"The First Princess has postponed her return to the North."
Immediately, the members reacted strongly.
"The First Princess? The one who loves the North?"
"Then who will defend the front line?"
The cat-headed one leisurely answered their numerous questions.
"It seems there is something in the imperial capital that takes priority over
hunting the monsters of the North. From the perspective of the magic
towers, this is something to pay close attention to, don't you think?"
The members all nodded in agreement.
"Does that mean there's a tremendous monster hiding somewhere in the
capital? Finding it quickly will be crucial. Maybe we could even get a piece
of the action…"
"If the First Princess even hints that she received help from the magic
towers, the impact would be enormous. We should seriously consider
hunting this prey."
Everyone became excited and began talking eagerly.
"…"
Jaekiel remained quietly silent.
Because he had a good idea of what the prey was.
'The prey is me. It has to be me.'
No matter how he thought about it, the prey the First Princess was referring
to had to be him. The words she uttered during their last chase still echoed
in his mind.
─… Fine, when I catch you, I'll squeeze every last bit out of you.
Should Jaekiel escape the capital? Or should he try to withstand the
squeezing? Either way, neither choice was an easy one.
'…This secret gathering is extremely useful.'
No, it had already gone beyond just being useful.
While the other magicians were pondering how to use this information to
benefit the magic towers, Jaekiel was lost in much more basic thoughts.
…Survival, solely for survival.
"It's really interesting how none of our gathered information overlaps at all.
I brought something about the Third Princess."
Next, it was the veiled woman's turn.
"The inquisitors have entered special training."
"Special training…!"
It was natural for the members to be unsettled.
The fact that the inquisitors had begun special training was a clear sign that
they were about to undertake something significant.
Worry clouded their voices.
"Why are the inquisitors suddenly…? Does this mean there will soon be a
large-scale ideological purge?"
"It seems like it. The magic towers should be careful too…"
"Make sure to keep a close watch on the magicians affiliated with the
towers. There could be a demon hiding among them."
Yes, they all seemed to be concerned about demons.
But Jaekiel wasn't.
'…Surely, they're not planning to use them for something else?'
Suddenly, Solana's words came to mind.
─Please keep all the other women away.
─If you don't…
─I'll have to punish them myself.
A few women quickly flashed through Jaekiel's mind: Tether, Anes,
Seina… They were the ones who had accompanied him on this trip. Could
something unfortunate happen to them?
…He vowed to do his best to appease Solana.
But just then.
"Huh? Wh-Wh-What?"
The cat-headed one reacted strangely and stepped forward.
His wide eyes were fixed on the fake Jaekiel.
"I never noticed before, but now that I see it, doesn't the leader's
appearance look exactly like the Imperial Tower Auditor? You know, the
one who made such an impression at the recent exchange!"
The surprise quickly spread to the other members.
"It really does!"
"It's definitely the Auditor's appearance."
"Could it be… the real person?"
The fake Jaekiel quietly shook his head.
"No."
"Then…?"
"We know each other. That's all."
Jaekiel narrowed his eyes at the phrase "know each other." This confirmed
that they were acquainted, but who could possibly remember him?
Even someone capable of mimicking his appearance and movements.
He began to narrow down the possibilities in his mind.
'Could it be…?'
There was one princess whose way of speaking was similar.
─Teacher, it's time to sleep.
─I can't sleep alone; I need you to sleep with me.
─Teacher, Teacher…
He quickly shook his head. There was no way a princess would be here.
"Hmm, it wouldn't be polite to ask any more…"
Jaekiel secretly hoped for more information about the fake Jaekiel, but no
one asked further questions.
Since this was a virtual world, there were all sorts of circumstances.
Someone could imitate another's appearance out of admiration, but the
opposite was much more common.
The most famous practice was creating an ego in the likeness of an enemy.
No matter what evil deeds one committed in the virtual world, the bad
reputation would stick to the enemy.
Perhaps that's why no one asked about the relationship.
They only talked about the Imperial Tower Auditor.
"He was really something, wasn't he?"
"I was shocked. Even saying it was a complete victory doesn't do it
justice."
Hearing people talk so openly about himself felt surreal. Jaekiel pretended
not to know and asked, "Was the Imperial Tower Auditor really that
impressive?"
"Not just impressive; he caused a major upheaval."
"Is there anything in the magic world that could cause such an upheaval?
No matter how busy it seems, this field is always dull in the end."
"Did you sleep through the entire exchange? No, wait, I figured it out.
You're not even a magician!"
The expressions of the other members were no different. Somehow, Jaekiel
ended up hiding his identity even more.
After that, he had to endure listening to praise about himself for quite some
time.
"The special thing about this Imperial Tower Auditor is this. Normally,
auditors just give orders without doing anything themselves. But he
personally stepped in and punished evil one by one. It's been a long time
since we've seen anything like that."
"Is that really such a big deal?"
Wasn't that just doing the obvious?
Weren't the other auditors just too lazy?
That's all Jaekiel could think.
The compass next to him nodded and chimed in.
"It's a huge deal. It seems that the rumors about him doing nothing for ten
years were part of a smokescreen. He appeared with his blade sharpened to
perfection."
"Well… I suppose you could think of it that way."
"It's not just possible; it's the truth."
Jaekiel scratched his head.
'These guys were at the exchange.'
He thought he might as well dig for more information.
"But in that case, didn't most of the magic towers take the presentations
seriously? After all, the Imperial Tower has the upper hand."
"That's why they hid their secret research results! Since they knew they
couldn't take first place, they just coasted through."
"Great job. Just great."
Jaekiel nodded, but his thoughts were elsewhere.
'These guys, I'll have to shake them down someday.'
He could understand now why the secret gathering was so strict about
excluding people related to the Imperial Tower.
They were so easily spilling facts that were perfect for catching someone
out, making it a goldmine for an auditor.
There were incredible achievements alive and thriving everywhere.
Tap.
At that moment, the fake Jaekiel tapped the round table.
"Enough chit-chat. We're running out of time."
The round table quickly fell silent.
"The information I brought today, there are two."
"…Two?"
All the members reacted intensely.
It was only natural.
The leader's information was always incredible, but now he was
announcing that he had two pieces to share. It was impossible not to be
excited.
"Really? You're going to tell us two things?"
"Yes. Since the Auditor was mentioned, I have one additional piece."
The fake Jaekiel nodded.
"The Imperial Tower Auditor especially likes the Fifth Princess."
"…"
And the first piece of information was rather unexpected.
"…?"
Suspicion spread across everyone's faces, but the fake Jaekiel calmly
emphasized what he had said.
"No, he just likes the Fifth Princess the most. More than anything. He's
working for her."
"…"
As the person in question, Jaekiel was simply bewildered.
'I liked the Fifth Princess that much?'
The Fifth Princess, Neo.
The continent's greatest scroll researcher.
It was true that he cherished her as a student, but he cherished all the
princesses equally. There was no favoritism.
To make things worse, the round table didn't even light up.
Shhhh… Whoong…
No, it did light up, but the glow was weak.
Most of the members were unimpressed, but since the information came
from the leader, they reluctantly nodded in agreement.
"We should keep that in mind if we want to gain the favor of the Imperial
Tower later. It's important to know their preferences."
"Y-Yes, indeed. To have even investigated the Auditor's preferences, as
expected of the leader."
The fake Jaekiel quietly nodded.
"The information I just shared was just a bonus."
His expression turned deadly serious.
"The really important one is the second."
At the mention of it being truly important, everyone focused more than
ever. Jaekiel included.
And then.
The one sentence that the fake Jaekiel finally uttered.
"The Fifth Princess is plotting treason."
"!!!"
The members' mouths gaped open.
"Wh-Wh-What did you say…?!"
"What…?!"
The room was filled with nothing but astonishment and shock.
In this place, where an unbelievable truth had just struck.
Shhhhhh!
The round table glowed brilliantly.