Golden Goblet

Estelle snatched the golden goblet I was holding as if she were taking it away. Seeing her glare at me while doing so, I almost scratched my head without realizing it.

A Lily shouldn’t do that. I have to act as cool as possible. Image is important, after all.

The participants sitting at the table were watching me and Estelle, observing how the situation would unfold. If Estelle got angry at my arrogant behavior, they would be able to gauge Lily’s position to some extent.

But Estelle, despite appearances, is the guild leader of Modiste and the successor to an assassin group. She naturally has this much awareness.

“Okay, shall we begin?”

When Estelle nonchalantly brushed off my arrogant behavior without pointing it out, the participants’ eyes lit up. The perception that I am an existence that even the Modiste guild leader cannot treat carelessly will be engraved in their minds.

Well, I’ll probably get scolded a lot by Estelle for not acting properly….

What starts now is a simple exchange of information. However, the fact that only information close to the truth is exchanged makes this gathering special.

The golden goblet that Estelle is holding is an ancient artifact modeled after Dionysus’ golden goblet. If the person holding the goblet says something they don’t believe to be true, the goblet becomes empty. Conversely, if they say something they believe to be true, the empty goblet is supposed to fill with wine.

Including me and Estelle, a total of 13 participants will reveal information starting from the participant who received the golden goblet from the guild leader, and repeat passing the goblet to the side, going around the table once, and ending when the golden goblet returns to the guild leader’s hand.

Estelle touched her small lips to the golden goblet and muttered something in an ancient language. Then, the golden goblet shone and filled with wine. As the wine filled, the red ruby ​​embedded in the golden goblet emitted a clear light. Unless you’re sitting next to them, you can’t see if the wine has filled, so the ruby’s light is used to inform others that it’s the truth.

Estelle passed the golden goblet to the person on her right. The person sitting across from me, who received the golden goblet, was wearing a yellow goat mask. I knew who it was, of course, because they had appeared in the novel.

The person I had to be most wary of here. It was Bella, who had even changed the color and shape of her eyes with magic to hide her identity, just like me.

Bella, who drank the wine in the goblet in one gulp, stared at me intently and raised her hand to sensually wipe off what was묻은 on her lips.

“The Green Magic Tower has requested an investigation from the Imperial Family. The Imperial Family is planning to form an investigation team to confirm whether the Green Magic Tower Lord is really dead.”

Bella, who started talking in a quiet voice, added while observing me.

“The Great Magician, the Tuner, is also scheduled to join the investigation team.”

She wanted to see what reaction I would have knowing that the Tuner would be tracking me. Of course, having noticed her intention, I just stared nonchalantly.

The golden goblet’s jewel emitted light. It seems the golden goblet has filled with wine. So, it must be true that the Tuner is participating in the investigation team.

But it doesn’t matter. A lot of time has already passed, so there will be no evidence. Moreover, it’s Modiste, which has the reputation of being the best among assassin groups specializing in this kind of work. Tracking will be impossible.

Bella, who had been observing me, turned her gaze to the participants.

She was checking if anyone had any questions or doubts about the information she had revealed.

Everyone was satisfied with the information Bella had said, so no one came forward.

Bella passed the goblet to the ugly troll mask sitting next to her. The troll, wearing gloves, carefully lifted the goblet and showed it to everyone.

Judging by the fact that he’s wearing gloves, it seems he has a job where he can’t show his hands. For example, a knight or archer with many scars on their hands. Or it could be that he has a large scar that makes it easy to identify him. I erased the thoughts in my head before premature prejudices arose.

“The battle in the Great Forest seems to be coming to an end soon. The Knights are still searching, but it seems the intruder has escaped.”

Were they still fighting? It was only mentioned in the novel and passed by without explanation, so I didn’t know the details.

When the troll looked around the table, a person wearing a pig mask quietly raised their hand. A question.

“I don’t think there’s anyone here who doesn’t know how things are going in the Great Forest.”

As if seeking agreement, the pig sent its gaze around, and everyone nodded. I, who didn’t know, quietly blended in.

At the pig’s point, the troll made an egu-gu sound as if playing it off.

“Hahaha. I guess I can’t just wing it.”

The troll distorted the corners of its mouth with a playful laugh, then soon erased the laugh and added in a low voice.

“The Order invaded the Great Forest targeting the Saintess, but in fact, the Saintess has never even been near the Great Forest. There’s a reason why the Saintess can never go near the Great Forest.”

The jewel of the golden goblet the troll was holding shone. The troll turned its head and looked at the participants, but this time no one raised their hand.

Judging by the silence, everyone seems to be busy combining the troll’s information with their own information in their heads to figure it out.

The goblet continued to circulate.

The fact that someone acquired an incredible artifact, a noble’s illegitimate child assassination plan, the culprit of a serial murder case that occurred in the south, etc.

All sorts of secret information flowed out at one table.

Since I didn’t even know about events that didn’t appear in the novel, I kept my mouth shut and watched with interest.

Finally, it was the turn of the person wearing a white bird mask sitting to my left.

“In this year’s Continental Academy Competition, the Triathlon, three academies excluding Transcendence Academy are planning to unite.”

It was information I already knew. The excitement that had been rising cooled down.

Still, there will be many people here who can use the information the bird mask said. They will change the stakes, or use this information to gain profits on their own.

When no one pointed it out, the bird mask passed the golden goblet to me. In the gaze I met when passing the goblet, there was full of anticipation.

When I held the golden goblet, the gazes of the table focused on me.

The deer sitting at the end of the line as me had a funny look, stretching its head over the table as if wanting to see my face.

I had already decided what information to reveal. Something that can properly plant the character of Lily in the participants’ minds.

After drinking the wine, I nonchalantly scanned everyone and said in a monotone voice.

“I have permanently sealed an ancient demon that threatened the continent. No one will ever find it now.”

It’s not a lie. I just processed the revealed information to suit my taste. By destroying the lighthouse, the path to the temple disappeared. Now, the demon Eguin will never appear again.

The reason I said “continent” was to eliminate clues that could be used to track where it happened. Even if I speak ambiguously, the truth of the information will be evaluated by the golden goblet anyway.

When the golden goblet’s jewel emitted light, someone at the table inhaled.

There’s a rumor going around that Lily is killing those who have joined hands with demons. On top of that, I said that I had sealed an ancient demon myself, so everyone will now be busy racking their brains to gauge what kind of character Lily is.

Looking around the table, some lowered their gazes. It seems there’s still some fear of me left. I passed the goblet without hesitation.

Estelle, who received the goblet from me, swept her gaze over the participants sitting at the table once and emptied the goblet.

Now, all that’s left is to drive a wedge so that the guesses the participants have worked hard to make don’t waver. That role is naturally Estelle’s responsibility.

“The rumors about Lily are true. Modiste can guarantee it.”

The atmosphere became heavy. There’s no one here who doesn’t know what Estelle’s words mean.

Bella, who was sitting across from me, raised her hand.

“It would be good to clarify what kind of rumors you’re talking about. Are you talking about the rumors that Lily killed the Green Magic Tower Lord and the Sixth Prince?”

Estelle had expected someone to point this out. As planned in advance, she turned her head to me as if asking my intentions, and I nodded slightly.

A situation that makes it seem as if Estelle is getting permission from me. She deliberately showed the participants that even the Modiste guild leader finds Lily difficult to deal with.

“That’s right. Since Lily’s permission has been granted, I’ll kindly explain. Modiste found the villains according to Lily’s conditions. The Magic Tower Lord, Tarant, was a person who rose to the position of Magic Tower Lord by committing all sorts of evil deeds. While investigating him, we found out that the Green Magic Tower was trying to spread an epidemic across the continent. They were planning to sell the antidotes they made at a high price.”

Someone muttered that they were crazy bastards. I glanced sideways to see who it was.

It was the troll who muttered. It seems he has quite a strong sense of justice. Is he perhaps a paladin?

Estelle continued.

“The Sixth Prince kidnapped young children from nearby villages every day and held sacrificial rituals in the basement of his mansion.”

I could see the strength in the troll’s jaw. I had a feeling that we could have a good cooperative relationship.

“So you killed him? The noble blood of the Imperial Family.”

Bella suddenly threw a question at me. Whether she found the situation interesting, attention was focused on me and Bella.

I wasn’t flustered by Bella’s sudden question. Rather, it was a question I should be grateful for, as Estelle was planning to lead the conversation in that direction so that such a question could come out.

I said, acting with the most arrogant voice possible.

“Death is fair to everyone. It doesn’t matter about status or wealth. Whoever it is, it doesn’t matter to me. Killing those who have joined hands with demons. That is my destiny.”

An unidentified being with a destiny to punish evil.

That is the dark hero I will create in the future.

Lily’s identity.