With Zorro's departure, our small circle had shrunk again. Now the only ones left playing were Wolf, Goblin and Queen.
Taking a look at the empty Round Table, Auril Gavis muttered: «I've spent a lot of time preparing for this, so it's a little disappointing. There are only three left». However, more than upset, I got the feeling that I was more surprised than anything else.
I could understand how he felt. I didn't expect things to turn out like this either.
I didn't think they would be willing to give up such a precious ticket home like that.
Lose anonymity and have your true identity revealed? In this world where evil spirits were executed on the spot, it was an incredibly dangerous prospect. However, none of that mattered if you were the one who went home in the end. He had assumed this would turn into a game of chickens.
However, Clown and Black had disappeared before Auril Gavis even mentioned the contest, Butterfly had quit fairly soon, and Zorro had decided he didn't mind living in this world and had retired accordingly. Four people were gone before the game could start...
«So, let's continue».
And when Auril Gavis went to start the next round, Goblin carefully raised his hand as well. «I... I want to stop here too...»
This was already our third resignation after Butterfly and Fox.
Auril Gavis clicked his tongue. «Is that so? Then go».
«Aren't you going to ask me why...? That is... Well, I'm not saying you have to... I'm just wondering...»
«...So what is your reason? Maybe you changed your mind after listening to Mrs. Zorro's speech?»
«Hey... that... I can't say it wasn't a factor, but...».
«But?»
«It's... I'm not sure how to say this...»
«I don't care, so say it», Auril Gavis snapped.
Goblin looked away. «There's something about all this that doesn't add up to me», he murmured.
Goblin's instincts are incredibly reliable.
That was the first thing I thought as soon as the words came out of his mouth, but Auril Gavis didn't seem to be on the same page.
«I see. Well, now that you've informed me of your reasons, go. Oh, do you also need time to say goodbye?».
«Ah yes... I just need a moment...».
With that, Goblin turned to the rest of us.
«In the past, a friend I met in a language class told me that even touching another person on the street formed a connection. By that logic, being dragged into a strange world and meeting you all with masks on was definitely not a normal way to form a relationship. Some of you probably know who I am».
Deep down, what he was trying to say was very simple, even if he used many words to say it.
«So, even if some of you have the opportunity to kill me in the future. When that time comes, please don't do it. Aren't we all players here?»
In series, Goblin?
«...That's all?»
«Hey? Oh yeah... That's all I wanted to say.»
«Then go.»
«Oh... True... Well then, everyone...»
Once Goblin left, Queen and Wolf looked at each other with awkward faces. Somehow, we had our two finalists after only two rounds.
So now they are going to fight until the end?
However, the situation continued to develop in a direction I would never have expected.
«I'm going to stop now too.»
"...¿Por qué?"
For the first time, Auril Gavis showed his true feelings. Forget the disgust: its tone borders on fury.
Not that I could blame him, exactly. Apparently, he had worked hard to prepare for this contest, but it wasn't going well at all.
«It's very simple. I can not trust you».
«Distrust... I'm saying I have the ability to send you home».
«Yes, it is very possible that you are capable of that. In fact, I think there's a high chance you have the power to do it. However, I still don't trust you». Queen looked at Wolf and asked: «You two are pretty close friends, right?».
It seemed that Reina suspected that Auril Gavis used everyone's dreams of returning home as bait that he could use to sink us into despair later.
«I have no way of knowing if he could have designed this game so that Mr. Wolf would end up being the winner in the end. Also, for me to win the game at this point, Mr. Wolf would have to give up, but I don't think he would do it willingly».
His decision was based on logic. However, it was clear that she had also been influenced by how quickly the others had abandoned her, not just her distrust of Auril.
«I don't need to say goodbye. I'm leaving».
With that, Queen left without saying another word, and the trivia game champion decided in a rather anticlimactic manner.
«Eh… ¿Eh…?»
Wolf was the proud winner of an incredible reward. In apparent disbelief, he sat in a daze for a moment before walking out of it. «Lord Gavis, so does that mean I can go home now?»
Was this guy unable to read the room?
I wasn't sure, but thanks to him, I was able to see something incredibly entertaining.
«Of course. A promise is a promise».
«G-thank you...! I really, thank you...»
«Can you shut up for a moment?»
He seemed so excited when he presented his contest to us.
He's pissed. He's so pissed.
What a beautiful spectacle.
Wolf, who had caught the atmosphere late, closed his mouth quickly and there was great silence in the room. However, it seemed that his recent victory had given Wolf some courage.
«So... when...? When can I receive the... reward...?». Wolf once again asked Auril Gavis about his award.
«I will come look for you when the time comes». His voice was tense with frustration and anger. «So can you leave the room?»
Wolf bowed quickly. «Of course... Then I'll be waiting for you outside, Lord Gavis». With that, Wolf left as well, and the two were finally alone at the Round Table.
Having silently observed all this, I opened my mouth for the first time since Auril Gavis showed his face. «Are you really going to send him back?». I asked, trying to imply that I could speak freely now that it was just the two of us.
However, there was no way this old suspect would give me a direct answer. «Hmm, what do you think?»
«Well, to be honest, I don't have the feeling that it's going to have the happy ending it's looking for».
«You don't trust my character».
What a disconcerting thing to say. If he wanted my trust, then he should have acted trustworthy to begin with.
«But the most important thing is that this is a shame», sighed Auril Gavis. «If the game had lasted one or two more rounds, you would have had some very interesting entertainment».
«An interesting entertainment? You have peculiar tastes».
«I'm not going to refute that... but are you really one of those who talk here?».
Well, I couldn't refute that either. When he wore this mask, he wasn't that different from this old man.
«So», I asked bluntly, "why did you do all this?".
That whole excuse about compensating for taking off his masks was a total lie, obviously, but I still didn't understand why he had prepared this whole contest. What was the point?
«Confidence is the same as betting. You can only expect the other person to bet as much as you».
«Vale, ¿y? »
«I wanted to show you something before talking to you. However... now that things have turned out like this, it would be ridiculous to try to explain it to you in words.»
«You have a gift for going on and on when all you really want to say is that you're not going to tell me».
«Haha, so maybe your talent lies in making things sound very simple after the fact».
Apparently the old man was determined to confront me at all times. The more I talked to him, the more pathetic he became, but the Confucian value of respecting elders had been instilled in me since childhood, so I bit my tongue.
Well, there was that, and the fact that it was our first meeting in a long time. I couldn't waste this opportunity.
«As you wish. I have a question».
«A question?», he repeated. «Go on.»
«How did you discover me?»
It was a question I had been waiting to ask as soon as we were alone. He hadn't even made an effort to hide it before.
«After all, you practically founded this place, right?».
That was one of the first things the old man had told me as soon as he entered the Round Table today. In other words, he somehow knew that León was the Nivelles Enze he knew twenty years ago.
No, actually, it seems like he also knows that I'm Bjorn Yandel.
In any case, before we officially got to work, I needed to find out how much this old man knew about me.
«Tell me, why do you change the way you talk to me every time we see each other?»
«That? Do you want me to start calling you 'sir' after so long?».
He was smiling satisfied as he said it, but Auril Gavis seemed receptive to the idea. «Hey... could you? Now that everyone is gone, you no longer need to act like Leon...»
So it seemed like he had been bothered by the rude way I had been addressing him all this time.
«Well, it's okay. I can do it. It's not so much asking. In any case, what is your answer to my question? Or is that also a secret?»
«Oh, you asked me how I found out who you are, right? The answer is simple. I waited and waited for twenty years to pass. With the information I had, it was pretty easy to find out that you were Bjorn Yandel from there».
Hmm, or veo.
I could accept that logic, except for one discrepancy.
«But there is one thing that doesn't make sense in that. If so, why didn't you recognize me right away when you first saw me here at the Round Table?».
«Ah, in your mind, you hadn't met me yet. I decided it would be best for me to wait until the time was right».
«And that time is now?»
«Something like that. So far, I have tried to avoid possible encounters with you... but there is something I wanted to find out as soon as possible.»
True, now that I thought about it, he said he was here to ask me something.
«So please go ahead. What are you asking?» I asked in the uniform, pleasant tone of someone who would answer any questions I had.
The old man took the opportunity.
«I think you once mentioned here at the Round Table that you met with the Witch, correct?».
«Sí. ¿Y?»
«I want to know more about where and how you met her».
Do you have a déjà vu? It was exactly the misma question that Wolf lived me hecho ants.
Oh, had he come to ask me himself since I didn't answer the first time?
Hmm, that seemed to be the most plausible explanation. This meant that this particular piece of information was important enough to the old man to be willing to alter his original plan for it, which means...
Don't I have an advantage now?
As soon as I realized it, I felt like I was leaning back in the chair arrogantly and cross-legged. The instinctive reaction of a k-barbarian who had realized that he was in an advantageous position.
Auril Gavis seemed suspicious of the change in my stance, but said nothing out loud about it.
Alright, are you willing to overlook at least that?
Tap, tap.
I was soon struck by the O and X palettes that had been left on the table, which the old man had created with a single movement of his hands.
Come to think of it, he said he had regained all his powers, right?
With that, I licked my lips and made my own request. «Ah, sir? I'm a little thirsty, could you serve me a soft drink?».
«¿Hm...?»
«Oh, and please make sure you don't skimp on the ice.»