Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 15

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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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Chapter 15 — Capricious Elf
“…Who the hell are you?”
Abel, who had been staring blankly, shot to his feet and drew his nails like claws.
I pushed the boy back into his chair and fixed my gaze on the unexpected visitor.
《Assassin Rosalia (Wood Elf, 29 years old). Due to the difference in rank, deeper secrets cannot be verified. I must swiftly elevate the rank of my soul!》
The level gap meant I hadn’t gleaned as much information as I’d have liked, but it hardly mattered.
The decisive information needed to judge the situation was already nestled entirely in the mind of this dead-eyed man.
‘They look the same.’
This elf, assassin by Class though she may be, typically devoted herself not to assassination but to protecting important persons.
“Have you come to attend a reading circle? Please, sit on the opposite side.”
Even after I had Abel pull out a chair to show courtesy, the red-haired assassin remained standing motionless.
Like a single blossom, silent and still.
She hadn’t drawn so much as a dagger or short sword—the thief’s eternal companion—and no hostility, no murderous intent radiated from her.
“Are your legs not tired?”
I gestured across the table again.
………
Rosalia glanced sideways for a moment before her gaze returned ahead.
“If you’ve come unannounced to kill me, then go ahead and kill. Or tempt me with dark laughter while trying to seize some forbidden power of ruin. Do something, anything—just stop standing there gawking.”
I continued speaking earnestly, but Rosalia offered no reply.
Capricious elf.
“If this is some new assassination technique where you bore your victim to death, I must say you’ve already succeeded.”
I stroked Abel’s tense shoulders while keeping my eyes fixed on the elf’s feet.
A distinctly deep black shadow was swaying slowly beneath her.
Even as its master showed no movement whatsoever.
“Very well. I surrender.”
I held up I Will Teach You Everything About Nightmare Dungeon.
“I’ll simply continue reading, so feel free to remain standing there.”
………
Rosalia showed no particular reaction this time either, but her shadow rippled violently for an instant.
It seemed she had abandoned all pretense of hiding now.
Snap.
Just as I was about to feign reading the book in earnest, the shadow surged upward and took the shape of a handsome young man.
Tingle.
Along the tattoo on my collarbone, a certain gentleman who loves all manner of beautiful beings sent warmth my way.
“My back’s killing me. You noticed ages ago—why do you keep pretending you didn’t?”
The man who had sprung from the shadow settled himself in the chair across from me with a huff.
Arms crossed and legs entwined, he thrust his jaw forward confidently as he spoke.
“I am Car of the Cult of Twisted Truth. Tell me who I am.”
He appeared without warning and immediately demanded that I identify him.
It was an unexpected request, but not a surprising one—I had anticipated it.
If anything, I was slightly disappointed.
I’d thought he’d make a demand more rude and self-centered than this.
“You’ve already guessed roughly, haven’t you?”
“Not roughly—I know for certain.”
I had known long before he revealed himself.
Finding Hidden Pieces in two Labyrinths and selling that information to the Harmony Church—all of it had been for a moment like this.
“The youngest young master of Pletica’s most prominent family of information brokers, who rules District 4. Now exiled to a villa in District 6 with your mother—what brings you here, Young Master Odilon?”
Odilon Brithes.
The youngest member of the Brithes family of information brokers, one of the six powers that grip Pletica.
A man whose temperament could only charitably be called “self-centered” at best, though his abilities were undeniably sharp.
Odilon simply gazed at me for a moment, then let out a dismissive snort.
“Anyone who isn’t a complete fool can guess my identity. You openly used the Shadow Folk—the Mystery our family has monopolized.”
“A fair point.”
“Still, you’ve shown some basics. I’ll give you a chance to become one of my people.”
There it was.
That arrogant line that only became accessible upon revealing two Hidden Pieces in succession—the speech that warmed the hearts of countless dead-eyed men!
“I’m giving you exactly five minutes. Prove your worth. If you can’t present useful information that even our family’s spies haven’t uncovered, you fail.”
He began playing examiner despite no one having asked him to administer a test.
Yes, this was exactly what Odilon should be doing.
Satisfied, I tilted my head thoughtfully and opened my mouth quietly.
“Where shall I start? Perhaps with the kinds of insults your half-siblings hurl at you most frequently? Or should I methodically list all twenty-seven reasons you and your mother were exiled to District 6? If that doesn’t suit you, I could catalog every chronic ailment plaguing you at present. You choose.”
“…….”
Odilon regarded me in silence for a moment, then uncrossed his arms and placed both hands flat on the table.
“Not bad.”
The youngest of the intelligence broker’s family smiled with genuine satisfaction despite my brazen allusion to his shame, then made his proposal with a show of magnanimity.
“Starting today, I want you to help me clear my Labyrinth using the Mystery that Ridni granted me. I’d like to hire you as a member of the Exploration Party I’m assembling.”
He spoke with the arrogant certainty of one who couldn’t imagine anyone refusing such a tremendous opportunity.
How could he be so insufferably presumptuous?
Yet somehow that was precisely why he had a following—his casual disrespect toward everyone equally played well in America and Japan, or so I’d heard.
I couldn’t say I understood such things, but I understood well enough that this proposal benefited me.
Partnering with Odilon would make it far easier to recruit talented people who would ordinarily be impossible for a cultist to approach.
“It’s an attractive proposition, certainly. But let’s frame this as a collaboration rather than employment. I’m the type who can’t perform at full capacity if I have a patron—it makes me uncomfortable.”
“A collaboration….”
Odilon leaned back against his chair and extended one hand to the side.
Rosalia, who had been standing silently in the corner, placed a long, slender rod between her master’s lips.
《When held in the mouth, the rod releases vapors that alleviate the symptoms induced by his various chronic conditions—an expensive artifact called the Comforter. If you ever manage to steal it, he’ll be dead within days. Remember that.》
Hush.
After drawing a deep breath of the rod’s exhaled smoke, Odilon gave a slight nod.
“Understood. I’d like to include you in the Exploration Party as a collaborator. Shall we draft a contract?”
“Let’s experience one Labyrinth clear together first as a trial, and then evaluate each other before we commit anything to writing.”
“Reasonable.”
Thanks to his level-headed and swift judgment—befitting someone with Wisdom 18—the conversation was progressing smoothly.
“…Are we really just deciding things this hastily?”
Abel, comprehending nothing, could only blink his eyes from the sidelines.
“How are you planning to structure the party? I heard you entered the last Labyrinth with just one child—are you planning to do the same again?”
“Well, that one still needs more training.”
I indicated the assassin standing quietly in the corner.
“So I’d like to have her assistance.”
Rosalia.
An elf I’d recruited frequently—among rogue-class colleagues, she stood out for her impressive growth trajectory, latent potential, and useful attributes.
Her class overlapped with Marlin’s, but that wasn’t a real problem.
The thief’s specialty in technical skills and the assassin’s silent combat are entirely different roles.
“Not the combination I’d prefer… but it’s probably the best we can manage right now. Fine. We’ll go with that for the first Labyrinth and gather allies gradually.”
“That suits me.”
After answering readily, I gauged the mood before shifting the topic.
Given my pragmatic nature, things were moving quickly, but for the sake of maintaining my faith through Sue, the conversation needed to continue a bit longer.
“But wouldn’t it be better to seek out priests or paladins from the Harmony Church if you need knowledge or combat skills for clearing Labyrinths?”
To put it bluntly, at this stage Ridni’s Mystery is an inferior copy of the Mystery granted by Artein, the goddess of wisdom and protection.
In other words, there’s no real reason to seek out a cultist of the Twisted Truth.
“What do you really want from me, truly? You need to say it outright so I can actually deliver.”
“You’re making this tiresome.”
Odilon narrowed his brow and tapped the Comforter on his finger.
“You already suspect, so why ask? Do you need me to spell it out?”
“You already know the answer, so why press the question?”
“I’m already regretting this partnership.”
Despite his words, he wouldn’t abandon the contract.
True cultists of the Twisted Truth were rare.
There might be a few more shy cultists hiding their faith, but formal cultists who had received Mysteries through ritual sacrificial ceremonies—not merely believers—were uncommon.
“Since you clearly know already and insist on making me explain: you’re a variable.”
“A variable that can shake up the overwhelmingly disadvantageous position I occupy in the race for Family Head.”
“Exactly. In our family, the person with the best track record inherits the position of Family Head. Right now, I’m being crushed by my brother and sister.”
The eldest and second children of House Brithes are backed by elite members of the Harmony Church—talented individuals blessed with Mysteries by Artein that specialize in intelligence operations.
Odilon had almost no faction supporting him within the family, so recruiting another Harmony Church member would yield little real advantage.
That’s why he intended to create a variable by recruiting me—a cultist of Ridni, who presides over hidden knowledge—to shake up the entire game board.
“If you can consistently do the kind of thing you just did—exposing all my secrets—winning the Family Head competition isn’t impossible. Wouldn’t you say?”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Honestly, I didn’t expect much, but you’re impressive. Ridni’s influence must have been drastically diminished—how are you managing to uncover such varied knowledge?”
That’s because my source wasn’t Ridni’s Mystery but the accumulated knowledge I’d gained from pouring countless hours of idleness into a game.
Of course, the Eye That Pierces Truth, the Mystery granted by Ridni, had also provided some information.
《Odilon’s hobby is reading romance novels where the relationships of major characters descend into complete catastrophe. And he invariably leaves reviews saying ‘I wish the ending had been more ruinous.’ Even I find this deeply unsettling.》
Teaching useless knowledge like this is part of the problem….
Odilon, who had been breathing in nothing but smoke while erasing the text that obscured his vision, finally spoke.
“We’ll adjust the detailed strategy later. I’ll send Rosalia within a few days. Any other questions?”
“I don’t have questions, but I do have a request.”
“Say it.”
I glanced meaningfully at Abel before whispering discreetly.
“Please completely neutralize Maken, the Black Sword Guild master operating in the Eastern Slums of District 6, and deliver him to the front of our house.”
This was the simplest way to cleanly eliminate the anxiety that plagued the siblings.

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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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