Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 768

Setting Things Straight(3)

From everything I have lived through, I know that a barbarian’s hands can be a remedy for many things. I had personally fixed the mental problems of countless people, and this time was no different.

Thwack!

The moment I smacked him on the back of his head, the Marquis’s eyes, which had looked like those of a rotten fish, regained some life.

Well, calling it “life” might be a stretch. It was closer to humiliation and anger. But those emotions still proved he was alive, so the term wasn’t completely inaccurate.

“Good. That’s much better.”

As I looked at the Marquis with satisfaction after he regained some vitality, he slowly raised his head and looked up at me.

A storm of complicated emotions swirled in his eyes. There was confusion at being struck on the back of the head, humiliation at having to look up at someone he had once stood above, and lastly…

“Ragna.”

Love for his daughter, and the self-loathing that came from failing to protect her.

Of course, I had no reason to sympathize.

A warrior’s heart is not soft enough to pity an enemy.

Besides, I clearly remembered what the Marquis had said to me back then.

[In the process, some of those precious allies of yours might die. No, they will die. Because I will make it so.]

[You all must feel it too. The pain I felt.]

The curse he uttered from the bottom of his heart had become reality. I was struck by thunder, and as I lay unconscious, Rotmiller lost his life trying to protect me.

So, yeah.

Clench—

I do not pity this man. The weight of the twenty who died at Ice Rock is too heavy to harbor such human sentiment.

“Marquis, I’ve brought your daughter as promised. Now, fulfill your end of the bargain.”

As I exchanged silent glares with the Marquis, Glasses cut into the conversation from behind me.

“Are you referring to the transfer of ownership of Thunder?” the marquis asked for clarification.

“That’s right. As agreed, your daughter will receive maximum protection from our Noark. Of course, you are the exception. Baron Jandel demanded you in exchange for handing over your daughter.”

“So that’s how things turned out.”

The Marquis nodded as if he finally understood why the bespectacled man and I had come together.

Then he looked at me again and asked,

“Did you see it?”

It was a question without a subject. However, I didn’t need to ask for clarification.

“I saw it.”

“I see.”

The Marquis paused for a moment before speaking again.

“I wish to speak with the Baron alone. Would you step aside?”

“You may keep my daughter with you.”

At the marquis’s request, glasses looked conflicted, but he nodded shortly after and allowed it.

“You can allow me this much, at least,” the marquiss remarked. “All I ask for is a short moment.”

“Make sure you keep your promise.”

Surprisingly, Glasses agreed coolly. I gave Amelia a nod, and she led the others out with him. Only the two of us remained in the room.

“It’s been a while. Since we’ve sat face-to-face like this.”

“…You look surprisingly at peace.”

“Fear comes from having something to lose. Look at me now. Does it look like I have anything left to lose?”

“Well, looking at that diary, I wouldn’t say you have nothing.”

The indirect mention of Ragna drew a wry smile from the marquis.

In some ways, the marquis and I were not so different. Our weaknesses were painfully obvious to the world.

“So what is it? You suddenly want to talk in private. Are you going to ask me to take good care of your daughter or something?”

I spoke with heavy sarcasm, but the Marquis didn’t refute it at all.

Which only made it awkward.

“…What? Were you really just going to say that—”

“How much do you know about the royal family of Raphdonia?”

“Wait, why is the topic suddenly going that way?”

It was abrupt, but honestly, it was a topic I would have brought up anyway. The Raphdonia Royalty. If anyone could explain the massive secret hidden there, it would be the Marquis. What exactly were they hiding so desperately?

“Well, I happen to know a few things most people don’t,” I said casually, hoping to draw an answer. “Why? Do you have something to tell me?”

The marquis gave an immediate nod.

“Then spit it out. Who knows? If it’s a killer story, I might get touched and actually help Ragna.”

I urged him on, and the Marquis dropped a bombshell right from the start.

“The Immortal King and the King of the New World are the same person.”

“Huh?”

…What did I just hear?

****

The story of the King of the New World was well known.

When public sentiment was boiling over because the Immortal King had gone mad and was slaughtering everyone in sight, the King of the New World seized the throne and ushered in a new era for the people.

It was the end of undeath and the dawn of a new age.

He abolished many outdated traditions and implemented countless policies for the people.

Because of that, the citizens fervently supported him and called him a wise king.

But now, the Marquis was telling me a different story.

“They are the same person?.”

It was shocking, but I had no time to stand there in stunned silence. I needed to verify the claim first.

“Is that information certain?”

Even if it seemed meaningless, I asked for the truth, and the Marquis responded with a question.

“Since you aren’t asking how that’s possible, it seems you do know a fair bit about the Royal Family.”

He was right.

By exploring the first underground floor and the outside world, neither of which existed in the game, I learned a great deal about the royal family.

[Ah, didn’t you know? After the Immortal King fathers a child, he takes over that child’s body to continue his reign. That’s why the Immortal King always wore a mask.]

I learned Raphdonia’s secret from the village chief, a hero from a bygone era. Back then, I assumed that was why the King of the New World tried to take the throne. After all, no motive is stronger than the will to survive. However, that was precisely why…

“Just answer the question. Is it certain?”

To be honest, it’s hard to believe. I know it’s theoretically possible, but…

[I will be different from him. I will live as a human and die as a human.]

When the King of the New World said those words to me, it did not seem like an act.

Was everything he told me truly a lie? To believe that, I would at least need—

“If you want proof, I do not have any,” the marquis said, as if he had already anticipated my question. “The royal house of Raphdonia is not that careless. Still, after years of investigating them, I have concluded that it is far more likely than that the two are one and the same.”

After listening carefully to the marquis’s admission, I could not help but let out a sigh.

Great, so it was all just his hunch? I had gotten all worked up over nothing.

“Anyway, is that all you wanted to tell me? That the Immortal King and the King of the New World are probably the same person?”

“Of course not. I only mentioned it to explain what comes next.”

“Then say it. This will be your last chance.”

“Do you know about the Heart of Karui?”

The Heart of Karui.

A relic infused with the authority of an ancient evil god, said to grant its wielder the power to steal another’s body. The Immortal King used it to prolong his life by taking the bodies of his own descendants, like an evil spirit.

“Then this will be quick. During the process of taking the King of the New World’s body, the Immortal King lost the last remaining Heart of Karui.”

“…Wait.”

“The last remaining one?”

“You seem to visit the library often, but haven’t studied ancient mythology? Even the scriptures of the Three Gods Church mention driving sacred treasures into the two hearts of the evil god.”

“…Fine, enough with the history lesson. So you’re saying there are two artifacts called the Heart of Karui?”

“Correct.”

Finally, the puzzle pieces clicked into place. I had always wondered how the king managed to maintain his immortality even after the village chief took the Heart in ancient times.

“Fine. Continue.”

“Regardless, after losing the remaining heart, time passed and the King of the New World’s body also began to fail. Under normal circumstances, he should have died at that point. However—”

“He’s still alive,” I said calmly. “Though he sleeps more often now.”

The Marquis gave me a strange look

“…I didn’t expect you to know that much.”

“Luck really isn’t on my side,” I said flatly. All I wanted was to live, yet I kept getting dragged into one messy situation after another. “I won’t interrupt you, so go on. What is it you want to tell me?”

“…The royal family has continued searching for the Heart of Karui. And recently, that relic has appeared in the world again. Fortunately, it seems he still doesn’t know its exact location yet…”

“So?”

“Finding it is only a matter of time. And knowing that… I had no choice but to commit such a reckless act.”

“Because you thought the king would take Ragna’s body?”

“Yes.”

“To protect my daughter, there was no other way.”

…I see.

I had suspected there might be circumstances like that, but I didn’t expect the story to actually be like this.

Then again, he had already lost the woman he loved, lost his son, and now his daughter was about to be taken from him too. There was no way anyone could endure that.

Ah, of course, there was still one question.

“But does it have to be Ragna?”

Why was the Marquis so certain that the king would take Ragna’s body?

“The king has always taken only the bodies of his own bloodline. There must be some reason for that.”

“No, that’s not what I meant… I mean, if I were the King of the New World, I would have made sure to have plenty of children as backups. Can’t you convince him to take someone else’s body instead of hers?”

At my question, the Marquis gave a bitter smile.

“At one time, it was exactly as you said. The King of the New World had many children and kept them in reserve. However… a mysterious group began relentlessly hunting them down.”

“A mysterious group?”

“Hirkumuta. They wear black wolf masks and claim to follow the Last Great Sage. For some unknown reason, they hunted the children whenever the king fell asleep. As a result… none of them remain now.”

Even the commander of the Rose Knights was killed in the process. But that was not the important part.

“Do you know what that means?”

“It means Ragna is now the only remaining royal bloodline.”

After hearing my response, the Marquis slowly closed his eyes and opened them again.

And then—

“Well then, let me make one final proposal.”

I remained silent, waiting for him to go on.

“Have you ever dreamed of becoming a king?”

The words lacked the seductive allure of a devil’s temptation.

The marquess looked far too desperate for that.

Far too pitiful.

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