Surviving as a Barbarian in the Game - Episode 384
384Woe we (3)
「The labyrinth is closed.」
「The character moves to Lapdonia.」
Sunlight in the city for the first time in almost two months.
Maybe it's because I spent so much time in Atlanta under the dark sea until the end, but the light feels even bigger..
‘After all, people have to shine the light..’
Like other explorers, I quickly moved to the checkpoint before looking up at the gloomy sky of the city..
“It's here!”
Erwen, who arrived first, looks at me and waves..
As I joined and stood in line, it wasn't long before Amelia arrived..
“It's late.”
“Surprisingly, it took some time to find it..”
Amelia responded and winked at the navigator standing on her right with an awkward expression..
“First of all, it was true that they entered through the same District 7 plaza as us..”
“This guy doesn't lie..”
Well, you say it with such confidence that it's been so long since we met.?
I was a little surprised, but I asked without showing it..
“…Was there any problem though??”
“at all. Instead of going somewhere else, he just stayed in place and waited for me to come..”
Amelia's voice was full of pride somewhere..
Are you that happy that I listened to you well??
On the other hand, navigator Auyen Rockrobe seemed to have come to his senses late.…….
“Hehehe…….”
As soon as he makes eye contact with me, he smiles brightly and gives me a business smile..
Hmm, I feel a little sad when I see things like this..
Since he was one of the guys who targeted us first, I think he's making a profit..
“Now it's our turn.”
As we waited in line, it was soon our turn, and we exchanged all the gems we had collected into money and passed the checkpoint..
And then the streets full of people appeared.
Here we changed the formation a bit and moved..
A composition where Amelia is located at the back and the navigator is located right in front of her..
“haha… … . Oh, even if you don’t, I won’t run away.…….”
“Because if you follow me, you might get lost..”
“I lived in District 7 for 20 years.…….”
The navigator mumbled something, but he didn't break out of formation until he passed through the streets full of people and arrived at his home..
and…….
“What do you mean here?……?”
Eventually we arrived at a three-story single-family house..
The navigator who passes the high wall and enters the garden yard opens his mouth in admiration..
But did you sense something strange while watching?.
“Hey, why are all the windows…….”
The navigator was unable to finish his sentence and blurted it out..
Eyes were fixed on the boarded up window..
“never mind. Because it's a security measure.”
“Ah, yes…….”
Although nothing much was said, curiosity and fear towards us coexist in the navigator's eyes and expression..
People wonder what kind of work they do and why they live in a house like this..
‘Now that I think about it, I think I already figured out who Erwen is.…….’
I'll have to check this later.
Once we passed the garden and entered the house, after some discussion we decided to assign one of the spare rooms to the navigator..
It was a room located in the basement..
“…underground? Did our house have a basement??”
When I tilted my head and looked at him, Erwen blushed shyly..
“I looked for a house on purpose. Because you never know.…….”
Um, I see.……?
Well, I heard that every rich house has a panic room for evacuation.…….
Squeak, Squeak, Squeak.
Although I felt uncomfortable, I watched Erwen remove the carpet and operate the device to create the stairs..
Going down, I found a space that looked like it was designed to be used as a warehouse..
It was empty because it had never been filled with anything, and in the deepest part of the wall there was a thick iron door with a lock..
Clap.
When Erwen took out the key and opened the door, a room with a large bed appeared..
I don't know why, but there were restraints on the wall..
“This… It's not a room, it's a prison.…….”
The navigator's face soon turned pale as he checked the assigned room..
Actually, I felt the same way..
For some reason, as soon as I saw the basement room, I got goosebumps down my spine..
Well, it probably has nothing to do with me anymore..
“……Prison? It's just an ordinary room..”
“…….”
“Look, there's a toilet and a bathroom, right? I hope no one else uses it but you..”
“…….”
“Hehehehe, then I'll go up first. I suddenly feel unwell…….”
Ugh, why is my heart beating so hard??
It's not like I'm claustrophobic..
We quickly put the navigator in the room and closed the door, and Erwen quickly locked the lock..
Clap.
“Now, just a moment! for a moment!”
Bang bang bang! We heard the navigator knocking on the door, but we all pretended not to hear it..
“Can I take care of the keys??”
“Please.”
The problem of the navigator's residence is over with Amelia receiving the keys..
I guess he will take care of feeding me now..
Actually, I've been curious about something else for a long time..
“Emily, but is there really such a poison? I've never heard of you dying if you don't take the antidote every day..”
Isn’t this like the loneliness of a martial arts world?.
It was a typical cliché in the Demonic Cult to threaten and manipulate members of the political faction using this..
I thought that if it really existed, it might be helpful in various fields in the future..
but…….
“Schuitz, you have a naive side too..”
“…huh?”
“There is no way such a poison exists in the world, right? Fortunately, that guy didn't seem to know much about poison..”
“ah…….”
Then it was a bluff after all..
I guess that's a possibility, so I've finally confirmed it.—
“yes?”
At that time, Erwen suddenly flinched..
“That poison… There isn't one……?”
A voice that is somehow filled with deep regret.
There was something on my mind that I couldn't just ignore, so I turned around and asked if there was something necessary, but Erwen averted his eyes..
“like. Because you don't know…….”
So, maybe there’s something you don’t know?.
I wanted to ask in detail, but I didn't think I would get a proper answer anyway, so I stopped..
***
The first day after returning to the labyrinth, everyone spent time resting in their respective rooms. And from the next day onwards, I got busy..
There should be one or two pieces of loot I got this time..
“Erwen, come with me too..”
“Eh? Me? Anyway, you alone are enough—”
“Are you saying you can't do that for Schuitz??”
“……That's not what I meant..”
2From Day 1, Erwen and Amelia went out all the time to exchange their loot for cash, while I spent most of my time guarding the house..
“Schuitz, I have prepared food on the table to be served in order, so please take care of it when it is time to eat while I am away..”
Aside from stopping by the basement every morning, lunch, and dinner, there is nothing else to do about the day..
However, on the third day, a guest came..
“Raven.”
“I was originally going to come yesterday, but I was a little busy. You can go in?”
“Of course.”
As soon as I went inside, Raven looked around and asked me..
“How about two??”
“I went out for the booty..”
“Hmm…….”
A murmur that gives off a slightly strange feeling..
I asked if there was anything wrong, and Raven said it wasn't a big deal..
“I just thought that those two people are now doing the work that I used to do..”
“I feel sorry for that time. The only person I can trust and entrust with that part is you..”
“I didn't say this to get an apology. More than anything… It's not like I need an apology.”
“Thank you for thinking that way..”
First, I guided Raven to the living room and sat down facing her..
And we briefly talked about each other's current status..
“How was it there??”
“It just worked out well here and there. you guys?”
“It's the same here. Because this is not a war that will end in a day or two..”
“Right.”
“…….”
A sense of distance feels different from when we were colleagues before..
This is probably the same for him too.
We were in the labyrinth, so it was almost two months since we had seen each other..
Thump thump thump!
At that time, I felt a vibration from below..
“I think there's a noise coming from the basement.…….”
Ah, now that I think about it, it’s already past lunch time..
“I think it's because of the sewage construction that took place not long ago. never mind.”
It was a bit weird to honestly say that people were being imprisoned, so I just covered it up for now..
Fortunately, Raven didn't seem suspicious either..
Anyway, after that, we started talking naturally, and in the process, I was able to hear about what happened during this expedition..
Well, the important information came last..
“Oh, and Yandel… No, that's what Mr. Schuitz asked about..”
“That's it?”
“National incorporation agenda?.”
“Did you happen to find out who brought up that topic??”
“yes. It was the Countess of Febroc..”
“peprock……?”
As soon as I heard it, I wondered what it was.
After all, it was the last name of someone I was close with..
Ragna Litanyel Peprok.
I wonder if they just have the same last name, but this question cannot go away..
When I checked before, there was no noble family named Peprok anywhere in Lafdonia..
“Raven, what is the countess's name??”
“Ragnar Peprok, that was definitely the name..”
“……what?”
It's really him?
That's because the middle name was omitted.…….
“…Do you know someone??”
“perhaps. Could you please explain what kind of family Peprock is??”
“It's a common fallen noble family. He disappeared from the Royal Family Noble Department and was reinstated a year ago without anyone knowing..”
What, then you meant that it was natural that I couldn't find it when I checked..
Could it be that the real Countess is Ragna??
When I was thinking about such things over and over again,.
“I didn't really understand that part, so I did more research. It is common for fallen nobles to be reinstated, but how did they build up a position sufficient to participate in royal meetings in such a short period of time?.”
Raven lowered her voice and continued..
“The answer is simple. There was a back row.”
“who was it?”
“Chancellor of Lapdonia, Marquis of Terserion.”
“…what?”
Suddenly my head feels confused.
Countess Peprock is the same person as Ragnar. Secondly, if Raven's words are true, doesn't that mean that Countess Peprock is a person who belongs to the Prime Minister's faction?.
“then… This must mean that it was the Prime Minister who insisted on the national incorporation agenda.…….”
As I blurted out the thought without realizing it, Raven slightly shook her head..
“no. That's a bit ambiguous. In fact, the Prime Minister himself said that as soon as the national incorporation agenda came up on the chopping board, he immediately shouted at them for talking nonsense. The other nobles were surprised by this and immediately became confused..”
“Maybe it was just a performance..”
“performance……?”
“They said it might have been a staged play. By showing your anger, you're nailing it in advance so other nobles can't think of anything else..”
“ah…….”
Raven opens her mouth as if she had never thought of that..
“It looks like you also have a knack for politics.……?”
“Rather than that, I'm just interested in people..”
Of course, this is just a guess and we don't know what it will be like in reality..
Because we still have too little information.
“Raven, could you do some more research on Countess Peprock??”
“Okay. I also have a lot of things that are unclear to me..”
“Thank you always.”
“Then I'll just leave..”
“Okay, take care and go.”
The meeting with Raven that day ended there..
And time passes and a week later.
One sunny afternoon, Erwen and Amelia head to the commercial city to collect money from the sale of their loot..
Kwaaang-!
Knights with the royal family emblem engraved on their chests broke down the front door and entered the mansion..
“Lihen Schuitz, you are under arrest for alleged affair with Noark..”
Phew, yeah.
In the end, it has come.
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