The Round Table Watchers were a secret community created for the exchange of better quality information. When I first arrived at this place, the existing members were curious about my relationship with the teacher. The reason was simple. The teacher, who had been recruiting members through the messaging feature, had disappeared a year ago. The members believed they could hear the teacher's recent news from me, and once my concept of León was established, our relationship was determined to be a fact. He always responded without comment to any related questions.
«I refuse to answer».
If I said I knew him, I was worried about the future. If I said no, it didn't match my mysterious concept. But had I become greedy without realizing it?
«Do you also know where the teacher is?».
In the second meeting, I shrugged at Fox's question, as if to say: «Bring me something interesting, I'll tell you later». I rested my chin on my hand and acted relaxed, as if I had become an absolute. It was clear that he intended to cause a misunderstanding.
«Didn't you invite him, master? I'm sure that's what he said too...».
That intention seemed to have worked because Fox sounded very confused. The other masks also seemed to wonder what was going on.
«Hmm, did I invite you?» The teacher touched his chin as if he didn't remember it at all. As a result, the other masks turned to me with eyes filled with questions and curiosity about my identity.
«If it's not for the teacher, how did that person get in here?».
«Maybe he used the invitation code from before». Goblin presented a guess at Zorro's murmur.
Clown refuted her. «Idiot. You don't know that the invitation code expires after a month, so you can't use it?».
«Is that true, Master?»
«What Clown said is true».
«Then...» When the teacher agreed, the looks towards me became more shameless. «Mr. León, why did you deceive me by saying that you knew the Master?». Fox asked cautiously.
I stopped breathing for a moment and closed my eyes. It would be a lie to say that I wasn't surprised by the teacher's sudden appearance, but losing my composure would ruin everything. I quickly decided the position I would take. «I have not deceived you». I never bragged about meeting him with my own mouth. They just misunderstood. If he went ahead with this approach, they would have nothing to say.
Well. They will feel that something is wrong, but...
From killer energy to this information and that, hadn't he shown them enough? Anyway, with this they couldn't get to the truth that I was a cyber bully.
«¿No lo hereiste?»
Opt for the cheeky method. That's what the character of León was about. «It's just like I said. Do you have any ear problems?».
«N-no... it's not that...» I didn't release any killer energy, however, Fox was greatly startled.
I laughed out loud and was about to say that I hadn't said anything, that they were the ones who had misunderstood.
But just then, the teacher looked at me and spoke. «Stop everyone. I don't know the details of what conspired here, but he didn't fool anyone».
¿Eh?
«Now I see it. Who are you».
For a moment, my heart skipped a beat. Of course, it was only fleeting. Did you know who I was? Impossible. Even the teacher was just the host of a private chat room, so how was he going to know?
«Haha, though, I thought you'd pick a tiger».
That laugh silenced me, not because I hit the mark, but because I had no idea what I was talking about. I opted for silence. Not speaking would take me at least halfway.
«Or a soldier».
That judgment was not wrong.
A soldier, huh?
Now, I saw who this old man was confusing me with: Sergeant Lee. He was literally a sergeant, and the nickname of the unfortunate player who was dragged into this world on the day of his discharge, Baekho Lee.
«Haha, it's useless to pretend otherwise. You are the only one who has received a code from me that does not expire».
Come to think of it, it was natural for the teacher to misunderstand it. That was because Baekho transferred the code to me. With the mask on, there was no way he could tell Baekho and me apart.
Should I call this a good thing?
I still wasn't sure. The key was how united Baekho and the teacher were.
«I never thought you'd come here. The first time I came to see you, you scolded me and said I was doing something pathetic. I'm a little curious. Why did you change your mind?»
The conclusion came easily.
No eran tan friends.
Scolded? Good. There were many fighting friendships in the world.
«Oh, I hadn't told you. The pill I took was the initial type, so I can only stay here for an hour.»
However, Baekho could only stay here for one hour. Therefore, it was impossible for him to participate in this meeting in the first place when the check-in time was between 3:00 and 3:10 AM. Didn't he know this, something Baekho told me the first day he met me?
I can see the rough estimate.
The teacher didn't know much about Baekho. Therefore, it was possible for me to pretend to be him.
«Although I was the one who suggested it first, you don't gain anything by participating».
Clown grumbled at that. «Pshehe, nothing to gain? Master, aren't you belittling us too much?».
«Oh, sorry if I've offended you. But this guy is a great man, you see».
«Hmmmmm, is that right?» Clown's eyes shone at that praise.
I quickly scanned the other masks. They weren't much different from Clown, they were just full of surprise, perhaps even more so than when he told them high-level information like the Renaissance Stone.
«I have never seen the Master evaluate someone like that...».
«I didn't think it was that influential».
Crescent Moon continued to exclaim while Deer looked somewhat angry. Slut shuddered as soon as we met and lowered her head. It seemed like he felt guilty for suspecting me sooner.
What should I do?
Seeing this made me even more worried. They say that a crisis is an opportunity, as could be seen by the change in everyone's eyes. If I were successful in pretending to be Baekho, it would be a great help in my performance in the future.
More importantly, I believe I can learn about Baekho from this old man.
The return was certain. So what about the risk?
There really aren't any.
Come to think of it, if it didn't work, I might reveal that I'm friends with Baekho. They say that birds of the same plumage gather together. While the teacher had mentioned that he was a great man, like his friend, I would seem something on a similar level.
Vale, hazlo.
Making my decision, I broke my long silence and spoke to the teacher first. «What should I call you here, sir?»
« ¿Hmm? »
«I can't call him as usual».
«Why not? Call me grandpa like before. And get rid of that honorific too».
«Okay, grandpa». Even as I carelessly changed my behavior, my head was spinning.
I almost screwed up from the beginning.
And to think that they were talking casually among themselves. Thanks to that, I realized one more thing. Baekho was a proud Korean Confucian, but was he casually talking to an older person?
Forget about not being close, it seems like they didn't get along.
Now I had an idea of how to approach him, and so, I corrected my mistake from before. «You have a strange taste. I was trying to save your face». I spoke as if I didn't really understand.
I didn't know if it worked well, but the teacher laughed heartily. «Hahaha! Yes, that's you. Anyway, let's end this conversation here. I'm glad to see you after so long, but I don't have much time».
«Master, what do you mean?» Fox asked.
«Due to my circumstances, I don't have much time here».
«Excuse me? What the hell has happened to you since...?»
«Enough». The teacher murmured briefly and dismissed the question. «I understand that Miss Fox wants to ask me a lot of questions, probably related to why I disappeared without saying a word and what I mean I'm running out of time. But I can't tell you».
«Are you really in such a hurry?».
«No, it has nothing to do with time».
When the teacher drew the line firmly, Fox did not insist further. Instead, he asked one last question. «So... when will you come back?».
«Well, I don't know that. But I'll be back in a year. If there is something to inform you about beforehand, it may come sooner».
«Pshehe, does that mean that you have come to tell us something urgent today, Master?».
«Clown, it's like you say». At the teacher's statement, all the attention that had been focused on me turned back to him. It was the perfect situation for me, even the content itself.
Come back in a year...
Simply put, it meant I didn't have to worry about my lies coming to light at every meeting. But my curiosity got the better of me than my relief.
I don't think he's lying saying he doesn't have time... What situation is he in? And what is the reason for this urgent news?
In the midst of so many questions, I focused my attention on my ears and watched the teacher. It wasn't just me, all the masks did it. This is how the strange silence occurred.
«Hey, don't be so nervous. Rather, it can be said that it is good news». The teacher waved his hands as if to vent the heavy air and slowly separated his lips. «Within two years, a binding magic capable of binding up to six people will be created. This means that the number of keys to open the Portal of the Abyss will increase to six».
Silence took over the room. The members looked at each other awkwardly and said nothing.
The teacher tilted his head. «Hey, why are you all like this? I thought you would be more surprised...».
That's because you're one step behind.
The six-person binding magic was definitely valuable enough information to shake the entire city for at least several months. However...
«...Have you already revealed this news? Hey, no wonder your reactions were bland». Realizing that Clown had mentioned this at the last summit, the teacher sounded somewhat disappointed. «But that's kind of a surprise. Clown, I didn't expect you to say something like that. Have you taken a liking to the people here now?».
«Pshehe, of course not. I was just curious to know how a certain person would react». Clown looked at me with his characteristic laugh.
Following that line of sight, the teacher gave me a meaningful look. I was nervous that he was going to tell me something.
Zzzz.
From that moment on, the master's body began to glow like a hologram. «Damn, it's time for me to go».
«Master!» Fox screamed in disappointment, but the more she did it, the faster she shone.
Even in that situation, the teacher only looked at me. It was a very unpleasant and uncomfortable look. We were just looking at each other, but it felt like I was seeing through my gut.
In the end, I couldn't stand it and asked him: «Do you have something to tell me, grandpa?».
«He's not Grandpa, he's Old». The voice echoed in my head like Secret Voice magic. It was clear who owned the voice. «That's what that damn kid called me».
Damn. No wonder he let it go so easily.
Did you know it from the beginning?
Without realizing it, my body stiffened slightly. Of course, it was so insignificant that it was difficult to grasp with the naked eye, and it only lasted a moment.
«Hmm, actually, your reaction was so natural that I'm confused even now. However, judging by your rapidly increasing heart rate, I guess you're really not that kid».
What, was he probing me?
«Don't worry. Whatever you do here, there's no reason for it to interfere. I'm just curious. But unfortunately, I don't have time today. We'll talk about who you are next time we meet». With that, the master's body dissipated before my eyes like fog.
«Ha». I laughed out loud. It was similar to the meaningless laughter that comes out when one experiences something too absurd. There really were no easy sons of bitches in this world.