Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 107 - Guild War — Moonlight (4)

Chapter 107 — Guild War — Moonlight (4)

 

“Put the mirror down first.”

Laenis of the Fire Turtle Guild drew a sharp beam of light from his hand and warned Eradra, the Guild Master of White Jade Hand.

“You can’t do this. Only by working together can we defeat Targon and the Ash Wolf Guild.”

“I know.”

Eradra twirled the hand mirror by its handle.

“That’s why I’m planning to make everyone my ally first. That still counts as everyone working together, doesn’t it? Even if I amplify the effect, it’s only changing one command into two, so everyone can relax.”

“That…”

“Enough, Laenis.”

Guild Master Lufrite of the Fire Turtle Guild lightly shook his head and narrowed his eyes.

ROOOAAAR!

The image of an enormous turtle appeared over Lufrite’s body.

A Fire-Earth Turtle.

The Level 8 monster that had earned the middle-aged Monster Warrior the nickname ‘The Impregnable Fortress.’

Moments later, an immense, sturdy shell enveloped Lufrite and the Fire Turtle Guild explorers.

“I won’t tolerate this any longer, either, Eradra. As long as I obtain that artifact, it won’t matter if we lose a few people.”

“…Guild Master, you mustn’t. We absolutely have to join hands.”

Laenis pleaded desperately, but his words no longer reached the ears of his heated Guild Master.

Then Heavyclaw, the Guild Master of the Great Warrior Guild, pulled out a morning star in each hand.

“So we’re just going to fight? Fine by me!”

“I like fighting too…”

Kukus, the Wise Ogre of the Great Warrior Guild, also raised his fighting spirit alongside his Guild Master.

The atmosphere that had barely calmed down quickly heated up again.

“Wow.”

Beldora of the Nunun Bear Love Guild openly expressed her admiration.

BOOM!

Heavyclaw slammed one of his morning stars into the floor.

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll knock every last one of you down!”

Laenis of the Fire Turtle Guild turned pale.

“If even one person falls, we can’t guarantee victory against the Ash Wolf Guild!”

“So what!”

Just as Heavyclaw looked ready to crush the other explorers’ skulls, he suddenly turned his head.

“…Though that’s what I’d like to say, something feels off.”

The enormous bear beastman began staring at Tilda.

Having slipped free of her restraints during the confusion, Tilda flinched and quickly hid behind the Forest Elf Lael.

“The more I think about it, the more suspicious this is.”

Thud. Thud.

Heavyclaw slowly approached.

“If you knew about the Dragonkin’s innate martial Mystery, you should’ve said something the moment they started forging that mirror. So why did you keep your mouth shut until now?”

Smiling, the bear beastman stopped in front of the Nunun Bear Love Guild members.

The difference in size was so overwhelming that it felt like a wall had risen before them.

“You stayed silent until the perfect moment, then brought it up to deliberately make the atmosphere hostile. Isn’t that right, Tilda Ires?”

Heavyclaw quietly corrected himself.

“No… ‘Golden Crow’ Kar.”

“…”

When Tilda stubbornly remained silent, her older sister, Beldora of the Snow-Bear-Lovers Guild, stepped forward.

“This Tilda isn’t fake. I’m certain.”

“And how do you know that?”

For some reason, Laenis frowned as he cautiously asked.

Beldora proudly puffed out her chest.

“Because Tilda is Tilda.”

“Kyaa! Sis, that’s so logical!”

“Right?”

“…”

Everyone except the sisters let out awkward laughs.

Only Heavyclaw remained completely serious as he casually pointed to the side.

“Move. That’s definitely the cultist.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then I have no choice. I’ll just have to… persuade you.”

Heavyclaw nodded, then lowered one of his morning stars.

At that instant, Kukus the Wise Ogre vanished.

Shff!

Appearing behind Tilda in an instant, Kukus swung his attack.

[Ultra Impact].

A simple yet devastating Mystery capable of shattering the entire body of most explorers in a single blow.

“GAAAAAH!”

Tilda was struck head-on, sent flying into a wall before collapsing to the ground.

Blood covered her entire body, her arms and legs bent at unnatural angles.

“Tilda!”

Lael of the Nunun Bear Love Guild gasped and rushed to save her, only to stop short.

Heavyclaw had already grabbed the tiny Tilda in one massive hand.

“Dragonkin. Come confirm it. Whether she’s the cultist or not. And if you so much as try pointing that mirror at me… I’ll crush your skull immediately.”

“…Alright.”

Eradra cautiously approached Heavyclaw with the hand mirror.

“Ugh…”

Tilda’s battered body, only able to let out faint groans, was reflected in the mirror.

The moment it happened, her eyes became unfocused.

The backlash had apparently struck.

Eradra’s complexion rapidly darkened as he solemnly asked,

“Tell me who you are.”

“…”

Tilda blankly opened her mouth.

“Tilda Ires. The adorable second daughter of House Ires. Level 6 Ambusher. My specialty is surprise attacks. My hobby is raising Snow Bears. The Mystery I use most is [Leap].”

“…”

Under everyone’s gaze, Lael and Beldora of the Nunun Bear Love Guild spoke in turn.

“What’s going on?”

“Honestly, I suspected her too.”

“But every answer perfectly matches Tilda’s identity. There’s nothing cultist-like about her. Everything she said could only have come from the real Tilda.”

“I told you. Tilda is Tilda because she’s Tilda.”

“…Really?”

Adjusting his glasses, Eradra questioned Tilda again.

“Answer truthfully. Are you ‘Golden Crow’ Kar?”

“No. I’m not Kar. I’m Tilda Ires.”

She flatly denied being the cultist Kar.

An answer that Kar, if using [Transformation], should never have been able to give.

Which meant… Tilda Ires really was herself.

“So that’s what she says.”

“…”

Heavyclaw silently scratched his head, then quietly avoided the harsh looks directed at him.

Even Kukus, his own guildmate, was looking at him coldly.

“Honestly… I find you more suspicious.”

At Eradra’s gesture, the green Orc Bard of White Jade Hand raised a flute.

A grating melody rapidly spread through the room.

A song that temporarily disrupted the senses of anyone who heard it…

[Demons’ Conversation].

Normally, even a surprise attack wouldn’t work against veteran explorers.

But inside this labyrinth, even high-level explorers couldn’t help but freeze for a moment.

While everyone covered their ears and hesitated, Eradra thrust the mirror toward Heavyclaw.

“…What do you think you’re doing!”

Heavyclaw instinctively swung an arm with his eyes tightly shut.

Eradra dodged, and Heavyclaw accidentally struck Kukus, sending his own guildmate flying.

“Stay still.”

Eradra nimbly leaped onto Heavyclaw’s broad shoulder, trying to reflect his face in the mirror…

“I’d rather not.”

Heavyclaw suddenly snapped his eyes open and violently twisted his body, throwing Eradra away.

BOOM!

Just before crashing into the wall, all sorts of tools burst from the Dragonkin’s horn ornament’s subspace, protecting their master.

“…Close. You recover fast, just like a beastman.”

“Eradra. It seems you’ve decided you want to die.”

With a savage expression, Heavyclaw advanced alongside Kukus toward the White Jade Hand explorers.

Meanwhile, the Fire Turtle Guild remained safely inside Lufrite’s shell, waiting for the perfect opportunity to interfere in the conflict.

The room had become utter chaos.

“…What a mess.”

“It sure is.”

While everyone else descended into turmoil, only the Nunun Bear Love Guild searched for an opportunity to escape.

“Play it again.”

“Yes.”

At Eradra’s command, the green Orc Bard raised the flute once more.

THUD!

“…Ghk?”

Suddenly, an invisible force dropped from the air, knocking the bard to the ground.

At the same time, it struck Eradra’s wrist.

The hand mirror slipped from his hand and naturally flew into Kukus’s grasp.

“…So you’d been hiding a Mystery like that?”

“Doesn’t everyone have at least one Mystery they keep secret?”

Heavyclaw grinned proudly and patted Kukus’s shoulder.

“…Please stop this conflict!”

Laenis of the Fire Turtle Guild pleaded desperately, but it accomplished nothing.

Even his own guildmates were beginning to look at him reproachfully.

“It’s already too late.”

“He’s right, Laenis. It’d be better to wipe everyone out.”

“…Guild Master! We have to work together!”

“Enough, Laenis. If you think about it, all of this happened because you failed to complete that artifact before the Guild War.”

“…”

As Laenis clutched his head with both hands, everyone prepared for battle.

In the end, the explorers failed to unite and became complete enemies.

“…Let’s run.”

“Okay!”

Lael and Beldora of the Nunun Bear Love Guild quietly began backing away.

“I’ll flatten every last one of you!”

Just as Heavyclaw was about to charge…

— Hehehehe!”

— Yaaaaay!”

— This is fun!”

A swarm of Naiades suddenly flooded in from every direction, danced around, then rushed back outside.

“…Guild Master. They’re Rai’s spirits.”

Laenis quickly looked around.

Then, from the direction the spirits had come, multiple terrifying presences rapidly approached.

“So this is where everyone gathered…?”

“Kihihi!”

“Kill them all!”

One after another, monsters poured through both the main entrance and the hole in the wall.

A horde of Slaughter Ghouls.

All thirteen ghouls that had reached the Inner Sanctum, except for those already killed, had gathered here.

“…Damn.”

The Fire Turtle Guild Master pressed a hand against his forehead.

“Kill them!”

At the command of the most intimidating ghoul, the entire horde charged at once.

“…Damn it! Deal with these things first!”

Heavyclaw roared, sending a nearby Slaughter Ghoul flying with both morning stars.

The other explorers were already cooperating as they fought.

“Let’s go.”

“Bye!”

Everyone except the two Nunun Bear Love Guild explorers.

They even abandoned Tilda, whose body was completely broken.

Watching them from where she lay sprawled on the floor, Tilda let out a dry laugh.

“No loyalty whatsoever.”

“Get behind me first, human!”

While continuously smashing aside ghouls, Heavyclaw and Kukus surrounded Tilda protectively.

“I apologize for misunderstanding you! Don’t get eliminated before we fight the Ash Wolf Guild!”

“…That’s a rather late apology.”

Though grumbling, Tilda hid behind the two large explorers.

And then…

FWOOOOSH!

She set both of them on fire.

“GAAAAAH!”

Heavyclaw suppressed part of the flames through sheer fighting spirit and turned around.

Tilda Ires of the Nunun Bear Love Guild had somehow become a blond half-elf.

“…Golden Crow?”

“Yes. I’m that talented little cultist.”

Caw!

A blind crow suddenly appeared and snatched the mirror artifact from Kukus, who was too distracted by the burning to react.

Even while engulfed in flames, Heavyclaw frowned deeply.

What in the world had just happened?

When ordered by the mirror to reveal her identity, hadn’t she denied being Karr and identified herself as Tilda Ires?

“…How did you do it? How did you perfectly become Tilda Ires?”

Karr, who had at some point transformed into a Slaughter Ghoul, placed a finger against his lips.

“Trade secret.”

 

***

 

[At times like this, the fact that you’re completely insane is an enormous help!]

But my mind was perfectly clear.

What was that supposed to mean?

In any case, I had disrupted the Guild Alliance’s unity and obtained [Mind Usurper].

Both were major blows against the Conspirator’s plans.

‘Well then, Conspirator… how does it feel?’

I could roughly imagine his state of mind.

After all, just moments ago, one explorer who had been standing here had completely disappeared without anyone noticing.

Having transformed into a ghoul, I walked calmly outside without being attacked.

KROOOOOOOOAR!

In the middle of the fierce battle, a thunderous roar descended from above, shaking the ground.

Finally.

It took long enough to stall for time.

“…No.”

“Holy…!”

The Light Wyvern.

The labyrinth’s boss, lured here by Yallen, plunged downward in an instant.

BOOOOOOM!!

“AAAAAAAH!”

Screams mixed with the tremendous crash as buildings and roads collapsed.

[This is where your partner’s illusion had been.]

I immediately dismissed it.

Everything the Eye That Whispers Falsehoods had witnessed while disguised as Beldora flooded into my mind at once.

The final scene in those memories… the Forest Elf Lael, who had escaped earlier, being struck by the wyvern’s claws and torn into several pieces.

“Oh, dear.”

KRAAAAH!

Apparently unsatisfied with killing only one, the wyvern began rampaging wildly.

The earth shook violently, deafening crashes echoed everywhere, and nearby buildings collapsed one after another.

Explorers and ghouls alike abandoned their battles and hurried outside.

Kroo?

Just as it began taking flight again, the wyvern noticed the group that had frozen in place and flew toward them.

No one could defeat the Light Wyvern with only one or two people.

Certainly not while fighting one another as well.

“…Ghouls.”

“…Vampires.”

Faced with the rapidly approaching threat of the Light Wyvern, the Fire Turtle Guild Master

and the leader of the Slaughter Ghouls quickly exchanged glances.

Amazingly, they reached the same conclusion.

“Let’s cooperate for now.”

“As absurd as it sounds… It’s our best option!”

Vampires and ghouls.

Enemies for a thousand years, achieving a miraculous alliance in the face of disaster.

“Protector of all people… I’ve done it again.”

It was the kind of joyous occasion that would surely make Artein smile from the heavens.