“Why’d you hit me?!” Evin clutched her head and glared back, clearly upset.
I coughed and looked away. “Just reminding you—dungeon designers and story designers aren’t always the same person.”
Evin blinked, then caught on. “Wait—what does that have to do with you hitting me?!”
“How could it not? Have you received such poor education all this time?” My tone suddenly turned grave. “Blaming people without evidence isn’t what a good kid does.”
“Is that how it works…?” Evin shrank back, intimidated, but still puzzled. “But what about—”
“Still trying to argue? I’m so disappointed. This kind of behavior erodes trust between people and could have incalculable consequences for society.”
“Eh? Is it that bad…?” Evin swallowed, clinging to a shred of hope. “But what about Ao Tong—”
“Does any of that matter? You’re the successor of socialism! Even the smallest issue, amplified by a nation’s population, becomes a catastrophe. Your actions could stagnate socialism for decades—wasting years of national effort.”
“Uh… s-sorry… very sorry…”
“I didn’t hear sincerity. That quiet, and you expect forgiveness?”
“I’M SORRY!!”
“There we go. Since you apologized, I forgive you.”
I gave a what-am-I-to-do-with-you look and patted Evin’s head.
Wait—wasn’t Ao Tong the one who hit me for no reason?
Evin felt confused, but the gentle touch on her head made her let it go. Whatever.
The whole farce played out before everyone. They found it both absurd and amusing. Thanks to the two little ones, they snapped out of the shock—though their gazes at the tall, handsome Kamil (real name: Reese Meril) remained very strange.
Only Hill stayed expressionless throughout, explaining to Meril why the team was here.
“So that’s it. I think I understand Lord Alpha’s intent.”
After a moment of deep thought, Reese Meril looked up. “This is likely tied to a mage from the Secret Rune Council.”
Secret Rune Council again?
Hearing the name a second time sparked everyone’s curiosity.
Through his account, they learned what happened.
A dozen days ago, while hunting, Reese saved an injured mage. The mage claimed to be from the Orothe Mage Association, ambushed by enemies during travel, and chased here.
Grateful for the rescue, he declined healing at Forest Veil Path, saying he’d bring disaster. He’d hide in Black Prison Forest for a while—then vanished deeper in.
“He had an Orothe accent, but I spotted a Secret Rune Council insignia. The wounds were odd too. Recalling now—they match council taboo spells. I saw them while traveling with Lord Alpha. That mage is likely a council traitor. Lord Alpha’s presence here may be related.”
Thus, they learned the ever-mysterious Alpha was one of the Secret Rune Council’s chairmen.
“So Alpha’s that important.”
“No clue what the council is, but sounds badass.”
Ignoring the whispers, Reese continued his theory.
“Council taboo magic closely resembles the forest mutation—and it started after he arrived. No coincidence. Given he’s hunted, he likely touched forbidden knowledge.”
“Lord Alpha sending you means he’s already judged. I trust him.”
His tone brimmed with reverence for Alpha.
“So do you know where the mage is?” Hill asked.
“Yes—the direction he went is a cliff-ringed glade. I can lead you now.” Reese nodded, but frowned. “He’s strong. I’m not sure I can handle him.”
His lack of confidence reminded everyone of Alpha’s earlier line. So when I acted next, no one was surprised.
“Mr. Alpha gave us this—might help.”
I pulled the purified Secret Rune Cross from my bag and handed it to Kamil.
Seeing the glowing cross, worry vanished from Reese’s eyes. A fierce light sparked. He took it carefully. “Lord Alpha’s token—it can enchant weapons. Now I’m certain.”
As Reese prepared to gear up, his sister Tina Meril, a nature mage, returned. Hearing the story, she joined the subjugation without hesitation.
While the siblings readied, the team could no longer hold back their tsukkomi.
“The letter writer’s a guy—what’s with that sappy tone?!”
“You don’t get it—this is forbidden love. That level of trap could sway even straight men.”
“I think Reese is just super grateful to Alpha—worship gone overboard.”
No one had expected this.
Even Doran was stunned. She could already picture her guild’s first-clear girls’ reactions—chaos.
But first, a question.
“Miss Hill—how did you figure this out?”
Her voice drew everyone’s attention. They were dying to know.
“In Gruin, family ties are strong—people use family surnames outside. Some Gruin letter habits include the surname.” Hill said coolly, then added, “Also, the translation wasn’t perfect. If you know Aringa, the first-person pronoun in the letter is male-specific.”
“But if so—why does giving the letter to the sister trigger plot too?” Nightwish hit the key point.
Hill stayed silent. I answered instead. “Reese used Aringa—meaning Alpha stayed here long and knew the language. So Tina likely interacted with Alpha and may have special feelings for him.”
“Such a sinful man,” Evin muttered. “Unlike someone who’s devoted.”
I rolled my eyes. “Triggering with Tina is because she wants to help Alpha too. But if someone sneaks upstairs after her, they’d see her weapon came from Reese’s room—another hint.”
Autumn Waters mused, “Most give the letter to the sister, think plot triggered = correct, fall into inertia. They assume the issue’s elsewhere, never realizing it’s the wrong plot. Clever designer.”
“Ah—Autumn-jie’s right, that’s genius!”
“So the letter’s tone was deliberately misleading.”
Just some novelist’s twisted hobby.
I inwardly grumbled as they discussed.