Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 184 - I'll Wish You Good Luck

Chapter 184 – I’ll Wish You Good Luck

 

“Goo-goo, gaa.”

A clean-looking baby with a bright future ahead of him babbled as he stretched both hands forward. He was so adorable that you wanted to nibble on him.

Yet Marlin, the cold-hearted thief holding the baby in her arms, muttered flatly without even the faintest trace of a smile.

“I told you not to talk. Every time you do, it’s way too obvious that you’re not a real baby.”

“……”

The neat-looking baby stopped babbling, stared blankly up at Marlin for a moment, then shrugged.

“You’re awfully picky. Waa.”

A child who should have been trapped in the endless cycle of eat–poop–cry, imprisoning his guardian in an infinite loop, was speaking with perfect pronunciation.

AKarr in the form of a newborn. Also known as Baby Karr, he poked Marlin’s soft cheek with his tiny finger.

“I’m this adorable, and yet how can you be so cold? Is it because you’re the owner of Gléléré of Frost? Waa waa?”

“…Sigh.”

“Grruk.”

The Tiger Beastman and the flying squirrel spirit both sighed at the same time.

Immediately noticing their sour moods, Baby Karr began showing off an all-inclusive gift set of pouting, acting cute, and adorable antics.

Marlin and Iquiril’s expressions only darkened further.

“Isn’t this entertaining?”

“It’s certainly entertaining to watch.”

I was enjoying the fascinating childcare reality show unfolding in my bedroom on the second floor, eating popcorn Abel had made.

Crunch. Crunch.

“It’s nice and salty. You’ve improved again.”

“[Charlotte-Style Blazing Cuisine] really is a martial Mystery that improves both combat and cooking skills. The more I practice it… the more I can feel my hands and feet moving with a level of precision they never had before.”

It seemed Abel’s own training was nearing completion as well.

Considering he was learning directly under Charlotte… a chef personally chosen by the demanding Michelle… his skills were improving by the day.

Perhaps our next expedition would finally become one where our mouths and tongues were thoroughly delighted.

“Abubu! Abu abu!”

“That’s not how babies cry!”

Marlin gently shook AKarr in her arms.

Perhaps because he looked like an infant, she couldn’t quite bring herself to stab his side with her claws.

“I wonder how long it’ll take before Sister and AKarr become close. At this rate… won’t they still fail to become Frozen Comrades before the tournament?”

Abel chuckled while eating popcorn.

“You’re still a child after all, Abel.”

Rachel, who had been conspicuously polishing the Blind Crow idol where everyone could see it, suddenly spoke.

“Marlin’s already become emotionally close to that Monster Assistant guy.”

“Even though they’re always arguing?”

“Those arguments are proof they’ve grown closer. Isn’t that right, Mr. Cultist?”

“Correct.”

Popping another piece of popcorn into Abel’s mouth, I continued.

“At first… she genuinely seemed to dislike Sir AKarr. But now… she only dislikes him whenever he opens his mouth. At this point… they’re practically best friends.”

[Just what exactly qualifies as ‘best friends’ inside your head…?]

“Ababab!”

“Exactly! That sounds much better!”

Only after putting a pacifier into Baby Karr’s mouth did Marlin finally brighten up.

AKarr waved his tiny hands around in apparent discomfort, but with an infant’s physique, rebelling against one’s guardian was content meant for a much later stage.

“You’ve been working hard, Marlin. Are you alright?”

“…If I want to become an outstanding explorer… I suppose I have to endure at least this much.”

“Excellent. In that case… make sure you master the Mystery Tome I gave you as soon as well.”

“I already put the bookmark in.”

Holding AKarr with one arm, Marlin showed me the Hidden Reward from Giant Hunting Grounds… the Mystery Tome of Floating Observer.

A large metal plate had been inserted halfway through the thick book.

Ancient Bookmark. An artifact I’d previously obtained as a Hidden Reward from the Library of Sin.

By inserting it into a Mystery Tome, one could learn the Mystery without even reading it.

“You know, using that slows down the learning speed, right?”

“I know. But because it’s a Giant’s Mystery Tome… I couldn’t understand a single word of it.”

“When have you ever completely understood a Mystery Tome while reading it?”

“……”

Marlin smacked my forearm repeatedly with her tail. I grabbed it, shook it up and down, and continued.

“Becoming friends with Sir AKarr is important… but don’t neglect practicing observation alongside Sir Brightfeather. There aren’t many days left now.”

“You don’t need to keep reminding me. I’ve already been practicing hard. I can’t let everyone get eliminated during the preliminaries because of me… without even reaching the main tournament.”

The Grand Interracial Unity Festival.

Officially, the exploration tournament held to promote harmony among every race except humans consisted of preliminary rounds and the main tournament.

Anyone could participate in the preliminaries simply by submitting an application.

There were three events.

– Exploration Knowledge Quiz.

– Observation Test.

– Two-versus-Two Battle.

The combined scores determined the rankings. Only the top eight expedition teams advanced to the finals.

“Karr. You’ve already submitted our application, right?”

“I have. Sir Bartimir submitted it on his way to District 2.”

Bartimir was currently visiting the Black Magic Tower of District 2. After reaching Level 5 alongside Pendrick in the Southern Continent Expedition, he had gone there to learn new black magic.

“As I told you before… I’ll be competing in the Exploration Knowledge Quiz together with our sixth participant.”

“And Big Sister and Sir Pendrick will handle the two-versus-two battle.”

“Correct.”

That left the Observation Test. Marlin and Brightfeather would participate in that event.

“…Well… If it’s a quiz, you’ll obviously score full marks. And I don’t need to worry about the battle either since Big Sister and Sir Pendrick are participating.”

Marlin stroked Iquiril’s head, smiling bitterly.

“The other events should all go smoothly. So really… everything depends on me.”

“To be honest… I’m still a little lacking.”

“A clear and objective self-assessment.”

Gently wagging Marlin’s tail, I spoke as softly as I could as her guardian.

“Only those who can objectively evaluate their own abilities… can climb to the very top. So don’t become too discouraged.”

“…That sounded surprisingly guardian-like. You should say things like that more often.”

Though she grumbled, the corners of Marlin’s mouth slowly lifted.

“I’ve said it countless times. You truly can become an incredible thief. Never forget that.”

Satisfied with what even I considered excellent encouragement, I stood and walked toward the window.

“Lady Rachel. Please help me climb onto the roof.”

“Yes!”

Rachel immediately crouched down, letting me step onto her foot.

Thanks to my maid operative, I easily climbed onto the roof.

Carefully sitting atop the wonderfully dangerous sloping rooftop… where one careless mistake could send me tumbling all the way down… I quietly remained there.

“……”

For a while, I simply let the wind wash over me, immersing myself in the emotions of a lonely half-elf.

It was a little warm, so I undid a few buttons as well. A special service for the Exalted One.

Bzzzzt!

Feeling the delight sent by Su’eje, I smiled contentedly before looking up into the night sky.

Scattered clouds. Countless sparkling stars. And in their midst, a perfectly round full moon hung brilliantly overhead.

 

[S-Rank Labyrinth — Nightmare Dungeon]

[If not conquered within five years, the Great Monster dwelling at its highest floor shall emerge, trample every living creature beneath its feet, and set the entire continent ablaze.]

 

The exact same message Truthy had shown me the first time I’d looked up at this world’s night sky.

It was almost as though it couldn’t be bothered to write anything new, simply copying and pasting the old text.

On the other hand, the person reading those words had changed considerably.

I’d grown tremendously as an individual, earned a respectable reputation as an explorer,  and gathered many dependable companions.

[If you continue improving at your current pace, you’ll someday be able to slay the loathsome Great Monster of the [Nightmare Dungeon]. :)]

“Thanks for the wholesome message.”

Without question, my growth was proceeding smoothly.

However, if I alone continued growing, the words the end of the world would never disappear from the information Truthy showed me.

This wasn’t something simple growth alone could solve. I also needed to eliminate the conspirators operating in the shadows.

‘That’s why I need this.’

I took out an item I’d been carefully preserving within my subspace, slowly peeling away the spiderwebs wrapped around its surface.

A beautifully crafted circular device. An astronomical instrument.

Starry Night Follower. The communication tool used by the Great Monster’s Six Apostles.

[!!]

[Has it already become time for the idiots’ meeting?!]

Bathed in moonlight, I placed the Starry Night Follower upon my lap.

Then, using my newly advanced Fifth Hierarchy [Transformation], I changed my appearance.

A silver-haired half-elf ninja. Kyras’s appearance.

“I’ve been looking forward to this.”

Hehehe. I let out a suitably ninja-like laugh through method acting.

“Let’s begin the meeting.”

 

***

 

Moonlight Hill, District 5.

Near the entrance of a cave somewhere along the foot of a mountain, whose interior had been expanded through spatial distortion to rival an entire mountain range.

“……”

A young Lizardman leaned a staff adorned with bells against the cave wall.

Looking up at the full moon, he placed the Starry Night Follower upon the ground.

Whiiing.

Filled with moonlight, the device emitted a faint hum, projecting soft lights into the air.

Six differently colored lights, each shaped like a different object.

A crimson longsword. A blue Mystery Tome. A black dagger. A gray shield.

— Whisperer, my comrade. How goes the preparation?

The deep voice came from the crimson longsword, which always began their meetings.

The young Lizardman, The Whisperer, Zmurtal, slightly curled his lips into a smile.

“Smoothly. This time everything will proceed exactly according to the Great Monster’s will. Unlike that Conspirator… who made such grand promises only to fail spectacularly.”

— Don’t become overconfident.

The blue Mystery Tome spoke quietly.

— Jerix is no ordinary goblin. He may secretly intend to use you as a stepping stone to leap toward the night sky.

“You really never change. You always act like you’re the only intelligent one… by pointing out things everyone already knows.”

— Are you once again inviting a foolish death?

— If you’re going to argue, please do so somewhere outside our sight. This is a meeting. Don’t make it exhausting.

Thanks to the Gray Shield’s mediation, the atmosphere quickly returned to its usual calm.

Clicking his tongue, Zmurtal manipulated the Starry Night Follower, moving the Blue Mystery Tome’s projection farther away.

“To be honest… Jerix is still hesitating slightly. It’s not sympathy for innocent humans… he’s simply afraid innocent goblins will become objects of hatred because of him.”

— Then perhaps action should be taken immediately?

“Relax. Jerix has already resolved himself to accept his tragic fate. Everything is unfolding exactly as I planned.”

Every destiny was smoothly converging toward a single future.

Everything was proceeding so perfectly that it almost felt refreshing.

— If things are progressing according to plan, then I’ll trust you for now. I have nothing further to add.

— Nor do I.

— If you’re going to fail, then fail spectacularly and make a complete fool of yourself.

Everyone except the usually silent Black Dagger offered a brief remark.

Zmurtal was just about to end the meeting on a relaxed note… when…

— Sorry to keep you waiting.

A silver shuriken appeared in midair. The Conspirator’s symbol.

Zmurtal frowned.

“…Conspirator. How are you attending?”

— Weren’t you imprisoned in the underground dungeon?

— Idiots. Did you really think I’d allow myself to be captured so pathetically?

The Conspirator replied in his usual blunt tone.

— The one imprisoned was a fake disguised as me. Using the [Mind Usurper] that the Inventor gave me, I brainwashed another explorer into believing he was the Conspirator.

— …I witnessed that child being completed by the White Jade Hand Guildmaster. So you accomplished that somewhere off-camera?

— Well, if it’s you, Conspirator, then naturally you’d have prepared for the possibility of your operation failing.

As the Gray Shield said, the Conspirator always prepared meticulously for every conceivable situation.

His claim that the imprisoned person had merely been a fake sounded entirely believable.

Soon afterward, the Conspirator calmly asked,

— Whisperer. Did Jerix end up using your words as the means to gather the courage to leap from the cliff, just as planned?

A question based on the previous meeting.

Conversations through the Starry Night Follower could never be eavesdropped upon.

Moreover, the Great Monster had even imposed a restriction preventing anyone from revealing the meeting’s contents.

The possibility that this wasn’t the real Conspirator was effectively nonexistent.

— So it truly is the Conspirator?

— Jerix is still hesitating somewhat, but the plan is proceeding smoothly.

The Crimson Longsword and Gray Shield both relaxed, accepting the speaker as genuine.

Zmurtal, however, couldn’t think the same.

Whooooo…

A horrifying, ghostly face suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Calamity Wraith. The effect of a shamanic Mystery that foresaw impending disasters.

‘…This?’

He had merely spoken with the Conspirator. Yet the Mystery that detected large-scale future calamities had been activated.

What did this mean?

“…Wait.”

Zmurtal manipulated the Starry Night Follower, bringing the silver shuriken’s projection directly before him.

“You. You’re not the Conspirator.”

— …….

Silence. No reply.

Which was, in itself, an answer.

“I don’t know who you are… but I’ll make certain you suffer a horrifying fate.”

He already had a suspect. Whoever it was, they were almost certainly an explorer from the Ash Wolf Guild.

— …….

Apparently frightened, the fake Conspirator still said nothing.

— …Heh.

No. That wasn’t fear.

— Heh… hehe….

He was laughing.

— Ha… Ahahahaha!

As though delighted. As though overjoyed. As though he was going mad from happiness.

— What a splendid warning.

Laughter seeped through the Conspirator’s voice.

— I’ll be looking forward to it.

This time, the voice became calm.

— I’ll keep smiling like this…

This time, it became the voice of an elderly man.

— Please.

— Do.

— Find.

— This body.

— And tr-tryyy….

— Bestow… an unfortunate fate upon it!

— Hahaha! Hahahaha!

Without pause. Relentlessly. Once every second, the voice and manner of speaking changed.

Then it returned to the Conspirator’s own voice.

— I’ll wish you good luck. Ah, and thank you for the useful information that Jerix is still hesitating, if only slightly.

“……”

Zmurtal immediately severed the communication through the Starry Night Follower.

The eyes that had been filled with unwavering confidence until moments ago now trembled violently.

‘Fate has been distorted….’

The destiny that, until just now, had stretched toward a single inevitable future, had become impossible to see even one step ahead.

Pure chaos. Nothing had been decided. An incomplete future had arrived.

Zmurtal stared silently into empty space for a long while, before biting his lip.

“…Who are you?”