Chapter 311: Chapter 311: Round Table (5)

“Regal Vagos…?”

“I’ve met him before. He was an explorer with a very useful Dragon Speech.”

“A traitor who betrayed his tribe… this is interesting.”

The Captain and Kagureas briefly exchanged words after I spoke.

It was a meaningful conversation.

Interesting?

It made me feel uneasy hearing those words from the captain of Orculus.

But I looked away from them.

And I stared at one person.

“…….”

The woman in the fancy dress, Rabi.

Her lips parted slightly.

Her eyes were filled with shock.

“H, how did you…”

She was truly surprised, judging by how she even stuttered.

But there was no room for sympathy.

This was a world of ruthless competition.

Those who miss opportunities can’t become predators.

Therefore…

“Th, that’s impossible. Less than ten people know about this…”

I chuckled, looking at the confused Rabi.

And I spoke as if talking to a naive child.

“You’re young.”

She was probably much older than me, but what did it matter?

She didn’t know anything about me.

“…….”

Rabi’s reaction was immediate.

Her lips were tightly pressed together.

Her face was flushed, her gaze fixed on me.

And a single question in her eyes.

“You…”

Rabi then spoke.

“Just who are you?”

Whether it was my name, my identity, or anything else, she didn’t care, as long as she could learn something about me.

She asked me a very broad question.

“…….”

The other members also watched with interest, not interrupting.

They were probably also curious about my identity.

Rabi’s question must have scratched their itch.

But…

‘Okay, the atmosphere is perfect.’

…I already had my answer prepared.

It might be a bit cliché now, but that meant it had worked well so far.

I spoke leisurely,

“Well, there’s nothing I can’t tell you.”

The members’ focus intensified at my words.

Really? Is he really going to tell us something?

I could see the anticipation in their eyes.

I looked at them one by one and then continued,

“If you’re worthy.”

“Huh…”

The Captain gasped, and…

“So you’re saying we have to prove ourselves to hear your name? Whether we’re worthy of associating with you?”

…Kagureas, the muscular middle-aged man, asked boldly.

And I didn’t hesitate.

“Fortunately, you understood correctly.”

I agreed.

After all, this is the era of self-promotion.

There’s no need to be humble when there’s nothing to gain.

“…Where did this guy come from?”

The Ruin Scholar chuckled at my arrogant words.

Come to think of it, it was my first time seeing him laugh.

He had been sipping tea most of the time, looking bored.

‘I definitely got their attention—’

I was inwardly satisfied with the result when I suddenly felt a gaze on me.

It was Auril Gabis.

‘Geez, how uncomfortable.’

He was staring at me blankly.

Again.

‘What the hell is this guy doing?’

With that question in my eyes.

______________________

The meeting continued, moderated by Auril Gabis, despite the brief commotion.

“The King’s envoy visited the Lord of Noark three months ago. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find out what they talked about since they were very secretive.”

The Captain, who was the last one to go this round, shared that information and received a green light.

“Hmm! That’s interesting. I think this is the first time the royal family has directly contacted them.”

“Maybe that’s why…”

The Ruin Scholar muttered something meaningful, but it wasn’t very useful information to me.

What’s the point of knowing about the politics of twenty years ago?

The only thing I could learn from this information was that everyone who should know, including the royal family, was aware of the existence of the underground city.

“Then the next order is…”

Auril Gabis glanced at me after one round ended.

And he clicked his tongue, as if he was disappointed.

“We’ll have to do it again without this friend. Does anyone want to go first?”

Kagureas raised his hand.

“I’ll go first.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“I’d rather get it over with. I have something I want to say.”

“Then go ahead.”

And so, the second round began with Kagureas’ information.

“That… I obtained another Genesis Artifact.”

It was shocking information, despite his casual tone.

My mind went blank.

It was an item that had completely disappeared twenty years later.

But he’s saying he ‘obtained another one’?

‘Then he already had at least one?’

I almost gasped, but I barely managed to control myself.

But it seemed like I wasn’t the only one who was shocked.

“What? Is that true?!”

The Ruin Scholar jumped up from his seat.

Rabi was also excited.

“Wh, which tribe’s Genesis Artifact is it?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Then at least tell us how you obtained it…”

“How did I obtain it? I can only say… I was lucky.”

“How can you obtain that item by luck…”

“Ah, don’t be so harsh. To be precise, it’s closer to me obtaining the right to borrow it when I need it.”

Wow, this guy is amazing.

Now I realized that I had entered the world of veterans.

It wasn’t that difficult to obtain one Genesis Artifact in the game. You just had to clear the main character’s racial episode and become the chieftain.

The real challenge was the second Genesis Artifact.

You had to clear another race’s episode and obtain the ‘right to use’ it, or make a companion character the ‘chieftain’.

And that meant…

‘It’s actually possible to clear the game?’

I glanced at Auril Gabis.

His expression was unchanged.

In other words, it meant he already knew about this progress.

But why did this old man call them ‘failures’?

“Anyway, the reason I’m revealing this here is because… Master, you’re right, we’ve been together for a long time, but we’ve never really talked openly. But that needs to change now.”

Kagureas continued as I was lost in thought.

“Well, I have two. And if Miss Rabi works hard, we might be able to get another one since the Ancient Dragon is dead.”

“…Why are you saying that now?”

Rabi scolded Kagureas and then glanced at me.

But I had already heard everything I needed to hear.

‘Right, as expected, he’s from the Dragonkin tribe.’

“Ah, I apologize. I was being inconsiderate.”

Kagureas apologized like a man and then continued.

“There are three left. And if we work together, I think we can get them… What do you guys think?”

Although he seemed to be asking everyone, his gaze was fixed on the Captain.

‘Ah, come to think of it, those two were fighting last time.’

It was a gesture of reconciliation.

Then what about the Captain’s answer?

“…….”

He remained silent.

Kagureas then tried to persuade him.

“I know about your grudge against the King. But think rationally. They’re just relationships you built in this world. Think about your family back in your original world—”

“Stop.”

The Captain firmly cut him off.

And he unleashed a chilling killing intent, as if he had touched a nerve.

Kagureas also wiped the smile off his face.

“You really are trash. I thought we at least had the same goal.”

“…….”

“You said the royal family is the end of all questions? That you have to help me if you want to return? I was a fool to even consider it.”

“Kagureas, please stop…”

“But Miss Rabi, you heard him too, didn’t you? He doesn’t even want to return.”

“That’s not true. Why would he keep coming here if he didn’t?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? He can use us to kill the King. He’s just planning to use us as pawns. Am I wrong?”

The Captain also spoke coldly as Kagureas looked at him aggressively.

“You’re also hiding your true intentions, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“You said you believed that Master Ruinjenes could complete the dimensional magic, but you were actually gathering Genesis Artifacts.”

“…What’s wrong with that? It’s always better to have multiple options.”

“But there’s another reason why I objected when you tried to persuade Master Ruinjenes. If your goal is to gather all the Genesis Artifacts, then conflict with the royal family is inevitable, but you persistently tried to stop me.”

“Ah, you’re talking about that.”

Kagureas spoke confidently, as if he had nothing to hide.

“I have good intuition. I had a hunch that you were just a sweet-talking bastard.”

“…….”

The Captain didn’t say anything more.

He just glared at Kagureas, his killing intent intensifying.

I almost gasped.

‘…His killing intent is on another level.’

It was a world of difference compared to the Round Table members twenty years later.

My skin tingled and my breathing became heavy, even though it wasn’t directed at me.

That’s when…

“Haha, everyone’s getting heated.”

…Auril Gabis intervened.

And…

“Let’s end this here for today.”

…he said something unexpected.

“Everyone go back and rest, and we’ll see each other next time.”

…What?

Wait, he’s ending it here?

We haven’t even started properly.

He should at least let us finish one round. I had a plan…

“No—”

That’s when, as I was about to say something…

Flash!

…my vision blurred.

And when I opened my eyes again…

“…I’m already back?”

…I saw Amelia’s familiar face.

Damn it, so I was kicked out.

______________________

“How much time has passed?”

“About three seconds since you closed your eyes.”

Three seconds…

It was only natural for Amelia to look at me strangely.

It must have felt like an instant to her.

She probably couldn’t believe it.

“Here.”

Amelia handed me a glass of water as I reached for the nightstand.

What the…

“Ah, uh… thank you.”

Amelia awkwardly looked away as I thanked her, flustered.

“So what happened?”

“Ah, that…”

Damn it, where do I even begin?

I couldn’t summarize it since so much had happened, so I just told her everything from the beginning. I thought she might be able to find something I missed…

“Wait, Auril Gabis apologized? To that ridiculous demand?”

“So?”

“…Never mind, continue.”

Amelia’s gaze, which had been becoming more and more meaningful as I told her about my battle of nerves with Auril Gabis and the Round Table…

…suddenly changed.

It was the gaze I had seen countless times at the Round Table.

“You… just what kind of person are you?”