Chapter 209

Translated by: xLordFifth

Edited by: Aadhitya

Petyr’s sleeping gas also had the effect of erasing the victim’s memory. Because of that, the king, queen, and the two guards guarding the front of the bedroom did not remember anything last night.

However, it was important that the head of the guards personally identified the intruder’s body. Before clearly saw Petyr’s ashen-colored body disappear before it disappeared.

In other words, it was only natural to rush back to the palace as soon as the sun came up.

Fibiel’s king sat down with a very displeased expression. It was because Lotzac, which was supposed to be questioned, had not yet appeared.

‘Did he run away......? No, he won’t.’

Shin Nara waited impatiently and observed the king and the guard captain’s expressions.

After a while, the door opened and everyone’s eyes turned to the entrance. An old mage in a red robe walked slowly.

The haggard-faced old man walked weakly but did not forget to look at Shin Nara.

“Lotzac. How come you only came now?”

“I am extremely sorry. Your majesty. I was a little late because I had heard of last night’s ungodliness and was censoring the mages all night long.”

While Lotzac prepared to bow to the king, the guard captain’s face flushed red.

“What nonsense are you talking about, Lord Lotzac! That’s not what you’re supposed to say right now! Last night, the royal mages’ trap did not work, his majesty almost-”

“That’s it, guard captain.”

“What?”

“The royal mages’ trap could be controlled by several other vice-leaders besides me. Even so, the final management is my responsibility. Even if a severe punishment is imposed on me, who almost caused harm to the safety of His Majesty, please listen to this.”

Lotzac knelt before the king.

Royal mages have one of the highest positions in the royal palace, except for the king.

In addition, there was no NPC that could push any further if a veteran of the second human-demon war came out like that. Even if it was the king.

‘I missed the timing...”

Shin Nara also bit her lips softly.

Lotzac lay flat on his stomach until the king allowed him to rise.

“......Speak.”

“After hearing the news, we confirmed who touched the trap by using the spirits. Perhaps the culprit believed in his own abilities, he carefreely slept in his lodging without leaving. Maybe he thought he wouldn’t get caught. So small number of mages captured him and tortured him all night to obtain confession a confession.”

Lotzac spat out those words as if he was sorry.

Seeing his trembling lips, Shin Nara felt like she was going to get nauseous.

“Lies! Did you check? Then there should be a record-”

“Dame Shin Nara, keep quiet. Keep talking, Lotzac. What was his confession?”

The king stopped Shin Nara. The guard captain had a lot to say, however, when Shin Nara was stopped, there was nothing he could do.

“That bastard....... was a spy.” “Spy? From where?”

The king’s eyebrows twitched. A spy or a mole. It meant a spy from another country.

Feeling the king’s breath, Lotzac slowly timed his words.

He took enough time until the high-ranking officials, and the king felt impatient, so that they would accept his words without any doubt.

The royal mage chief, who excelled at magic, was also the best at penetrating people’s minds.

When the tension and impatience reached its peak, Lotzac relented and gave strength to his voice.

“He confessed that he was a spy who infiltrated for seven years following Minis’ imperious order. Our enemy is Minis.”

“That’s nonsense!”

“Lord Lotzac! Is that for real?!”

“Ho, it’s Minis! Minis! Why did that name come out!” The faces of the officials as well as the guard captain, and the king changed.

And got a whisper from Shin Nara. When they gathered from all over the place, Shin Nara sat in the conference room with the face she had on the first day they had met. No, her face was even darker that from back then.

“Nara-ssi? Surely, this-”

“That’s right....... It’s over.”

“What do you mean it’s over? Do we no longer need to protect the king?”

“Yes. War is perhaps the real goal of this quest.” It was to make Lotzac ignite the war.

Everyone’s eyes widened as Shin Nara revealed every detail of what had happened at the meeting.

In a way that they could not have imagined, Lotzac preserved his position and at the same time started the war between Fibiel and Minis.

“T-then? The reason Lotzac commissioned Petyr- No, that was just a speculation, but this quet-”

“Was it like a trap? Did it end with Petyr’s death......?”

“The NPC that have a reputation no lower than the king had no intention of revealing the truth! Isn’t it like getting completely played by Lotzac?”

Everyone tried to complain one after the other, but it was already too late. The quest had already ended and disappeared, the war will come soon.

Ram Hwayeon was speechless because of how absurd the situation was, only Biyemi was able to laugh.

“Kikis, as I thought. There is not only one or two quest in Middle Earth that are like this. Obviously, this is a form of branching point, but the end result would not be stopped.... If we failed the quest, there still would have been war. Since the king is dead, would it have been in the form of an invasion from Minis? In any case, the Fibiel-Minis war was the planned setup. Middle Earth played out the board, and the content would be filled by the users! It’s a sign that they were to play over the heads of the users.”

“This is phase 2......”

Tale sighed as he heard Biyemi’s analysis.

The quest was clearly a success. Still, what was the dreadful feeling they felt? They did not like the fact that it did not say ‘quest completed’ on the notification window in the first place, what was written was ‘quest ended’.

“......This is unfair!”

Bang!

Shin Nara smashed the table in the conference room. Everyone was startled by the sudden noise.

“What?”

“I’m annoyed. Why did I have to suffer like this until now! I haven’t slept for a few days!”

“N-Nara-ssi?”

“Now that it is like this, I will crush it thoroughly. Middle Earth started a war? I will end that war in an instant.”

Shin Nara pulled out her sword and checked the condition of the blade. With an expression as if she was about to take the Minis king’s head at any moment.

Leeha, who was observing her mood that exuded ferocious energy, gulped.

“Ah! I’ll tell the second group when they arrive, but thank you for participating, and I’m sorry for the quest ending like this. You have had it rough...”

Shin Nara held back the ferocious energy in an instant and bowed her head towards the group.

“No worries. It was nice to learn a lot of things.”

“Kikis, the Midnight Circus’ Target achievement alone made it worth it.” Tale and Biyemi smiled. Ram Hwayeon also increased her intimacy with the royal family, so it could be considered that she had obtained more than material support.

“Leeha-ssi wants to go to the royal archives, right? Come with me. I’ll tell the chief clerk.”

“P-Please put away your sword while saying that.”

Leeha had somehow become afraid of Shin Nara. And he was also worried about what position he should take in Middle Earth, which flowed in a completely unexpected direction.

“S-sorry, hon.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Uh, I’ll be back.”

“Huh? Ram Hwayeon-ssi? Why are you angry?”

Leeha tilted his head, however, Ram Hwayeon did not stop and walked out of the conference room.

“I should have recorded this too. Kikis.”

“I did. See you next time, Biyemi-nim. I will call Jacheong-nim and Kay as well.”

Biyemi and Tale burst into laughter at the new look of Ram Hwayeon, whom they had known for the past few days.

(To be continued...)