interest, it was the information about the prophecy and the motion raised in the palace meetings.
Accept evil spirits, huh? Will that ever happen?
Even as I entertained the thought, I didn't have high expectations. Deer said so himself: it was mentioned only once and quickly disappeared from the agenda thanks to the opposition.
"Pshehe, then it's my turn."
We were now halfway through the round, meaning it was Clown's turn. Unfortunately, his information was not helpful to me, either. Rather, it made my life harder.
"Lighthouse Keeper is dead." Starting with something everyone here knew about, Clown proceeded to rat on me to the Round Table. "The public thinks it was the work of Blood Spirit, but in reality, that's completely wrong. It wasn't Blood Spirit, but a strange man that wild woman brought along with her."
"...Strange man?"
"Yes, at first I thought she was just dragging him along as a replacement for Bjorn Yandel when I saw he had Orc Hero's Giantization."
"Riehen Schuitz. The palace is also keeping an eye on him."
"Pshehe, was that his name? Anyway, I want information about this man at the next Round Table, so I'll go into more detail. I don't know where this guy came from, but he is an outrageous monster that even the four of us couldn't kill together. Pshehe."
"...Someone like that exists?"
"Wait, the Golden Wizard didn't say anything like that in her report. Are you certain?"
"If not, would the green light have come on?"
The members of the Round Table were astonished and expressed a deep interest in Clown's words.
Ugh, what should I do about these bastards who all want to investigate me now?
I sighed inwardly.
What the—why is this woman looking at me?
I felt eyes on me, and when I discreetly glanced in the direction I sensed them, I could see Soul Queen had her gaze locked on me. For some reason, she was muttering something to herself at a volume only I, the person beside her, could hear.
"Giantization... joined three years ago... Blood Spirit..."
Had she noticed something? No, it was likely she'd hit the final stage of puzzle solving where you put the last pieces in place, the solution almost within your reach. But it seemed she wasn't the only one who was picking up on the fact that something was off here.
It started with Goblin. "Wait, what if it's not a substitute but really him? Giantization is not a common skill. You said he even had an ogre's essence..."
Fox nodded. "Even someone like Blood Spirit wouldn't go so far as to hire a stand-in and call him the same name she called him..."
Clown laughed their suspicions off. "Pshehe, what are you all talking about? Bjorn Yandel is dead."
"What if he's alive? And has grown stronger without anyone knowing? Then it would make sense that the Golden Wizard omitted this from her report," Deer said, almost to himself.
"That makes sense. After all, he was exposed as an evil spirit not long after his disappearance. It's possible he faked his own death for that reason," Crescent theorized.
"If Bjorn Yandel really is alive..." Queen glanced at me. "That period overlaps with the period during which Mr. Lion disappeared."
At that moment, all eyes turned to me. Are you Bjorn Yandel? they wanted to ask, but having had bad experiences with me in the past, they couldn't bring themselves to open their mouths and openly question me.
Well, I'd considered the possibility of this happening. Now that it was, I didn't feel particularly cornered. That was because all I needed was one good alibi, right?
"That again?" I placed my hand on the Round Table's jewel and said, "Since it seems everyone is curious about me, I'll go before Soul Queen this time." My tone was mocking, like I found their suspicions amusing. "The first time I came to this community was twenty-two years ago."
The green light came on.