Chapter 408: Tempting offer |
A dozen thoughts passed through Arwin’s head in a split second. The first was the one he dismissed the fastest — Eleven knew that they’d killed Twelve. Really, that shouldn’t have been much of a surprise. The woman was a spy. A damn good one at that. He had absolutely no idea how much information she’d managed to gather on them, so the best thing he could do was hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
Knowing things was Eleven’s job. He couldn’t do anything about what she’d figured out already. At this point, it didn’t even matter. What did matter was what she wanted. There was no reason for her to come out and reveal she knew they’d killed Twelve out of nowhere.
If her only goal had been to avenge Twelve, then she would have delivered the information back to her guild. No matter how good of a spy she was, Arwin doubted her specialty was in combat. Eleven likely didn’t want to fight their entire guild while they were inside Devil’s Den.
But she hadn’t gone back to One. Or perhaps she had, and then he’d directed her to return. The result was functionally the same either way. Her revealing that she knew about Twelve’s death here meant that there was some goal in play other than merely revenge.
And the person to best figure out what that motive is isn’t me.
Every single one of those thoughts passed through Arwin’s head just in time for him to turn his gaze right to Rodrick. His fingers tensed in the air. Even though his initial indication was that Eleven was probably just trying to see how they would react so she could fish for information…
If Rodrick indicated that the situation was anything else, then that was that. They would attack. The fallen paladin had shown time and time again that he knew how people acted better than just about anyone else. Arwin trusted the man’s senses over even his own.
And Rodrick was not moving. He simply sat, observing Eleven’s side with an unreadable expression on his face. His sword remained at his side, undrawn.
It struck Arwin a moment later that every other eye in his guild was also directed toward Rodrick. Even Art and Vix were watching him — and Eleven hadn’t missed that. Her eyebrow arched as she turned to follow their gazes.
“Was there really any room for such a thing in the first place?” Rodrick asked, tilting his head to the side. His eyes tracked every single one of Eleven’s motions like those of a viper waiting to strike. “The question was not worded in a way in which innocence could be proclaimed.”
“You could have said that you had no idea what I was talking about,” Eleven said. “And I can’t help but notice that you are not the guild leader. Why is everyone looking to a random warrior for advice? Tasks like this are best left to the most competent person in the guild.”
“Which is what we have done,” Lillia said. The shadows on the wall behind her roiled like an angry sea. “The guild leader is not some picture of perfection. Only an arrogant idiot would claim that he’s capable of handling literally every single scenario.”
Eleven tapped her fingers against the side of her face in a rhythmic pattern. “An interesting approach. Not usually the one I see guilds take. They generally don’t want to show any signs of weakness… especially when going so far as to admit that they killed one of the members of my guild to my face.”
“Which we have not done,” Rodrick admitted.
“So you say you didn’t kill him?”
“No. We didn’t admit anything,” Rodrick replied. “Please keep track of the questions you have asked us. That isn’t our responsibility. Do you really think that a group like us would be able to take on someone within Setting Sun? There isn’t even a single person near the peak of Adept in our guild. You think quite highly of our abilities.”
“Do you think this is a court of law?” Eleven asked. “There’s no point mincing words with me. And I just watched your teams perform well above their levels at the Proving Grounds. I would have little doubt that they’d be capable of handling a lone assassin.”
“If you don’t want us to mince words, then you shouldn’t do it yourself,” Rodrick countered. “You asked a question with the aim of purely shocking us. Asking us where a body is… the rumors of Twelve’s demise went out quite some time ago. If we had been involved in his death, we most certainly wouldn’t have kept the corpse around this long. But you know that — because this has absolutely nothing to do with Twelve at all.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Oh?” the corners of Eleven’s mouth twitched. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you implying you have an alibi that proves you had nothing to do with his death?”
“Our abilities alone should prove that,” Rodrick replied in an even tone. “What I am implying is that you only asked that question to see who we would turn to for advice. And I’d even hazard one guess further. If Twelve is really dead, then you already know where his body is. Twelve is a well-known clone magic user. I highly doubt his true body would have left the safety of your guild, so there’s no point asking after the location of a corpse. The entire line of questioning was just a way for you to analyze us.”
A faint smile formed on Eleven’s face. “What was your name?”
“Rodrick.”
“And you give it out so freely. Doubly interesting. And you, Ifrit? You’re content to just sit around and let Rodrick speak for you? Nothing to say yourself? Isn’t this your guild? Why is someone speaking in your place?”
“Lillia already answered that question,” Arwin said, but his brow was furrowed. Eleven’s personality had changed significantly from what he’d seen in the tournament. She’d never seemed nearly this aggressive.
Maybe it’s because we killed Twelve? I suppose she wouldn’t be too happy about that… but there’s no way she only just found that out. If she knew, then she had to have known before. So what’s going on?
“And giving my name out hardly matters. It would be a simple matter for you to find it should you have interest,” Rodrick replied with a shrug. “Actually, I’d be surprised if you don’t already know it. What kind of spy doesn’t scout out their target before they move? I doubt you’re that stupid. Now, you asked us not to mince words. Why don’t you get to the point of what it is you want?”
“You got me.” Eleven raised her hands in surrender. Her smile fell away and her arms dropped back to her sides. “Honestly, good riddance. I like you. One just insists on this shit to make sure.”
“It was just some sort of test?” Arwin asked, his eyes narrowing. He was starting to get fed up with—
“Oh, I don’t know if I’d say just,” Eleven said, cutting Arwin off. She locked eyes with him. “I know you killed Twelve. I was just curious to see how you’d react to the accusation. And, despite the fact that every single one of you knew I was from Setting Sun and likely more powerful than you, nobody tried to run. That’s a surprise.”
Shit. Rodrick actually had me convinced that she was just bluffing for a moment.
“What would running accomplish?” Olive asked. “We don’t have any reason to run.”
“Nor have we confirmed we killed Twelve. What you believe and the truth are not necessarily the same thing,” Rodrick said.
Arwin couldn’t help but notice that, throughout the entire conversation, Rodrick hadn’t said a single lie.
That’s a pretty good way to make sure you don’t accidentally mix your lies up. If you haven’t actually lied about the situation, then leading questions shouldn’t ever cross over each other. Smart.
“Gods, it’s like speaking to — oh, never mind,” Eleven said. She pressed a finger to the bridge of her nose. “This is my fault. Actually, it’s One’s fault. What a pain. Look. I don’t care you killed Twelve.”
“Allegedly,” Rodrick put in.
Eleven glared at him. “Whatever you want it to be. As I was saying, we’ve occasionally had difficulties with potential recruits. Too many that have the potential we’re looking for but lack an actual spine… and Setting Sun doesn’t have room for people like that.”
“Wait,” Arwin said, raising a hand to forestall Eleven. “Recruits? What are you talking about? I thought you were here to bargain information with us. You said you knew something we needed.”
“Yes. Everything Necrohammer told you is true,” Eleven said. Her features went grim. “He knew more than I thought. Setting Sun has similar goals to him. We’ve just taken a very different approach to things. And I wasn’t lying. We have answers to some of the questions I’m sure you’ve got. Not as many as we wish we had, but more than I imagine you’ve got now.”
Wait. How does she know about anything that happened during my talk with Necrohammer? He used that anti-scrying gem thing. Is Eleven so powerful that she was able to slip by even that?
I… somehow doubt it. She seems strong, but Necrohammer definitely isn’t a pushover by any stretch of the imagination. They were clearly working together at the tournament, though. Maybe he told her what he was going to talk about with me.
“What does any of this have to do with being recruits?” Lillia asked, oblivious to Arwin’s confusion. “I have no interest in joining your guild.”
“Nor do the rest of us,” Olive added.
“No, I’m sure you don’t. Your guild is close. That much is obvious,” Eleven said with a cold smile. “But I don’t think you’re dumb enough to turn down power, either. Not without hearing us out first. You know just how severe the situation is and we’ve been aware of it a whole lot longer than you have.”
“We don’t want power when it comes with strings,” Reya said. “But if you’re willing to give us free info, we won’t say no to that.”
“Nothing is free,” Eleven replied. “That isn’t how the world works. But even if you aren’t interested in joining up with Setting Sun individually, One is interested in establishing a potential partnership with your guild.”
He wants to work with people that killed one of his own guildmembers? Not a great look, mate.
“Do you have anything to offer us beyond some arbitrary information? Because we’ve been doing pretty well on our own,” Arwin said. “And while I don’t turn down potential allies, you’ve been spying on us. Doesn’t leave a great taste in my mouth.”
“Of course we do.” Eleven smiled. “Would you like to learn how to Sunset your classes?”