Chapter 67
The interior of the flower shop was just as Lily had described the night before, practically barren.
The hidden area behind the wall was open, and men in black robes and silver masks that resembled a fierce dog were openly investigating them in front of me.
The tall man never said a word to his men, but every person there immediately disregarded me the moment they saw that I had been brought in by him. Whoever this was, he had his men well trained.
“Take a seat.”
The tall man's arms were exceedingly long, even for someone of his stature. They were totally disproportionate with the rest of his body, and this fact became obvious when he picked up and placed a chair down for me without so much as bending down.
I did as I was told, sitting awkwardly in the middle of the room while soldiers and mysterious masked men moved around me. The tall man stood opposite me and produced a curved dagger with startling speed. He removed his gloves to reveal well-manicured hands, yet clearly they weren't up to his standard as he began delicately tidying them up.
I had seen situations like this in movies before, but what I was experiencing was nothing like viewing it through a screen. The part that made it all so much more eerie was the appearance of my apparent captor. His head nearly touched the ceiling, and he seemed to intentionally put himself in positions where his limbs remained bent to disguise his true height. I felt like all he had to do was stand up straight, and he would appear even more like a living nightmare.
“You don’t appear surprised.”
He gestured to the three dead men nearby.
I remained silent, still unsure what exactly my position was.
“Mr Jaeger. Currently ranked third in Benedikt Kuhn’s chamite class. You were born in Redwater without a Gift or any talent for the arcane. You disappeared for seven years and returned with knowledge of the druidic ways, thought to be long lost.”
I still showed no reaction. Was I a suspect of something? Was I being scouted? I had no way of knowing. I could assume the man was Imperial and of some influence, but that was it. I certainly had not done anything to get me in trouble with the Empire as far as I was aware, but that didn't mean I could relax.
“Your activities for the duration of your absence were curiously lacking in detail. It surprises me that nobody has made an effort to document your experiences from that time, considering the value in possessing the secrets of the druids.”
He continued speaking. The fact that he seemed to have all of that memorised was a little unnerving.
“Benedikt's recorded footage of your time in the Verdant Divide was similarly intriguing. You are fluent in the goblin language, comfortable with ending lives, and can outperform a rising star such as Axel Lionheart in combat. Is this typical for a Druid?”
He took a sharp breath, then began speaking in the goblin tongue.
“Or is this the result of your time in the Crucible?”
My body tensed up immediately. I could have sworn the man's gaze had somehow dropped the temperature of the room, but there was no sign of anybody else being affected. Was it simple fear?
“A most interesting place, if the report I received is to be believed. A world where death is impossible, but murder is mandatory? And you spent an average of eight hours there a day for seven years. Did it break your mind? Or maybe the reason you survived it was because you were already broken?”
My mind was racing as I tried to make sense of how he could know any of this. I felt it was simpler than it appeared, but almost as if he could read my mind, the tall man continued to speak in his bestial, whispering tone. His every word scattered my thoughts, forcing me to focus solely on him.
“And now you chase shadows. Do you like to play vigilante, hoping to catch the villains behind the curtain and mete out justice? No, I don’t believe that fits your profile. So why secretly meet with a Solean knight? Why investigate this building? Why accept Mr Goldklinge's paranoid delusions?”
This time, he waited for a response. I had been caught off guard, and this man had swept me into the pace that he wanted to be set. Fighting here would be stupid, not just because I would surely lose with all these soldiers around, but because I still didn't know whether I was being viewed as an enemy.
That left only one option. To engage in the conversation. The first step was to calm myself and not fall into the flow this man wanted to set.
“You have me at a loss. You know quite a lot about me, but I don't even know your name.”
I spoke back in goblin. Oddly, none of the people around us looked surprised.
“You may refer to me as Merk.”
“OK, Merk. You've asked many questions just now, but most were rhetorical. Is there something specific you want answered?”
His expression was a stern mask of imperceptible intent, as it had been since I first saw him. He did put his knife away, though.
“Let’s start simple. What did you discuss with Marcus Connor? Specifically, on your second meeting, when you were travelling to Lion’s Maw.”
He knew we met; that fact alone meant he must have had eyes on us at some point. It stands to reason, then, that he had ears as well.
“My mission was strange. I sought a different perspective to try to make sense of it. Then he told me about some similarly strange happenings on his end.”
I told the truth, but I left out the specifics.
“So you doubted the intentions of your superiors and went so far as to express these doubts to a foreign knight?”
“In this case, my mission was headed by Soleans and took place in Soleo territory. I was the only Imperial involved in fact. Following the logic of your implication, I only ever doubted Soleo. But of course, you would already know who was involved if you had read the mission report.”
He was probing me now, likely looking for contradictions and trying to get a baseline for my expressions and tone.
“Why question anything at all? You are a student who should be focused on accumulating achievements, not chasing ghosts.”
“The fact that we are having this conversation tells me there is substance to these ‘ghosts’. If this is an attempt to dissuade me from looking into things, then you have only created the opposite effect. A threat or direct order would have been far more effective.”
The tall man did not move. Yet I found a blade at my throat nonetheless. I flinched as it suddenly appeared in my vision. I traced my line of sight from the tip of the blade to the hilt, then to the rough yet manicured hand that held it.
I was five meters from the tall man, yet with a single step, his arm was able to reach me. But it wasn't the weapon that worried me; it was the fact that he moved so fast that I couldn't even see him before he was already poised to kill me.
“A threat would work better? Perhaps. But why damage our relationship when we are just beginning to understand one another?”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
His face loomed over me once again, but this time I could take it in for all its detail.
This was not a human. I knew what he was, but he had altered himself so dramatically that it took this long for me to understand.
He was bald, but on closer inspection, it appeared that he had meticulously removed all his hair manually, likely a process that had to be repeated regularly, given that his race was usually covered in fur. His teeth were filed down and perfectly cleaned; any human would envy them. And his ears were slightly pointed, but his piercings connected the tips to the side of his head, preventing them from protruding outward.
“Go-Krul.”
I spoke the name of his race. It was something most shouldn't be able to identify, both because of how different he looked from them, and how rare they were.
But if he was surprised, he didn't show it.
“Correct. Did you learn that in the Crucible, too?”
“...The Feral Abyss, actually.”
The dagger vanished with a . Again, it was a movement so quick I couldn’t perceive it. The fact that I didn't think any magic had been used was even more terrifying.
“You met my kin there?”
Go-Krul were a part of the goblinoid family, like orcs, trolls, and of course, goblins. They sported large underbites with protruding tusks and gnarled claws. This man—Merk—had clearly gone through great effort to appear more refined than his brethren.
“I had the occasional run-in… I wasn't aware that any of you lived in the material world, though.”
“Tell me more about that place.”
Merk ignored my leading statement; clearly, he didn't want to give me the chance to start asking questions of my own.
I would have pushed the matter, or at least thrown up a wall until he told me why I was being questioned, but the demonstration of his knife play kept me in line.
I fed him vague details, just enough to answer his queries, but not enough for him to lead into any follow-up questions. The back and forth went on for what must have been close to an hour, and I was becoming keenly aware of how uncomfortable the chair I was seated on really was. From the slight wobble of the uneven legs to the position in the middle of an empty room, it had been designed to put me on edge.
“Interesting.”
That was all he had to say on the topic of the Feral Abyss. He immediately diverted to a different topic afterwards.
“Tell me what you think is going to happen. You must have a theory about this.”
He again gestured to the corpses. The one that belonged to the real Samuel was being respectfully covered and placed on a stretcher, but the others were plainly being cut into and prodded at.
“...Before I answer, I want to know what your intentions are with me.”
“I am merely being thorough in my duties to the Emperor. You are someone with many secrets, and I wish to ensure that none of these secrets pose a risk to our Empire. Cooperate, and you may be released.”
“be?”
“It depends on the nature of your information.”
He shrugged and waited for me to answer the original question.
“...I don't have enough information to make any conclusive statements. But I believe a hostile group will strike before the end of the tournament. It might be an assassin aiming for the rulers, or an all-out attack on Borderton itself. I don't know.”
“And?”
“...And I think there are select groups from both the Kingdom and the Empire who already know what is going to happen.”
“Anything else?”
“I think you are one of those groups. But I can't figure out where you stand exactly.”
Merk gazed at me, though his thoughts were unclear. I had tried from the very start to catch some kind of tell in his expression and voice, but they remained perfectly constant at all times.
“You show promise. I see why Benedikt praises you.”
He walked towards me openly and held something out to me.
“When did you… ah, back then.”
I nervously laughed as I took Leon's knife from Merk's outstretched hand. He likely swiped it from my inner pocket when he aimed his dagger at me.
“I will speak plainly. An attack occur.”
Locking eyes with Merk, I saw the definitive certainty behind his black eyes.
“You are cleared of suspicion. So I will now speak to you not as your interrogator, but as your fellow Kronenvolk.”
He folded his arms behind his body and hunched over to appear slightly smaller. It was a simple movement, but it made him seem far less threatening than before.
“Rex Jaeger. As one who serves the Primordials, you have been marked as a person of special interest in the Emperor’s eye. As such, you must do everything in your power to survive and prove your worth. You may consider this an official order from the Umbral Arm of the Emperor.”
Another bombshell was unexpectedly dropped on me. The fact that we were still speaking in goblin at least reassured me that nobody else here likely understood.
“...Seriously, who you?”
I muttered.
“My assistant can explain that. I will allow you to continue using her as you see fit, but take care not to break her. A devil holds many uses.”
He pointed to my chest meaningfully.
I kept quiet as I processed that statement. He was referring to Lily, right? There was no other explanation. So, is that how he knew so much about me? But Lily shouldn't be able to reveal anything due to the command seal.
I wanted to ask, but if I were wrong, I'd be selling out Lily to a man who could probably cut her throat before I could see him move.
“When will the attack occur?”
I tried fishing for different information.
“Unknown. We are not the aggressors.”
“Damn. Well, do know what to expect?”
“Somewhat. But I won't share it with you. If the enemy gets their hands on you, our preparations will be made worthless.”
I didn’t like the fact that this man seemed to hold many answers, yet I was being kept in the dark. If anything, I was more on edge than before now that some shadowy ‘Umbral Arm’ had further validated my concerns.
My fingers reached out to brush the mask I was not wearing.
“You do well under pressure. But that habit needs working on.”
Merk commented while observing my unnatural movement keenly.
“A mask is a crutch. Grow too used to the comfort behind it and you’ll fail to operate without it.”
I smiled wryly. I didn’t feel the need to question why he knew about my fondness for masks; after all, I had already surmised that this meticulous man had investigated me deeply before making contact.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Is there anything else, or am I free to go?”
He didn’t answer immediately. He must have been thinking about something, but as always, nothing could be gleaned from his expression.
Finally, he reached into one of the pockets on his bandolier and eyed it curiously before handing it out to me.
It looked like a medicinal pill of some kind to me. It was small and oval, but the shape wasn’t what caught the eye. It was the swirling galaxy that seemed to be contained within.
“What is that?”
I asked plainly.
“I do not know.”
The response was unexpected, especially since he was offering it to me.
“My orders were simply to give it to you should I determine that you are not a threat. I have not been told what it does, only that its purpose would be made clear in your possession.”
I reached for it cautiously, but before I could take it, Tiara had phased out from her resting place in my jacket and appeared on the end of my arm.
“Tia? Wha—”
I didn’t have the time to finish my question as she greedily swallowed the pill whole.
Her eyes briefly flashed purple, and her fur lit up as if it contained a constellation within. The changes barely lasted a second before fading completely, and she quickly burrowed back into my jacket.
Merk and I shared a look.
“Hm. Perhaps that was what he intended…”
He commented to himself as if he had just understood something.
“What? Did you realise something? Is Tia going to be okay?”
“I have an idea, but I am hesitant to share what only amounts to my speculation. I do not believe any harm will come to the cat, however. He expressed interest in the creature after all, so this gift must have been intended for her.”
I had an idea of who ‘he’ was, but I felt the need to ask anyway.
“Who gave you the pill?”
For the first time, Merk showed some sign of emotion. He smirked.
“Who else but the Emperor?”
It was a predictable response. Anybody could have seen that coming. Yet it didn’t stop the shiver that ran down my spine or the sudden difficulty I experienced breathing.
Was it just because of his title? Unlikely. I was not the type to be star-struck by anyone. It was something more primal than that, some instinctual understanding I had acquired after seeing Emperor Albrecht in person.
It was something I could neither explain nor properly understand.
“You may leave.”
Merk likely saw the minute facial movements that gave away my inner thoughts, but he did not acknowledge them before sending me off.
As I walked out silently and made my way back to the academy, I disregarded Larry—or rather, Chapu—and silently scanned the throng of people in search of the person I needed to question.
I searched the dormhouse, barely registering the various acquaintances who called out to me in greeting. I searched the main building and the food stalls, but could not locate my target.
Finally, I had had enough, and focused on the seal imprinted into my soul, issuing a mental command.
I felt the familiar tug on my soul, verifying that my command had been received. I waited on a bench in a quiet area until my target appeared minutes later.
Lily sat beside me. She appeared her usual self, but she wasn’t able to hide her laboured breathing from me. Likely, she had been forced to run a great distance to make it here. Either that, or she attempted to resist the command I had issued at first and suffered the consequences.
“I spoke with Merk. Or should I call him the Umbral Arm?”
I had my arms folded as I faced ahead and spoke quietly so as not to be overheard.
“...I see. And?”
She spoke without the usual levity she was known for.
“He told me to look for his assistant if I wanted answers about his identity. He referenced devils when talking about them. He also told me to make use of them as much as I needed.”
“Tch. Just my luck… Fine, what do you want to know? Keep in mind, he keeps me in the dark about most things. If you’re looking for info about this attack, I know about as much as you do.”
“Let’s start simple. Who are you really?”
“Haha. Do you have the time?”
“I’ve got no plans for today.”
“Well, alright then. Let’s start from the beginning…”
