Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. – Chapter 97 – Without Fail. Absolutely.

Author: Cireng

Chapter 97 — Without Fail. Absolutely.

Having just arrived in District 3 aboard the Pletica Circulation Train, we couldn’t stop turning our heads in every direction.

The streets and buildings were all lavishly decorated.

With the Guild War approaching, District 3 was in the midst of a grand festival.

While looking around at the festivities, Bartimir scratched his chin.

“A… wolf festival?”

Ash-furred werewolves growled playfully at passersby along the roadside, while wolves were painted across the streets.

As I handed skewered snacks to the siblings, I explained,

“More precisely, it’s the Ash Wolf Festival. The festival held to commemorate the Guild War changes its name and theme depending on which guild manages District 3.”

“Karr, then if the guild’s name is the Gold Guild, would they hold a Gold Coin Festival?!”

A question befitting Marlin, the materialistic teenager obsessed with money.

“Probably. A similar example would be when the Swamp Warrior Guild managed District 3. Back then, the entire district was turned into a swamp.”

“…How is that even similar?”

“Money and swamps. They’re alike in that both bottomless bogs drag people endlessly downward.”

“…”

While Marlin frowned,

Pendrick the super-genius swordsman who had barely finished his training and returned just yesterday came back carrying wolf-shaped ice cream and handed one to each of us.

Then he smiled.

“Captain Karr, are you heading straight to Ash Wolf Guild headquarters?”

“I should. We need to coordinate with the members and go over our strategy before the Guild War.”

“Then please go ahead. We’ll head to Dreaming Trail and find an inn.”

“Choose an expensive one. The butler emptied plenty of spending money out of the treasury for us.”

***

Sergius and Charlotte had remained at the mansion.

The servants of House Brites never liked crowded places because of the danger of assassination.

The agents of the Faint Shadow naturally remained at their respective posts carrying out their duties.

Though there was one lucky person who had come along.

“Lady Rachel.”

“Yes, Cultist.”

The maid-agent Rachel immediately bowed.

She wasn’t even a soldier, yet her reaction speed was extraordinary… in a completely different sense from Pierre’s.

“I have one favor to ask.”

“If you give the order, I shall carry it out with all my heart.”

“Please gather information while moving around District 3.”

“What kind of information do you require?”

“I need information regarding explorers participating in the Guild War whose recent achievements have become unusually outstanding.”

It might have sounded like a strange order, yet Rachel didn’t hesitate in the slightest before bowing once again.

“I shall do my utmost. Glory to Lidni!”

How incredibly loyal…!

The butler had truly assigned me someone I liked.

If there was one disappointment, it was that she never made me nervously wonder whether she might steal my belongings.

“See you later.”

***

After parting with the others, I immediately headed north.

In front of the wolf-shaped building located at the very end of Path of Diligent Thorns.

As I made my way toward the Ash Wolf Guild headquarters, whose first floor operated as a tavern, people kept glancing at me.

[Your reputation has certainly grown quite a bit compared to before!]

The moment I entered the building, despite it still being broad daylight, a powerful stench of alcohol hit me from every direction.

[Warning: Under absolutely no circumstances should you drink alcohol!]

“I wasn’t planning to.”

I answered calmly while lining up at the reception desk, then furrowed my brow.

‘…Something’s hazy. I can’t remember.’

I was certain I knew why I wasn’t supposed to drink alcohol, but whenever I tried to recall it, my mind turned completely blank.

It was obviously not a natural phenomenon.

Perhaps some magnificent prohibition had been engraved into my mind, preventing me from remembering Karr’s past.

“Welcome.”

While I had briefly fallen into thought, my turn arrived.

“What business brings you–”

The receptionist raised their head with an expression of boredom, only for their words to stop as their eyes widened.

“Could you be… ‘Golden Crow’ Karr?”

Golden Crow.

The nickname I had earned after becoming a somewhat well-known explorer.

Honestly, I found it a little disappointing.

If it had been something stylish like Golden Hybrid or Golden Half-Eared Elf, I could have walked around proudly with my shoulders squared.

Instead, it felt rather awkward, making me instinctively shrink back.

“The Guild Master instructed us to escort you directly to the reception room the moment you arrived.”

Soon afterward, the employee jumped to their feet and guided me upstairs.

“So you’ve come, Cultist Karr.”

Inside the room, Odilon whom I hadn’t seen in quite some time was seated on a sofa.

“…”

Rosalia, who had reunited with the young master before I did, gave me a small nod.

“Sit down quickly. There are things we need to discuss before Targon arrives.”

“Yes.”

As I obediently took a seat beside the sofa, Odilon inhaled smoke from [Comforter] before speaking.

“The contract concerning your participation in the Guild War was successfully finalized yesterday.”

“Only now?”

“Because of Targon’s secretary, Elvira. She’s an elf with tremendous experience as an explorer and absolutely refuses to make concessions.”

[He himself was probably just as meticulous…]

“Rosalia.”

Ripple.

At the young master’s instruction, Rosalia pulled out a thick stack of documents from within the shadows.

“Surely… that’s not all the contract?”

“It is. Once we included everything both sides wanted, it became rather lengthy. This is the bare minimum if you don’t want to get swindled by the Milky Way.”

Crackle!

The Exalted One smiled with satisfaction, remarking that there was something especially enjoyable about breaking intelligent beings as meticulous as Odilon.

“Go ahead and read it.”

“Hm, no need. Since you personally handled it, Young Master, I’m sure there’s nothing to criticize.”

“Naturally.”

He thoroughly denied friendship and love, yet accepted praise as though it were only natural.

The young master had surprisingly many openings.

“Young Master, shall I report everything that’s happened?”

“Go ahead.”

I gave him a detailed account of everything that had happened inside the [Purification Sanctuary of Repose], as well as the rewards I’d earned through my diligent volunteer work.

Odilon listened silently until I had finished.

Only afterward did he speak.

“So the last Saintess of the Guardian Church intends to heal our expedition free of charge from now on?”

“That’s correct. Surely you wouldn’t doubt even the goodwill of the historic Saintess Seraphina herself?”

“…”

“Why aren’t you answering?”

Tap.

Rosalia, standing behind me, lightly tapped my shoulder before shaking her head.

She was telling me not to make the young master any more uncomfortable.

“And I’ve also entered a cooperative relationship with an outlaw named Pierre. Together, we’ve agreed to eliminate the outlaws belonging to the Silent Alliance.”

“That… is something I’ll need to hear about in greater detail later.”

[A ridiculously huge orc is approaching!]

After finishing my report, I was casually eating nuts from the table when, before long, an orc with overwhelming presence entered the reception room.

[Ash Wolf Guild Master Targon (Gray Orc, 40 years old). An overwhelming powerhouse whose information remains unreadable even after your Soul Rank reached Level 4!]

“So you’ve come.”

Speaking in his heavy voice, Targon dropped himself onto the sofa opposite us.

His elven secretary Elvira quietly approached and stood behind him.

“Let’s begin. Karr, based on what you told me last time, I secretly conducted an investigation.”

Veteran warriors did not waste time on meaningless greetings.

Targon immediately got to the point.

“You were right. A spy.”

It was a concise statement.

There was no need for lengthy explanations.

I could easily infer what had happened.

“Rigobert had been leaking every bit of our internal information.”

Rigobert.

The most senior explorer among the four vice guild masters.

“He was incredibly thorough. A normal investigation revealed absolutely nothing suspicious. But after assuming he was the culprit and analyzing everything from that premise, we barely managed to uncover a lead.”

Despite learning the shocking truth that a companion he’d treated like family had actually been a spy, Targon’s emotionless face showed nothing.

I decided to generously interpret it as follows: He occupied the immensely responsible position of Guild Master of District 3.

Naturally, he couldn’t allow just anyone to see him emotionally shaken.

“Elvira.”

“Yes.”

At the sound of her name, the secretary immediately retrieved a money pouch from her subspace gauntlet and placed it on the table.

“One thousand five hundred gold. This includes payment for the Hidden Piece information, along with a modest reward for reporting the spy.”

“That’s a rather substantial amount for something you call modest.”

“It was because of a clause that Lord Odilon insisted be added to the contract.”

The jewel elf secretary Elvira quietly clicked her tongue.

“It was the clause stating that if the reward for contributing to the identification of the spy wasn’t reasonable… Lord Odilon would refuse to lend us Lord Karr….”

It was an achievement worthy of ‘Godilon.’

Giving a slight nod, carefully asked Targon,

“What became of Lord Rigobert?”

“He escaped.”

Targon frowned.

“We carefully prepared before raiding his residence. But he’d apparently already sensed something and was gone.”

After quietly staring at me for a moment, the Guild Master added something important.

“It looked as though he’d shed his skin. Only Rigobert’s skin remained behind… Was Rigobert a fake all along?”

“Strictly speaking, he was a fake wearing the skin of the real one.”

At my words, the already gloomy complexion of the gray orc darkened further.

“…I see. Now I finally understand.”

Crack.

The armrest of the sofa in Targon’s grip was crushed apart.

“Rigobert wasn’t a traitor. He was murdered by someone… and then replaced.”

A pressure as immense as a mountain filled the reception room.

He was merely grinding his teeth and clenching his fists, yet breathing itself became difficult.

“…”

Odilon looked on the verge of fainting, forcing Rosalia to support him.

“Guild Master.”

“…My apologies.”

At his secretary’s voice, Targon barely managed to calm himself.

Still clenching both fists, he turned his gaze toward me.

“What Mystery could possibly deceive even my senses? A thief after all?”

“Correct.”

Though the class most evil at heart was the Mage, the class specializing in every imaginable underhanded external trick was the Thief.

“More specifically… A Ninja among thieves.”

Ninja. One of the highest-ranking classes, and the class that most clearly revealed creator Kato Roger’s obsession with Japan.

It excelled in many areas, but especially in its exclusive Mysteries known as Ninjutsu, every one of which possessed cheat-like abilities rivaling magic itself.

‘That bastard absolutely has to die.’

The six Apostles of the Ninja Class.

Collectively known as: The Conspirators.

Their specialty was weaving sinister grand schemes.

They patiently built elaborate plots from the very bottom all the way to the heavens.

If left alone, they had an extremely high probability of throwing all of Pletica into chaos.

“Among the Ninja Class Mysteries that remain completely unknown because they’re Hidden Rewards… there’s one that lets you peel the skin off a dead person and wear it like clothing.”

[Skin Garment].

A Seventh-Tier Mystery.

It allowed the user to disguise themselves as the victim while absorbing part of their memories.

“When used by a high-level explorer, even someone extremely close to the victim would struggle to recognize the difference. Even you, Lord Targon.”

The only insignificant drawback was having to wear another person’s skin.

Otherwise, it was an outstanding Mystery specialized for infiltration.

“Karr… What do you think the chances are that the ninja who killed Rigobert will participate in the Guild War?”

It wasn’t a difficult question to answer.

“Without fail. Absolutely.”

“…That’s good to hear.”

For the first time since entering the reception room, the massive gray orc smiled.

“There’s a rule stating that no participant can be held responsible for any kind of damage inflicted during the Guild War.”

The labyrinth used for the Guild War possessed a special mechanic.

Every explorer’s level and physical abilities became equalized.

And there was another feature.

Even if you died inside, you would simply revive outside afterward.

In other words, you could beat someone to death… and be completely innocent.

“I’m truly looking forward to this Guild War…”

It was obvious his excitement differed greatly from that of ordinary participants.

Secretary Elvira looked at me with her eyes, asking,

“Should I calm him down?”

I quietly shook my head.

How could a mere cultist possibly stop a mountain on the march?

The only thing I could do was imitate the Rat from the Twelve Zodiac Legends… climb onto the shoulders of the orc charging relentlessly forward.

“Lord Targon. I can help you.”

Meeting the gaze of the grinning orc, I leaned my upper body forward slightly.

“If the one who murdered Sir Rigobert and impersonated him appears…. I’ll recognize him immediately.”

“Even I, who was closer to him than anyone else, never realized he’d been replaced… and you can?”

Targon rested both hands upon the table.

Perhaps because I had already proven my abilities, the sturdy gray orc no longer looked at me with distrust like last time, when I’d suddenly presented him with an unpleasant truth.

Instead, curiosity quietly surfaced upon his face.

“If anyone else had said such a thing, it would have been empty arrogance worthy of being thrown out. But who am I? I serve Lord Lidni… the Pioneer of Twisted Truth. I possess Mysteries specialized in gathering information.”

[;)]

“Please look forward to it.”

Leaning back against the sofa, I looked directly into Targon’s eyes and declared,

“I shall secure victory in the Guild War… and execute the spy. I’ll accomplish both at once.”

I was a cultist overflowing with greed.

I had no intention of letting either prize slip away.

“…That confidence. I like it.”

Crossing his arms, Targon gave a heavy nod.

“Until the Guild War is over… you are officially one of our guild members.”

The secretary immediately pulled an impressive uniform from her subspace gauntlet.

[Luxury Item — Ash Wolf Guild Uniform]

[Made from material sturdier than ordinary clothing. Once and only once it allows the Guild Master to be summoned regardless of distance.]