Chapter 471: Between an Ally and an Enemy (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 471: Between an Ally and an Enemy (3)
Fox, Goblin, Clown, Queen, Deer, Crescent, and me—Lion—had been the regulars at the Round Table for some time now. However, today, three new members were joining us.
"Oh, are you Mr. Lion? It's great to meet you!" said someone wearing a wolf mask, their tone distinctly sly.
"Hm..." hummed someone wearing a black mask with no distinctive features, the sound almost silent.
"Hellooo..." said the one in the butterfly mask, their voice young and youthful.
While I studied the trio, Fox quickly read the room and began to explain. "Mr. Wolf here used to come here often before you joined, Mr. Lion."
"Haha! Ever since Master left, I've been busy. I had completely forgotten about this place, but once I remembered it, I decided to come back."
"Pshehe, I thought you died ages ago. How did you manage to survive all this time?"
"Ha! I see that Mr. Clown is as cruel as ever!"
Wolf, at least, had been confirmed to be a returning member. When I glanced at the other two, Fox introduced them as well.
"As for those two... This is my first time meeting them as well."
So Black Mask and Butterfly Mask were genuine newbies. Fox had been at the Round Table the longest out of all of us, so if anyone would know, it'd be her. But that raised another issue.
Why would there suddenly be newbies now...?
This was suspicious. The last newcomer was Queen, who had become a member through the help of the GM and not by invitation. Before the two of us, there hadn't been any new members added to the Round Table for several years.
"Anyway, it must be fate that we're all meeting here today like this. Let's all shake hands! So everyone calls you Queen here, right...? Hm?" Wolf stretched out his hand to shake Queen's, but she simply glanced at it before walking over to her seat. "Haha... Yeah! I guess there's no need for a handshake!" He sat down too, looking quite embarrassed.
Black Mask stayed put in their seat, paying the rest of us little mind.
"A-Ahem..." When Butterfly's eyes met mine, she awkwardly cleared her throat and quickly looked away.
Slam!
The door to the Round Table slammed shut, signaling the chatroom had closed. An odd silence fell. The other members seemed equally taken aback by the sudden appearance of two newcomers.
Gulp.
In the silence, the sound of Goblin swallowing was particularly loud.
"Now... Since Mr. Lion is here, why don't we continue with the conversation we were having earlier?" Queen, who had been silently watching the situation unfold, was the first to speak up. "I understand that Mr. Wolf has come back, but I am curious as to how the two of you joined. Ms. Butterfly and... Hm, what should I call you?"
"...Black," Black Mask quietly replied.
I was momentarily confused by how deep their voice was, but it seemed to belong to a woman.
"Black... All right. So how did you and Ms. Butterfly here join? Did you perhaps meet the 'Master'?"
"Hehe..." Butterfly let out an awkward laugh in response to Queen's question.
"Why should I answer that?" Black replied bluntly.
Following her lead, Butterfly quickly chimed in. "Yeah, Ms. Black is right. It's against the rules to ask about our identities... right?" Butterfly smiled, seemingly satisfied at having successfully defended their right to remain silent, but then much to my surprise, she didn't stop there. "Just because you wear a queen's mask, that doesn't make you a real queen, hehe."
"...What did you say?"
"Eh? Nothing!"
Queen was rendered speechless by Butterfly's harsh comment. However innocent she may sound, it seemed she had a sharp tongue. It was a striking contrast.
Interesting... She has more of a backbone than she seems to at first glance.
It seemed that everyone there had the same impression. It didn't take long for Clown to let out a peal of hysteric laughter. "Haha! Bahaha! Ah, excuse me... Looks like we've got someone interesting joining us!"
"Thank youuu!"
"Pshehe."
"Hehe..."
The two strangely seemed to be on the same wavelength. What, did jokers like them share a special connection or something? If so, I had no desire to understand their weird little world.
"Let me just give you one piece of advice. Be careful what you say to Mr. Lion over there."
"Hehe... Is that so?"
"You're not going to ask me why?"
"It's just... The moment I saw him I got the same feeling...?"
Butterfly glanced at Queen with a smile. Even though she didn't say anything, it was clear what that look meant. Something along the lines of, Unlike when I saw you.
"...Ha!" Queen scoffed, apparently picking up on the subtext as well. But I wasn't really interested in their bickering.
"So, when do we staaart...? I've been looking forward to today..."
All of the returning members quickly glanced my way for approval to begin. It seemed that they thought of me as the head of the Round Table now, so they were asking if it was okay for these mysterious newcomers to join in today. I was fine with it, of course. I didn't even have the authority to kick them out anyway.
"This will be fun." Plus, I was curious about them too.
"Haha, I'm getting all excited. It's been a while."
"Hm..."
"Hehe... Then who shall we start with? It's a bit intimidating to be the first to gooo..."
Just who are these people?
Wolf, who was making a mysterious comeback; Black, who looked like she had a lot of secrets; and Butterfly, who clearly had trouble keeping her mouth shut... All three of our new members were suspicious. Wolf was a returner, though, so he at least didn't seem as bad as Black and Butterfly.
But still, to come back out of nowhere after being gone for years...
His return today didn't seem like a mere coincidence. Despite this being his first visit in years, he didn't even seem particularly interested in where the Master was.
"By the way, Mr. Wolf. You said it's been a while since you last attended one of these meetings, yet you haven't asked us any questions about Master." Queen, who was apparently thinking along the same lines as I was, ended up addressing Wolf on my behalf.
"Haha, this is Master we're talking about. I'm sure he's doing well wherever he is."
"Hmm, is that so?"
"...Anyway, why don't we decide on the order? Oh, by the way, I don't care what it is as long as I'm not first."
Ha, seriously, why was he acting so suspicious? From where I was sitting, there was already a good chance that Auril Gavis, who was the Master of the Round Table, sent these people here to mess with us. At least one of them, if not all three.
"...What did you say?"
"Eh? Nothing!"
Queen was rendered speechless by Butterfly's harsh comment. However innocent she may sound, it seemed she had a sharp tongue. It was a striking contrast.
Interesting... She has more of a backbone than she seems to at first glance.
It seemed that everyone there had the same impression. It didn't take long for Clown to let out a peal of hysteric laughter. "Haha! Bahaha! Ah, excuse me... Looks like we've got someone interesting joining us!"
"Thank youuu!"
"Pshehe."
"Hehe..."
The two strangely seemed to be on the same wavelength. What, did jokers like them share a special connection or something? If so, I had no desire to understand their weird little world.
"Let me just give you one piece of advice. Be careful what you say to Mr. Lion over there."
"Hehe... Is that so?"
"You're not going to ask me why?"
"It's just... The moment I saw him I got the same feeling...?"
Butterfly glanced at Queen with a smile. Even though she didn't say anything, it was clear what that look meant. Something along the lines of, Unlike when I saw you.
"...Ha!" Queen scoffed, apparently picking up on the subtext as well. But I wasn't really interested in their bickering.
"So, when do we staaart...? I've been looking forward to today..."
All of the returning members quickly glanced my way for approval to begin. It seemed that they thought of me as the head of the Round Table now, so they were asking if it was okay for these mysterious newcomers to join in today. I was fine with it, of course. I didn't even have the authority to kick them out anyway.
"This will be fun." Plus, I was curious about them too.
"Haha, I'm getting all excited. It's been a while."
"Hm..."
"Hehe... Then who shall we start with? It's a bit intimidating to be the first to gooo..."
Just who are these people?
Wolf, who was making a mysterious comeback; Black, who looked like she had a lot of secrets; and Butterfly, who clearly had trouble keeping her mouth shut... All three of our new members were suspicious. Wolf was a returner, though, so he at least didn't seem as bad as Black and Butterfly.
But still, to come back out of nowhere after being gone for years...
His return today didn't seem like a mere coincidence. Despite this being his first visit in years, he didn't even seem particularly interested in where the Master was.
"By the way, Mr. Wolf. You said it's been a while since you last attended one of these meetings, yet you haven't asked us any questions about Master." Queen, who was apparently thinking along the same lines as I was, ended up addressing Wolf on my behalf.
"Haha, this is Master we're talking about. I'm sure he's doing well wherever he is."
"Hmm, is that so?"
"...Anyway, why don't we decide on the order? Oh, by the way, I don't care what it is as long as I'm not first."
Ha, seriously, why was he acting so suspicious? From where I was sitting, there was already a good chance that Auril Gavis, who was the Master of the Round Table, sent these people here to mess with us. At least one of them, if not all three.
Though the most likely suspects are still Black and Butterfly.
There weren't a ton of ways to become a new member of the Round Table. You could be like Queen and get in thanks to the GM's admin powers, or you could join using an old invite code like I did. Those seemed to be the only two ways, in fact, and since Auril Gavis was the Master, he probably still had several codes lying around that he could hand out.
There's also the possibility that Queen is working with one of them and just pretending not to know them.
Those were all just theories right now, though.
"Let's start with Wolf since he's sitting next to Mr. Lion. Pshehe, that's tradition, after all."
For now, I'd have to keep my eyes peeled and wait for them to slip up and give me a clue to work with.
"Tradition? What do you mean? I don't remember anything like—"
"Wolf, a lot has changed since the last time you were here. If you don't like it, then leave."
Wolf seemed a bit taken aback by Clown's harsh tone. "Ahem..."
"Pshehe. You're not leaving, so that must mean you didn't stumble your way back here out of pure coincidence. Did you hear something about us recently?"
Clown was doing his best to dig for clues from Wolf too.
"Haha, it's just been a while, that's all. Anyway, going first is no problem. Since the rules changed while I was gone, it's only right that I follow them now that I'm back," Wolf said with a hearty laugh, kicking off his turn. "So, I'll start." He then sank deep into thought, trying to decide what to tell us, before finally opening his mouth. "Actually, I came back because I recently learned something amazing. But there was nobody else I could—"
"Mr. Wolf, were you always this yappy?"
When Clown cut him off with an impatient scowl, Wolf let out an embarrassed laugh, cleared his throat, and got to the point. "The Master of the Round Table is Auril Gavis."
Complete silence fell over the Round Table, and the reason for that was simple.
"This is huge, right? The person who gathered all of us here and provided us with information was none other than the same man who made Dungeon and Stone!"
This was the same piece of information Queen had given us last month.
"...Huh?" When the red light on the jewel blinked on, Wolf flinched in shock. "Wh-what's going on...?"
"Isn't it obvious? That means the majority of us already knew that. Ah, did you forget how this works since it's been a while? Why don't you try again and give us something interesting this time instead of something so boring?"
That was a bit hilarious of Clown to say considering he had been blown away by the very same piece of information just last month, but thanks to his theatrics, one thing was made clear.
Wolf didn't know what was going on here at the Round Table.
If he did, he wouldn't be bringing us information that we discussed last month. That also meant he wasn't in contact with any of the regular members. Well, there was still the possibility that this was all an act, of course.
Wolf let out a heavy sigh before giving it another shot. "Then I'll try again. The royal family is the one dragging players into this world, and Auril Gavis's goal is to help the players escape."
The moment the words left his mouth, the jewel began to glow green.
"So," he asked, "how about that?"
Though the most likely suspects are still Black and Butterfly.
There weren't a ton of ways to become a new member of the Round Table. You could be like Queen and get in thanks to the GM's admin powers, or you could join using an old invite code like I did. Those seemed to be the only two ways, in fact, and since Auril Gavis was the Master, he probably still had several codes lying around that he could hand out.
There's also the possibility that Queen is working with one of them and just pretending not to know them.
Those were all just theories right now, though.
"Let's start with Wolf since he's sitting next to Mr. Lion. Pshehe, that's tradition, after all."
For now, I'd have to keep my eyes peeled and wait for them to slip up and give me a clue to work with.
"Tradition? What do you mean? I don't remember anything like—"
"Wolf, a lot has changed since the last time you were here. If you don't like it, then leave."
Wolf seemed a bit taken aback by Clown's harsh tone. "Ahem..."
"Pshehe. You're not leaving, so that must mean you didn't stumble your way back here out of pure coincidence. Did you hear something about us recently?"
Clown was doing his best to dig for clues from Wolf too.
"Haha, it's just been a while, that's all. Anyway, going first is no problem. Since the rules changed while I was gone, it's only right that I follow them now that I'm back," Wolf said with a hearty laugh, kicking off his turn. "So, I'll start." He then sank deep into thought, trying to decide what to tell us, before finally opening his mouth. "Actually, I came back because I recently learned something amazing. But there was nobody else I could—"
"Mr. Wolf, were you always this yappy?"
When Clown cut him off with an impatient scowl, Wolf let out an embarrassed laugh, cleared his throat, and got to the point. "The Master of the Round Table is Auril Gavis."
Complete silence fell over the Round Table, and the reason for that was simple.
"This is huge, right? The person who gathered all of us here and provided us with information was none other than the same man who made Dungeon and Stone!"
This was the same piece of information Queen had given us last month.
"...Huh?" When the red light on the jewel blinked on, Wolf flinched in shock. "Wh-what's going on...?"
"Isn't it obvious? That means the majority of us already knew that. Ah, did you forget how this works since it's been a while? Why don't you try again and give us something interesting this time instead of something so boring?"
That was a bit hilarious of Clown to say considering he had been blown away by the very same piece of information just last month, but thanks to his theatrics, one thing was made clear.
Wolf didn't know what was going on here at the Round Table.
If he did, he wouldn't be bringing us information that we discussed last month. That also meant he wasn't in contact with any of the regular members. Well, there was still the possibility that this was all an act, of course.
Wolf let out a heavy sigh before giving it another shot. "Then I'll try again. The royal family is the one dragging players into this world, and Auril Gavis's goal is to help the players escape."
The moment the words left his mouth, the jewel began to glow green.
"So," he asked, "how about that?"
No one answered immediately, for obvious reasons. Not only did this guy blatantly reveal that he had some sort of relationship with Auril Gavis, but...
"...The royal family is behind all of this? Is that information credible?"
This was a bombshell reveal. Countless theories were circulating among the players, but none of them suggested that it was the royal family who was behind it all. Because the royal family had no discernable motive to do all this.
"Why would the palace bring us to this world only to label us evil spirits? That doesn't make any sense."
Instead of answering Deer's question, Wolf drew a line in the sand. "I can't go into details, but I can tell you that this information is reliable. It came from a trusted source."
"Pshehe, you talk as if you heard it from the king himself."
Clown attempted to sound him out but to no avail.
"Ah, if you're curious, how about I tell you next round? Anyway, who's next?"
Next up was Fox, who shared information about the war. I didn't really listen to it. I already knew everything she was going to say.
But is the royal family really the reason we were brought to this world...?
I was still thinking about it. Or rather, I was still trying to figure out whether or not there was any truth to the statement.
How much of what that guy said can I really believe?
The jewel might have been green, but the Round Table had a major loophole. Namely, as long as the person believed that what they were saying was true, then the jewel would turn green. Which was the crux of the issue.
There's a chance that he's mistaken.
The next question, then, was why Wolf would believe this to be true, though really, that wasn't all that important. The real question was:
Why did Wolf bring this up at the Round Table?
The answer lay in the information he gave us.
Because he wants the players to redirect their hatred toward the royal family.
And there was one person who stood to gain the most from us doing so.
Auril Gavis must have sent Wolf here with false information on purpose.
Was that a ridiculous conclusion to jump to? I wasn't sure, but for now, I decided to clear my head and focus on the conversation.
"...It's your turn now."
Without me even noticing, we had already gotten through Fox, Goblin, Crescent, and Deer. It was now one of the rookies' turns.
"Ms. Black."
Aka, the second suspect.
"There is another way for players to return to Earth aside from the Gate of the Abyss."
Black kept things short and sweet and got a green light from the jewel in return. Given the topic at hand, the other members frantically bombarded her with questions. However, she remained silent, not answering a single one.
...A way back to Earth.
There was only one other possible way I knew of.
She must be talking about dimensional magic...
I first learned about dimensional magic when I visited the Round Table twenty years ago. Fallen Scholar was studying it to return to his home planet, and he'd even achieved some success at the time. Maybe that magic was the real reason Baekho had joined forces with him. That wasn't the important thing right now, though.
Black... could she be a spy sent by Baekho Lee?
There were several reasons why I was beginning to suspect that was the case. First, Baekho would know about Fallen Scholar's dimensional magic as well. Second, it wouldn't be strange if he had another spare code lying around, just like the one he gave me.
...But most importantly, he has a clear motive. He wants to know more about me.
"...It's your turn now, Queen."
Queen and Clown always competed with each other to see who would dish out the highest quality information. However, this time she only spoke of general politics, presumably wary of sharing anything else with the new members. Although it was somewhat interesting stuff, it was clear that she was only using it as a way to skip her turn.
"...Heh, is it my turn now?" It was finally time for Butterfly to go. She confidently launched into her intel without a moment's pause, almost like she had prepared it in advance. "The palace can deliberately cause a dimensional collapse."
Ha, somehow, these newbies had come to the table with more useful information than the regular members.
"...That means the rumors were true."
Everyone looked surprised by this news, but no one questioned its authenticity or the source. Unlike Wolf's and Black's information earlier, we all already suspected as much. It was also clear that Butterfly wouldn't answer any questions, even if we asked.
"Pshehe, then is it my turn?"
Finally, it was Clown's turn.
"Not too long ago, Noark began to tackle the ninth floor in earnest."
This was a valuable piece of information that added to the existing members' street cred. Naturally, it got an easy green light, and everyone's eyes shifted to me.
"Then..."
It was now my turn. I'd already decided what I was going to say ages ago.
"How could I ever be at peace? Of course I feel sorry for you. I feel responsible as well. I will probably live with and atone for this for the rest of my life."
I recalled the things I felt during my conversation with Auril Gavis that day.
Tap, tap.
I narrowed my eyes at Wolf and opened my mouth. It didn't matter whether the king himself was the one who summoned us to this world. In my heart of hearts, this is what I truly believed. "Auril Gavis is the enemy of all players."
Shaaaaaa.
As if to validate my conviction, the jewel turned green. It didn't take long for everyone to react.
"...Mr. Lion, can you really back that claim?" Wolf cautiously asked.
I had no reason to worry about my credibility coming into question, though. While Wolf had been gone this entire time, I had done a good job of establishing myself in his absence.
"...Pshehe. Since Mr. Lion said it, it must be true."
As long as the jewel turned green when I spoke, it would take dozens of documents and pieces of evidence to refute a single thing I said.
No one answered immediately, for obvious reasons. Not only did this guy blatantly reveal that he had some sort of relationship with Auril Gavis, but...
"...The royal family is behind all of this? Is that information credible?"
This was a bombshell reveal. Countless theories were circulating among the players, but none of them suggested that it was the royal family who was behind it all. Because the royal family had no discernable motive to do all this.
"Why would the palace bring us to this world only to label us evil spirits? That doesn't make any sense."
Instead of answering Deer's question, Wolf drew a line in the sand. "I can't go into details, but I can tell you that this information is reliable. It came from a trusted source."
"Pshehe, you talk as if you heard it from the king himself."
Clown attempted to sound him out but to no avail.
"Ah, if you're curious, how about I tell you next round? Anyway, who's next?"
Next up was Fox, who shared information about the war. I didn't really listen to it. I already knew everything she was going to say.
But is the royal family really the reason we were brought to this world...?
I was still thinking about it. Or rather, I was still trying to figure out whether or not there was any truth to the statement.
How much of what that guy said can I really believe?
The jewel might have been green, but the Round Table had a major loophole. Namely, as long as the person believed that what they were saying was true, then the jewel would turn green. Which was the crux of the issue.
There's a chance that he's mistaken.
The next question, then, was why Wolf would believe this to be true, though really, that wasn't all that important. The real question was:
Why did Wolf bring this up at the Round Table?
The answer lay in the information he gave us.
Because he wants the players to redirect their hatred toward the royal family.
And there was one person who stood to gain the most from us doing so.
Auril Gavis must have sent Wolf here with false information on purpose.
Was that a ridiculous conclusion to jump to? I wasn't sure, but for now, I decided to clear my head and focus on the conversation.
"...It's your turn now."
Without me even noticing, we had already gotten through Fox, Goblin, Crescent, and Deer. It was now one of the rookies' turns.
"Ms. Black."
Aka, the second suspect.
"There is another way for players to return to Earth aside from the Gate of the Abyss."
Black kept things short and sweet and got a green light from the jewel in return. Given the topic at hand, the other members frantically bombarded her with questions. However, she remained silent, not answering a single one.
...A way back to Earth.
There was only one other possible way I knew of.
She must be talking about dimensional magic...
I first learned about dimensional magic when I visited the Round Table twenty years ago. Fallen Scholar was studying it to return to his home planet, and he'd even achieved some success at the time. Maybe that magic was the real reason Baekho had joined forces with him. That wasn't the important thing right now, though.
Black... could she be a spy sent by Baekho Lee?
There were several reasons why I was beginning to suspect that was the case. First, Baekho would know about Fallen Scholar's dimensional magic as well. Second, it wouldn't be strange if he had another spare code lying around, just like the one he gave me.
...But most importantly, he has a clear motive. He wants to know more about me.
"...It's your turn now, Queen."
Queen and Clown always competed with each other to see who would dish out the highest quality information. However, this time she only spoke of general politics, presumably wary of sharing anything else with the new members. Although it was somewhat interesting stuff, it was clear that she was only using it as a way to skip her turn.
"...Heh, is it my turn now?" It was finally time for Butterfly to go. She confidently launched into her intel without a moment's pause, almost like she had prepared it in advance. "The palace can deliberately cause a dimensional collapse."
Ha, somehow, these newbies had come to the table with more useful information than the regular members.
"...That means the rumors were true."
Everyone looked surprised by this news, but no one questioned its authenticity or the source. Unlike Wolf's and Black's information earlier, we all already suspected as much. It was also clear that Butterfly wouldn't answer any questions, even if we asked.
"Pshehe, then is it my turn?"
Finally, it was Clown's turn.
"Not too long ago, Noark began to tackle the ninth floor in earnest."
This was a valuable piece of information that added to the existing members' street cred. Naturally, it got an easy green light, and everyone's eyes shifted to me.
"Then..."
It was now my turn. I'd already decided what I was going to say ages ago.
"How could I ever be at peace? Of course I feel sorry for you. I feel responsible as well. I will probably live with and atone for this for the rest of my life."
I recalled the things I felt during my conversation with Auril Gavis that day.
Tap, tap.
I narrowed my eyes at Wolf and opened my mouth. It didn't matter whether the king himself was the one who summoned us to this world. In my heart of hearts, this is what I truly believed. "Auril Gavis is the enemy of all players."
Shaaaaaa.
As if to validate my conviction, the jewel turned green. It didn't take long for everyone to react.
"...Mr. Lion, can you really back that claim?" Wolf cautiously asked.
I had no reason to worry about my credibility coming into question, though. While Wolf had been gone this entire time, I had done a good job of establishing myself in his absence.
"...Pshehe. Since Mr. Lion said it, it must be true."
As long as the jewel turned green when I spoke, it would take dozens of documents and pieces of evidence to refute a single thing I said.