Chapter 289 - Heavyweights (1)

There was no second knock. As though the first had merely been an announcement, the door opened immediately, without so much as a request for permission.

CREEEAK.

An old man entered. He had a thick head of white hair and deeply wrinkled skin, but none of the frailty one might expect at his age. His steps were steady, his back perfectly straight.

And above all...

“Hmm.”

His presence.

Even without words, the alien quality that emanated naturally from his movements and his gaze said it all.

This old man was dangerous.

“Judging by your clothes, you must be from Earth.”

The old man briefly murmured this as he looked me over.

“How did you get in here?”

My mind went blank for a moment.

How should I answer? Judging by his clothes, he certainly seemed to be one of the evil spirits from other worlds.

“...”

For now, I chose silence. Rather than speak rashly, I decided to get him talking first so I could figure out at least a little of what was going on.

Well, that had been the idea...

“Remarkable. Three rank-three Essences already. It should only have been a little over a year since your people were summoned here.”

The old man was reading information about me without my having said a single word.

Fuck, where did people even get abilities like that?

“Well, I haven't felt this curious in quite some time. Never mind how you got in. Tell me this first. Just who are you?”

“...”

“Are you going to keep staring at me like that?”

He had every reason to be wary of an uninvited stranger, but instead, the old man prompted me in a friendly voice.

'Whew. What do I say?'

Should I just come right out and say I was from the future?

The thought crossed my mind, but that was as far as it went. It wasn't wise to divulge information about myself when I knew nothing about him.

Right. So...

“I'll ask the questions first.”

“Oh? Then will you answer mine as well?”

“To a point.”

I used his curiosity to seize the initiative. He had to be as curious about who I was as I was confused about all this.

I would use that to get as much information as possible.

“Go ahead.”

As soon as the old man gave his permission, I started with this question.

“What's your name?”

“Ho ho. My name, is it...”

He chuckled as though the question were an anticlimax, but names mattered a great deal to me. After all, I had the advantage of coming from twenty years in the future.

Even if a name was unknown now, who knew what it might mean in the future? With luck, his name alone might tell me what sort of life he would go on to lead.

“Wanting to exchange names first? You do know your manners, then.”

The old man smiled in apparent pleasure.

Then...

“I am—”

Just as he began to speak...

“...”

He frowned and pressed his lips shut. But the distortion of his expression lasted only a moment.

“My apologies. Something requires my attention outside. I'm afraid we'll have to continue this conversation later.”

Having announced the interruption in his refined manner, the old man made an unexpected offer.

“Still, it would be rude to leave you here. Hmm, what to do... Would you care to come along?”

After a moment's consideration, I agreed. What could I accomplish sitting alone in this room, anyway? Following him outside would at least give me a chance to learn something more.

“Good. Quite a decisive fellow, for someone so thin. In any case, going out dressed like that will attract the other members' attention. Here, put this on.”

He flicked his hand, and a set of clothes appropriate to this era appeared in midair.

But perhaps that wasn't quite enough.

“Ah, you'd best cover your face as well.”

The old man conjured a pure white mask on the spot and handed it to me.

What was that handy ability? Surely he could only use it here in this spiritual world?

With those thoughts in mind, I put on the clothes and settled the mask over my face.

“Is it uncomfortable?”

“No. It fits perfectly.”

“Heh heh. I ought to keep some masks on hand in the future. Some people might not want to show their faces, after all.”

“...”

“Now, let's be off.”

I left the room and followed him. As we walked, the old man gave me a few warnings.

“No matter whom you see in there, don't act surprised or acknowledge anyone you recognize. In fact, if possible, simply keep your mouth shut and watch, as you did earlier.”

“What if someone speaks to me first?”

“That won't happen, but even if it does, I'll handle it. Don't worry.”

Well, in that case.

I stayed close behind the old man, continuing to study my surroundings as we walked. The more I looked, the stranger the sense of déjà vu became.

Like the room I had been in earlier, this place felt similar to the mansion that housed the Round Table.

'It doesn't have a single window, either.'

Of course, the details were different—the decorations on the walls, the placement of the rooms, the width of the hallways.

But...

'Something about it bothers me too much to call it mere coincidence.'

Rather than dismiss it as my imagination, I carefully surveyed the surroundings.

How long had we been walking?

“We're here.”

The old man stopped in the hallway and slowly opened a large door.

'What is this place?'

To my astonishment, a round table stood beyond it.

* * *

The Round Table room, which I had visited countless times wearing my lion mask.

On closer inspection, there were quite a few differences. For one thing, the table lacked the jewel that distinguished truth from lies, and the room was a little smaller.

But...

'It's so similar.'

Apart from those differences, it was practically identical. The pattern engraved like a band around the table's edge, the framed paintings of incomprehensible meaning on the walls...

Most of it matched the Round Table twenty years in the future.

Then what did that mean?

'Could this old man be the Master?'

The Master.

The mysterious individual who had created the Observer of the Round Table, whom I had met only once before.

Perhaps the old man standing before me was that very person. Though it was also possible that one of the people here had modeled the later space on this one.

'Anyway, I'll think about that later.'

I had frozen briefly at the sight of the familiar table, but quickly pulled myself together. What did the table matter right now?

The people seated around it were what mattered.

'Four.'

There were four people in the room. Three men and one woman.

The moment the door opened, they turned to look at us.

And...

“Who's that behind you?”

They showed intense interest in me, mask and all. In some ways, it was a little like my first visit to the Round Table.

'Those damn eyes of theirs.'

It was as though their eyes had thorns. Whenever their gazes fell on me, my skin prickled with a sharp, stabbing sensation.

As that uncomfortable scrutiny continued...

“Who he is is none of your concern.”

Unlike when he spoke to me, the old man's voice was forceful and intimidating as he firmly drew the line. With order instantly restored, he went straight to the point.

“I hear there was a dispute in my absence.”

“...”

“Of course, I trust none of you are foolish enough to have forgotten this place's principles.”

“...”

“Still, I should hear you out. What happened?”

He spoke as though admonishing children, and an awkward silence settled over the room. They kept averting their eyes whenever they met, as though trying to decide who would take the plunge.

The first to speak was an enormously built middle-aged man.

“... Let me make this clear: we have no intention whatsoever of fighting among ourselves. But this man keeps putting strange ideas into people's heads.”

At his accusation, the man in black, who had been sitting silently, frowned.

“Why is proposing that we kill the king a strange idea?”

“Ha! Do you think I don't know why you want him dead? Don't even think of dragging us into your personal ambitions.”

“Kagureas. You've spent decades failing to find a way, and you still cling to the hope of going home?”

“Of course. Like everyone here. Ah, though I suppose that no longer includes you.”

“Ridiculous. If you want to go home, isn't that all the more reason to help me? The royal family harbors enormous secrets. Surely it is where all our questions ultimately lead.”

“... Going after him is too dangerous. Besides, there's no guarantee the royal family is hiding a clue to returning home.”

I could see what their disagreement was about. A hardliner who wanted to kill the king for clues, and a moderate who thought that was too dangerous and wanted another approach.

I was listening intently, intrigued by this conversation between evil spirits from other worlds twenty years in the past, when the middle-aged man's next words left me dazed.

“I don't care what you do on your own. Found that group called Orculus or whatever, for all I care. It has no direct bearing on me.”

What? Found Orculus?

'... Is this guy that Commander?'

A heavyweight I hadn't remotely expected.

Suddenly, I remembered what the old man had said earlier. Don't be surprised by anyone I saw in here, was it?

That was fair enough if he meant the Commander of Orculus. He was a famous figure shrouded in mystery, with practically nothing known about him.

To think I would meet someone like that here—

“But Lord Luingenes is another matter.”

The middle-aged man continued, looking at someone with the appearance of a child.

My mind went blank all over again.

'Huh? Luingenes, as in...'

Velvev Luingenes.

The real name of the Scholar of Destruction, once the head of a major school of magic, who had fallen into criminality after dabbling in forbidden magic.

“If you try to sway him with your nonsense, I won't stand idly by.”

“Do you truly believe he can perfect dimensional magic?”

“I do. Far more than I believe in your absurd plan to kill the king.”

I clenched my fists as I watched the child calmly sip tea, utterly unconcerned by the discussion about him.

SLURP.

Seriously, this little kid was the Scholar of Destruction...?

* * *

The Commander of Orculus.

And the Scholar of Destruction.

'Whew. What a lineup...'

Now that I knew who those two heavyweights were, I naturally became curious about the other two.

But...

'I've never heard the name Kagureas in my life.'

This was the first time I'd heard the middle-aged man's name. And the woman hadn't said a word, so I had no information about her.

Just who were these two?

“I understand the situation. That's enough.”

The old man spoke up, silencing the room. It wasn't as though he exuded any particular charisma, yet these formidable people were cowed by a single remark.

“All of you, step outside. I have a more important matter to attend to today. We'll discuss this issue again later.”

“A more important matter?”

The woman, who had only listened until now, spoke for the first time.

“Does it have something to do with the person behind you?”

“It does.”

At his ready confirmation, their eyes converged on me again.

He's more important than us?

That was exactly what their looks said. But as they all held their tongues, watching the old man's reaction...

“Who is he? I don't think you've ever brought anyone here before. And why is he wearing a mask when it serves no purpose here?”

The woman asked again, and the old man answered exactly as he had before.

“None of your concern.”

“...”

“Now, would you give us some privacy?”

At his second dismissal, the people in the room rose and left one by one, starting with the woman.

Then...

“Ho ho. Finally, it's just the two of us again.”

Once everyone had gone, the old man smiled as kindly as before, as though removing a mask.

“Now, let's pick up where we left off. Where were we?”

“... You were telling me your name.”

“Ah, that's right.”

He chuckled like a grandfather from next door, saying I would be the same when I grew old.

Then he introduced himself without hesitation.

“Since you're from Earth, perhaps the name will already be familiar to you.”

“...?”

“A pleasure to meet you. My name is Auriel Gabis.”

Auriel Gabis.

The author of Complete Analysis of Ruptures II, and the game developer who had created [Dungeon and Stone].