STGB Episode 501

Age of exploration(2)

Plan B.

As soon as I heard those words, ominous imaginations flooded my mind.

But aside from that.

“So, have all your questions been answered?”

“Yeah, more or less.”

My hostility towards Lee Baek-ho had decreased.

It’s better to deal with someone who openly states what they want, rather than someone who hides ulterior motives behind a smile.

‘You’re not going to tell me about Plan B even if I ask, right?’

“Nope. I need to keep at least one trump card, right?”

Well, I guess that makes sense…

It was a bit disappointing, but I could accept this level of secrecy. I’m not exactly telling him everything about me, either.

We’ve both been as honest as necessary, and that’s enough for now.

“So am I your enemy or your ally now?”

I replied without much thought.

“I think ‘collaborator’ might be the right term.”

“…Collaborator?”

“Yeah, collaborator.”

Lee Baek-ho seemed curious about exactly what I meant by that term. Well, it’s always good to clarify things like this.

“I’ll help you get home.”

“And in exchange, I’ll assist you whenever you need it?”

“Sort of.”

“Not bad. But what if our opinions clash and things go wrong…?”

Lee Baek-ho’s tone was uncharacteristically cautious, and I chuckled and shrugged.

“Then, we go our separate ways. What’s the big deal? I hope that doesn’t happen, but like you said, you never know with people.”

“…You’re very cool about this.”

“…You’re surprisingly cool about this.”

“Yeah. So go ahead and prep your Plan B or whatever. I’ll be doing the same anyway.”

Preparing for the worst is natural.

And I think,

Anyone who doesn’t plan for that would be the worst possible collaborator.

“Collaborator… I like the sound of that. Let’s do it.”

Lee Baek-ho, seemingly satisfied, held out his hand.

Honestly, it felt awkward and cheesy.

Cringing internally, I shook his hand anyway.

“…Hyung, I just got goosebumps.”

“Don’t. Me too.”

After a quick handshake, we slumped back on the couch, looked at each other and chuckled.

“Should’ve done this way sooner, huh?”

“Right.”

It felt better than I expected.

***

After that, Lee Baek-ho and I had several conversations.

The main topic was, of course, the ‘Hidden Area’.

“Hyung, tell me. What exactly did you do?”

“I don’t know. Some special condition triggered it, but I’m not sure why.”

“Really? That’s a shame, but… well, it probably won’t mean much even if you do find out. You can only record an achievement on the Stone of Honour once.”

“Really?”

“Didn’t you know? You really know a lot about the game but nothing else, huh…?”

Well, I can’t help it.

I practically lived in the library at one point, but that was all publicly available information anyone could get.

“……Well, that’s about it for now, hyung, I’m off.”

After chatting for a while, it was time for Lee Baek-ho to log out.

“Hey, since it’s come to this, why don’t we meet up in the city sometimes?” I asked him

“I’d like that. But I won’t be able to for a while. I’m planning to go out for a bit.”

“…Out, as in outside the city walls?”

“Yeah. I finally found a way out. You wouldn’t believe how long I’ve been searching the city’s underground.”

Hold on, this sounds like crucial information.

I asked him to tell me, and Lee Baek-ho reluctantly nodded.

“I can’t explain here, but I’ll send a letter to your house before I leave, with the directions.”

“Thanks.”

Is this why it’s good to have a veteran around?

I unexpectedly got my hands on the route to escape the kingdom.

So, back to the main point.

“But why do you want to go out?”

“Auril Gavis. I have a feeling that old man might be out there.”

“…?”

“So, I want to find him. If it’s him, he probably has most of the answers to my questions.”

Right, I meant to ask Baek-ho about that old guy too.

Given our new rapport, he’d probably be more forthcoming with details.

Well… I can just ask him next time.

“Alright, I’m off, Hyung. See you next month!”

“Sure. If you find him, let me know.”

“Got it!”

After Baek-ho left, I stared blankly at the fireplace until Hyun Byeol returned.

“You’re late today?”

“Did you think I was just standing around outside?”

Uh… wasn’t she?

She usually comes in as soon as he goes out…

“By the way… You look happy?”

“Huh?”

“You look like you’ve solved something. Your expression.”

I didn’t confirm or deny it, but Hyun-byul smirked and lay down on the sofa.

I didn’t know where to look.

“Hyun-byeol… You’re wearing a skirt…”

“So? I have stockings on.”

“Uh…”

Is that okay?

Feeling somewhat convinced, I froze when Hyun-byeol chuckled.

“Really, you worry about the strangest things. Even now.”

Hyun-byeol then pulled a book out of the air and started reading.

“What is this book? Where did you get it?”

“Don’t you know? It’s all the rage.”

“…?”

“You know about the GP store that sells cosmetics and stuff, right?”

“Yeah, I know about that.”

Ghost Busters was surprisingly a pay-to-customise community. There were lots of monetised features – chat room themes, cosmetic items. Of course, I’d never used any of them.

“This book is part of that.”

“So there’s nothing in it?”

“No, it does. It’s by someone who used to write on the free bulletin board. It became so popular that the admin decided to publish it as a book.”

“Wow… that’s interesting. Is it any good?”

“Want to see it? I have an extra copy.”

“Yeah, give it to me.”

I took the book from Hyun-byeol and started reading. It was a modern fantasy novel and it was quite gripping from the beginning.

But it was hard to concentrate.

This is driving me crazy.

Hyun-byeol kept fidgeting with her legs.

“Stretch. My legs are getting numb.”

“Did I ask you?”

“No. But your face did.”

I can’t even think in front of her.

Then I turned my back to Hyun-byul and continued reading the book, the sound of the pages turning filling the silence.

“Oppa.”

“Yes?”

“It’s about time, aren’t you going out?”

“Ah…”

Why is this novel so interesting?

Before I knew it, it was time for the round table to begin.

I quickly apologised to Hyun-byeol, said goodbye, and rushed to the round table.

I was wearing my usual navy blue suit.

And the lion mask on top of it.

Barely making it on time, I walked through the corridor. There were already eight members at the round table when I arrived.

“Ah, you’re here, Mr. Lion. Pssit.”

The Clown greeted me first, followed by nods from Fox, Crescent Moon, Deer Horns, Queen, Butterfly, Wolf…

‘Eight people?’

Just as I was thinking about the newbie from the last meeting, Black Mask appeared through the door leading to the round table.

“Nice to meet you, Black…”

The Goblin beside him tried to greet him, but Black Mask just crossed his arms and ignored him.

He’s got quite the attitude.

Anyway, I also settled into my empty seat, and just as I did, the door of the Round Table slammed shut.

“All ten of us together… Feels a bit strange to have so many.” The Queen muttered, breaking the ice.

“Queen, you may feel that way.” Crescent Moon replied in a soft voice.

“Are you saying it’s not the case for you?”

Wolf—one of the “returning veterans”—answered instead.

“Hah! Back when the Master was around, we had over twenty! Ah, those days—”

“Weren’t you too busy sucking up to the Master back then? Psiit.”

“…..”

“Clown, just like you’re doing with Mr. Lion now?”

“Psiit! Seems you’re the one enchanted by that fairy NPC. Can’t even focus, huh? So when are you coming for me? Not seeking revenge?”

“Wow! Are you two sworn enemies? How fun! Invite me when you duel!”

“Pssit, of course. Miss Butterfly.”

Ugh, with this many people, it’s pure chaos.

I glanced over at Fox, who noticed my look and stepped in smoothly. “Since everyone’s here… Shall we start?”

“Haha, let’s do that. We didn’t gather here just to make small talk, did we?”

With that, the commotion finally settled down. Following the Round Table’s unspoken rule, everyone’s eyes naturally turned to the person seated next to me.

After all, this seat always went first.

“It seems it’s the first time for Queen to start, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. I had no idea everyone else would cram themselves together over there.”

The Queen, sitting three seats away from me, sighed and began her turn.

“The topic of greatest interest these days, right? I’ll speak about that. The Stone of Honour was created by the great sage Diphlun Graundel Gavrilius.”

Although the information was true and unknown to more than half present, it immediately faced objections.

“Does it matter who made it? Pssit .”

“Hehe, right. He’s not even a mage.”

“Most strange or mysterious artifacts in this world are said to be linked to that man, anyway.”

The Queen must have anticipated the backlash, because she didn’t react strongly. Instead, she calmly continued to add details.

“Then how about this: there is a credible record suggesting that the Stone of Honor itself holds a hidden feature—an arrangement left by Gavrilius, a so-called ‘hidden piece.’”

A hidden piece…

“Well, that’s not bad.”

The members seemed to deem it plausible enough, so the turn moved on to the next person.

“Next month, a tribe summit will be held. And it has been confirmed that the head of the Mage Tower will represent the humans.”

If it had merely been the timing of the tribe summit, it might have been insufficient, but mentioning the human representative allowed Crescent Moon to finish his turn without issue.

‘The head of the Mage Tower as the human representative…’

The Tower Master as the human representative…

I am the chief of my tribe, yet I hadn’t even heard about this so-called “racial gathering.” How did she know already?

It must be a matter of influence.

Apart from the Barbarians, all other tribes had ties to the royal family. It’s no coincidence that the houses of Melbes receive protection from their homeland.

“Misha Karlstein has joined the Anabada clan”.

This piece of information was brought up by Fox, who had the third turn.

The sudden mention of a name made me flinch slightly, but it wasn’t unpleasant.

‘After all, this will soon be common knowledge. She must have thought it fine to use it this way.’

Indeed, it wasn’t a bad judgment.

Objectively, it wasn’t high-value intel, yet none of the members raised objections.

Though I’m embarrassed to say it, my name carries that much weight.

“So, that woman…”

“Isn’t she working with Lee Baek-ho? Something must’ve happened.”

“Pssit… Fox, you’re full of surprises. Even I didn’t know that,” Clown grumbled.

After Fox’s turn, it was Goblin’s, then Black Mask’s, then Deer Horns’—but none of their news was particularly shocking.

I was basically listening as though I were watching some sort of news broadcast—until—

“Heheh, what I have to say is sort of along the same lines as what Fox shared…”

Butterfly trailed off, and my body reacted before my mind did.

“It’s about Misha Karlstein, that woman.”

What?

What is it now?
Just as my ears perked up, Butterfly smiled slyly and added,
“She’s a traitor.”

My ears heard it, but my brain couldn’t process it.

Traitor? Could it be from Lee Baek-ho’s perspective?

As if reading my thoughts, the Butterfly mask clarified,

“Ah, of course, from Bjorn Jandel’s perspective.”

What kind of nonsense is this?

Though I thought this, my gaze drifted to the jewel on the round table.

Shhhhhhhh.

The jewel quietly radiated a green light.

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