Chapter 219 Volume IV - Chapter 64: Demands for Information
I waited a short while, took advantage of the silence that followed my words, and continued.
I told my first 'lie' that wasn't a lie.
"Sometime after they put me back in my prison room... Someone looking like a human suddenly appeared in my room. He looked at me, then he offered his hand, and asked if I wanted to escape."
At my words, all the dwarves at the table suddenly paused as if they had heard something impossible. They looked at each other sideways with questioning expressions.
Of course, they would, after all, what I had said was miraculous. Still, it didn't mean I was lying and they knew it. They had already surpassed the technological capacity to understand that. That's why they reacted the way they did.
"Do you know this person's name, who he is?"
I took a deep breath and shook my head.
"I don't know his name, as for who he is… I just know that he is a 'prisoner' like me."
Yes, he was a prisoner too. A prisoner inside my body... Certain conditions had to arise for him to appear. As long as these conditions were not met, he was a 'prisoner' inside me.
I was going to keep talking but suddenly I paused, my ears suddenly stopped receiving sound, as if they were being blocked by something. Then I saw the dwarves at the table talking among themselves.
I tried to read their lips, but... it was strange, that too was being blocked.
It was just one of the systems they used to block spies. Not only did it take away my senses, but it also prevented me from understanding the conversation between them in any way.
They were playing directly with my senses.
After a short while of this strange situation, my hearing suddenly returned. Then one of the dwarves at the table turned to me.
"What was his purpose, why did he lend a hand to ye?"
"His purpose was the same as mine, to escape. At least that's what I think. As for why he helped me... That's a simple question. He used me to escape."
"This fellow seems to be a strong one, young man. Why would he make use of ye?"
"Because no matter how strong he was, he couldn't escape on his own. So he had to use 'me'."
"As a distraction?"
I didn't answer, as if the question made me uncomfortable... with the humiliation of being used. And everyone at the table understood this and the answer I wanted to give.
"Go on."
When Houdhin's voice echoed, I continued my story with a big smile that I kept inside myself.
I told how I took down the dwarf who was in charge of bringing me food, how I used him to find the warehouse, and the items I got from there.
I didn't give any details about caora, and for the rest of the story, I connected everything that happened to the items I took from the warehouse and to the man who miraculously helped me. Without 'lying' of course.
Talking about this 'man', obviously my wiera side, actually isn't a good option. Because he does not exist 'physically' and if they find out, I'm literally finished.
The only reason I can tell it this way is because I am sure that the Southerners will try to hide as much information as possible about what happened. Of course, I also know quite well that they will not tell anyone about the 'purple energy'. Because they know what this energy is, at least the higher-ups like Kahdun knows.
They cannot put themselves at risk. After all, even they have people to fear. So I can use it with confidence.
And so, I went on to explain how I had wreaked havoc in Caleuche, how I had escaped, how I had smuggled a vehicle out of the camp, and how, hours later, I had reached the borders of the North Holar.
When I finished my story, a deep silence fell over the huge room again.
In some eyes I saw sadness for what I had been through, in others respect for what I had achieved and all kinds of emotions.
It wasn't all positive emotions, of course. I also saw people who had negative thoughts about me, but in general, I was pleased with what I saw.
Again, I smiled inwardly, without expressing it in any way.
I succeeded.
*******
My ears stopped picking up sound. I couldn't help relaxing a little as I watched the dwarves arguing calmly in front of my eyes again.
Still, it would be a mistake to relax too much. I have only succeeded in making them believe my story. What I want from them is not finished, nor is what they want from me.
As the dwarves continued to talk to each other, I took turns observing them, trying to identify those who believed me and those who still doubted me.
I need to know who I can count on for support and who I can suspect if something bad happens in the future.
As I was examining each of the dwarves one by one, I locked eyes with someone, or rather I realized that someone was looking at me and turned to him, President Houdhin.
He was more focused on me than on what was being discussed at the table, his sharp green eyes were directly on me.
I didn't look away, no matter how intimidating he looked, I kept going, letting him know that I was determined and that I would stand by whatever I had to say for the rest of this meeting.
With that, Houdhin tore his eyes away from me, turned to the other dwarves at the table, said a few sentences, and then everyone stopped talking.
The barrier in my ears lifted, and then a dwarf I had never heard of spoke.
"Aiden Tenebra, durin' yer time in Caleuche, did ye come across any knowledge they Southerners be keepin' hidden from the outside, somethin' they wouldn't want leakin'?"
The room fell silent at these words, everyone at the table was looking at me with a particularly fixed expression.
They are trying to make me feel oppressed... Hah, they don't know that I have a skill that prevents exactly that.
I took a deep breath, straightened myself a little, and sharpened my eyes slightly.
Being under pressure? I took a stance as if to show that I had nothing to do with it in the slightest.
"Yes."
And that was it, the moment when everyone at the table showed their seriousness in this particular way.
"Where did ye acquire these 'information'?"
"From the archive rooms."
Immediately after I said that, everyone's eyes widened, so much so that even the legendary president's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
This was a big thing. The fact that I had broken into the archive rooms, or rather that a clone of me had broken into the archive rooms, was so important to the North Holar who were at war with the South Holar that I could clearly see my value in their eyes multiplied who knows how many times in an instant.
That's what I wanted, exactly. Getting to this point was the first thing I aimed for. And what I'm going to do now is actually going to be the most important part of this meeting for me.
Of course, it was going to be a challenge. They didn't trust me, there would certainly be people who would be very much against what I had to say. But I was prepared, I was going to get what I wanted no matter what.
Here we go…
"But..."
After my words, a deep silence suddenly fell over the room. All the dwarves at the table were surprised and... suddenly nervous, as they had certainly not expected a 'but' from me.
It was a different kind of silence than before, so much so that even the security guards scattered around the room, rather than those at the table, knew something was wrong.
Because it wasn't me who felt nervous. On the contrary, it was them.
They were curious to hear what would come out of my mouth, but at the same time they couldn't help the slight fear that had arisen in them.
Then... I continued calmly, coldly.
"There are things I want to demand for these."
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