Bjorn Yandel the Barbarian

Auril Gavis’s suggestion wasn’t bad. It wasn’t like he was just pointing out one thing like before. If I could choose, I could stop him from trying to manipulate me with this.

“······”

However, as I was hesitating for a long time about what to choose, someone next to me added a word, perhaps out of frustration.

“What are you worrying about? No matter what you choose, it will be your fate anyway.”

“If you think like that, why do you breathe and why do you think?”

I did shoot it out at first, but after hearing what the old man said, I felt like it was pointless to worry about such things. So…

“Hey, that one over there, that sturdy one in the shape of an inverted triangle over there, please.”

I chose the one that looked the largest among the fragments. I thought that since it was big, there would be a lot to read.

But did this old man memorize all the records of the stone fragments?

“Hmm… I didn’t know you’d choose that one.”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“No, there’s no problem… Well, if this is your fate, then it is fate.”

After that, Auril Gavis asked me once more if I really wanted to see it, and after much thought, I said yes. Shh …

Soon, the fragments of stone slowly descended toward the old man’s outstretched hand. Soon, they were close enough to see the letters.

But maybe my choice was wrong. ‘Why are there so many empty spaces?’ I chose the one that was the largest, but when I actually looked at it, it was broken and worn here and there, so not many letters were readable.

But if we were to read only the most complete ones,

[······On the day the field was burning·········the evil spirit ‘————’ betrayed his trusted···comrade···]

First of all, the pattern itself that symbolizes the name was identical to what I had seen before.

That is, ‘————’ means the country···

“The day the Imperial City of Karnon burned… I was betrayed by a comrade I trusted…?”

If we try to fit the parts that cannot be read due to the damage issue into the context, it would be something like this:

“Did I interpret that correctly?”

“At any given moment, the interpretation is yours.”

“Ha, thank you······”

Did I say I was watching it for nothing? My already complicated mind became even more complicated. Three colleagues died in an accident.

I don’t know if it was the next or the previous time, but one of my colleagues betrayed me. And then I realized that it was not a blessing but a curse to learn of a future that could not be changed.

“Interesting…”

“···Do you find it so enjoyable that I am suffering?”

“Rather than that, I think it’s amazing that you were chosen out of all those fragments. I guess that’s the power of fate.”

The old man suggested that we watch one more while we’re at it, as if the words “interesting” were not empty words. However,

“No, it’s fine. The only thing that’s giving me a headache here is the specifications.”

“Hmm, if that’s what you’re saying, then that’s what happens. Okay, I won’t make any more suggestions.”

So the tour of the record stones ended here and we went back down the stairs to the cave. There was no conversation during the process.

“So are you going now?”

“Yes, just because I came out this late, Baekho Lee will be making a fuss.”

“He’s like you in that he wants to know everything.”

“When did you tell me not to be friendly?”

“That advice still holds true. There’s nothing good about being friends with Baekho Lee.”

“Are you saying that from my perspective or from your perspective?”

“Both of them”

It’s been a while since I’ve felt this way, but even if I talk to this old man for a long time, it feels like nothing is going to happen. It’s even worse because I don’t know if everything he says is true or not.

Even though we have shared many stories, is there nothing we can trust?

“···While we’re on the subject, let me tell you one more thing.·”

“Ha… Try it.”

“Be careful of Baekho Lee”

“···Isn’t that what you said before?”

As I tilted my head, Auriel Gavis continued speaking as if telling me to listen to the end.

“I said he was a supporting actor and all, but Baekho Lee is a very special person. Do you see him over there?”

Auril Gabis points to hundreds of fragments of stone slowly orbiting in the air.

“I have personally seen the records of numerous stone fragments gathered here, but there is no record of Baekho Lee anywhere.”

“···?”

“It is a very strange thing, that no one so influential and, above all, so closely connected with you, can be found in any records,

“If that’s true, it’s definitely a bit strange. Is there some secret hidden from Baekho Lee that we don’t know about?

I don’t know, but Auril Gavis spoke again

“So be careful of Baekho Lee. The fact that he doesn’t appear in the ‘records’ means that he is free from the records. It’s not like he has no influence at all, but at least he’s less influential than us.”

“···Don’t worry too much, he’s already on guard.”

“If that’s the case, then that’s fortunate.”

“Even if we break up like this, we’ll meet again someday, right?”

“That’s not what you call inevitable.”

“Then I’ll take my leave for today. Let’s meet up very late if possible.”

“I hope so too.”

After saying that, Auriel Gavis watched me silently and I didn’t say anything else either. I just looked the old man up and down once more, gave him a nod, and then got on the portal.

and····

“Oh! You’re here!”

“Thank goodness! I was worried!”

“What! Why are you here now! Baron! Did you talk to that old man about something? Huh? Right?”

As soon as I opened my eyes through the portal, I heard words pouring out from all directions. I closed my eyes and opened them again. Lee Baek-ho, Rex Aures, Jaina Flyer, Belvev Ruingenes, Yurven Havelion,

Putting aside the unique fact that all of them are evil spirits, the composition is such that if you include me, there are exactly six people who would be a single team unit.

“What is that? What’s with that look? Did something give me the creeps just now?”

Ignoring Baekho Lee’s fuss, I recalled the record I had read earlier.

Suddenly, something occurred to me like a flash of lightning.

[The evil spirit from another world, ‘————’, lost three of his companions and finally realized the path he must take.]

Three colleagues not specifically mentioned:

“You guys, be my colleagues.”

Maybe there is a way·

It was a really spontaneous idea. It makes sense, because the records only say ‘three colleagues’.

‘If I make these guys my comrades and hang out with them every day… I might end up killing three of them, right?’

At first glance, it may seem nonsensical, but if you look closely, it is difficult to find any logical flaws.

Well, I still have doubts about whether it will really work out that way… So what can I do? I’ll just try as much as I can.

“Comrade… huh?”

However, did my suggestion sound embarrassing? Everyone looked dumbfounded at my suggestion that I made without even blinking. Ah, Baekho Lee was the best among them.

“Wow, I’m even more curious about this. What did that old man tell you that made you act like that all of a sudden?”

Lee Baek-ho, who made a blank expression for a moment, quickly regained his sharp gaze and looked at me. I thought I was a bit impatient because of his reaction.

Even if the lives of my colleagues were at stake, I should have proceeded calmly and step by step.

“Baron, what did you do with that old man?”

“···I didn’t do anything special·”

“Hey, who would believe that? That kind of change of heart came about out of nothing?”

“I just thought that as we continued our journey together, it would be reassuring if we entered the labyrinth together.”

Of course, it was something I didn’t mean. The place where you have to watch out for the back of your head more than anywhere else is the labyrinth. How could you go in with these guys?

Even when I wasn’t there, they were the ones who hid a knife in their stomachs when they were dealing with each other. If I got involved, it would be a total mess.

“Hmm… but if you go with us, what will happen to the Baron’s clan?”

Lee Baek-ho asked as if he was sneaking a peek. He didn’t seem to believe me at all when I said there was no hidden agenda, but he seemed to be willing to listen to me anyway.

“Well, you’ll have to think about that later. You didn’t agree to it in the first place.”

So I just let the situation pass naturally, as if I hadn’t thought about it too deeply yet. But…

“Oh! The giant Baron Yandell is going to be our comrade? This is something we really need to think about seriously.”

Lee Baek-ho mutters in a tone similar to that of a Korean language textbook. Anyone could tell that he was mocking me, but one person did not.

“Uh… Baekho…? If Baron joins the team, my place will become ambiguous…?”

Tanker Rex Aures of the Lee Baek-ho team. Still, he seems to have the instinct to look after his own rice bowl as an explorer. It would have been much better if he had just a little bit of sense.

“Aures… Please, just stay still…”

“···How can you just stay still? My position is under threat—!”

When Jaina’s quiet efforts to stop him didn’t work, Baekho Lee shouted nervously.

“No, that’s not it! Just stay still! Do you really want to get kicked out?”

“······”“Oh, this really annoys me·”

Lee Baek-ho sighs deeply, perhaps feeling frustrated because of Aureus who cannot read the atmosphere. The tone of the Korean language textbook that he uses has long since disappeared.

“Hey, Baron.”

“I’m listening, so tell me”

“Do you know what explorers do best?”

When I asked him what that was, Baekho Lee stared at me and opened his mouth.

“I’m looking into it.”

“···?”

“Is it an advantage or disadvantage for me? Is the other side stronger or am I stronger?”

Thump-! Even though I didn’t hear the afterword, my heart started pounding with an ominous feeling. As expected, the ominous feeling never went wrong.

“You have to know that to do it properly.”

“···What?”

“What? You already knew that.”

After saying that, Baekho Lee nods and the old man of destruction, Rex Aures, and even Jaina walk up to Baekho Lee and…

“Hey, are you going to stay there?”

He even says it to GM as if he’s throwing it out there.

“If you keep doing that, you’ll end up getting burned for no reason?”

GM pauses and looks back and forth between me and Baekho Lee at the murderous intent that is so thick it sends goosebumps down my spine. The conflict seems to be deepening in the rapidly changing situation.

Ah, of course, as expected from a ‘human’, it didn’t take long to choose. It was nearly impossible to fight those four with a combination of a tank and a magician.

“I’m sorry····”

Still, GM must have felt guilty, as he apologized to me and quickly walked towards Baekho Lee. I didn’t feel any particular sense of betrayal.

This kid and I weren’t even comrades to begin with. Ss …

And seeing that day·

“Don’t be too upset. To be honest, I’m more upset.”

Lee Baek-ho says:

“That’s understandable. No matter how I look at it, it’s obvious that he was talking about something with that old man. But even if I don’t know anything else, I really need to hear what that conversation is about.”

“······”

“Even if we use the explorer’s method”

I wonder what this kid thinks of explorers. On the other hand, I find that statement obvious.

If you don’t have power, you can’t help but feel wronged. This is the natural order of this world, as much as paying money to buy things.

Ttugging· Baekho Lee, who approaches with an attitude as if he’s going to rush in at any moment· However, he doesn’t back away as he approaches· Isn’t that the case?

‘It’s impossible to escape’

If you run away in this situation, where will you hit? If you run away with such a dull body, you will be caught up in no time.

But was my decision unexpected?

“Hey, you’re not going back down here either?”

Lee Baek-ho muttered as if he was a little surprised. However, in my opinion, there was nothing surprising at all.

Well, a shield is something made to block attacks coming from the front, not the back.

“Are you saying that because you think I can’t kill you?”

Well, it’s not that I didn’t think about that either. Baekho Lee wants me to open the gates of the abyss, so he can never kill me. But…

“But what can I do about this? Even if I can’t kill you, I can already think of dozens of ways to make you shitty.”

That doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore him. As he said earlier, he has plenty of ways to torment me without killing me.

We don’t even have to go as far as the ‘interrogation’ that Bryant went through.

“For example, taking away all the equipment they are wearing, or performing neutering surgery to prevent them from being looked at by women in the future.”

Ah, uh… I didn’t expect neutralization at all…

“······”

Shit, should I just tell you everything honestly? “Or I’ll go back and threaten to kill all of your colleagues—

“No way, that can’t be true.

“Behel—raaaa …

Shouting and calming down the weakened mind

“What do you keep barking about?”

Baekho Lee is a wild dog. If the opponent looks weak, he is a wild dog that will eat the bone without leaving a single piece of flesh. So that’s why…

“Stop talking and just jump in.”

This is a position you cannot step down from.·***

Did you think that if you talked to him more, he would only sound like a dog barking? Lee Baek-ho kept his mouth shut and the resulting silence

“······”

“······”