To me, it was definitely a bold and daring move to hold such an event at a royal castle. Right in the throne room, no less. This was specially made to be the banquet hall for tonight, but it was the throne room! I couldn’t describe my emotions knowing this. These guys were seriously doing whatever they wanted.
In this place, only the governing figures of the player guilds were allowed in. I was standing there in my tuxedo when the bastard called out to me.
“There you are! It’s been a while, Shinobu. Don’t be shy, have a drink.” He was in his own tuxedo.
I shook my head. “I’m all right, Mr. Imabayashi.”
“What? You don’t want to drink my wine?” The mood changed in an instant as he glared at me.
I paused and took it back. “I’ll have one, then.”
A servant handed me a glass, which I put to my lips and sipped just enough to not be rude. I couldn’t afford to get drunk when the big showdown was right around the corner.
“Ha ha ha! See? I’ll be nice to you, as long as you listen to me.”
“Yes, I’m aware. I’d like to keep good relations with you too, sir.”
That improved his mood. He chugged his own wine glass and let out a gross breath. “Oh, right, Shinobu. Want to come watch the slaves sword-fight in the arena later?”
“Where would that happen? We’re in the royal castle.”
“Ha ha. I had one built a hundred years ago in the basement. I’ve got about forty sword slaves right now.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. That went beyond just “doing whatever he wanted.” If this was what the royal castle had sunk to, then I couldn’t even imagine what kind of atrocities he’d done to the kingdom as a whole.
A light headache almost made me faint right then and there. “...Is that so?”
“If there’s someone you want dead, I could very well throw them in the mix if you’d like!”
“I think I’ll pass, thank you.”
“Aw, don’t say that, Shinobu! It’s pretty funny watching guys try to fight bare-handed against heavily armored knights. None of their attacks work, and their own armors break with a single punch. Heh heh, their toughness is half-assed so they can’t even die in one hit.”
“That, uh...does seem pretty fun...”
I was suddenly exhausted, but he didn’t seem to mind. “Alcohol gets that much more delicious after watching them shrivel in fear at these guys! Lots of people love it!”
I couldn’t stand listening to him anymore. I could understand someone partaking in something like that if this really were just a video game, but... Well. He was probably doing this because he actually did think of it as a game. It was natural to his personality. For the other players who’d ended up like him, it’d probably taken them some time to drown in their own overwhelming powers. The thought alone disgusted me, but it was also sad.
“Mr. Imabayashi, let’s get to our main discussion already. The blood contract.”
“Oh, right. That. We’re all here, right? All right!”
All of the five grand guildmasters, including Ms. Kaori, were present. The bastard made sure they were all there, then clapped his hands together. To his side, a servant wearing black pulled out a scroll made of dragonhide.
“This is the document. See for yourself.”
As I opened it up, the bastard addressed the rest of the guilds. The reason he was holding the contract signing in a place like this was to show the other guilds that he’d gotten me on his side.
“Now then, Shinobu, all of the guildmasters are here. When you’re done reading the contract, sign it and prove that we’re on good terms. Let’s leave everything that happened between us in the past, like water under the bridge.”
He was saying it like an order, probably to keep the other guilds in check. In the end, he was the one forming the alliance with me; he could sic me on them at any moment. “Don’t betray me,” he was telling them. Everyone here was aware that was his intention.
“When you’re done looking at it,” he rambled on. “Uh... Yeah, here, sign it on this table. I’ve already signed it. Hm? What’s wrong?”
I’d changed the way I was holding the contract.
“Why are you holding it like that, like you’re going to rip it up? That’s not funny, Shinobu.”
The sound of the contract being ripped to shreds lightly echoed through the hall. I’d ripped it up, just as was requested of me.
“Y-You!” the bastard sputtered. “What are you doing?! Paper made from dragonhide is extremely expensive!” Not only was he fucked up, but he was also frugal as all hell.
That’s not what you should be upset about. Besides, the price of this thing is probably pennies to you. “I’ve changed my mind. The thought of getting friendly with you sends chills down my spine.”
“Shinobu... Have you gone insane?” He clicked his tongue and looked around. “If this is how you’re going to act, you’re gonna make all the other guilds your enemy too.”
I stayed silent, which the bastard took to mean that he’d won, with an expression to match. “Even you won’t be able to win after getting ganged up on by a ton of level 99 players. The only reason you won against those twenty was because we hadn’t come up with a plan to fight you yet. You’re nothing now that we have one.”
The validity of his claims had become very dubious because of the accessory I’d received from the Goblin King, but I’d let him have this one. I’d defeated over a hundred goblins at the time, which all had the power to overtake level 99 players with ease. Goblins were different from people, however. At the end of the day, they were just that—goblins.
But if humans had the ability to change their equipment, then they also had the power to change which player combinations went where. Let’s say all of the level 99 members of these guilds had a solid plan of action against summoners—or rather, me. What would I do then? Despite the level difference, it was a certainty that even I’d have trouble with them.
I confirmed that for the bastard. “Yeah, if everyone here came after me at once, I’d get stomped on like a bug.”
“Not if—when! That’s right about to happen!”
“I have a question for you about that.” I coughed lightly. It was my turn to look like I’d won. “I wonder who everyone’s going to side with?”
Ms. Kaori was the first person to stand by my side.
Next came Mr. Tadokoro of Dragon’s Roar on my other side, while the remaining two guildmasters stood behind me.