Terminal 2

The King of the New World looked exactly like someone I recognized.

Well, ‘exactly’ might not be the right word. I had only seen him once, while clearing the rift on basement floor one, and even then, it was just a copy.

[Ah, since there are people here meeting me for the first time, I should introduce myself first. I am Ravigion Commelby Raphdonia.]

The founding king of Raphdonia, whom I met inside the Rift.

Revered by the people as the Immortal King, or simply the Immortal, he was a tyrant who ruled the city for thousands of years across countless generations.

When I saw him in the Rift back then, I was utterly shocked. First, it didn’t feel real to meet such a giant from history, but more than that…

‘The king of Raphdonia always appears wearing a mask…’

Whether in the royal palace or in propaganda pamphlets, the king always appeared masked.

There were countless explanations—security, assassination attempts, and so on—but no one knew the real reason.

As if it were a tradition, the Kings of Raphdonia always hid their faces with a “mask” when appearing in public—

“Why? Am I younger than you expected?”

I snapped myself out of my thoughts and, in a split second, chose how to answer the King of the New World’s question.

“…Yes. I suppose so.”

There was no need to mention the Immortal king I had seen within the rift. Bringing it up felt like I’d just be asking for trouble.

“Haha! Still, I didn’t sound like some wrinkly old man, did I?”

Fortunately, once I agreed with him, the King of the New World didn’t press the matter further. He simply laughed like a man in his forties who’d just been told he looked young.

And then—

“Before we go to that place… let’s step outside for some fresh air.”

‘I will guide you.’ As soon as the knight heard the King’s words, he began leading us, and I followed behind the two of them.

As we walked on, a path leading to the garden opened up, and for the first time in a while, I could see the sky. Ah, of course, the sky was overcast as usual—

“How long do you think I have left to live?”

It was an unexpected question at an unexpected moment.

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. Is it strange to talk about this? Even the King of the New World failed to achieve eternity in the end.”

Well, put that way, I couldn’t exactly argue.

He had lived a life close to immortality, yet ultimately he was just another mortal who failed to attain eternal life.

“…Still, you seem quite healthy, despite the rumors.”

“What the rumors say…”

I’d tossed that out without much thought, but his reaction caught me off guard.

In a subtle tone, the King of the New World asked me a question in return.

“Aren’t you curious? Why I stay cooped up in the palace without ever coming outside.”

Nodding here would have been amateurish.

“I am curious… but not to the point where I must know.”

“Why not? I am the king of a nation, you know.”

“Well, frankly… it’s none of my business.”

“…What?”

As if he’d heard something completely unexpected, the King of the New World burst into laughter, while I stood there awkwardly.

I felt a bit sorry since he genuinely seemed amused, but honestly, I didn’t mean a word of it.

In truth, I didn’t think it was none of my business at all.

‘There has to be a reason for this…’

And that hidden reason was driving me—

‘Crazy with curiosity.’

Just as I thought that.

Flash—!

For a moment, the whole world flickered.

And then…

BOOM!

It wasn’t until I heard the rumble of thunder a few seconds later that I realized what had happened.

“…Huh?”‘

Lightning had struck right where we had been standing!

“Your Majesty, are you all right?”

Of course, no one was hurt by the lightning. At some point, a translucent barrier had formed around the King of the New World.

“No need to worry. Tsk, I haven’t even been out that long, and it’s already starting again.”

I couldn’t help but tilt my head at his grumbling. Something about what he’d just said felt off.

‘A bolt of lightning just fell from a clear sky, and he’s this calm?’

“…Does this… happen often?”

When I asked carefully, the King of the New World chuckled and replied playfully.

“Who knows? Perhaps even the heavens are desperate to kill me.”

“……”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be quiet for a while now.”

Hmm… now I was even more curious. Was this connected to the ‘sleep’ he’d mentioned earlier?

“I haven’t been here in a long time.”

After walking through the garden for a while, we arrived at an open space furnished with a table and chairs. I rubbed my eyes, but all I saw was a perfectly pleasant picnic spot, nothing out of the ordinary.

“Is this the place you mentioned earlier?”

“What? Haha! Were you thinking about that the entire way over here?”

“……”

“Still, despite all this time passing, this place hasn’t changed. Perhaps this is what people mean by eternity.”

“It seems this place holds many memories for you.”

“…Yes. Many things happened here. Since we’re already here, let’s rest for a bit.”

“Yes…”

I replied and sat down on the grass.

The first reason was that I worried I might damage a chair filled with the king’s memories.

The second was that even sitting like this, our eye levels matched.

“……”

“……”

Even after we sat down, the King of the New World merely stared into the distance, lost in thought. An awkward silence followed.

About five minutes passed.

“The one who started this war was the chancellor.”

“…What?”

“He pretended to oppose the Noark in public while secretly joining hands with them to devour this country. Is it really so surprising?”

No, how could I not be surprised? He just blurted that out of nowhere, without any build-up whatsoever.

I wish he’d at least given me a hint.

“Hmm, you truly didn’t expect it? The Intelligence Department thought you’d already suspected as much.”

“Uh… honestly, it wasn’t entirely unexpected, but I wouldn’t say I actually expected it. I just didn’t rule out the possibility.”

“Seeing you speak so logically in that body feels strange. What were you originally?”

“…Just an ordinary office worker.”

The rulers of your world must have been blind.”

“Uh… office workers aren’t slaves…”

“Hm? That’s not how it was explained to me.”

It seemed the modern person who explained the idea of a company employee to the King of the New World was quite pessimistic.

But that wasn’t the important part.

“Um… do you know why the prime minister did it?”

“There is nothing in this world that I do not know.”

…Should I allocate +7 points to narcissism?

That thought crossed my mind, but on second thought, it was probably less narcissism and more sheer bad luck.

Honestly, he really did seem like someone who knew everything.

“So… why did he do it? It’s not like he suddenly went insane.”

“Do you have any guesses?”

“I truly don’t know. Even after Noark agents popped out of his estate, I still didn’t think the prime minister himself was behind it.”

“Why not?”

“Because I couldn’t think of a motive. If I had to force one, maybe greed for power… but even that felt off. From what I saw, he wasn’t someone that ambitious.”

“Haha! True enough. From my perspective as well, the prime minister is timid and modest. However…”

The King of the New World’s playful tone suddenly turned serious.

“Sometimes, people have something they cannot abandon, even if it means throwing away the entire world.”

The words struck deep into my heart.

When I heard him, the first thing that came to mind was a mirror. I was standing on the other side of it, and when I looked deeper, I saw my precious allies.

This made me even more curious. Just what was inside the Marquis’s mirror?

“What is that one thing for the marquess?” I swallowed nervously and asked, but the answer I received was utterly anticlimactic.

“Who knows… heh. As I said before, it would be better to hear that story from him directly.”

Damn it.

A curse nearly slipped out of my mouth.

Still, it wasn’t a complete loss.

“‘Then… it seems I was right in thinking the “fox carrying the tiger” referred to the prime minister?’”

I asked, subtly seeking confirmation, and received an affirmative answer.

“Of course. Do you think there’s another fox in this country besides him?”

“Well, I wouldn’t know. To be honest, we’re not exactly close.”

“Not close… hahaha! You really are an interesting one.”

Even as he said that, the King of the New World never once wiped the smile from his face.

What exactly was so funny about this conversation?

Was he just happy to be talking to someone after such a long time?

‘At least… the atmosphere doesn’t seem bad.’

I wasn’t entirely sure, but it felt like continuing the conversation this way was the right move.

Just then—

“Alright, we’ll talk about the main topic when we get there.”

“Will I finally get to see what you mentioned earlier?”

“Yes.”

At a signal from the King of the New World, the knight stepped ahead to lead us, and we followed him back into the Palace of the New World.

‘If we were just going back, why did we even go out?’

We didn’t even go to a different part of the palace; we went straight back to the audience chamber where he’d been holed up. Then, we went straight to the lower floor again, using the same lift I took when I first arrived.

Tsk… so that’s what he wanted to show me.

When the elevator doors opened, I saw a massive vat, similar to the ones I had seen at the Panthelion Research Center.

I wondered what the point was of keeping it hidden from me if he was going to show it to me anyway, but I kept my mouth shut and simply stood there. Since he had brought me here himself, there was a good chance he would explain.

“So… what is this exactly?”

“A life-preservation device.”

“…Pardon?”

“Even someone at the very end of their life can escape the world’s gaze and delay their final breath by entering this place.”

“I see…”

“‘Ah, by the way, this is the secret that allowed the Immortal to live an almost eternal life. I’ve heard that, in the past, this device could be used to extend one’s lifespan. But since he died without passing on the secret, we lost the ability to use it ourselves.’”

At that, I stayed quiet.

“Honestly, I never thought the day would come when I’d have to use this device. When I first sat on that throne, which I believed would never change hands, I swore that I would be different from him. That I would live and die as a human.”

“So you’re saying that’s not the case anymore?”

“Didn’t you see earlier? The lightning striking down like judgment. My life ended long ago, and this world is desperate to erase me for defying its order.”

“Is that why you haven’t been able to step outside? Because you’ve been hiding in there?”

“That’s one way to put it. Why? Do I look pathetic?”

“Not particularly. If anything, it feels like a cliché.”

“A cliché?”

“Yes. There’s no one in this world who wants to die. Even those who make extreme choices want to live deep down. They only choose that path because they can’t live the life they imagined.”

“Interesting. Go on.”

“There isn’t much else to say. I simply figured that if someone already has everything, they’d want to live all the more.”

On Earth as well, those who reached the pinnacle of power often sought immortality in the end. I never thought that desire was disgraceful.

Why should a living being, born to live, be condemned for struggling to survive?

Of course, any inhumane acts committed along the way deserved every bit of condemnation—but that was another matter.

“I believe that desire itself is more human than anything else.”

“…Fascinating. Especially since it doesn’t sound like flattery.”

“Then… does that mean you’ll cancel the plan to imprison me for a week?”

“Well, that will depend on how you answer from here on out.”

“Then speak your mind. Isn’t time precious for both of us?”

The King of the New World simply stared at me, looking both amused and intrigued by my more casual tone. Fortunately, he didn’t take offense at my boldness, and before long, the corners of his lips began to curl.

“It has been quite a long time. To think that someone I actually want to sit and talk with has appeared—and that it’s none other than you.”

“Uh…”

It sounded like a compliment, but…

‘…Why does his gaze feel so sinister?’

Regardless of the goosebumps breaking out across my back, the King of Genesis continued, unbothered.

“From this moment on, you may leave the palace and act as you please. Whether you save those destined to die or kill those meant to live, do as you wish.”

Of course, it wasn’t going to be free.

“In exchange, what is it that I must do?”

I asked for the terms before signing the metaphorical contract, and the King answered with a single sentence.

“Kill the Prime Minister.”

Perhaps because of everything I had just heard, the condition itself wasn’t surprising. I simply nodded, thinking, ‘Here we go.’

‘He’s making me do something he could easily do himself…’

I don’t know what it is yet, but there’s definitely some dirty scheme hidden behind this.

Continue reading more chapters at henprogressive.com

Please join here, I need supporters to help me continue translating Surviving game as a barbarian and Lee Gwak
If it doesn’t work support me here buymeacoffee.com/hennoveltranslations. There are advanced chapters for supporters as well.