Show Me Your Stats!-Chapter 190

He swept his cool gaze over the retainers standing tall before him, then soon turned his attention back to the window. Jinas glared sharply at Act’s back.

He had heard from Ayra that they were now in a cooperative relationship with the High Priest. Even so, he couldn’t erase the bad feelings he held toward the man. Jinas had personally witnessed the long-standing conflict between the temple and the Solar household as he grew up.

However, the man standing here wasn’t Hess Lu Jinas but the Chief Administrator of the Lord’s Castle. Jinas suppressed his personal grudges and calmly asked,

"I didn’t expect to meet the High Priest here."

"...Nor did I expect to come to this place myself."

Act replied in a cold voice and fell silent, as if unwilling to speak further. Bloom didn’t even glance at him, and Hera merely let out a faint chuckle. Only Gretel fidgeted anxiously, visibly restless—just as the study door opened and Ayra entered.

Since the beginning of winter, the Lord had always worn her robe deep over her head even inside the castle, as though something were so unbearably cold. She now pushed back her hood. With a simple gesture, she lit the fireplace, then smiled brightly and said,

"Ah, everyone came sooner than I expected. Sorry. The silk spiders suddenly started laying eggs, so I had to rush over to check."

"No need to apologize. As retainers, it is only proper that we wait upon our lord."

The Knight Commander, these days bordering on worshipful loyalty, responded at once. As Ayra moved the documents without lifting a finger, Act’s face stiffened. He stared intently at the artificial spirit flitting across the desk, stretching itself lazily across Ayra’s hand. Then, slowly, he asked,

"...Did you say silk spiders?"

"There are silk spiders beneath the castle producing skite silk."

"And why would that be..."

Act had started to ask why such creatures were beneath the castle but chose to close his mouth instead, perhaps thinking it better not to know. Jinas cast a brief glance toward Ayra’s collection shelf. It had been covered with cloth—perhaps due to Act’s presence. Jinas found, for the first time, that he rather liked that dreadful collection. Maybe the lofty High Priest would faint if he saw it.

"But where is Lord Janus today?"

"Oh, Janus is out digging some ground..."

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Unfamiliar with the context, Act once again furrowed his brow, but perhaps due to his pride, he asked nothing and maintained a stiff demeanor. Jinas didn’t like that either. He instinctively felt that Act and he were fundamentally incompatible. Even if Act were to become friendly with Ayra in the future, Jinas knew that the two of them would never get along.

"The reason I’ve called you all here is..."

Trailing off, Ayra slowly looked around at her retainers. Satisfaction crossed her face once, then concern passed through it. But it was brief. Before her retainers, Ayra spoke with a calm and firm expression.

"To be direct—about a month from now, a great disaster will strike the territory."

"A great disaster? But, Lady Ayra, are you not Lord Janus’s partner?"

Gretel asked cautiously, his eyes round in surprise. Like Gretel, Jinas was both puzzled and shocked by Ayra’s statement. Janus was a dragon, and Ayra was a dragon’s partner and a labyrinth mage. Jinas had believed, without doubt, that no more turmoil would befall the territory.

"Yes. To put it another way, even with a dragon, it will be hard to withstand what’s coming."

At Ayra’s words, the retainers' faces hardened. Dragons themselves were disasters—yet Ayra was saying that even with one, the coming catastrophe would be hard to survive. It was unbelievable, and no one wanted to believe it.

"...Just what exactly are you talking about?"

Perhaps unable to bear the mention of dragons any longer, Act finally opened the mouth he had kept tightly shut. Almost as if she had been waiting for that question, Ayra turned to face him, a faint smile on her lips.

"Do you remember the man named Janus? The one who fought the Karkal swarm last time?"

"Yes, I remember. He was quite a memorable man."

"That man is a dragon. And I am his partner."

At that overly simple explanation, Act frowned. He looked at Ayra once, then at the retainers, as if wondering if they were all playing a joke on him. With a face devoid of any warmth, like a man harboring ice in his chest, he spoke.

"I trust you are not joking with me."

"Why would I joke? I don’t joke about matters concerning my territory and its people. Think back again. Did that man who tore the Karkals apart really look human to you?"

The events of that day must have left a deep impression—Act’s face darkened. Jinas could fully understand how he felt. When Janus had bitten and ripped the Karkals apart, it felt like staring down a wild beast right in front of one’s nose—an unforgettable kind of terror.

While Act was struggling to accept the shocking fact that a dragon had taken up residence in the territory—and that the Lord was his partner—Ayra continued.

"I don’t know the exact nature of this disaster or who the enemy is. But I know for certain it’s coming. If I had to describe it... I’d call it a mage’s intuition."

A mage’s intuition... Jinas had no choice but to accept Ayra’s words. Anyone who had observed Ayra closely would know that she possessed an almost incomprehensible insight beyond human reasoning.

"When the disaster begins, begin the evacuation immediately, even if I’m not there. Once everyone has evacuated, no one is to leave the shelters until I give the signal. If no signal comes, stay in the shelters for as long as possible—remember that."

"Yes, my lady."

As all the retainers answered in unison, Ayra nodded in satisfaction, then slowly looked over Jinas and the others. The emotion rising on her face was a trust so powerful it was nearly unbelievable. It made Jinas’s chest tighten.

"Then for now, you’re all dismissed. We’ll speak more in detail later. I need to talk with the High Priest a bit more."

With a small smile and a gesture from Ayra, the retainers each withdrew, burdened with heavy thoughts.

Jinas glanced back at Ayra just before stepping out. She was speaking to the High Priest, whose expression was as unreadable as a sealed vault.

Even while fearing the unidentified disaster, Jinas felt a vague certainty that Ayra would not only persuade the High Priest—but save the territory as well. And so, he closed the study door.

❄

"Why didn’t you reveal the existence of a dragon? If you had, you wouldn’t have had to deal with my uncle or me giving you trouble."

After Ayra explained the situation with Janus and the evacuation until her mouth was dry, Act finally asked. He still seemed half in doubt about the looming disaster, but at least he no longer seemed to question the dragon’s existence.

‘You think I didn’t want to...?’

Ayra was on the verge of collapsing from overwork. Whenever the temple interfered in every matter, she’d felt an overwhelming urge to do just that.

But Janus still hadn’t abandoned the ridiculous idea of a so-called “secret relationship.” He went around firmly calling himself her consort. Of course, she couldn’t explain any of this to Act, so Ayra dressed it up nicely.

"As I said before, I understand how important the Morunka religion is in Solar. Rather than coercing people into reluctant obedience, I prefer to build proper cooperation. Does that answer your question?"

Though not fully convinced, Act relaxed his stiff expression and took a step back. After all, they had been at each other’s throats not long ago—he wasn’t going to trust Ayra so easily. Still, Ayra had saved his life, and so Act nodded in acknowledgment.

"...Understood. If such a situation arises, I will do my utmost to cooperate."

"Good. If the temple cooperates, the evacuation will be far easier than last time."

Just as Act thought the ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) conversation was over and began to rise, Ayra suddenly spoke, as if something had just occurred to her.

"Oh, about the Karkal incident. Do you happen to know anything related to that?"

Both Ayra and Act knew full well that all Teon had done in that incident was fraud. Act clicked his tongue lightly.

"At the very least, I know my uncle isn’t capable of something like that."

Still, he paused to think carefully in response to Ayra’s question. After a long moment with his gaze lowered, as if digging through memories, he opened his mouth.

"Just before the Karkal attack, I stopped by a mercenary office while looking for my mother and younger sister. I saw my uncle there, speaking with someone I’d never seen in Solar before."

"Can you tell me more? Any detail is helpful."

Act sipped warm tea as he recalled carefully. Soon, he shared as much as he could remember about the unfamiliar person.

"I'm sure they were from outside Solar. Their accent was different. It was an older woman... She had a peculiar habit of dragging out the ends of her sentences, and sometimes she’d just stare blankly into space mid-conversation."

"Dragging her words and spacing out at times..."

Ayra murmured, then a thought flashed through her mind like lightning. He abruptly raised his head and asked,

"Did she move her hands like this?"

He raised his fingers in a loose grip, then repeatedly and quickly opened and closed them. Act’s eyes widened as if wondering how Ayra could know and nodded.

"Yes, that’s exactly why my uncle seemed quite wary of her."

"...I see. Thank you. That was very valuable information."

Yes. Now it all made sense. Ayra had finally begun to guess the true identity of the ghost spy. A crooked smile formed on her lips.

Just as Act opened his mouth to ask something, having noticed that meaningful smile, the study door swung open—and Janus entered. Covered in dirt from digging, he had returned.

Janus simply brushed past Act with a glance, but Act leapt up as if scalded. Whether it was because the man was a dragon or because Act still believed he was unholy, his face went pale as he quickly said,

"Then I’ll take my leave now. I’ll come find you again later."