Bjorn Yandel the Barbarian

A space that was created 20 years ago and became a haven for countless users suffering from homesickness.

The end of that space was abrupt until the very end.

[Urgent notification] The server will be shut down soon.]

[All logged-in users should log out as soon as possible, as unexpected problems may occur if the connection is disconnected forcibly.

] message that came to mind.

After pressing the refresh button, the bulletin board, which was already exuding the atmosphere of the end of the century, went into a frenzy.

There is still time for the community to close, from posts asking, “Why did this happen?” to posts looking for someone, well-managed, ignorant postings that were not usually found.

[You guys are in a hurry. Please answer me.]

[You guys are in a hurry. Please answer me.]

[You guys are in a hurry. Please answer me.]

[You guys are in a hurry. Please answer me.]

[You guys are in a hurry. Please answer me.]

[You guys are in a hurry. Please answer me.]

I clicked on it because I was wondering what the hell I was curious about, and sure enough, it wasn’t anything special.

[What happens if you don’t go out and hold on?]

Oh, I knew that.

Still, I was curious about it, so I checked the comments on the post.

[these99: How come. You will be logged out.]

[└Author: Yes? Then I’ll have to wait until it’s automatically disconnected before leaving.]

[└fliccolo: Didn’t you see that there could be a problem? Just go quietly with your own hands. If you do it wrong, you could live as an idiot for the rest of your life.

It’s a pretty creepy story.

Being an idiot for failing to log out on time…

I wondered if it would really happen, but considering the uniqueness of this space, I couldn’t rule out the possibility at all.

‘The wording that the GM himself left behind, ‘You never know’, also bothers me a little.’

Even if it wasn’t like that in the first place, there was no reason to hold on to the end, so I read the bulletin board articles for the last time and pressed the logout button.

[Do you really want to log out?]

A selection window that reminds me of when I first entered this world divided into ‘yes’ and ‘no’.

clack clack.

At the same time as pressing ‘Yes’, the eyes are colored black, and the sensation of being sucked into somewhere blooms.

It was time to go back.

The mask of the mysterious absolute investigator is not Lee Han-soo, an ordinary office worker.

“…You came out 6 seconds earlier than usual. Did something happen inside?”

Bjorn Yandelo.

***

Come to think of it, since when?

When I went to Community, Amelia was always there.

No matter how many times I said that there was nothing to do, I always raised my hands and feet as he secretly came to me every time I opened my eyes.

To be honest, it’s not that I’m not grateful…

“You said you were just going to bed? Are you even lying now?”

“I was originally going to do that.”

“however?”

“I can’t sleep.”

not going to sleep

I smiled and looked at Amelia as if making an excuse.

“…And you never know what will happen inside the labyrinth.”

It’s not that I’m wrong

As soon as I got up, Amelia gave me a glass of water and asked again.

“So what happened inside?”

“As of today, the assembly is closed.”

“Closure…?”

After quenching my thirst with cold water, I told him more about what had happened inside.

As soon as I entered the community, a notice popped up.

And even the lockdown-related information obtained from the round table.

“Hmm, Auril Gavis said he was involved in the shutdown…”

“The superficial reason is to prevent demons from becoming lazy, but that can’t be the real reason. How are you doing something?”

“Well… I’ll tell you as soon as I think of it later.”

Jeop, he also has nothing to pinpoint.

Well, since he’s never really met Gavis before, is it natural? As I was thinking about that, Amelia changed the tone of her voice and stared at me.

“So what else happened inside Yandel?”

“…huh?”

“There’s no way you’re making that face just because of that.”

“A look like that…?”

As I tilted my head and looked at it, Amelia cautiously opened her mouth.

“I might have misunderstood, but…”

“You don’t have to say it around, so just be cool.”

“It’s a somewhat distressed expression.”

Ah…

“Could something else have happened inside?”

Ha, I really can’t hide anything in front of him.

what to do Should I say this or not?

I was worried for a while, but in the end, I just honestly told all the things that happened inside.

It wasn’t something to hide in the first place.

…It’s a little bit like lying in front of a person with wide eyes like that.

“Yeah… that happened inside.”

It didn’t take long for the story to end.

I have listed only the events in chronological order thoroughly, excluding my personal views.

However, Amelia seemed to realize at once what was bothering me.

No, maybe he knew better than I did.

Listen to what followed.

“You’re wondering if you have the right to be angry with Mischa Karlstein.”

Amelia briefly and concisely summarized my psychological state, which even I was not aware of.

For some reason, I felt like I was completely naked and naked.

Is that why? Unbeknownst to me, the words of rebuttal came out.

“It’s not such a simple matter. In the first place, it wasn’t just Misha, it was a complex problem involving everyone else—”

“But the heart of the matter must be Mischa Karlstein.”

“…”

“Am I wrong?”

…I had nothing to say.

So I just kept my mouth shut, and Amelia calmly opened her mouth to ask a question.

“Can you hear what happened that day?”

There was no need for modifiers to help understand which day we were talking about.

It must be the day I said nothing happened.

It was from that day on that Misha started sitting in a corner alone, not talking to anyone.

‘…Where do I start talking about this?’

After thinking about it for a while, I just started explaining from the beginning of the work.

“Do you know about the Rejuvenation Stone?”

In order to explain my work with Misha, I had to explain this first. That’s because I haven’t told anyone the details yet.

“To some extent.”

“Misha Karlstein received the Rejuvenation Stone from Lee Baek-ho before returning to our clan. And when I found out about this, I inquired about it.”

“and?”

“I asked if he knew that using the Rejuvenation Stone would cause the target to lose all of their memories, and they answered that they didn’t know. So after I said I would, I told him to leave.”

“So… what happened after that?”

I replied as if letting out a sigh.

“Misha Karlstein did not go out. It’s okay to be angry, so I asked you to say something. So I just said honestly.”

“….”

“I won’t believe your words… I won’t. Even after hearing the story today, the first thing I thought was whether he was hiding something more.”

After those words, silence fell between the two of us for a while.

“…and?”

“It is over.”

Mischa Karlstein left the room without saying a word and we haven’t had a proper conversation since.

That is the end of this story.

“I see.”

After hearing the story, Amelia seemed to organize her thoughts in silence for a long time before asking an unexpected question.

“Why did you hide the story about Mischa Karlstein from us?”

Well… I don’t know. Why?

Why couldn’t he tell Amelia about the Resurrection Stone?

I would like to go ignorant, but in fact I know the answer to that question.

“…Misha Karlstein will be isolated.”

Still, Misha’s place in our clan is precarious.

Erwen is looking at Mischa with a negative gaze, and Versil is watching closely as a potential traitor.

Even for more than two years, Misha, who has lost her social skills, is not able to get along with Einar, who was a colleague, and is in the middle of nowhere.

It is obvious what will happen if the circumstances under which Lee Baek-ho was ordered are revealed.

‘It’s going to be more out of the way.’

Maybe it will lead to the ending of leaving on its own feet.

But that’s why I’m even more ridiculous.

‘What on earth do I want to do?’

It was at that time that it became increasingly difficult to know about my condition.

Amelia shook her head as if she finally understood.

“So it was. The reason you couldn’t use ‘misplaced trust’ on Mischa Karlstein.”

“…”

“Because I must have thought there was more to hide.”

It was a straight line.

It’s a very contradictory story, but I couldn’t use it because I didn’t trust Misha.

It’s like Schrödinger’s cat.

The moment you open the box, the outcome is already decided and there is no turning back.

So I left the box alone for now.

And looking at me so pathetic, Amelia said.

“If it’s you, then it’s you.”

It sounded like an accusation, but Amelia’s eyes were gentle.

“Bjorn Yandel. When the day dawns, go to Karlstein with ‘mistrusted’ and ask if there’s more he’s hiding. And if he says he has nothing to hide, treat him as a colleague like before.”

“What if there was more to hide from me?”

“Well, then I’ll have to think about it again.”

“Isn’t that… a bit irresponsible advice?”

“But don’t you know that we can’t put it off forever?”

well that’s not right

As I let out a deep sigh in frustration, Amelia spoke as if comforting.

“Do what you have to do, no matter how much you hate it.”

“….”

“Bjorn Yandel. like you.”

Be like me….

What kind of person is the Bjorn Yandel he sees?

While that question suddenly bloomed, I thought about how I was looking at him.

“…why are you looking at me like that?”

“Just because you look more mature than usual?”

The sincerity that I spit out without any filtering.

“Ugh…?”

For some reason, Amelia flinched like someone who had been hit by the stomach.

He looked at me for a moment and sighed.

“I take it as a compliment.”

Uh… can this mean anything else?

***

First of all, the morning after waking up after a good night’s sleep.

I went straight to the village chief and received ‘misaligned trust’ to use on Misha.

Even so, I was troubled.

‘Is it right to wear this…’

It wasn’t because I was worried about what Misha might be hiding, but the very fact of using something like this on a colleague felt very uncomfortable.

That’s right, let’s move on to this this time, what’s next?

Maybe starting with this job, whenever I have doubts about something, I start to rely on ‘displaced trust’.

And can such a relationship be called a colleague?

Because of such a fundamental question.

But…

‘This is the end of my use.’

I don’t know what will happen in the future, but once I made that promise, I felt less hesitating.

Yes, so…

Smart tock.

I knock on the door where I stood blankly for a long time.

There was no reaction. Doesn’t look like he’s sleeping yet.

“It’s me, Misha. Let’s talk for a minute.”

I knocked on the door again and spoke, and soon there was a sound of movement in the room.

“to? uh? Bjorn? Now wait a minute…”

Finally, it was almost 5 minutes after the door opened.

“what’s the matter…? At such an early hour…”

Contrary to the story that he is living like a disabled person, he looks much neater than I thought. I was washing my hair, so there was still moisture in my hair that I couldn’t dry.

“Can I come in for a minute?”

“Eh… it’s a bit messy…”

“It’s okay.”

Soon, I strode through the closed door.

And I took out the misplaced trust straight away.

“That’s…”

Misha’s expression, which immediately recognized the identity of the object, was mixed with various emotions.

The look on his face seemed both relieved and delighted. Also, at the same time, I felt like I was disappointed in something and afraid of something.

Maybe that’s why the lips don’t come off easily.

But I forced my voice out.

“I’d like to turn this on before we talk. Could you give me your permission?”

The answer came back after a while.

It wasn’t exactly an answer, but a question.

“If you turn it on and answer everything…”

“…”

“…then can you go back? As before?”

Before answering, such questions bloomed.

When do you really want to go back?

Is it the time when they seemed to be able to communicate with each other, or does it simply mean a colleague relationship?

Well, it’s definitely the latter.

Because it was Misha who clearly drew the line and pushed it away.

“Maybe.”

I gave a vaguely positive answer.

One prerequisite is attached, but unless Misha really hides nothing from me anymore.

Maybe then you can really go back.

Back in the day when I didn’t have a headache like this.

“Then… that’s all right.”

After Misha nodded while clenching her fists, I finally started asking questions in earnest.

“The character used [Displaced Trust].”

I always feel that the name was well-named.