Chapter 467: Double Reveal

Kurt slapped himself across the face, blinked repeatedly, and then slapped himself again. I was about to ask him if he was possessed, but judging by how the others were acting, I realized that I had probably just blown their minds with my little trick. Dewi, Whitney, and Evan at least had the opportunity to see my handiwork during my speech, if you could even call it that, but for the Kaerlin gang this was something they had never seen before. Even Lisa, the most senior in the group by rank since Roderick held it by age, was far more astonished than I had predicted.

"So… I probably should have said I'm a Riftmancer," I said, pointing to my makeshift portal.

"Did I fall into a coma or something?" Kurt asked, looking like he wanted to slap himself again. "The last time I saw you, you were messing around with bubbles and water orbs. Why are you now suddenly opening holes in the air?"

"Well, I am a diamond-rank now…"

"And chummy with the legendary golemancer too," Dewi added.

"Whatever happened in Dhoggurum must have been out of this world," Roderick finally replied.

"It's a long story," Whitney giggled, stealing my line.

"You've said that already," Lisa sighed. "Three times for me now. Anyway, let's go before someone from Southbrook decides to investigate what I assume is a floating portal on the other side and come here."

Following Lisa's suggestion, everyone quickly went through the portal, the trio from Keaburg going in first to show it was safe and sound. While that was happening, I was mentally noting the Mana cost involved, not because I was worried about being unable to afford it, but for future reference when it came to fulfilling some of my agreements. I expected Vee to be the most costly to teleport, but whether it was our shared bond or her class providing a discount, she was surprisingly not much worse than the humans.

If Keldenar wants a stable portal, we will need to set up quite a lot of Mana-gathering arrays. Possibly batteries too. I wonder if I can rope Leon into making some of those for me?

There were a variety of enchantments that covered storing Mana, but if he used his Artificer class, there was a chance he could make something substantially better. Not only that, but I felt that the information I got from [Rift Beacon] could further reduce the cost.

But that's for future Syl to worry about; I should focus on catching up with my friends…

I almost wanted to laugh at myself for using magic and work to distract myself from how uncomfortable I felt. I'd promised them an explanation, and while it was close to the truth, it still wasn't the actual truth. I would've loved to say I could just drop the slimy truth bomb on all of them, but even if I was willing to risk it, it would put both Vee and Keldenar at risk.

Keldenar could probably handle it; he'd probably even laugh, but Vee had only just claimed her "humanity," so to speak, and robbing her of the chance to finally have some semblance of a normal life would be incredibly selfish of me.

"Wow, we are really back in Stantondale!" Kurt exclaimed.

"Southbrook," Evan corrected.

"Thanks in part to the hard work of Whitney," Roderick said proudly. "Who knew the Stantons were that corrupt? Literally selling out our kingdom to those Outeatus zealots."

"No more talking until I get a few drinks in me, preferably with some food," Lisa sighed, still looking quite tired from the mountain of paperwork we'd taken her away from.

Our reception from the residents of Southbrook was met with surprise before it quickly turned warm, especially with so many familiar faces returning. I still wasn't sure why Roderick and Tabitha left, since I thought they'd always be here, but I held my questions for later.

When we arrived at Kurt's inn, the man practically erupted into a cheerful roar and rushed us all inside. In fact, he was so pleased to see all of us that he even turned his sign around, closing up the store so he could give us all his undivided attention. I wanted to tell him not to worry, but I realized this was probably a big deal for him to have so many gold-ranks together at once, friends or not.

Since I had rushed the introduction earlier, I took the time to properly introduce Vee to the newcomers and explain that she was my apprentice. A few jokes went around about elves being ridiculous for spawning two mages with a dimension affinity, with the real joke being that neither of us was even an elf. It honestly felt like we were doing a PR campaign for them at this point, but considering my alliance with the Feirelle branch, it was probably for the best.

"It's a pity Thern can't join us," Lisa sighed after the first round of drinks. "But he only returned briefly from Dhoggurum before returning."

"I hope he's alright?" I asked.

"Oh, I'm sure he's living the life. From what I understand, he was getting quite involved with both of his parents' businesses. Especially with the exciting resources you left behind."

"Speaking of which… Isn't it about time to say what happened?" Whitney asked, earning nods from the rest of the group.

I sighed and, with some reluctance, began my retelling of the events. Since I wasn't sure how much Thern had said, I started mostly from the beginning when I first arrived in Dhoggurum. The elf assassin, the group of Outeatus knights, and my supposed escape to the Feirelle grove.

Almost immediately, they wanted to know why assassins were after me in the first place, aside from the obvious hatred the Outeatus Kingdom had for elves. So I finally had to play the elf princess card and explain that I was the body double for Sylthaeryn Feirelle.

The group was more accepting of the story than I had thought they would be, although they had assumed I was genuinely the princess. Certain elf traits and events were mentioned, but I explained that it was all part of the role I was playing. Following Vee's suggestion, I said I was trying to draw attention and danger to myself so the real princess could go unnoticed and stay safe. I even brought up the attempt on my life by Keaton Stanton, which ultimately ended in a massive failure for him.

"It's strange how everything seems to be heading back to the Outeatus Kingdom… I wonder what it is they are planning?" Roderick questioned.

"Unfortunately, the investigation I was part of only found that they were getting supplies from various small towns to try to hide their tracks. If you include the actual purchases and then the smuggling from bandits, they were getting roughly eighty percent of all Mana potions from Southbrook," Whitney explained.

"The report we received from Thern and the dwarves was that they were trying to obtain a large supply of weapons and armor," Lisa added.

"It almost sounds like they were preparing to go to war?" Evan suggested.

The group looked grim, and unfortunately, most of them nodded; it was a sign of something nefarious brewing in the kingdom.

"But where do the elves come in?" Dewi asked, turning to me. "Why would the elves be working with the kingdom that hates their guts?"

"I'm restricted in what I can say since it involves secrets from the Feirelle branch, and it's still an ongoing investigation by the High Elf Council, but I'll try my best."

I tried my best to explain what I could, mentioning the defected Dornhallow branch and how they appeared to be working with the zealots. It was baffling for both sides, an alliance nobody could have predicted, and it left the likes of Whitney, Roderick, and Lisa quite disturbed.

Since I saw no harm in mentioning it, I threw out the fact that they were an old branch that was supposed to be among the last line of defenders for the Grove, even using necromancy to achieve their duty. Of course, that changed when they used necromancy to kill and raise their own brethren, so the current elf position was to rip them out by the roots.

"What you've just said has unfortunately left me with even more questions about their confusing alliance," Lisa said, rubbing her temples. "From everything I know about the Outeatus royals, they despise necromancy, so I don't see why they would choose that branch to scheme with."

"The elves don't understand it either, as the Dornhallows would theoretically be the ones who hated them the most," I replied.

"Sounds like they are both a bunch of hypocrites," Vee snorted. "Those knights, for all their bluster and supposed hatred of necromancy, had no issue summoning a demon."

"Please tell me you're joking…" Evan groaned.

"Sadly, this isn't one of Vee's jokes," I answered. "But on the bright side, I managed to banish the demon the first time, and slayed him the second time when he appeared in the labyrinth."

"So that's how you earned that Emblem!" Dewi exclaimed. "I was wondering if you tore open a rift to the demonic realm and took care of them that way."

"No, but I've considered it," I admitted.

"Wait, I thought Dewi was joking, but you can actually travel there?" Evan asked.

"Part of my reward from the [Demon Slayer] Emblem. Although I haven't tried using it since I wasn't sure what to expect. Dealing with Traz was annoying enough; I can't imagine a whole realm full of them."

"Actually, you'd have a much easier time," Evan replied, much to my surprise and everyone else's.

"Aren't you supposed to be one of our few voices of reason?" Roderick groaned. "Has being in the Capital with Dewi infected you too?"

"I wish!" Dewi interjected. "I swear every week he'd interrogate me about where I was continuing my [Fire Resistance] training."

"Indeed, I'm quite sane, thank you," Evan replied. "Back to what I was saying, you'd have a much easier time if you bring the fight to the demons. Part of why they are so difficult to deal with is the protection they gain from being summoned to the material world. But in their home realm, they have none of those protections. Not to mention the bonuses your Emblem would grant."

Huh… Maybe I need to plan a trip there sooner than I thought?

"Anyway… Going back to the original original topic," Lisa said. "It might be a case of the two sides both thinking they were using each other, and plotting a betrayal after the common enemy was dealt with, as stupid as that sounds. Otherwise, maybe there was a third party manipulating both of them?"

"Who would be powerful enough to manipulate a kingdom and a branch of ancient elves?" Whitney asked.

That's a good question… Part of me wants to say it could be a fellow [Experiment], but the timeline seems wrong for that based on the evidence the elves have gathered so far. Unless there was a batch before Vee and I, this plot was unfolding way before we were even reborn.

Sadly, nobody else in our group had any other ideas to throw out, even after we refueled with some delicious food and more drink. Vee, in particular, was having the time of her life, since Trevor's wife had taken it upon herself to make sure Vee "put some meat on those bones" because she found her positively adorable.

Since we were dropping the weird plot between the two offenders, I continued my story. I mentioned that my main role was fulfilled by drawing out their scheme, and effectively I had become a free agent, which was when I stumbled across Keldenar since I still had his invitation from the guild.

By coincidence, he wanted to establish a relationship with the elves and had his own disputes against the zealots, so he was more than happy to be a thorn in their side. Lisa and the three from the Capital had actually heard rumors about Keld safeguarding an elf royal, but none of them had ever predicted that it was me, or well, Sylthaeryn.

My tale concluded with me explaining his suggestion that I earn my diamond rank so that I could have the Adventurers Guild behind me too, not only to foster relations with the elves, but also for added protection should the situation explode.

"It's honestly crazy what you've been through," Roderick responded.

"I feel tired just from hearing it all. You've gone through more in, what, a year? Then I have in my entire life," Tabitha admitted.

Whitney frowned and shook her head. "I still can't believe you volunteered to be bait… Surely there were other options?"

"Maybe, but it worked out in the end. They say nothing gets you more levels than risk, and I've been gaining them like crazy."

"To think I once thought I'd catch up," Kurt whined.

Actually, I think you'd be one of my best customers for my future slime dungeon, but I haven't quite got that out yet. Hopefully, when I've made it official, I can invite everyone here to be the first testers, and maybe even give them plenty of rewards!

"Anyway, now that you've mostly heard what I can say about me. What's happened to all of you?"