Chapter 344 - Comeback (3)

["Mr. Lion has no record of logging into Ghost Busters for two years and six months."]

I had been pretty rattled when I first heard that, but on reflection, there was no reason to be too afraid. At least one thing was certain.

'At most, they found out my username was Elfnunna.'

After all, even Auriel Gabis hadn't been able to dig up someone's real-world identity from the spiritual world. And GM, who had inherited a half-finished version of it, had managed that?

Impossible.

The problem, instead, was that knowing my username would let them ban me from the community... But from another perspective, even that wasn't a big deal.

'It's not like I'll die if I can't use the community.'

On the other hand, I had a lot to lose by backing down. The moment I did, that woman would decide this was my weakness.

["Where on earth have you been all this time?"]

After that, even more blatant questions would come my way. If I kept dodging them, it would only be a matter of time before Mr. Lion's mask came off.

So rather than let that happen...

'The best defense is a good offense.'

I decided to trust that principle and take a gamble.

After all, hadn't GM once banned Lee Baekho, only to nearly get killed when Baekho tracked him down in person? Just as nuclear weapons were said to deter war, I figured boldly making myself look even more formidable might be the only answer.

Well, I couldn't be certain how it would turn out yet...

'I'll find out soon enough.'

I looked around.

"..."

"..."

A hushed silence, without even the sound of breathing. Within it, every gaze converged on a single point: the gem on the Round Table that distinguished truth from lies.

But I was watching something other than the gem.

SoulQueen. GM's associate, attending the Round Table in a queen mask.

Her eyes, which had been composed throughout, were wavering, full of the question, 'How did this happen?' As though she hadn't anticipated this turn of events at all.

"... Uh, eh, ah..."

Her mouth wanted to say something, but nothing came together, leaving her to make only breathy, incoherent sounds. Her hands weren't doing much better.

"Uh, uh...?"

The hand she'd thrust out as if she had to stop this lingered in the air before dropping limply.

She knew it herself. A gesture like that couldn't stop anything.

The damage was already done.

WHOOOOSH!

As though savoring all the attention, the gem waited a moment before emitting a green glow.

And the brief silence ended.

"GM... is the Magic Engineer...?"

"W-wait... I can't keep up. H-how can he be an evil spirit... No, GM, of all people?"

"... Psh-sh-sh. Waiting over two years for Mr. Lion really was worthwhile. A secret like this, right from the start."

The commotion continued as the members all voiced their reactions. Some of the murmurs were worth listening to.

"I'm more surprised by Queen, actually. There had been speculation that she was part of the administration, but..."

Right. I'd wondered why she was discussing login records in front of everyone. She hadn't had any reason to desperately conceal it.

Apparently, Queen's identity had been exposed to some extent while I was away. Hmm. Given her personality, maybe she'd revealed it deliberately rather than been exposed.

Not that this was what mattered right now.

Regardless of what anyone else said, I kept my gaze fixed on one place.

"Handle..."

Standing with her head lowered and her hands on the table, SoulQueen was glaring at me. But she didn't look particularly intimidating. The reason was simple.

"C-can you handle the consequences...?"

Who would be frightened when she was stammering like that?

"I don't know how you found that out, but after d-doing something like this—"

I cut her off.

"You said earlier that you had no reason to be afraid."

"...?"

"You're trembling."

"...!"

SoulQueen hurriedly turned to look at her hand. It was shaking violently, like someone with a tremor.

SMACK.

She caught her trembling wrist with her other hand and glared at me again. Then she steadied her breathing, as though she'd made up her mind.

"Fine. So that's how you want to play it. I'll go first this round."

Resting her hand on the gem at her seat, she told anyone who wouldn't be participating in this round to leave.

Naturally, no one was about to leave under these circumstances.

And then...

"Mr. Lion is Bjorn Jandel."

Before long, the gem lit up.

* * *

1. Mr. Lion is Elfnunna.

2. Elfnunna hasn't logged into the community for two years and six months, and neither has Mr. Lion.

3. Therefore, Mr. Lion is Bjorn Jandel.

Since she'd reached that conclusion through sound reasoning, she must have been one hundred percent certain of it.

At least until she entered the Round Table today.

WHOOOOSH.

In an atmosphere beyond tense, so sharp it felt as though it might cut skin, the gem emitted its light.

"... It's red."

As expected, it didn't turn green. This gem wasn't a device that judged objective facts.

SoulQueen apparently wanted to land a blow on me... But once a crack had formed in her belief, this was nothing more than a futile struggle.

'The thing is, she doesn't seem so shaken that she'd forget something this basic.'

Then why bother with a futile struggle?

Goblin's question revealed the answer.

"Um, isn't Bjorn Jandel dead? Mr. Lion is alive and right here in front of us... So why ask that...?"

"There are many questions surrounding his death. Not even his companions actually saw him die."

The possibility that Bjorn Jandel was alive.

She'd made that statement with even that possibility in mind.

Though she'd received a red light for lacking conviction.

"Psh. Even so, surely you knew speculation like that would get a red light?"

"... I won't answer that."

With that, SoulQueen looked away from me.

Only then did it occur to me that her statement might simply have been a probe.

No, it must have been. Thinking back, she'd been watching only me even as the gem lit up.

'... Ha. Probing me right back in that situation. Why can't anything ever be easy?'

I worried about what conclusion she'd drawn from my reaction, but I didn't let it show.

Still, had my silence given her confidence?

"... Anyway, since it turned red, I'll have to try again."

SoulQueen casually announced another attempt and glanced at me.

Then...

"I can prevent Mr. Lion from ever setting foot in Ghost Busters whenever I wish."

She received a green light for information that confirmed she was part of the administration.

Her behavior was more or less within my expectations. She'd asked whether I could handle the consequences, but that was the worst penalty she could impose on me.

Unlike me.

"Psh. I'd rather you didn't do that. Oh, not that you could do it anyway."

"... What do you mean?"

"If you could ban people, why leave me here in the first place? I'm from Noark, which you people hate so much. Didn't you leave me alone because you wanted information from our side?"

"... What does that have to do with this?"

"Psh-sh-sh. So I guessed right? Anyway, if that's your reasoning, you have all the more reason not to ban Mr. Lion. Who knows what he might tell us next? Besides..."

Clown stated it bluntly.

"You shouldn't do things if you can't handle the consequences, should you?"

"... Can't handle the consequences?"

"Yes. He even knew GM's identity. What do you think might happen to you?"

He'd said exactly what I wanted someone to say. Saying that sort of thing yourself made you look a little pathetic, after all.

Having someone step in like this let me save face. It was much the same reason school bullies always had lackeys like these at their sides.

"..."

I turned away from Queen, who had clamped her mouth shut without a single rebuttal, and met Clown's eyes.

He was smiling, with a look that said, 'I did well, didn't I?'

* * *

Did he think that more or less paid her back for his past humiliation?

"Psh. Well, I'm just saying. It's not really my place to interfere."

Having said his piece, Clown continued in a refreshed voice.

"Anyway, if we're going in reverse order now, I suppose it's my turn?"

And so the second round resumed in earnest.

Right from the start, something came up that I couldn't simply brush aside.

"Since Bjorn Jandel, that bastard I'd like to chew to death, happens to have come up... He might not actually be an evil spirit."

Huh?

"Psh. Because that man Lee Baekho was the one who spread the rumor that he was an evil spirit."

... Lee Baekho?

He'd exposed my whole identity?

While I was reeling inwardly, Stag Horns casually offered an even more shocking piece of information.

"Wasn't that woman Misha Karlstein the original source?"

... Huh? Misha?

"Same difference. She's one of Lee Baekho's companions now."

Wait, what the hell was that supposed to mean?

Why was Misha one of Lee Baekho's companions?

"Psh. Fortunately, I got a green light. I figured none of you would know that Red Cat Tribe woman had become Lee Baekho's companion."

The stream of information I could barely accept left my head spinning, but I clung to the resolve not to let it show and somehow kept my composure.

In that state, I watched the next turn begin.

"... Whew. This really isn't easy."

After receiving two red lights for war-related information, Goblin managed to get a green light on his third attempt. It concerned the internal affairs of the Followers of Leatlas.

That was hardly surprising, since he always had a habit of selling out his own order when cornered.

"My turn again, then."

Crescent Moon's turn came around again. Since he'd mentioned Erwin earlier, I was interested, but unfortunately, this information was nothing special.

It concerned the war. The same went for Stag Horns, who followed him.

"Psh. It really does seem the royal family has drawn its sword in earnest this time."

Given that even Clown, who usually mocked Stag Horns, reacted like that, it must have been fairly important information. But for the moment, I didn't particularly care about the war.

My scattered companions. Clearing the false(?) accusation that I was an evil spirit. And so on.

There were countless things I needed to take care of first.

In that sense, Fox's information at least piqued my interest.

No, perhaps worry would be more accurate?

"A few months ago, the Alminus Central Trade Market acquired a double-digit Numbered item. An unidentified woman apparently borrowed a large sum of money using it as collateral, and the repayment deadline is approaching. We may see it at the market's auction house soon."

Surely... she wasn't talking about my Demon Crusher?

No, she couldn't be.

Kindhearted Amelia would never do that.

"..."

As I struggled to rationalize it, I realized everyone's eyes had gathered on me.

'Oh, it's my turn already.'

I'd already decided what to say, so there was no need to agonize over it now.

I slowly surveyed them one by one. Everyone was looking at me in anticipation of what I would say.

Except for one person.

"..."

Perhaps because of what she'd done earlier, SoulQueen looked more anxious than expectant.

Was she the type with plenty of pride but more fear than you'd expect?

'Anyway, I think I've drawn this out long enough.'

I idly tapped my chair twice, then looked at SoulQueen.

"You asked whether I could handle the consequences."

Now it was my turn to answer that question.

No, strictly speaking, it was time to turn it back on her.

As Clown had said earlier, was she truly prepared to handle the consequences herself?

GULP.

The moment Queen's slender throat bobbed, I continued without hesitation.

"Queen's username is SoulQueen."

As soon as I finished, every member turned to the gem.

I couldn't help chuckling.

Come on, I wasn't even finished talking.

"And SoulQueen's real name is..."

Actually, I didn't know either.

But I deliberately trailed off as I watched her. If she didn't react, I could feign mercy with something like, "I'll save that for another time."

"Oh?"

As I paused once more, the interest in the members' eyes deepened. Clown was the most interested of all.

Well, he'd been badly humiliated by this woman before.

"I hope she's not the type to stay holed up in the Magic Tower like the Magic Engineer. That would make her difficult to kill. Psh-sh-sh-sh..."

At Clown's chilling laughter, SoulQueen's throat bobbed once more.

TAP, TAP.

I idly tapped my chair again.

And at that moment...

"... S-stop!"

The words I'd wanted to hear came out of her mouth.

"P-please stop... Anything but revealing my identity here..."

Tsk. Should've done that in the first place.