A Question for a Question

I am but a bartender, tending to the bar.

And now I’m stuck between a chair and a smashed face.

A statement I didn’t expect was uttered, and that chairman was sure I knew why. I mean, he guessed right, but the reason wasn’t that grand. In fact, it was pretty stupid and in no way convincing. After all, what was I supposed to say? Yeah, I dumped water in the wasteland to build a sandcastle? After living around people, even I understood that it sounded ridiculous! My head would roll if I said so. I had to change the topic.

“How about an answer for an answer?” I blurted out, pushing back his large platinum coin. Hopefully, that caught him off guard.

“Oh? That sounds good to me.” However, the chairman was neither confused nor surprised. Instead, he seemed… amused? That playful smirk was terrifying. “ Why don’t you ask the first question?” he responded, taking a sip of his drink.

Great. Now I needed to think of something. Well, to be honest, there were a few things I was curious about, but I had no desire to actually know this chairman. Who would want to know a man that could kill you in one swing? But running away wasn’t possible, and I didn’t have any better ideas.

So, I pointed my finger at the maid sitting by his side. “What in the world is that woman-beast hybrid?” From what I could tell, her body was that of a person, but those ears atop her head were fake. Although she wore an expressionless facade, the minute movements of her face conveyed quite a bit of emotion. Most curious of all was her mana. It wasn’t that of a person, rather more similar to the environment itself. It was as if the mana itself had gained an ego, which was completely impossible. Though, I guess there was some precedence.

The chairman seemed to think long and hard about the answer before looking up with his casual smile. I braced myself for his response.

“No idea.”

“...huh?”

“I’m not sure how to explain it, but No. 1 just turned into this after dying.”

“...wait, what?”

The man simply shrugged his shoulders. Honestly, I should’ve expected such an unhelpful answer. And here I hoped I could learn something about myself. A question for another time then.

“Can I ask a different question then, given your lack of an answer?”

“Hmm… I guess that’s fair,” he said flippantly, picking up his glass for another sip.

“Then, where did you get that chair from?”

The man froze.

Plop! Plop! Plop!

Around the guild, the adventurers collapsed to the floor, as if they were puppets with cut strings. That was expected though. Who could resist the pressure of a man capable of destroying the world? Especially one that was glaring into my soul, trying to discern what I knew. Even Brennan only barely managed to stay conscious. Of course, that chimera maid by his side seemed to have no trouble, taking another swig of vodka without concern. I didn’t expect my guess to be so accurate.

“Why do you think this chair wasn’t mine to begin with?” he asked cautiously.

“Excluding your bloodlust? Well, the last person I remember with such a world-ending weapon looked completely different.” That part was partially true. Honestly, my memories were strangely fragmented from my past. In fact, I was pretty sure I wasn’t born as a cloud. Still, those memories were whisps I could barely hold onto. The only thing I knew for sure was the person in question would never be able to pull off a tuxedo.

The man continued to peer into me before speaking again. “Was it a fox woman with bright orange hair? Her left pinky should’ve been broken off.” That was oddly specific yet familiar, but…

“Nope. Pretty sure it was a guy wearing… blue? Or something like that?”

“Blue, you say…” The man stared at the ceiling, contemplating my words as though they had some kind of deeper meaning. They didn’t, unless you called ‘redirecting the conversation’ a deeper meaning. I was just curious, though curiosity did kill the cat. Which cat? No idea. But it definitely killed at least one. Surely, he would’ve forgotten by–

His gaze then focused solely on me once again. “As for my question to you… I have a query about the wasteland.”

Well, crap. My redirect failed miserably. Apparently, convincing someone was still far from my skill set. Not that I had faith in my abilities in the first place. After all, I was a cloud – they didn’t teach you how to communicate, or really anything for that matter. Only one thing to do then.

Lie.

How?

Good question. I didn’t even have time to figure it out.

“So…”

Ah, screw it.

“Do you have any information related to the Queen of Mutan?”

“...huh?”

“She’s also called the Beast Queen to some people.”

“...huh?” I hadn’t gotten over my initial shock. That’s not the question I was expecting. What did the ruler of some random kingdom have to do with the wasteland?

My tilt of the head likely conveyed my confusion, since he spoke up again. “See, the guild received reports that the Queen of Mutan fell into a coma about fifteen years ago after visiting the wasteland about reports of water. Given the relatively recent situation at the capital, the kingdom is pursuing any leads on a potential nation-wide conspiracy. So, any information you have would be helpful.”

Wait a moment. This was all so puzzling. A what now? Nation-wide conspiracy? That seemed a bit overblown given what I knew. Not that I planned on telling him that. As for the queen… I didn’t remember meeting one in the wasteland. Only some adventurers, or mercenaries back then. I told the chairman as much.

“Hmm… okay then…” His eyebrow raised, likely still wary of me, but I didn’t lie. And so, the chairman stood up, swinging the chair over his shoulder.

“Your coin?”

“Keep it. I have plenty of them already. Thanks for the drink Ms…?”

“Melora.”

“Ms. Melora. The conversation was extremely enlightening.” The chairman, followed by his maid, exited the guild hall, releasing the pressure. It was a welcome relief that I managed to get through it, though with my mind freed up, there was another problem on my mind.

Who in the world was going to clean up the mess of people collapsed on the floor?