Chapter 251 - Gnometree (5)

There was no point making excuses anymore. No matter how cleverly I tried to talk my way out of this, he wouldn't buy it. He would insist on a definite answer, one way or another.

'Fucking hell.'

Despite my resentment at being forced to choose, my mind was already examining each option available to me and its repercussions in meticulous detail. What was truly my best choice?

"Hello? Are you going to say something? I asked why you're suddenly so friendly."

God, this impatient bastard.

I wanted to say something like, "I just felt like it. Got a problem?" and switch into Mindless Bar bar ian Mode.

But...

'That could actually get me killed.'

I was weaker than him. That meant I couldn't respond to his persistent suspicions with my usual combo of declaring that something was wrong with his head and swinging my mace. I'd be the one getting my skull smashed.

"Ha, look at this bastard. Already back to being unfriendly."

Lee Baekho sighed in frustration and fixed me with those piercing blue eyes.

"Why do you keep asking? You don't intend to believe me anyway."

I made no attempt to hide my sigh. But perhaps Lee Baekho was just as frustrated.

"Well, sure, but hearing it straight from you feels different, you know?"

Yeah, I knew what he meant. That was precisely why I'd tried to keep it hidden to the end.

'So you're determined to get an answer out of me.'

It was time to accept it. Too much had already gone wrong for me to get out of this without paying a price. I had to give up what I could.

For example...

"Manners maketh man, they say."

My identity, which had aroused suspicion many times but which I'd never once admitted to.

"Huh?"

Lee Baekho looked taken aback by my sudden change in attitude. But I'd made up my mind. There was nothing holding me back.

"Hey, at this point, wouldn't the polite thing be to pretend you don't know and leave?"

"What? Seriously? You're actually a Player?"

His eyes lit up with fascination at finally hearing the truth from my own mouth.

'So you really were just curious.'

Rage welled up inside me. Did he have any idea that this was the first time I'd spoken like this in Bjorn Jandel's body?

'Still, it does feel kind of liberating.'

I glared at him, feeling a strange mix of freedom and resentment. But was this bastard's capacity for secondhand embarrassment completely shot?

"Wow, so you've seen that movie too!"

Even now, he focused only on whatever interested him and what he wanted to talk about. Did he genuinely have no social skills?

"... I think an apology should come first."

What a bizarre sight: a barbarian explaining basic social etiquette and decency to a human.

"Oh, sorry. It's just, hearing you've seen that movie suddenly makes you feel less like a stranger. I really love that movie."

After that soulless apology, Lee Baekho cautiously asked another question.

"... Did you see the sequel too?"

What the hell was this guy's deal? Even barbarians couldn't hope to match this level of conversational dysfunction.

"... I did."

I answered him, at least. After all, if I ignored him, who knew when he'd switch gears agai—

"Why are you talking so casually to me, though?"

Huh?

"I mean, why have you been talking down to me this whole time? Ever heard of mutual respect? Think being Players means you won't die if I stick a knife in your gut?"

For some reason, Lee Baekho suddenly looked dead serious and began radiating murderous intent.

I felt like I was losing my mind.

"... I'm not used to honorifics."

"Oh, you're a Westerner!"

So that was one way to interpret it. I'd been thinking of barbarians when I said it.

"Then let's both drop the formalities. Sound good?"

Lee Baekho beamed as if nothing had happened and offered me his hand. At first glance, he looked bipolar, but...

'That snapped me wide awake.'

If anything, my mind had cleared. Perhaps this was his conversational strategy: use his strength to seize control, then keep me so thoroughly off balance that I had no time to think.

'Was he asking about the sequel to work out when I arrived? And just now, was he checking whether I'm Asian?'

Maybe I was jumping to conclusions. But it was better to be careful.

'I'll keep being Lee Hansoo a secret after all.'

Honestly, that was what I'd agonized over right up until the end. If I was going to reveal that I was a Player anyway, perhaps it would be better to tell him that too and become friends. But one thing had made me put that decision on hold.

["That cat seems to have caught on to some extent. Wouldn't it be better to kill her?"]

Earlier, that had merely been advice. It was more like meddling in the affairs of someone he'd happened to run into. But the moment I revealed I was Lee Hansoo, this problem would become his business.

Because he cared about Lee Hansoo.

No, he cared about the few Players from Korea in this unfamiliar world.

"About me being a Player..."

"Oh, stop worrying! I won't tell anyone. Do I look like someone without even that much decency?"

A "yes" rose to my throat, but I forced it back down. Talking to him had made it even clearer. Lee Baekho was like a ball that could bounce in any direction. I absolutely couldn't get involved with him—not until I was confident I could control him, at least.

"Anyway, I'm really glad you answered honestly."

"...?"

"I heard you became a noble, too. Since we ran into each other again, I was going to kill you before you sided with the royal family if you really were an NPC."

My heart sank at those casually delivered words.

"... What?"

"Why so surprised? It's not like I go around PKing for fun. Well, as long as you're not an NPC with a destiny, that's fine. Even I find those guys a pain."

I couldn't make any sense of that. Curious, I tried asking indirectly, but Lee Baekho simply said there were things like that, politely drawing a line.

Tsk. Was it because I was Bjorn Jandel, the Westerner? I had a feeling he would have answered Lee Hansoo, the Korean.

"Oh, and I'll give you one more piece of advice, just in case. It's funny saying this to someone who's already become a noble, but don't get too deeply involved with the royal family."

"Why?"

"The royal family has no interest in opening the Gate of Abyss. No, they're actually dead set on preventing it. Those bastards might even be behind the disappearance of the Six Treasures."

The royal family? Why on earth?

Everyone said the key to saving this world lay in the deepest part of the Labyrinth. Had that all been bullshit after all?

I had as many questions to ask as things I wanted to know. But whatever I asked, Lee Baekho only looked annoyed and said,

"What would you do with that information?"

At this rate, he probably wouldn't answer if I asked who GM was either. As I smacked my lips in disappointment, he spoke again.

"So you're one of those after all?"

"One of what?"

"You know, the ones who just want to live here. Seeing you risk your life for an NPC back then made me think you were, but then your growth rate made me wonder if I was wrong. Which is it?"

"What would you do if I wanted to stay?"

"What would I do? Nothing. Some people are like that. I'm not that narrow-minded, you know. As long as you don't get in my way, I don't care."

I quietly stared into Lee Baekho's eyes. Not that it accomplished much. I couldn't tell what was going on behind those piercing blue eyes at all.

'It doesn't seem like he's just fishing for an answer...'

After a brief moment of deliberation, I spoke.

"I don't know."

That was the most honest answer I could give.

"At first, my goal was to go back. But lately, I wonder whether it's really worth risking my life to go that far."

"Because of that Red Cat Tribe girl?"

"..."

I didn't answer. But perhaps that was enough.

"You remind me of how I used to be," Lee Baekho said with a faint chuckle.

"You seem to have potential, so I'll tell you this. Don't expect much from NPCs. You'll definitely regret it."

I sensed the cold emotion hidden beneath his amused voice, and a question suddenly occurred to me. What had happened to him? What on earth had he gone through in this world to become so broken—a monster who wanted nothing but to go home?

As I was now, I had no way of knowing.

"Well, my curiosity's satisfied, so I'm off, okay?"

Lee Baekho turned away as though he had finished everything he came to do. With a single gesture, he destroyed the wall, which had finished repairing itself.

No, could that even be called destroying it?

FSSSSSH

The remains of the wall scattered as dust. With another gesture from Lee Baekho, even that dust vanished on the wind.

'... Good thing I didn't use Mindless Mode.'

The thought that my head could have been reduced to dust instead made me dizzy. As I watched Lee Baekho leave...

"Oh, right."

He turned to look at me and delivered one last thing he'd forgotten to say.

"For the record, we're strangers the next time we meet, okay?"

"What does that mean?"

"Don't act like we're friends if we happen to run into each other."

"..."

"I don't form attachments in this world."

Man, this bastard. Coldhearted as hell.

* * *

After Lee Baekho left, I returned to our lodgings without so much as looking back at the cave.

The next morning...

"Ugh, Mister... I'm dying..."

I spent the entire morning resting with the hungover trio.

"Bjorn... When did you get back, anyway, nyah? Did you finish what you needed to do yesterday, nyah?"

Apparently, Misha had forgotten everything about last night. She didn't even remember me returning to the villa. That was probably for the best.

["Is it because I can't give birth to a barbarian, nyah?"]

It would have been awkward talking face-to-face if she knew she'd said that to me yesterday.

"Now that the commission's done, can we just have fun without worrying about anything, nyah?"

"Of course."

I'd planned a three-day, two-night trip just in case, but I'd finished all my business in Noark on the first day. The rest of our time was free.

"Ooooh! We're going out to have fun!"

In the end, we spent the second day enjoying ourselves together until late at night. It was a pretty fun day, all things considered.

Well, except for falling into the water at the end.

"Aynar!! I told you not to move like that!!"

It happened at the fishing spot. We'd been fishing at night by lantern light when a fish bit Aynar. She flailed so wildly that the boat capsized.

The problem was that none of us could swim. Then again, how many of them would ever have been anywhere this deep?

'I really thought I was going to die.'

Still, I learned one thing from the experience. When I'd fallen into the water in the Glacial Cavern, I'd thought my armor was dragging me down. That wasn't it.

Barbarians couldn't swim.

It wasn't a matter of technique. Once we fell into water, sinking was our only option. Well, using Gigantification (Transcendence) Mode brought my head above the surface, so I was able to call for help.

'When we get back, I'll have to look around for somewhere to learn swimming. Aynar and I aside, the others should know how.'

Anyway, the second day passed, and the next day arrived. Having drunk through the night before falling asleep, we didn't wake until noon. Then we climbed into the carriage to head home.

"Ahh, I wish we could've stayed one more day. I can't believe we're really leaving, nyah."

"I agree. Mister hardly ever drinks at home..."

"Ooh! Misha! There's a horse running over there!"

We rode for several hours, admiring natural scenery rarely seen in the city. Eventually, we reached the southwestern exit and returned the whistle we'd received upon entering.

'Come to think of it, I did have this.'

The whistle that would summon Gnometree's much-vaunted militia the moment you blew it, wherever and whenever that might be.

I wondered what would have happened if I'd blown it when I was with Lee Baekho, but it probably wouldn't have changed much. He likely wouldn't even have given me the time.

"I'm going to rest, then. Let me know if you get hungry later, nyah."

We didn't arrive home until evening, and we all retired to our rooms to rest. The next day was much the same.

Peaceful days of rest.

As always, such time flew by.

And then...

"I'm going out for a bit."

The day finally arrived.

[22:10]

With two hours left until the Labyrinth opened at midnight, I finished getting ready and headed for the Dimensional Plaza.

'They said the royal family was sharpening its blades.'

Rumor had it that the royal family was assembling an army. After taking such a heavy blow, they supposedly intended to repay it with a proper showdown in the Labyrinth this time.

No one knew how large the force was. Apparently, unlike the previous subjugation campaign, they hadn't even sent the clans official requests for assistance. They intended to handle this entirely with their own forces.

'I'll get a rough idea once I reach the plaza. Just how much fighting power does the royal family have?'

Indeed, I could see explorers here and there heading for the plaza to investigate, just like me. Everyone was curious about the royal family's true strength—much discussed, but never properly seen.

"Oh, Bjorn! Heading to the plaza too?"

"I couldn't help wondering."

I spotted a few familiar faces along the way, and we walked together, chatting. Some time later...

"... I wasn't expecting this."

Every explorer who'd come, myself included, tilted their head in confusion.

"Who would've thought there'd be no one here?"

It wasn't entirely deserted. City Watch guards had occupied the plaza and were keeping explorers from entering. But that was all.

"Where's the army?"

No matter where I looked, there was no sign of the rumored army.

"Have they not arrived yet?"

"Come on, man. How could that be? The Labyrinth opens in five minutes. If they're still not here, there must never have been an army in the first place."

"What a letdown. So the whole showdown was just a baseless rumor."

The explorers gathered near the plaza began leaving one by one, making no attempt to hide their disappointment. The explorers I'd met on my way here were no exception.

"Jandel, aren't you leaving?"

"I'll watch a little longer."

"Hmm. Then I'll be going ahead."

Just in case, I waited until the portal opened and eventually closed again. In the end, there really was no army.

'What's going on? Are they aiming for next time instead of today?'

I had plenty of questions, but staying here wouldn't change anything. I finally turned to leave too.

That was when it happened.

BOOOOOOM!

The faint sound of something collapsing reached me from somewhere.

RUMMMMMBLE!

Before long, the ground beneath my feet shook.

"Wh-what? An earthquake?"

The officials and guards all around froze in confusion.

But...

"..."

The few knights in the plaza were different. Their expressions didn't change at all, making them seem all the more grim as they spoke among themselves.

As if what they'd been waiting for had finally begun.

'So that's what this was.'

I lowered my gaze to the ground. Somehow, I felt I knew where the royal army was, even if I couldn't see it before me.

'Hitting them while no one's home.'

The war had already begun.