My concern for the GM didn't last long. Worrying wouldn't help me figure anything out, would it? Instead of wasting time on something useless, it made more sense to do what you could right now, for example, surf the Internet.
Clic, click.
Unlike modern times, surfing the Internet here was not simply a fun hobby. It was a valuable opportunity to gather and add information to survive the next month.
«... How about, How.»
Ugh, why are these things so fun? It's hurting my pride.
Click, click.
As my mouse fluttered back and forth, scrolling through the messages, the hours flew by.
Was it almost time?
The time had come to enter the Round Table.
***
A white man sitting inside an old-fashioned library was threading his fingers, lost in thought.
«Thinking that man was working with Baekho Lee».
Not that I hadn't considered that possibility, but it was definitely not an ideal situation. Baekho, who could only be described as out of control, was already stressful enough on his own, but this only added to that.
«...Where did this guy come from?»
Elfnunna joined the community about three years ago. León appeared at the Round Table around the same time.
He joined pretending to be a rookie.
Why did that man enter the community? His combat power was probably not inferior to Baekho's, and judging from the superior information he had access to, it seemed like he had also established his own faction.
...Round Table Watchers.
By this time, the GM had concluded that this man's goal was simply to enter the secret chat room. The user nicknamed 0720 was an evil spirit from another realm who had secretly infiltrated the community. He was also the genius who had created the club called Round Table Watchers and filled it with big names like the Corpse Collector himself. The GM had come to the conclusion that León must have something to do with that man.
However, he didn't seem to know him.
He had thought that Leon would have some kind of reaction upon seeing that chat room password, but in reality... He hadn't gotten any reaction until the end of the conversation. And when the GM finally mentioned it himself, it made no difference. The man seemed unable to understand why he mentioned it.
Well, that may have been another performance... But if you're not really connected, did you join the community just so you could contact Baekho more easily? Hmm, that could be the case.
The man reviewed and reconsidered several possibilities.
«I'm sorry. There was a problem on the bulletin board, so I couldn't come immediately when I received your message». A white woman appeared in the studio, with the nickname Queen of the Soul above her head. «So why did you want to see me?».
The woman sat on the couch in front of him, and the man gave a brief summary of what had just happened. «Lion. I met with him».
«...I see. How was?»
«Threatened me. To lift the ban on Baekho Lee.»
«So... what are you going to do?»
«Fortunately, 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 much power?», he asked cautiously.
This was something the GM had also been debating and worrying about. He knew nothing about the man except the fact that he was a Korean player.
Aprieta.
The man unconsciously clenched his fists.
Damn Koreans.
It was ridiculously unfair. The GM had only met a few Koreans since the creation of this community. That was because very few played this game - just in terms of numbers, its proportion of players was significantly lower than in most Western countries -. But when you looked at his performance... Although 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 were 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 him why he chose a nickname related to Elfnuna. Well, I guess I wouldn't have answered, anyway.
The GM believed that whoever had surpassed the original version of the game before coming to this world was probably Elfnuna. While everyone else took the easy way out and enjoyed the modified versions, that person continued to struggle with the original.
«Teacher?», the woman called.
«Ah, I was thinking about something else». The man returned to the present and gave him orders. «It's like you say, Queen of Souls. We still have no information about him. So I want you to investigate it more actively. Provide as little as possible».
At the man's instructions, the woman paused for a moment. He usually handled things with confidence, but at that moment his voice was full of reluctance. «...I'll try».
***
Putting on my mask as usual, I crossed the silent hallway and arrived at the room that housed the Round Table. Everyone was already inside when I entered.
«...You are here! I was worried, pshehe!» Clown, who had apparently been eager for me to skip the Round Table this month, stood up and welcomed me.
When my eyes met the Queen's, she looked away awkwardly. Well, considering what happened last time, and given that my previous meeting with the GM would have already reached his ears, I understood. When I sat down, I realized Fox was in front of me. She recognized me with a look as soon as our eyes met.
«Tsk». I felt constant disappointment when I looked at her. If I hadn't suddenly been transported back in time, I could have taken advantage of the situation he found himself in to discover his identity.
«Um...» While he was busy trying to bite my displeasure, Fox spoke cautiously. «Have I done something wrong...?». At first, I wondered what he was talking about, but I quickly realized what it was.
You're because you're chasqueé la lengua.
Just like if you throw rocks like crazy, sometimes kill a frog by accident, it seemed like Fox and the others were trying hard to figure out why he was mad at her. I made no effort to clear up this misunderstanding.
«Um.» It was an ambiguous answer that neither confirmed nor denied anything. Fox swallowed. He seemed to think that he had made some kind of mistake without realizing it.
Wow, that makes me feel a little bad... Let's change the subject.
«So let's get started».
Just in time, the open entrance came to an end and the door to the Round Table closed, so the others stopped worrying about the mistake Fox had supposedly made and focused on the present.
«I'm already looking forward to seeing how interesting the discussion will be this time, pshehe».
«So I guess we started there?».
At Crescent's question, all eyes turned to Deer, who was located to my left. This was an unspoken rule of the Round Table. The round had to start on 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 the corresponding information.
Ugh, I really established a good position for myself.
«...I'll go first.» Deer began by calmly presenting the information he had prepared. «The National Incorporation of Evil Spirits bill was reintroduced at a royal assembly for the first time in 150 years. Of course, the motion was immediately removed from the agenda due to overwhelming opposition». It was brief gossip that was difficult to understand unless one had worked in public office.
What did that mean?
I had no idea. Of course, that wasn't a problem. Whenever I was faced with a lack of knowledge, there was someone who took the initiative to help me.
«National incorporation ticket...?» goblin asked, his voice small.
Queen of the soul intervened to explain it. «The proposal is not to condemn evil spirits as enemies, but to embrace them and accept them as subjects. It was proposed once 150 years ago, but was rejected for several reasons».
«I see... But it is very surprising to hear something like this from the palace...».
«Pshehe, it sounds to me like they are short of manpower...»
«...Why are you always looking for a fight with me?»
«Oh dear, so self-conscious. I only told the truth».
When Soul Queen laughed nonchalantly, Clown fell silent. He felt strangely weak in front of her. Was it because she had already given him a couple of verbal beatings?
That bastard is the embodiment of a coward...
Anyway, Deer's information got the green light on the first try, 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».
«No has… finished, true?»
«Haha, of course not. Anyway, when I researched it, the content was quite strange».
«Why don't you stop lengthening it and get to the point? It just makes you look ridiculous, pshehe».
Faced with Clown's accusation, Goblin looked at him as if asking him why he always harassed him before finally getting to the point. «'The king's blood bears a black star, so help the one who will become his master'. That was the prophecy».
Reatlas was the Goddess of the Stars. As this was a prophecy of a god who ruled the destiny and future of souls, there was much room for interpretation.
«A black star, huh? Could it refer to betrayal?»
«I think it could be interpreted as the king having a secret communication with Noark».
«But... 'help the one who will become its owner?»
«Maybe it means the queen is pregnant. And the boy is Black, pshehe!»
«...Do you always have to be so offensive?»
«Because? What's wrong with being black? Am I being racist?» Clown laughed as if he had told a hilarious joke, but the reactions of the people around him were cold.
It was clear that this son of a bitch had never had friends. That's why I played Dungeon and Stone... Damn.
I stopped that thread of thoughts there because I sensed that it could destroy my self-esteem. Just in time, the conversation about the prophecy ended. Most prophecies were like this: no matter how hard you tried to interpret them, in the end you only discovered what they really meant later.
«Now it's my turn». The third shift was Crescent's. He used to bring us epic information about the Genesis Treasures, but lately there was nothing like it. Unfortunately, today was more of the same.
Gosh, he always tries to spend his turn with information about the war. Well, I guess one day it will be useful.
However, since he did not lead a clan, it was difficult to get much out of this information. In that sense, next.
«The palace has begun to pass the technology of manufacturing military ships to the civilian population. It seems that it was inevitable, as they needed help to repair the damaged military ships in time. We may soon see large clans traveling in military ships». Fox's information was the same as Crescent's. It matched his interests and explained its implications logically, but that was it.
This round was mediocre, although perhaps it is because it is the first.
If there was anything of interest it was the information about the prophecy and the motion raised at the palace meetings.
Accept evil spirits, huh? Will that ever happen?
Even though I entertained myself thinking about it, I didn't have high expectations. Deer himself already said it: it was only mentioned once and quickly disappeared from the agenda thanks to the opposition.
«Pshehe, then it's my turn».
We were now halfway through the round, which meant it was Clown's turn. Unfortunately, your information was not useful to me either. Rather, it complicated my life.
«The lighthouse keeper is dead». Starting with something everyone present knew, Clown proceeded to rat me out at the Round Table. «The public thinks it was the work of the Blood Spirit, but in reality, that is completely wrong. It was not Blood Spirit, but a strange man that the wild woman brought with her».
«...Strange man?»
«Yeah, at first I thought she was just dragging him around as Bjorn Yandel's replacement when I saw she had Orc Hero's giantization».
«Riehen Schuitz. The palace is also watching over him».
«Pshehe, was that his name? Anyway, I want information about this man at the next Roundtable, so I'll go into more detail. I don't know where this guy came from, but he's a scandalous monster that even the four of us together couldn't kill. Pshehe».
«...Does anyone like that exist?»
«Wait, the Golden Sorceress didn't say any of that in her report. Are you sure?»
«If not, would the green light have turned on?»
The Round Table members were stunned and expressed deep interest in Clown's words.
Ugh, what should I do with these bastards who now want to investigate me?
Sigh for my entrances.
Why is this woman looking at me?
I felt them looking at me, and when I looked discreetly in the direction I felt them, I could see that Queen of the Soul had her gaze fixed on me. For some reason, she was mumbling something to herself at a volume that only I, the person next to her, could hear.
«Gigantization... joined three years ago... Blood Spirit...».
Had he noticed something? No, it was likely that he had reached the final phase of puzzle solving, in which you put the last pieces in place, the solution almost within your reach. But it seemed like she wasn't the only one who was grasping the fact that something was wrong here.
It started with Goblin. «Wait, what if it's not a substitute but really him? Gigantization is not a common skill. You said it even had the essence of an Ogre...»
Fox nodded. «Not even someone like Blood Spirit would go so far as to hire a substitute and call him the same as her...».
Clown laughed at his suspicions. «Pshehe, what are you talking about? Bjorn Yandel is dead».
«What if he's alive? And has it gotten stronger without anyone knowing? So it would make sense for the Golden Sorceress to omit it in 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 is possible that he faked his own death for that reason», Crescent theorized.
«If Bjorn Yandel is really alive...». Queen looked at me. «That period overlaps with the period in which Mr. León 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 did not dare to open their mouths and question me openly.
He had considered the possibility of this happening. Now that I was, I didn't feel particularly cornered. That was because all he needed was a good alibi, right?
«That again?» I put my hand on the jewel of the Round Table and said: «Since it seems like everyone is curious about me, this time I will go before Queen of the Soul». My tone was mocking, as if his suspicions amused me. «The first time I came to this community was twenty-two years ago».
The green light came on.