Doppelgänger.
Something that looks exactly like the original character, a harbinger of misfortune. It was a well-known superstition that meeting one would bring unhappiness.
“…”
I slowly narrowed my eyes.
While it might not lead to misfortune, discomfort is definitely guaranteed.
How would I feel if I saw my reflection gallivanting around the world? Strange and bizarre.
However, I quickly became aware of a peculiar difference.
“I’m a bit different from the current me.”
The first sense of unease I felt was time.
Fake Ezekiel didn’t perfectly match my current appearance. Strictly speaking, it looked like me from about 10 years ago?
The youthful glow clearly showed on his face.
Thud─ Thud─
I watched the movements of the fake Ezekiel entering the hall. The similarity in actions, the level of movement was incredibly detailed, like looking into a mirror.
“There’s a high probability that he knows me well.”
Meanwhile, the other members began to chatter.
“The leader has arrived. It’s about to get real.”
“That reindeer antler was always destined to become like this. Isn’t his arrogance a bit much? This is not a place for friends to gather.”
Among them, someone approached me.
A woman with a translucent veil covered her face whispered softly, just for my ears.
“Hey, how did you do it?”
“What?”
“What do you mean? You know best, don’t you?”
The veiled woman scanned the surroundings and leaned in closer, lowering her voice.
“Did you interfere with the world, or misuse something…? You’ve used some sort of underhanded means, right? I’m really interested in that. Share it with me. I’ll pay well.”
“What the.”
I was dumbfounded. No matter how clean she acted on the outside, she was desperate to walk a crooked path inside.
“I’ll offer more than you can imagine. So─”
“Live honestly. Live honestly.”
I clicked my tongue and turned my interest off.
Right then.
“Quiet.”
Snap─!
As the fake Ezekiel snapped his fingers, everything but near the round table fell into darkness.
“Let’s start. Secret assembly.”
“Is it six of us? Sounds just right.”
Six of us stood at even intervals.
The fake Ezekiel fixed his gaze on the cat-headed figure and gestured towards me, as if asking for my identity.
“Oh, this is a new member. He had a run-in with reindeer antler but won in a duel and chased him off─”
The cat head explained in detail, but the fake Ezekiel shook his head as if that wasn’t what he meant.
“Did you explain the assembly rules?”
“Oh, now that you mention it…! I’ll explain right away!”
After the cat head finished hastily, he trotted towards me, and I silently thought.
“Not a single part of his speech resembles mine.”
It was strange. While he mimicked my appearance and behavior perfectly, his speech was completely different.
Two possibilities arose.
First, he intentionally created differences in his manner of speaking because he had no intention to impersonate me.
Second, his own manner of speaking was so strong and unique that he couldn’t change it at all.
“Hey, new member.”
The cat head said.
“It’s your first time, so you might not know…. The secret assembly has a topic every time. No matter how good you are, if you don’t have information on the topic, you can’t participate.”
He tapped the round table.
“Pretending to know is also forbidden. The virtual world interferes with every part of the brain, so if you lie, it will immediately show up on the round table and you’ll get caught….”
It wasn’t just about spewing out any random information but rather collecting what everyone knew regarding the chosen topic and then sharing it. This was more serious than I expected.
“This is pretty serious.”
Anyway, the most crucial thing would be the topic.
“What’s the theme of this assembly?”
“Um, it’s quite a tough one….”
The cat head scratched his head.
“The theme this time is none other than the Empire’s princesses.”
“…Princesses?”
It was a completely unexpected topic.
I had thought discussions about magic or the Demon Realm’s situation would arise since information between the Magic Towers was exchanged. I never anticipated princesses might be the topic.
Interpreting my silence as uncertainty, the cat head nodded, as if understanding.
“Is it hard? No worries. Just come back later.”
“No. That guy knows well.”
At that moment, someone jumped in to answer.
It was none other than the fake Ezekiel.
Our gazes met in midair as if to flaunt it. A conversation with myself—how bizarre.
“Why do you think I know well?”
“Your alias, the Emperor’s name.”
The fake Ezekiel pointed at my alias.
“Impersonating someone is already a huge crime. However, if you can’t live up to your name, that’s an even bigger sin.”
He shrugged as if to say, isn’t that right?
“Right?”
I merely shrugged in return.
“Well, that’s true. Luckily, I know a thing or two about the topic.”
I replied boastfully, but it was no lie. Who else in the Empire would know the princesses as well as I did?
So the assembly began.
“I’ll go first, just like last time.”
The first to volunteer was a man with a giant compass in place of his head. Being a persona created in the virtual world allowed for all sorts of possibilities.
“Fourth Princess has been raking in bets these days.”
Fourth Princess, Chain.
The richest person in the continent.
The round table shimmered with a golden hue.
I instinctively understood. This was a device that proved whether the speaker’s words were true or not.
The members’ reactions were, of course, not good.
“…Has the Fourth Princess been raking in money for just a day or two? Such information is something even passing dogs could say.”
“Are we really going this way today?”
“First of all, calm down and listen to the end.”
The compass’s voice had a sense of composure to it.
As if he was confident he had brought something significant.
“Didn’t I use the word ‘bets’? The Fourth Princess, who was making gold coins through business, has now started to sweep the casinos clean.”
The members only blinked in response.
I, too, still didn’t think it was any big deal.
“Um… Should we be careful about visiting the casinos?”
“Seems like it. I’ve been wanting to go for a while.”
The compass chuckled, mocking the members’ reactions.
“Oh my, oh my… You all really don’t know how much you don’t know.”
Suddenly, he raised a finger.
“The important thing is not how much has been earned, but why she suddenly wants to sweep up the bets. That’s the crux of the matter! And I have obtained that information!”
It was then that the fake Ezekiel revealed his displeasure.
“Time’s running out. Hurry up.”
“Haha, got it. Among those present at the scene, someone overheard the Fourth Princess speak. He really said something incredibly valuable.”
“Hurry up.”
“Marriage money! Apparently, that’s her goal!”
Heavy silence fell.
“…”
After a while, the members lowered their heads.
“Marriage money?”
“Marriage? The Fourth Princess is preparing for marriage?”
“Now, that’s nonsense…”
However, those questions didn’t linger long.
Shwaaa─!
The round table shone in golden light.
“…!”
“This is unbelievable!”
The compass reveled in their reactions as he shrugged his shoulders.
“She’s sweeping up everything without caring about the amount or the type of the casino. Is she planning to buy the entire continent to fund her wedding…?”
“…”
Meanwhile, I expressed no reaction whatsoever.
No, to be precise, I couldn’t react at all.
The truth pointed out by the round table was too shocking.
“The Fourth Princess is preparing for marriage?”
With whom might she be preparing for marriage?
That was a question I didn’t need to think deeply about.
The proposal letter I wrote had been delivered to all five of them without omission. That means…
“Me.”
None other than me.
It meant she was preparing for marriage with me.
But why was she so desperately sweeping up money? She could easily push for a wedding with the wealth she already had.
…It meant she wasn’t preparing for an ordinary wedding. My head started to throb.
“This… The Magic Towers need to get their act together.”
“Of course. Who knows what she’ll use as an excuse to demand gold coins? Everyone knows her personality.”
The members’ chatter echoed faintly in my ears.
It was then.
“This time, I’ll go.”
The cat head cleared his throat dramatically.
“Good thing it’s not overlapping. My information is incredible.”
I started to listen, giving it my all.
‘Attending this secret assembly is a blessing.’
It was a thought I repeated more than a hundred times.
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