There was an absolute excuse called survival.

Because of that one premise–that I must survive in this damn world–every action I took became a “necessary task.”

And…

“…I see.”

The Crescent Moon was a victim of those “necessary tasks.”

“To think there must be a corpse left behind…”

When I first came ~Novelight~ to this roundtable, I was a very insignificant being.

Everything I encountered outside could lead to my death, and every evening I had to wander through taverns just to gather information.

So I wore the Investigator’s mask.

To get the information I needed, I took someone’s wish hostage and toyed with it.

Because honesty in this world is a sin.

The moment you show weakness, you get bitten.

For every gain I took, my comrades and I became safer.

Back then, I truly believed that.

But…

“Surely, the tales from legends and reality are different…”

How about now?

I still worry about survival, but I have grown much stronger than before.

I have become the chief of a tribe, a noble.

The Yandel family is now a respectable noble house belonging to the Melves alliance of non-human nobles. Thanks to that, I no longer have to rely on the roundtable’s information like before.

Yet, I still wear the Investigator’s mask and deceive everyone.

Why?

The answer came quickly.

The Queen, the Jester.

The wolf seemingly connected to Auril Gavis, the mysterious black mask, and the butterfly.

I want to profit from the information they bring.

Yes, that much was sincere.

But…

“…Thanks to that, I can finally give up a futile dream.”

Soon, I realized.

No longer could “survival” be used as an excuse.

Just like white paper can’t exist next to black ink.

“But I can’t say thank you.”

Now, that was just who I was.

Somehow deceiving someone, intimidating them, and using that to tie things into my own advantage.

The kind of person I once despised.

The one who kept rolling around with the sole purpose of surviving in this world had, before I knew it, become such a person.

“…”

“…”

A heavy silence flowed.

Normally, the Jester–who would mockingly say the fool was at fault–did not open his mouth and just quietly watched the situation.

How long had it passed like that?

“I…”

Breaking the long stillness, Crescent Moon stood up from his seat.

“I… will take my leave now. It seems there is nothing more to gain here.”

In fact, with that, Crescent Moon left the roundtable without giving anyone the chance to speak.

“Uh… h-hey, he really left…?”

An anonymous community where none knew each other’s names.

In reality, once someone leaves like that, there is no telling when they might meet again. Yet knowing that, I couldn’t bring myself to say it until the very end.

An apology.

“…”

“…”

I thought it might be a loss if I spoke it aloud.

Just such thoughts, I kept inside.

Whether Crescent Moon left the roundtable or not–

The last meeting of the roundtable continued.

It might have seemed somewhat cold, but considering the nature of this place, it was natural.

After all, we were all in a business relationship.

“Phit, he really left. How dull.”

The Jester’s nonsense was met with gritted teeth and ignored by everyone as the second round began.

The first turn was Deer Antlers.

But…

“This kind of thing…”

Instead of giving information, Deer Antlers looked at me and asked.

“Do you really think this kind of thing is fun? You?”

His tone and gaze were aggressive at a glance.

We weren’t that close usually, but maybe Crescent Moon’s sudden departure shocked him a bit?

“Deer Antlers… please, calm down a bit…”

Soon, Goblin tried to calm Deer Antlers.

Not only him, but the other members also looked at him with concerned eyes.

However, Deer Antlers didn’t care at all.

“To someone desperate… is giving hope and then taking it away nothing more than amusement to you? So you said it quickly because you thought today would be the last?”

To excuse myself, that wasn’t really the case.

The reason I spoke only today was more about responsibility… or rather, guilt.

Was I obsessed with “fun” at the roundtable?

Simply, it was to create the character of the Investigator’s mask. More precisely, to deceive the members and manipulate them to my liking.

“Investigator. You are surely a big shot far beyond someone like me. But still, I have to say this.”

“…”

“You’re just a broken person.”

That was already the nth time I heard it.

Well, when I first heard it from Ibaekho, I just let it pass.

But by now, the cause must be within me.

I was broken.

Even by the standards of this barbaric world, I had crossed the line.

And the proof was…

“Should I unleash the killing intent?”

If I were the Investigator, hearing those words, I naturally first thought about how to act.

In my mind, I was already muttering a short phrase like ‘Interesting.’ as I shot out killing intent.

Because that was easier and more helpful to me.

“Phit, why don’t you stop? It’s getting hard to tolerate. Know your place, Deer Antlers.”

In this context, the Jester, acting like a royal guard, stepped up, but I just watched.

“…Ridiculous. Jester, no matter how much you flatter, do you think the author would care?”

“That’s already known, so it’s none of your concern. Phit, enough nonsense and finish your turn already. Everyone’s waiting.”

At the Jester’s words telling him to get on with it, Deer Antlers quietly stood up.

“What is it? You’re planning to end it here too?”

“I won’t be the author’s plaything till the very end just to pick up scraps–”

“Then get lost quickly. Don’t waste time.”

The Jester cut off Deer Antlers sharply, and Deer Antlers watched him silently for a moment.

And then…

“This place wasn’t like this.”

Leaving behind those words, he walked away.

Silence descended once again.

“Hahaha… The mood’s gotten weird again!”

The Wolf awkwardly laughed, trying to break the frozen atmosphere.

“When the Master was here, everyone was much more cheerful! But what can we do? He’s not here anymore.”

Ugh, a true Master worshipper.

“Well, even though two are missing, let’s just continue what we were doing. It’s a shame to end it like this, right? We probably won’t all gather like this again–”

“Rather… how about trying what that Crescent Moon just mentioned?”

It was Butterfly Mask’s suggestion, who had been watching the situation with apparent amusement the whole time.

“But this time, everyone must answer honestly. Oh, except for revealing your true identity. How about it? Seems like a good way to lighten the mood.”

“…I’m fine with that, but isn’t revealing identity too subjective?”

“Ah, that’s why I have this gem, so what’s the problem? When someone refuses to answer, just raise their hand and say one word. Then you can tell if it’s just an excuse or if they truly can’t answer.”

“Shouldn’t we ask for agreement first?”

The Queen sharply pointed that out, and Butterfly Mask’s eyes curved long through the mask.

“Heh, sister, you’re really something.”

“…Why do you call me your sister?”

“Because it looks obvious. You seem older than me.”

“…”

Unfortunately, the Queen couldn’t argue back.

Seeing that, Butterfly Mask led the conversation as if to hold a vote, and eventually, a vote was held.

And…

“Six in favor, two opposed.”

Surprisingly, the majority passed.

The only opposing votes were from the Queen and the Black Mask.

“Investigator, you’re in favor…? Why?”

“Phit, Queen, do you still trust that person? Because it seems like fun!”

Whether it’s fun or not doesn’t matter.

Because even before leaving the roundtable, there was something I wanted to confirm.

“Haa… anyway, since it’s come to this, I’ll go along. But before we start, let’s set the rules clearly.”

At the Queen’s request, we had a brief discussion to set the rules.

“To summarize: when it’s your turn, the respondent receives one question from each member. The respondent chooses which questions to answer. That should work.”

“When will this start? Let’s hurry up, sister?”

“…Fox, can we start now?”

“Yes. It’s okay.”

When Fox, who took the role of respondent, nodded, one by one, we took turns asking questions.

“I recall you didn’t obey the Master well before… Do you still feel that way?”

Wolf Mask mentioned the Master in almost every sentence.

“I… pass.”

Goblin just passed.

From my perspective, skilled in all sorts of intrigue, that was a regrettable play. Instead of passing, it would have been better to ask less important questions in a way that seemed important, forcing an answer.

Anyway, after that, most–including me–passed, so Fox only received two questions.

“You seem to know too much about what happened on the basement first floor. Were you inside?”

“…Isn’t that too much digging into my identity?”

“Ah, out of all those people, who do you think it is?”

“…Then I’ll answer.”

When the questions ended, Fox chose one of the three to answer.

“You asked if I still consider the Master my benefactor.”

“Oh, you chose my question.”

“To answer, ‘No.’ Back then, I didn’t know the Master was Auril Gavis.”

“Hmm… That person’s infamy was the result of a wicked royal family’s scheme. But understood. What a pity.”

That ended Fox’s turn.

Next was Wolf, who received four questions.

And…

“I will answer the question from Her Majesty the Queen.”

Wolf chose the question the Queen asked.

“The Queen’s guess is correct. Auril Gavis has the power to prevent the Ghost Busters’ shutdown.”

Right away, I realized it was important information.

‘Or in other words, does that mean Auril Gavis worked to shut down the community…?’

If that’s the case, what schemes is that old man plotting now? It worried me, but there was nothing I could do immediately.

“Then it’s Goblin’s turn.”

Goblin’s turn came.

Goblin received three questions, one more than Fox but one less than Wolf.

And…

“Then, I will answer Fox’s question…”

Goblin ended the turn answering the question Fox asked, seeming like a team play.

“The pontiff of the Reatlas Church’s lifespan is almost over. The next pontiff is almost appointed, a young saint.”

It was insider information, but few cared.

Everyone just wanted to get the turn over quickly.

“Then it’s finally the Queen’s turn, Phit.”

After Goblin, the Queen got her turn, receiving the most questions so far–five.

And she answered something everyone was curious about.

“Now that everyone knows a bit of the situation, I’ll say it. Running this spiritual world requires a device. That device is slowly losing power.”

“…So it’s shutting down?”

“Yes. We tried to find a solution, but we couldn’t.”

“Auril Gavis… If he helps, revival might be possible…”

“Yes. But I don’t think that will happen.”

After firmly drawing the line, the Queen’s turn ended.

Skipping the vacant seat left by Crescent Moon, it reached Butterfly Mask’s turn.

“Heh… does anyone have questions for me?”

Actually, the real reason I voted for this truth game today was to confirm something with Butterfly Mask.

But I didn’t jump in to ask first and just watched.

And sure enough.

“Yes, there is one.”

Fox immediately raised her hand and asked the very question I wanted to hear from Butterfly Mask.

“I want to hear more about Misha Kalstein being called a traitor.”