Chapter 35: Adventure Guild part 4

[Nar point of view]

Gilbert is definitely not working with the Empire. That's the conclusion Sas and I have come to after our extensive investigation.

At first, we all believed that he was at least a lackey for someone in the Empire. It makes sense, since he actively avoided going to war, he had several connections to nobles in the Empire. Business associates known to publicly support the Imperial Inquisition. All of this, all of this leads us to believe that he is working for the Empire, all of which has been proven false by what we have learned from him.

"That's... Hard to believe" [Akela]

"We will get to it now" [Sas]

Sas bring out several documents that we were able to retrieved during our investigation. It shows something related to an even grander plan, a plan not just to take Amleth, not just to bring the Empire to its knees. No, it's big, it's sinister, and it's actually doable.

"Does it really exist? The weapon of mass destruction?" [Oreforged].

Oreforged addressed the question to none other than Merlin.

"It does, but I'm sure we destroyed it, as the purpose had been fulfilled by then... by another method" [Merlin].

"Pardon?" [Elegast]

"That sinister weapon was meant to destroy THE THING, but it was... Sigh... Never mind... I had my suspicions, but this doesn't add up." [Merlin]

"THE THING?" [Jean]

"What is that?" [Linda]

"I remember you mentioning that name before, but what exactly is THE THING?" [Amleth]

Even when the Marionette is lifeless, it perfectly conveys the emotion and expression of its master. Again, creepy. Merlin seems to be trying to say something, but I can tell she's about to withhold some information.

"THE THING... I don't even know what it is. To be honest, perhaps only the goddess, the devil king and the fairy queen Titania know exactly what it is, and for good reason" [Merlin].

"And the reason is?" [Linda]

"Suppose you developed a powerful spell that could wipe out every single being on this plane, would you keep it a secret so that no one could use it, or would you make a story, a fable, a warning not to use it?" [Merlin]

That's

"Debatable" [Sas]

"Exactly. If you keep it secret, others will find out somehow, maybe even by pure chance, or they will just make it without your help" [Savel].

"On the other hand, if you give a warning not to use it, crooks will be itching to get their hands on it" [Jean].

"I believe that the three beings I just mentioned deliberately kept THE THING a secret for this very reason and more... I'll repeat this once more, and I forbid you to mention THE THING's name if it's not necessary. We are not sure about THE THING, but it grew stronger the moment anyone acknowledged its existence. Even by mentioning its name or anything related to THE THING, it will grow stronger. The best thing we can all do is to actually forget that THE THING even exists, so that it can actually stop existing, even though that's impossible" [Merlin].

I think we all actually swallowed at the same time. The warning she gave us, the lifeless Marionette eye, conveyed it perfectly. We all accept what she said as the truth.

"So... how does this relate to Gilbert?" [Akela]

"Did he... Worship it?" [Amleth]

"That's an acceptable theory, though I think he didn't even know about it. If not, he would surely keep mentioning THE THING" [Nar].

"And the curse Gilbert put on your daughters is related to THE THING, but I don't see how someone like him could use it. He's talented, that's true, but talent alone wouldn't help him in this case" [Merlin].

"Interesting... So that little Diana is actually able to cleanse the curse" [Randy]

"How did you do that?" [Nar]

"Relax. It's just observation. Diana comes and all of a sudden Princess Kara and Princess Mara are in perfect health. I'm not the brightest tool in the box, but even I can make some speculations" [Randy].

This is bad... This is really bad. What if words come out and everyone wants to take Diana away from us. I can only imagine that they will lure Diana with candy, clothes, candy, money, candy, toys, candy.

"NO!" [Nar, Sas]

I can tell that Sas is thinking the same thing as me, because we have the same reaction

"!?" [Others]

"Calm down Masters, the young lady is smart, she wouldn't fall for anything that goes through your head" [Mahsuri].

"Now you know the feeling of a parent when their daughter goes out alone at night" [Ledang].

"I guess that's your karma, Mr. Playboy" [Linda].

Yes. That's right. Diana is a bright girl. I'm sure she wouldn't leave us. She wouldn't! She wouldn't!

"Sigh... Moving on. As Nar mentioned, Gilbert's plan is to use this weapon of mass destruction for unknown reasons, and so far, my brother has managed to find one of his collaborators" [Jean].

"Which is?" [Akela]

"The current leader of Aru Village" [Jean]

"!" [All]

Chapter end