Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 50: Royal Suspicion

As Arthur had wanted, we decided to take on several quick hunting [Quests] in the plains, hunting down slimes, boars, and the occasional eagle in the area. Sure, the rewards were a bit skimpy compared to our previous [Quests], but this was a good way for us to gain [EXP] and hopefully some ingredients for my [Cooking] skill and shop back in <Initio>. Eventually, we went back to town to report our completed [Quests] to the <Adventurer's Guild> and claim our rewards. However, as we waited, I noticed something odd inside.

Looking around, I noticed that most players were staring at me like before, only this time, they seemed wary and averted their eyes when I took notice of them seemingly gossiping to each other. And for some, if I continued to stare at them, they would leave the guild in silence. This seemed weird; there was nothing strange about my appearance since I was just playing as a normal [Human] being in this game. Plus, even if he was playing a strange race, Kazu wasn't there with me at the time. So why was I getting such unwanted attention right now?

"Hey, Wind! It's almost our turn!"

I quickly shook my head as soon as I heard Arthur's voice nearby, at which I noticed that my friends were a few feet away from me, nearing a brunette-haired woman behind the counter.

"O-Oh. Sorry about that. I got distracted there for a bit." I ran back to my friends, taking my eyes off the other players staring at me. I doubted they would stop gossiping behind my back, but I knew that I couldn't breach their privacy purely because of my suspicions and paranoia about them. However, there was someone who might know what's going on here. "I was wondering if you guys have any clue about what's going on here in <Initio> lately."

To my surprise, I noticed Arthur's eyes widen as he started to show signs of sweat on his forehead before he turned away from me like the others. I knew that he knew something was going on, but I didn't expect him to react negatively.

"W-What exactly do you mean, Wind?" Arthur asked as his voice trembled despite his attempt to calm down. "There's nothing wrong in the game so far."

I groaned in response to his poor attempt to lie. I knew he had something to hide behind the players' sudden interest towards me and I had a feeling it was not going to be easy to pry from him.

"Don't try to act like you don't know anything. You're the only one in our group other than Kazu who has paid attention to the game's updates and news. So you know why is everyone acting like I'm some criminal in <Volo> or something."

"O-Oh, that? Well, maybe it's because you've spent so much time with Kazu lately, that everyone noticed his absence by now."

That was the reason why everyone was acting so strangely?! I doubted it. Besides, shouldn't there have been some kind of mark next to my name or something to signify my status as Kazu's [Guardian Player]? In any case, I refused to accept that as a good reason.

"Nice try. It's something more than Kazu's absence, so I suggest you stop stalling and explain what's going on here."

I thought it would get me some answers since Arthur had started to sweat. But instead, Razul just grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the counter and said, "Okay, I know you're suspicious about the unwanted attention. But maybe you should calm down and ignore them for now. I think you're getting more attention by acting like a bad cop."

Was I? I looked around the guild house, which instead of seeing them chattering each other, the players are now staring at me with confusion and disbelief on their faces. I guess I'd gone a bit too far with questioning Arthur about the current situation. So I backed off once Razul released my arms and sheepishly scratched the back of my head.