Chapter 345: Comeback (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 345: Comeback (4)
Soul Queen finally waved the white flag. It seemed she had realized how foolish it was to try and gain the upper hand against me.
"Pshehe, what a funny woman. You were so bold when he revealed the GM's identity, but you'll lower your tail now that it's about you?"
Queen did not respond to Clown's insults and instead took them. Considering the reputation I remember her building for herself in that short time at the Round Table, this was kind of sad.
It would be a shame to stop here.
Accepting her surrender here would be foolish. Because Soul Queen seemed to care a lot about hierarchy, it would probably be a good idea to drive it home for her for good at this opportunity, just as the goblin I met on my first day in this world did to me: who was above, and who was below.
"Why..." I said, tapping the chair with my index finger once more, "Should I do that?"
Soul Queen flinched at the short question before answering in a quiet voice. "...If you stop here, we will not antagonize you." Including not banning me from the community, of course, that meant she wouldn't blame me for revealing the GM's identity earlier.
I laughed coldly at her uncharacteristically quiet voice. After all, it almost sounded like she was making an offer to someone on even footing as her. "You still haven't learned." I tapped the arm of the chair with my index finger again. However, if there was a difference from earlier, it was that this time I did not hide my displeasure.
"...If there is something you want, please tell me," Soul Queen pleaded.
"I don't want anything from you people." She didn't seem to understand what I was saying so I decided to make things clear. "Nor am I afraid of you."
At least, that was true on the surface. If I was at all uncomfortable with making an enemy of the moderators, would I have attacked them with no fucks given like this? To these guys, I probably just looked like an uncontrollable loose cannon.
"I will ask for the last time," I said, before asking Soul Queen again, "Why should I do that?"
"Th-that's..." Of course, she couldn't give me a reason. Everyone she ever saw as a business partner would have had some kind of desire for her to appeal to. It was natural for an eloquent tongue to freeze at the sight of a new species. "I..."
She was a smart woman in many ways. Threats didn't work, and I wasn't even asking for compensation. I was only trying to drag out her punishment, like this was just a fun pastime to me. What could she do to persuade an opponent like that?
Pondering this for a long moment, she reached an answer: let go of the thought of persuasion and hope for mercy. "I'm... sorry..." It was the last resort of the weak when they had nothing to offer the strong. "Please, forgive me..."
"Looks like that foolish woman has finally realized her place. Pshehe."
Soul Queen was not fazed by Clown's ridicule and bowed her head just as I made Deer do earlier. Then she looked up at me, struggling to force an apology from her throat. "I will... never do anything... to offend you again... So please, forgive my mistakes today..."
To be honest, I was very impressed. I didn't expect her to be so submissive off the bat. Was it so shocking that I knew their identities? When I looked around, I saw the other members glancing back and forth between me and Soul Queen without a word. They seemed curious about whether I would actually accept her apology.
That's enough for sorting out the hierarchy...
I looked down on Soul Queen and said, "Much better."
Yeah, that's the stuff.
"Queen's nickname is Soul Queen. And I will not say her real name." I placed my hand on the table again to end my turn and received a green light.
"Whew..." With that, the tension eased and the other members who were watching the situation unfold exhaled loudly. The same went for Soul Queen. "Thank... you..." That expression of gratitude probably felt like peeling off her own skin to her. I didn't bother replying to it and an awkward moment ensued.
It was Deer who cautiously ended the silence. "...What's going to happen to the meeting? Is it going to continue?"
Once I finished my turn, the second round ended. On the longer days, there were times we went four or five rounds, but it wasn't strange to end the gathering here either. What decision would these guys make?
"I-I'll stop here..." Soul Queen, who had gotten a good scolding for getting aggressive, glanced at me as she said that. If I told her to stay, she'd probably remain, but it wouldn't change anything if she did.
"Then I'll stop here too..." Goblin, who barely managed to pass the last round after two red lights, declared he was opting out and the gathering naturally came to an end.
Welp, it's already over...
It was unfortunate that the first Round Table I'd attended after two and a half years ended after two rounds, but there was nothing I could do.
But since I showed my face today, I'm sure they'll bring something more interesting next month.
"Pshehe, then let's all prepare harder for next month. Ah, of course, assuming Mr. Lion comes back again!" Clown glanced at me even as he pretended to speak to the other members. It could have been considered kind of cute. What he really wanted to ask was whether I was going to come back next time.
Slide.
It wasn't cool to do something as nice as answer that, though, so I didn't answer at all and left the Round Table then and there.
"Whew..." As soon as I returned to Hansu Lee's room, I immediately took a deep breath and lay back on the bed. I was considerably fatigued, probably as an effect of the murderous intent I used earlier.
I'll probably sleep like a log until tomorrow evening.
Of course, since that was my future self, the present me decided to do what he could without taking time to rest. First, sorting through the information I'd gotten.
I don't think anyone will think I'm Bjorn Yandel after what happened today...
I reviewed the events of the Round Table. Although I made a good comeback, it didn't go perfectly. I couldn't pretend to be dead forever and live in the shadows.
The moment my return becomes common knowledge, the same suspicions will arise.
Of course, there were quite a few ways for me to deal with this. After traveling to the past, I had plenty of cards I could bluff with.
I'll cross that bridge when I get to it...
The real issue was something else entirely. To be honest, it almost made me lose my mind at the Round Table.
"But the original source was that woman Missha Karlstein."
"That means the same thing in practice. That woman is now Baekho Lee's teammate."
Missha Karlstein. Why did she start that rumor, and how did she become teammates with Baekho? No matter how much I strained my imagination, I was having trouble figuring out the A to Z here. But, if I were to make a guess, another thing said at the Round Table would probably be key.
Yeah, that's the stuff.
"Queen's nickname is Soul Queen. And I will not say her real name." I placed my hand on the table again to end my turn and received a green light.
"Whew..." With that, the tension eased and the other members who were watching the situation unfold exhaled loudly. The same went for Soul Queen. "Thank... you..." That expression of gratitude probably felt like peeling off her own skin to her. I didn't bother replying to it and an awkward moment ensued.
It was Deer who cautiously ended the silence. "...What's going to happen to the meeting? Is it going to continue?"
Once I finished my turn, the second round ended. On the longer days, there were times we went four or five rounds, but it wasn't strange to end the gathering here either. What decision would these guys make?
"I-I'll stop here..." Soul Queen, who had gotten a good scolding for getting aggressive, glanced at me as she said that. If I told her to stay, she'd probably remain, but it wouldn't change anything if she did.
"Then I'll stop here too..." Goblin, who barely managed to pass the last round after two red lights, declared he was opting out and the gathering naturally came to an end.
Welp, it's already over...
It was unfortunate that the first Round Table I'd attended after two and a half years ended after two rounds, but there was nothing I could do.
But since I showed my face today, I'm sure they'll bring something more interesting next month.
"Pshehe, then let's all prepare harder for next month. Ah, of course, assuming Mr. Lion comes back again!" Clown glanced at me even as he pretended to speak to the other members. It could have been considered kind of cute. What he really wanted to ask was whether I was going to come back next time.
Slide.
It wasn't cool to do something as nice as answer that, though, so I didn't answer at all and left the Round Table then and there.
"Whew..." As soon as I returned to Hansu Lee's room, I immediately took a deep breath and lay back on the bed. I was considerably fatigued, probably as an effect of the murderous intent I used earlier.
I'll probably sleep like a log until tomorrow evening.
Of course, since that was my future self, the present me decided to do what he could without taking time to rest. First, sorting through the information I'd gotten.
I don't think anyone will think I'm Bjorn Yandel after what happened today...
I reviewed the events of the Round Table. Although I made a good comeback, it didn't go perfectly. I couldn't pretend to be dead forever and live in the shadows.
The moment my return becomes common knowledge, the same suspicions will arise.
Of course, there were quite a few ways for me to deal with this. After traveling to the past, I had plenty of cards I could bluff with.
I'll cross that bridge when I get to it...
The real issue was something else entirely. To be honest, it almost made me lose my mind at the Round Table.
"But the original source was that woman Missha Karlstein."
"That means the same thing in practice. That woman is now Baekho Lee's teammate."
Missha Karlstein. Why did she start that rumor, and how did she become teammates with Baekho? No matter how much I strained my imagination, I was having trouble figuring out the A to Z here. But, if I were to make a guess, another thing said at the Round Table would probably be key.
"Baekho Lee has the Stone of Revival."
For example, it could be possible Missha felt that she had to join up with Baekho to save me.
...Is that too much wishful thinking? Ha, why couldn't that thing have brought me back even a year earlier?
That two-and-a-half-year gap once again felt incredibly big, and my frustration with it increased. But what could I do? Things had already reached this point.
Anyway, if Missha's goal is to save me... What's Baekho's goal?
Well, I didn't know. There still wasn't enough information to go off of. The only thing we had in common was that we were both Korean, but Baekho and I had actually only had short conversations. We'd never even had a real, genuine talk.
...I'll think about this again after I learn more about Baekho.
I closed my eyes and continued sorting through my thoughts. The GM, Auril Gavis, Amelia, Noark, and the palace—there were more than enough things to think about regardless of which one came first. As the gears in my mind continued to turn, I sat in front of the computer again and spent my time reading through the posts I hadn't checked earlier.
I thought the GM or Soul Queen would send a message or something, but there's nothing like that.
I moved the cursor without hesitation. It didn't seem like anything interesting was going to result from careful scrutiny here, and there wasn't much time left until the community closed anyway.
Click.
When I clicked "log out," there was a flash, and soon darkness fell. In a bedroom where all the windows were boarded up and not even a single ray of moonlight streamed in, Erwen was staring down at me.
"Hehe, you're awake..."
Erwen Fornacci di Tersia was now the reigning Master of the Pureblood and the contractor of the Elemental Ruler. As a token of these positions, she had been bestowed the Sacred Bow. She was also a member of the Seven Powerful, who played a big role in the war against Noark, earning her the nickname Blood Spirit.
"Pshehe, what is that wild woman planning?"
"I don't know, but it looks like there will be more bloodshed."
She was the only one of my clanmates who had sacrificed everything for revenge.
"No matter what anyone says, you are Bjorn Yandel to me."
This woman told me it didn't matter whether I was an evil spirit or not, but it was hard to be grateful and moved by her dedication. It was overly excessive. Why was she so obsessed with me? My immediate thought was the Obsession stat. All three of the essences Erwen had consumed—Goblin Archer, Iron Hill Chaser, and Carnivaro—had the Obsession stat attached. Since another person close to her had died not long after her sister, I figured that could have been a catalyst for her behavior.
"Mister... if you're done sleeping... do you want to go for a walk? Th-the moon looks beautiful today..."
But that had been the Erwen of two and a half years ago. The Erwen who had received enough financial support from her clan to make even the children of aristocrats pee themselves had changed most of her essences. The problem was that these changes were not necessarily positive.
She now had the essence of a Patrolman Ertes from Golem Island on the sixth floor, which had a +45 to Defense Mechanism. With wolf beast Kalban, which had the unique trait of being passive during the day but aggressive at night, Impulse was +30 and Distrust was likewise +30. From rank-four monster Metcrow, she had gotten a +24 to Possessiveness, and from her two other essences, she had -30 Control and +40 Craving.
If you looked at each one individually, they weren't stats that would cause major psychological issues, but when this much piled up, there would inevitably be an impact. After realizing this, I was as careful as possible not to provoke Erwen. If she lost it, the situation could deteriorate beyond her control.
Yeah, that had been my strategy until now.
"Ah, right...! I also bought a necklace... With this, I can know where you are at any time!"
I can't put this off forever. That isn't my style, either.
Tap.
I roughly pushed away Erwen's hand, which was already touching my chest without hesitation.
"...Uh?" Erwen was clearly confused. "M-Mister... a-are you mad? But... why...?" Her eyes darted around in confusion as she looked for the cause of the shift in my mood. "Come to think of it... the boards... in the living room were a bit torn."
I had been considering just tearing them off out of frustration a while ago, but did she interpret that in a different way?
"Amelia Rainwales. It was that woman, right...? That woman came, right? That's why you..." Erwen constructed a ridiculous fantasy and started to tremble, murderous intent gleaming in her eyes. To be honest, seeing something like this in the middle of the night was making me shiver.
"Amelia didn't come."
But, so what? Running away because I'm scared or uncomfortable goes against my beliefs.
Even when I had been framed and imprisoned in the guild's underground prison, even when I had encountered the Dragon Slayer in the Labyrinth of Larcaz, even in the battle with Noark where I gained the reputation of Giant, I had always faced my problems head-on. That was the reason I was able to survive.
"Why... why... are you still calling her by that name?"
I answered without hesitation. "Because she's my comrade."
Erwen's reaction came after a brief pause. "Th-that's! I-I told you repeatedly that you don't n-need a woman like that because I'll be with you from now on...!"
Yes, you did say that.
"Why do you get to decide that?"
"Th-that's..." Erwen was at a loss for words.
I didn't particularly feel bad. Maybe because I had been wearing the Lion mask just a few hours ago, my response flowed out of me naturally. "Disrespectful."
Erwen's eyes widened. At that moment, I woke my sleeping muscles. What would someone who wasn't quite right in the head do now?
"...Who are you?"
"I'm Bjorn Yandel."
"L-Liar... you're an evil spirit..."
A black aura soon began to swirl around Erwen's body. This was Erwen's specialty, the elemental of darkness.
Thumpthumpthumpthump.
Sensing a threat, my heart pounded like crazy. I had been prepared for this, but actually being faced with it was very intimidating. But the scarier it got, the more I thought back.
Who was I? A barbarian warrior who had overcome all kinds of hardships. The Giant, Bjorn, son of Yandel. The only user to clear the original game. The absolute ruler of the Round Table with the lion heart.
Squeeze.
As soon as I reminded myself of my identity, which I had lost sight of for a while, my heart swelled and courage welled up in me.
"I-It's not too late, so just say it. S-Say that was a mistake you made in your sleep—"
"Erwen Fornacci di Tersia." Before my determination could ebb, I spoke. "There's something wrong with your head right now."
Yeah, and if there was a problem, the only solution was to fix it the way I did best.
"Stop talking and fight me."
"Baekho Lee has the Stone of Revival."
For example, it could be possible Missha felt that she had to join up with Baekho to save me.
...Is that too much wishful thinking? Ha, why couldn't that thing have brought me back even a year earlier?
That two-and-a-half-year gap once again felt incredibly big, and my frustration with it increased. But what could I do? Things had already reached this point.
Anyway, if Missha's goal is to save me... What's Baekho's goal?
Well, I didn't know. There still wasn't enough information to go off of. The only thing we had in common was that we were both Korean, but Baekho and I had actually only had short conversations. We'd never even had a real, genuine talk.
...I'll think about this again after I learn more about Baekho.
I closed my eyes and continued sorting through my thoughts. The GM, Auril Gavis, Amelia, Noark, and the palace—there were more than enough things to think about regardless of which one came first. As the gears in my mind continued to turn, I sat in front of the computer again and spent my time reading through the posts I hadn't checked earlier.
I thought the GM or Soul Queen would send a message or something, but there's nothing like that.
I moved the cursor without hesitation. It didn't seem like anything interesting was going to result from careful scrutiny here, and there wasn't much time left until the community closed anyway.
Click.
When I clicked "log out," there was a flash, and soon darkness fell. In a bedroom where all the windows were boarded up and not even a single ray of moonlight streamed in, Erwen was staring down at me.
"Hehe, you're awake..."
Erwen Fornacci di Tersia was now the reigning Master of the Pureblood and the contractor of the Elemental Ruler. As a token of these positions, she had been bestowed the Sacred Bow. She was also a member of the Seven Powerful, who played a big role in the war against Noark, earning her the nickname Blood Spirit.
"Pshehe, what is that wild woman planning?"
"I don't know, but it looks like there will be more bloodshed."
She was the only one of my clanmates who had sacrificed everything for revenge.
"No matter what anyone says, you are Bjorn Yandel to me."
This woman told me it didn't matter whether I was an evil spirit or not, but it was hard to be grateful and moved by her dedication. It was overly excessive. Why was she so obsessed with me? My immediate thought was the Obsession stat. All three of the essences Erwen had consumed—Goblin Archer, Iron Hill Chaser, and Carnivaro—had the Obsession stat attached. Since another person close to her had died not long after her sister, I figured that could have been a catalyst for her behavior.
"Mister... if you're done sleeping... do you want to go for a walk? Th-the moon looks beautiful today..."
But that had been the Erwen of two and a half years ago. The Erwen who had received enough financial support from her clan to make even the children of aristocrats pee themselves had changed most of her essences. The problem was that these changes were not necessarily positive.
She now had the essence of a Patrolman Ertes from Golem Island on the sixth floor, which had a +45 to Defense Mechanism. With wolf beast Kalban, which had the unique trait of being passive during the day but aggressive at night, Impulse was +30 and Distrust was likewise +30. From rank-four monster Metcrow, she had gotten a +24 to Possessiveness, and from her two other essences, she had -30 Control and +40 Craving.
If you looked at each one individually, they weren't stats that would cause major psychological issues, but when this much piled up, there would inevitably be an impact. After realizing this, I was as careful as possible not to provoke Erwen. If she lost it, the situation could deteriorate beyond her control.
Yeah, that had been my strategy until now.
"Ah, right...! I also bought a necklace... With this, I can know where you are at any time!"
I can't put this off forever. That isn't my style, either.
Tap.
I roughly pushed away Erwen's hand, which was already touching my chest without hesitation.
"...Uh?" Erwen was clearly confused. "M-Mister... a-are you mad? But... why...?" Her eyes darted around in confusion as she looked for the cause of the shift in my mood. "Come to think of it... the boards... in the living room were a bit torn."
I had been considering just tearing them off out of frustration a while ago, but did she interpret that in a different way?
"Amelia Rainwales. It was that woman, right...? That woman came, right? That's why you..." Erwen constructed a ridiculous fantasy and started to tremble, murderous intent gleaming in her eyes. To be honest, seeing something like this in the middle of the night was making me shiver.
"Amelia didn't come."
But, so what? Running away because I'm scared or uncomfortable goes against my beliefs.
Even when I had been framed and imprisoned in the guild's underground prison, even when I had encountered the Dragon Slayer in the Labyrinth of Larcaz, even in the battle with Noark where I gained the reputation of Giant, I had always faced my problems head-on. That was the reason I was able to survive.
"Why... why... are you still calling her by that name?"
I answered without hesitation. "Because she's my comrade."
Erwen's reaction came after a brief pause. "Th-that's! I-I told you repeatedly that you don't n-need a woman like that because I'll be with you from now on...!"
Yes, you did say that.
"Why do you get to decide that?"
"Th-that's..." Erwen was at a loss for words.
I didn't particularly feel bad. Maybe because I had been wearing the Lion mask just a few hours ago, my response flowed out of me naturally. "Disrespectful."
Erwen's eyes widened. At that moment, I woke my sleeping muscles. What would someone who wasn't quite right in the head do now?
"...Who are you?"
"I'm Bjorn Yandel."
"L-Liar... you're an evil spirit..."
A black aura soon began to swirl around Erwen's body. This was Erwen's specialty, the elemental of darkness.
Thumpthumpthumpthump.
Sensing a threat, my heart pounded like crazy. I had been prepared for this, but actually being faced with it was very intimidating. But the scarier it got, the more I thought back.
Who was I? A barbarian warrior who had overcome all kinds of hardships. The Giant, Bjorn, son of Yandel. The only user to clear the original game. The absolute ruler of the Round Table with the lion heart.
Squeeze.
As soon as I reminded myself of my identity, which I had lost sight of for a while, my heart swelled and courage welled up in me.
"I-It's not too late, so just say it. S-Say that was a mistake you made in your sleep—"
"Erwen Fornacci di Tersia." Before my determination could ebb, I spoke. "There's something wrong with your head right now."
Yeah, and if there was a problem, the only solution was to fix it the way I did best.
"Stop talking and fight me."