The Section Chief leaned back in his chair, brows drawn together as he rested a hand over his mouth, deep in thought.
He had been uncertain for some time about revealing what he had found out to the Guild Master, but after a little bit of thought, he realized that he had no other choice but to.
’He’s very likely already figured something out. If I act as though I’m unaware, he might choose not to mention it, but the fact that he won’t say anything... that’s the real problem.’
The Guild Master wasn’t someone who would directly confront someone about anything.
If he wasn’t satisfied with someone’s performance, he wouldn’t express it outright. Instead, he would quietly take note of it, his silence far more telling than words. The more someone disappointed him, the quicker his interest in them faded.
He was the kind of person who assigned value to people, measuring their worth based on what they could offer rather than who they were.
The more someone disappointed him, the lower their value became in his eyes, until eventually, they were no longer worth his attention at all.
This was the last thing the Section Chief wanted.
"...I’m curious. What have you found out about VILE - 2013?"
"I..." The Section Chief pursed his lips, sorting his thoughts in his mind before coming clean, "Although I am not entirely sure, there’s been some suspicion regarding Seth. I honestly don’t believe it is him, but there are too many things that simply don’t match up."
"Like?"
"Certain timings in certain situations. His appearance. It matches the time when the Jester first appeared. It was around the same time. There’s... just a lot of things."
The number of coincidences had piled up to a point where they could no longer be ignored.
Even though the Section Chief tried his best to turn a blind eye to the situation, he could no longer do that.
’I hope that I’m wrong, but it’s my duty to report this.’
"I have a file over here that I’ve compiled with all of my findings." The Section Chief leaned forward while placing a neat folder on the Guild Master’s desk. "There are still certain things that don’t quite make sense, but I thought it’d be good if I at least showed you this much."
"Mhm."
The Guild Master reached forward and grabbed the file.
He carefully read through the file while the Section Chief sat in silence across from him. The quiet sound of pages turning filled the room, and after a while, the Guild Master finally set the file down on the desk.
"This is not bad. I can see how your concerns came to be. If I were in your position, I’d also think the same."
"Then...?"
"There’s no need to worry."
The Guild Master smiled reassuringly.
"I’ve already handled the situation. The chances of him being the Jester are slim to none."
Reaching for his phone, the Guild Master played a certain video and showed it to the Section Chief.
"There was a reported sighting of the Jester during the Hourglass Gate incident. I assume you’re already aware of that much."
"Yes, I am."
The Guild Master tapped on the screen. A new video began to play.
"If you take a look here, you’ll notice that Seth was present within the Guild during the entire duration of the Hourglass Gate. In fact, he’s been consistently clearing gates alongside his team. Not only that, but the difficulty ranking of those gates hasn’t increased in the slightest. The chances of him being the Jester are slim to none."
"I am aware."
The Section Chief replied.
"...These two pieces of evidence are also why I don’t believe he’s the Jester. Still, I’m convinced there’s some kind of connection between them, considering all the suspicious coincidences surrounding him."
"You’re right to think that way."
The Guild Master nodded, acknowledging and appreciating the Section Chief’s concern.
"However, there’s no need to worry about that either. I’ve also checked in on that, and he has no connection with the Jester."
"He doesn’t?"
The Section Chief stared at the Guild Master in surprise. It was hard to believe, yet as he met the Guild Master’s deep, unwavering gaze, his astonishment began to fade, replaced by a quiet sense of acceptance.
"I understand."
"...I’m glad you do."
Interlocking his hands in front of him, the Guild Master leaned forward slightly, pressing his fingers just beneath his eyes in an indicative gesture.
"You of all people should be aware of my eyes. There aren’t many things that can escape my sight."
His eyes flickered for a brief moment, turning white for just half a second. The Section Chief tensed instantly, his body freezing under the intensity of the gaze, feeling completely exposed and vulnerable in that brief moment.
Thankfully, it lasted only a moment. The Guild Master leaned back against his chair, a faint smile appearing on his face, easing the tension in the room.
"He’s innocent. You can say that he’s unlucky with his timings."
"Is that so...?"
The Section Chief licked his lips, his throat drier than usual. After meeting the Guild Master’s gaze one final time, he nodded and rose from his seat.
"Very well, then."
He adjusted his clothes.
"If that’s the case, then I no longer need to worry. I quite like Seth, so I was hoping I was wrong. This puts me at ease."
"I’m glad it does. Take good care of him. He’s a great talent."
"I know, I know."
The Section Chief lazily waved his hand, moving toward the door.
"...I’ll take good care of him. He might bring us a surprise during the World Congress."
"Oh? I’m looking forward to it."
"Please do."
With that, the Section Chief reached for the door handle and stepped out, closing it behind him and leaving the Guild Master alone in the quiet room. The silence lingered for several seconds before the Guild Master’s fingers drummed against the table.
"...I’m really looking forward to it."
***
Trrrrr—!
The alarm woke me up in the morning.
"Ugh."
It was the weekend, and I didn’t have any work obligations. That said, there was still a certain appointment I needed to attend.
’I can’t believe I’m waking up early on my one day off.’
Groaning, I swung my legs out of bed and took a quick shower. After changing clothes, I left the dorms and headed toward the street, preparing to catch a cab to the studio.
’...I hope things can go well with them. I already have a lot of troublesome things that I need to handle. I don’t want to add another thing.’
Scrolling through my phone, I opened the Ranobe app.
"Right, it’s been a while since I last checked my profile. I wonder how many followers I have now."
─────
[Seth Thorne]
Posts: 1 Followers: 104.3k Following: 0
─────
"....!"
My eyes jumped up in surprise.
This was a lot higher than I had previously anticipated. I could also see that it was still increasing. The number of notifications that I was receiving was a lot. Thankfully, I had it all muted beforehand.
’I guess the Trials really did help boost my popularity.’
That being said, it was still nothing compared to Kyle and Zoey.
’Right, if I recall correctly, doesn’t Zoey have a lot of followers?’
I moved to find her profile.
─────
[Zoey Terline]
Posts: 76 Followers: 23.2M Following: 2
─────
"Oh, wow."
This was even more absurd than I remembered. She really did have a lot of followers.
Scrolling through her stuff, I suddenly noticed a shadow cast over my phone, and when I turned over, I caught a glimpse of a pair of green eyes staring at my phone.
"That’s my profile, isn’t it...?"
I froze.