Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 132
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 132: No False Accusations!
“Yes! I’ll prepare a detailed report by today and submit it right away!”
Leina, the Dungeon administrator priest, finished her report and spun around on the spot in excitement.
‘Reaching the 10th floor in just one week!’
The priesthood that manages the Dungeon in the 6th District, the Seekers of Truth, had already uncovered the Hidden Piece of the Tower of Trials.
They cleared the 10th floor faster than the previous record of 16 days set when Tyrant Graike constructed the tower.
They hadn’t made it public to the explorers because attempting it recklessly could result in severe injury or death.
But then the Moon Expedition Party, led by the socialite Kar, shattered that record with the astounding time of just seven days.
‘My intuition was right after all!’
Kar, a socialite of the Twisted Truth, would become a great explorer.
That intuition she’d felt when witnessing the socialite and tiger-woman girl emerge from the Fire Ant Nest exploration had resurfaced, poking its head out once more.
‘…What is this?’
Leina sat down in her chair to calm her excitement, when her body suddenly trembled.
A sharp pain suddenly throbbed in her head.
A warning from the Secret Art of Artein, Tier 3 priest—Mystical Intuition.
“You there.”
At the sudden call from behind, Leina spun around in surprise to find a socialite standing there, his eyes covered by a filthy blindfold.
The figure was so unexpected that Leina nearly let out an ungainly shriek.
“…Yes! What brings you here, Turacos?”
The Turbid Rainbow Cult.
Its master, Turacos.
Though the cult, which worshipped the evil god Radmiel, had fewer than 200 believers, he was still a proper cult leader and deserved formal courtesy.
“Kar.”
Turacos spoke with a slightly lifted tone.
“I want to know more about that half-elf.”
……
Leina told him everything that was known about Kar, just as he’d requested.
After listening carefully, Turacos vanished abruptly.
‘Will it be alright…?’
Leina gazed up at the sky.
As she watched the slowly drifting white clouds, the worry that had surged up moments before quickly subsided.
‘He’ll handle it just fine!’
If it was Kar, he would resolve whatever problem arose on his own.
In fact, the more dangerous things became, the more certain he’d be to welcome it.
That was the intuition she had.
***
The Tower of Trials.
The Tower of Trials Underground Waterway.
Both Dungeons, tackled simultaneously, had concluded successfully.
Unlike the second team, whose exploration proceeded smoothly without anyone getting hurt, the first team emerged covered in minor injuries from having to engage in relentless fierce combat.
“Get some good rest.”
In our house in the cozy Sociato Town.
Pendrick, who had worked hard in place of the exhausted socialite, laid Merlin down on the bed on the second floor.
“Kar.”
As he was heading back down, Merlin suddenly called out to me.
“What? Want me to read you a fairy tale before bed?”
I came back up with half-joking intent, and found two Marlins lying on the bed.
A duplicate created using the Rabbit Bifurcation technique that Yallen had taught.
“Which one is the real me?”
“Which one is the real me?”
《Fake / Real》
“I can’t tell the difference at all. Even with the Eye That Pierces Truth, I genuinely can’t discern which one is real.”
《>:(《
The petulant Secret Art grumbled, but as Merlin giggled with satisfaction, I found my own mood lifting with it.
“Sleep well.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Want me to sing you a lullaby?”
“…I told you, I’m not that young anymore.”
Though the person in question protested, I stubbornly sang a verse of a popular tune from Pletika and pulled the blanket up over them.
“You worked hard today. Tomorrow, let’s all eat plenty of meat together.”
“Yes…!”
I flicked Merlin’s furrowed brow and headed downstairs.
Then, together with Pendrick who had been waiting, I made my way to Odillon’s residence.
“…I’m exhausted.”
Pendrick trudged along, muttering under his breath.
– You really did push yourself too hard.
Astrímia, nestled in her lover’s arms, let out a mental sigh.
– Kar, I think Pendrick shouldn’t move his hands carelessly for a while.
“That much is obvious.”
At first glance, Pendrick’s wrists looked in poor condition.
This was likely because it was his first proper swordplay, and he hadn’t controlled his strength correctly.
“Still, my mood is quite good though?”
Of course, our perpetually positive Pendrick wasn’t about to be brought down by mere injury.
“The three of us all made tremendous progress this time. Merlin reached Level 3. Isn’t all this thanks to the assignment you gave us, Captain? You’re truly remarkable!”
“Not at all. Rather, it’s all of you who are remarkable for conquering the Tower of Trials in just a week.”
It would not have been strange if it took more than ten days, yet we cleared it in seven and even obtained the Hidden Piece.
Thanks to that, Leina, the Dungeon administrator priestess, made quite a fuss and purchased the information.
Given that it was information about the expedition party to which the Harmony Cult dignitary belonged, she proclaimed she would pay more than the standard price.
“Now that I think about it, we did accomplish something remarkable.”
Pendrick laughed brightly.
“You’ll have to praise us plenty!”
“Shall I pat your bottom?”
– I don’t like that!
Suddenly I had to soothe and cajole Astrímia, who was frantically waving the blade about and pouting.
“Pendrick, don’t overexert yourself for now. I intend to seek out a remarkable healer soon.”
“…Surely you mean Saint Seraphina?”
“That is indeed one of her names.”
I needed to treat the injuries of the first squad of the expedition party, and I still had to remove the lingering side effects of the Consciousness Usurper, so a visit was necessary.
“…Captain.”
Pendrick’s expression grew serious suddenly as he asked me carefully.
“Is Saint Seraphina… a monster?”
A rather abrupt question.
But on the way home, Merlin had cheerfully chattered about every aspect of how the Tower of Trials conquest had unfolded, so I had a rough understanding of the circumstances.
“So you’ve figured it out after all.”
I continued, offering a socialite’s enigmatic smile.
“Saint Seraphina is indeed a monster.”
……
Pendrick’s expression hardened slightly.
It was understandable.
A saint he had admired so much turned out to be a monster born with a vicious nature… It was a truth as harsh and shocking as discovering that Santa wasn’t real.
“-though if I said that, you’d be disappointed, wouldn’t you?”
“…What?”
I tapped Astrímia’s cyan blade with my index finger and looked into Pendrick’s eyes.
“Saint Seraphina is human. She is simply a little different from others. Isn’t that right?”
“…You’re right.”
The prodigy swordmaster’s grave demeanor brightened once more to his usual cheerfulness.
“Even if the Saint were a monster, her brilliant nature would remain unchanged. It’s a bit bewildering, I admit, but I can certainly understand it!”
“The Saint would have been pleased to hear that.”
I nodded and looked up at Odillon’s residence, which had come into view.
“Actually, the Saint is not truly a monster.”
“…Is that so?”
“This is a secret, but when it happened, Artein was not the kind of person who would appoint a monster as a saint.”
Whoosh!
Artein from the past made his will known through the Mark.
‘An irrefutable point!’
Pendrick hugged Astrímia to his chest with a much more relieved expression.
“…I did think I would respect her even if she were a monster, but I’m still glad to hear it.”
– Then why does Saint Seraphina possess Sky Ear, a monster-exclusive Secret Art?
“Perhaps she obtained it through the Stone of Records?”
– But the Tower of Trials was built long after the Saint died….
I watched the pair of lovers lost in thought for a moment before pushing open the mansion door.
“If you continue to ponder, you’ll certainly arrive at the answer. After all, Astrímia, you possess intellect as brilliant as your beauty.”
– Oh, you really are something, Kar!
Leaving Astrímia to dance her joyful blade dance behind me, I descended into the basement.
Odillon’s cellar—a place that had never once served as a torture chamber.
In the center of the room, bound to a chair and bathed in the dazzling light of a high-quality Mana Stone Lamp, sat a corpse.
“You’re here.”
Odillon, who had been sprawled across a plush chair, glanced at me sidelong and gestured with his chin toward the butler at his side.
Sergius, bowing at the waist before me, indicated Brownmane with his arm.
“As you requested, I interrogated this outlaw. Surprisingly, he proved quite cooperative, and we obtained a considerable volume of information without undue effort.”
“How fortunate. I’m glad my polite request bore fruit.”
I approached Brownmane and gently patted his head.
Though I merely meant to express gratitude, the silent corpse shuddered involuntarily.
“He didn’t attempt to deceive me by omitting certain truths, nor did he hold back—he surrendered every scrap of information he possessed.”
– I am a hunter who despises lies above all else!
Brownmane thrust his head up, appealing to his own integrity.
His effort to raise his favor was admirable, yet I was no wanton socialite who opened her heart to just anyone.
“Brownmane.”
– Yes!
“From this moment on, if you speak without permission, you’ll find yourself underground enjoying a pleasant conversation with earthworms.”
– …….
The silent corpse immediately clamped his lips shut.
Sergius, who had been regarding Brownmane with a cold gaze, resumed his report.
“However, there was a magical seal preventing disclosure of certain information. It gave us some trouble, but we ultimately managed to piece together the identity of the Silent Alliance’s leader.”
“It must have been difficult work.”
“I posed over a hundred questions designed to circumvent the seal. Only after numerous relentless inquiries did the thread finally come loose.”
The butler paused, slowly stroking his chin while narrowing his eyes.
“The leader revealed his identity only to outlaws of Sub-Guild Leader rank or higher. He didn’t simply meet with them—instead, he injected countless seals directly into their minds, transforming them into his absolute servants before showing his face.”
A remarkably meticulous and obsessive approach.
“One could sense an almost pathological obsession with ensuring the connection to the Silent Alliance never came to light.”
“Then he must be someone who only feels satisfied when handling matters with excessive precision?”
I posed the question with meaningful weight, and Sergius smiled knowingly.
“Indeed. And, most ‘coincidentally,’ the eldest of our Brithes Family, Young Master Nicholas, is himself a perfectionist bordering on obsessive-compulsive.”
Nicholas Brithes.
Unlike Odillon, born of a single night’s passion and thus a bastard, Nicholas was the firstborn of the family head and his lawful wife.
– …Ah!
Brownmane, who had been listening to our exchange, made a sound of surprise, then quickly pressed his lips together as he recalled my warning.
I stroked the corpse’s head and spoke.
“Butler, you’re not suggesting that Young Master Nicholas, who is always so stern and serious in all his dealings, operates an outlaw guild and has them carry out all manner of filthy tasks?”
It was an accusation so outrageous that hearing it alone made anger rise in my chest.
“I cannot forgive such ridiculous slander!”
“My apologies. I nearly slandered that noble young master, who pursues thorough perfection, by attributing to him such sordid scheming and cowardice.”
“Reflect on this.”
“I shall.”
As the two of us openly displayed our respect and reverence for the eldest young master’s reputation, Odillon, who had been inhaling the smoke of the Comforter, clicked his tongue.
“…Butler, from now on, don’t indulge the socialite Kar’s nonsense.”
“Understood.”
Despite his words, the way he gave me a leisurely wink suggested he had no intention of obeying such unreasonable orders.
“I do hope we don’t end up with more members here who enjoy pointless pranks.”
“You’re doing it again. I know full well that deep down you’re thinking things like ‘Socialite Kar, I can’t live without you now!'”
“…Delusions of that magnitude constitute mental illness. I suggest seeking healing from Saint Seraphina.”
I bestowed a fresh wink upon the young master, who was now scowling deeply, and turned to Sergius.
“Butler, so what’s the conclusion? We shouldn’t slander Young Master Nicholas?”
“Something to that effect.”
“How about we all chant ‘No slander!’ three times together and call it even?”
…….
Odillon finally clenched his eyes shut.
Rosalia, standing behind him, silently drew a fan from the shadows and fanned the young master, who seemed unusually flushed.
Crack!
But then she accidentally scratched his nose.
“…Explorer of madness, please do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut. Sergius, move on to the next matter, if you would.”
“As you wish.”
Sergius, responding with the crisp efficiency befitting a seasoned butler, turned back with a look of renewed contempt and fixed his gaze upon Brownmane.
“The identity of the puppet master remains… ah, rather, ‘entirely’ beyond our knowledge. However, we have determined with certainty the identity of the anonymous informant who provided intelligence regarding the person who destroyed the Black Sword Guild—an organization hidden alongside a magical seal.”
The taciturn corpse, who had been listening quietly to the exchange, blinked his eyes vacantly.
He seemed curious how they had discerned anything when the magical seal had forced only ambiguous answers.
“How remarkably fortuitous it is, once again, that this person is someone we know.”
The butler spoke in a low, murmuring tone, his gaze grown colder still, weighted with the passage of years.
“An agent of the Deep Shadow, tasked with protecting the young lady Flora.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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