STGB Episode 531

Escape Plan (4)

A dagger engraved with the symbol of the Silver Lion Clan.

Why was this here?

The moment I asked myself this question, a possibility arose in my mind.

[“If you’re talking about the Silver Lion Clan, they left after your group departed and haven’t returned yet.”]

The possibility that the chief’s words were a lie.

Perhaps… the Silver Lion Clan didn’t fail to return—they couldn’t return. Because they had crossed the river of no return.

At the hands of someone.

“…….”

“…….”

Judging by the expression, Amelia seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me…

“Was there anything else besides the dagger?”

“That’s all. As far as I’ve confirmed.”

“I see…”

It’s too early to draw any conclusions.

The Silver Lion Clan could have left the dagger behind mistake, and the monsters might have secretly taken it. Or perhaps they sold the dagger to the monsters.

In other words, if I wanted to spin hopeful scenarios, I could come up with plenty.

But…

“This is a headache.”

When new variables appear, you always have to assume the worst.

“You saw him too, didn’t you—that man is dangerous.”

The chief’s strength is beyond monstrous.

With a single strike of his sword, he could instantly kill a Hipramagent. But if that sword were thrown at me, could I survive unscathed?

Since I didn’t know, I decided to confirm something else first.

“……Does anyone know that you took this dagger?”

“No one yet. I found it while checking if Pheneline was causing any trouble.”

“Can you return it to its original place without being noticed?”

There was no need for a long explanation.

“If it’s now.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“Understood.”

Amelia carefully tucked the dagger back into her cloak.

She knows it.

That confronting the village chief right now is very risky.

‘After all, until the rainy season ends, we’re trapped in this village.’

The village chief has secrets.

That much is certain.

But we are not ready to face him yet.

***

The day after Amelia safely returned the dagger to the smith.

“Starting today, investigate the whereabouts of the Silver Lion Clan. Do it as quietly as you can. Don’t tell Aynar, Versil, Erwin or anyone.”

“Jandel, what about you?”

“I’ll go meet the village chief.”

After giving Amelia her new quest, I headed to the chief’s residence.

“You’re here earlier than I expected.”

“I didn’t have much else to do besides rest.”

“I’d offer you tea, but this village doesn’t have such luxuries. Take a seat.”

Was it because I’d seen the Silver Lion Clan’s dagger?

It felt like sitting in front of a psychopathic killer, I could feel my muscles unconsciously tense up. But I acted as naturally as I could.

Acting is one of my specialties, after all.

“So, what did you want to talk about? You called me here privately, so I doubt it’s just for a casual chat.” I asked the village chief

“Hm, it’s a bit ambiguous. You could call it business, I suppose.”

The village chief then spoke to me in his usual monotone voice.

“Bjorn Jandel. I’m curious about you.”

“……What?”

“Is it strange that I am interested in an explorer who might be able to get me out of here?”

“It’s not that…”

It was a bit of a disconcerting subject, but I quickly assessed the situation.

Though I found the subject a bit surprising, I quickly wrapped up my assessment of the situation.

The Silver Lion Clan was one thing, but this was another.

“Just because you’re curious, do I have any reason to tell you?”

I give him my own version of the answer I heard yesterday.

“Weren’t you the one who told me not to be curious about the wrong things and to focus on my work?”

My tone was deliberately harsh, but the village chief didn’t seem offended.

“That’s true.”

In fact, he conceded so easily that it made me feel awkward.

“Then how about we take turns answering each other’s questions? You must have plenty of things you’re curious about regarding me as well.”

Hmm…

A one-on-one truth game, huh…

“Fine.”

I didn’t hesitate long.

Nothing in this world is so simple that you can get what you want without taking any risks.

Besides, I have gotten used to this kind of questionnaire.

I quickly took the initiative.

“Then can I go first?”

“Go ahead.”

“Do you still have the essences you possessed when you were human?”

That was the most critical question right now.

The essences that Cornelius Brunngrid had when he was alive were quite well known.

Like other legendary heroes, his core combinations had been passed down to later generations as a legacy.

Well, not all of his essences are known.

Still, knowing this much would give me a rough idea of his strength.

“No, I don’t.”

Hmm, no?

“Then what was that glowing sword yesterday?”

“Now it’s my turn.”

“……Go ahead.”

Since I could also gather information his questions, I didn’t stubbornly insist on my turn and passed it over.

What would be the first question of the village chief?

As my curiosity grew, the chief slowly opened his mouth.

“How old are you?”

It was completely unexpected.

“My… age?”

“Was it a difficult question?”

“…I’m twenty-four.”

Feeling confused, I answered honestly.

‘Why ask about my age? Is he trying to catch me off guard before asking something more important later?’

It left me with an odd feeling, but trading a turn for something as trivial as my age wasn’t a bad deal.

“You’re much younger than I thought. But to have such skills and even establish a noble house at that age… Truly remarkable.”

I ignored his flattery and continued with my turn.

“If it’s not the essence from your human days, does that mean you gained those abilities on this island?”

Those who referred to themselves as “human” were quite unique creatures.

They innately possessed both passive and active abilities.

This was a trait they shared with ordinary monsters.

But…

“Yes. All I had was time, and as you’ve seen, this island is teeming with monsters.

Still, they can absorb essences.

However, they couldn’t rank up, and the number of essence slots varied from one monster to another, ranging from a minimum of three to a maximum of seven.

‘…It’s really ambiguous whether they should be considered monsters or not.’

Honestly, it’s not too much of a stretch to consider them as just another race, like fairies, dwarves, barbarians, or beastmen.

After all, the races of Raphdonia each have their own unique characteristics.

Fairies wield spirits, barbarians grow stronger through soul engravings, dwarves excel with equipment, and beastmen enhance themselves using soul energy.

In that…

‘They’re born with a fixed rank and start with one essence dedicated to their race.’

Depending on how you look at it, it could be classified as a racial trait.

But…

‘They drop Mana Stones, though.’

During the battle, I saw the bodies of the dead monster warriors dissolve into light and disappear.

And if you consider that, they are monsters…

‘But What does it matter, anyway?’

Soon, I ended my biological thoughts on whether they could be defined as monsters.

It was almost the village chief’s turn again.

“Tell me about the first time you entered the labyrinth.”

“……Why are you curious about that?”

“To understand you better.”

“It’d take too long to explain everything.”

“Time is the one thing I have in abundance. But you might not, so a summary will do.”

“……If you say so.”

I recounted a few episodes from my first expedition, then regained my turn.

‘Alright, what should I ask next?’

I was quite torn.

Part of me wanted to ask about the Silver Lion Clan’s dagger and how it ended up in their forge, but…

The chances of getting a proper answer are slim.

The Misaligned Trust doesn’t work on him, and needlessly raising his guard would make uncovering the truth harder.

So I settled on this for my next question:

“Tell me about the Immortal King.”

“The Immortal King…?”

He claimed to be an ancient hero, didn’t he?

If that’s true, I could learn about the secrets of the past. And if it’s a lie, I can still gather something about the chief’s identity.

“He’s the first King of Raphdonia.” I helped to refresh his memory.

“Ah, you mean the Lord? But that’s a long story. Are you sure?”

“I’ve got plenty of time as well.”

“Hmm… It’s too broad; I don’t know where to start. The Lord was an incredibly lucky man.”

“…Lucky?”

“Yes. The Lord was an ordinary man. But… he happened to be friends with the most talented mage in the world.”

“You’re talking about the Great Sage.”

The village chief nodded and continued.

“The Great Sage had long predicted the apocalypse and made preparations.
He convinced his friend, the Lord, to invest his entire family fortune in these preparations. The continent’s elite mocked and laughed at him, saying, ‘The foolish Lord is doing foolish things.'”

But after the apocalypse became reality, the narrative flipped 180 degrees.

“The kings of the neighboring nations, the continent’s greatest swordsmen, the mages of Incarun… They all scrambled to gather what they could and rushed there, kneeling and begging to be let in.

The Lord and the Great Sage accepted these refugees under extremely strict conditions.

And so…

“That was how Raphdonia was born.”

“Wait, then what about Noark?”

“……?”

“The underground city. There’s a portal to the labyrinth there.”

“Ah, you mean the underground shelter. I’ve never been, but I’ve heard of it.”

Hmm… A shelter, huh…

“Sorry for interrupting. Please continue.”

“…Anyway, with so many people confined to the city, resources were quickly depleted. And then, finally, the Great Sage succeeded in creating a portal to another dimension.”

That was the labyrinth.

A land of the unknown, teeming with monsters.

Initially, the plan was to relocate the entire city to this new land.

“To realize this plan, the Great Sage formed an exploration team, and I was fortunate enough to join it.”

The team thoroughly explored the labyrinth.

And through the mages’ research, we discovered the value of mana stones, and the relocation plan was scrapped.

Mana stones.

A miraculous substance that could become food, water, or even metal.

“Thus, the city stabilized, and the foundation for eternal prosperity was laid. The city grew, and the number of portals to the Labryinth increased. But if you ask what the Lord did during this process… there’s not much to say.”

All the achievements belonged to the Archsage.

The Lord was merely the luckiest man in the world.

That was the village chief’s assessment.

Still, there are a lot of things that feel suspicious…

I wanted to ask another question, but unfortunately, it was his turn now.

“How was your second expedition?”

The village chief asked again about my expedition stories. I was wary about his intentions but I told him anyway.

“The Red Fortress… That’s a nostalgic name. A fascinating story. I enjoyed it.”

“Then it’s my turn now.”

Hah… What should I ask this time?

After some thought, I decided on a somewhat sensitive question.

“How did the Immortal King obtain immortality?”

This was information related to the royal family’s power and could also shed light on the man named Cornelius Brungrid.

What kind of answer would the village chief give?

I perked up my ears in anticipation.

Knock knock.

Just then, a knock came from the front door, followed by a voice speaking in the ancient lan.

[Chief, there’s something urgent I need to discuss.]

“My apologies. Let’s continue this another time.”

With that, our meeting came to an end, and I had no choice but to leave. As I opened the door, I saw a familiar monster.

‘Marupichichi’s father.’

A warrior respected in the village, serving as something like the chief’s right-hand man.

“…….”

[…….]

After an awkward exchange of glances, I passed by him and headed back to my quarters.

All the while, a thought lingered in my mind.

‘An urgent matter…’

If it was important enough for him to come in person…

What could it be?

***

The conversation with the village chief was suspicious in many ways.

‘…Asking about my age.’

I couldn’t fathom his intentions.

If he was that curious about me, he could’ve just interrogated the Silver Lion Clan for information.

‘Did I completely misread the situation?’

It suddenly occurred to me that the dagger found in the smithy might be insignificant—perhaps they really did leave the village and never returned.

But…

Snap—!

This is exactly when complacency gets dangerous.

So I revisited today’s conversation.

‘The village chief asked about my age.’

What could be the reason for that?

Was he genuinely curious?

‘No way.’

Even if he hadn’t interrogated the Silver Lion Clan, the village chief could’ve easily obtained that information.

Which meant…

‘Him being “curious about me” was all a lie.’

But then, why propose this truth game?

It was like trading a gold ingot for a piece of bread—utterly nonsensical…

‘Wait.’

The moment that thought crossed my mind

‘Maybe… that was the point.’

To hand me the “gold ingot.”

In other words, using the truth game as a pretext to naturally feed me “information.”

If that was the goal, many things made sense.

‘That glowing sword, too… Now that I think about it, there was no need for him to show it.’

I had no knowledge of the village chief’s combat abilities.

In other words, if he wanted to hide his skills, he could have.

Yet, he chose to kill the giant in front of me with a single strike.

‘Meaning, it was all intentional…’

I still don’t know why.

There isn’t enough information to figure out his motive

But…

One day, two days, three days…

I visited the chief’s house every day, looking for clues, but it remained empty. The village monsters only told me he was busy whenever I asked.

‘Is he avoiding me? Or is there really something urgent?’

As the days passed, my doubts grew.

Then, one day…

“Mr. Jandel…”

“What is it?”

“I can’t find Miss Raines. She usually returns by this time, but she’s not back yet. I thought she might be here.”

Vesil reported that Amelia hadn’t returned yet, and I suppressed my unease and waited until the next morning.

But…

“She’s not come yet.”

I had no intention of wasting the golden hours clinging to optimistic hopes.

“Everyone, grab your gear.”

Amelia, who had been investigating the village every day, had gone missing.

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