There was no second blow. As if the first knock had been just an alert, the door opened immediately without even asking permission.
It was an old man who entered. He had thick, gray hair and wrinkled skin, but the air of weakness of an old man could not be seen. There was no tremor in his walk, and his back was straight, without slouching.
«Hmm.» Even without words, the disparate temperament that his movements radiated and the look in his eyes told me that this old man was dangerous. «Judging by your attire, you must be from Earth», the old man scrutinized me and murmured dryly. «How did you get here?
For a moment, my head turned white. What should I answer? Judging from his outfit, it seemed certain that he was an evil spirit from another realm. For the moment, I opted for silence. Instead of opening my mouth hastily, I decided to induce the other party to speak first and understand the situation a little more.
Well, that was the plan, but...
«Incredible. Three rank 3 essences already. It would have been a little over a year since they brought you here». This old man was reciting my information even though I hadn't said a word.
Damn, where the hell do you get an ability like that?
«This is piquing my interest for the first time in a long time. Forget how you got here, tell me this first. Who are you?» I didn't answer. «Are you going to keep looking at me like that?».
I might have been suspicious of a stranger visiting uninvited, but instead the old man urged me in a friendly voice.
What do I tell you?
Shall I tell you that I come from the future? I had that idea, but it stayed a thought. Although I didn't know anything about the other person, it was not wise to give my information.
«I'll ask the questions first».
«Oh? So you'll answer my questions too?»
«To some extent». I took advantage of the opponent's curiosity and took advantage. As confused as I was, I must have been curious to know who I was. I was going to use this to get as much information as possible.
«Forward.»
As soon as the old man gave me permission, I asked him this question first. «What is your name?»
«Haha, my name, huh?». The old man laughed as if it were an anticlimactic question, but his name was important to me, because he had the advantage of coming from twenty years in the future. An unknown name now may not be unknown in the future. With the right questions, you could even find out what kind of life that person led in the future. «Seeing that you want to introduce yourself first, it seems that you know your manners». Then the man laughed warmly. «I am...»
The moment he was going to continue, the old man frowned and closed his mouth. The frown only lasted a moment.
«I'm sorry. Something has come up outside, so I'll have to resume this conversation later». The old man ended the conversation in a dignified tone and made an unexpected proposal. «It would be rude to leave you here. Hmm, what to do... Do you want to come with me?».
I thought about it for a moment and answered yes. What was I going to do alone in this room? If you followed this old man outside, you could get more information.
«Very well, skinny ones have tenacity. Anyway, going out like this will attract the attention of the other members. Here, put this on». When the old man waved his hand, a suit suitable for this time appeared in the air. But wasn't it enough for him? «Oh, you better cover your face too».
The old man even made me a white mask on the spot. What was this convenient skill? It could probably only be used in the spirit world, right? With that thought in mind, I put on my clothes and mask.
«Is it uncomfortable?»
«No, it fits me well.
«No, it looks good on me.»
«Haha, I should equip this place with something similar next time. There may be people who don't want to show their face. Now then. Let's go.»
After that, I followed the old man out of the room. In the meantime, he gave me some precautions.
«To whoever you see inside, don't let them know your surprise or that you know them. No, if possible, keep your mouth shut as before and observe».
«What if someone talks to me before?».
«That won't happen, but even if it does, I'll take care of it».
As I walked closely behind the old man, I continued to inspect the surroundings. The more he did it, the more he felt a strange sensation of déjà vu. The room I was in before was the same, but it seemed similar to the mansion where the Round Table was located.
The fact that there are no windows is the same.
Of course, details such as wall decorations, the location of the room and the width of the hallway were different.
To say it's purely a coincidence worries me something.
I didn't rule out that it was just my mood and continued searching around me. After who knows how long, the old man stopped walking down the hallway and slowly opened a large door. «We have arrived».
What is this place?
Surprisingly, there was a Round Table there, the Round Table room that he had entered and exited countless times while wearing the Lion mask. When I looked, there were quite a few differences with that place. To begin with, there was no jewel in the Round Table that distinguished truth from lies, and the room was also a little small.
But it's similar.
Other than that, it was almost identical. From the pattern engraved on the edge of the Round Table to the unidentifiable frames hanging on the wall, most matched the Round Table twenty years in the future. But how did this happen?
Is this the Master?
Maybe it was the old man who was now in front of me, the unidentified person I met only once in the past and who created the Round Table Watchers. It was possible that one of those present had modeled the Round Table from this place.
Anyway, let's think about this later.
For a moment I shuddered at the familiar sight of the Round Table, but quickly came to my senses. The Round Table was not important now. The important thing was the four people sitting here, three men and one woman. They looked towards us as soon as the door opened.
«Who is that man behind you?» They showed great interest in me even though I was wearing a mask. In some ways, it was similar to when I first participated in the Round Table.
Gosh, look at those eyes.
It was as if they had thorns in their eyes. Every time his eyes were directed at me, my skin stung and a stabbing sensation bloomed.
«You don't need to be interested in who this man is». Unlike how he treated me, the old man drew the line with a firm and oppressive tone and went straight to the point in the atmosphere that calmed down instantly. «I heard there have been problems during my absence. Of course, I trust you're not stupid enough to forget the rules of this place, but I should listen to it first. What happened?»
The old man spoke as if he were reprimanding small children and an awkward silence hung over the room at that question. Seeing them divert eye contact every time he looked around, it was as if they were wondering who was going to be shot.
The first to step forward was a middle-aged man with the build of a mountain. «I'll say it in advance, but we have no intention of antagonizing each other. However, this man continues to encourage strange things».
At the man's criticism, a silent man in black frowned. «How can it be strange to suggest killing the king?».
«Ha, do you think I don't know why you want to kill the king? Don't even think about dragging us into your greedy personal plans».
«Kagureas, do you still hope to return after decades of unsuccessful attempts?».
«Of course. Like everyone here. Oh, although now you should get out of the way».
«How curious. If you want to come back, shouldn't you help me even more? It should be the palace that keeps the great secret that is the final destination of all our questions.»
«...Touching the king is too dangerous. There are not even guarantees that the palace will keep any clues about the return».
The reason why they were in conflict was evident, the hardliners who wanted to kill the king for clues, and the softliners who wanted to find another path saying it was too dangerous. The evil spirit conversations twenty years in the past were quite funny so I was listening intently when my head went blank at the words that followed from a middle-aged man.
«I don't care what you do alone. Whether you make Hercules or not has no direct relationship with me».
That? Create Orcules? Could this be the boss?
It was the appearance of an unexpected big shot. Suddenly, I remembered what the old man said before. What was? Don't be surprised who you see inside? If it was the leader of Orcules, those words were justified. It was a celebrity wrapped in a veil who was known nothing about after all. I never thought I'd meet that person here.
«But Lord Ruingenes is different». Just then, the middle-aged man looked at an individual with the appearance of a child and continued speaking. My head went numb again for a moment.
¿Eh? Ruingenes it…
Belbev Ruingenes was the real name of the Fallen Scholar, who was once the headmaster of a large school but became a criminal after manipulating forbidden magic.
«If you try to persuade him with meaningless words, I won't sit idly by».
«Do you really think he can perfect dimensional magic?»
«Believe it. Much more than a silly plan to kill the king».
Watching the boy calmly sip the tea without caring if the others were talking about him or not, I clenched my fists.
Slurp.
Seriously, is this kid a Fallen Scholar...? Ugh, what is this lineup?
Knowing the identities of the two giants, I naturally became interested in the two remaining people.
I had never heard the name Kagureas.
To begin with, today I heard the middle-aged man's name for the first time. The woman didn't speak the entire time, so I had no information about her. Who the hell were those people?
Just then, the old man opened his mouth and silenced the room. «I understand the situation, so everyone leave it now». He wasn't particularly charismatic or anything like that, but those members were intimidated by those words. «Everyone go. There are more pressing matters today so let's talk about this matter later.»
«Urgent matters?» The woman who had only been listening the entire time finally opened her mouth at the old man's words. «Is it related to that person behind you?».
«Is.»
When the old man stated that, his eyes returned to focusing on me. Is it more important than us? That was the look.
But while everyone kept those words to themselves while they waited for the old man, the woman asked again: «Who is that person? I think this is the first time they've brought someone here. And why is he wearing a mask here that doesn't make sense?».
The old man answered the same as before. «That does not matter. So could they step aside now?»
When the old man gave them another order to leave, they all got up one by one, starting with the woman.
«Haha, we're finally alone». When everyone left, the old man put on a benevolent smile as before, as if he had taken off a mask. «So let's continue with what we were talking about. How far do we talk?»
«...You were about to say your name».
«Oh, sure.» He laughed like a grandfather next door, saying that I would be the same when I got older, and introduced himself without hesitation. «If you are from Earth, it may be a name that is already familiar to you. Nice to meet you. I'm Auril Gavis».
Auril Gavis: the author of the Complete Book of Rifts and the creator of the game Dungeon and Stone.