It’s My First Time at a Masquerade Ball.

At Dmihtan’s question, miriam was flustered.

Usually, when one thinks of a “barbarian”, a huge physique comes to mind. But the man, though much smaller than that, was called brother by Barkal, who wore a skull helmet and stared at Dmihtan.

Anyway, there was no doubt about it: he was a “barbarian”.

However, this man did not seem to have the intelligence that people typically associate with “barbarians”.

“The symbol, you mean the mark?”

It was a sharp question. The Disguiser’s mark had rarely ever been revealed to the world, and for that reason, almost no one ever recognized the mark branded on the lowest ranks.

So, why was Miriam able to recognize that mark? The reason was simple.

Miriam once joined the Disguiser.

She cautiously raised her eyes to look at Dmihtan’s face.

His expression held no distinct emotion, yet unmistakable intelligence shone in the barbarian’s eyes.

He wouldn’t resort to lying for his own safety. With that in mind, miriam decided to be honest.

“I… I once joined the Disguiser.”

Bang!

At Miriam’s words, Barkal suddenly shot up from his seat.

Rage began to gather in his eyes.

“Barkal.”

“What is it, brother!!”

“If you don’t know something, you should sit down.”

At the small barbarian’s words, the big barbarian nodded and swiftly sat back down in his chair.

“N-no matter how far she went down a wrong path, as long as she turned her heart for the better, that’s what matters, right!”

Ah!

Serena, who had been speaking, let out a sigh and added another comment.

“O-of course, if she committed an unforgivable sin, just a change of heart doesn’t mean I’ll let it go!”

Serena squeezed her fist as she spoke. Seeing this, miriam almost let out a dry chuckle.

Unlike the two, Serena’s slim figure and elegant appearance, with refined blond hair, exuded noble grace, but Miriam could tell from her words just now.

This woman.

She was no ordinary person.

“I-I did join, but I left right away! S-see! I don’t even have a mark!”

Perhaps wanting to prove her innocence, miriam removed her top and showed her body.

Her underwear was revealed, which was embarrassing, but proving her innocence was more important now.

Seeing this, Barkal once again leapt to his feet and began to tense his muscles, as if showing off his overwhelming physique as he approached Miriam.

“Barkal, sit down.”

“Hmm.”

He sat down again.

* * *

We sent Miriam away for now. Holding her any longer probably wouldn’t have accomplished much, and her story about the nobles wanting to see us seemed to be true.

“Brother, what happened with the rat you caught!”

At this, Barkal asked. I shook my head.

“I let her go.”

“What!?”

Barkal was quite flustered at my answer. However, he didn’t let out an angry shout.

“Sage, if it was you, you must have had a reason for doing so! Even if it was a rat, you must have believed there was something we could gain by letting her go!”

He was right.

Now, I needed to tell Barkal and Serena what this was all about.

“There’s something I’m searching for.”

“Something you’re searching for?”

“Yes.”

“What is it!”

As for what I’m searching for—honestly, even I haven’t pinned that down exactly yet.

It’s not easy to explain. It’s simply that, three hundred years ago, an adventurer—the Player—left behind “something” capable of standing against the Abyss.

I could very well just ignore it and move on.

“Do you remember the dark knight we saw the other day?”

“I remember! A strong one!”

“Yes, I remember too!”

“The thing I’m looking for is related to the dark knight’s weakness.”

I recalled the incident beneath Iushil. The attacks of the once-strong Serena and Barkal had no effect on that being of the Abyss.

If there really existed “something” that could harm such an entity, it only made sense to obtain it.

Why?

Because I was collecting the Rune of the Abyss, and I had a feeling I’d face those beings again one day.

“A weakness… So, you’re saying there might be a way to kill that monster?”

Probably.

“I am against this!”

Suddenly, Barkal shot up from his seat.

“To aim for a weakness is the act of a coward!”

What do you mean, the act of a coward?

Hey, can’t you do something about your Apostle?

*〈Thrag smiles at his Apostle.〉*

Like god, like barbarian.

Dumb fools, flocking together.

“Barkal, think.”

“What is it, sage?”

“What do you think training means?”

Training.

When he heard that, Barkal slapped his own chest and answered with confidence.

“Training is honing oneself! A warrior trains both mind and body!”

“You are correct, brother.”

I paused for a moment, then continued.

“A thousand days of training simply to train; training for ten thousand days is true cultivation.”

“Oh, oh… I don’t really get it, but it moves my heart! That’s true!”

“Training always needs blood and sweat.”

“That’s true!”

Barkal was now following my words. To educate this guy at his own level, I continued.

“Same goes for battle. Same for war. Barbarians shed blood and sweat in everything.”

“Sage, your words are always right!”

“But that dark knight was different!”

Now to the main point.

“That guy didn’t take any attacks! He shed no blood, no sweat!”

“Y-yes, that’s true!”

“That’s not fair, brother. If only one side sheds blood and sweat, it’s not fair!”

So, what it means to “seek a weakness” is this.

“We must fight where both sides can shed blood. That’s why we’re going after this item.”

“Coward!”

Barkal clenched his fists.

“Now that I think about it, it was odd! There’s no armor I can’t break with my strength! Was that foul trickery at work?!”

“That’s right, Barkal. Don’t you want a fair fight?”

“I do! Thrag wants it too!”

The persuasion was over. Barkal no longer objected to searching for the item.

* * *

A basement room, faint candlelight flickering in the cramped space.

Inside, a tall man radiated overwhelming presence while seated.

He was easily over 190 centimeters tall. Silas, the Disguiser’s second Finger, who possessed the classic build of a fighter, listened quietly to his subordinate’s report.

“They say they’ve found Butterfly.”

Silas rolled the ring on his finger once and muttered.

Currently, among the Disguiser’s executives, he was one of the few who had ever shown his face. Silas, the “second Finger,” looked down at Bael, who was making the report, and spoke.

“So, that means one of the Fingers was in the Dungeon God’s adventurer party?”

“Y-yes…! That’s right!”

“You don’t know which Finger it was?”

At Silas’s question, bael nodded.

“This is why this group will never work. If we can’t even recognize our executives’ faces, how are we supposed to get anything done?”

Grumbling in a brusque tone, silas fiddled with the ring on his hand again.

“I feel sorry for the person who placed the request. There’s no way I can take out a fellow Finger, so I’ll just call it off.”

“R-right?”

“Truth be told, I had misgivings about the request from the start.”

Silas rubbed his chin once, then spoke.

“Why would someone from the same tribe ask us to kill one of their own? Do you have any idea?”

At Silas’s question, bael shook his head in a hurry.

“I don’t know either. Well, not that it matters. We’re in the business of taking requests, not thinking about them.”

With an annoyed expression, he continued.

“There are so many headaches lately. The first Finger going completely incommunicado is another headache altogether.”

“Y-you mean, the first Finger?”

Silas nodded at Bael’s question. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly clapped his hands and stood up.

“First, we need to check what this Butterfly is that our Finger found.”

“So, then…?”

“What do you mean, ‘so then’, you fool.”

Silas said,

“Schedule the masquerade ball.”

* * *

Early morning.

I went outside to loosen up my stiff body when a crow flew toward me, carrying a letter.

The message was straightforward.

A gathering event for the criminal organization, the Disguisers.

The schedule for the “masquerade ball” had been set.

Every guest was required to bring a “mask” to cover their face and appear at a designated location.

When I saw this, I had a thought.

Is this really okay?

Is it supposed to be this easy to attend?

Disguisers.

Sure, the organizers probably set these rules for anonymity, but the security seemed far too lax.

Still, another thought crossed my mind.

They probably operated so boldly because they were confident.

“A mask… you say?”

I decided to search for the item called the “fragment” inside Disguiser.

So, I bought masks and handed them to Barkal and Serena.

I explained the reason as well:

The place we were headed required masks, and we wouldn’t be allowed to enter without them.

“Barkal…”

Turning to give Barkal his mask, I was greeted by his skull helmet.

Hmm.

I guess he doesn’t need one.

***

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