Isekai Online Game Developer

“Are we really having a celebration banquet this time?”

“Yeah. His Majesty seems to be enjoying it as if he conquered it himself. I’ve even heard that during this celebration banquet, he plans to tell the [Corruption Power Warrior] that he wants to join the Zatume Expedition.”

“Hmm. Honestly, participating at that level is basically just getting carried along.”

We’re on the first floor of the Illusion Tower. If you had to call it something, maybe a lobby?

Even if it’s called a lobby, it honestly feels more like a messy living room.

There hadn’t been any guests for a while, so it was only natural.

I thought it was about time we tidy up and raise the height of our tower a bit.

“It seems like you really wanted Zatume’s helmet, huh?”

“Hmm. I doubt Galleard would be too happy about that.”

But lately, there have been a few guests coming by.

The Blue-haired Merchant and Galleard have been visiting from time to time, and recently, Rikal has stopped by the most.

“If it’s that old warrior, then yeah. I’ve heard he’s been stubborn since way back.”

“Yeah… well. So he must’ve insisted on something ridiculous, like having offline strategy meetings.”

In my previous life, I also spent a lot to join an expedition just to get Zatume’s helmet.

Later on, they start making rules for dividing raid boss drops, but it seems it’ll take some time for that to happen in this world.

There aren’t that many users able to tackle Zatume yet.

Most importantly, the number of users is still low.

We need to get permission to start mass-producing artifacts soon.

Hina has been busy with the Zatume expedition lately, so that’s been delayed.

It’s about time we start on the next tasks.

Hurf…

Rikal casually sipped the mix coffee I made for him.

Now that I think about it, why has he been visiting so often these days?

“…So, you’ve been coming by often lately? It’s not like Trinity and the Institute are close by.”

“Close enough. It doesn’t even take a day to get here.”

“It takes over three hours, though.”

“That’s what I call close.”

“Is there something going on at the Imperial Castle?”

Hurf…

Rikal silently gulped down his coffee.

“I really think it would be best to reveal Zebit’s true identity at the celebration banquet…”

“Pfft— Hey, hey! Don’t say something crazy like that!”

“So hurry up and say it. Why do you keep coming by to bother me every day when I too have things to do?”

“Do you want to die?”

“Go ahead and try. If I die, there’ll be an announcement in ‘Maple Leaf Story’ revealing that Zebit is the Third Prince.”

“Shut up…”

Rikal rolled his eyes at me in annoyance.

Even if he says that, I know Rikal won’t actually kill me.

Despite that attitude, he’s very serious about ‘Maple Leaf Story.’

I was getting used to his nasty personality. Of course, I still didn’t like it.

“Ha… It’s just annoying how my brother keeps asking me about Zebit whenever we meet.”

“Brother? You mean His Crown Prince? Why would he ask you about Zebit’s identity? Did he catch on?”

“I don’t think so, but I think he’s assuming that I know Zebit from that time at the Illusion Tower.”

He must be talking about the time when the Crown Prince came to deliver an invitation.

From the Crown Prince’s perspective, he’d think of it as Rikal being at the Illusion Tower when Zebit was there.

He probably thinks there’s a connection between Rikal and Zebit.

More like, there is a connection because Rikal is Zebit.

“Is it really an understandable misunderstanding? Still, I wouldn’t think he’d bother to ask a prince.”

“Since he can’t ask the Illusion Tower for info, he must have asked me since no one knows Zebit’s true identity.”

I had wrapped things up stating that Zebit’s identity wouldn’t be fully disclosed for health reasons.

So nobody knows about Zebit’s family.

I also haven’t answered any of the numerous requests directed at Zebit.

Of course, there are still overzealous fans, but up until now, I’ve come to understand Zebit’s position in the world to some extent.

Still, having the Crown Prince asking Rikal about Zebit’s identity…

It seems he really wants to see Zebit.

“Could it be that His Crown Prince is a fan of Zebit too?”

Rikal’s expression soured.

It looked like it was indeed true.

What was it called again? I’ve heard there’s a fan club for Zebit.

And among them, there were many noblemen wanting to cure Zebit’s illness or marry him.

“Ha! Speaking of which, His Crown Prince is still unmarried, right? Why not consider becoming a Crown Princess?”

Kukukuk…

I just couldn’t hold back my laughter.

Seeing Rikal’s usual rude expression distort was oddly satisfying.

“…Shut up.”

“Who would’ve thought you’d play the field with His Crown Prince? Truly amazing! You’d be the idol of ‘Maple Leaf Story!’ Isn’t it just a line of noblemen queuing up?”

Swish…

Rikal drew his sword at me as I was clutching my stomach from laughing.

I quickly summoned a clone and ran away.

Rikal slashed at the clone.

“Ha… Damn it!”

He threw his sword to the ground in frustration.

It must be pretty annoying to think his brother has a crush on him as a woman.

“Ahahaha… So, I guess this means you’ll be skipping the celebration banquet.”

“…I have to attend.”

“Eh?”

“Do you know a user named [Gaidore Sit]?”

“I do.”

Of course, I know her very well.

Even if I didn’t, I doubt anyone would remain unaware after this expedition.

She’s the only commoner in the expedition.

And the last bit of her performance really impressed me.

“I’ve heard there’s a lot of talk among the noblemen about her being a commoner.”

“That’s surprising. I wouldn’t have imagined a prince like you would care about such things.”

“…It’s just frustrating to hear the complaints from those incompetent nobodies.”

I guess he was surprisingly the type to lean toward egalitarianism.

Still, I had my own concerns there.

The Zatume expedition was a place everyone wanted to join.

If a commoner achieved great results there, it was only natural that envy would arise.

And soon, the celebration banquet for the successful expedition.

As Rikal expected, the gazes of the nobles toward [Gaidore Sit] were far from kind.

*

This successful expedition celebration banquet received significantly more attention than before.

The lottery tickets sold for invitations were several times more than that time.

The reason so much attention was gathered this time was precisely because there would be a screening of the Zatume expedition video at the banquet.

The content of the expedition was already somewhat known.

However, there hadn’t been many opportunities to view the actual video yet.

They said they would sell the video at the Illusion Tower, but that was still a long way off.

“Ahhh…! Such fortune exists…”

“I thought the sky was falling when I failed to enter for the banquet during the strategy meeting! Who would’ve guessed it would turn out like this!”

“A miracle… It’s a miracle that I won the invitation to the banquet.”

An opportunity to witness the hero’s exploits firsthand.

If we were to put it into perspective, it was like witnessing the moment a Hero Party defeated the Demon Lord.

Of course, witnessing the Hero Party defeating the Demon Lord is impossible.

It’s merely passed down through tales.

Yet, people are enthusiastic about those heroic stories.

But to actually see such a historic battle, to witness the first Zatume conquest…

No one would turn down such glory.

“What a glorious day this is—”

The Emperor, already having downed a drink, shouted from the podium.

It was a long speech, but to summarize, it was a praise of the Zatume conquest.

In addition, there was a hint that he, too, wanted to accompany the next Zatume Expedition.

It wasn’t just the Emperor thinking that way.

“If we succeeded with 24 members on the Zatume expedition… doesn’t that leave 6 spots open? They said the maximum is 30, so if I can just find a way to tag along…”

“The level restriction for challenging Zatume isn’t too high. If I just slip in with some backdoor money, it’d be great.”

“If I can just survive until the end, I could have the ‘Zatume Helmet’…!”

Thoughts of wanting to participate in the Zatume expedition.

And the greed of wanting to have the ‘Zatume Helmet.’

Since the level restriction for Zatume is set at 50, most users shared these thoughts.

Everyone was determined to make a good impression on the expedition members at this banquet and gain some crumbs.

“Oh, Galleard, or [Corruption Power Warrior]!”

The expedition members began to enter one by one.

Most people were making efforts to look good in front of them.

Except for one person.

“Ugh, ugh… I guess I’ll just stay quiet today. At least the food looks delicious. Hehe…”

The commoner, [Gaidore Sit]. Mili.

She was eating food in a corner, dressed so inappropriately for the banquet.

No nobleman would want to flatter a commoner, even if she wanted to step into the expedition.

Instead, the whispers directed at her had increased compared to before.

Mili felt out of place, as if she didn’t belong at this banquet.

However, since this was a rare opportunity to eat such a feast…

Eating the delicacies she’d never tasted in her life made her feel a bit better.

Thud…

“Oh…!”

Someone bumped into Mili as she passed by.

As a result, the food she was holding fell to the floor.

Mili instinctively bent down to pick up the dropped food.

“Ugh— Picking up food from the floor. Typical commoner…”

“Right? Even if they’re a member of the expedition… bringing something like this into the sacred imperial banquet hall…”

“…!”

With her body bent down, Mili froze.

The clear feeling of hostility aimed at her. Mockery.

Used to bowing her head in front of the nobles, her body instinctively trembled.

“But how on earth did she obtain the ‘Maple Leaf Story’? I barely got one during the third release.”

“I know right! Back then, the price was much higher. It couldn’t have been money a commoner could ever possess.”

“Exactly. Unless she stole something, there’s no way she could have that kind of money.”

“Could it be…?”

The two noble ladies pretended to act surprised, covering their mouths.

“Ah, surely they wouldn’t accept a thief into the expedition!”

“Right? If they got caught, they’d be done for. No way would someone with the audacity to act like a thief come here!”

Thud…

“Ahh—!”

The noble ladies brushed past Mili while she was bent down.

Mili fell to the ground, covered in dust.

And from that moment, the voices directed at her became clearer.

“If it weren’t for her, I could’ve joined the expedition.”

“Look at how she’s getting all smug just because she got lucky. How dare she act like she’s here…”

“How can a commoner dare to think they could be here? Even if they were invited.”

“Seriously, how could a commoner even afford to get the ‘Maple Leaf Story’ back then?”

“Unless they were stealing it…”

Mili’s vision began to tunnel.

Cold sweat dripped down her face, and a ringing filled her ears.

Most of those slanders were untrue.

Mili wasn’t being arrogant, and she had joined the expedition because of Galleard’s earnest request.

She was crammed in the corner at the banquet, and she didn’t even lift her head properly, just in case she might hear those words.

And even if she were there, the other users wouldn’t have been able to join the expedition.

With only 24 members working through a 30-member expedition, that was plain to see.

Everyone was merely reacting with jealousy toward her achievements as a commoner.

But there was one truth implicit among them.

– Thief.

Her ‘Maple Leaf Story’ was obtained by stealing from a noble.

If caught, she may be killed on the spot.

Mili wanted to run away immediately.

Her heart felt like it was about to burst.

She awkwardly got up from the floor and began to move toward the exit.

No, she tried to move.

But her legs stood frozen in place, like they were stuck.

“…?”

A middle-aged noble lady across the room met her gaze.

That lady was the Baroness she had stolen the ring from.

The Baroness slowly walked towards her.

“Gah… huff… huff…!”

Her breath began to quicken.

She wanted to escape, but her strength left her legs, leaving her immobile.

The nobles filling the banquet hall began to gaze at her with unusual looks.

‘No, don’t… don’t!’

The Baroness was almost upon her.

As the Baroness opened her mouth to say something,

Thud—

Someone grabbed Mili’s shoulder from behind.

“Y-Yes—!”

“Are you okay?”

It was the Illusion Mage who created ‘Maple Leaf Story.’