Chapter 285 - Cause and Effect (1)

Powerful waves rolled across the sea.

“What about Bjorn! Is he still not here, nyah?”

“No. He should be here any minute...”

Allua Raven stared at a single spot, clutching the coordinate transmitter. An inexplicable anxiety was welling up inside her, as it surely was for everyone aboard.

Bjorn Jandel. Their leader, the barbarian who had stayed behind alone to face a rank-three monster and buy them time to escape.

“Something must have gone wrong. We have to go save him, nyah!”

“No! Didn't you hear Mr. Jandel? He told us not to go anywhere near him!”

“He always says that and then does whatever he wants! Fine. I'll do whatever I want now too, nyah!”

“But how will you get there? Mr. Jandel is fighting down beneath the sea!”

“Well...”

Misha trailed off.

Raven, who had also raised her voice in the heat of the moment, bit her lip and spoke more gently.

“Let's wait and watch. I'm sure Mr. Jandel will come back in one piece.”

“Sorry for shouting, nyah.”

“It's all right. I feel much the same way.”

“What do you mean, the same way, nyah?”

Raven paused before answering Misha's question.

“... He's our companion.”

“Oh, yeah... That's right, nyah.”

An awkward silence followed. All the while, everyone aboard kept their eyes fixed on the far end of the route they had traveled.

About five more minutes passed. Then the boat, anchored out at sea, lurched violently.

“Th-the water is receding!”

The sea level, which had risen as though a flood had struck, was visibly falling.

“Wh-what, nyah? Bjorn isn't back yet! Don't tell me... he failed, nyah?”

“I don't think so! If Stormgush were alive, the storm would have started up again!”

“Oh, then... nyah?”

“Yes! Mr. Jandel killed Stormgush!”

Raven shouted, unable to contain her joy, and Misha was no different.

“Aaah, that crazy barbarian!! He said he'd just hold out! What on earth was he doing down there, nyah!”

Despite her words, Misha's face shone with nothing but relief.

“Mr. Patzran, turn the boat around! Hurry!”

“O-of course!”

Raven hurriedly had the boat turned around and headed toward the island.

That was when a flash of white light rippled over the surface and vanished, as though lightning had struck beneath the sea.

“Wh-what was that just now?”

“S-surely nothing's gone wrong... nyah?”

Everyone, including the priestess, turned to Raven.

... Being a mage didn't mean she knew everything.

“I-I don't know either...”

Was the Labyrinth really a place where anyone could know everything? There was more they didn't know than they did. This had been her first time even seeing Stormgush in person.

“...”

As time passed and the water receded, the island slowly emerged, starting with its highest point at the center.

But the person they sought was nowhere to be seen.

“Wh-where did he disappear to, nyah! And what's all this equipment doing here, nyah?”

All that remained at the island's center was Bjorn's equipment and that woman Amelia's.

“There are spikes here. And tangled ropes. Mister must have been here until just a moment ago...”

“It looks like they were trying not to get swept away. But where on earth...”

“Then wait, the equipment...? What's it doing here? There shouldn't have been any reason to take it off...”

The scene was full of contradictions.

“... Let's search the area first. If they were swept away, they can't have gone far.”

Raven's mind was just as muddled, but she gave what instructions she could as calmly as possible. Hadn't Bjorn told her before? When he wasn't around, she had to be the leader.

“Here! More equipment! It's the necklace Bjorn wore!”

“M-Mister's underwear is over here!”

The group spread out and began searching. Meanwhile, the water continued to recede until the island had returned to normal.

But...

“Why... Why isn't he anywhere, nyah?”

Despite searching the entire island, they couldn't find Bjorn. What on earth had happened here?

They had no way of knowing yet, but Raven spoke firmly.

“Could Jandel have...”

“Mr. Urigfried, don't say such things. If it's him, I'm sure he's alive.”

Offer encouragement, even without any evidence to support it. Yes, that barbarian had said that was a leader's job.

So...

“For now, the circumstances make it clear that the two of them killed Stormgush. They even had the presence of mind to drive in spikes so they wouldn't be swept away. I don't know why they took off all their equipment, but they might have drifted to another island nearby. Let's go around and look.”

Afterward, Raven searched all the nearby islands aboard Patzran's boat. There was plenty of speculation along the way, and sometimes arguments.

But no one gave up hope.

Time passed like that...

“... We'll see him in the city.”

And the day the Labyrinth closed arrived without them finding Bjorn.

WHOOOOSH!

The Labyrinth's light heralded their return.

Back in the city, Raven searched the quiet Dimensional Plaza for a single barbarian. He was nowhere in sight.

Thinking he might have left before she could find him, she went to the checkpoint, but it was the same there.

“What about Bjorn? Was he in the plaza? The clerk said he wasn't among the explorers who went through earlier.”

“... I couldn't find him in the plaza.”

Raven waited endlessly with the companions who had reached the checkpoint before her.

But even after every explorer had passed through and the plaza was completely empty...

“...”

Bjorn didn't appear.

No matter where he had been in the Labyrinth, they should have been able to meet him here as long as he was alive.

“Um... It's nearly time to close the checkpoint.”

Even when the clerk began casting nervous glances their way, he still hadn't appeared.

That could mean only one thing. Yet none of them could bring themselves to say it.

“...”

As that heavy silence settled over them, Aynar, a warrior and the only other member of his race among them, murmured a few words.

“I see. Bjorn is dead.”

It was time to face reality.

* * *

They say even rivers and mountains change in ten years.

But not here, at least. Enough time had passed for them to change twice over, yet this city was much the same.

Just like the street outside the checkpoint where I stood now.

“Dad! Over here! Here!”

“Ramirion, I'm so glad you made it back safely again. Let's go home. I've made your favorite food.”

The explorers' friends and families crowded the area outside the checkpoint. Even the surrounding buildings were largely unchanged. Only the signs hanging above the ground-floor shops were a little different.

'So there used to be a tavern there, not a general store.'

Intrigued by these differences between past and present, I was looking around for more when a woman slipped up beside me.

It was Amelia.

“Oh, you're here.”

“I kept you waiting. Any trouble at the checkpoint?”

“I handed over my ID and exchanged my magic crystals, just like you said. That was all.”

“Really? That's good. Let's get moving, then.”

“Where are we going first?”

“A clothing store, for now.”

After meeting up with Amelia, I bought clothes at a nearby shop. Then we found lodgings in District 7, my usual neighborhood.

“Come to my room after you've washed up. We need to talk.”

First, I went into the bathroom and scrubbed myself thoroughly. Then I put on my new clothes and headed to Amelia's room. Fortunately, she seemed to have finished washing too, because the door opened right away.

“What did you want to talk about?”

I sat on the bed as I asked. Shaking the moisture from her hair, Amelia sat in the chair at the table across from me.

“First, there's one thing I need to confirm.”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you... intend to go back?”

So that was what she'd wanted to ask. Wasn't the answer obvious?

“Of course. I'll go back, no matter what.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“Don't tell me you thought I'd want to stay?”

“I thought you might. By now, it should be sinking in that you've returned to the past.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“... This is twenty years ago. You may not realize it, but you could use that time difference to live far more comfortably than before.”

“I see.”

“...' I see' isn't enough. Barbarian, you don't seem to grasp it yet, but the opportunity you have now—”

I cut Amelia off before she could go on any longer.

“Enough.”

I understood what she was saying, but it still wasn't very tempting. It wasn't as if they had Bitcoin here.

Staying would just mean losing my equipment, the noble status I'd barely managed to earn, and even the precious companions I'd worked so hard to help grow stronger.

As far as I was concerned, there was no reason to stay.

“If there's a way back, I'll take it immediately. So don't bring this up again. I wouldn't have gotten caught up in any of this if it weren't for you in the first place.”

“... I'm sorry about that.”

Took her long enough to apologize.

“Never mind. Is that what you called me here to ask?”

“No, there's something else. I wasn't going to tell you if you intended to stay here.”

No wonder it had felt like she was testing the waters.

“Stop feeling me out and just tell me.”

“I'd like you to help me while we're in the past.”

Hah. Back on the island, she hadn't given me a straight answer to anything, and now she wanted my help...

Wasn't she taking me for too much of a sucker?

“And what do I get out of it?”

“I'll help you get back.”

“You don't even know how to get back. How are you going to help?”

“... There's one thing we could try.”

“Tell me.”

If she told me I had to make my decision before she'd explain, I was ready to get up and walk straight out, but...

“Use the Stone Fragment of Records one more time.”

Amelia readily told me what the method was. I didn't understand immediately, though.

“The Stone Fragment of Records? But that disappeared when we came...”

I stopped in the middle of my question.

“Oh...”

It wouldn't be entirely gone. This was the world of twenty years ago, after all.

“Yes. The one I used is gone, but there's still another one left. At this point in time, the lord of Noark should have it.”

Suddenly, I thought of the Six Treasures.

By that logic, didn't that mean the Six Treasures, the key items for the final floor that had been stolen in our time, still existed here too?

'What would happen if I took them back with me? Would that give me a way to clear the game?'

The thought intrigued me, but I quickly put it aside. For one thing, just figuring out how to return to my own time was more than enough to worry about...

'I wouldn't be able to take them back in the first place.'

Given that Amelia and I had been dumped naked on Parune Island after traveling through time, the reverse would most likely work the same way.

Taking items back from here was impossible.

“...”

Ah, my thoughts had wandered off all of a sudden.

When I came back to my senses, Amelia had stopped talking and was staring at me.

Well, a barbarian could have trouble concentrating.

“Ahem. I'm listening. Go on.”

“... I'll tell you the rest after I hear your answer.”

Hah, so now she was going to play it that way?

My first thought was that she was being underhanded, but there was only one answer I could give. Using the Stone Fragment of Records again to return sounded like our most plausible plan, and...

'It'd be hard to do this alone without her help.'

To get that object, I'd need Amelia's help as someone from Noark. I didn't even know where the lord kept it.

“Fine. Then tell me how you want me to help you.”

When I agreed, Amelia's expression turned a little strange. She certainly didn't look happy. No, if anything, she looked displeased.

“Is something wrong?”

“... No. What that bastard said can't be true.”

“What bastard?”

I pressed her, but Amelia clamped her mouth shut.

After taking a moment to compose herself, she slowly began to talk. It was quite a long story, and only when it was over did I finally understand.

I understood what past the woman named Amelia Reinweils had wanted so desperately to change.

* * *

The day after that long conversation...

“I'll be busy for a while, so I might not be able to visit. I can't stop you from doing anything, but keep a low profile as much as possible.”

Amelia checked out of her room altogether and left.

Apparently, there were underground recruiters who would sidle up to people who became criminals, offer them a helping hand, and try to bring them into Noark.

She said she planned to make contact with them. After all, getting into Noark was our first priority if either of us wanted to achieve our goals.

'Whew. Of all things, I never thought I'd end up going to Noark.'

Anyway, Amelia said it would take about three weeks. She'd stop by from time to time to update me, so if the plan changed, I'd hear about it then.

'What do I do now?'

Sitting alone in my room made me restless. Maybe it was my curiosity as a gamer.

This was the world of twenty whole years ago, after all.

'Should I take a little look around?'

As soon as the thought occurred to me, I got dressed and left the inn. Amelia had repeatedly told me not to cause trouble and to do nothing but breathe, but...

'Seriously, how could I resist?'

Surely nothing would happen, right?