Chapter 567: Comfort [1]

A decade?

I sucked in a cold breath, trying my best to maintain my expression. It was already obvious from the start that something was wrong, but I didn’t expect things to be this alarming.

’But what is going on? It hasn’t been long since they disappeared. How can they say that they’ve been stuck here for a decade? Is time here slower, or is there more to it that I don’t know?’

"Unfortunately, I’m still the same rank. I wasn’t able to get much higher."

Leon looked completely unfazed by the revelation.

In fact, he played along with it.

"...Is that so? That’s unfortunate. I guess your talent got squeezed dry in the end. That’s normal. I’ve seen many hit their limit. But still, you’ve ranked very high. There’s no shame in what you’ve achieved."

Patting Leon’s shoulder, the man adjusted his thin circular frames.

"Just be glad that you’ve even ranked so high. At least, because you got such a high ranking, you weren’t forced to take over missions for the BUA that you didn’t want to take. Just like us."

Chuckling, he looked back at the group, who raised their glasses and each had a drink.

"Haa."

Wiping his chin, the man turned his attention towards me.

"Hmm. Who might you be? I don’t think I’m familiar with you. Are you a Squad Member of Leon’s group?"

"Something like that."

I, too, played along.

There was no need to reveal too much.

"Ah, is that so? You don’t look very strong."

I just smiled.

Leon glanced at me before looking back at them.

"Tell me more about how you got here."

"Oh, it’s really not that big of a story." The leader of the group, whom I presumed was the leader, answered, took another sip of his drink.

"We were all carrying out orders from the bureau. You know, the usual. There’s been a recent report regarding a certain point. What was it again? Point Alpha? No... Hmm, it’s been a while."

"Point Z."

Leon calmly answered, prompting the man to snap his finger.

"Ah, that’s right!"

He took another sip.

"Yes, Point Z. That’s the place. We were ordered to investigate the place by the bureau and sent down there. It was recently found information, but apparently, Point Z had some sort of involvement in the appearance of the Mist. We were all sent down there to investigate the validity of the report."

"And...?"

"Hmm, I don’t quite remember after that."

Taking another sip of his drink, the man scratched the side of his cheek.

"It’s been so long. From what I remember, we did find something. I think I have it in my pocket. Let me check."

Patting his clothes, the group leader tried to look for something, but then, as if recalling something, he smacked his forehead.

"Ah, right! I think it’s in my room. Yeah, it’s in my room. I’ll go get it later for you guys. I presume that you’ve come to look for us for that information, right?"

"...Yes, but we were also asked to bring you guys back."

The smiles on the group’s faces froze at once.

For just a moment, something darker flashed across their visions as their smiles faded.

"Do not do that."

The group leader’s voice deepened, his grip over the drink tightening.

"...Do not send us back. We are happy over here."

The air seemed to chill as his eyes trembled.

For a moment, I nearly forgot how to breathe.

But then—

"Well, alright."

Leon shrugged his shoulders.

"Since you guys don’t want to return, I won’t force you. So long as you share the information with us, I won’t cause you guys any more trouble. Is that okay?"

"....."

"....."

"....."

The tense silence continued as the group all looked at Leon rigidly.

But eventually, their smiles returned.

"That’s perfectly fine."

"...Haha, for a moment, I thought we’d have to fight. That’s great! It’s great that you understand. This place is great!"

They cheered.

"We’re not treated like trash over here. We can drink, sleep, and have fun every day. Nobody forces us to do anything! It’s practically paradise. And you know what’s the best part about this place? We can all leave at anytime we want! Nobody forces us to be here, haha!"

The group laughed once more.

Leon laughed alongside them, and I, too, tried my best to laugh. To merge with the group.

But the more I pretended to laugh, the sicker I felt.

This place...

’It’s trying to keep us here.’

I sucked in a cold breath, shifting my attention towards Leon. He continued to chat with the group until he eventually thought of something.

"In that case, how about you hand me the keys to your room so my squad member can go to your room and pick up the information that you’ve found? After that, we’ll get out of your way so that you can all enjoy your party."

"Hahaha!"

The group leader laughed, his laugh loud enough to echo everywhere.

"But of course! There’s no problem with that!"

He turned his attention towards me, taking out a set of keys.

"My room is located on the third floor. My room number is 77. You should be able to find it easily."

He tossed me the keys with no reservation as he reached back for another drink.

At the same time, Leon looked at me with a smile.

"I’ll stay here with them. You go ahead and look for the information. We’ll meet up down here."

"...Alright."

Looking at the keys and then Leon, I turned around and moved away from the group. In all honesty, I had mixed feelings about the situation. On one hand, I felt Leon’s attitude to be strange.

Was he really handing me the keys like that? Did he not know that this was a competition? Whoever found the information would most likely get the highest points in the Congress?

While on the otherhand, I felt that perhaps I may have misjudged Leon.

He was a Paragon.

Not just any Paragon, but someone who had reached the very top.

He probably knew when to put his pride aside and do the best thing for the mission. Or maybe he was just using me to find the information before snatching it from me.

’I don’t know. I’m starting to feel really confused about his attitude.’

Whatever the case was, there was no use dwelling on it at the moment. For now, the most important thing was to find out the information the group leader had mentioned.

At the very least, finding the information would help me with my current ongoing quest.

Even if something did happen to the information, I wouldn’t lose out too much.

Thus, without wasting any more time, I headed towards the main part of the castle. At the same time, however, I glanced back in the direction of the man who had greeted us at the start and stared at him.

I didn’t know why, but I felt like staring at him.

And as he sensed my gaze, he raised his head to look at me, smiling as he waved.

I nodded back.

Then, tightly holding onto the keys in my hand, I entered the main castle.