Dozens of costumes and even more masks were on full display on the walls of the customization room. As soon as I opened my eyes there, I put on my usual navy suit and placed the lion mask on my head. There was no wasted movement or time in the process. It was because I was so used to it now. I’ve been coming here every month, so to exaggerate a bit, I could find and put on the clothes and mask with my eyes closed.
“The last one… huh.”
I felt a mix of regret and disappointment. Even though recently, the information coming from the Round Table wasn’t as important to me as it used to be.
“…….”
For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to leave, so even after I had finished dressing, I stood there blankly for a while, scanning the displayed masks and costumes. As I did, one thing suddenly came to mind. I had almost forgotten about it.
“They said it was the most similar fate…”
When a new member first enters the Watcher of the Round Table, they instinctively choose the mask that most closely resembles their fate. So why was I a male lion mask? It’s much better than a goblin or an orc, but I don’t know why I chose this mask.
‘Actually, I was more of a tiger person than a lion.’
Quite a bit of time has passed since I chose this mask, so I wondered if there might be some clue, but nothing immediately came to mind. So I just moved on. Why is the fox a fox? Why is the goblin a goblin? What’s with the deer antlers in the first place? It wasn’t even a representation of a deer, just a plain mask with deer antlers attached.
“…I don’t know.”
I didn’t have time to linger in this room, so I slowly started to walk out into the hallway. And as I walked down the red carpet I had walked so many times, I thought. If my companions came to the Round Table, what masks would they have chosen?
‘I think Aynar would be a golden dog…’
I thought about all the members of the Anabada clan, including Amelia and Erwen, and even my former companions Raven, the dwarf, and Rotmuller’s masks. It wasn’t intentional, but Misha was the last one.
‘Misha is…’
It was much easier than the others. It wouldn’t be a very fitting mask for a cat-like person.
‘She’s closer to a dog than a cat…’
Of course, not just any ordinary dog. The dog mask with all the scars, displayed in a corner where it wasn’t easily visible, would suit her. The problem is, I think some of those scars might be from me.
‘Stop it.’
I stopped walking, ending my thoughts at this point.
“Heh… you’ve arrived as expected. I was relieved. I was worried I might not get to say a final goodbye.”
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…
‘I would have been disappointed if even one of them was missing.’
Fortunately, all the masks I had seen every month had arrived.
***
Deer Antlers, Crescent Moon, Fox, Jester. From the original members who had been here since I first entered the Round Table. To the Goblin I met when I returned, the Queen who infiltrated under the GM’s [Game Master’s] special orders, and the mysterious trio of Black Mask, Wolf, and Butterfly who joined relatively recently. Everyone was sitting in their respective seats, looking at me.
“…….”
Is everyone waiting for me to say something since it’s the last Round Table? I didn’t know, but I ignored their gazes until the end, maintaining my concept as I headed to my seat.
Thud-!
Usually, the meeting would start once the door closed and I sat down, but today was a little different. Everyone was talking instead of starting the meeting right away.
“To think this is really the last one… It feels like a bolt out of the blue.”
“I know… It means there won’t be anything like this next month, right?”
“Well, at least we can sleep comfortably. Every time, the day after this was always tough.”
Their murmurs were filled with deep regret. Even the Queen, who was on the management side.
“…It’s a shame. There’s still so much I haven’t figured out.”
When the Queen briefly expressed her feelings, the Goblin, who had been glancing around, cautiously asked.
“Um… then, can’t we just not close the door?”
“I don’t think that’s possible. There are circumstances on our side as well.”
“What are the circumstances… can we hear about them?”
“I’m sorry, Crescent Moon. It’s difficult to go into detail. But, if I can say one thing… it’s an incident that’s not related to our will.”
“…Is it really some kind of external pressure from the royal family?”
“I’ll have to decline to comment on that, Fox.”
As expected, the main speaker of the conversation was the Queen. After all, as someone on the management side, the Queen would know a lot about this incident. Of course, there were others who expected something else.
“…But, I wonder if that person isn’t coming?”
“That person?”
“I mean the Master. I was hoping that the Master might appear today.”
The Wolf mask’s murmur was met with the Queen nodding in agreement. Well, she was also very interested in the Master.
As I focused on the conversation and looked around, the Goblin raised his hand politely.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Um… it’s just… since it’s the last time, how about we introduce ourselves?”
It was a suggestion that made everyone doubt their ears, and in fact, all the members who heard it gave him a dumbfounded look. But the Goblin continued, unfazed.
“Well… we’ve met like this, so isn’t it fate? If we just part like this, we might never meet again. We could help each other outside… or, we could even create a new space like this outside—”
“Goblin, stop it.”
It was the Fox who cut off the Goblin’s rambling.
“The reason this place could be created in the first place was because anonymity was guaranteed, who would reveal their name so openly?”
“That’s true… but it’s a shame…”
“Heh, it’s cute how you think. Well, I wouldn’t mind since my identity is already exposed… Ah, is that the same for you, Goblin? Hehehe, isn’t this a more cunning plan than I thought? A proposal that doesn’t put you at a disadvantage!”
“Ah, no… that wasn’t my intention…”
The Goblin was greatly flustered by the Jester’s sarcasm. Surprisingly, the Queen, who had been watching, came to the Goblin’s defense.
“Goblin, you don’t need to make excuses. Everyone knows that wasn’t your intention without you having to explain.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. You were just feeling regretful, right?”
“Yes… that’s really it…”
A voice that clearly showed his lingering attachment. It’s not like this is a graduation ceremony. He’s surprisingly sentimental, isn’t he? Or is he just good-natured? He was practically the weakest member of the Round Table.
‘By the way, isn’t it about time to start?’
Even if they’re feeling regretful about it being the last time, they didn’t come here just to socialize. But…
“Then, let’s stop talking—”
Just as the Fox was about to start the meeting after ending the small talk.
“Wait a moment.”
The Crescent Moon, an original member, interrupted the Fox.
“May I make a suggestion?”
“…A suggestion?”
“We don’t know what will happen in the future, but this might really be the last time. So, I was thinking…”
The Crescent Moon then made a proposal to everyone.
“How about we change the rules a little this time?”
“…Change? What do you mean?”
“We take turns asking questions and answering them. We all have things we’re curious about.”
“Hmm…”
At the Crescent Moon’s suggestion, all the Round Table members had strange looks on their faces. It was clear that they weren’t welcoming it. And sensing that atmosphere, the Crescent Moon quickly added one thing to the rule he was trying to change.
“Of course, you don’t have to answer if you think it’s difficult. And in that case, we’ll proceed as usual. What do you think?”
Silence fell after the Crescent Moon’s proposal. In an atmosphere where everyone was hesitant to speak, one person who had no reason to be cautious took the lead.
“Heh, isn’t that a bit too short-sighted? With those conditions, who would answer the questions? They’d just release the information they’ve prepared.”
It was what everyone was thinking inside. If there was no penalty, there was no reason to follow those conditions. In the first place, if you accepted those conditions, only the questioner would benefit. The other people who heard the answer might not have been curious about that information.
“Please pretend you didn’t hear my suggestion from a moment ago.”
In the end, the Crescent Moon admitted that his idea was short-sighted and withdrew his proposal, and the Fox, who had been watching the situation, took on the role of moderator at the right time.
“Then, the first one is… Deer Antlers… would you like to go?”
“I will.”
The first turn of the day was the knight from the royal family, Deer Antlers. The information he revealed was short and clear.
“It is highly likely that the royal family is not involved in this community closure.”
“That’s speculative information… you know that you have to convince us of the basis for your thinking in these cases, right?”
“The royal family had planned to send an exploration team to the first basement level and share information using the community. If they had intended to close it, they wouldn’t have made such a plan.”
“Or maybe it was just classified and you didn’t know about it?”
In other words, was there a plan in the royal family that only you didn’t know about? Deer Antlers showed his displeasure but couldn’t answer. It was definitely possible.
“The judgment is up to each of you.”
Deer Antlers passed the judgment to the members, and the members’ judgment was okay. The reason was very simple.
“An exploration team… I knew they were controlling it, but I didn’t expect the royal family to go down to the basement…”
There were those who didn’t even know about the existence of the exploration team. Only the Wolf showed it, but the Jester, who was from Noark, wouldn’t have known about the exploration team either. Well, it was a bit unexpected that he got an okay, though.
‘Is it because it’s the last meeting? They seem quite lenient today.’
Anyway, after that, it was the next turn. The second was the Fox.
“According to a reliable source… the exploration team has already joined forces with Baron Yandel and is exploring together.”
The information the Fox revealed was about the exploration, which, in my opinion, was inevitable. They’ve been trapped underground for months, haven’t they? There was no way there would be any new information to reveal here.
“But… isn’t that information too worthless?”
However, the Queen, who had been listening quietly, raised an objection, and the other members nodded in agreement. Therefore, she had to reveal a second piece of information…
“Bjorn Yandel ate the ‘Essence of Bellarios’.”
Sigh, so it ends up like this. It was like witnessing the moment personal information was leaked, but I didn’t feel particularly unpleasant. After all, there were so many witnesses that the news would spread as soon as the exploration team returned. Well, she probably knew that, so that’s why she revealed it.
“Bellarios… that was a 3rd-grade monster.”
“How many 3rd-grade monsters has that person eaten already?”
“Is it possible to know what color he ate?”
“Heh, what would a barbarian who’s only interested in getting stronger eat? It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
“I heard that aura doesn’t work on him… then magic won’t be his weakness anymore.”
It seemed that Bjorn Yandel had become quite famous. Seeing the members, who usually coolly ignored most information, buzzing and throwing in comments like this.
“Then… let’s move on to the next turn.”
The Fox quickly resumed the meeting, not wanting the conversation about me to go on any longer.
“Haha, then it’s my turn.”
The next turn was the Wolf. Auril Gavis, who had also acted as the Master of the Round Table. An old user who suspiciously supported and defended that old man, and released related information.
“Auril Gavis is currently staying outside the walls.”
The information he revealed this time was also related to that old man.
‘He’s outside the walls… so Baekho’s guess was right.’
It was very short information, but since the subject was who it was, there was no problem in getting the green light.
“Then the next turn is…”
After the Wolf’s turn ended, the meeting continued smoothly.
“Recently… a prophecy has been given. It was in the form of a prophetic dream.”
“Heh, you and your prophecies—”
“In that prophetic dream, Bjorn Yandel was said to have died.”
The Goblin, who didn’t have anything suitable, released a prophecy that had already ended as if it were the latest news.
“……?”
“……?”
“……?”
Question marks seemed to appear above people’s heads several times due to the shocking news, but the Goblin kept quiet and ended his turn. Yeah, that’s how you should lie. Anyway, the information that came out after that was all short.
“…There will absolutely be no revival of Ghost Busters.”
The Queen put her foot down on her turn. The Crescent Moon mentioned the dwarves’ plan to create a new Creation Artifact. And the Butterfly, Black Mask, and Jester also just released moderate information, as if they were trying to save their strength for the first round.
“Um… it’s the last one now.”
And so, my turn arrived. As always, expectant eyes were focused on me. However, I ignored those gazes and stared at one place.
“…….”
The Crescent Moon, who was looking at me with more earnest eyes than anyone else. For some reason, it was difficult to meet his eyes.
[We take turns asking questions and answering them.]
The reason the Crescent Moon proposed changing the rules in the first place was all because of me. If this was the last time, he must have had something he wanted to ask me.
‘Sigh… I thought about it, but I can’t bring myself to say it.’
In fact, I had already decided on the first piece of information to reveal before I came. There was something I had to say before the meeting was dismissed. Therefore, I forced my lips to open.
“The Stone of Rebirth…”
The moment that word was mentioned, a different light appeared in the Crescent Moon’s eyes. Of course, that time was extremely short.
“…can only be used when they haven’t been dead for long.”
“……?”
“It can only be used if the corpse remains.”
The light of hope drawn in one man’s eyes disappears. And at the same time, what Baekho said to me earlier echoes in my head.
[But isn’t it a bit hypocritical? You’ve always manipulated and deceived others too, haven’t you?]
Whether it’s Misha, Baekho, or anyone else. Maybe I don’t have the right to be angry.