A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 78: The Meeting

“So... this is the truth behind Lumen Ordo.”

“......Haha.”

Seeing the Lady seated next to me, utterly appalled, I could only think one thing: it’s a miracle this place’s true nature hadn’t been exposed until now.

“I never really understood why your tone and behavior were the way they were... but now I get it.”

“Pardon?”

“Among white mages, you’re probably the most normal one.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by that serious look she gave me, but at least she had nailed the core of it.

Out of this hopeless group, I was the one who spoke and acted most like a normal person—but that just got me misunderstood because of my appearance.

Being lumped in with these lunatics was practically an insult.

“But still... when’s that girl coming back?”

“...Good question.”

Just as I was starting to recover from the injustice, the Lady asked the very thing that had been on my mind too. Ever since Tiffany had dashed out of the room, she hadn’t returned.

She was the one who invited us here, so what the hell was she doing?

“Um, excuse me. Miss Tiffany—”

“W-what?!”

“Gasp!”

I was about to ask one of the elders about her, but froze mid-sentence as a cold tension swept through the room.

“How dare you speak her true name...”

“You must never utter the name of that one. It is taboo.”

“Aah...”

Apparently, in my absence, they’d come up with yet another ridiculous rule.

Honestly, their dedication to the bit was almost impressive.

“...When will the Guardian of Glorious Light return, then?”

“Who knows?”

“We mortals cannot presume to know the will of the heavens.”

I played along to appease them, but it was clear none of them had any idea where Tiffany had gone either.

Well, considering she once sulked her way onto our rooftop as a child and bawled her eyes out, it wasn’t surprising.

—Creak...

But now the Lady was starting to lose her patience. Uh-oh.

“The Guardian of Glorious Light... is currently cooling her head in the adjacent room.”

“...Haaah.”

“Judging by past incidents, she’ll likely return in about five minutes. We ask for your understanding...”

Thankfully, the maid peeking in through the slightly open door managed to stall the Lady’s temper from fully detonating.

“She certainly excels at keeping people waiting...”

“Well then! While we wait, why don’t I introduce the Elder Council?”

But with the Lady still radiating simmering rage, I quickly raised my voice to steer the topic elsewhere.

“...I don’t really care to know.”

“Eh? Still, it might—”

“Even if you introduced them, they’re all wearing what looks like old rugs over their heads. I can’t tell who’s who.”

She wasn’t wrong. I glanced around the room. Every person seated at the table was cloaked in a dull black robe from head to toe.

‘Is this the white mage Elder Council or a meeting of black mage executives...?’

The dark underground setting, combined with the eerie candlelight and ominous table setup, made it feel like some shadowy cabal that controlled the world from behind the scenes.

“T-this robe is my invention... it wards off evil magical energy...”

“...Right, sounds useful. But why wear it during a meeting?”

“W-well, it looks cool...”

And yet, beneath the surface, they were all just absurd people gathered in one absurd place.

“Yeah, I’ll admit that...”

“It’s oddly calming, having this on...”

“...Sigh.”

The Lady seemed to have finally reached a point of resignation. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, as if giving up on the entire conversation.

Yes—when dealing with these people, it was best to temporarily let go of your sense of self.

Or even better, just nod along and agree with everything. Not that someone like the Lady, who considered herself the standard of the world, would ever be capable of that.

“All right. Then just briefly take off your hoods when I call your name. That’s doable, right?”

“......”

“Please, for the sake of my dignity?”

Seeing where this was heading, I decided to force a compromise before something exploded.

“Well then. First, this is Miss Astrid, head of the Southern Continent Branch. Quite the unique fashion sense, wouldn’t you say?”

“Hi-hi, nice to meet you!”

The first person I introduced was the woman seated at the far right end—dressed in a gothic lolita outfit and giggling like a schoolgirl since earlier.

“That person... she looks like she’s a few years older than the Emperor...”

“...Shh, it’s best to stop right there.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The Lady’s comment, questioning why someone in her thirties was wearing middle schooler fashion and hugging a teddy bear, almost froze the room over. Thankfully, I was just fast enough to cover her mouth.

“She may not look it, but she’s an absolute expert in white-magic summoning arts. Honestly, there’s barely anyone who can match her.”

“...I see.”

Mercifully, the Lady didn’t ask any more questions. She just nodded with a resigned, dead-eyed look.

“Next, we have Mr. Salem, head of the Western Continent branch.”

“Hoho, a pleasure.”

“He’s unparalleled in curse reversal magic and currently serves as chairman of the Elder Council.”

The pace of the introductions began to speed up noticeably from that point.

“Chairman? But he looks far too young...”

“Well... despite appearances, he’s about the same age as my former head butler, Alfred.”

“Haa...”

It seemed the Lady had finally grasped the core truth: there was no point in trying to understand these people.

“That over there is Miss Baek Yeon-hwa, head of the Eastern Continent branch.”

“Long time no see, young warrior!”

“...She’s from some sect called Kunlun...? in the distant East. I don’t actually know how she ended up here.”

Yeon-hwa was obviously from the Eastern martial world, but trying to explain that here would just be a mess.

“Now listen here. The Kunlun Sect isn’t a house! If we’re translating properly, it’d be something like... yes, a guild! Haven’t I told you that countless times?”

“...Is that so?”

Well, what can I say? I know next to nothing about wuxia novels.

“In that case, I should take this opportunity to deliver a lecture on the history and culture of the Central Plains...”

“No, that’s fine. Let’s get on with the meeting.”

If you got caught in her trap, you’d be sitting there all day listening to an unsolicited history lesson. Better to shut it down early.

“Well, in any case... she’s said to use some kind of mystical Eastern daoist arts. Technically not white magic, but... the East hasn’t been thoroughly researched yet, after all.”

“So what exactly is her concept...?”

“...Haha, right?”

Contrary to the Lady’s assumption, Yeon-hwa was actually the only person in Lumen Ordo with a background that wasn’t a concept—it was real.

That said, how the successor of the Kunlun Sect, who uses martial arts and daoist spells, ended up as an elder in a white mage organization on another continent? I had no clue.

“And over there at the end is Mr. Alastor, regional overseer of the North.”

“......”

“I’ve honestly never heard him speak, # Nоvеlight # so I can’t say much. Haha.”

Still, that guy—who’d had his eyes and ears shut this whole time—was easier to deal with than most. Not even the original game ever revealed anything about him.

Considering how Blacktail Fantasy 3 was infamous for withholding core lore to sell overpriced DLC, it wasn’t all that surprising.

God, what a shady game company.

“Lastly, those two handling the workshop—Aurora and Celeste. They create most of the white-magic tools here. Even those robes were designed by Miss Aurora.”

“Ah... h-hello.”

“N-nice to meet you...”

Well, thank the heavens. The siblings Aurora and Celeste were still young enough that they hadn’t adopted any full-blown personas yet.

But judging by how inventors in Lumen Ordo always ended up as mad scientist or eccentric genius types... their futures were looking grim.

Still, considering they were so shy despite being talented enough to attract interest from the Magic Tower, they might just end up as the rare diplomatic white mages someday.

‘...My father was one of the most well-known diplomatic white mages, come to think of it.’

Though now that I mention him—hasn’t he been off the grid for a full year? Lumen Ordo hasn’t lost contact with the Empire, right?

“Oh, and I assume we don’t need to introduce the Guardian of Glorious Light?”

“...Why’s that?”

“Well... I figured Lady Meredia might’ve done some background research.”

As I finished the introductions and cleared my throat, I casually made the comment—and immediately regretted opening my mouth.

“You seem to know quite a lot about me.”

“We’re engaged. Comes with the territory.”

“...Shut it.”

Still, at least I could now deflect her interrogations with smooth banter. That was a relief...

“Excuse me—sorry to interrupt.”

I was admiring her expression, warm and slightly amused, when suddenly Elder Salem spoke up—and I froze.

“Weren’t you engaged to the Guardian of Glorious Light?”

...What the hell kind of nonsense is that!?

“Right! She always claimed she had a boyfriend.”

“...I got tired of hearing it myself.”

I thought the man might’ve gone senile like Alfred, but the moment I looked around, I saw the other elders nodding in agreement—and panic rose as I turned to my side.

“Would you care to explain that in more detail?”

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Sure enough, Lady Meredia, now holding a fan to cover her expression, spoke in a voice so icy it could chill your bones.

“Is there anything to explain? They’ve been together since childhood, haven’t they?”

“Shouldn’t the person involved be the one explaining, rather than us?”

I knew exactly what that tone meant. I squeezed my eyes shut, gritting my teeth at the injustice.

“...This is literally the first I’ve heard of this.”

“Ah! Young warrior! You know idioms like ‘geum-si-cho-mun’? Have you been reading my monthly proverb journal!?”

And then—just as Yeon-hwa’s eyes sparkled in admiration—

—Huuuuummm...

The thickest killing intent I’d ever felt from Meredia began flooding the room.