Chapter 205 - An Instant (1)

In a great hall deep within Noark's citadel, a man was speaking to someone through a crystal ball.

“Amelia Reinweils. Have you found that explorer?”

[“Not yet, my lord.”]

“I see...”

This was the first regular report since the city had been sealed off. There was no reason to expect results already, but the lord could not help lapsing into troubled silence.

Then more bad news reached him.

[“There is something else I need to tell you.”]

“What is it? Go on.”

[“Starting this month, the royal family will reportedly be issuing specially manufactured identification tags to explorers.”]

“... Magic devices?”

[“Yes.”]

“Tell me more. Knowing you, you must already have looked into the details.”

Amelia then told the lord about the identification tags the royal family planned to distribute.

The more he heard, the bleaker it sounded.

Identification tags designed by the royal family's own archmage.

“It will take us several months at least to make anything similar.”

[“Yes, I believe so too.”]

“Thank you for the news. Do not concern yourself with matters here. Focus on your mission. Until next month.”

Ending the call with those words, the lord closed his eyes and sank deep into thought.

How much time passed?

“Ah, you're here.”

Having summoned the treasurer, the lord first checked Noark's financial situation.

Or, more precisely, he asked this:

“Treasurer, how long can we hold out without entering the Labyrinth?”

“Three months, if we continue as we are.”

The aftermath of the last battle had left them in poor straits.

But never once had they held an advantage over their enemies.

This was familiar territory.

Their ancestors had endured the same.

“And if we endure hunger after hunger? How long can we last then?”

“... Around seven months at most.”

“I see...”

The lord gave a brief nod.

Then he summoned his aide and issued an order.

“Seal off the Labyrinth and allow no one to enter until I order otherwise.”

“... There will be considerable opposition. May I at least ask how long this will last?”

The lord answered firmly.

“At least until we can reproduce the royal family's identification tags.”

Entering before then would mean dying for nothing.

And so...

“We will hold out, and keep holding out, until they let their guard down.”

They had to be patient and wait for the right moment.

Then it would surely come.

That one chance to change everything.

* * *

「Bjorn Jandel」

Level: 5

Physical: 516.48/ Mental: 427.56/ Ability: 1657.2(New +720)

Item Level: 3,367(New +769.01)

Overall Combat Index: 3442.99(New +845)

Obtained Essences: Corpse Golem - Rank 7 / Orc Hero - Rank 5 / Ogre - Rank 3 / Manticore - Rank 5

* * *

Light gradually seeped through my closed eyelids.

I leisurely opened my eyes, and for the first time in a while, a bright, clear sky filled my vision.

With every breath, the city's hot air curled deep into my lungs.

Once again, I felt the passage of time with my entire body.

'June already...?'

Six months had already passed since the day I was exiled to Bifron.

Winter, which had been a joke compared to Korea's, had ended long ago. Now even the short spring was drawing to a close.

'It's strange.'

It had been March when I arrived in this world.

It really had been over a year since I came here.

I'd felt it when I paid my first year's taxes too, but it still felt odd.

Honestly, my life on Earth was growing hazier and hazier.

That was only natural.

Counting the time I'd spent in the Labyrinth, I'd been here for nearly two years.

“Hey, are you heading straight back to your lodgings?”

“For now. Let's wash up and then get a drink.”

“We're baaaaack!!”

Seeing that my surroundings were no different than usual, I let my brief musings go.

'Nothing happened this time either.'

I'd wondered whether anything had happened on the other floors, but judging by the reactions around me, there hadn't been any particular trouble there either.

And here I was, worrying for nothing.

SHHHHHH.

I lowered my gaze to my wrist.

I'd only just returned to the city, but the identification tag inscribed there like a tattoo was already dispersing into light.

Getting a new one every time we entered was a hassle, but its capabilities were on an entirely different level from the old tags, which anyone could simply steal.

Coincidentally, ever since these came out, those underground-city bastards had been nowhere to be found.

'... I thought it was about time they showed up.'

Earth and this place had distinctly different ecosystems.

This world had neither flowing rivers nor fertile land to farm.

To feed themselves, both Noark and Raphdonia had to create food using magic crystals from the Labyrinth.

'And yet there's been no word of them for six months now...'

At last month's Round Table, Fox had told me the major clans had formed an alliance to prepare for a surprise attack from Noark, which only made me more uneasy.

Where had they all gone into hiding?

It wasn't as though they'd found some way to procure food without magic crystals.

“Mr. Jandel! What took you so long?”

As I strolled along, sorting through my thoughts, Raven waved at me from a distance.

Even Mister Bear, who was always late, had arrived before me.

“I had something to think about.”

“Hmm. You could have come here and done that while standing in line...”

Tch. Everything had to be about efficiency with her.

Still, I was the one who was late, so I apologized without argument and joined the line.

It only took a few minutes for the line to clear.

This was the rank-five checkpoint, after all.

“Rank-five Team Apple Naraq, correct?”

That was one of the many changes over the past six months. Aynar, Misha, and I had been promoted to rank five, raising our team's rank by one as well.

Reaching rank five required completing a Guild request, which had been a bit of a hassle, but...

We'd all completed it together three months ago.

In this line of work, a low rank meant being looked down on, and being looked down on only brought more trouble.

“Wow, they even give us candy here. Did you know that, Bjorn, nyah?”

“I did not.”

I popped the candy Misha unwrapped for me into my mouth and sucked on it.

“Sweet.”

Raphdonia, a city utterly merciless to the weak.

I was finally starting to feel as though I received decent treatment wherever I went here.

“We'll settle the accounts tomorrow, then?”

“Why ask the obvious?”

“Ooh! Then let's hurry! Home!!!”

We simply exchanged our magic crystals for money and headed out into the city.

Rank-five checkpoints and above had bathing facilities for convenience, but once again, we didn't use them.

Why bother when we could wash at home?

“Then I'll see you there tomorrow. Darling, I'm home!”

We parted outside Mister Bear's tavern so no one would get lost, then headed straight home.

Our home was in a four-story building in the inner part of District 7, only about ten minutes from the commercial city of Commelby.

We used the first and second floors, while an explorer couple occupied the third and fourth.

We had separate entrances, so we rarely ran into each other.

“Aah, home at last, nyah!”

Unlike our old single-room lodgings, our new home was superior in every way.

In fact, we'd only moved in two months ago.

We'd really liked the place, but the previous tenant hadn't been leaving until then.

Oh, and of course we were renting.

The purchase price was insane.

“We'll take a while washing up, so if you're hungry, go ahead and eat without us, nyah!”

Aynar and Misha went into the first-floor bathroom, which had a bathtub, while I washed in the small bathroom upstairs.

I called it small, but it was still far better than what we'd had at our old lodgings.

As I soaped myself up, I let out a quiet chuckle.

'Maybe this counts as a change too.'

A spacious home with a kitchen.

Soap from a workshop instead of the mass-produced stuff.

Even an expensive bed I'd splurged on.

Instead of stubbornly pinching every penny so I could return home, I'd started improving my quality of life here.

Still, I didn't want to think of it as inefficient.

I had no idea how many more years I'd spend here.

No, now that even the Six Treasures were gone, I no longer knew whether returning was possible at all.

'For that matter... I don't even know if I have to go back.'

I left the bathroom, toweling my hair dry as though wiping away that weakness of resolve.

SHHHHHHH!

It seemed they were still washing downstairs.

I was hungry, but Misha's cooking tasted much better, so I simply sat on the sofa and dozed for a while.

How long had it been?

“You're up just in time. Come and eat, nyah.”

Drawn by an appetizing smell, I looked toward the kitchen and found the table laden with food. With two barbarians in the house, most of it was meat.

We chatted about everyday things as we ate.

“Oh, right. Are you dropping off the equipment today, nyah?”

“I should. Proper maintenance makes it last longer. Gather yours up after we finish eating and give it to me. I'll go alone.”

“Okay. Hikurod's smithy again, nyah?”

“We should give him our business at least. Inspecting weapons and armor doesn't require any special skills.”

In the meantime, the dwarf had opened his smithy too.

It had been about three months now, but he still seemed to be operating at a loss. That business relied on regular customers, after all.

Well, things did seem to be gradually improving.

“About Hikurod... If his shop goes under, he'll go back to being an explorer, right, nyah?”

“Don't... say that in front of him.”

“Come on, do you think I'm crazy? I do have a brain. I'm just a little worried, nyah.”

“Hehe, what are you so worried about, Misha? If he goes under, we can make him our butler!”

“Our butler...?”

“Hikurod is fun, isn't he?”

What exactly did she think a butler was?

I had no idea, but taking a barbarian's words seriously would be foolish in the extreme.

We said that sounded fun too, and spent a long while giggling over our silly conversation.

“I'm off to the smithy, then. Go ahead and get some sleep.”

“Want me to come with you?”

“No need. It's not as though I'm doing anything important.”

After getting the girls settled down for a nap, I gathered the sorted equipment and headed to the dwarf's smithy. I left it there for inspection and repairs, then returned and lay down on my bed.

An extra-large bed that had cost me a whopping 350,000 Stones.

'Yeah. This is the stuff.'

Satisfied with its reliably soft embrace, I closed my eyes.

For some reason, I thought back to the old days.

Was it when Misha and I had missed the last ride and stayed in Commelby? Back then, I'd sighed, wondering when I'd be able to sleep in a bed like this every day, thinking I still had so far to go...

“...”

It had now been over a year since I came to this city.

Blood splashing onto me no longer bothered me.

If anything, days without blood felt stranger, and even hurting people instead of monsters no longer stirred much feeling in me.

Before falling asleep, I asked myself:

Was I living more like a human being now than I had been back then?

* * *

My nap lasted all the way until the next morning, when Misha came to wake me.

“You said you were going out later, didn't you? Time to get up!”

“Ah, thanks.”

“What about breakfast? Want me to make you something?”

“No, we agreed to eat together when we meet.”

“Oh, did you, nyah?”

As I quickly washed again and got ready to leave, I heard snoring from downstairs.

Aynar was apparently still asleep.

Oh, for the record, Misha and I each had a room on the second floor.

There were two rooms on the first floor too, but...

SNNNNNORE!

She snored even worse than I did.

We were using the remaining room downstairs as communal storage.

“I'll see you at the tavern later, then.”

“Okay. Have a good trip, nyah!”

I said goodbye to Misha and left the house.

Rather than taking a carriage, I walked the ten minutes to Commelby.

After passing through the gates and walking another half hour or so, I reached the public boarding platform where we'd agreed to meet.

Raven was already there.

“You're late. I got off my carriage ages ago.”

“... I think you're just early today.”

“Too perceptive for your own good. Come on, let's go. I'm absolutely starving.”

After meeting up with Raven, we ate at one of our usual places, then made the rounds of the general stores and Trade Market to sell the loot from our last expedition.

This time, we'd made a tidy sum even by our standards.

A rank-five Essence had dropped in the Otherworld inside the mirror we'd entered after killing the Millar Rodent.

“It'll probably take a while to sell, so I'll pay everyone's shares out of my own money and collect the proceeds later.”

“That's good for us, but are you sure you're all right with that?”

“Why wouldn't I be? Waiting until it sells and gathering again just to divide the money would only be a hassle.”

That was true, but until now, we'd always insisted on doing it that way.

We'd judged it the least likely to cause problems.

“... What? What's that look for?”

“Nothing.”

“It doesn't look like nothing.”

“You're imagining things.”

I walked on, looking straight ahead and doing my best not to smile.

Come to think of it, she'd changed quite a lot too.

Though she still couldn't be honest with herself.

“We finished earlier than expected. Let's head to the tavern first.”

Having finished selling our loot, we headed to the tavern where we'd arranged to meet.

As expected, no one else had arrived yet.

“Actually, this works out well. Last time, I didn't even have time to organize everything.”

Ordering only a drink, Raven took out some paper and began writing up the accounts for today's settlement in advance.

It took longer than I'd expected.

And she always said it was nothing whenever I asked.

“Thank you.”

“... Um, what's this all of a sudden?”

“You're always taking care of the tedious work for our team.”

“If there were even one other person who could do this, I wouldn't have to, would I? At least pay me before saying things like that.”

“All right, I will. How much do you want? I'm sure everyone else would happily agree.”

“... Forget it. As if that money would make me rich.”

Honestly, she'd probably be much more popular if she didn't grumble so much.

“Oh, I thought I'd be the last one here.”

After a while, Mister Bear arrived, and the melee sisters followed soon after.

And so the settlement began.

“That's 8.5 million Stones per person.”

Thanks to the Millar Rodent dropping a mirror, we'd earned a sizable sum. I'd paid off all my debts two months ago, so every bit of this income was going straight into my pocket.

“Now, let's move on to other business.”

After settling the accounts, we relaxed over food and drinks and planned our next expedition.

Well, perhaps it would be more accurate to say I made an announcement.

“I don't intend to go to Hellfire Rift anymore.”

“What? Why?”

Over the past six months, we'd hunted in Hellfire Rift and entered the Otherworld through mirrors a total of three times.

We'd also finished exploring the Ash Mountains and Lava Lake, which we hadn't been able to clear before.

It hadn't been particularly difficult.

We had the Orb of Fire to protect us from fire damage, and our combat strength had increased considerably since our first visit.

“Is there any reason to leave the place that suits us best and go somewhere else?”

We'd been doing well in Hellfire Rift, so Raven voiced her concerns about my decision.

But I couldn't compromise on this.

“We can't stay on the fifth floor forever. It's time we explored other places.”

We'd gotten everything we could from Hellfire Rift.

It was time to move on to the next chapter.

“Then where are we going?”

“Frost Rift.”

“Oh, Frost Rift...”

Misha trailed off and glanced at me.

She knew that, unlike Hellfire Rift, this field could offer her an opportunity.

Well, she wasn't wrong.

Several Essences that dropped in Frost Rift had good synergy with Misha's ice element.

In fact, one of them was precisely what I was after.

'Once she absorbs that Essence, we're done with Frost Rift.'

After that, I planned to collect EXP from the Great Demon Realm's two remaining fields, then open the way to the sixth floor.

Well, just getting that far would take another year at least.

'Still, we've come a long way.'

It happened just as that thought crossed my mind.

SHHHHH!

Light burst from the vine ring on my finger.

“Bjorn, is that...?”

Unlike the first time, I didn't struggle to deny it and deceive myself. I didn't wet the vine with spit and twist it between my fingers, trying to join it back together.

Nothing I did would change anything anyway.

「The activation conditions for the Star's Blessing have been fulfilled.」

The second vine, which had been holding off a death flag involving the Dragonslayer, had snapped.

Goddammit.