“Anyway, so what exactly happened between you and that guy?”
She asked again, and I hesitated for a mont. Was it right to tell her about the records I saw there? After all, they couldn’t be changed.
Would it just make her troubled for no reason? That thought kept silent at first, but it didn’t take long for my mindset to change.
There was just one thing I learned from watching Ibaekho.
“Emily, there’s sothing you need to hear.”
I don’t have to carry the whole world alone.
In the end, I told Alia about the ‘record’ Auril Gavis showed .
[The evil spirit from another world ‘———’ lost three comrades and only then realized the path they must take.]
Losing three comrades in the future. After hearing this, Alia didn’t question the absolute nature of the ‘record’ at all.
That’s because she had experienced it firsthand with . We had fallen into the past and changed history by running all over and enduring countless hardships.
“Beating it the sa way as before... it seems difficult.”
After a mont of silence to organize her thoughts, Alia was the first to speak.
“I think the sa. To use that thod, you’d have to deceive yourself. Not be the clueless kid.”
I nodded in agreent, and Alia muttered quietly.
“...Though you weren’t really a clueless kid.”
What’s that supposed to an? She was smart for her age, but compared to now, she was still clueless.
I chuckled recalling the cute baby Alia after a long ti, when she suddenly asked seriously.
“But are the future records certain?”
“What do you an?”
“You said no exact ti was ntioned. I wondered if it might already be a ‘record’ that has happened.”
“Oh?”
“Riol Warb Dwalki. Starting with that mage, haven’t you lost many comrades so far? Of course, even counting them all won’t reach three fingers...”
“Maybe they ant the three who influenced you most.”
It was a plausible hypothesis, if not for Auril Gavis’s words.
[Judging from how the records are inscribed on the record stones, this too is surely one event.]
Simply put, it’s not counted one by one, but three people dying in one ‘event.’ At least judging from past patterns.
I don’t believe anything is 100%. But the old man who gathered hundreds of fragnts said it, so it wasn’t easy to dismiss.
Apparently Alia felt the sa.
“...Then it’s highly likely a record that hasn’t happened yet.”
Alia resud her serious gaze and began speculating various possibilities. Her most novel opinion was this:
“It definitely said ‘loss,’ right? If so, there’s room for interpretation.”
If it literally ant losing comrades, it could also end with no one dying...
“How nice would it be if that really happened...”
No matter how much I hope, the ominous feeling wouldn’t leave my mind.
The many past experiences I had were already telling in intuition: it won’t happen that way. Ominous feelings always prove true.
“...Yandel?”
“Ah, sorry. I was just thinking. Thanks for your opinions. They all made sense. But I still think it’s better to prepare for the worst rather than the best.”
“So you an prepare asures assuming three die?”
“Yes. Though I don’t know if there’s a way.”
Alia said nothing to my pessimistic and resigned words. Understandably, no matter how much we struggled, the ‘record’ would happen.
Whap! Alia flicked my forehead. It didn’t hurt, and I thought her finger must hurt more.
‘Why did she suddenly hit ?’ I looked down, puzzled, and saw Alia’s sowhat angry face.
“Why are you giving up already?”
“...Huh?”
“Bjorn Yandel, wasn’t it you?”
“......”
“When even I gave up on myself back then, you were the one who never gave up until the very end and made a way.”
Alia grabbed my shoulder and brought her face close. Then...
“So don’t ever make that expression again, Bjorn Yandel. To that clueless kid, you were a hero who could do anything.”
Hearing that, my body trembled for so reason. It was a strange feeling.
The people of the city called a hero, silently expecting much from when things were tough, which always felt burdenso.
“......”
But today, the word ‘hero’ didn’t feel burdenso. Although it was sowhat embarrassing.
I know well enough that I’m not a hero.
“......”
But still. Sohow. Though my poor words can’t explain well. Thump! I felt like I could do anything.
“......”
Like I could do anything. Unfortunately, that feeling didn’t last long.
“Um... sir...? Are you awake...?”
“...Ahem ahem!”
Damn, that was close.***
Starting with Erwen, the other comrades woke one by one, and the conversation with Alia was temporarily paused. In the end, I couldn’t even bring up the second record.
[·········The day Noni burned, the evil spirit ‘———’ was betrayed by trusted comrades.]
The record that made interpret betrayal by trusted comrades on the day Zod Karnon burned.
‘Maybe it’s better not to say.’ The timing was off today, so I didn’t get to talk about it, but maybe it’s better I keep this one to myself.
Besides, I’m not even sure my interpretation is correct...
‘And even if it is, can this be changed?’ This seems even harder than the previous case.
Even if you knew who would betray you, what could you do? No matter how much you treat or persuade in advance, they wouldn’t change their minds.
If it were that easy, it wouldn’t be recorded.
‘It’s already complicated enough, no need to add this.’
Since it wasn’t the right ti to talk now, I decided to think more about whether to discuss it openly.
There’s always a priority in everything.
“Looks like I woke everyone up by accident...”
Thanks to Erwen freaking out when he found awake, soon all the comrades who were sleeping had woken up.
“Biii-jorn—!!!”
“Yeah, yeah, Ainar. Nice to see you too.”
“Are you feeling okay? You didn’t snore and slept like you were dead, so everyone was worried.”
“I’m fine now. Just tired, don’t worry, Kaislan.”
“Glad you’re safe, captain. The ladies... no, everyone was worried about you.”
“But, Auyan. You seem to have gained so weight?”
“Is that so? Sorry...”
“No need to apologize. You look better now. Keep eating well.”
“Yes!”
After exchanging greetings and small talk breathlessly, I quieted the group down.
No matter how close, this kind of thing needs to be said clearly. I addressed all mbers of our Anabada clan.
“First, I want to say sorry! I’m really sorry for making you co outside the dangerous city walls because of !”
At my sincere apology, Kaislan, a knight-turned-explorer, smiled softly.
“No need to be sorry. We’re all explorers.”
“If there’s a chance to explore outside the walls, you’d better run for it.”
Jas Kalla echoed Kaislan teasingly. Both were forr commanders of an organization, so they knew how to ease the mood.
Still, I needed to say what had to be said.
“And thank you! If not for you, things could have been really dangerous. Thanks to you, I’m alive!”
When I bowed, laughter broke out nearby. Hmm, they didn’t seem to be mocking ...
“...Why are you laughing?”
At my question, Lilis Marone shrugged.
“Even though you said you’re grateful, the looks on the enemies’ faces we saw then were priceless.”
“That’s right! Everyone was about to pass out.”
“I heard from the mage engineer they fought for hours.”
“Bjorn is the invincible strongest great warrior!!”
...Maybe because we hadn’t t in a while? Seeing mbers paint gold on my face sohow made feel awkward but comfortable.
“Attention everyone! I’m not done talking yet!”
Quieting the crowd again, Bersil spoke on behalf of everyone.
“You don’t have to apologize or thank. It’s only natural.”
Uh... thanks for that.
“I’m not here to apologize or say thanks.”
We already did that earlier, no need to repeat.
“Really? Then... are you going to have a eting about the future?”
Well, yes, that’s necessary.
“You’re wrong.”
I wasn’t going to start the eting right away. These people ca all the way outside the dangerous city walls looking for . It would be rude to just settle with a few words.
“Then what are you going to do...?”
“Loot distribution.”
“...?”
“Didn’t we get a lot this ti? Besides this, we have many other things! I’ll lay them all out, so if you need anything, just say!”
Use sparingly, share, swap, and reuse.
That is the spirit of our clan.***
The loot distribution lasted longer than expected. Most of the loot we got this ti was in kind.
“I also have things I don’t use. I want to put them into the common pool, so if anyone needs them, use them...”
“Oh? Then too!”
“I have a few too...”
Not only the loot but also individuals began pulling out unused items one by one, and the scale grew.
When everything was arranged, it reminded of a small marketplace.
“That’s unusual...”
“What’s unusual?”
“Just all these scenes. What clan anywhere would have mbers so freely putting out their own stuff? These would sell for a high price.”
Hmm... that makes sense. I haven’t lived clan life, so I don’t know well, but Bersil had been ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) in dium-large clans, so it felt even stranger to him.
“Oh, maybe it’s natural since the leader is unusual?”
“What are you saying? Go check if there’s anything you need.”
“I was already planning to.”
After that, even Bersil entered the marketplace and started picking items, and I watched those comrades from afar.
“So, what now?”
Alia, who had paused conversation when Erwen woke, ca to my side and spoke again.
“Hmm, maybe you should just look at stuff for now?”
“After hearing that, do you think I could focus on looking?”
Uh... that’s true.
“Do you have any guesses about the situation? If three are to die, it’s probably dangerous. Unlike you, I don’t know much about outside the walls.”
Fortunately or not, the first thing that ca to my mind after hearing the question was:
[The truly terrifying monster.] The one Ibaekho said appears outside the walls.
[It seems to have no habitat. Wherever you go, it eventually appears. Every ti it shows up, it kills thousands helplessly...]
Aside from its terror, I only know one thing about that monster.
The more people are around and the longer you stay outside the walls, the more likely it is to appear.
Whooshhhhh! Like a tier lord who appears when conditions are t.
The ‘Anabada Market’ held at midnight lasted longer than expected and ended only when dawn broke.
‘This thod isn’t bad.’
It wasn’t like everyone got core items, but every mber was able to upgrade at least one or two pieces of equipnt.
‘The clan’s strength probably increased by about 5% just by this market...’
At first, I hesitated because the distribution felt like voluntary sharing, but I’m glad we chose this thod.
Seems like we can hold markets again later.
“Hehe... It’s a new kind of distribution, but I like it.”
“More importantly, isn’t it fun? Sharing things each other need. It sohow feels like we’re getting closer.”
“Maybe this will beco our clan’s tradition soday.”
Everyone praised the idea, so it seed we could keep having the Anabada Market.
Of course, I have to keep in mind advice from Jas Kalla, the forr deputy leader of a large clan.
“But if the scale grows, we’ll need to be careful. For now, we only took what was needed, but soday, greedy people may join.”
Honestly, I’m not worried yet. I’m not the kind of person who would let that happen...
And I doubt such people will ever join.
“Alright! You might be tired, but everyone gather!”
Everyone had been awake all night until morning, but that level of fatigue is common for explorers. With daylight, we started the next agenda.
“We have sothing to discuss!”
It was a sort of leadership eting. Our Anabada clan is small, so it wasn’t really a leadership eting.
“As you know, the magic circle that allows us to return inside the walls is broken.”
Anyway, before the real eting started, I briefed the mbers on the current situation.
The magic circle is damaged. The characteristics of monsters outside the walls.
And the ‘monster’ that made the Noark bastards who left the wide world co back to the city on their own.
While explaining what they needed to know, the conversation naturally turned to GM’s ability to fix the return magic circle if given materials...
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