Ricardo Rühenpraha.
My conversation with that bastard unfortunately ended quickly.
“Don’t expect to die gracefully.”
After throwing that taunt one more ti, he remained completely silent no matter what I said.
I wondered if maybe he had activated a “radio silence” move, but after thinking it over, that didn’t seem ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) right either.
‘It’s more likely he smashed the radio out of frustration.’
Yeah, no matter how many tis I thought about it, that was the more reasonable explanation.
That trembling voice back then was real—sothing smoke or illusions couldn’t produce.
Ah, and there’s so evidence for this guess.
What kind of guy is he anyway?
In the past, he was called a “sword master,” and now he’s the leader of the ultra-famous terrorist group called Orkulis.
Of course, he’s that strong...
‘Guys like this always have the sa kind of brain structure.’
Like the exact opposite of soft outside but strong inside.
According to statistics, big shots like this are resistant to this kind of nonsense.
Because they probably never et crazy punks like .
Ah, except for Ibaekho.
He may be a strong man of this era, but he’s Korean-born.
‘I wonder if by now he’s trembling and rushing over?’
Of course, that’s just wishful thinking—I can’t be sure.
Well, that doesn’t an what I just did was aningless.
At least I managed to get him to talk to first, didn’t I?
Just that alone helped Alia breathe a little easier—
Crackle—!
Suddenly, static noise ca from the radio, followed by a familiar voice.
“Pri Minister...?”
But since it was said in code, I couldn’t understand. I signaled Vivian to translate quickly, and she started imdiately.
“...It’s the Pri Minister. He’s telling each commander to leave the existing channels.”
Hmm, so this ends our radio eavesdropping?
I wasn’t really disappointed.
It was the expected outco from when I started drawing attention.
But what followed next over the radio was a bit puzzling.
[Brett Chie, Saela Sa.]
[Tiri Bi, Saela Sa.]
[Tiri Ei, Saela Sa.]
“What are they all saying now?”
“It’s just a simple procedure. They say the district nas and then announce the communication is over...”
“Should we leave too...? It doesn’t seem like anything useful will co up... The number of people connected is dropping quickly too...”
“No, stay put for now. Just in case.”
Vivian gave a ‘just in case?’ look but obeyed without a word.
How much ti passed, I don’t know.
“It’s quiet now.”
“Well, only two people remain connected.”
So excluding us, there’s only one person left.
“Give it here.”
I took the radio back from Vivian.
“What? What are you doing?”
“I think he’s about to talk.”
“...You know who it is?”
Even without damage to the crystal ball, their comm system automatically disconnects when soone with authority dies to maintain security.
And now, there’s one left.
What does that an?
‘It’s obvious who.’
Not long after it dropped to two, a voice ca through the radio.
[Tsk.]
It started with a tongue click that made you think about a lot of things.
“Long ti no see, Pri Minister. Or should I say the leader of the rebels now?”
I greeted first before he introduced himself, but surprisingly, he replied just as naturally.
[You’ve been quiet for a while, but causing this kind of trouble as soon as you show up is so like you.]
It sounded like we were old friends chatting casually just days ago.
‘Ah, maybe that’s not wrong.’
Before I was imprisoned, I had talked to the Pri Minister quite a bit.
Well, back then he was the Pri Minister of Rafdonia.
“Since it’s an accident, you probably don’t have much to say.”
[Yeah, that’s true. Especially this ti.]
Although we’re enemies, I couldn’t help but chuckle for so reason.
But this wasn’t the ti for trivial talk.
“Why?”
[You always look for the answer first.]
“I don’t like wasting ti.”
[You can’t get close to the answer that way. The answer is like a treasure hidden deep in the labyrinth, found only after wandering lost for a very long ti.]
Oh, maybe it’s because he’s older than ?
It sounded aningful.
But...
“What are you saying? You’re a guy who’s never been in a labyrinth in your life.”
Only experienced explorers can say that coolly.
Like Nara, for example.
[Let get straight to the point.]
“Are you trying to negotiate?”
He neither confird nor denied my question.
Instead, like an impatient businessman, he imdiately laid out conditions.
[I guarantee the unconditional safety of your comrades.]
“How can I trust a guy who raised a knife to kill us?”
[In fact, I ordered the entire army to prioritize capturing Bjorn Yandel’s comrades alive.]
I gave Vivian a look asking if that was true, and she nodded.
[For so reason, you always got caught. So I figured capturing your comrades alive might co in handy soday.]
Hmm...
It’s a bad sign the enemy overestimates ...
But at least now I know one thing.
None of my comrades have been captured by the rebels yet.
If they had been, it would be threats, not negotiations.
[So, what’s your answer?]
The Marquis’s question ca as Astarotta’s eyes glanced at .
It didn’t seem like she wanted to interfere—just observing what I’d choose.
‘Sigh...’
My answer was already decided.
“Refuse.”
[Why?]
Like before, the Marquis asked for the answer right away.
But I wasn’t going to waste ti with small talk like him.
I’d held it in for a long ti.
Until I could say this to his face.
“I swore it in Ice Rock.”
[...]
“That I’d cut off the neck of the bastard who planned this.”
I may look like this, but I’m actually a bit petty.
So far, I’ve never erased a na from my death list.
[Yeah... I see.]
After a brief silence, the Marquis spoke in a sowhat bitter voice.
“We ended up buttoning the first button wrong from the start.”
Not an excuse or self-justification, just resignation.
I even sensed a little regret and so frustration in his voice.
If this was going to end in regret...
Clench.
I wished it hadn’t co to this.
“You know it was you who buttoned the first button.”
I couldn’t help but speak a bit aggressively, but the Marquis didn’t react much.
No, he even chuckled.
[Heh, nothing new. The more I try to untangle my life, the more tangled the thread becos.]
Is he reflecting on his life now?
Well, if you’re fighting the royal family, I guess that’s natural.
Anyway, more talk would just be idle chatter, so I asked one last thing.
“What happened to Ragna Pepprok?”
Maybe the most personal question.
Surprisingly, he answered honestly.
[That kid’s still asleep, knowing nothing. In the safest place in this world. When he wakes up, so kind of resolution will be made.]
“The safest place in this world... wherever that is, it’s totally different from how I treat my son.”
[You know the reason, don’t you?]
Well, yeah.
The Marquis’s son is a demon.
That’s probably why they took Ragna, who’d been holed up in the library, in the first place.
Ah, I almost forgot to ask this.
“...Is the woman in the portrait hidden in your office Ragna’s birth mother?”
[Yes, she was a very kind woman.]
Why is this guy answering so well?
That thought crossed my mind, but sadly, that was the end.
[Anyway, the situation’s clearer now.]
“When wasn’t it?”
[Ha ha, it still ans a lot to . That hope... it’s what’s made neither here nor there all this ti.]
You could dismiss it as an old man’s nonsense, but it sounded like sothing said just before awakening, so it wasn’t exactly comforting.
[When this conversation ends, I’ll cancel the capture order and issue a kill order to the entire army.]
Does this an sothing real is finally starting?
[In that process, one of the comrades you cherish so much will probably die. No, they will definitely die. Because I will make it so.]
“If this is a threat, you’ve got the order wrong.”
[Isn’t that obvious?]
“...?”
[It’s not a threat.]
He spoke like he was stating a fact, not a threat.
[I just wanted you to know. I wasn’t much different from you.]
Ironically, I felt overwheld for the first ti talking with the Marquis.
[Do you know how hard it’s been for , laughing in front of people like you?]
“...”
[You should feel it too. The pain I felt.]
Huh, I didn’t expect him to have such a tough guy side.
After that last word, the radio went dead.
“He’s gone...”
Seeing the number of connected people on the network drop to one, I threw the now useless radio into the burning house.
“Don’t worry too much. It’s just a curse from a traitor.”
Astarotta comforted as she watched.
“You made the right choice.”
The right choice...
Yeah, it definitely was.
If I had accepted the Marquis’s persuasion, maybe no one would have died during this war, but after it ended, a bigger backlash would have co.
“Then will you tell why the Marquis started the war now?”
“No. His Majesty ordered you to hear it directly.”
Ha... This really drives a person crazy.
This isn’t so ga where you have to discover everything through adventures one by one.
‘...Ah, is that true?’
Now I can say for sure.
Dungeon & Stone is a damn shitty ga.
“A lot of people have already gathered.”
Muttering to myself, Astarotta looked around and muttered under her breath.
Basically saying it’s ti to move.
So I stopped thinking about the Pri Minister and briefly summarized the situation.
The city is burning.
The rebels have orders to ‘keep out’ and maintain distance, while reinforcents are arriving and the troops are increasing.
‘I still don’t know if Rühenpraha is coming to or not.’
Alia is said to be in District 4, and clan mbers hiding in the sanctuary may or may not be safe.
To make matters worse, the Marquis just declared through so sudden awakening event that he would kill all my comrades...
[The evil spirits from another world ‘————’ realized the path they must take only after losing three comrades.]
I don’t even know if that event I saw in the records is happening during this war or not.
And that’s not all.
[Arua Raven! That wizard who used to be your old comrade is a traitor!]
Vivian accused Raven of betrayal on the day the capital burned.
‘...Why can’t I get this organized?’
I tried to summarize it simply, but it just wouldn’t co together.
“...”
My head feels like it’s going to explode.
There’s too much to think about.
I even thought I’d rather go back to surviving day by day in the labyrinth without thinking.
Thump—!
Extre stress squeezes tight around my chest.
But because of that, I cleared my head.
Like a barbarian.
‘...If I just keep going, sohow it’ll work out.’
Besides, didn’t the Marquis say earlier?
If you wander lost for a very long ti, eventually you’ll find the answer.
So I decided to focus on surviving this mont.
“Behel—laaaaaaaah!!”
Just like back when all I had was my body alone.
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