Becoming an Extra in a Trash Game

Chapter 39

Moreover, in the center, there was an altar that looked like a huge plate. There was something written on the lower part of the altar supporting the plate, but it was obscured by people.

For now, there are about eight people visible, including me.

Most of them are standing slightly apart, seemingly meeting for the first time. Moreover, I’m not sure what’s going on with some of them not even having visible weapons.

Just in case, I hid the Codex and walked towards them while maintaining the Parts Shield and others.

“Another new person has arrived.”

“Ah… Uh, hello, my Lord……”

“Ahem……”

Was I unknowingly making a crooked face?

Seeing them slightly watching their step as soon as they saw me, I grumbled inwardly about this arrogance, then forced a smile and greeted them.

“Ah, nice to meet you. Do you happen to know where this is?”

“We don’t know yet either.”

A mild-looking young man, who was being pestered by a dwarf, answers with a welcoming face, perhaps grateful for the change of topic thanks to me.

For now, his hands are rough, but his attire is ordinary. Judging by his muscles and such, he doesn’t seem to be a vanguard.

“For now, it seems to be a labyrinth’s trick. Unfortunately, it’s not a treasure room.”

A sharp-looking woman adds, grumbling.

Although she looks frail, her well-maintained leather armor and glimpses of her body show that she’s full of elasticity and strength, suggesting she’s not of the mage class.

“I just came down the stairs and got separated from my group… I’m not sure what’s going on here.”

As soon as I finish speaking, Kane walks out from one of the corridors.

That’s a relief, really.

I don’t know which floor this is, but I’m the only one who’s met my group now, so it’s good either way.

I raise my hand in joy, quickly gesturing for my employer to come closer, then look around with a more reassured heart. A short and sturdy middle-aged man who looks like a dwarf nudges the waist of an ordinary-looking young man with his elbow.

“First of all, shouldn’t that Lord know too?”

Then the Young man sighs, scratches his head, points to the altar, and opens his mouth.

“After looking around with the people who arrived first, the only meaningful object is this altar… If you come here and read it, it says in ancient language to offer the promised blood.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

I poke Kane’s back, who’s standing in front of me as a reliable shield, and he sighs and moves towards the altar, skillfully blocking my front.

Indeed, looking at it up close, thanks to Rachel’s blessing, I can read the ancient language fluently.

[You shall offer the promised blood]

[Among lies and truths, there shall be a promised one]

[If you offer the right one, the path shall open and you shall receive due reward]

[If you offer the wrong one, that too shall be made right]

The lower part of the four-sided altar had one line of text engraved on each side.

Well, just looking at this, it seems there’s definitely a way out of here.

“So what’s the promised blood?”

When I ask with a smile, the Young man looks startled, then mutters ‘Ah, you’re a noble.’ before opening his mouth again with a troubled face, scratching his head.

“Well… From what I’ve heard. Of course, this is by no means certain information.”

The slightly naive-looking young man explained, watching my reaction hesitantly.

“Do you know about doppelgangers? They’re special monsters… It seems this floor is one where such doppelgangers appear. I’m not sure if it’s just boasting, but I heard people talking about altars and such at the pub.”

However, the dwarf warrior beats his chest as if frustrated by the young man’s words, who had kept quiet for fear of causing confusion by speaking without certain information.

“No… I’ve also heard things here and there that seem to match, so tell us everything you know!”

“Hmm, I think I’ve heard about it at the Druid’s temple too.”

The middle-aged man in fur clothes, who had been standing quietly, finally adds a word.

He calls himself a druid, but he’s alone here, perhaps separated from the animals he usually travels with.

For now, everyone starts chattering about the rumors they’ve heard about the doppelganger floor.

So, we need to find the doppelganger mixed among the people, kill it, and then put its blood on the plate on top of that altar, and the door will open?

As I let out a ‘Hmm’ at the young man’s words, a woman climbs onto the altar plate, sits cross-legged, and speaks in a sharp tone.

“Oh? This is different from what I heard. It’s true that catching the doppelganger opens the door, but didn’t they say you’d get as much offering as you promise to give?”

A man who looks like an archer based on the wrappings on his hands, but with no visible bow, scratches the back of his neck with calloused fingers and frowns.

He looks at her with slightly furrowed brows, as if annoyed by the woman’s sharp voice, then turns to look at me.

“From what I heard, we need to go into each corridor and find and kill someone hiding there. It’s just something I overheard at the inn’s dining room, though…”

To this, the short and sturdy man who looks like a dwarf leans on his axe like a cane and responds.

“Ahem, this is what I heard. We can get out after some time passes, but to get a windfall, only four or fewer should remain, they say.”

This is all over the place.

As I make a subtle expression, a man who looks like a professional dungeon hunter from his outfit, adorned with various small weapons, clicks his tongue loudly and then kicks the ground with his toes for no reason.

He looks somewhat unstable. Well, simply put, it’s probably not common to fall into a different floor like this after entering a labyrinth.

“Damn it, what kind of offering are we supposed to make? How do we distinguish the doppelganger?”

The hunter’s rough way of speaking and spitting on the ground makes him no different from a back-alley thug.

“We can’t just pick someone randomly and kill them, geez.”

At the hunter’s muttering after spitting, the woman sitting on the altar turns around sharply and glares at him.

Hmm, her armor seems quite sturdy, which makes it ambiguous. At first glance, no weapons are visible, and her steps are quiet.

She must be in the assassination or thief profession originally. Well, I need to figure out to some extent before I can respond easily.

The man with a tense face is probably a swordsman.

The one with an unpleasant personality and seemingly unpopular appearance is a Dungeon Hunter… The one who was initially friendly and explanatory seems to be the person who usually handles odd jobs in the party.

The only woman is an assassin. Then there’s the dwarf warrior and the middle-aged to elderly man in furry clothes. There’s also a man who looks like an archer but has no bow.

To summarize again: a swordsman, a dwarf warrior, a foul-tempered dungeon hunter, a female assassin, an archer without a bow, a druid without animals. And a young man who looks like a Jack-of-All-Trades.

Then there’s me and Kane. Nine people in total.

Everyone has different professions.

Just as I finish mentally organizing this brief roster, I hear footsteps coming from the corridor.

“Y-Young Master…!”

While everyone is eyeing each other cautiously and the atmosphere is getting colder, Luna comes out from the far corridor, rubbing her eyes. Upon seeing me, she runs over.

She throws herself into my arms, ignoring the tense-looking swordsman and woman who scan her warily.

With tears welling up in her eyes, one might wonder if her original name wasn’t “Crybaby Rabbit Race Maid.”

“Rabbit race? Well, something that doesn’t quite look human has appeared.”

“Don’t say unnecessary things in this situation.”

“What did I do wrong, Archer? You’re talking as if I said something I shouldn’t have.”

As everyone’s attention turns to Luna due to the woman’s sharp voice and Archer’s response, I raise my hand to pat Luna.

“Oh my, were you very scared?”

“Ugh… I thought I was the only one who came to a strange place…”

There, there. I pretend to take something out of my money pouch while actually opening my subspace to give Luna a handkerchief as she rubs her eyes while holding onto my clothes. Meanwhile, the dwarf strokes his beard and speaks.

“But… Are you all in the same party over there?”

“I got separated from all of my companions…”

“Well… It’s not like we can completely trust the young man’s companions either. Besides, we don’t know who the doppelganger is right now.”

After the dwarf and the young man speak, everyone makes a thoughtful expression, and then the Archer without a bow asks me.

“So, have all of your party members gathered now?”

Somehow, only we ended up all together?

I shrugged, showing my palms as if to say, “As you can see?”

“It seems none of you have any party members here?”

Even as I ask, the swordsman still has a tense face and keeps touching his sword handle with his palm.

In response, Kane, seemingly perceiving it as a threat, slightly moves to block in front of me and Luna, also placing his hand on the pommel.

A bit of tension.

If someone coughs, swords might be drawn immediately.

Clap!

To change the mood, I clap my hands once, slowly and with a big motion, drawing everyone’s attention to me, then smile with just the corners of my mouth raised.

“Unless we’re about to start dancing with swords drawn right away, how about we start with a conversation?”

Just looking at Kane’s wary gaze, that swordsman seems to be the strongest among them, but why does he have such a herbivore-like look in his eyes?

At my words, the swordsman flinches, then turns his eyes towards me instead of Luna and takes a step back.

“Hmm, wouldn’t it be better to keep a safe distance now that the party reunion is over?”

Luna still looks confused at the pointed voice speaking while gesturing towards her with a chin.

“Is it okay to stay so close? There might actually be a doppelganger among them.”

To this, the Young man also added with a slightly troubled face.

“That’s for me to judge. For now, I’d like to let them enjoy the afterglow of the party reunion a bit, okay?”

More arrogantly than anyone else. This is how you should use the Trait.

At my words, the woman just pouts her red lips and turns her head with a ‘huff.’

In that atmosphere, the archer without a bow looks at us awkwardly and opens his mouth.

“I think conversation is a good method too. After all, doppelgangers are different from real people. We might be able to get hints from the conversation.”

“Come to think of it, I heard that doppelgangers can’t read all the memories of the person they’ve copied.”

“You sure like talking. If you ask ‘Are you a doppelganger?’Will they answer yes or no?”

“Oh come on, do we have any other options right now?”

“No, then what, are we going to kill everyone? It’s worse for us to be fighting among ourselves like this. Can’t you think that far?”

“Look at how you’re talking. Should I crack your skull first?”

“Oh my, I wonder whose head will be cracked first?”

After the Archer’s words, the young man adds more, then the hunter picks a fight, and the assassin joins in, creating a chaotic scene.

I watched them raising their voices as if they were about to fight among themselves.

“Well, honestly, wouldn’t the people who arrived later be more suspicious?”

“Considering the time they could have been attacked and eaten.”

As they argue among themselves, the arrows fly in this direction.

“True. We can’t tell just by looking, so how would we know if the person we just met is a real party member?”

“In some ways, it could be more dangerous than complete strangers.”

“I think so too. Rather than blindly embracing and trusting, being slightly suspicious of each other might be one way for everyone’s sake.”

‘Haha, look at these guys?’

Seeing people casting suspicious glances in our direction, I shrugged my shoulders.

“So, is there a wise person here who knows how to distinguish doppelgangers in this situation?”

Is this reasonable suspicion now?

At my question, everyone cleared their throats and unnecessarily checked their weapons, looked at their nails, or scratched their heads.

“Then… Let’s wait and talk since more people might gather.”

“That’s right. We might find something that doesn’t add up as we talk.”

“Well… Not a bad idea. The Young Noble Lord thinks so too, right?”

As they step back and speak with expressions that seem to be contemplating something, Luna and Kane look at me.

I twisted up one corner of my mouth and folded my arms.

‘These Imposters are something else.’

Oops, manage your expression.

To that, I also spoke in a softened voice as if taking a step back.

“Well, shall we? Let’s open a dialogue while eating something.”

Ten people gathered in the common area.

Among them is a doppelganger.

I smiled brightly at them as they looked at me with anxious faces, interested eyes, and tense gestures.