...

"Is your real name... Theodore?"

I stared at Celi wordlessly, still trying to process what she had just said. It was lucky that I had a habit of being expressionless whenever something unexpected happened.

Eventually, I realized what her words meant. And when I did, I managed to keep calm after much effort.

"Why would you think so?" I said, voice calm. 

Still staring at me suspiciously, Celi answered. "You do realize that you're wearing the same clothes, right?"

I briefly glanced at my clothes and saw that I was indeed wearing the same white buttoned shirt and black pants. I then hurriedly came up with an excuse.

"Oh this? I sweated so much that my old clothes reeks. So I borrowed these clothes from my friend - Theodore Gray."

"So... does he just undress and give you his clothes on the spot? I mean, you're scary and all but he seems much scarier when I saw him earlier. So I don't think you could force him into giving you his clothes..."

Veins bulged on my forehead as I heard her words. However, I didn't lash out at her since it would blow my cover. Thus, I gave her my answer while still keeping a smile.

"Ah that? He's actually the reason why my clothes were soaked with sweat. So he felt the need to take responsibility and gave me his clothes. A- And don't get me wrong, he's not going around the streets naked. He actually gave me his clothes while we were inside his room so it's okay."

"You did it in his room!?" Celi widened her eyes in disbelief.

'What? Does Theodore Gray not running around the street naked that unbelievable to you?'

I couldn't think any deeper about her sentence as Celi hurriedly spoke up again.

"Th- That Theodore Gray guy, can I meet him?"

"Why would you want to do that?"

Celi closed her eyes for a second before opening them again with excitement filling them to the brim.

"Black hair, gray eyes, HE LOOKS JUST LIKE THEODRIS GREY!"

'This fucker...!'

I was starting to get real mad right now, and rightfully so. There wasn't even an illustration of Theodris in the novel so how the fuck did she link my real appearance to that monstrosity?

As to how I knew there were no illustration of Theodris Grey in the novel? W- Well I just do, okay? It wasn't like I was curious and read the novel when Alicia wasn't home or anything!

Pausing my thoughts there, I gave Celi my answer.

"No. And there's no way you're changing my mind—"

"I'll give you this shiny rock of you do." Celi said as she held a very shiny rock on her hand.

"DEAL!"

...

Making my way away from the restaurant to 'go call Theodore Gray over', I walked into a dark alleyway and cancelled the Illusion magic.

"Lyra!" I then shouted.

A bright light briefly illuminated the entirety of the alleyway before Lyra manifested right in front of me.

|What did you call me for? I'm sleepy...|

"I need your help to fool someone. Now put on these clothes." I said as I pulled out a set of identical clothes to the ones I was wearing from [Alternate storage].

Imagining the scene that would most likely happen a few minutes from now, I couldn't help but to smile.

'Heh, Celi just gave me the perfect chance to do this.'

Let alone having another shiny thing in my collection, I could dispel all the skepticism Celi had about my identity if I did this right. 

As such, I watched as Lyra struggled to put on the clothes I gave her and thought of the script that I was going to make Lyra follow.

***

Araceli watched as a pair of Halflings approached her.

One had black hair and wore sunglasses, the other had gray hair and molten-red eyes that were infinitely familiar to her.

However, something was strange. The gray-haired girl - Aryl seemed more... divine somehow. 

'No, I must be hallucinating. There's no way Aryl would give off the vibe of a righteous Divine being.'

Pausing her obvious display of denial there, Celi turned her attention toward Aryl again.

"Aryl, can you introduce me to this guy?"

|Sure!| Aryl exclaimed joyfully. |He's Theodore Gray, my champi—|

But Aryl gulped in fear as she felt Theodore's glare on her. She then corrected her sentence. |I mean my friend!|

Theodore nodded and extended his hand out to Araceli.

"I've met you a few hours earlier but I couldn't greet you properly back then. I'm Theodore Gray. Like you just heard Aryl said, I'm her friend. Best friend, in fact. "

Araceli was about to shake Theodore's hand out of instinct but she suddenly stopped.

Theodore looked her actions with his head tilted in confusion. Before long, he let out a short gasp as he realized something.

"Ah sorry, it's your Skill, isn't it? Aryl has already told me about it but I'm just too forgetful sometimes."

"Haha, don't sweat about it. It happens to the best of us... maybe..."

After laughing awkwardly for a few seconds, Araceli suddenly asked. "So, how did you two meet?"

"We met in Avaron." Theodore answered immediately as if he was expecting this question from the start.

He then gestured for Aryl to continue.

Gulping, Aryl stuttered. "Um... well uhh... I was in the library at that time and accidently bumped into him while carrying a- a stack of book! He apologized to me and helped me pick the books back up from the ground. That's how we met. O- Oh and that was before I left Avaron to be a heretic inquisitor!"

Araceli mulled over the story Aryl had just told her.

'This sounds just like those romance novels!'

Coupled with the fact that Aryl had been acting really timid, stuttering every time she spoke, and shifting her eyes all over the place, Araceli could only come to a conclusion.

'Aryl's in love with Theodore...'

And she was very sure of her guess.

After all, what could Aryl have done in Theodore's room that made her sweat so much that her clothes were soaked? Why of course it was sex!

'Love can even change a person's personality, huh? Aryl's not acting like a thug when she's around Theodore.'

As such, Araceli gave Aryl a knowing smile.

Seeing Araceli's smile, Aryl tilted her head in confusion.

Even Theodore was looking at Araceli in confusion upon seeing this.

"Hey, you just thought of something bad, didn't you?"

***

"Hey, you just thought of something bad, didn't you?" I frowned as I saw Celi's smile that seemed really, really ominous to me for some reasons.

Noticing my glare, Celi hurriedly spoke. "I- It's nothing! You're just imagining things!"

Although I was still skeptical, I eventually let it go. I couldn't force anything out of her after all. At least not when I'm Theodore Gray.

It was then that Celi spoke up again. "Would you like to eat? There's still some leftovers in the kitchen. And I'm sure the chef won't mind us eating them."

'Now that I think about it...'

I was too busy with the preparations that I hadn't eaten anything since last night. And now, with Glacia not shooting spells at me anymore, I could feel that I was starving.

I then briefly glanced at Lyra and noticed that her eyes were sparkling and she was drooling a little at the mention of food. Seeing this, I couldn't do anything but to accept Celi's offer.

"I'd love to."

...

I was now sitting at a table with Lyra and Celi.

Since the food was cold, Celi decided to use her Fire magic to reheat it voluntarily.

'Strange... she was opposed to being reduced to a stove just a while ago. Why is she doing this now?'

But I didn't have time to think about it any further as Celi suddenly stopped using her magic and stood up.

"I need to go to the restroom. I'll be back real quick. Oh and the food's completely reheated again so enjoy!"

Watching Celi's departing figure, I widened my eyes as I realized something.

'Isn't this...!'

A good chance to test my resolve?

Ever since I've failed to bring myself to kill Glacia earlier, I had been doubting whether or not I actually had the determination to go through with many of my future plans or not. Thus, I wanted to see if I was capable of being heartless without the use of [F - Emotionless].

And the condition right now was just right!

Araceli had just 'coincidently' went to the restroom. 

Lyra and I were 'coincidently' the only one in the dinning area right now.

<[Alternate storage]>

And half of this vial of Wyvern poison was 'coincidently' poured into Celi's water glass.

...

After Celi came back from the restroom, she sat down and enjoyed the meal with us.

After the meal, I watched in anticipation as she gulped down her glass of water. Thankfully, she drank it without much thoughts.

'To think that it looks and tastes just like normal water... Wyvern poison is truly scary. Now I just need her to deactivate her Skill for a moment to make the poison take effect.'

As I was thinking that, Celi suddenly spoke up as she put her glass down. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"N- Nothing!" I replied with a stutter. I then gestured for Lyra to continue with the script ahead of time to change the topic.

Nodding, Lyra spoke up. |Alright, we will be having a umm... strategy meeting right now, Araceli.|

"Like, right now? The others aren't back yet..."

|It's better this way. They're better off not attending this meeting.|

"Then..." Celi gulped a mouthful of saliva in nervousness. "...Wh- What is it that you want me to do?"

|You need to uhh...|

"..."

|...|

'She forgot her lines, didn't she?'

Judging by the fact that Lyra was now looking at me with a pleading gaze, it seemed that my thoughts were correct.

Sighing, I decided to finish her sentence for her.

"Look, what Aryl is trying to say here is—"

I reached into my pockets and took out a paper containing the layout of the auction house... along with its underground sections.

"—Memorize this and be prepared. You might be getting your revenge sooner than you might have thought."

***

Reiner, Zakadon, Nevih, Eileen, Araceli, and Aryl were standing right in the reception hall of the Auction house of duke Pyrian's territory - Pyriaville auction house.

Since this was the largest auction house in the Empire, its interiors were more lavish than anyone could have expected.

While everyone were staring at the majestic auction house with sparkles in their eyes, Aryl merely yawned and tapped her foot on the ground with her arms crossed in impatience.

"How long are you going to leave your mouth hang open? Everyone's looking at us as if we're some country bumpkins."

Hearing this, Nevih snapped his head around to glare at the nobles that were giving them dirty looks. He then shouted as he reached for his sword.

"Unforgivable! To insult the Hero of Storms with your dirty gaz—"

"Someone give him a slap to the head." Aryl sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

Heeding to Aryl's words, Zakadon used his big hand to slap Nevih hard on the back of his head, nearly knocking him out.

"Why am I even keeping a party as dysfunctional as this..." Aryl sighed. 

She then made her way toward Reiner and handed him a bag full of Platinums.

"Here is 150 Platinums."

Widening his eyes in surprise, Reiner handled the bag with utmost care.

'Wh- What!? Why is she handing me this much money?' He thought.

Not caring about the burden she had just placed on Reiner, Aryl spoke. "If any [Wyrm blood] shows up, buy it at all cost. I don't care if the amount exceeds 150 Platinums. Just make sure you win the bid."

She then handed Reiner the brooch that she always kept with her. "Show this to the receptionist. She will take you to the VVIP room."

'I- Isn't this proof of her being the Imperial princess' servant? Why is she handing me these precious things?'

Directing her attention away from Reiner, who was holding things that were worth 10 times over his life in his hands, Aryl pulled out a unique-looking plastic card and called Araceli over.

"Celi, follow me."

Nodding, Araceli followed Aryl... into the restroom.

...

Reiner waited for an hour for Aryl and Araceli to come back. However, they didn't come out of the restroom however long he waited.

He had considered going into the restroom to check on them for himself but he ultimately decided against it.

'I'm don't want to do things that look indecent anymore. I just tricked a child into going into a suspicious alleyway a few days ago so I'm not going to be a pervert that peaks inside the women restroom now.'

Thus, he commanded Eileen to check the restroom in his stead.

As Eileen returned from the restroom, she shook her head, saying that she couldn't find them anywhere.

"What? Where could they have gone!?"

Although he would have liked to wait for Aryl to come back since he had an ominous feeling that something bad would happen, he couldn't as the auction was starting in mere minutes.

Thus, he had to enter the main auction house in spite of his instincts screaming at him not to.

Arriving before the receptionist, he flashed her the brooch.

"Princess Eleanor's servant?" The receptionist widened her eyes in surprise.

"No, I'm not." Reiner shook his head. "But someone who is entrusted me with this."

Thinking for a while, the receptionist spoke with a sigh. "It doesn't matter. We have to make sure that everyone who hold the brooch have the best experience. Please follow me."

Reiner and the rest of the party followed the receptionist to a luxurious room that was illuminated by a fancy golden chandelier. Reiner could feel the soft texture of the red carpet lying on the floor through his shoes as soon as he entered the room.

He then glanced to the front where a large window resided, giving him full view of the main auction hall.

However, something was strange. 

"Receptionist, what's that door over there for?"

The receptionist briefly glanced at the door adjacent to the room they were in and spoke.

"Ah, beyond that door is another VVIP room. We at the Pyriaville auction house implemented this kind of design to optimize social interactions between our clients!"

'Yea, social interactions that reek of blood...'

Reiner could already envision the scene of fat nobles marching into this room and sprouting profanities about how he bought the item that they coveted for. Maybe they would even kill him on the spot if they were crazy enough.

Leaving that horrifying thought aside, Reiner turned toward the other anomaly of this room: The second row of chair that was to the right of him.

"Receptionist, why is there an extra row of chair?"

The receptionist's smile stiffened for a moment. Clearly, she was hoping that no one would notice this weird placement of seats. But since her high-ranking client had asked her, she could only answer truthfully.

"To be honest, this year's number of participants is abnormally high, so we aren't able to provide spots for everyone. That's why you will have to share room with other VVIP clients."

Reiner nodded in understanding and sat down on a seat. Since he was basically getting the treatment that was supposed to be given to Aryl, he couldn't really complain much.

Following Reiner was the rest of the party members as they similarly sat down on the comfy seats.

Seeing this, the receptionist bowed one last time and exited the room.

As soon as the receptionist left the room, everyone but Reiner heaved sighs of relief.

"Haaaah... that lady was scary. Even though she is a beauty, I don't want her in my future harem." Nevih muttered.

"Kurghhh... I agree." Zakadon nodded.

Eileen seemed to have agreed with them too as she was holding onto Zakadon's arm while still slightly shaking.

Confused, Reiner asked. "I think she was beautiful rather than scary though, what are you talking about?"

Zakadon looked at Reiner as if he was a madman for a few seconds before nodding in understanding. "Kurgghhh... I forgot that you are so pathetically weak that you couldn't notice anything."

Although Reiner felt insulted, he still kept silent as he had to find out what was so scary about the receptionist.

Zakadon then continued. "Kurghh... that human girl... she was <A> ranked. And she reeks of blood too. To have an <A> ranked individual as a mere receptionist, it seems that the Empire is much stronger than the Great Clan."

He then muttered. "If that's the case, why is the Empire so desperate for the Great Clan's help then...?"

It was then that Reiner could suddenly hear a loud conversation right outside their VVIP room.

-"Arthur! Why are you late?"

-"Sorry Ria! I had to go look for Evelyn and Eleanor!"

-"I don't see them anywhere nearby... Did you not find them?"

-"I did! W- Well... not quite. It's just that Evelyn, she left a letter behind in her room saying that she was going to visit the city she was born in."

-"And Eleanor?"

-"...She also left a letter. She said that her mother summoned her for something important. Something about making first contact with a new contin—"

Before the man presumably named Arthur could finish his sentence, a groan interrupted him. 

-"Urghhh... politics. Even the Imperial princess can't enjoy her summer vacation."

Then, another voice could be heard. This time, it sounded much colder than the 2 previous voices.

-"I also agree with Ria. Can we just go inside and not bore ourselves with politics already? Even Glacia's getting bored, right?"

-"Nn!" An energetic voice of affirmation rang out. Judging by the pitch, Reiner could tell that it belonged to a young child.

However, an even more energetic voice rang out soon after.

-"That right! I'm boreddddd. Glacia, would you like to play with big sis Lucy here?"

Hearing this particular voice, Reiner felt a cold chill running down his spine all of the sudden.

'Wh- What's this ominous feeling?'

Before he could think more about the dread that was slowly building up inside him, he heard another voice.

-"Can we just enter already? Krista's already dozing off on my back, and so is Alicia. Seriously, I envy Amelia and Raun. They like being at the normal seats so they don't have to bore themselves with this. I'm starting to regret being an Elf. Having Krista snoring in my ears is not a good experience."

-"Alright alright! I'll go first!"

Then, the door was kicked open, revealing the sources of the voices.

They were Ria Pyrian, Arthur Kilvillain, Sylvia Ecertold, a small dragon girl with silver hair, Lucy Fertilus, and Marie Holftman, all in that order. Sitting on Lucy Fertilus' arm was the small dragon girl, and being carried on Marie's back was Krista Nightshade and a pink-haired girl.

Reiner knew too well who most of them were. After all, they were the targets whose information were given to him by Aryl.

'But the little dragon girl and the pink-haired girl... who are they?'

However, he couldn't think about it any further, as Lucy had already begun to run toward him with her free arm extended.

"Ah! It's the big bro that led me into that dark and suspicious alleyway devoid of people to give me candies! They were yummy! Do you have any left?"

Seeing the disgusted gazes his own party members and Arthur's group were giving him, Reiner could only let out a small curse.

"Fuck my life. Someone kill me already..."