Chapter 573: The Last Gathering (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 573: The Last Gathering (3)
Missha Karlstein is a traitor.
Ever since Butterfly first made that statement, Fox had been doing everything she could to look more into it. To be honest, she would have done so even without me having to ask, as whether she liked it or not, she was going to be working with Missha for the foreseeable future. I was sure that the idea of one of her allies being a traitor didn't sit well with her.
However, her question was risky.
"I think this is the... second time now that you've asked about Missha Karlstein?" Butterfly noted, an inquisitive tone in her voice and a matching look in her eye. It was like she was looking through Fox's mask to the person beyond. "You are very interested in that beastwoman."
"...So?"
"Heh... just pointing it out."
There was a chance that by the time today's Round Table was over, the other members might all walk away with the suspicion that "Fox = Bjorn Yandel's ally." She also shared a lot of information about Basement Floor One with the people here. Honestly, it was practically a given that she was currently down there.
Another reason I need to make sure as many members of the Armin Adventurer Group and the Hektz Clan get home alive as possible.
Just as you could hide a tree in a forest, you could hide a person in a crowd. By maximizing the number of survivors, I could up the chances that Versyl's identity remained hidden. That, however, was a problem that would have to wait until later.
"Then can I go now?"
The other members began to ask questions of their own.
"Who gave you the entry code for the Round Table?" Queen inquired, curious as to how Butterfly had been suddenly able to join our exclusive group.
Even Black piped up for the first time since our game of Truth began. But if I was surprised to hear her talk, I was flat-out dumbfounded by her question. "Do you think Missha Karlstein poses a danger to Bjorn Yandel's life?"
What the hell was this?
It was difficult for me to discern why she would even ask that question. Even so, it ultimately worked out in my favor.
"Hmm... it seems everyone is curious about Missha Karlstein."
Thanks to Black, everyone's suspicions about Versyl lessened a little. Well, it would be more accurate to say that their suspicion was now split between two people.
"It looks like those are the only three questions ..." Butterfly let out a giggle and made a show of thinking things over. "Hmm, what should I do...?"
It was now up to her.
If she answered either Black's or Fox's question, then I'd get the confirmation I'd been seeking. Meanwhile, if she chose Queen's, then I would need to wait until the next round. And since there was no guarantee we'd even continue into the third round, there was a very real possibility I would never get my question answered.
"Since two people asked me about the same thing, I guess it's only right to answer one of them, right?" the mysterious Butterfly, who I had no hope of ever tracking down in the real world, hummed. I felt a flash of relief the moment the words left her mouth.
That feeling was of course short-lived.
Some things were just like that. Things you desperately wanted to know and yet at the same time also wished to never learn.
"Right, then which one of you two should I answer...?" Butterfly dragged things out for a bit, clearly toying with her captive audience. "Eh, I'm in a good mood. Since the two of you asked similar questions, I'll just answer both."
At first glance, it might seem like she was being generous. However, this offer only served to make my suspicions worse. Let's be real here—businesses never lost money when they had a BOGO event. She had a reason for doing this, and that reason had to involve some sort of net gain on her end.
Still, the fact that that was my first thought... is that because I'm just that broken?
That wasn't a question I could answer myself, so I shook off the thought for now and focused on the conversation happening in front of me.
"Missha Karlstein," Butterfly drawled. She seemed to be enjoying the attention because she built up the suspense a little more before finally getting into it. "She received orders. Orders from a certain someone to return to Bjorn Yandel's side. However, those orders did not in any way involve killing Bjorn Yandel."
She was talking about Baekho Lee and the Stone of Revival.
I was wondering if she'd called Missha a traitor for a different reason, but I guess this was it. But how does she know all this? Is Butterfly on Baekho's team? Baekho was the one who gave me my invitation code for the Round Table, to begin with, so that wouldn't be too farfetched...
"Could I ask what those orders were?"
"Oh, that? From what I heard, they weren't anything special. She was just tasked with staying by his side and reporting back with any information."
"And the payment she got in return?"
"Who knows? Maybe she's the only one who... Ah, right, I can't lie here. Well, I'll leave that up to your imagination."
If my suspicions were correct, there was a high chance that the Stone of Revival itself was the reward.
The fact of the matter was that Baekho Lee was an incredibly cunning bastard. After terrifying Missha by saying that I was destined to die or something, he would've offered her the Stone of Revival in return for being a spy. And all the while, his real goal was simply to pass the Stone of Revival off to me.
Well, thanks to this conversation, I'd managed to learn one thing.
"And she wasn't given any other orders?"
"Nope, none at all. Not that I know of."
Baekho Lee's machinations began and ended with the Stone of Revival. Oh, he was probably scheming something else behind the scenes, of course, but the probability of Missha being caught up in that plan as well was low.
The problem is... why is she telling us all of this so willingly?
If Butterfly was on Baekho Lee's side, there was one plausible explanation: Baekho knew that I was Lion.
He's trying to feed me information.
His goal hadn't changed. He wanted me to stop caring about this world. That was why he deliberately leaked the fact that Missha was a traitor to me. Because maybe, just maybe, that might be enough to break my trust in others and make me close myself off. He wouldn't lose anything by trying, anyway.
"Then should we move on to the next person? I think I've said everything I need to."
Butterfly's turn ended with that, and Black was next.
"What should I ask...? I don't really know much about you, so I can't really ask you anything."
It sounded rude, but most people here agreed with Butterfly's sentiment. Black didn't talk much and was thus veiled in mystery. However, that didn't mean that we didn't have any questions at all.
"Then I'll ask this," Butterfly concluded. "Why did you ask if Missha posed a danger to Bjorn Yandel's life?"
She seemed curious about Black's identity.
At first glance, it might seem like she was being generous. However, this offer only served to make my suspicions worse. Let's be real here—businesses never lost money when they had a BOGO event. She had a reason for doing this, and that reason had to involve some sort of net gain on her end.
Still, the fact that that was my first thought... is that because I'm just that broken?
That wasn't a question I could answer myself, so I shook off the thought for now and focused on the conversation happening in front of me.
"Missha Karlstein," Butterfly drawled. She seemed to be enjoying the attention because she built up the suspense a little more before finally getting into it. "She received orders. Orders from a certain someone to return to Bjorn Yandel's side. However, those orders did not in any way involve killing Bjorn Yandel."
She was talking about Baekho Lee and the Stone of Revival.
I was wondering if she'd called Missha a traitor for a different reason, but I guess this was it. But how does she know all this? Is Butterfly on Baekho's team? Baekho was the one who gave me my invitation code for the Round Table, to begin with, so that wouldn't be too farfetched...
"Could I ask what those orders were?"
"Oh, that? From what I heard, they weren't anything special. She was just tasked with staying by his side and reporting back with any information."
"And the payment she got in return?"
"Who knows? Maybe she's the only one who... Ah, right, I can't lie here. Well, I'll leave that up to your imagination."
If my suspicions were correct, there was a high chance that the Stone of Revival itself was the reward.
The fact of the matter was that Baekho Lee was an incredibly cunning bastard. After terrifying Missha by saying that I was destined to die or something, he would've offered her the Stone of Revival in return for being a spy. And all the while, his real goal was simply to pass the Stone of Revival off to me.
Well, thanks to this conversation, I'd managed to learn one thing.
"And she wasn't given any other orders?"
"Nope, none at all. Not that I know of."
Baekho Lee's machinations began and ended with the Stone of Revival. Oh, he was probably scheming something else behind the scenes, of course, but the probability of Missha being caught up in that plan as well was low.
The problem is... why is she telling us all of this so willingly?
If Butterfly was on Baekho Lee's side, there was one plausible explanation: Baekho knew that I was Lion.
He's trying to feed me information.
His goal hadn't changed. He wanted me to stop caring about this world. That was why he deliberately leaked the fact that Missha was a traitor to me. Because maybe, just maybe, that might be enough to break my trust in others and make me close myself off. He wouldn't lose anything by trying, anyway.
"Then should we move on to the next person? I think I've said everything I need to."
Butterfly's turn ended with that, and Black was next.
"What should I ask...? I don't really know much about you, so I can't really ask you anything."
It sounded rude, but most people here agreed with Butterfly's sentiment. Black didn't talk much and was thus veiled in mystery. However, that didn't mean that we didn't have any questions at all.
"Then I'll ask this," Butterfly concluded. "Why did you ask if Missha posed a danger to Bjorn Yandel's life?"
She seemed curious about Black's identity.
Fox was much the same. "Are you perhaps on Basement Floor One right now?" She seemed to suspect Black was someone close to us.
Queen was the only one who asked a question that had nothing to do with Black's identity. "You once said that Auril Gavis was able to travel to Earth thanks to dimensional magic. Where did you get that information?"
Surprisingly, all three questions were interesting. If we were to rank them, Queen's question was arguably the most important, but Black was the one who would get to choose which to answer.
After a short pause, all Black said was, "I have never been to Basement Floor One."
Fox's question.
To be fair, if she wasn't one of the people down there with us, that question was the most harmless one she could choose.
"Does that answer your question?" Black asked.
"Yes..."
"Pshehe, it's finally my turn!" Clown crowed, clearly having been looking forward to it.
Do you really like attention that much?
"All right, ask away! All of you must have tons of questions!"
At the elation in his voice, even I sort of wanted to ignore him and skip his turn.
"How pitiful. You're so confident that other people have questions for you."
"Pshehe! Your pity is all I've ever wanted!"
Ignoring Clown's annoying attitude, we reluctantly gave in and asked what was on our minds.
Fox, Wolf, Goblin, Queen, Black...
Excluding me and Butterfly, all the other members asked a question, and Clown seemed quite pleased.
"Five questions... This is... Isn't this a new record? Pshehe."
"Whatever. Just pick one and answer it."
"But... isn't there someone who still hasn't said 'pass' yet?"
Clown brushed off Queen's complaints and glanced at me, apparently waiting for me to ask him something too.
What are you, a preschooler? "I don't really have anything I want to ask you."
"Hmm... Is that so...?"
"It doesn't matter. Just make it interesting," I added, taking note of his disappointment. I'd said it unconsciously, but I wouldn't call it a mistake. Considering the type of guy he was, a line like that would up the odds of him spitting out more useful information.
And that was exactly what happened.
"Something interesting... Well, I can't say no to that. Then I'll tell you all an interesting tale."
Noticing that Clown was now solely focused on me, Queen let out a sigh. "Just answer what was asked of you." Despite her words, however, her eyes didn't leave Clown. It seemed that she was curious about Clown's "interesting tale" too.
"On the second day of the eighth month of the year New World 154, the forces of Noark, who lived their lives in a gutter that never saw the light of day, left their walls for the outside world."
And so, Clown's interesting tale began.
"The world outside the walls was completely different from what the stories said. There was no Witch's Curse, and green forests and fields stretched out for miles in all directions."
"So?"
"The people of Noark went around exploring this mysterious world as if on a quest, and in the end, they found a place to settle."
"...We don't care about the backstory. Just get to the point—"
"Pshe, keep listening. This is the important part."
"Go on, then."
"The people of Noark had a question: Why did the royal family keep its people inside the walls? Why did they not allow them to venture out into the outside world?" No one said a word, and he continued to weave his tale in the hush. "The people of Noark thought about this for a long time, and they were luckily able to find an answer. And recently, they came to an important decision..."
Clown tapped his fingers on the table as if to gather everyone's attention and increase the tension. And then, he finally revealed the climax of his story.
I didn't really understand how the first part was related to this but...
"To invade Rafdonia."
A great war was soon to come.
***
After Noark left its walls, the battles between them and the royal family of Rafdonia was limited to the inside of the labyrinth. Noark had taken control of the seventh floor and begun fighting against the palace's forces, slowly increasing their strength. But if that battle were to shift into the real world...
"An invasion... Are you certain?"
"Pshehe... Do you think I'd lie?"
"When? When is this invasion going to happen?"
"Shocking" wasn't a strong enough word to describe the information Clown just dropped on us. Everyone was struggling to process it and wished for even a bit more detail. However...
"If you're that curious, go find out more yourself! That's my turn. Well, maybe I'll change my mind if anyone can come up with something more interesting than that before today's meeting is over. Pshehe."
Clown quite reasonably put his foot down and kept the rest of his information close to his chest.
That was sort of a letdown. I thought he'd get caught up in the high of shocking everyone and talk for at least a little longer—
"Um..." While I was busy sitting there, quietly collecting my thoughts, Clown turned to me. Then, with an almost shy hesitance, he asked, "How was that...? Was that interesting enough for you?"
To be honest, I didn't get him at all.
I can tell that he only told us about the invasion to try and impress me... but why does he want my validation so badly? It's not like we'll ever see each other again after today.
Still unable to figure him out, I instead answered, "Is that your question?"
It was now my turn to play Q&A.
Fox was much the same. "Are you perhaps on Basement Floor One right now?" She seemed to suspect Black was someone close to us.
Queen was the only one who asked a question that had nothing to do with Black's identity. "You once said that Auril Gavis was able to travel to Earth thanks to dimensional magic. Where did you get that information?"
Surprisingly, all three questions were interesting. If we were to rank them, Queen's question was arguably the most important, but Black was the one who would get to choose which to answer.
After a short pause, all Black said was, "I have never been to Basement Floor One."
Fox's question.
To be fair, if she wasn't one of the people down there with us, that question was the most harmless one she could choose.
"Does that answer your question?" Black asked.
"Yes..."
"Pshehe, it's finally my turn!" Clown crowed, clearly having been looking forward to it.
Do you really like attention that much?
"All right, ask away! All of you must have tons of questions!"
At the elation in his voice, even I sort of wanted to ignore him and skip his turn.
"How pitiful. You're so confident that other people have questions for you."
"Pshehe! Your pity is all I've ever wanted!"
Ignoring Clown's annoying attitude, we reluctantly gave in and asked what was on our minds.
Fox, Wolf, Goblin, Queen, Black...
Excluding me and Butterfly, all the other members asked a question, and Clown seemed quite pleased.
"Five questions... This is... Isn't this a new record? Pshehe."
"Whatever. Just pick one and answer it."
"But... isn't there someone who still hasn't said 'pass' yet?"
Clown brushed off Queen's complaints and glanced at me, apparently waiting for me to ask him something too.
What are you, a preschooler? "I don't really have anything I want to ask you."
"Hmm... Is that so...?"
"It doesn't matter. Just make it interesting," I added, taking note of his disappointment. I'd said it unconsciously, but I wouldn't call it a mistake. Considering the type of guy he was, a line like that would up the odds of him spitting out more useful information.
And that was exactly what happened.
"Something interesting... Well, I can't say no to that. Then I'll tell you all an interesting tale."
Noticing that Clown was now solely focused on me, Queen let out a sigh. "Just answer what was asked of you." Despite her words, however, her eyes didn't leave Clown. It seemed that she was curious about Clown's "interesting tale" too.
"On the second day of the eighth month of the year New World 154, the forces of Noark, who lived their lives in a gutter that never saw the light of day, left their walls for the outside world."
And so, Clown's interesting tale began.
"The world outside the walls was completely different from what the stories said. There was no Witch's Curse, and green forests and fields stretched out for miles in all directions."
"So?"
"The people of Noark went around exploring this mysterious world as if on a quest, and in the end, they found a place to settle."
"...We don't care about the backstory. Just get to the point—"
"Pshe, keep listening. This is the important part."
"Go on, then."
"The people of Noark had a question: Why did the royal family keep its people inside the walls? Why did they not allow them to venture out into the outside world?" No one said a word, and he continued to weave his tale in the hush. "The people of Noark thought about this for a long time, and they were luckily able to find an answer. And recently, they came to an important decision..."
Clown tapped his fingers on the table as if to gather everyone's attention and increase the tension. And then, he finally revealed the climax of his story.
I didn't really understand how the first part was related to this but...
"To invade Rafdonia."
A great war was soon to come.
***
After Noark left its walls, the battles between them and the royal family of Rafdonia was limited to the inside of the labyrinth. Noark had taken control of the seventh floor and begun fighting against the palace's forces, slowly increasing their strength. But if that battle were to shift into the real world...
"An invasion... Are you certain?"
"Pshehe... Do you think I'd lie?"
"When? When is this invasion going to happen?"
"Shocking" wasn't a strong enough word to describe the information Clown just dropped on us. Everyone was struggling to process it and wished for even a bit more detail. However...
"If you're that curious, go find out more yourself! That's my turn. Well, maybe I'll change my mind if anyone can come up with something more interesting than that before today's meeting is over. Pshehe."
Clown quite reasonably put his foot down and kept the rest of his information close to his chest.
That was sort of a letdown. I thought he'd get caught up in the high of shocking everyone and talk for at least a little longer—
"Um..." While I was busy sitting there, quietly collecting my thoughts, Clown turned to me. Then, with an almost shy hesitance, he asked, "How was that...? Was that interesting enough for you?"
To be honest, I didn't get him at all.
I can tell that he only told us about the invasion to try and impress me... but why does he want my validation so badly? It's not like we'll ever see each other again after today.
Still unable to figure him out, I instead answered, "Is that your question?"
It was now my turn to play Q&A.