Golden Experience

Chapter 118: “Reunion”

“Did you say ‘player’? This one here, even Rare-chan, is also a player! The lord thing was a lie!”

“Ohh, is your companion a player too? Let me correct one thing though; it’s not a lie that I am the lord.”

The real issue is how Rare was able to discern that she’s a player just from this. From the current statements, it seems that Rare is the only one who saw through the lord being a player.

It’s apparent that no one, including Wayne and the raid party members from that time, has noticed that discerning this from appearance and behavior is probably impossible.

Is there a connection with a player named “Justiz” mentioned? Assuming so, if Justiz already had a connection with the lord, it wouldn’t be an impossible story.

No, if this lord is a player, there’s also a possibility that this lord is Justiz. But if that’s the case, it doesn’t make sense for only one person to post such a thing on social media. It’s hard to believe they thought they could attract disaster with just that. Moreover, just until a while ago, the lord himself thought of the disaster as an event boss.

“Why do you look like you’ve realized that I’m a player? Rare-chan, is it? I see, a simple name, but I can’t say much about others.”

It felt like her heart was being squeezed.

—This person, could it be?

“Shall I tell you? Here’s the answer.” The lord – the player in front of them slowly took off the helmet covering their head and placed it on the floor.

“…Huh. Huh? Huuuh!?”

Blanc looked back and forth between Rare and the lord, confused. There was a face identical to Rare’s, but with black hair and eyes.

“Then the reason you figured out she’s a player is simple. Although it’s enhanced a bit by the game’s system effect, making it look very pale, I wouldn’t mistake Rare-chan’s face. Twins?”

“Oh, you say such delightful things, my friend. But unfortunately, I’m a bit older.”

Why is this happening, why set up such a trap, what does it mean for the lord to be a player, or why play this game at all, and where does this person live now? There are so many questions to ask, but she’s confused about whether she should ask them.

“There’s a lot you want to ask, but you look like you don’t know where to start.”

“Eh? Is that so?”

“No, that’s wrong.”

“That’s not it!”

“No, it’s probably not wrong. Well, forget it. We have time, and it doesn’t feel like continuing the battle, anyway. In any case, today, it’s clear that it’s my loss. I’ll answer anything you want.”

A loss.

It might not be definitively decided as a win or loss, but she should probably see it as a concession here. It might bring up a feeling of frustration rather than losing, but she desperately suppresses her emotions and maintains composure. She’s used to doing that in front of this face.

First of all, there’s something she must ask. If she doesn’t know that, she won’t be able to have a smooth conversation.

“What’s your name?”

“Oh, I almost forgot. I’m Lyra (T/N: ???, so it can also be something like Laila). As you can see, I’m a player using a human avatar. I’m usually the lord of this town. And what about you over there?”

“…I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before. Um, I’m Blanc. I’m a vampire.”

“Lyra, why did you do this?”

Various things she wants to ask. But first, the game. Blanc is here. She should ask about the game-related things.

“What are you referring to, I wonder? Well, it’s fine. I’ll answer.

This, let’s say, is about luring Rare-chan and trapping her here, right?”

Rare nodded.

“The goal was to [Subordinate] ‘Descending Death’, the event boss.”

There’s a proper noun she’s hearing for the first time. Could it be referring to Rare? If so, it’s too embarrassing.

“That face. Well, sorry, but I just wanted to see that face. Some players call it that on their own, and it’s not an official name, so rest assured.”

“…Lyra, you can use [Subordinate]?”

“With the way you put it, you don’t seem surprised Rare. So you can use it too. Well, of course you can, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to command ants and undead to destroy the city. As expected.”

“Enough of that. By the way, how did you acquire it?”

“Are you still confused? That’s a roundabout question. It’s like you’re telling me that there are multiple ways to acquire [Subordinate].”

Rare pursed her lips.

“Don’t do that, it’s going to ruin your lips.

Well, let’s pretend I didn’t ask.

I gained [Subordinate] because I reincarnated from a Human to a higher race. My current race is called [Noble Human], so I am what you would call a noble.”

“Are you saying that you became a lord because you became a noble?”

“…Blanc, right? Well, that’s one of the factors. I’ll explain it later, as my thanks for being good friends with Rare-chan. For now, I’ll go ahead and answer Rare-chan’s questions first.”

The story of how she became a lord is a very intriguing part. However, she doesn’t like being led by others when she goes on tangents. She will probably explain it for sure, but she will likely finish one by one.

“There’s also general knowledge about races that I might as well share. Since Rare-chan is called a ‘calamity’, or ‘disaster’ or things like that, you’ve never heard of the regular city NPCs anyway, have you?”

“…It’s not like that. I heard a lot today.”

“Lies! What we talked about wasn’t a conversation!”

“Oh, I know about that. That’s why I could wait here tonight.”

“So you haven’t heard about NPC races like humans.”

“…Probably not. Let me tell you, then. The noble class of humans is called [Noble Human], which is me. The noble class of elves is [High Elf]. The noble class of dwarves is [Elder Dwarf]. Among NPC races, there’s no concept of a noble class for beastmen. However, among NPC beastmen, some are modeled after animals that players can’t choose in the beginning. So, I think they might be like that.”

Her views on beastmen are the same as Rare’s.

She knows more about the higher races of elves than anyone else.

It’s the first time she’s heard about the reincarnation of dwarves. In other words, dwarves ascend the staircase to become Elder Dwarves, spirits, and Spirit Lords.

Lyra says nothing about Dark Elves. Whether she doesn’t know or is hiding it is unclear, but if she opens her mouth, information will likely be picked up from there again.

There should be more about dwarves. If Dark Elves exist as a reincarnation destination for elves, and at the end of that, there’s a Demon Lord, it wouldn’t be strange for dwarves to have something similar.

“Think of it as common knowledge among NPCs. There might be something else, but NPCs seem not to know about it, and even players don’t know anything from checking SNS.

And for these higher races, such as Noble Human, High Elf, Elder Dwarf, [Subordinate] is unlocked as a racial skill.

…Right, there are constraints on this [Subordinate], but I’ll answer that when you ask.”

It’s a considerably ominous way to say it.

However, she’s properly answering questions. She debated whether to disclose her information in return for this information, but it seems she’s not going to.

“Well, for now, I’m answering your questions and telling you various things because I lost earlier. Don’t think too much about unnecessary things.”

She’s being read without saying anything.

“I think that’s enough about how I obtained [Subordinate] and the details about my race.

As I mentioned, the goal is to bring the ‘Seventh Calamity’ under control.

I can guess the next question, but before that, shall I answer Blanc-chan’s question?”

With a rustling sound.

“Oh, did something bother you?”

“…No, not really.”

“If that’s the case, it’s fine.

Let’s talk about how I became the lord.

It’s a long story if I start from the beginning, but should we take a break for now?”

“It’s okay. I have other things I want to ask, so please continue.”

“Alright, let’s continue. Well, even if I say that, I wonder where to start. Let’s go in chronological order. First, it’s about when I passed the initial Closed Alpha Test.”

“From there!? Isn’t that too early!?”

“…Wait, is that really the beginning?”

“Yeah, it is. That’s where it all started.

…Well, it might not be long enough to take a break, but can I prepare a chair or something to drink for you?

You don’t need to be on guard; I have no intention of tricking you now.

And sorry, but can I take off my armor?”