It felt as if the very air had been sucked out of the room.
I froze on the spot, unable to react at all as the pair of dimples before me grew even more pronounced. Myles’s gaze changed as he stared at me. It was almost as if he was taking amusement in the situation.
As if... he was some sort of predator that had just caught its prey.
"Why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t tell me that—"
"You’re speaking nonsense."
Snapping out of it, I leaned back on my chair while looking at the rat with the same poker face I had worn from the start. While my inner emotions were in turmoil, I was still able to maintain my poker face.
’Good thing for all of the scenarios that I’ve gone through.’
Had it been the me of the past, there’d have been a good chance I’d have given it away with my expression.
But even so...
"You think I’m the Jester? That anomaly?"
I purposely furrowed my brows while staring at the rat. Despite my best attempt at trying to look calm, I was still unable to calm my inner turmoil as the loud and rhythmic beat of my heart echoed loudly within my chest.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
It was so loud that my entire body tensed, worried that the rat would pick up on the sound.
Unfortunately, it almost did seem like he could pick up on it as the dimples on his face grew even more pronounced.
"You’re right. It’s absurd to think that a person is the Jester..." The rat chuckled, lightening his tone. "After all, the Jester is an anomaly that appeared within an <A>-ranked gate. It also managed to do quite a lot of harm to some powerful members. There’s no way someone like you can be the Jester, right? Last I recall, you’re just a regular human."
"....."
I didn’t answer, feeling the rhythmic thumping of my own heart beating louder than ever.
The rat’s words made sense. It was the main thing I had banked on in order to avoid all suspicion, but what if...?
What if the rat had figured something out?
’It’s not like it’s impossible. Given everything that has happened, I know there’s a chance he might pick something up. Is it possible that he saw something during the time I was in the mirror world?’
My chest tightened.
The rhythmic thumping inside of my chest grew faster, the muscles inside my body tensing more than ever as I tried my best to look as calm as possible.
Staring at the rat, I took a slow breath before opening my mouth.
"Where are you getting at?"
The rat smiled.
He was really enjoying the situation.
"Logically speaking, it makes no sense for you to be the Jester. However, if you analyze things closely, you realize that there are a lot of things that don’t make sense."
"Like?"
"Like the fact that the Jester only acts when someone within our Guild is involved. From the first gate that Senior Clara went through, to the one in the museum, to the hourglass gate, and to the trials... Notice how he’s always involved in a gate revolving around the Guild. Not only that, but at the same time he first appeared was also the moment you appeared."
"...."
I could hardly concentrate.
From the constant and loud beat of my heart, to the faint shivers that I felt running down the back of my spine.
This...
I couldn’t argue at all.
"There’s also the fact that whenever the Jester appears, the rank of a gate increases. In the case of the trials, we both know the situation changed because of the interference of a third party, but that doesn’t change the fact that the rank of the gate increased."
"...."
For a moment—
Just a split second—I almost felt the poker face that I was trying so hard to maintain nearly crumble. It took every last bit of my willpower to maintain it as the rat continued, seemingly enjoying the situation as I clenched my fists tightly under the desk.
This was also true...
"It’s interesting, right? This is something that we all learned, and..." The rat looked at me, the dimples on his cheek fading slightly. "It turns out that you encountered an incident with a gate within the Guild where the rank increased."
The rat laughed.
"Of course, it was just an incident, and apart from that, you didn’t have any more incidents."
"Right..."
I had another strong alibi for this point as well.
Thanks to the doppelgänger, I was able to cast away a lot of the potential doubts. But even now, I was still unsure of the full mechanism of the gate increase.
There existed certain occasions where it didn’t trigger.
’Yeah, this makes the case better for me.’
For just a moment, I started to feel better. Maybe he didn’t have...
"Of course, I’m sure you’re very much aware of the fact that the Jester appeared in the same gate that the two of us were in during the Trials. But you know what’s the most amusing thing about the situation...?" The dimples on the rat’s face grew more pronounced, his expression causing my heart to tighten for the briefest of moments. "The moment you disappeared was also the moment that the Jester appeared. The moment you came back was also the moment the Jester disappeared."
I felt the very air get sucked away from my lungs.
This...
"But you know what’s even better? It’s the fact that somehow you knew exactly where the others were the moment you came back, even going as far as kicking the one responsible for the entire incident."
The smile on the rat’s face grew even creepier, the dimples so clear that I felt my entire body tense at the sight.
"...Surely this can’t be a coincidence, right?"
With a small chuckle, the rat’s eyes narrowed as his smile faded, and his voice grew colder.
"I don’t think so."
The tension in the room grew even more pronounced as I stared at the rat. The dimples on his face were gone now, and in their place was a rare coldness.
One that chilled my entire body.
But—
Despite the situation, staring at his face, I couldn’t help but feel the corner of my lips pull into a smile.
"You’re finally revealing your true face."
The tension in my body started to ease.
"I was wondering how long you’d keep that facade of yours. I was growing quite tired of it."
The rat paused for a moment, but soon smiled innocently.
"Facade? What are you talking about? I’m just here to confront someone who can possibly be an anomaly. It’s my job."
"Is that so?"
I leaned further back against my chair, tapping my hand against the desk.
"I do have to say that your words do make sense. It certainly does feel suspicious if you put it the way that you do."
"I know, right...?"
"Okay." I nodded faintly, staring directly at the rat. "Let’s say that I’m the ’Jester’ like you suggest. I know for a fact that you can’t prove it. All of the things that you’ve mentioned are merely speculative. There’s no real evidence or proof behind it. You, of all people should be aware of my strength. If you really thought I was the Jester, I would’ve had no problem killing you earlier."
"That’s true." The rat smiled. "But it’s not like you’d be dumb enough to try anything within the Guild. I can’t prove that you’re the Jester, but I can mention it. In fact, I’m sure you’re aware that I’m probably not the only one who figured out this much. Nobody in this Guild is stupid. I’m sure everyone has some sort of idea."
My heart tightened at the thought.
Indeed... if he put it that way, he had a point. I also believed the Guild wasn’t stupid enough to not see the things that the rat could see. They may not have done anything yet, but the cracks were starting to show.
"...."
It was starting to become incredibly difficult to keep my expression firm.
Still, I managed to hold on as I stopped drumming my fingers over the desk.
"Let’s say all of this is true. What do you want from me?"
"What do I want?"
The rat paused, his expression slackening for a moment before the dimples on his face returned as he passed a piece of paper across the desk.
"Accept this offer. Leave this Guild."