Traitor 5

Ricardo Lühensprache.
.
Unfortunately, my conversation with him ended quickly.

[…Don’t expect a clean death.]

After one final insult, he stopped responding altogether. I briefly wondered if he was ignoring me to avoid feeding my trolling, but that did not seem to be the case.

It’s more reasonable to assume he smashed his communication device in a fit of rage.

Hmm, no matter how many times I think about it, that’s the more rational explanation. The trembling in his voice wasn’t something you could fake through acting. It was real.

Oh, and there’s a basis for my assumption. He had once been known as the Sword Master and now led the infamous terrorist organization Orcules. Given his strength…

People like this all think the same way.

He was the exact opposite of “soft outside, strong inside.”

Statistically speaking, big shots like him had no resistance to this kind of thing.

Well, Baekho was an exception, of course. Although he was one of the great powers of this era, he was still Korean, just like me.

Maybe he is fuming and rushing over right now?

Of course, that was nothing more than wishful thinking. I couldn’t be sure.

But that did not mean everything I had done was pointless. I had at least managed to get him talking, which meant Amelia should have been able to put a little more distance between herself and him.

Bzzzt—!

Suddenly, static crackled through the radio, followed by a familiar voice.

The Prime Minister…?

However, since he was speaking in code, I couldn’t understand a word. I shot Vivian a look, and she immediately began translating.

“…It’s the Prime Minister. He’s telling all leaders to leave the current channel.”

Hmm, then that was probably the end of our wiretapping adventures.

I wasn’t particularly disappointed. It was an expected development from the moment I started attracting their attention. However, the messages that followed caught my interest.

“Bret Chi, Saella Sa.”

“Tiri B, Saella Sa.”

“Tiri A, Saella Sa.”

“What are they all saying?” I asked curiously

“It’s just standard protocol. They state their area name and then disconnect.”

“Should we leave too? It doesn’t look like anything useful will come up anymore… The number of people connected to the network is dropping fast, too…”

“No, stay on for a moment. Just in case.”

Viviane gave me a look that said, ‘Just in case of what?’, but she followed my request without a word.

After some time passed—

“It’s gone quiet.”

“The communications network now has only two active connections.”

That was the status update some time later. It meant there was one other person still connected besides us.

“Give it to me.”

I snatched the radio from Viviane.

“Huh? What are you going to do?”

“I think he’s about to speak.”

“…Do you know who it is?”

The moment someone with authority to access the communications network died, they were immediately removed to preserve security, regardless of whether the crystal itself was damaged. Yet despite that, one person was still connected.

‘It’s obvious who it is.’

Sure enough, not long after I had counted to two, a sound came through the radio.

[Tsk.]

A quiet click of the tongue that carried many layered thoughts.

“It’s been a while, Prime Minister. Or should I say, the leader of the rebel army now?”

Surprisingly, the other side picked up on the tone of the conversation and jumped right in. “Quite a while, indeed. And to cause such a scene the moment you reappear—how very like you.”

He spoke as if we were friends catching up after a few days of silence.

Well… that’s not exactly wrong, is it?

Before I was thrown into prison, I’d exchanged plenty of words with the Prime Minister.

Back then, though, he was still the Prime Minister of Raphdonia.

“If we’re talking about causing trouble, you’re not one to talk, are you?”

[Hmm, I suppose that’s true. At least this time.]

Despite being enemies, I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.

But this wasn’t the time for idle chatter.

“So why?” I asked.

[Always looking for the answer first] he remarked instead of replying.

“I don’t enjoy wasting time.”

[With that approach, you’ll never reach the answer. The truth is like a treasure hidden deep within a labyrinth—something you can only find after wandering aimlessly for a very long time]

Oh, is it because he’s older than me? His words sounded quite profound.

However…

“What are you talking about? You’re someone who’s probably never stepped foot in a labyrinth in your life.”

Those kinds of lines only sound cool when spoken by an experienced explorer. Like me, for example.

[I will speak bluntly.]

“Why? Are you going to try and recruit me?”

At my question, he neither affirmed nor denied it. He simply laid out terms like an impatient businessman.

[I will guarantee the unconditional safety of your allies.]

“How can I trust a man who’s holding a sword to our throats?”

[I had actually already ordered the entire army. I told them that Bjorn Jandel’s comrades were to be ‘captured alive’ as the highest priority.]

When I glanced at Viviane to verify, she nodded.

[For some reason, you were always on my mind. I figured if I captured your allies, there would eventually be a use for them.]

Hmm…

Still, I learned one thing thanks to that.

None of my allies had been captured yet.

If they had, this wouldn’t be persuasion—it would be blackmail.

“So? Your answer?”

As the Marquis asked, Astarotta fixed his gaze on me.

He wasn’t trying to interfere—just watching to see what choice I’d make.

Hah…

The answer I could give was already decided.

“I refuse.”

“Why?”

The Marquis asked for the “answer” immediately, just as I had. But I had no intention of rambling like he did.

I’d been holding this in for a long time.

Waiting for the day I could say it to his face.

“Because I made a vow at Ice Rock.”

“…”

“That I’d take the head of the bastard who orchestrated all of this.”

I might look like this, but I’m actually quite petty. Because of that, I’ve never once erased a name from my hit list.

[I see… I see]

After a brief silence, the Marquis continued in a voice that sounded oddly mixed with relief and regret.

[It seems we were destined to be at odds from the very start.]

He was not making excuses or trying to rationalize it. It was simply his own self-reflection.

I could even sense a trace of regret in his voice, and for some reason, it pissed me off.

If he was going to regret it in the end—

Crunch.

He shouldn’t have done it at all.

“Just so you know, you were the one who took the first step.”

Although my reply came out far more antagonistic than I intended, the marquess barely reacted and only let out a small chuckle.

“That’s nothing new. My life has always been like a tangled thread that becomes even more knotted the more I try to untangle it.”

Is he reflecting on his life now? Well, I suppose I’d do the same if I were fighting the royal family. Anyway, since further talk would be pointless, I asked one last thing.

“What happened to Ragna Peprok?”

In some ways, it was an intensely personal question. Unexpectedly, he answered in kind.

“That child is sleeping, unaware of everything. In the safest place in the world. When he wakes up, things will have been settled one way or another.”

“The safest place in the world, huh… Wherever that is, it’s a far cry from how you treat your own son, isn’t it?”

“You know why it has to be that way.”

Yeah. I did.

The Marquis’s son was an evil spirit, which was precisely why he had summoned Ragna, who had been wasting away in the library.

Ah, come to think of it, there’s one more thing I almost forgot to ask.

“…That woman in the portrait hidden in your office—was she Ragna’s biological mother?”

“She was. A very kind woman.”

What was with him answering so sincerely all of a sudden?

The thought crossed my mind, but unfortunately, this was the end.

[Well then, things are clear now]

“Are you saying it only just happened now?”

[Haha, still, this means a lot to me. Those ‘what if’ thoughts… they’re what made me who I am today]

I could have dismissed his words as the ramblings of an old man, but I was wary. They sounded like the words of someone on the verge of enlightenment.

[The moment this conversation ends] he continued, [I will rescind the live capture order for all forces and replace it with an extermination order]

It felt as though the chains of fate were beginning to tighten.

[After that, any one of your precious allies could die. No, they will die. I will make sure of it]

“If you’re trying to threaten me, you’ve got the order wrong.

[Of course]

“…?”

[Because this isn’t a threat]

His tone suggested he was simply stating facts.

[I just wanted you to know. That I wasn’t so different from you]

Paradoxically, because of that, I felt overwhelmed for the first time while talking to the Marquis.

“Do you have any idea how exhausting it’s been, smiling in front of people like you all this time?”

“…”

“You should experience it too. The pain I felt.”

Huh. I never thought he’d have such a macho side to him.

***

With those final words, the radio contact with the Marquis ended.

“He’s gone…”

After confirming that only one person remained connected to the communications network, I tossed the now useless radio crystal into the burning building.

“Don’t take it to heart. They’re just the curses of a traitor.” Astarotta consoled “You made the right choice.”

The right choice…

Yes. That was probably true.

If I’d accepted the Marquis’s offer, perhaps none of my allies would have died during the war. But once it ended, the backlash would have been far worse.

“Then as a reward, can’t you at least tell me why the Marquis started this war?”

“Impossible. His Majesty ordered that you hear it directly from him.”

Hah… This is really driving me crazy. What was this, some game where you had to uncover everything through quests?

…Wait. Isn’t it, though?

I can say it for certain now. Dungeon & Stone was a damn trash game.

“A lot of people have already gathered here,” Astarota muttered as he looked around.

In other words, it was time to move.

So I stopped thinking about the Marquis and briefly assessed the current situation.

We were in a burning city. The soldiers had been ordered not to approach and kept their distance, yet their numbers continued to grow with time.

And I don’t even know whether Lühensprache is coming for me or not.

I did not know whether my clan members hiding in the sanctuary or Amelia in District Four were safe.

To make matters worse, the Marquis had just gone through some sudden awakening event and declared he’d kill all my companions…

[The evil spirit from another world, ‘————’, having lost three comrades, finally realized the path he himself must take……]

I didn’t even know whether the event I’d seen in the records would occur during this war or not.

And that wasn’t all.

[Alluva Raven! That mage who used to be your companion is the traitor!]

Vivian also told me that on the day the imperial capital burned, the one who would betray me was Raven.

…Why can’t I sort this out?

I just wanted to organize things and move on, but nothing fit neatly into place.

“…”

My head felt like it was going to explode.

There was too much to worry about.

So much so that I almost wished I could return to the days of surviving in the labyrinth, living one day at a time without thinking.

Badump—!

The extreme stress caused a tight, squeezing sensation around my heart.

But precisely because of that, I emptied my mind.

Like a barbarian should.

…If I keep going, things will work out somehow.

Besides, didn’t the Marquis just say it himself earlier?

If you wander and wander for a very long time, you’ll eventually find the answer.

So I’d focus on this moment alone and push through.

“Bethel—laaaaaaaa!!”

Just like in the old days, when all I had was this body of mine.

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