Chapter 265: Why Karbaldr?

“Ah, this… Senior Reysir’s skill is totally cheating, isn’t it?”

Pret’s gaze, as he said that, turned toward me.

I wondered if he was looking at me like that because he was sure Reysir would discover my true identity because of that skill.

But Reysir doesn’t know that Pret and I met separately and had a conversation.

He probably thinks Pret is looking at me like that to seek my agreement with his statement.

“Don’t change the subject. Just answer my question properly.”

His expression, frowning all the way to his brow as he spoke in a commanding tone, felt quite solemn.

“Pret. Who exactly are you?”

Even though the original protagonist was creating such a serious and solemn atmosphere…

Was it okay for Yor and me to be sharing a strawberry yogurt latte and munching on things like chocolate strawberry sandwiches?

And sitting side-by-side on the same bench as Reysir?

‘But the one who brought me and Yor here and gave us this to eat was this original protagonist…?’

Maybe because he’s the protagonist of another novel, I simply couldn’t fathom his intentions.

Thus, even while I was feeling awkward, the conversation continued without a hitch.

“Ah, geez… It seems like trying to wriggle out of it is pointless, so I’ll just tell you. As Senior Reysir found out with that skill, my real name is ‘Fret Grimur’. And my position in the guild is……”

“Your position is?”

“The sole successor to the guild master.”

“……!!”

“Oh? You look surprised? Was I a bigger deal than you expected, Senior?”

Even though Pret was the one being pressed.

He admitted the fact so nonchalantly and used a tone as if he were joking with a smiling face.

It resulted in Reysir, the one doing the interrogating, showing bewilderment instead.

And the initiative in the conversation also passed to Pret.

“Is that all you wanted to ask me?”

“There’s no way that’s all, right?”

“Then could you ask me quickly? I’m a very busy person, you see. Having a position and all?”

Was it because he had a history of having his identity exposed by me?

Or had he prepared himself mentally in advance because I left a remark hinting that Reysir would also find out his identity?

Either way.

Pret’s attitude was incredibly composed, to the point where you wouldn’t believe he’d just had his identity exposed.

For all I knew, this probably wasn’t the flow Reysir had anticipated.

Nevertheless, true to being the protagonist of this novel’s world…

After recovering his composure with just one deep breath, he spoke in a calm and cold voice.

“If you’re such a high-ranking, busy person, what was your purpose in infiltrating this academy yourself?”

“If I said it’s because I wanted information on the Awakened Special Class, but currently, only a tiny fraction of our guild members are Awakened, and I’m the only one of an age that can infiltrate the academy, would you believe me?”

“No.”

“Wow…! You didn’t have to deny it so bluntly!”

Pret feigned hurt with an exaggerated expression and tone.

It was enough to make one angry at his playful attitude.

But as if determined not to be swayed by the other’s pace anymore, Reysir continued his interrogation without batting an eyelash.

“If obtaining information on the Awakened Special Class was truly your only goal, you would have shown interest in Her Highness the Imperial Princess and tried to become close to her. Not by showing interest in Karbaldr and pretending to be friendly with him.”

“Eh~, Senior Fyora is of the opposite sex, you know? If I recklessly tried to get close and act friendly and ended up with some strange misunderstanding, it’s obvious I’d be in for a terrifyingly horrible time, right?”

It wasn’t the kind of thing an ordinary person would say, using the title ‘Senior Fyora’—the only one among the special class students to do so—and speaking to her without any hesitation.

Unlike me, who felt absurd for that reason.

Reysir opened his mouth without paying it any mind.

“So, as a substitute, you tried to get close to Karbaldr, who is the same sex and a member of a ducal house?”

“Senior Karbaldr is not a chicken! Since he’s from a ducal family, if I had to make a comparison, he’d be a peacock. And peacocks are birds of the pheasant family… Huh? Wait, that’s weird.”

“If we’re going to be like that, Her Highness the Imperial Princess is not a pheasant but an eagle, and Karbaldr is a cat? I was just using a proverb, but you’re trying to forcibly twist it, so of course it gets weird!”

I don’t know why they suddenly started a nonsense battle.

Pret is probably doing it on purpose to derail the discussion, but shouldn’t the original protagonist not be doing that?

But considering the usual amount of nonsense this protagonist of another novel spouts, this flow seems natural too….

‘Wait, why am I accepting this?’

Because the two of them were spouting nonsense simultaneously, I found myself having absurd thoughts without realizing it.

Around the time I became aware of this and was trying to pull myself together…

Fortunately, a normal conversation reached my ears.

“Anyway, if Senior Fyora were to discuss matters related to the Awakened Special Class with any student, that person would definitely be Senior Karbaldr. And perhaps through Senior Karbaldr, an opportunity to become close to Senior Fyora might arise.”

“So you’re saying, with the intention of using Karbaldr…”

Suddenly, Reysir stopped mid-sentence, flinched his shoulders, and turned to gauge my reaction.

Since I had planted in him the perception that ‘Karbaldr feels disgusted at being used, and beyond being sick and tired of it, he has resigned himself and accepted it as inevitable.’

He must be worried that I might be hurt hearing the conversation between Pret and himself.

Even though, due to the earlier exchange of nonsense, the atmosphere was not at all conducive to such feelings.

I was conflicted about whether I should tell him not to worry and just focus on the conversation.

“Ah-ha! Don’t misunderstand, please! It’s a different ‘use’! Not ‘using’ someone, but ’employing’ someone~!”

A voice, cheerful to the point of being flippant, was heard.

The face of Reysir, which had been tinged with concern for me, crumpled in an instant.

“Oops! I better reveal the correct answer before Senior Reysir gets really angry! The reason I showed interest in Senior Karbaldr is precisely~! Not to ‘use’ him, but to ’employ’ him!”

Pret had approached me to find out the reason for the massive personnel turnover at Austri Ducal Castle.

And he had resolved his curiosity through a deal with me.

Since disclosing the details of a deal to a third party goes against the ironclad rule of the Information Guild…

‘He couldn’t possibly say that he approached me to find out about the affairs of the Austri Ducal Family, not about the Awakened Special Class!’

If he did, Reysir would likely press for specifics about what he was trying to find out, persistently digging deeper.

Therefore, he must have come up with that excuse.

In reality, since Pret had urged me several times to join the guild, it wasn’t even a lie.

He must have thought there was no better pretext for an evasion than this.

“You tried to… employ Karbaldr? Into your Information Guild?”

“Yep~! After all, the quality of information accessible to commoners and that accessible to nobles, especially the upper echelons, is fundamentally different. No matter how much I or other informants disguise ourselves and infiltrate, there are limits, right? Even if we create fake noble identities, people don’t just open up to strangers immediately, so we have to invest a lot of time just to gain trust. And since we have other work, spending time to maintain that identity is an excessive waste.”

“So you tried to bring a real high-ranking noble into the guild? As a mere informant?”

Whether he thought Pret was spouting nonsense again this time, Reysir glared at him with an incredulous expression.

But even in the face of that cold reaction, Pret’s attitude toward the conversation didn’t change one bit.

“Of course not! He was naturally scheduled to be assigned directly under me, and a rapid promotion to an executive-level position was also guaranteed!”

Maybe, now that things have come to this, he’s decided to give that failed scouting attempt another try?

The future guild master of the Information Guild looked straight at me and made his appeal.

Of course, his statement didn’t move me in the slightest, so I snorted ‘Hmph!’ through my nose, then sipped my drink through the straw and pretended to be distracted.

Seeing my reaction, Reysir seemed relieved on one hand, while questioning Pret.

“Why Karbaldr, of all people?”

“Well, because currently, in the Awakened Special Class, the person with the highest status after Senior Fyora is…”

“You’ve been showing interest in and trying to approach Karbaldr since last year, before any discussions about an Awakened Special Class even existed.”

“……”

For a while, Pret kept his mouth tightly shut and just stared quietly at Reysir.

He seemed to be pondering something.

Then, he suddenly went ‘Heh!’ and smiled, speaking up as if nothing had happened.

“You think I’m one of the mercenaries who accepted the request to kidnap Senior Hailga, don’t you?”

“That’s right, isn’t it?”

“Why? Because of my speech? But my face is completely different?”

“That [Camouflage] skill of yours. It doesn’t just change the color of your Aether, does it? Can’t it change your appearance too?”

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I denied it, would you?”

“If it were truly an ability that only changed ‘color,’ the skill name would be [Camouflage Color], not [Camouflage].”

“That argument seems a bit forced……”

Although he said this while narrowing his eyes…

Pret eventually admitted it.

“I can’t deny it since it’s true! Ah-ha!!”

“So, the answer to the question I asked earlier is?”

“Why do you keep asking that? Do you think Senior Reysir believes Senior Karbaldr is unworthy of such an offer?”

“What kind of talk is that…! I think Karbaldr is incredibly smart, a talent anyone would covet. But you said your goal was to recruit ‘a high-ranking noble’? In that case, shouldn’t you be targeting someone more likely to inherit their family? From that perspective, Karbaldr has an older sister and brother with a significant age gap…”

“That’s exactly why he’s more suitable. If it were someone like a ‘family head,’ they might try to swallow our whole guild.”

“……Oh.”

The protagonist of another novel let out a short, blunt sound, revealing that he had been convinced by the other’s words.

Anyone who didn’t pick up on this should probably give up the position of future guild master of the Information Guild.

Nevertheless…

“Even considering that, Senior Karbaldr wasn’t the only candidate worth considering. After all, there are four ducal families, and even a marquis-level family would have access to considerable information, right?”

“Right..! That’s why I asked. Why Karbaldr, of all people?”

“Because, instead of just proposing recruitment, the fact that I, the future guild master, personally hovered around Senior Karbaldr, looking for chances to get close, must have seemed suspicious too.”

By bringing this up, Pret stimulated the other’s curiosity.

“……It really is suspicious. Why are you telling me this?”

“To explain the reason why you’ll have no choice but to understand why a busy person like me would go to such lengths, so earnestly wanting to employ Senior Karbaldr.”

It seems he doesn’t want to leave even a small doubt behind.

So that later, Reysir won’t raise questions and become suspicious.