Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 107

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 107 – Guild War – Moonlight (4)
“Put the mirror down first, please.”
Laenis of the Unforgotten Turtle Guild, sharp light streaming from her hand, leveled a warning at Eradra, guildmaster of the White Jade Hand Guild.
“This won’t do. We can only defeat Targon and the Ash Gray Wolf Guild if we combine our strength.”
“I know that.”
Eradra spun the handle of the Hand Mirror in her grip.
“That’s why I’m bringing everyone onto my side before we start. That’s combining strength, isn’t it? Besides, even if I amplify the effect, it just doubles one command into two. Everyone can relax.”
“That’s….”
“That’s enough, Laenis.”
Lufrité, guildmaster of the Unforgotten Turtle Guild, shook his head lightly and focused his eyes with intensity.
Roooar!
The massive form of a tortoise materialized above Lufrité’s body.
The Fiery Tortoise.
A Level 8 demon-type being—the source of the epithet “Impregnable” attached to this middle-aged warrior.
Its enormous, sturdy carapace soon enveloped Lufrité and the explorers of the Unforgotten Turtle Guild.
“I’m done holding back too, Eradra. With that artifact in hand, we can manage even if our numbers drop a bit.”
“…Guildmaster, no. We absolutely must join hands.”
Laenis spoke pleadingly, but her words fell on ears already burning with resolve.
Soon after, Heaviclo, guildmaster of the Grand Warrior Guild, drew a Morning Star in each hand.
“So we’re just going to fight? Then I’m all for it!”
“I enjoy battle as well….”
Even Kukus, a Wise Ogre of the Grand Warrior Guild, rallied his fighting spirit and followed his guildmaster’s lead.
The atmosphere, which had barely cooled, heated once more.
“Wow.”
Beldora of the Eyebeam Bear Love Guild let out an open exclamation of admiration.
Boom!
Heaviclo brought his Morning Star down hard against the ground.
“Since we’re at it, let’s smash them all down!”
At those words, Laenis of the Unforgotten Turtle Guild gasped.
“We cannot guarantee victory against the Ash Gray Wolf Guild if even one of us is missing!”
“What does it matter!”
Heaviclo, who had been radiating the air of someone ready to crack open the skulls of the other explorers right then, suddenly turned his head.
“…I’d love to say that and fight anyway, but something stinks about this.”
The overwhelmingly large bear-man began to stare intently at Tilda.
Tilda, freed from her binding in the confusion, flinched and quickly hid behind Rael, the wood elf.
“Come to think of it, something’s off.”
Thump-thump.
Heaviclo began moving slowly forward.
“If you knew about the Dragon-Blood Tribe’s unique martial Secret Art, you should have mentioned it when that mirror was first being crafted. So why have you kept quiet all this time?”
The bear-man smiled wickedly and stepped in front of the explorers of the Eyebeam Bear Love Guild.
The overwhelming difference in their sizes made it seem as though a wall had suddenly loomed up before them.
“You kept your mouth shut, then brought it up at just the right moment to deliberately poison the mood. That’s how it is, isn’t it? Tilda Ieres?”
Heaviclo lowered his voice and corrected himself immediately.
“No—’Golden Raven’ Kar.”
…….
With Tilda’s lips sealed tight, Beldora, her elder sister from the Eyebeam Bear Love Guild, stepped forward.
“This Tilda is not a fake. I’m certain.”
“How can you be sure of that?”
Laenis, who had been watching the situation carefully, asked with narrowed eyes and caution.
Beldora straightened her shoulders with confidence and replied.
“Because Tilda is Tilda!”
“Ha! Sister, that’s logical!”
“Right?”
…….
All the explorers except the sisters had hollow smirks playing at the corners of their mouths.
Only Heaviclo, who remained stern, subtly pointed to the side.
“Move aside. That one’s definitely a Socialite.”
“If I refuse?”
“Then there’s no choice. I’ll have to ‘persuade’ you.”
The moment Heaviclo’s head bobbed and his Morning Star swung downward, the Wise Ogre Kukus’s body vanished.
Whoosh!
Kukus appeared suddenly from behind and struck Tilda with a vicious blow.
Super Strength Strike.
A simple yet devastating Secret Art that could shatter an ordinary adventurer’s entire body with a single blow.
“Arrrgh!”
Tilda took the full force of it, flew backward, crashed into the wall, and crumpled to the ground.
Blood streamed across her body, her limbs bent at unnatural angles.
“Tilda!”
Rael from the Eyebeam Bear Love Guild gasped and rushed forward, then froze.
Heaviclo had seized the small form of Tilda in one enormous hand.
“Dragon-Blood Tribe, come here and check. Is this one a Socialite or not? If you try to reflect me even slightly, I’ll crush her skull flat.”
“…Understood.”
Eradra approached Heaviclo cautiously and raised the Hand Mirror.
“Ah…”
Tilda’s battered form was reflected in the glass.
Her pupils grew hazy at once.
Eradra’s complexion darkened rapidly—side effects setting in—and she asked with utmost gravity:
“Tell me who you are.”
“…”
Tilda stared blankly and answered.
“Tilda Ires. The pampered second child of House Ires, Level 6 Lurker. My specialty is ambush, my hobby is raising Eyebeam Bears. My favorite Secret Art is Leap.”
“…”
Rael and Beldora from the Eyebeam Bear Love Guild exchanged glances, then spoke in turn.
“What’s going on? I was suspicious too, but everything she said matches Tilda’s identity perfectly. There’s nothing about her that screams Socialite.”
“It all has to be Tilda herself. Didn’t I tell you? Tilda is Tilda because she’s Tilda!”
“…Is that so?”
Eradra pushed her glasses up and questioned Tilda again.
“Answer truthfully now. Are you Kar, the Golden Raven?”
“No. I’m not Kar. I’m Tilda Ires.”
She flatly denied being the Socialite Kar.
A denial no Socialite who had used Transformation could ever make.
In other words, Tilda Ires was genuinely herself.
“Well, there you have it.”
“…”
Heaviclo merely scratched his head in silence, then glanced away from the adventurers’ cold stares.
Even Kukus, his own guild member, was looking at his guild master with frigid disdain.
“I’m beginning to think you’re the suspicious one.”
At Eradra’s gesture, the green orc bard from the White Jade Hand Guild began playing his pipes.
A harsh melody that spread swiftly through the space.
Demon’s Illusion Song—a tune that temporarily disoriented the Perception of all who heard it.
Normally even a surprise attack wouldn’t work, but in this Dungeon, even high-Level adventurers had no choice but to freeze momentarily.
While the adventurers clutched their ears and stumbled, Eradra thrust the Hand Mirror toward Heaviclo.
“…What are you doing!”
Heaviclo squeezed his eyes shut and instinctively flailed his arms.
Eradra dodged, accidentally struck her own guild member Kukus, and sent him flying.
“Hold still.”
Eradra leaped nimbly onto his massive shoulders, about to turn the Hand Mirror to capture Heaviclo’s reflection when—
“I don’t want to.”
Heaviclo’s eyes snapped open, and he twisted his body violently, hurling Eradra away.
Boom!
Just before she slammed into the wall, tools erupted from the Horn Jewelry Subspace on the Dragon-Blood Tribe’s horns, shielding their owner.
“…Too bad. Beast-folk heal fast.”
“Eradra. Tired of living?”
Heaviclo’s expression darkened as he and the Wise Ogre Kukus advanced on the White Jade Hand Guild’s adventurers.
Meanwhile, the Unforgotten Turtle Guild waited safely inside their shells, watching for a chance to enter the fray.
The indoor space descended into chaos in moments.
“…What a mess.”
“Tell me about it.”
While everyone else fought, only the Eyebeam Bear Love Guild was eyeing an escape route.
“Play it once more.”
“Yes.”
At Eradra’s word, the green orc bard brought the flute to his lips once more.
Thud!
“…Huh?”
An invisible force suddenly erupted from the empty air, toppling the bard.
At the same instant, Eradra’s wrist came down.
The Hand Mirror fell from her grasp and flew smoothly into the hands of Kukus, the Wise Ogre.
“…You were hiding such a Secret Art?”
“Doesn’t everyone have at least one Secret Art they don’t reveal to the world?”
Heaviclo laughed triumphantly and clapped Kukus on the shoulder twice.
“Please, stop this conflict!”
Laenis of the Unforgotten Turtle Guild pleaded desperately, but it fell on deaf ears.
Even her own guild members were eyeing her with subtle reproach.
“It’s too late.”
“That’s right, Laenis. It’d be better to just eliminate them all.”
“…Guild Master! We have no choice but to work together!”
“Be quiet, Laenis. When you think about it, all of this happened because you failed to complete that Artifact before the Guild War.”
“…….”
As Laenis wrapped her head in her hands, everyone readied themselves for battle.
The explorers, unable to find harmony, had finally begun treating each other as true enemies.
“…Let’s run.”
“Yes!”
Rael of the Eyebeam Bear Love Guild was quietly slipping away with Beldora.
“I’ll beat you all down!”
It was the moment Heaviclo lunged forward first.
— Hehehehe!
— Yaaahhh!
— How fun, how fun!
All at once, a horde of Naiads swarmed in from all directions, danced, and swept outside.
“…Guild Master, those are Lai’s spirits.”
Laenis quickly scanned her surroundings.
Immediately after.
A sinister presence simultaneously approached from the direction the spirits had come.
“So you’ve all gathered here…?”
“Kehehehe!”
“Kill them all!”
Soon after, creatures poured in through the main gate and the holes in the walls.
Slaughter Ghouls.
All thirteen of the ghouls that had advanced into the deep, excluding those already slain, had assembled.
“…Oh no.”
The Guild Master of the Unforgotten Turtle Guild pressed her forehead with her hand.
“Kill them—!”
At the command of the creature with the fiercest presence, the ghouls surged forward in unison.
“…Damn! We deal with these creatures first!”
Heaviclo, gripping a Morning Star in each hand, hurled one of the nearby Slaughter Ghouls away and shouted.
The other explorers were already fighting as one.
“Let’s go.”
“Bye!”
Except for two explorers of the Eyebeam Bear Love Guild.
They even abandoned Tilda, whose entire body was tattered.
Tilda, sprawled on the ground and watching them leave, let out a dry laugh.
“No loyalty at all.”
“Hide behind me for now, human!”
Striking the ghouls repeatedly, Heaviclo and Kukus surrounded Tilda.
“We apologize for the misunderstanding! Don’t be eliminated before we fight the Ash Gray Wolf Guild!”
“…You certainly apologize quickly.”
Tilda grumbled as she huddled behind the two burly explorers.
And then.
Whoosh—!
They set fire to their own bodies.
“Screeeaagh—!”
Heaviclo let out a shout that dampened the flames somewhat, then spun around.
The woman from the Eyebeam Bear Love Guild—Tilda Iress—had become a golden-haired half-elf.
“…The Golden Raven?”
“Yes, I’m that clever socialite you’ve been dealing with.”
—Caw!
A blind raven materialized suddenly, snatching the mirror artifact from Kukus’s hand while he was distracted by the flames consuming him.
Heaviclo furrowed his brow even as the fire raged around him.
What in the world was happening?
When he’d revealed his identity according to the hand mirror’s command, he’d distinctly denied being Kar and claimed to be Tilda Iress—hadn’t he?
“…How did you manage it? What trick let you pull off being Tilda Iress so perfectly?”
At some point, Kar—transformed into a Slaughter Ghoul—brought a finger to his lips with a smile.
“Trade secret.”
***
《Your madness is proving remarkably useful at times like these!》
But I’m perfectly lucid—what is she talking about?
Regardless, I’ve disrupted the unity of the guild alliance and claimed the Consciousness Seizer for myself.
Both moves strike hard against the conspirator’s scheme.
‘Conspirator, how does that feel?’
I could guess well enough what was going through her mind.
The explorer who’d been standing in this very spot mere moments ago had vanished without a trace.
In the form of a ghoul, I slipped away unnoticed and walked freely into the open.
—Kuooooooh!
In the midst of the fierce combat, a thunderous cry descended from above and shook the earth.
It had finally arrived.
All that effort buying time was worth it.
“…No.”
“Insane…!”
A Light Wyvern.
The dungeon boss that Yallen had lured here descended in an instant.
Crash—!
“Screeeaagh!”
Shrieks mingled with the deafening sound of buildings and roads collapsing.
《That’s where my twin’s illusion was stationed.》
I collected it immediately, and the memories Beldora had witnessed through the Eyes That Whisper Falsehood flooded into my mind all at once.
In the final moments of those memories, the wood elf Rael who had fled earlier was caught by the wyvern’s talons and scattered into pieces.
“Such a pity.”
—Kuaaaah!
Unsatisfied with a single victim, the wyvern began thrashing wildly.
The ground shook violently and the roar split the air; buildings around it crumbled.
Adventurers and ghouls broke off their combat and rushed frantically outside.
—Kuo?
The wyvern, about to take flight again, spotted the fleeing group and dove toward them.
A Light Wyvern cannot be beaten by one or two alone.
Fighting each other made it even more impossible to defeat.
“…Ghouls.”
“Vampire.”
Before the advancing threat of the Light Wyvern, the leader of the Unforgotten Turtle Guild and the leader of the Slaughter Ghouls exchanged a rapid glance.
Remarkably, they understood each other.
“Let’s cooperate for now.”
“Absurd as it sounds, that would be better…!”
Vampire and ghoul.
Ancient enemies achieved a miraculous reconciliation in the face of crisis.
“Protector of the ten thousand, I’ve done it again.”
It was a blessing worthy of Artein’s smile from heaven.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————