Rian tapped his fingers on the surface of his desk. He then turned toward Emma Wiliams, who stood gracefully beside his seat.
"Hasn't Natasha arrived yet?" he asked, his tone sounding slightly impatient.
"My Lord, Natasha will be arriving shortly." Emma tapped the empty space before her with her index finger. Suddenly, a magic screen appeared, displaying the view outside Felius Castle.
Emma slid the screen in front of Rian.
Rian looked at the screen with surprise. As I recall, Felius Castle doesn't have a defense mechanism for monitoring the situation outside… ah, right. He remembered his order to Emma and Belial on the Fifth Floor, Elavin, to strengthen the castle's defenses.
He looked at the crystal-clear image on the blue screen. The screen didn't just show one point of view, but various angles surrounding Felius Castle, creating a 360-degree monitoring mechanism with no blind spots.
"Look, My Lord. That's Natasha and her squad." Emma leaned closer to Rian, pointing to five black dots slowly approaching them.
Rian glanced at the two large orbs now hanging by his left side, then unconsciously swallowed. I have to be patient and resist this damn temptation… and also, why does she smell so good? He could smell a very fragrant scent from Emma's body.
Could I ask for a little of her perfume? The ridiculous thought suddenly crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. Where would I hide my face if I asked my own subordinate for perfume?
Rian turned his gaze back to the screen. He saw Natasha and her squad landing on the wide road leading to the First Floor gate. He caught sight of an object covered by a tarp, and… a flag being taken down by the Ninja Demons from their dragon mounts.
"How could that flag be here?!" Rian unconsciously shot up from his chair and shouted in shock.
Emma was startled by her master's reaction. She immediately shifted her gaze to what Rian was looking at. It was a flag with a strange pattern. Emma's eyes narrowed, radiating seriousness.
That must be a country's flag! And also… why didn't Natasha report something this important sooner? Does she have some ulterior motive? No, based on her personality as a knight, she would never dare to rebel.
Ah, I see…
So, Natasha wanted to be praised by Lord Arthur for finding important information. That's why she didn't report it earlier.
Wait a minute… the ninja demon monster that Belial gave to assist Natasha's exploration… is one missing? Emma noticed that the number of ninja demons in Natasha's squad was now reduced. Did they encounter an enemy?
Rian's mind was now a chaotic mess of questions. Why is that flag in this world? Could it be… that Avanheim and I weren't transported to a medieval fantasy world?
No! I should have realized it sooner, with all those clues! So… this is why this place felt so familiar! I was too fixated on those novels, which made me think Avanheim's situation would be the same as in them.
Then, if this isn't another world… what's the reason Avanheim is in this place? And how can the magic, skills, and items from Avalon still be used normally?
"My Lord, do you recognize that flag?" Emma's soft voice jolted him from his reverie, her expression filled with curiosity.
Rian sat back down, then answered firmly. "Yes, I recognize that flag."
He dared to admit it. This was for his future. If he pretended to be ignorant now, he would only regret it later. He would have a hard time controlling Avanheim's direction, and the situation could spiral out of his control. He would also struggle if he suddenly showed knowledge he shouldn't have, such as about the conditions and technological level of the country that owned the flag. At that point, he would only be creating lies to cover other lies, and that inconsistency would destroy his reputation in the eyes of the Floor Guardians.
That… must not be allowed to happen.
Emma was not at all surprised by the admission. In fact, she felt it was to be expected. So, my analysis was correct. Lord Arthur himself moved Felius Castle to this location. Come to think of it, this does make sense. Besides Lord Arthur, who else could do it? Felius Castle is protected by the 'Camelot' World Class Item, which has an anti-teleportation effect. Without someone on the inside momentarily disabling it, it would be impossible to move this castle without triggering a single alarm.
Lord Arthur's grand plan… is truly magnificent. I can only guess at a small part of it.
Rian turned to Emma. "Let's go meet Natasha," he said, then, a bit awkwardly, extended his hand to Emma.
Seeing her master's action, Emma froze for a moment. Then, her mind was filled with her various wild fantasies. Ahh! Lord Arthur is holding out his hand to me! Her breathing quickened.
Rian immediately regretted it. "Emma? Are you all right?" he asked hesitantly.
WHOOSH! Emma immediately leaped at her master and hugged him tightly. "Lord Arthur! I love you!"
Damn it! I should have known this would happen! Rian screamed frantically in his mind.
"Calm… calm down, Emma! We have to go meet Natasha now!" Rian said in a panic, trying to calm Emma's crazed behavior as she began to feel up his clothes.
Hearing that, Emma immediately came to her senses. She quickly prostrated herself and apologized. "I am sorry, Lord Arthur, for my very insolent behavior just now," she said, her voice full of regret.
Rian got up from his sprawled position and stood. "It's fine, I forgive you. Let's go now," he said in a firm tone. Damn it, so awkward. I won't let this happen again. He was extremely embarrassed and just wanted to get out of there.
Emma rose, then gently accepted Lord Arthur's hand, which was once again extended to her.
Rian immediately activated the Ring of Avanheim and teleported to the First Floor, Aesir. The shadows of the two of them vanished from the Ruler's office in a faint flash of blue light.
...
Rian opened his eyes and found himself back on the First Floor, Aesir—the territory guarded by Natasha Evergarden.
This place was more like the Throne Room on the Ninth Floor than the design of the other floors in Avanheim. Rian saw a magnificent king's chair with their guild flag—a Sun with a golden wheat symbol beneath it, set against a dark blue background—mounted above the throne. The ceiling was adorned with a magic crystal chandelier that cast a beautiful white light. On its left and right sides stood rows of silver knight golems holding various weapons, such as axes, swords, and spears.
My first impression of this floor's design… is very knightly. It reflects the image of a Knight King! It really suits Natasha Evergarden as a Floor Guardian whose defining feature is being a knight.
Rian walked up the steps to the throne. This room had been personally designed by Millennium to suit his created NPC, with the help of Fitria Da Vinci, of course. From the various Renaissance-style ornaments and paintings here, he could clearly see the hallmarks of Fitria's design, the same as on the Ninth Floor.
Rian sat on the throne while waiting for Natasha and her squad to enter. His hand released the Staff of Avanheim, letting it float not far from him.
Emma herself stood gracefully to the left of the throne, accompanying her Master while waiting for Natasha.
Rian rested his head on his right hand and thought.
Can I see my family again?
A glimmer of hope appeared in his heart. This made his hand tremble with happiness.
Emma noticed this, but decided not to ask about it.
Then, suddenly, the gate to the First Floor opened. The light from outside shone in his eyes.
There, Rian saw Natasha walking toward him. Behind her was a woman in a maid's dress with long blue hair and fair skin. Her beautiful face radiated an intellectual aura.
So she's the Ninth Oath Maid named Epsilon? Hmm… she's an NPC created by Noah, right? I didn't know her before because my relationship with Noah wasn't as close as with the other guild members.
The Ninth Oath Maids were combat maids designed by several of his friends, so not all of them had the same creator.
Natasha, Epsilon, and the three ninja demons knelt respectfully before the Supreme Ruler of Avanheim.
"Raise your heads," Rian commanded in a serious and authoritative tone. "And can you tell me what information you have gathered?"
Even as he said this, his gaze was fixed on the object covered by a tarp next to Natasha and the flag held by Epsilon.
It really is… the flag of the United States! Now I can say for sure where Avanheim is!.. Avanheim is now on the fourth planet in the Solar System! Mars!!!
"Lord Arthur, as you commanded, we went west from Felius Castle's location," Natasha reported. "Along the way, we found no signs of any living creatures. I even began to think this place was a dead world, before the ninja demons found this."
Natasha immediately ordered Epsilon to unfurl the flag she was holding and told the ninja demons to remove the tarp covering the strange machine.
Rian and Emma narrowed their eyes when they saw the object that had been covered by the tarp.
Rian saw a white machine with various electronic devices on top of it. The machine also had four wheels and a camera mast on its back, as well as a signal transmitter.
The electromagnetic waves it's emitting are very weak. Is this rover broken? Rian could still feel the rover emitting electromagnetic waves, but they were very faint. Only someone with a certain level of mana sensitivity could feel this.
Rian was not surprised by the discovery of this rover. Because if this was Mars and there was a United States flag, it would be strange if a NASA rover wasn't found. A rover is a machine made by a space agency to explore the environment of planets outside of Earth. I learned about this in school.
So what I need to confirm is, what year is it now? From this rover's level of technology, I can confirm this isn't a rover from the '90s. This means it's probably a rover from the 2000s or later? Rian felt anxious thinking about this. If it was the 2000s, it would be pointless even if he met his parents.
Natasha then continued. "We found a machine similar to those in human cities, in a sand dune at the foot of Olympus Mons…."
Before Natasha could continue, she was cut off by Emma Wiliams. "Olympus Mons? Does that mountain have a name?" Emma asked with a dangerous look.
Natasha immediately realized her mistake. Naming an unnamed mountain near Avanheim's territory, without the permission of the Supreme Beings, is an act of treason.
"I apologize! I correct my statement… I took the name of this mountain from the information on this strange machine. Epsilon, show them immediately," Natasha requested hurriedly.
Epsilon immediately turned the strange machine over and showed the sentence in the Monian language written on its body."Rover Prometheus - NASA. Mission: Explore the foot of Olympus Mons," she read aloud for Lord Arthur and Secretary-General Emma to hear.
Emma nodded, then spoke. "It seems there are players from Avalon in this world…."
Huh? Rian turned to Emma, then looked at the sentence. What is it? Why did Emma suddenly conclude there are players from Avalon?
"Yes, I was thinking the same thing. That's why I didn't report this information to Lord Arthur and the Secretary-General sooner," Natasha said firmly, agreeing with Emma's opinion.
Rian wanted to ask why Emma and Natasha thought there were Avalon players on Mars, but then he knew if he did that, he could shatter the mask he'd been wearing and disappoint his subordinates.
"Epsilon, what is your opinion on this?" Rian asked firmly to the blue-haired maid who had been looking at him with a respectful gaze.
If I can't ask directly, I'll just use someone else to explain the question! Simple, right? Hehe, turns out the tricks I learned from anime are useful after all.
Epsilon was startled to hear him, then her face showed a happy expression. She immediately stood up and explained, using her hands for illustration. "Lord Arthur, I agree with Lady Emma Wiliams's and Lady Natasha Evergarden's opinion about the existence of Avalon players in this world." She walked slowly toward the white rover, her index finger pointing to the Latin script on its white body. "This is the script and writing of the Monian World. I never thought that this was the native script and writing of this world's inhabitants, so I thought in a more logical and reasonable direction: that it was players from Avalon who taught them to use our world's writing."
Epsilon bowed respectfully with her right hand over her heart before returning to her previous spot and kneeling respectfully again.
Rian was silent hearing Epsilon's opinion. Then, he screamed in his heart. It's precisely that illogical and unreasonable explanation that's the answer!
I now know why they concluded that there were Avalon players in this world. Although I don't believe only I and Avanheim were transported here, their conclusion is too premature.
The Monian language is English, and the English script is the Latin alphabet, that's why they think that way. I can't blame them for thinking like that. In the beginning, they were just a collection of data, Avalon was just a game, and the game Avalon was made by developers from the United States. Of course they would use English for the script and language in their game's lore because it's an international language that can be understood by most people in the world. Even though Avalon itself has an auto-translate feature, that doesn't necessarily change the main language used in Avalon's lore to another language.
I myself am speaking English right now, or in the minds of the Floor Guardians and residents of Avanheim, it's the Monian language. The Avanheim Guild itself is a global guild; its members aren't just from my country, but from various countries around the world. For example, Kazumi Fuchi and Kohmi Joshua, they are both from Japan. So, the language used between guild members is English. The auto-translate feature only translates text, not voice.
Rian then spoke. He looked at Epsilon and Natasha below him. "A good explanation, Epsilon. I commend your analysis. And for you two and the ninja demons, I will give you a reward for this important information."
As he was about to take an item from his inventory, he saw Emma was about to say something. He then pulled his hand back. "It seems the Secretary-General has something she wishes to ask you."
I give Emma permission to speak.
Emma replied with a smile. "Thank you, Lord Arthur, for allowing me to speak. Very well, I would like to ask Floor Guardian Natasha Evergarden something." Emma walked down to approach Natasha.
This made Natasha's face, hidden behind her silver helmet, break out in a cold sweat.
"Where is the other ninja demon?" Emma asked softly.
But this sentence was like a thunderclap for Natasha. Her body went limp.
Rian narrowed his eyes when he heard that. Is Natasha hiding information from me?
"If I'm not mistaken, Belial gave you four ninja demons, right? So, where is the other one?" Emma asked, her voice a little louder and more commanding.
Natasha immediately prostrated herself and apologized. "I am sorry, Secretary-General and Lord Arthur! I have failed you!"
Rian waved his hand at Emma. "That's enough, Emma. Tell me, what happened?" Rian asked Natasha in a commanding tone.
To him, losing one monster like a ninja demon was fine, but it was different if Natasha deliberately hid it. This would set a bad precedent for Avanheim in the future.
Natasha rose from her prostrate position and knelt respectfully again. This time, she looked at Arthur and Emma with a worried expression. Natasha recounted what had happened to them during their journey, and why one of the ninja demons was missing.
"So, you deliberately did not save that ninja demon?!" Emma asked in an angry tone.
Natasha said in a hesitant and stammering voice, "Y-yes… I thought that sacrificing one ninja demon to save a dragon was a worthy trade-off."
Hearing that answer, Emma grew even angrier. She said loudly, "With your abilities, you should have been able to save it! You know that's a waste of Avanheim's precious resources! This time it was just a ninja demon, next time you'll sacrifice a whole squad!" Emma's face was red with anger.
Natasha looked down at that, her hands trembling with fear, and chose not to answer Emma's words. Epsilon, kneeling beside Lady Natasha, broke out in a cold sweat and trembled.
Rian just sighed at this. Honestly, he wasn't as angry as Emma. At least Natasha had now learned a lesson and gained experience so she wouldn't repeat it.
"That's enough, Emma. Return to your position." Rian ordered Emma to return.
"Understood, My Lord," Emma said. She returned to stand beside the throne.
Rian looked at Natasha, Epsilon, and the three ninja demons, who had their heads bowed. Then he spoke, his voice echoing in the Hall of Aesir.
"I was thinking of giving you a reward. But because of the mistake Natasha made, I will not. Therefore, this is your punishment: there will be no reward for your achievements on this mission. Are you satisfied?" he asked.
Natasha, Epsilon, and the three ninja demons answered in unison, "We are satisfied."
"Good. In that case, I will conclude this report. You may return to your previous duties," Rian nodded.
They began to get up. Epsilon and the three ninja demons went to the Inter-Floor Gate, while Natasha remained there, kneeling.
Seeing that, Rian was confused and took the initiative to ask, "What is it, Natasha?"
Natasha answered in a firm, knightly tone, "I have not yet submitted the full report on this mission."
"Then give it to Emma." Rian turned to Emma.
Emma understood and walked toward Natasha.
Natasha immediately rose from her kneeling position and opened her inventory space in the air. She took out the written report that she and Epsilon had prepared, and at the same time handed over the item Emma had given her and the magic item that served as a storage for the images and videos Epsilon had taken during the mission.
Emma took the report and returned to her position.
"I request permission to leave." Natasha asked for Lord Arthur's approval, her expression still showing a hint of guilt for her mistake.
Rian nodded in agreement, allowing Natasha to leave. Natasha immediately used her teleportation magic and went to her room, leaving behind a faint blue shadow.
"Emma, summon Monica, Felix, and Merlin here. I want to discuss something important about this with them." Rian turned to Emma beside him.
"I will carry it out at once, Lord Arthur." Emma nodded gently, her expression calm on her beautiful white face.
Emma was about to walk toward the Inter-Floor Gate, but she was stopped by a sentence from her Master.
"Wait a moment, Emma. I want to give you something." Rian took a Ring of Avanheim from his inventory and gave it to Emma.
"This is…?" Emma's calm face showed an expression of disbelief at the object in her palm.
Calm, calm. I just need to make this expression seem as if it's normal, don't make a shy or exaggerated expression. Hmm… Rian feigned a soft cough. "I thought this item would be suitable for you, Emma. As a Secretary-General, with this item you can travel to various floors instantly without needing to use the Inter-Floor Gate," he said in a calm tone, his face showing a slight, sweet smile.
Hearing that and seeing the smiling expression from her Master, Emma felt an incredible feeling in her heart. Her heart pounded, and her breathing became irregular.
"Uh… Emma?" Crap, is she going to be like last time? Rian quickly activated Eight-Sequence Magic: Shield Barrier to cover his body.
Emma then looked at Arthur and said in a very cute and sweet voice and expression, "Thank you, Lord Arthur. I will surely take good care of this Ring and work as hard as possible to repay your kindness." Emma smiled and leaned toward Rian before pulling back.
"I look forward to it," Rian replied with a smile.
Emma immediately used the Ring of Avanheim to teleport to the Second Floor.
After seeing Emma leave, Rian could finally breathe a sigh of relief. "So exhausting."