Shinobu Iijima
The day of the auction, where the five grand guilds would gather, had finally come. The girl who looked like Megumi would be bid on by the bastard. That day served as an unmovable deadline for me.
We’d prepared lots of things in advance for it and were finalizing our preparations. I was currently in the bedroom of the person called the Undying Emperor of the La Vita Empire, face-to-face with the guildmaster of Tiger’s Eye.
“Wh-Who the hell are you people? How’d you get in here?” A beard adorning his chin, the emperor was feared by his people because of his absolute power.
As it would turn out, even a person like that would look cute wearing pajamas while looking flustered in his own bedroom.
Tsukuyomi answered his question. “Your defenses were indeed quite tight, but we have stealth skills unbeknownst to even you.” She was talking about her shadow travel and Coat of the Moon Shadow. This set of skills even worked against a level 140 Goblin King. She’d hid in people’s shadows as they went in and out of the imperial castle, then transferred into the ones of those who looked important enough. That was our trick to getting here.
“I am Iijima, a member of the Crimson Moon Brigade. I apologize for the sudden intrusion.”
“I-Iijima?!” Seemed he knew my name. The other guildmasters had too when I visited them, so that wasn’t surprising.
“Guildmaster... Or should I call you Your Majesty? You look rather pale right now. Here, have some water.”
I took the cup that sat on the bedside table. He blankly took it when I offered, so I poured some water for him.
“You didn’t poison it, did you?” He seemed to be quite panicked.
I had to laugh at where his priorities were. “You don’t have to drink it if you don’t want to.”
That was when the glass of the window broke, taking the guildmaster’s cup with it. Alice had shot it from over ten kilometers away.
“Wha—?!”
After that, the vases and whatnot in the room all broke open, one by one. The guildmaster simply watched it happen. According to Ms. Kaori, the other guilds—aside from Dragon’s Roar—were full of people who treated the natives horribly. If we came at these people, who’d used violence on the daily, things wouldn’t go so smoothly.
It was vital for us to get the first hit on them, then move on to negotiations from there. That was why I’d had Tsukuyomi move in the shadows. The bastard thought I was sneaking around Abrasil anyway, and I really was there at the moment. I’d been showing up to the businesses in the city to form good relationships with them and had been doing charity work every day through the Adventurer’s Guild. My alibis were as good as gold.
How was I in Abrasil when I was currently in the La Vita Empire? Simple—I’d been using Tsukuyomi’s doppelgänger. The summon and its summoner had to be within a fifty-kilometer radius of each other, but I didn’t necessarily have to be conscious during it. Cerberus guarded my physical body while I was unconscious in our home base, since summons could move freely there. My consciousness alone was in Abrasil most of the time, but my body was elsewhere. The bastard knew that summoners had restrictions on them, so he wouldn’t expect this at all. I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without the Transport Gate either.
Tsukuyomi had gone around to the various grand guildmasters and enlightened them to my strength. She had to do it quietly and carefully each time, but in today’s case, we didn’t have a choice but to do it this way since the auction was tomorrow.
“I’m also sorry that I have to flaunt my rude combat prowess.”
“What did you do?! How did you do that?!”
“They’re long-range shots from a weapon you can buy with Clan Coins. Precise shots to the eyeball turned out to be effective against the level 99 players who’d attacked the Crimson Moon Brigade too.”
“Wh-What are you trying to say?”
“We’re able to sneak into the emperor’s bedroom in the middle of the night and shoot cups from far away. I’m trying to let you know that this is what we’re capable of.”
His gulp was audible. He got the message: we could kill him at any time.
Glad that he understood, I continued. “I’d like you to form an alliance with us. Will you agree?”
“A-An alliance?!”
“Imabayashi’s Lions of Patriotism plan to harm all the other grand guilds. That’s why I’ve come here today, albeit in an intrusive way.”
“B-But you... You can’t just show up and say things like that...”
I decided to play my next card and pulled out a blood contract from my pocket.
“What’s that...?”
“Every other grand guild has already agreed to form a large union with us against the Lions.”
“...Really?”
“You can see for yourself if you don’t believe me.”
“This really is a blood contract, but...” He gazed down at the writing on it.
He’d probably fall right in as soon as I told him about Imabayashi’s Keys to Agartha. I’d also defeated twenty level 99 players in the first place, was level 125 with level 125 summons, and had Tsukuyomi’s invisibility skills. Not to mention, everyone knew about the bastard’s horrible statements and actions since coming to this world. I could also show this guildmaster my powers in real time, since I could go to and from Agartha as I pleased. It would be absurd if I wasn’t able to convince him with all this.
It would’ve been terrible if the bastard wasn’t frugal with his Keys and called back the guys he’d sent to complete Agartha. If the other four grand guilds sided with him, none of this would have gone as easily for me.
Thankfully, I knew his personality well. Everything went as planned. With this, all the preparations were complete. Glancing at the emperor, who was looking over the contract, I turned my eyes to the moon floating in the sky through the window.
The final battle was tomorrow.
Just one shot. This one shot was all I had to get the bastard to stop breathing.
I wouldn’t get a second chance.
†
The auction was held in the royal castle of the Kingdom of Natalia, which governed Abrasil’s surroundings. Those who participated were distinguished people: players, royal families, and nobles from various kingdoms—even leaders such as from the upper echelon of the Holy Church.