Bjorn Yandel the Barbarian

“Ah… is that so?” In a warm atmosphere, GM and the old man laugh and exchange pleasantries. Baekho Lee, who was watching the two with a displeased look, starts to grumble.

“Hey, doesn’t that bastard have a stomach?”

Actually, I feel the same way. How can you laugh so stupidly? If only that old bastard hadn’t been there, this wouldn’t have happened—

“Hmm, I would like to say that I am a smart friend…”

“···Huh?” “Don’t you think a rational and young friend should know manners?”

At that time, the old man of destruction made a remark that seemed to protect GM. Is GM a popular figure among the old people? I don’t know, but even the old man of destruction was no different from GM in front of Auriel Gavis.

“It’s been a while, Master.”

“Ah, Ruingenes… Nice to meet you. How have you been?”

“What can I do whether I am doing well or not?”

“I guess I’ll take that to mean you’ve been doing well.”

“By the way, Master, you haven’t changed at all since then. It seems like I’m the only one who’s gone through all this time.”

“Haha, you’re still young.”

I thought we would have a light small talk after a long time together, but the time didn’t last long.

“Since it’s been a while since we met, can I ask you one thing?”

“Try it”

As soon as permission is given, the old man of destruction speaks heavily.

“Has the Master already achieved immortality?”

“Haha, you’re asking a very difficult question from the start.”

“If it’s difficult to answer, you don’t have to listen—·”

“But if I may answer just one thing…”

Within, Auriel Gavis opened his mouth, cutting off the old man’s words, as if giving advice to a child.

“There is no eternity in any world, Ruingenes-kun.”

“······”

“Everything changes eventually, even things that you thought would never change.”

“···That’s a very philosophical answer·”

The old man nodded quietly as if he was really impressed and not just saying empty words. However, Baekho Lee just snorted.

“Philosophy is, if you interpret it, it means that if you keep hitting, you will eventually lose, right?”

“You seem to be particularly grumpy today?”

“Then why don’t you come out? I can tell right away that it was your plan to lock us up there.”

Lee Baek-ho, who does not hide his anger and goes straight to the main topic, not wanting to continue the small talk.

“You should be thankful that I didn’t rush in right away. You…”

As always, he used strong words and entered the fight, but unfortunately, this time his opponent was no pushover.

“Haha… You should be the one thanking me.”

“Ha! Thanks?”

Auril Gavis looks at Baekho Lee, who is exhaling as if he is not praying, and gives him an intense glare.

“Then shouldn’t I be grateful?”

“······”

“I still haven’t found a reason to ‘dispose’ of you.”

As soon as the words were spoken, I felt the air change with my whole body.

“······”

A feeling like steel thorns sprouted from the soft air. Auril Gavis, who had overwhelmed everyone with just the atmosphere, took a step forward and continued speaking.

“Baekho-kun, don’t you know yet? The reason I interfered with you was so that I wouldn’t ‘dispose of’ you.”

The wording was so direct and threatening that it was on a completely different level from Lee Baek-ho’s discussion of whether to attack or not.

“But if things keep going wrong like this, I have no choice but to ‘take stock’.”

At first glance, even Baekho Lee looks a little bit underwhelmed. Well, even if he’s just a kid, he can’t help but give in to this old man.

“···So what on earth do you want to do? And what about that Bryatt? It looks like you’ve been planting it next to me for a while now.

“Bryot-kun was your guide.”

“What? A guide···?”

“You are a person of interest. Don’t you need at least one person to guide you along the right path so that you don’t go astray?”

It was such a shameless line that I, who was listening from the side, was dumbfounded. But that’s just how this world is.

“······”

In a barbaric world where you can’t even speak up if you don’t have the strength, even Baekho Lee, who had enjoyed the privileges of the strong for a long time, would have been even more speechless at this attitude.

“Just tell me”

Baekho Lee, who had been silent for a long time, continued speaking in a somewhat resigned voice.

“What do you want from me… Just tell me…”

The emotion felt in that short question was not something like resentment, it was just something that felt strong, how tired and exhausted this guy Baekho Lee was during that long time.

“Hmm… I don’t really want anything from you…”

“···what?”

“Don’t you know that now? That you are a defective product?”

Within, Auril Gavis looks at Baekho and speaks clearly and precisely.

“I never wanted you. I never wanted you to come here. So I don’t really understand why you hate me. Isn’t that wrong?”

“······”

“If there’s one thing I wish for, it’s that you know the topic and stay quiet.”

“······”

“If you’re a supporting actor, act like a supporting actor. Don’t try to change the story.”

At Auril Gavis’ sharp words, Baekho Lee did not respond and remained silent. However, his bloodshot eyes spoke.

How much humiliation the guy is suffering right now, of course, the old man with zero empathy didn’t seem to care about that either.

“If Baekho Lee is a supporting actor… does that mean we are also supporting actors?”

A ruined old man whose eyes shine and who only shows interest in the parts that catch his attention.

“Are you upset about that too?”

The old man of destruction shook his head at Auril Gavis’ question.

“Not really. I’m way past the age where I can think of myself as the main character…”

“And what else?”

“What good would it do to be the main character of a story made up by someone else?”

“···That sounds like a very meaningful statement?”

Auril Gavis glanced at the ruined man with a somewhat uneasy look in his eyes, but the ruined man showed no sign of it and simply moved on to the next story.

“But are Flyer Yang and the Aures Army familiar with each other?”

“Hmm······”

“I don’t think there was any particular connection between those two.”

At that question, Auril Gavis looked back and forth between Jaina and Rex Aures with a look of concern. And then…

“I met you once before.”

Jaina is the first to honestly reveal that they had a connection.

“You told me that I could restore my lost memories by offering a sacrifice to Karui-sama. That person was it.”

“···So something like that happened? Then what about Aures?”

“Uh… Uh… I’ve seen you a few times by your lord’s side, starting with when the royal family invaded the city of Noark.”

Even Baekho Lee frowned, as if he was lying in a tone that made anyone look at him. Auril Gavis shook his head and blurted out a somewhat shocking truth.

“The Aureus Army is from the same world as the Ruingenes Army.”

“···What?” “Is it true? This guy was also an evil spirit···?”

It looks like it was information that no one in the group knew about····

‘All six of them are evil spirits…’ This isn’t even a dream team of evil spirits…

It’s not enough to say it’s a coincidence. I remember being surprised by the fact that more than half of them were evil spirits in the past, but I never thought it would be all of them.

“I··· maybe Mr. Bryant···”

At that moment, Jaina looked at Auriel Gavis and trailed off. It seems like she was thinking the same thing as me.

“Mr. Bryant is a pure-blooded citizen born and raised in this world.”

Well, then six out of seven were demons. I feel a bit strange. Well, no matter what group you go to, demons are always a very small minority.

That’s why the Ghostbusters, the only ones who were the opposite, were special among the evil spirits.

“What kind of a shitty expression is this, ‘pure-blooded citizen’?”

Baekho Lee grumbled as if he didn’t like certain words, but Auril Gavis didn’t even respond.

“I never expected that Ho-oh-Aures-kun’s hometown would be the same as mine. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Aha… haha… I didn’t mean to lie… but I just found out that we’re from the same hometown.”

“Well, it’s not the first thing I should bring up… I guess I’ll have a lot to talk about with you in the future. I’m curious about that world.”

“Ahahaha… Ask me anything. To be honest, I don’t remember much either, but I’ll tell you everything that comes to mind.”

Somehow, I have a feeling that from now on, whenever there’s a break, Aureus and Grandpa will sit next to each other and chat away…

‘I can’t imagine it well…’ I was inwardly surprised to learn that Aureus was an evil spirit, and was trying to organize my thoughts.

“I… sir?”

GM spoke to Auril Gavis cautiously.

“But do you know where we are right now···?”

“Do you wonder whether it is outside the walls, inside, or somewhere else?”

“Yes… Ah, I guess the Baron and I happened to go outside and got caught up in it….”

“Well… I guess that could be true from your perspective.”

“···yes?”

The GM tilted his head at the line that sounded somewhat meaningful, but Auril Gavis did not explain further and went right back to the answer to the previous question.

“This is somewhere outside the walls. It’s a place that holds a lot of meaning to me.”

“Ah… is that so…?”

“So please understand that I can’t tell you exactly where it is.”

“Yes···? Then—·”

“Don’t worry, I don’t mean to keep you here forever.”

“Ahahaha… Is that so? If so, that’s really fortunate. I never planned on going on such a long journey….”

The GM who laughed and farted at the culprit who created this situation, as if he had no use for it. Well, the story went well because there was at least one person who could play that kind of role.

“If you don’t want to keep me? Are you going to let me go like this?”

When Baekho Lee, who had been listening to the conversation with a pouty expression, asked a question as if throwing it out, Auril Gavis slowly nodded his head.

“Of course, if you promise me just one thing.”

“···say it·”

“I didn’t plan on speaking so bluntly, but since it’s come to this, I’ll speak frankly.”

“No, that’s why I said to do it quickly—·”

“Don’t look for answers elsewhere.”

At Auril Gavis’s words, Baekho Lee flinched for a moment and then smiled awkwardly.

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Shouldn’t you be more specific when asking for a promise?”

“Then let me tell you more intuitively.”

“······”

“I know very well why you, Baekho, are targeting the palace.”

“however···?”

“But don’t go there. You won’t find the answer you want there anyway.”

Auril Gavis never mentioned any penalties for breaking promises or anything like that.

Well, I’ve already said it several times before. If you don’t follow those words, Baekho Lee will be ‘punished’. And Baekho Lee knows that.

“···Then where on earth is the answer?”

Lee Baek-ho asked only one more thing, and Auriel Gavis smiled kindly and said,

“Aren’t you ‘explorers’?”

Patting Baekho Lee on the shoulder

“Find the answer in the labyrinth”

As if there was no such thing as evil.

“All the answers you want are right there.”

When I see Auril Gabis speaking in a soft voice, I somehow think of Karui. Come to think of it, this old man is similar to Karui. In the sense that he always plays with people. ***

Gavis waited calmly for an answer from Baekho Lee, who had lost his voice, without complaining.

“······”

“······”

It didn’t take long for Lee Baek-ho to raise the white flag, despite the pressure that seemed comfortable.

“Ah, okay, okay, I get it. What do you mean? To put it simply, you’re telling me not to touch the palace, right? I’m not going to touch it. Okay?”

If you’re going to raise the white flag, you can leave out the swaying attitude.

‘What… is there something you want?’

While I was thinking like that, Baekho Lee continued speaking in a witty tone.

“But you’re not all-rounder, are you? Seeing you running around like this and cleaning up after yourself?”

“···?”

“Why is that? It seems like you’re not too happy about the labyrinth being closed. In fact, this all happened because you saved Noark from the brink of annihilation.”

“So what are you trying to say?”

“No, there’s nothing special about it… I just thought that if you show up in front of us like this, something must be wrong with you too.”

If we interpret it, it means that he tried to check whether his guess was correct or not.

“But judging by the reaction, it seems like it was right?”