Chapter 24: The Star and Aquamarine (4)

Marin.

If Aqua, whom we met earlier, was the last bastion keeping the current Stout functioning as a nation now that the Great Priest had left on an expedition with all the talented personnel, this man was, not metaphorically, but literally the last bastion of Stout.

He was the one in charge of this city's security, acting in place of the Knight Commander who had gone to the Wall with the Great Priest.

“Thank you for coming.”

And such a man was now sitting right in front of us.

“Marin. Vice Commander of the Stout Knight Division and the current acting Knight Commander.”

His every word in a disciplined tone, his stern gaze upon us, his posture as he sat, and even the smallest of his movements had no wasted motion.

He was a man who gave the impression, at a single glance, ‘Ah, this person is a soldier to the bone.’

“So, you are the adventurers who visited the great temple today.”

In fact, people's assessment of him was, to put it nicely, that he valued principles, and to be blunt, that he was rigid, but his skills and character were more trustworthy and respectable than anyone else's—a knight in the truest sense.

“I heard you spoke with High Priest Aqua.”

So, for players who didn't immediately go off to clear hidden dungeons and un-quested dungeons upon arriving in Stout like I did, but naturally and gradually witnessed the 'events' as the game led them, gaining information along the way, this was the moment they finally came face to face with the object of many people's admiration, someone they had only heard about in stories.

In short, it was designed so that even if this was the first time meeting him in person here in the Knight Commander's office, they would do so with a certain level of internal familiarity already built up.

“…Why?”

In other words, for us, who came here without going through any of that process, especially for Ibi, it was nothing more than a situation where a suspicious guy was prying as if he were monitoring us.

“Why are you asking about that?”

“As the acting Knight Commander, I have a duty to protect the safety of this city.”

But Marin was completely unfazed by Ibi's prickly attitude and simply answered calmly.

“Therefore, I am merely trying to grasp what is happening in this city. I have no other intentions.”

“Then go ask him yourself. You’re the acting commander, aren’t you? But he won’t see you? Why, are you on bad terms or something?”

“That thing…”

Rather, it was another knight standing with his hands behind his back a few steps away who bristled first.

“How dare you speak to──”

“Enough.”

The moment the knight took a bold step forward, Marin stopped him with that one word.

Without turning his head or making any other gesture.

The knight hastily apologized and bowed his head low toward Marin.

He was impeccably disciplined.

“My apologies. My explanation was too brief.”

After making the knight retreat back, Marin calmly continued speaking.

“If it were not a serious matter, Aqua would not have met you himself, so it must have been something important.”

It was important.

The fate of the nation was at stake, in a way.

“As you know, Aqua is having very busy days. Of course, it is easy for me to go and ask. But rather than calling out and interrupting Aqua, who is buried in work even now, I thought it would be better to hear it from you directly, to get a sense of what kind of people you are.”

At these words, Ibi immediately snorted.

“So, you’re going to monitor us after all?”

“Depending on the perspective, it could be taken that way. I will not deny it.”

“You don’t even have any intention of hiding it, do you?”

“However, I would appreciate it if you did not take it personally.”

Like this, in a situation where it would have been much easier for him to get by if he had just lied, his rigid aspect of readily admitting it, or.

“I am merely fulfilling my duty. I do not have any feelings towards you.”

“Ah, duty. Of course.”

The way that knight from earlier showed such loyalty that he got worked up over a little taunt, and his reputation in Stout (well, we didn't have a chance to hear it), and so on.

At his soldierly appearance as a man of principles, for better or for worse.

--

Main Quest

「My Antediluvian Baby」

Tell Marin about your conversation with Aqua.

(Optional)

--

First-time players, at this point, mostly chose to give him the information without any suspicion.

Because there seemed to be no reason to hide it.

They would tell him everything about the prophecy and the trident.

“So, can you tell me?”

In truth, he was a traitor who was confirmed to betray them later on.

On the outside, he just looked like a diligent knight, but in reality, he was──

--

Evie

[Intuition] Success

--

“──Hey.”

“Hm?”

“That guy, he smells the same as me.”

“Do you use the same soap or something?”

“A con artist, you idiot.”

He was exactly the kind of person Ibi had immediately noticed and whispered into my ear.

“The hell you talking about soap, you moron. Soap my ass.”

But getting mocked like this for a joke I made while pretending not to know made me want to get a little revenge, so I slightly lowered my head.

Then I pretended to sniff the nape of Ibi's neck, who had come close to whisper.

“…What are you doing?”

“No, I was just curious what a con artist smells like.”

“What?”

“It doesn’t seem like a bad smell, though.”

“A-Are you a crazy son of a bitch?!”

“Oof.”

At that, Ibi, startled and horrified, pushed my face away with her palm, almost like a slap.

I could feel that even Marin was looking at us with some confusion, as we who had seemed to be having a secret conversation a moment ago suddenly started a scuffle(?) among ourselves.

After that, I cleared my throat once to change the mood, and then.

“Would you mind leaving us for a moment.”

First, I said to the two knights guarding Marin's back.

When I looked back at Marin, he nodded slightly as if in understanding.

“You may leave for a moment.”

And when he gave this command, the knights left the room without a word, after a crisp salute.

“Is this fine?”

“It is.”

With this, the intruders were gone.

Now, all that remained in this room was Marin, the future traitor, and our party.

“Was the content something that required secrecy?”

In that situation, the thing I had to do was, of course──

“──That’s what happened.”

To tell him everything.

The stone slab we found in the Drunkard's Tomb, and the content of the prophecy that matched too perfectly to be a coincidence.

The malevolent star.

The trident.

And so on.

I unabashedly revealed almost the entire conversation I had with Aqua.

So much so that Ibi, who thought all of this was just plausible-sounding nonsense, and.

“…….”

Even Marin, who had not lost his composure the entire time, were at a loss for words for a moment.

Everything.

--

Tell Marin about your conversation with Aqua. (Optional)

--

When I finished my story, Marin showed a look of unconcealed bewilderment.

“…It doesn’t seem like you’re joking.”

“I do wish it were a joke, though.”

“Indeed, if this is the content, it would have to be kept secret.”

He then began to stroke his chin with a serious expression, as if lost in thought.

“Hey.”

Just then, Ibi, who was next to me, poked my arm.

When I turned to look, she flinched for a moment as if about to approach but then stopped, but in the end, as if admitting there was no other way, she let out a small sigh and came close to me again to whisper.

“Did you not hear me earlier? I told you that bastard is a con artist. I have a feeling, a feeling.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, so? No, why are you telling him everything? Even things he didn't ask about?”

“You said you don’t believe any of it anyway. It's all nonsense, so what does it matter.”

“That’s… that’s that, you bastard…!”

Well, I couldn't explain everything here, so I played dumb, but Ibi's point was valid.

Why was I spilling everything to someone who was at least a con artist, and in reality, a traitor who would betray us later?

“The city’s safety? Screw that. I bet you that bastard is plotting something.”

That's because… he's going to betray us anyway.

Whether I tell him about my conversation with Aqua or not, that man is competent, so he will eventually find out everything.

And as a result, he will betray us.

We will end up fighting him over the trident.

This was a fixed fact.

No matter what I did from now on.

It was just a matter of when he would make up his mind, now or later.

And as far as I knew, there was no other branch.

That being the case, why would I openly show my suspicion and make him wary of us already?

“…Thank you for speaking honestly.”

It was much better to pretend to know nothing, to act naive, to appear as a puppet moving just as he wished.

It wasn't even worth considering.

“Perhaps even if I had gone to Aqua myself, I might not have gotten this much of an answer.”

And when he was confident that he had perfectly backstabbed us.

“That means you have trusted me. As a knight, I express my gratitude.”

I would stab him in the back.

“I will be sure to repay this trust.”

Ah, and as a bonus, I’ll also get the rewards that can only be obtained by cooperating with him now.

Like an artifact.

“If the story we shared today is true… it would not be an exaggeration to say that Stout is facing an unprecedented crisis.”

Suddenly rising from his seat, Marin clasped his hands behind his back and slowly began to walk across the desk towards us.

“If I had my way, I would also join you and go in search of the holy relic in that prophecy, but unfortunately, I am in a situation where I cannot leave my post.”

You will leave.

I know it.

“So, if there is anything you need, tell me. If it is something that I and our Knight Division can help with, we will assist you with all our heart and soul.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Then, when Aqua finishes his deciphering, will you come and tell me as well.”

“I will.”

Anyway, until that moment came, we were on the same side for now.

“I look forward to working with you.”

Marin unclasped his hands from behind his back and extended one to offer a handshake, and I immediately took it.

“I look forward to working with you as well.”

This uncomfortable sack I was wearing had one advantage.

It covered my face.

In other words.

“I’ll see you again, Mr. Marin.”

The fact that it would prevent anyone from seeing the utterly vile smile that must be on my face right now.

* * *

“So? What’s the plan?”

“Hm?”

As soon as we left the Knighthood Headquarters, Ibi suddenly asked me.

“You must have had some plan to spill everything to that suspicious guy.”

What are you plotting now?

She blocked my path with her arms crossed as if she had no intention of moving until I answered this question.

“You’re a guy with garbage thoughts, not a guy with no thoughts, right?”

“Not good thoughts?”

“Right, your thoughts aren't completely garbage. But you are garbage.”

“Well, that.”

It might be hard to completely deny.

“It’s nothing big. Just pretending to play along for a bit to gauge what he’s up to.”

“Is that all?”

“That’s all.”

At my answer, Ibi sighed, haa, and shook her head.

“…I know well that you’re a born clown, but be careful.”

Then she immediately added.

“You might fall while walking the tightrope.”

Considering Ibi's past, it was advice with a deeper meaning.

Of course, she had never revealed that past herself, but I knew.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

I also knew she was being serious, so I had no choice but to answer like this.

At that, Ibi let out a small snort and stepped back from in front of me.

At the same time, I suddenly felt a tug on my sleeve and turned to see Rine, who had come up to me at some point, looking up at me.

“I… trust Sir Yubin’s choice.”

“Yeah, thanks, Rine.”

“Sigh, f*ck. This is why getting involved with the higher-ups is a pain in the ass. It’s all power and politics wherever you go, those f*cking bastards.”

In the meantime, Ibi started walking ahead, grumbling, when.

“Ibi.”

“What?”

“Can you dance?”

Hearing my words, she stopped dead in her tracks again.

“What?”

“Wanna go for a dance?”

“……What?”

Seeing Ibi's expression as if I had suddenly spouted nonsense, I lightly feigned dancing a waltz.

“And while we’re at it, we can drink a lot, and earn some pocket money too.”

And maybe finally get rid of this damn sack.

And have a little chat with the guys who will put a bounty on our heads and send assassins after us as soon as we leave this city.