Mistress Of The Evil Forest

Case 158: Deceive the world, deceive oneself.

*****

There's a quote that I like a lot.

'To deceive the world, you would have to first deceive yourself.'

It's ultimately about performanship. You have to really get into the character if you want a convincing act.

[Huhahahahahah! I love seeing your faces of despair!]

Accordingly, the clown—Tuesday's maniac laughter fills the hall, and with my excellent hearing, I can sense the whimpers of the people beneath.

Tuesday is a character I hastily created, but that doesn't mean he is not a good source of horror.

He is quite literally unhinged, brazen, and cruel. Only such a character can make the whole of the empire occupied for a while—that's what I thought.

Now, of course, I'm pretty sure there isn't a clown in Ravenous Moon, but I could be wrong. I haven't even informed Chloe of this prank, after all. In fact, I haven't informed anyone other than my companion for this act—Blob.

It's not as though I don't trust my allies. I do absolutely trust them, just... not their acting skills.

I need to completely throw off every party here, including our own, so as to confuse Efil as much as possible. Although I feel a bit guilty, I know they're going to look past it.

So there's that, and for now...

Let's try to observe the situation a bit more.

[Oh! But of course, that game is merely a dessert!]

With Blob's immaculate acting, the people start to feel even more threatened. Some have broken into cries, sending their desperate prayers to some gods.

[Since you have called for a spectacular performance tonight, why don't we host an exciting game right here and right now?!]

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Exaggerated movements often make a person more memorable. It seems my favorite deer is learning fast.

Either way, I would really hope that I can at least narrow down the list of suspects whose bodies Efil might have taken over by now. It was immensely difficult to get all the pieces to fall in place before this banquet, after all.

I won't say I am an expert in spotting a demon impersonating a person, but since I don't plan to pinpoint the culprit tonight, I can just let my instinct do its things, I suppose.

[Oh, man, I am excited right now. We have a whole lot of participants here, aren't we?]

As 'Tuesday' begins to turn around the hall, seemingly wanting to take in the images of everybody, I also put my eyes to good use. From the frightened faces, the panicking faces, the composed ones, the ones preparing to take some sort of action, the ones flinching upon being gazed at by the clown, the ones holding their breaths, to even the ones who have already fainted—not a single soul is exempt.

[I see a bunch of distinguished nobles!]

A bunch of pretentious weaklings.

[A bunch of glamorous dresses and suits!]

I hope they're not squandering the taxpayers' money for those.

[A bunch of young, promising talents!]

I guess. They're still not enough for this godforsaken world, though.

[A bunch of lovely, lovely kids...]

That are absolutely terrified. I feel kind of bad.

[...and the dutiful parents who shelter them!]

At this point, the clown suddenly breaks into a hysterical cry, clapping its hands non-stop while repeating 'bravo.' That creeps out the people even more, and merely three or four seconds after, the clapping abruptly stops.

[I know.]

[A good nation is a nation where children are cherished. Let's see just how cherished they are, shall we?]

[Here's the deal. For each of the kids with parents here... you have two choices—either you let your kids walk up to me, in which case, I might or might not do something to them, or you go up here, in which case I will do something to you, but I will also spare your kids.]

The room, which has previously held its breath, is now painted with a color of despair. Most people have blood retreating from their faces, but we also have the likes of our protagonists or the empress, who appear more angered than anything.

[Sounds fun, isn't it?]

The clown mockingly laughs at the humans' powerlessness once more.

[Now then, those who have been called out, please do make your decision—]

''Are you done yapping, stupid-face?''

Uh-oh. 

Well... of course, Chloe and the others won't tolerate this kind of thing. It is unfortunate, though, considering they won't be able to win. Blob already possessed an abnormal amount of power upon its summon, and through leveling and some doping—yes, doping, since Sikare had some potions to spare—it easily beats the students here.

Probably not the top ones of Second- or Third-year, and I know Chloe falls within that category in terms of power, but... both she and Blob are under me, technically. They won't be able to hurt each other at all.

''Tch! This asshole...!''

[Hahah! We really do have some rowdy participants here, don't we?!]

That leads to the situation in which Chloe's full-force attacks are lightly bruised off by Blob, while Claire's light sword is not even close to hitting the target.

Flickering flames burn intensely, and even though the claymore rips through the air with so much power that the crackling sounds it makes are distorted, none of them proves to be effective.

''Kuh...!''

Meanwhile, Claire's Moon Devourer, wrapped in a bursting layer of light, plus a gentle hue of green from her guardian, Skylar, never seemed to touch anything at all, for that matter.

I didn't intend it at all, but this scene creates the impression that Blob is merely playing with them and that it is indeed something demonic, seeing that it avoids light.

In reality, Blob isn't of a demonic origin—it just doesn't want to get cut, I guess.

That is the 'unexpected,' but I had also expected a fight like this. Since it draws attention and weakens the audience's masks, I can take a better look...

...at the anomalies that might appear, which I still don't see.

If Efil isn't instead disguised as someone who isn't this party's participant, its acting skills must be immaculate. 

''Hic...!''

''...?''

After a bit of looking around like that, I suddenly notice someone standing not so far away from me. A young lady, presumably fourteen or fifteen-year-old, who has emerald green eyes and pale blond hair, appears to be terrified by the ongoing fight.

A notable feature of her is the eye-shaped ruby necklace that she wears.

Now, that much is normal—everyone is terrified to some extent, but... how should I say this? The source of her fear seems a bit different. 

At this stage, I am quite confident in my perception capabilities, and it does look as though she is focusing her attention solely on... Claire's sword?

This seems suspicious. She's more scared of the sword of light than the demonic clown?

Although it is indeed an anomaly, many people are unconsciously drawn into different things, even under pressure, so I can't make anything concrete yet.

But that is about it for the night. Nothing really changes even after quite some time, at which point, the fighters' stamina has already depleted. Sikare's drugs are something else, huh. 

No, I guess it's Blob that is strange.

Well, I think we can wrap this up for now.