Chapter 25: The Show Must Go On (1)

“A masquerade ball?”

This evening, a party doubling as a masquerade ball is scheduled to be held at one of Stout’s merchant companies.

Yes, that merchant company.

The one whose brewery was completely burned down not long ago.

One of their main businesses, the 「Hidden Slave Auction House」, was blown away in its entirety, and in the process, the lives of the VIP customers who had visited the place were almost blown away along with it.

Not to mention, the guards they had hired were truly all turned to ash and blown away.

Putting aside the other regular guards, losing the 「Guard Captain」, a man with skills comparable to a high priest or a knight division executive, must have been a severe blow to the company.

Of course, there’s no need to mention the enormous amount of liquor that served as fuel for that fire, easily a year’s worth of sales.

In a single morning, two of the company’s main businesses and the personnel who protected them had completely vanished.

On top of that, complaints from the VIPs whose lives had been threatened were pouring in, so they needed to appease their customers and key investors somehow.

Therefore, they are throwing a party, gathering all of them together.

To show off that their business is still going strong.

That the show must go on.

“As a bard, how could I dare miss a show like this.”

Naturally, the trigger for this party was to shut down the slave auction house in one way or another.

You could say it was like a hidden quest that opens when you clear a hidden dungeon.

“So what you’re saying is…”

Ibi, who was listening to me, scratched the back of her head and then summarized it like this.

“We’re going to go to a party thrown by the bastards who were buying and selling slaves until recently, pick their pockets, chug some expensive booze, and then completely wreck the place later?”

“Yup.”

A perfectly neat and accurate summary.

“Ha, you crazy son of a bitch.”

At my immediate answer, Ibi burst out laughing in disbelief.

“That’s a f*cking insane idea.”

“So?”

“Let’s do it right now.”

* * *

The party was held at the company president’s private residence, located on a hill.

However, even though it was a hill, and even though it was lower in elevation, its accessibility was on a completely different level.

Unlike the brewery, which anyone could just walk up to if they so chose, this was located in what was called the ‘well-to-do neighborhood’ of Stout.

If you were to just walk up, you wouldn't even get to the mansion's main gate; just loitering in front of the gate to the garden would get you caught by the knights patrolling nearby.

“We have arrived.”

Well, that's why we borrowed the power of those knights.

As luck would have it, today I had heard from the acting commander who manages them that he would ‘assist with all heart and soul’.

And since I had already secured a token given to me by the acting commander himself, proving that these words were not mere lip service, obtaining their cooperation was a very easy task.

Thanks to them, far from chasing us away, they kindly escorted us to the front gate.

“Good work.”

This is why everyone tries so hard to become ‘friends’ with people in power.

Of course, even the knights didn't have the power to let uninvited guests into the party.

Strictly speaking, they could let us in, but then the party would end immediately.

In the end, from here on, it was up to us.

Only the high-ranking executives of the company and VIPs with verified identities had received invitations.

Perhaps because of the recent incident, the security around the mansion was extremely tight.

As if they couldn't even trust the knights (and as you can see, that judgment was correct), it was filled only with the company’s private soldiers, and they had even stationed guards on the roof.

Therefore, infiltration was practically impossible.

So how do we get in?

“Wait, the invitation──”

Of course, there wouldn't be one outside the main gate.

“──Huh?”

Among this tight security, the most lax place, paradoxically, was the main gate of the mansion.

Because only a single gatekeeper was guarding the front.

“On your face, a sack…?”

And that person, a gatekeeper with impressive, brawny muscles, was startled the moment he saw me and Rine walking together and took a step back.

It was understandable.

The suspicious person wearing a sack, whom he had heard about in a story not long ago, and.

“A Northern Elf…?”

The rare Northern Elf, who was said to have disappeared along with the burning auction house, was right before his eyes.

It seemed he needed a little time to accept the current situation, where the two most powerful suspects had brazenly walked in on their own two feet.

“You bastards, don’t tell me…!”

He eventually accepted it, but by then, I had already thrown off the sack.

“──!”

As my face was revealed, the gatekeeper froze as if his breath had stopped.

『Open.』

Until I gave the 「Word Command」.

There was no fight, no commotion.

From a distance, it would have just looked like a gatekeeper checking an invitation and opening the gate.

Meaning it was a sight with nothing suspicious about it.

『Enter.』

Following that, entering the mansion wasn't something to be particularly suspicious of either.

And what would happen after Rine carefully closed the door, well, it wouldn't be seen anyway, so it didn't matter.

『Sit there.』

The gatekeeper, who sat down gracefully on a nearby chair, was, naturally, very bewildered.

“W-What in the…”

He had an expression of complete incomprehension as to why he was meekly obeying every word I said.

“What did you do to me…!”

『Why did you build up those useless muscles? You’ll die without even getting to use them anyway.』

“Gah!?”

With the critical hit notification, the gatekeeper's mind collapsed, and soon the man's head drooped down.

I could see the strength leaving his entire body, but since he was already sitting, it wasn't very noticeable.

So, unless someone checked his pulse, he would look as if he had quietly sat down and fallen asleep.

The noise coming from the hall where the party was in full swing completely covered the lobby.

Therefore, none of the butlers who occasionally bustled past nearby paid any attention to this side.

To be precise, they didn't seem to have the time to.

On one side of the lobby, as expected, were colorful half-masks on display.

They were items prepared for the VIPs who wished to hide their faces.

「Ornate Mask」.

It was one of the equipment items that could be equipped in the ‘head’ slot, and aside from giving +1 to Charisma, it had no particularly outstanding features, so it was an item that was usually not worn except for so-called cosmetic purposes.

However, it was also the only head equipment, excluding helmets, that covered the face to some extent.

In fact, full-plate helmets that completely covered the face had a hidden gimmick—although not written in the tooltip—that NPCs had trouble recognizing the wearer's face, and this mask was the same.

It was probably because its very purpose was a tool for disguise.

So, if my guess was correct, I could solve my ‘face problem’ with this mask.

After picking up one of the masks and putting it on my face, I immediately checked my status window.

The fact that my Charisma stat was written as ‘20(+6)’ probably meant it was equipped normally.

“How is it?”

“It suits you well.”

Rine replied to my question with her usual indifference.

Since she had ‘Charm Immunity’ anyway, it would probably feel no different to her.

As you can see, her reaction was no different either.

I knocked on the closed door to signal that I was ready.

As soon as I did, Ibi, who had been waiting outside, immediately threw the door open and came in.

“Just how much do you hate showing your face that…”

At that moment.

“…!”

Ibi, who had been grumbling, froze with a flinch.

Then, with her mouth slightly agape, she began to stare fixedly at my face with wide-open eyes.

“…Ibi?”

No, don't tell me.

“Did you fall for me by any chance?”

“What the f*ck are you talking about.”

“Ah.”

Slap.

Ibi's palm struck my cheek as if to push it away.

It seemed she was definitely not ‘charmed’.

“That’s a relief. That you didn't fall for me.”

“What’s with this bastard? Why am I so pissed off?”

That must mean this mask is effective.

In other words, it meant I no longer had to walk around with a sack over my head.

“You hated showing it so much I thought you had some huge scar or something, but you look surprisingly clean-cut, so I was just a little surprised, that’s all.”

She probably thought, like most people, that I couldn't take it off because my face was hideous.

Well, if that were the case, she might have been surprised.

Soon after, Rine and Ibi also put on masks following my lead, and we headed into the hall where the party was in full swing.

“Welcome.”

At that, a waiter greeted us and offered a tray with glasses of sparkling wine on it.

“Would you care for a glass?”

“Uh, give it here. No, not the glass. The whole thing.”

“Pardon?”

Ibi practically snatched the tray from the waiter, then with a gesture to dismiss him, picked up a glass and downed it in one go.

Following that, I lightly patted the shoulder of the waiter, who was dumbfounded, having instantly lost his job(?).

“Your friend, the gatekeeper outside, said he was too tired and asked if anyone could cover for him for a bit.”

“…Pardon?”

“He said just enough to catch a wink. Said it was just a matter of checking invitations anyway.”

--

[Deception]

Success

--

“He was so sleepy he passed out right away.”

“Ah… i-is that so? My apologies. We have troubled a guest.”

“Not at all. I was just passing on the message.”

“Please enjoy your time.”

With this, there would be no commotion about the gatekeeper being missing for a while.

Of course, they would soon realize that the gatekeeper wasn't just taking a nap but an eternal one, but not right away.

While I was sending the waiter away, the number of empty glasses on the tray had already increased.

Thinking that if I left it as it was, the whole tray would be filled with empty glasses in no time, I hastily picked up one of the remaining glasses and took a sip.

“Mm.”

It was a taste that certainly made me understand at once why Stout was called the city of liquor.

“Rine?”

I picked up another glass and offered it to Rine, and Rine accepted the glass with a light bow.

Then, holding the glass with both hands, she took a small sip, and.

“How is it?”

“It’s sweet… and bitter.”

She left a subtle review, much like our lives.

Her expression hadn't changed at all, but it was a reaction that clearly showed it wasn't to her taste.

Certainly, thinking back, I didn't seem to have seen Rine drink much.

Indeed, Rine didn't touch the glass anymore, and when I, noticing this, quietly held out my hand, she returned the glass to me without hesitation.

And as soon as I took a sip of it.

“Your loss.”

Ibi snatched the glass as if to grab it and poured the rest of it into her own mouth.

“Lived for a thousand years, but your taste is still that of a child.”

With the glass she put down, the tray was now truly filled only with empty glasses.

“You think this is bitter? To me, it tastes like a sweet drink.”

“Because it is a sweet drink?”

“Hey, have a drink.”

After pushing the tray of empty glasses onto another masked guest passing by.

“…?”

Leaving behind the guest who was now staring down at the tray that had been unceremoniously pushed onto him with the same expression as Xun Yu opening the lid of the food box sent by the chancellor for the first time, we moved to a corner of the hall.

“So, what now?”

“Let’s enjoy the party for a bit.”

We needed to buy some time, for now.

“How about it, Ibi? Think you can get along with the higher-ups?”

“I’ll just be chugging booze. Then maybe I won’t have to smell this damn stench as much.”

Ibi, looking around, clicked her tongue and replied.

“Good plan. Just don’t get so drunk you puke.”

“Don’t you worry. I’ll save it until I can spill it on your clothes.”

“Keep a close eye on her, Rine.”

When Rine replied with a quiet nod, Ibi was dumbfounded, saying, “I guess I’ll be the one babysitting.”

“The operation? When does it start?”

“When I give the signal.”

“What signal?”

“You’ll know it as soon as you hear it.”

Pat, I lightly tapped Ibi’s arm and added.

“It’ll be hard to miss.”

* * *

A short while later.

Ibi immediately understood what he meant.

“THE SHOW MUST GO ONNNNN——!!”

Seeing Yubin, in the middle of the stage that had been a ballroom just a moment ago, playing a lute and starting to sing his heart out in a [Performance].

“Of course it’s hard to miss, you bastard…!”