◈ Episode 367. Who Are You[Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo begins a Myth Quest.]
The moment the message appeared.
Who was the first person that came to the players’ minds?
Naturally, it was Hoyeol.
“……
M-Myth, you say? Not World?”
A Myth-grade quest they had never heard of or seen before!
Because the only person in the players’ minds who could possibly undertake such a thing was Hoyeol. On top of that, among the excessively long name, there was one familiar word.
“That, it’s the Claudi from the Claudi Territory, right?”
That was right. Claudi. After all, the players had just been feeling firsthand the greatness of that name in the Claudi Territory. Even so, their doubts remained.
Shining.
Dmitry cautiously opened his mouth.
“……
No, but is that really Lee Hoyeol?”
“What’s the problem?”
He poured out his frustration to Camilla, who answered bluntly.
“Can’t you see? The name itself is the problem!!”
Granfell Claudi…….
No, what was it again?
Even reciting the full name was no easy task.
“Why would Hoyeol leave his perfectly fine name alone and be called by some name like that?”
Was there any reason to abandon his own name and be called by such a bizarre one? No matter how hard Dmitry thought about it, from his perspective, it was impossible to understand.
“Especially that Romeo at the end! Is there a Juliet too, or what? Anyway……!”
Rox, who had been silent, opened his mouth.
“Well, I think a little differently.”
“What is it, Rox? Did you get some kind of hunch?!”
“Yeah. The possibility that this Granfell isn’t a player.”
“What?!”
If this were reality, the main character of a world message would undoubtedly have been a player, but this was, strictly speaking, the Arcana Continent. That was a variable that couldn’t be ignored.
Camilla agreed.
“Right~ Back in the day, NPCs used to pop up in messages all the time too.”
“Arcanians can carry out quests too. They simply can’t witness system messages. The possibility is high, but it may not be at the stage where we can jump to conclusions.”
“Damn it. This is too frustrating.”
But among those possibilities, the one with the highest probability was still.
That this Granfell Claudi something-or-other.
Was indeed Hoyeol.
Dmitry’s muscular forearm twitched.
“I’ll just take responsibility and ask him, Rox!”
Whether the Granfell something-or-other that appeared in the world message was truly his name, if it was his name then why he was called by such a name, and what the reason was that he came to be called by such a name……!!
Dmitry suddenly tilted his head.
“Wait, no. If it appeared in the message, there’s a chance it’s an ID he made hims…….”
Camilla shot Dmitry a sidelong glare.
“Are you really confident?”
“……
Why? As long as I observe proper etiquette, there shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“Well, true. He answered anything if it was asked with proper etiquette.”
The executives of Shining were forming a plan that would have sent chills down the spine of the person in question if he had heard it. But there were those sunk into worries different from theirs as well: the Giant Alliance.
The Claudi mansion.
“It’ll be a long-term battle for us.”
“Because this is not an ordinary hunt.”
“Yeah. Our lot in life really is this rough.”
Nam Taemin, Hisagi, the grumbling Leoni, and Skal.
The four of them had already set foot on the Arcana Continent once as the advance party. Since they knew well of the existence of the buff, there was no reason for them to immediately rush out onto the Arcana Continent.
Wouldn’t they fall behind the other players?
Hisagi reminded them once more.
“We need to keep this in mind. Level is nothing but a number.”
Those were words Commander-in-Chief Lee Hoyeol himself had left behind long ago.
Though the person in question had unavoidable circumstances of his own…….
Hisagi and the others could not know of his inner troubles.
So the interpretation could only change like this.
Hisagi continued meaningfully.
“Also, we must not forget our mission.”
In fact, unlike other players, the four of them had a mission assigned to them.
Now that they had set foot on the Arcana Continent.
There were beings they could overlook even less.
Nam Taemin crossed his arms and nodded.
“We have to stop it, the evil dragon.”
Those who had played an active role against the evil dragon, Yunaxus.
In a way, they could be called experienced. However, the Giant Alliance did not even dream of defeating a dragon, let alone a dragon fallen into a demon, with only their own strength.
“Even an ordinary Dragon Fear would be impossible for us to endure with our mental strength. If we consider that it also has the status abnormalities unique to demons on top of that…… We really had guts, didn’t we?”
How had they charged at Yunaxus?
It was enough to make them proud of themselves.
Leoni spoke to Nam Taemin, who wore a pleased expression.
“So keep your heads on straight. Even if we operate aboard the Iron Castle, if we run into it, we’ll ultimately have no choice but to engage in hand-to-hand combat, just like with Yunaxus.”
Led by the dwarves of the Iron Castle.
The Giant Alliance and Skal had to carry out the mission of prioritizing the pursuit of the evil dragon together with the forces Hoyeol had arranged on the Arcana Continent. Of course, there was a better method.
Nam Taemin suddenly clasped his hands together and squeezed his eyes shut.
“Senior Bellier, we’re cheering for you even from the Arcana Continent……!”
The senior of Healing Magic, Bellier, to whom they had already owed a favor once. It was for her to discover a way to purify the evil fruit the evil dragon was said to have swallowed. But they could not expect too much.
From what they had witnessed while receiving treatment in the Magic Tower.
Skal coolly summarized the situation.
“As of now, that is a vain hope. Rather, vague expectations will only make Senior Bellier suffer under an even greater burden. Having to take responsibility for anything is no easy matter.”
“That’s why we’re only talking about it among ourselves. More importantly…… What exactly are you taking responsibility for, Skal? You don’t even have a guild, but you talk like you know very well?”
“Did I not tell you about my family?”
“No, we’re busy enough taking care of the Nam family. I’m telling you, I’m not curious about someone else’s family affairs. To be blunt, compared to you, who acted alone without even a guild, the sense of responsibility we carry is much……!”
Of course, the Giant Alliance’s conclusion was, as always, bickering.
But neither Hisagi nor Leoni stopped the two of them. There was no need. Because the world message also appeared before those who had been having a friendly conversation in one corner of the antique mansion.[Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo begins a Myth Quest.]
“……!!!”
In that fleeting instant, the four exchanged glances.
“This is Mr. Hoyeol……. No, the Commander-in-Chief, right?”
Their first impression could not have differed from that of the other players.
As expected, Hoyeol was the first person who came to mind.
But at the same time, because they had not left the mansion, they knew.
Hisagi’s snake eyes widened to more than twice their size.
“……
That can’t be. He was in the study until just now, wasn’t he?”
It meant that until just now, the click-clack— sound had been reaching their ears.
No matter how much of a Hoyeol he was.
He couldn’t possibly begin a Myth Quest from inside the study.
Scrape!
Nam Taemin kicked back his chair and stood up.
“……
I’ll go check.”
“What are you doing, acting like the leader?”
“Wait. I will also……!”
Of course, the other three weren’t the type to simply wait either.
In the end, all of them cautiously opened the door and headed toward Hoyeol’s study.
And they came face-to-face with it.
Creak—!
The door opened without hesitation.
“This is just as well.”
“……!”
Hoyeol, who was in the study as expected.
At that point, the four thought.
Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo.
He might not be Hoyeol.
He might be “someone” who was not Hoyeol, yet belonged to the Claudi family.
However, they could not readily ask.‘……
Wait, is asking about someone’s family affairs part of proper etiquette?’It was for the sake of observing etiquette, of course.
“Regrettably, I am unable to be with you this time as well. However, I trust you. Even if I am absent, you will be able to face the evil dragon.”
“Thank you for saying so……. But if it would not be rude, may I ask the reason? If something urgent has come up……!”
“It is a matter of the family that can no longer be overlooked.”
“!”
Because with Hoyeol’s one statement, their guess became certainty.
Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo was not Hoyeol, but a figure of the Claudi family. Hoyeol must also have witnessed the message that said he was carrying out a Myth Quest, and that was why he said it could no longer be overlooked.‘It would be stranger for a great family to have no circumstances. Like our family…….’‘As expected, it was good that I did not ask.’‘He’ll resolve it calmly as usual.’That was why the four did not ask.
Not only did they not ask; after Hoyeol left the mansion.
They repeatedly urged the guild members of the Giant Alliance.
“Absolutely, absolutely. Do not ask the Commander-in-Chief about Granfell Claudi Arpheus Romeo. Not just us, but if possible, it would be good if you relayed this to all players…….”
“Huh? Why?”
“It seems he has an extremely complicated story.”
“That Romeo or whatever in the message wasn’t the Commander-in-Chief?!”
“Of course it wasn’t. The moment the message appeared, we confirmed that he had not left the study. We were in the room right next to it. Anyway, I don’t know the details either. Everyone, just observe proper etiquette, got it?”
Ah, Nam Taemin added one more word to his warning.
“And if you think about it with common sense, would the Commander-in-Chief have personally come up with an ID like that?”*The Space-Time Social Hall is a place where time flows differently from the Arcana Continent and from reality.
Above all, it was a space of consciousness. So it was only natural that I, who had been in the study of the Claudi mansion, would come out from the study.
Creak—So, the moment I opened the study door and ran into Nam Taemin’s group.
I was swept up in all sorts of thoughts.
They were not the kind of people who would come looking for me in the study without any particular reason.
Which meant they had seen it after all, my full name……!‘Damn it.’My sense of shame, which I had tried desperately to protect.
The pride a working adult ought to possess.
My dark history was truly about to be revealed to the whole world.‘Damn this pride……!’If not for this damn pride, I could have made up an excuse. But if they asked whether the Granfell in the message was me, I had no choice but to answer yes.‘Because I accepted this family, this dark history.’And yet, for some reason.
The four did not ask me.
As I walked through the mansion and thought it over carefully…….
It seemed they had misunderstood my final words, didn’t it?
—“It is a matter of the family that can no longer be overlooked.”
A matter of the family.
Unless they had mistaken Granfell and me as separate people based on my words……. There was no way they would not even ask a question. If so, I had no choice but to be grateful.
To the overwhelming Myth Quest, that is.
But even after passing the crisis of having my dark history laid bare before the world, I was not particularly happy. The pressure I felt was too great for me to simply rejoice and make a fuss.
As I walked through the mansion alone, I recited.
“It means the first button was fastened wrong.”
……
Of course, this was not something I should say when I was not fastening any buttons at all, but had instead unbuttoned the Dawn Jacket and draped it over my shoulders. What I could tell through the Myth Quest was that the Arcana Continent was in far worse ruin than I had thought.‘To the point that there is no answer unless the past itself is rewritten.’Interfering with the past to change reality.
That was a Myth Quest.
The reason such a quest existed?
It meant there was a defect in the Arcana Continent that could not be maintained unless the past was changed.
Thinking that, a curse suddenly came to mind.
The curse, [Understanding of Darkness].
Even in that curse, I had been able to interfere with Granfell’s past and change the present.‘……
Isn’t this continent someone’s dark history too?’Just as I was about to form a bond of sympathy over dark history.
This damn mouth reminded me not to forget the core of the matter.
The family circumstances that could no longer be overlooked.
“There will be no further mercy.”
Myth Quest.
In the past, I learned the full story of the incident. Thanks to that, I had also unexpectedly resolved something. Likewise, the question I had encountered in the past, in the Understanding of Darkness.
“For on that day, I already showed my final mercy.”
The day Claudi was annihilated.
—“I hate you, Granfell.”
The silver-haired man who led Claudi to annihilation while declaring that he hated Granfell. Why his pupils had been dyed black. Why [Natural Enemy Relationship] had activated before him.
I had come to know clearly while carrying out the first Myth Quest. So this was something that could no longer be overlooked.
Because this involved not only the pride of the Claudi family head, but also the pride of Akshan.
So I recited meaningfully.
“Is that not so?”
Nameless Claudi.……
No.
I should no longer call you Claudi.
“Great Evil, Seven Deadly Sins, Pride.”
It was not for nothing that the Seven Deadly Sins were involved in the destruction of Claudi.
The nameless Claudi.
Because the Seven Deadly Sins, Pride, had coiled itself within that man’s inner self.
So what I had to do from now on was exceedingly simple.
“I will hunt you down by any means necessary.”
I called forth.
Akshan itself.
The guardian spirit of Akshan, specialized in tracking demons.──────Akshan’s Guardian Spirit: Summons Akshan’s spiritual beast, the Akshan wolf.──────“Pursue.”……
More importantly, no one overheard this embarrassingly flashy name, did they?
Then again, when even my full name had appeared in a message, what was I even worrying about?
I gave up and finished speaking.
“Tempest over the Horizon.”
Damn it, a small commotion soon came from downstairs in the mansion.
“T-That’s an Akshan wolf!”
“Is Lee Hoyeol moving too?”
“More importantly, just now, he definitely said Tempest over the Horizon……!!”
If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it, Hoyeol.
No, if enjoying dark history was too much no matter how I looked at it……. Then I had to become even more shameless. Don’t forget, equanimity. Maintaining my poker face, I descended the stairs.
Click-clack—!
I flat-out beat them to it.
“There is no need to eavesdrop.”
“……!!!”
“If you have questions, ask them openly.”……
No, being shameless is fine.
But this.
Even for shamelessness.
Is far too blatantly shameless, isn’t it?
“If you believe you have the right to do so, that is.”
Please, think about me, the one who has to deal with the aftermath……!!