Matan’s Shooter - Chapter 209

Petyr’s sleeping gas also had the effect of erasing the victim’s memory. Because of that, the king, queen, and the two guards guarding the front of the bedroom did not remember anything last night.

However, it was important that the head of the guards personally identified the intruder’s body. Before clearly saw Petyr’s ashen-colored body disappear before it disappeared.

In other words, it was only natural to rush back to the palace as soon as the sun came up.

Fibiel’s king sat down with a very displeased expression. It was because Lotzac, which was supposed to be questioned, had not yet appeared.

‘Did he run away……? No, he won’t.’

Shin Nara waited impatiently and observed the king and the guard captain’s expressions.

After a while, the door opened and everyone’s eyes turned to the entrance. An old mage in a red robe walked slowly.

The haggard-faced old man walked weakly but did not forget to look at Shin Nara.

“Lotzac. How come you only came now?”

“I am extremely sorry. Your majesty. I was a little late because I had heard of last night’s ungodliness and was censoring the mages all night long.”

While Lotzac prepared to bow to the king, the guard captain’s face flushed red.

“What nonsense are you talking about, Lord Lotzac! That’s not what you’re supposed to say right now! Last night, the royal mages’ trap did not work, his majesty almost-”

“That’s it, guard captain.”

“What?”

“The royal mages’ trap could be controlled by several other vice-leaders besides me. Even so, the final management is my responsibility. Even if a severe punishment is imposed on me, who almost caused harm to the safety of His Majesty, please listen to this.”

Lotzac knelt before the king.

Royal mages have one of the highest positions in the royal palace, except for the king.

In addition, there was no NPC that could push any further if a veteran of the second human-demon war came out like that. Even if it was the king.

‘I missed the timing…”

Shin Nara also bit her lips softly.

Lotzac lay flat on his stomach until the king allowed him to rise.

“……Speak.”

“After hearing the news, we confirmed who touched the trap by using the spirits. Perhaps the culprit believed in his own abilities, he carefreely slept in his lodging without leaving. Maybe he thought he wouldn’t get caught. So small number of mages captured him and tortured him all night to obtain confession a confession.”

Lotzac spat out those words as if he was sorry.

Seeing his trembling lips, Shin Nara felt like she was going to get nauseous.

“Dame Shin Nara, keep quiet. Keep talking, Lotzac. What was his confession?”

The king stopped Shin Nara. The guard captain had a lot to say, however, when Shin Nara was stopped, there was nothing he could do.

“That bastard……. was a spy.” “Spy? From where?”

The king’s eyebrows twitched. A spy or a mole. It meant a spy from another country.

Feeling the king’s breath, Lotzac slowly timed his words.

He took enough time until the high-ranking officials, and the king felt impatient, so that they would accept his words without any doubt.

The royal mage chief, who excelled at magic, was also the best at penetrating people’s minds.

When the tension and impatience reached its peak, Lotzac relented and gave strength to his voice.

“He confessed that he was a spy who infiltrated for seven years following Minis’ imperious order. Our enemy is Minis.”

“That’s nonsense!”

“Lord Lotzac! Is that for real?!”

“Ho, it’s Minis! Minis! Why did that name come out!” The faces of the officials as well as the guard captain, and the king changed.

Minis was a country that competed with Fibiel for supremacy in the continent. Their rivalry goes back even before the second human-demon war.

And Shin Nara, the only user attending, was well aware of that fact. When the NPC, Lotzac, spoke like that to the king, who was also an NPC, how far would the incident go?

‘There is no way…’

What was the reason why Shin Nara went into trouble and suffered on this quest?. It was because the continent would fall into war if she made even one mistake.

It was because he was worried that users who hunt peacefully and enjoy adventures in Middle Earth would get caught up in the war and suffer damages.

‘However, Lotzac’s words…….’ Shin Nara looked at Fibiel king’s trembling face. The king’s face was darker than ever. “You have to take responsibility for that.”

“I would not lie about it. I can command the captured spy immediately, Your Majesty.”

Lotzac bowed opened his mouth and spoke toward the king again.

“Everything is my fault. Please punish me for not being able to prevent this from happening in advance. Please kill me for not serving Your Majesty faithfully!”

Lotzac slammed his forehead on the floor.

Bang, bang-!

Looking at the old man blaming himself, the officials’ expressions became worse.

“But if Duke Lotzac quits-”

“What if there’s a war with Minis?

The position of the chief royal mage, one of the pillars of Fibiel, is empty-”

“W-wait a minute- think about it-”

Looking at the NPCs, Shin Nara quietly closed her eyes.

I see. It was inevitable that it would turn like this.

‘Whether I succeed or fail the quest……

It was already set. Middle Earth’s main scenario couldn’t be stopped by one or two people’s efforts.

“Call the commanders of all armies, including the frontier.”

“Your majesty……”

The guard captain carefully asked. The king stood up from his seat with a solemn expression.

“Fibiel does not shy away from challenges-”

All the officials including Shin Nara bowed their heads toward the king.

Everything would be decided by his next words. And Shin Nara already predicted what those words would be.

“-Prepare for war.”

[The quest Uninvited Guest has ended.]

[Compensation will be paid according to the completio rate.]

[41 our of 50 days remained. Performance 82%]

[Intimacy with Fibiel’s royal family increased by 16%.]

[Intimacy with the Sacred Knights 100% is 100 percent. It could not rise anymore.]

[Fibiel Kingdom’s National Contribution + 164.]

Shin Nara looked at the notification window in front of her with her head bowed.

‘We only did the quest for 9 days. There are still 41 days left, but the completion rate is 82%……’

It was judged that the quest was performed according to Middle Earth’s ‘intention’. In other words, it meant that Middle Earth gave the quest aiming for the war between Fibiel and Minis kingdom from the very beginning.

‘Leeha-ssi…’

When her efforts to prevent the war resulted in hastening the war instead, Shin Nara could only hold back her tears

“Oh? What?”

A notification window appeared to everyone who were connected. Including Leeha, Ram Hwayeon, Tale, and Biyemi cleared the quest without knowing anything.

-Everyone, please gather, I have something to tell you.

And got a whisper from Shin Nara. When they gathered from all over the place, Shin Nara sat in the conference room with the face she had on the first day they had met. No, her face was even darker that from back then.

“Nara-ssi? Surely, this-”

“That’s right……. It’s over.”

“What do you mean it’s over? Do we no longer need to protect the king?”

“Yes. War is perhaps the real goal of this quest.” It was to make Lotzac ignite the war.

Everyone’s eyes widened as Shin Nara revealed every detail of what had happened at the meeting.

In a way that they could not have imagined, Lotzac preserved his position and at the same time started the war between Fibiel and Minis.

“T-then? The reason Lotzac commissioned Petyr- No, that was just a speculation, but this quet-”

“Was it like a trap? Did it end with Petyr’s death……?”

“The NPC that have a reputation no lower than the king had no intention of revealing the truth! Isn’t it like getting completely played by Lotzac?”

Everyone tried to complain one after the other, but it was already too late. The quest had already ended and disappeared, the war will come soon.

Ram Hwayeon was speechless because of how absurd the situation was, only Biyemi was able to laugh.

“Kikis, as I thought. There is not only one or two quest in Middle Earth that are like this. Obviously, this is a form of branching point, but the end result would not be stopped…. If we failed the quest, there still would have been war. Since the king is dead, would it have been in the form of an invasion from Minis? In any case, the Fibiel-Minis war was the planned setup. Middle Earth played out the board, and the content would be filled by the users! It’s a sign that they were to play over the heads of the users.”

“This is phase 2……”

Tale sighed as he heard Biyemi’s analysis.

The quest was clearly a success. Still, what was the dreadful feeling they felt? They did not like the fact that it did not say ‘quest completed’ on the notification window in the first place, what was written was ‘quest ended’.

“……This is unfair!”

Bang!

Shin Nara smashed the table in the conference room. Everyone was startled by the sudden noise.

“What?”

“I’m annoyed. Why did I have to suffer like this until now! I haven’t slept for a few days!”

“N-Nara-ssi?”

“Now that it is like this, I will crush it thoroughly. Middle Earth started a war? I will end that war in an instant.”

Shin Nara pulled out her sword and checked the condition of the blade. With an expression as if she was about to take the Minis king’s head at any moment.

Leeha, who was observing her mood that exuded ferocious energy, gulped.

“Ah! I’ll tell the second group when they arrive, but thank you for participating, and I’m sorry for the quest ending like this. You have had it rough…”

Shin Nara held back the ferocious energy in an instant and bowed her head towards the group.

“No worries. It was nice to learn a lot of things.”

“Kikis, the Midnight Circus’ Target achievement alone made it worth it.” Tale and Biyemi smiled. Ram Hwayeon also increased her intimacy with the royal family, so it could be considered that she had obtained more than material support.

“Leeha-ssi wants to go to the royal archives, right? Come with me. I’ll tell the chief clerk.”

“P-Please put away your sword while saying that.”

Leeha had somehow become afraid of Shin Nara. And he was also worried about what position he should take in Middle Earth, which flowed in a completely unexpected direction.

“S-sorry, hon.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Uh, I’ll be back.”

“Huh? Ram Hwayeon-ssi? Why are you angry?” 

Leeha tilted his head, however, Ram Hwayeon did not stop and walked out of the conference room.

“I should have recorded this too. Kikis.”

“I did. See you next time, Biyemi-nim. I will call Jacheong-nim and Kay as well.”

Biyemi and Tale burst into laughter at the new look of Ram Hwayeon, whom they had known for the past few days.

(To be continued…)