“Because he didn’t actually do it.”
Even though Hill’s face remained mostly expressionless, confusion clearly flickered in her grey eyes.
She had vaguely sensed something was off before, but the exact details had still deeply puzzled her.
“Doesn’t it feel strange? All the evidence points straight at Gilbert. The plot practically screams that he’s the mastermind.”
I smiled faintly and listed a few odd points.
“But if you think about it carefully, things don’t quite add up. For example, the altar in the Treant Territory. It’s a considerable distance from the wooden cabin area. And that cross Sean discovered inside the altar…”
“Your Highness, is there something wrong with the cross?”
Hill instantly caught the emphasis in my words.
“Of course. Think about it, Hill. Reese mentioned it himself—that cross is Alpha’s token. So why was Alpha’s token sitting inside that altar? And why, even though he knew we were carrying his token, did he never ask for it back? Instead, he just handed us the holy water to purify it. Doesn’t that feel a little too convenient? Almost like he was guiding us?”
I paused, then continued.
“The cross was originally gold. How did it turn grey-black? And if the altar can seal mutated monsters, doesn’t that mean it could also use the cross’s energy to create mutations?”
“So Your Highness is saying… Alpha is actually the one who caused this whole mutation?”
Hill was starting to understand, but she still offered her own thoughts.
“But couldn’t Gilbert have stolen the token? That would explain why Alpha came chasing him here.”
“Gilbert uses black crystals as the medium for his forbidden arts. And he had zero reason to trigger a mutation—he was already on the run. Why would he do something so high-profile?”
Hill fell into slight contemplation. She seemed to be leaning toward my explanation.
Seeing that, I continued.
“Most importantly—the altar in the Treant Territory. Do you think something like that could be built in just a few days?”
As if I’d hit the crucial point, Hill muttered to herself as memories resurfaced.
“Gilbert only arrived in Black Prison Forest a few days ago, and he was injured the whole time. Whereas Alpha… had stayed here for quite a long period before…”
“Exactly. If Alpha really is the one behind the mutation, his goal was this: while he was stationed in Black Prison Forest, he secretly conducted forbidden research for the Secret Rune Council. He built that altar back then.”
“He thought the place was safe, but then Gilbert defected and fled nearby. Afraid that Gilbert knew about his forbidden experiments, Alpha volunteered to the Council to hunt him down.”
“So he triggered the mutation to pin all traces of his own forbidden research on Gilbert. Then, by using the adventurers and the Meril siblings, he avoided ever confronting Gilbert directly and washed his hands completely clean.”
“Now that Your Highness puts it that way… Alpha definitely had both the motive and the means.”
“Well, it’s the most plausible scenario I can think of.”
Hill blinked in surprise.
“It’s just Your Highness’s speculation?”
“Of course. This is all pieced together from scraps and hints in the plot. Kashalia never spells it out. The ending is deliberately left ambiguous, so I don’t actually have hard proof that Alpha is the real culprit.”
I stretched lazily, shrugged, and put on a helpless look.
“So that’s how it is… Miss Kashalia intentionally left these threads. The surface story and the hidden one complement each other. She plants foreshadowing everywhere, never explains it outright, and then uses an open ending to give readers plenty of room to imagine.”
Though her expression barely changed, a rare trace of admiration seeped into her voice.
“No wonder Miss Kashalia became a renowned author in the Alwyn Empire.”
“Indeed.”
Her words made me nod in agreement.
“Except for her somewhat questionable tastes.”
For some reason, we both suddenly fell silent—probably thinking of the same questionable scenes.
Eventually, Hill gave a light cough to break the awkward quiet.
“Since Your Highness has decided to release the Black Prison Forest strategy and techniques, I assume you’ve already squeezed every bit of value from this dungeon.”
“Pretty much. Once I post the guide in a couple of days, any team with decent gear should be able to clear Abyss.”
Thinking about the harvest of the past few days put me in an excellent mood. My cheerful skipping steps made that obvious enough.
“In that case, Your Highness, shouldn’t we leave soon? Radiant Monastery is growing more dangerous for you by the day.”
I knew exactly what kind of “danger” she meant, but I still gently shook my head.
“Not yet. At the very least, we wait until tomorrow night.”
“Does Your Highness have some special plan?”
Hill looked over curiously.
“Tomorrow I can still mooch a few more meals.”
I declared, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“……”
For some reason, the air turned silent again.
After switching back to Sophirina’s identity and returning to the monastery, I collected the usual mountain of snacks from the knights and clerics.
Some great man named Engel once invented the Engel Coefficient, using the proportion of food expenditure to total spending to measure a region’s development level.
Now, I wondered if we could create a new metric: the proportion of lolicon in the population directly correlates to the local loli development index.
“Two dinners a day… what a decadent lifestyle.”
After logging off for real-life dinner and coming back online, I couldn’t help but sigh dramatically while eagerly awaiting tonight’s gourmet delights.
Just as I was fantasizing, the doorbell rang.
Speak of the devil. It had to be someone reminding me about supper.
I hopped off the bed, opened the door with great anticipation—and froze.
Besides Kai and the others, a tall, upright figure stood in the doorway.
“Eh… Big Sis Claire… why are you here?”
Why is Syl being called Hill now?
Her persona as a healer class player and the nun maybe