Gilgamesh walked into the Lounge with a confident composure and directed his Faction to wait for him while he headed to the gathering of Lieges.

  “You have jeopardized this alliance by killing one of our members.” Ambitious Man, now a Marquis with over 20,000 Prestige, criticized the moment he arrived.

  “He acted against me first.” Gilgamesh replied without a hint of guilt. “Is it not the same for you?”

  Ambitious Man was silent for a moment. “Yes, I suppose that is justified. I spoke too rashly.”

  Gilgamesh smiled beneath his mask. Ambitious Man cannot openly admit that he and Aristocrat Woman had conspired with Old Man to target him, and there was no benefit to siding with a dead man.

  “I must apologize as well.” Stoic Man said to Gilgamesh. “I suspected that you were conspiring with Blue.”

  “An easy mistake to make.” Gilgamesh half-mocked.

  “It’s all behind us.” Ambitious Man said. “But it is clear this Alliance needs some changes. I propose a more structured system, one where we work together under a unified strategy. All of us will attack the same targets together to plunder Soldiers and Prestige as quickly as possible.”

  “If we all aim at the same target, then how will we divide the Soldiers and Prestige?” Gilgamesh questioned. “Rather than working together, it seems more likely we’ll just end up competing against each other.”

  “We keep whatever Prestige we get, and the recruited Soldiers will be divided equally.” Ambitious Man answered.

  “How will we choose our targets?” Stoic Man asked right after.

  “Someone will propose a target and we’ll hold a vote.” Ambitious Man answered.

  “Mm. I have no complaints.” Stoic Man said.

  Aristocrat Woman glanced at a message. “I suppose it is reasonable enough…”

  Gilgamesh eyed them, unimpressed. It was obvious now that both were pawns of Ambitious Man, perhaps even from the start of this Alliance. Governing this Alliance via an equal vote was nothing more than a meaningless charade when Ambitious Man controlled the majority. He would just be a king with extra steps.

  “Although…” Gilgamesh refrained from looking at Sycophant.

  There was still a chance that he was part of the conspiracy, but Gilgamesh was also quite certain that he was truly obsessed with Aristocrat Woman. And that was a valuable opening Conceited Boy had left him.

  “It’s still more efficient to work independently. If we are aiming for Soldiers and Prestige.” Jaded Woman objected.

  “What we need right now is cooperation.” Ambitious Man pushed back. “And what we should aim for are the larger Factions, before they become too powerful.”

  “...I suppose so.” Jaded Woman conceded. “But surely we can come up with a more refined strategy.”

  Gilgamesh glanced her way. Jaded Woman showed a willingness to cooperate but not one to submit to Ambitious Man’s coup.

  “She won’t oppose him directly, at least not alone. Her suggestion is an offer directed at me. She is giving me a decision to band together to gain a better standing.” Gilgamesh realized. “The problem is the internal competition and the vote. I need to eliminate those two things.”

  “There is a better way, one that doesn’t force us to compete.” Gilgamesh proposed. “We should all attack together, but only one Faction will actually push in to target the enemy Lieges.”

  “Whichever one of us that is will also choose which target we attack, and they’ll take all of the enemy Vassals. We’ll take turns. For the sake of fairness, the order will be by the lowest amount of total Prestige possessed between our groups.”

  By that criteria, the order would be Jaded Woman, Aristocrat Woman, Stoic Man, Gilgamesh, and lastly Ambitious Man.

  “Also,” Gilgamesh’s eyes gleamed beneath the mask. “Each Faction must match the number of Vassals the Attacker sends.”

  This system favored Gilgamesh and Jaded Woman a little more, and more importantly, it gave them control over their involvement. Even more important than that, it gave them an opening.

  “What happens if someone fails their attack? Do they get to try again or do we move on to the next person’s turn?” Jaded Woman asked. Gilgamesh recognized that she was playing a similar role to Aristocrat Woman and Stoic Man by advancing the conversation in their favor.

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  “We’ll move on.” Gilgamesh answered. “Better to keep moving than dwell in a missed opportunity.”

  “It’s disorganized.” Stoic Man objected. “We are better off-”

  “We’ll go with that method.” Ambitious Man interjected, with no explanation as to why he agreed.

  But Gilgamesh knew the reason. It was the simple fact that Ambitious Man had no choice. He might hold the upper hand, but neither Gilgamesh nor Jaded Woman were bound to the Alliance. They would only remain if they felt it was to their advantage. As such, he had no choice but to concede to their terms, lest they simply leave.

  “That said…” Gilgamesh thought. “He must know by now that I will never fall under him, which means he will aim to eliminate me and plunder what I have, sooner rather than later. The only question is how much of a risk Jaded Woman is willing to take…”

  “She hasn’t shown any strong leanings one way or another so far. She may push back but nothing implies she wouldn’t compromise if the alternatives are worse. She just seems to prioritize her benefit pragmatically… But she remains in the Alliance.”

  Gilgamesh schemed more deeply.

  “If she isn’t a pawn, then she must want something out of it. Whatever it is… all I need to do is offer it to her.”

  Gilgamesh glanced at the other members. “Since we’re all in agreement, we should return im-”

  A Puppet Servant bumped into Gilgamesh’s shoulder midsentence, which caught all the other members off guard just as much as he seemed to be. Gilgamesh looked back in silence at the Servant, which continued to walk on, but their stunned silence lasted only a moment before more Servants began to bump into people, not just members of the Alliance but those all over the Lounge.

  “...Is this some sort of prank?” Aristocrat Woman questioned.

  “It doesn’t matter. The Lounge is safe.” Ambitious Man scanned the room. “Let’s not waste any more time.”

  With that, the Alliance headed back out into the Ballroom. Gilgamesh himself moved silently in his own Faction, until the message he waited for finally arrived.

  [ Gray: We should stay near each other. ]

  Gilgamesh smiled. Jaded Woman finally reached out to him just as he expected she would. Given that she tested his willingness to side with her during the meeting, she had a goal that required his cooperation. As such, Gilgamesh waited for her to make the first move. That way, he would be able to make higher demands than if he revealed that he also wanted a secret alliance.

  [ Purple: Certainly. But I suspect that is not all you have to suggest. ]

  Jaded Woman did not reply right away.

  [ Gray: We should ally. ]

  She chose to be direct and blunt. Gilgamesh appreciated that she did not waste his time.

  [ Purple: To what end? ]

  [ Gray: You’ve given us a good opportunity here. We should take advantage of the gain, then defect from the Alliance to form our own partnership. ]

  “So her goal is just to become a Duke, after all.” Gilgamesh deduced. Her plan was effective, but it was also ‘safe’. Something sufficient enough to claw to the next Rank, but no higher. Gilgamesh, however, had far deeper ambitions.

  [ Purple: What if I told you there was a way to take over this Alliance? ]

  [ Gray: How? ]

  [ Purple: It’s simple. You and Yellow Faction will attack Ambitious Man, while I first eliminate Orange then join you. ]

  [ Gray: Yellow is his lackey. Why would she side with you over him? ]

  [ Purple: She won’t. She’ll be replaced. ]

  There was another delay between her Messages.

  [ Gray: When will we strike? ]

  [ Purple: The optimal time would be Ambitious Man’s turn. So we will attack on mine to catch them off guard. ]

  [ Gray: Alright. Then I will trust that you will bring the Yellow Faction to our side. ]

  [ Purple: That won’t be an issue. ]

  [ Purple: You know who she is, don’t you? ]

  Gilgamesh messaged Sycophant.

  [ Purple: It makes sense why you care for her beyond the scope of a Subordinate. But how much longer do you need to make up your mind? ]

  [ Purple: You will never have her as long as he is alive. ]

  [ I’m listening. ]

  Sycophant finally responded.

  [ Purple: We are making a move against Ambitious Man. Once he is eliminated, Yellow will have no choice but to turn to you. But we need you in control of that Faction. ]

  [ I don’t have the ability to usurp control. ]

  [ Purple: I just gave it to you. Check for a Dagger. ]

  There was a pause in communication.

  [ Were those Servants your doing? ]

  [ Purple: Threaten her with that so that she does nothing while you take control. Then she will be yours. Or do you intend to stand aside and watch her slip away? ]

  There was another pause.

  [ Silver: I accept. I take it you and Gray are already in an Alliance? ]

  Sycophant chose a color for himself.

  [ Purple: Now we are three. ]

  [ Purple: “Yellow” is on board. ]

  Gilgamesh messaged Jade Woman.

  [ Gray: Then we’ll go with your plan. ]

  Gilgamesh could barely restrain his excitement. Everything was falling into place, but there was still so much risk. So much thrill.

  “How fun it would be to play this game forever…”

  [ Some gods who are partial to deceit are paying attention to you. ]

  [ Three-Headed Snake ] is amused by the web of schemes.

  [ Handsome Monkey King ] is interested to see what you will do.

  [ Slanderer and Cheat ] says you have still not revealed your secrets.

  Gilgamesh suppressed his bliss to send more Messages. Many messages to many recipients, like arrows shot in the dark.

  [ Do you want to become a Marquis? ]

  He waited patiently, eagerly, until someone finally took the bait.

  [ Who is this? ]

  Gilgamesh smiled.

  [ Red. ]

  [ Many-Faced Fool ] likes when people wear masks.