Chapter 8.3: Asher Gronhilde (1)

It was about an hour later when Asher came to my room.

“It’s an honor to meet the Seventh Lord. My name is Asher, an apprentice knight belonging to the White Star 5th Knights.”

Saluting with an expressionless face, she was wearing casual clothes, not greaves for training.

“Sit down.”

I gestured to the seat opposite.

After standing silently for a moment, Asher sat down.

A table with two people sitting opposite each other. Silence pervaded the room.

Slurp.

I sipped my tea without saying a word and glanced at the other side.

Asher, who was staring down at the teacup in front of her, lifted her head, perhaps sensing my gaze.

I vaguely felt the various emotions in those bright scarlet eyes.

Tension, vigilance, and doubt. Eyes saying that she did not know what she was doing here.

…Honestly, this only made me more nervous.

The woman sitting in front of me right now was a monster over level 80, and what I was going to say from now on would definitely irritate her greatly.

But to persuade her, this would be the best way.

I opened my mouth.

“Are you hiding your ability?”

Straight to the point, with no procrastination.

“…”

Asher’s expression slowly hardened.

“I don’t understand why you’re an apprentice knight with such skills. I wonder why you’re hiding your power.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

A weakly sharp, clearly wary voice.

“If you’re going to deny it, I’ll get straight to the point.”

Her eyes widened at my words.

“White Moon Tribe.”

“…!”

“I heard it was destroyed, but there’s clearly a survivor. Why did you come to the Overlord’s castle?”

The sharpened hostility immediately pierced my whole body.

Compared to the aura of the Thunder Lord I had experienced during the Lords’ meeting, it was far behind, but it still contained great pressure.

Faced with her gaze as she glared at me with a fiercely distorted face, I said calmly.

“Stop thinking about useless things. It’s impossible to win against me on your own.”

Of course, it was a bluff.

If she drew her sword and swung it here, I would die without even realizing that I was dying.

But I had faith that it wouldn’t.

First, Asher was not the type to kill lightly. Although this was her past self when the game hadn’t started yet. Her nature wouldn’t be different.

Above all, she was not reckless enough to attack anyone much stronger that herself without hesitation.

No matter how proud she was of her skills, she must know the fact that a Lord of Calderic was a different being.

“…”

As if the bluff had worked, Asher bit her lip tightly and regained whatever killing intent she had released.

It was embarrassing to see the blood dripping down from her bitten lip.

Perhaps now she was even more confused.

She was completely confused about how I knew who she was and what my purpose was.

Persuasion had just begun.

Now, let’s start with the negotiation.