Including me, there were nine Seekers lined up on the stage.
The arranged seats were for, from stage right to stage left, Sieg from Supreme Dragon Squad, Johann Eisfeld from Lorelei, followed by the rest, and my seat was the last one in the line. Thomas, the master of ceremonies, was standing near me, and he raised his voice to address the guests.
「Everyone, sorry to have kept you waiting. We’re starting today's main event, the public joint interview right now」
Thomas swept his hand towards everyone who was sitting on stage.
「Every person whom we’ve gathered here on stage is a famous Seeker in the imperial capital. I believe that everyone is very familiar with their successes. We have invited people like them on this occasion to ask them about the subject of the Variant, which was announced a few days ago. Everyone must be curious about how each of these renowned Seekers intends to deal with the impending crisis. I hope that we’ll be able to give even a little bit of hope to all the anxious residents of the Empire through this joint interview」
The master of ceremonies’ greeting was over. Next was our turn.
「Alright then, I’ll let each of the Seekers introduce themselves. First, I would like to hear from the person who proposed today's party, Mister Sieg Feinstein, the sub-master of Supreme Dragon Squad. Please take it away, Mister Sieg」
Urged by Thomas, Sieg stood up.
「I'm Sieg Feinstein, the sub-master of Supreme Dragon Squad. Everyone who has gathered here today, thank you very much for going along with my sudden whim. I say, all of you have so much free time, don’t you? Is your job okay? Oh, that’s right, the people here are all people whose jobs are to look important while kicking back and relaxing. Similarly, I’m also in such a position, so I became fat due to a complete lack of exercise. Actually, I’m wearing this loose Oriental outfit to hide my shameful stomach flab. Did you notice?」
The venue roared in laughter at Sieg’s banter.
「Unlike the others here, I’m not a clan master. I’m just a sub-master. However, I’m still the most important person here. As you know, the amount of achievements that I’ve built up is different, and I’m the only EX Rank. Therefore, I'm going to behave accordingly, so I ask you for your kind understanding」
When Sieg said that jokingly, the venue was filled with laughter again. But I knew that what he had said were his true feelings. After his self-introduction was over, Sieg sat down in his seat. For an instant, Sieg turned his gaze on me. His eyes, which were brimming with curiosity, were saying,「Let’s see what you’ve got」It looked like his plan, from the very beginning, was to enjoy himself while looking on from a safe height.
「Thank you very much, Mister Sieg. Next, please introduce yourself, clan master of Lorelei, Mister Johann Eisfeld」
Following Thomas's instructions, Johann stood up next.
「I'm Johann Eisfeld, and I serve as the clan master of Lorelei. Nice to meet everyone here today」
Johann was a tall silver-haired man in his late twenties. He was a man of singular beauty, and was wearing an ice-blue tuxedo. If I wasn’t mistaken, I seemed to remember him occupying second place in the『Men you’d like to hook up with in the imperial capital』rankings. Sitting next to Sieg, who was in first place, it was inevitable that the eyes of the women in the venue would be concentrated on them.
「I don’t have the sense of humor nor the achievements of Sieg, so I intend to answer in good faith without being arrogant just because my clan is one of the Regalia」
While he seemed to be saying something commendable, he was being sharply sarcastic to Sieg. In short, his words meant that Sieg shouldn’t get carried away just because he was the 1st Star of Regalia. Sieg, who had a lot of pride, frowned in displeasure.
Johann's self-introduction was also over. Self-introductions continued down the line, and my turn was the last.
「I'm Noel Stollen, clan master of Wild Tempest. I'm still inexperienced, but please treat me well」
When I bowed lightly, Thomas spoke loudly once again.
「Thank you very much, dear Seekers. Then let's get down to the main subject right away. The first question is, what are everyone’s views on the Variant crisis? Please answer in order, starting from Mister Sieg」
When Sieg nodded, Johann, who was beside him, raised his hand.
「I'm sorry, can I say something?」
「Mister Johann, please go ahead」
「I think that the question is a bit mean-spirited」
「What do you mean?」
Johann looked troubled as he laughed.
「It is us Regalia who will actually fight the Variant. Of course, everyone else also has an important job. The scope of Abyss created by Variant is far larger than usual, and the speed of its encroachment is also staggering. Moreover, from past records, there were cases where even its subordinates were Lord level. In other words, because the danger zone will be extremely large, other than fighting the Variant, it’s also necessary to have the fighting strength to protect each city. As I’m sure all of you know, three nations were destroyed before the Variant was subjugated last time」
Those words took the wind out of everyone in the venue. They knew of the threat of the Variant from past records, but the fact that three nations were destroyed was much too depressing. When spoken out loud deliberately, those words sobered everyone up instantly.
「Everyone here is an outstanding Seeker. Their clan's achievements are also irreproachable. However, I’m not going to shrink from saying words that may be misunderstood, and say that there is a huge wall between those clan that are Regalia and those that are not. That’s something that everyone is aware of. And yet, isn't it too much for them to be put at the same footing and made to answer the same questions?」
「Certainly, that’s…… Then, what kind of question would be appropriate?」
Johann answered Thomas' question with a cheerful smile.
「There’s no need to change the question itself. But I don't think that there’s any need to force them to answer. In that case, how about giving them the right to not answer the questions?」
After saying that, Johann turned his gaze towards us.
「All of you also don't want to be forced to answer, am I right? Sieg and I will be responsible for answering the questions that weigh heavily on people’s minds, so please sit back in your seats and take it easy」
A buzz immediately rose from the other clan masters.
What Johann was implying, was that the small fry should stay out of this. Arguing against it, in itself, was easy, but doing so would in turn increase the responsibility of the arguing person.
The opponent was Regalia. If anyone were to go against one of the Regalia's intentions and answer, a half-baked answer that didn’t match that person’s ability would then leave a very unfavorable impression of his clan. In that case, obeying Johann and keeping quiet was preferable as they would be able to get by without embarrassing themselves unnecessarily.
With this, the reason why Lorelei--Johann participated was confirmed.
Johann intentions were to get rid of the nuisances, and take advantage of this interview. His aim was to focus the questions on Sieg and himself in order to promote Lorelei, and draw out information about Supreme Dragon Squad at the same time.
「What do you think, master of ceremonies?」
When he was asked that by Johann, Thomas gave me a sidelong glance. He was asking me, the true proposer, if he should consent. Smiled lightly, I raised my hand.
「Can I say something as well?」
「Mister Noel, please go ahead」
With the Thomas’ consent, I continued speaking.
「Certainly, what Johann has pointed out is correct. But in his choice of words, what I heard is that we aren’t qualified to speak, so we should hold our tongues though?」
「You’re reading too much into it. Even I find that malicious. Umm…… Noel, was it? I merely suggested what was for the best, and what all of you actually do, is up to all of you」
Johann shrugged in an exaggerated manner as he spoke. He was convinced that since he had warned me beforehand, no matter what I said, things would play out in his favor.
But he was too lax. It was me, not Sieg, who had come up with the idea of this joint interview. All of the advantages that he held could be destroyed with just one decision from me.
「I see. Then, how about this? Instead of an interview where everyone answers questions in turn, let’s turn it into a form of debate. Participants will be free to answer and discuss each question. If we do it this way, it’ll be close to what you want, right?」
「Wouldn’t it be a problem to change the format now? Those who want to answer can answer, and those who don’t want to answer don’t have to. Isn’t that good enough?」
「Your pretense that you’re aiding others is flimsy」
I changed my tone and stared at Johann.
「Your aim is to gain control over this interview, am I right? As participants just like you, I think that it’s only natural for us to try to prevent that」
When Johann was about to argue back, this time it was Sieg who raised his hand.
「I support the change in format. It’s not like there are any problems in particular」
Johann’s eyes widened in surprise when Sieg declared his support. At about the same time, shouts of approval burst forth from the audience.
「Yes, change it into a debate!」
「I was just thinking that would be be boring if everyone simply answered questions politely」
「Yeah, that’s right! Make it more interesting!」
Those voices made the other members of the audience, who had been troubled by my verbal dispute with Johann, realize that there was a more interesting spectacle to be had. In an instant, excitement spread through the crowd, and only voices that were calling for a debate could be heard.
Johann was completely taken aback by this unexpected turn of events. He had probably not thought for a second that there were shills that I had hired inside the audience.
I had prepared extensively for this. As soon as I knew that Johann, who was constantly embroiled in dark rumors, was attending, I imagined all sorts of possibilities, and made all the preparations that would allow me to correct the course of events and point it in the direction I desired. It was only natural that I would hire shills and instruct them to hype up whatever I said.
Influenced by the audience's voices, the other clan masters also began to support it.
「I also support the debate format」
「Yes…… If everyone is so excited about it, then I also think that it should be changed」
「Either way is fine, so let's get started already」
Through their words, they were acting like wise and understanding people, but inwardly, they were probably filled with relief. By changing from an interview format to a debate format, they would now be able to make remarks freely. In other words, they would be able to avoid the scenario where the interview would end without them being able to utter a single answer. Any idiot would realize that, rather than going against everyone by raising an objection, supporting the change was more beneficial.
「Then, because there is majority support for it, the interview will be changed into a debate format. I’ll change the first subject slightly and make it: How should we view the Variant crisis?」
Thomas had also been told beforehand that he could respond flexibly. In the eyes of Thomas and the newspaper company, they didn’t care what happened so long as it was exciting in the end, so they had no objections.
「Mister Johann, it’s become something like this, so I humbly ask for your understanding」
「……Very well」
Johann nodded with a bitter expression. For the sake of appearances, he couldn’t back out now, so he had no choice but to permit it. Those eyes, which were brimming with hostility, turned towards me.
Hostility is just what I’m hoping for. Before he realizes the truth behind this party, I’ll exploit it every which way I can.
Not much to say, things are just heating up.
Who are the evil people the title is talking about? I’m guessing Noel, Sieg and Johann as they’re all problematic people lol.
More random info: I’ve mentioned it before, but the author puts a lot of effort into names for this novel. Majority of the names are Germanic in origin, hence Johann has a double nn because that’s the German spelling and his last name is Eisfeld instead of something like Icefield.
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