The Gathering of the Five Pillars, Regular Meeting(2)

Click—

Before finishing her words, the call was cut off.

At that, a woman holding a device to her ear inside a floating water droplet tilted her head with a puzzled expression and lowered the device.

“…This is quite peculiar.”

The woman expressed her puzzlement in a uniquely angled tone.

And following her tilted head, she stirred the inside of the water droplet with her tail.

The woman’s sky-blue scaled tail making a splashing sound as it moved the water.

Lavina, who didn’t tease her as usual but hung up without even listening to her story, was enough to draw out a questioning response from the woman.

“Well… Judging by how she hung up without even listening to what I was saying, I can roughly guess why.”

The woman who had started speaking with a request related to the General Management Team’s ancestor, and Lavina who hung up as soon as she heard that.

It was a conclusion that even a moderate fool could reach, so the woman quickly formed a hypothesis close to certainty.

“There was already a point of contact between Lavina and the General Management Team’s ancestor.”

That is, the hypothesis that Lavina had already met with the veiled ancestor of the General Management Team.

Since Lavina had no connections on the information channel side, the occasion for her to meet the General Management Team’s ancestor was likely to have been a coincidence.

And she must be showing such a reaction because she failed to properly grasp that chance encounter.

The woman had been forming various hypotheses about the existence of the General Management Team’s ancestor recently, so she had intended to ask for help from Lavina, who surpassed her in terms of power, but with this conversation, the woman had extracted everything she could get from Lavina.

“Given Lavina’s personality, she would have looked down and approached even the General Management Team’s ancestor using the chance encounter as a weapon, so unless the General Management Team’s ancestor is exceptionally gentle, there was likely a battle or a contest of spirit… However, seeing how scared Lavina is like that in one of those two cases, does it mean their power is also top-notch?”

Once again, the woman’s tail moved left and right, and this time her gills located below her ribs also fluttered, exhaling air bubbles.

Eventually, the woman twisted her deep blue hair and carefully voiced one of the highest hypotheses she had formed so far.

“…Is the General Management Team’s ancestor truly a goblin?”

It was a statement that ordinary people… no, anyone who heard the woman’s words would have dismissed as nonsensical gibberish.

However, the woman had memories she had seen directly in the past and evidence she had accumulated so far, and those pieces of evidence were supported by the foundation of ‘lost information from the past’.

Therefore, the woman, Esi, the ancestor of the Judgment Team and the leader of the mermaid clan, chewed on that most implausible but most credible hypothesis and looked into space with clear eyes.

“If it’s truly a goblin… I must meet them.”

A single word of determination that flowed softly from Esi’s mouth.

Esi started to move her body, which had been still, busily while recalling the memory that was still vividly imprinted in her mind even after several decades.

“There will be many things to prepare.”

Because now there was less than a day left until the regular meeting would be held.

Esi moved the water droplet containing herself, looking forward to tomorrow.

---

A day passed, and dawn broke.

The morning sun shining on Korea’s defense city as if to say a new day has begun.

Looking at that morning scenery visible through the window, I was currently walking along a corridor with Yeon-ah.

“Whew, it’s quite high.”

No, to be more precise, rather than a corridor, it would be more accurate to call it a bridge.

The central district where the Five Pillars’ towers gathered, a conference hall built in the center of the pentagon-shaped towers.

I was now walking with Yeon-ah on top of a bridge designed to be accessible only from the rooftops of each tower, which only team leaders could enter.

Tap– Step– Tap– Step–

On the corridor made of mana alloy metal, the sound of my and Yeon-ah’s shoes echoes regularly.

And of course, I was currently wearing a special mask and cloak from top to bottom as I was heading to the conference hall.

This time, the mask and cloak covering my entire body much more meticulously than during the previous outing with Neon and Seol, saying that my appearance must not be revealed under any circumstances.

If there’s any consolation, it’s that since it’s not a perception reduction mask or cloak, I don’t feel my mana being suppressed.

“Ancestor, are you feeling very uncomfortable?”

“Hm? This much is… Well, the others will all be enduring and wearing it too, so I can’t complain.”

Perhaps sensing the discomfort I was showing, Yeon-ah carefully turned only her head and asked me like that.

I waved my hand at Yeon-ah and answered.

As I just said, it wasn’t only me who was wrapped up tightly in a mask and cloak like this, but the other Five Pillars’ ancestors were the same.

Even Arashi and someone like Lavina were enduring this minor inconvenience, so I alone couldn’t refuse.

So when I answered like that, Yeon-ah bowed her head as if apologetic and said to me:

“I’ll try to change it to a comfortable environment that will satisfy you somehow by the next regular meeting…!”

“…That’s a bit burdensome.”

“There’s nothing that takes priority over you in this defense city, Ancestor, so you don’t need to feel burdened!”

“That’s why it’s burdensome……”

Saying that nothing would take priority over me no matter what.

It was a very Yeon-ah-like thing to say, but it was truly burdensome, and I wiped away the sweat that had trickled down.

Yeon-ah is grateful in many ways, but it’s troublesome when she occasionally throws out such extremely burdensome words.

Still, as she said, it was all for me, so I smiled awkwardly under my mask, and how long had we walked like that?

Step—

“We’ve arrived now.”

Finally reaching the end of the bridge, Yeon-ah and I stopped in front of the only door.

One of the five entrances leading to the conference hall.

In other words, the door that could only be entered from the General Management Team’s tower stands firmly closed in front of Yeon-ah and me, flaunting its weight.

“Then, I’ll open it.”

And Yeon-ah, who was standing in front, placed her hand on the door and carefully started to apply force.

Creeeeak—-

Through the door that opened with a hinge sound.

The conference hall welcomed us, exhaling unfamiliar air.

---

The Five Pillars’ conference hall, built in the high sky at the center of the five towers.

In that place where a solemn, almost heavy atmosphere had settled, currently four out of the five factions of the Five Pillars were all gathered.

The Punishment Team’s leader, Ahn Seo-hyun, and the Punishment Team’s ancestor, Arashi.

The Geumryu Team’s leader, Na Tae-hyun, and the Geumryu Team’s ancestor, Lavina.

The Judgment Team’s leader, Shin Jin-yeon, and the Judgment Team’s ancestor, Esi.

The Defense Team’s leader, Go Ju-won, and the Defense Team’s ancestor, Nephiria.

Among the five Five Pillars, the only ones who hadn’t arrived yet at this place where four out of five Five Pillars had all gathered were those of the General Management Team.

And in such a situation, in the quiet conference room, the Defense Team’s leader Go Ju-won raised his voice.

“…Only the General Management Team remains, but they still haven’t arrived.”

Go Ju-won’s words expressing dissatisfaction with the wait that had continued for over ten minutes.

Of course, there was still 1 minute left until the meeting start time, so it couldn’t be called tardiness, but it was an implicit courtesy to show up at least 10 minutes early for regular meetings.

Until now, the only ones who easily violated this were the Geumryu Team and the General Management Team.

However, unlike the Geumryu Team who had arrived 30 minutes early today, only the General Management Team hadn’t appeared until 1 minute before, so Ju-won’s complaint was directed solely at the General Management Team.

“They declared that they would attend with their ancestor for the first time today… It’s probably because of that.”

“…You’re right.”

And the one who answered Ju-won’s complaint was none other than his ancestor, Nephiria.

Nephiria’s words from behind the blackout curtain where not even her silhouette was visible, wearing a mask and cloak, pressed down on Ju-won who was expressing his dissatisfaction.

At the same time, Nephiria released a faint floral scent from her body to calm Ju-won.

That floral scent spread with a sound like tree branches being dragged, pas-suk.

At that scent that calmed the mind and body, Ju-won smoothed his slightly furrowed brow and opened his mouth.

“Thank you, Ancestor.”

“Yes, try to cultivate a little more patience, Team Leader Ju-won.”

Nephiria answered with a benevolent voice to Ju-won’s thanks.

And at the sight of those two, Arashi, who was fluttering a fan behind the curtain, burst into a small laugh.

“Hoho, you two still have good chemistry. It’s nice to see.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Punishment Team’s Ancestor.”

“Yes, it’s definitely a compliment, isn’t it, Defense Team’s Ancestor?”

“…It’s suddenly getting noisy.”

As Arashi burst into laughter again and answered to Nephiria’s leisurely thanks, Esi, who had been quiet, splashed her tail and sighed.

The conference hall that had been quiet until just now was about to unfold into a conversation scene with a single spark of words.

Esi, who had been organizing her complex thoughts since yesterday, sighed like that because she didn’t like such a noisy atmosphere.

However, despite Esi’s roundabout attitude, Arashi and Nephiria didn’t stop their conversation, and eventually, at the moment Esi was about to utter a direct word.

—Step.

“””…!!!”””

The General Management Team’s seat where no one existed yet.

At the sound of footsteps coming from behind it and the heavy presence that pressed down on everyone in the conference hall at the same time, everyone closed their mouths.

Then, as everyone’s gaze focused in that direction, silence fell over the conference hall instead of the interrupted conversation.

And as if satisfied with everyone’s silence, perhaps that was the atmosphere they wanted, the door of the General Management Team’s bridge from where the footsteps had been heard slowly began to open.

Creeeeak—

The door that began to open with a heavy sound.

From there, Yeon-ah, boasting her beautiful appearance, and an unidentified person wrapped in a mask and cloak entered with closed mouths.

No, it would be inaccurate to call them an unidentified person.

Everyone gathered here already knew their identity.

They were emitting such a presence that even if it were somehow not them, it couldn’t be denied.

And therefore, everyone’s gaze, which would have been focused on Yeon-ah as usual, was directed at the person following behind her… the one they had heard was the “General Management Team’s Ancestor”.

The spears of gazes piercing him, without exception, from team leaders and ancestors.

Among those spears were mixed the gazes of those who already knew her as a friend, and those who had fear imprinted by her.

But even amidst the gazes piercing him, the figure called the General Management Team’s Ancestor moved towards the General Management Team’s seat with restrained steps without showing even a bit of tension, and hid behind the prepared blackout curtain.

Eventually, the sound of two people sitting down is heard.

And at the same time, as the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand gathered over the number 12, Yeon-ah’s closed lips parted.

“Now, we will begin the regular meeting for August, 2096.”

That single phrase announcing the start of the regular meeting.

Echoed throughout the conference room.