Audience (4)

Although we hadn’t spoken for long, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew him somehow. Then, as I wondered why, it suddenly hit me.

‘The way he talks reminds me of Lee Baek-ho.’

It was hard to put into words, but the two were alike. I’m not just talking about their rude, flippant manner of speaking; it was that specific look in their eyes, as if they didn’t view people as people.

Perhaps anyone with clear goals carried eyes like theirs. Just like the look I must be directing at the King of the New World right now.

“Should I interpret that insolent stare as your answer?”

At those words, I forced my head down and lowered my eyes.

I knew that, to protect what was mine, I had to fight back. This truth was deeply etched in my heart, but unfortunately, this time, I couldn’t be as aggressive as I had been with Lee Baek-ho.

Because I didn’t know what this bastard’s “objective” was.

Psychological warfare only works when you know what cards the other person is holding.

Right. So…

“…What do you want from me?”

Let’s hear it first.

I needed to find out what his goal was and what tricks he had up his sleeve, even if it was just a glimpse.

“How boring.”

However, it seemed that he wanted a more rebellious reaction from me. As I took a step back, adopting a submissive stance, he tapped his throne from behind the silk veil.

“Well, fine. I don’t dislike smart people either.”

No matter how many times I heard it, I couldn’t get used to that tone. He didn’t sound like the king of a nation; he sounded like a back-alley thug. Of course, that wasn’t important right now.

“So, what do I have to do? Do you not want me to open the Gate of the Abyss?”

I asked casually. I had a rough idea of what the ‘King’s’ objective might be. It was a probe to see his reaction, but…

“What? Pwahaha! Pwahahahaha!”

But what was this? I never expected him to laugh right in my face.

As I glared through the silk in disgust, the King of the New World offered a hollow apology.

“Ah, sorry, sorry. It was just too funny watching you talk like you know everything when you don’t know a thing. But come to think of it, you’ve probably always been like this.”

“…”

“Because you knew nothing, you would have taken cautious steps forward, keeping a close watch on everything you could just to survive. There would have been times when you lost something due to your mistakes. And at some point, without even realizing it yourself, you must have begun obsessing over the things you didn’t know.”

It was a point I could actually agree with, though it was annoying to hear him act like he knew me.’

I wondered if this was how the King of the New World felt as well. Well, judging by the way he just laughed, he didn’t seem annoyed.

‘Whatever, just get to the point.’

I wanted to say it more desperately than ever, but I held myself back.

From what I could tell, this guy liked to talk.

Or maybe he was just unusually high-spirited today.

Either way, there was no need to interrupt him and sour his mood.

“Bjorn Jandel. You know nothing. About how this world manages to survive. And about how great a sacrifice I am making for that world.”

I continued to listen, all the while building a character profile of the King of the New World in my head.

‘Okay, Desire for Recognition +7.’

I was going to give him a +6, but considering he’s saying this to someone he just met, I bumped it up to +7. And then…

“…What exactly do you mean by sacrifice?”

I asked a relevant question to show that I was paying attention. To be honest, I also asked because I was dying of curiosity! Unfortunately, he cut me off instantly.

“Even the most delicious food has parts that cannot be eaten.”

Right. So, mysterious on purpose.

I did not press further and quietly added another stat to his character window.

[King of the New World]

Need for recognition +7, Middle School Syndrome +4

For some reason, I had the feeling he was just a trash mob, but I quickly told myself that couldn’t be right. There was no way the final boss would be trash right.

“…That look in your eyes is unpleasant.”

Wow, suddenly lowering his voice like that. Anyway, if he’s that sharp, I should probably add +3 to his Perception…

“I wasn’t thinking about anything!”

I quickly brushed aside the king’s suspicions and continued thinking.

What would happen if he found out about the status window I was mentally writing?

‘…Death penalty, for sure.’

Yeah, no question about it. People obsessed with acting “cool” are usually the ones who flip out instantly over stuff like this.

[King of the New World]

Desire for Recognition +7, Middle School Syndrome +4, Cool-guy Syndrome +4

Okay, that’s three stats checked off.

“Whatever… It’s not like I don’t understand. From your perspective, I must look like the mastermind behind everything.”

“…Are you saying you aren’t?”

“A meaningless question. Would you believe me if I said no?”

There was a hint of self-deprecation in his voice. Based on the stats I had compiled, I threw out a line.

“Of course I wouldn’t believe you immediately. But if you’re really sacrificing yourself for this world…”

“…If I am?”

“Then I think that’s… admirable.”

“……”

“Before judging whether the method is right or wrong, it’s not something just anyone can do.”

A carefully aimed line meant to stimulate that +7 need for recognition. His response came after a brief silence.

“……Tsk, it’s not like I did it to be recognized by someone.”

Man, anyone can see you’re loving this.

‘Should I have gone with +8 instead of +7……?’

While I was debating that, the King of the New World spoke up.

“The conversation drifted for a moment.”

“You can lead a horse to water, but whether it drinks or not is up to the horse.”

“……”

“Bjorn, son of Jandel. I have a proposal for you.”

Seriously, why does he have to pause after every single sentence? Can’t he just say it all at once?

“I’m listening.”

So he had already realized he was being led off track.

The figure behind the silk veil shifted and opened his palm.

“If you grant me my ‘requests’ exactly five times, I will not interfere with whatever you choose to do.”

Hah…

‘Five times, huh…’

Well, it was far better than being a slave forever.

But still…

My heart raced.

It was obviously a poisoned chalice.

****

Carefully thrown dice rolled across the board. Not figuratively, but literally.

The two dice came to a stop, adding up to twelve.

Seeing this, the King of the New World showed no excitement, as if he had expected the result. Instead, he spoke slowly from behind the silk.

“A double.”

“…Again?”

Is this rigged or something?

“Move the piece.”

“‘As you command.’ The knight seated opposite me carefully moved the piece, then picked up the dice.”

“With this, I have arrived at my territory again. I shall build a hotel. And since it was a double, it is my turn again.”

The King of the New World then tossed the dice the knight had picked up back onto the board, and with a roll of seven, he landed on Seoul.

The city where I was born and raised, now filled with hotels.

“Let’s see, the toll is…”

“I shall use the Free Pass.”

“Ah…”

This guy… he really plays like a jerk.

‘A Free Pass now?’

Despite feeling cheated, I had a brief moment of clarity as I reflected on myself.

‘What the hell am I doing right now?’

I wasn’t asking because I didn’t know. I was playing a board game with the King of the New World. Because drinking from the poisoned chalice had been my only option.

[If you do just five ‘favors’ for me, I won’t interfere with whatever you do.]

That day, the King of the New World made that offer, and I accepted it.

Since he would not make all five requests at once, I figured I could pretend to comply for now and stab him in the back later.

Unfortunately, the king made his first request immediately after finishing his sentence.

[Then stay here for a week and keep me company.]

On the first day, it was just conversation. The king showed a great deal of interest in my stories about exploring other worlds, and I shared what I could with him, omitting the sensitive parts.

But his interest faded fairly quickly, and before long he declared he was bored of talking and produced a board game from somewhere. Looking at it, it seemed to be a modern product manufactured by torturing the Evil Spirits dragged here.

“I’m getting bored of this too. Bring that out.”

“Is there a specific volume you desire?”

“I don’t know what the guest likes, so bring them all.”

On the third day, the King of the New World put away the board games and brought out comic books. These too were modern goods created by probing modern people, and he seemed to have put considerable effort into it, with at least a few hundred volumes on hand.

‘But the content is slightly… off.’

Among them were comics I had never seen, and some I recognized. In the latter case, the art was sloppy and the story felt crude, like it had only borrowed the basic setting.

It was probably the work of a captured aspiring artist who had roughly copied famous titles.

The real problem was when I found that one comic among the hundreds.

“This art style…”

An unmistakably familiar style.

It was too perfect to be a copy, which made it all the harder to believe.

Even the title and story matched the comic I knew exactly.

“Oh? You know it? I heard from other evil spirits that the artist was quite famous.”

“This is insane…!!!”

This time, I could not hold back.

“The person who drew this! What happened to the person who drew this?”

I asked with a rage boiling up from my gut, but the King of the New World just casually picked his nose behind the silk and answered.

“I tore him to pieces the moment I saw the scene where the man the protagonist treated like a brother forced himself on the woman he loved.”

Ah… that part. Honestly, I get why he was mad, but…

Sigh, what did that author do to end up in a game like this?

‘Even if I return to Earth, I’ll never see the ending now.’

In any case, I spent the entire third day just reading comics.

When we got hungry, he got the knight to bring us food.

“I’m starting to feel hungry.”

“I will prepare the table.”

“Two bowls of somen, one sweet-and-sour pork, and Zhu Ye Qing to drink.”.”

“Yes.”

I don’t know for sure, but I imagine this is how Wuxia fans feel when they see a waiter serving carbonara or an Elder talking about double jumps.

‘Zhu Ye Qing in a fantasy world…’

The Dungeon and Stone I knew was not like this.

Whatever.

After riding elevators and playing board games, I did not want to stress over this anymore.

It was not what I needed to be worrying about right now anyway.

“I enjoyed myself today, but I’m tired now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As the third day came to a close, the King of the New World left to sleep, leaving me alone in the room.

The first day had been conversation.

The second day, board games.

The third day, comics.

At a glance, the King of the New World’s actions seemed completely erratic, but in truth, it was not that hard to read his intentions.

‘…Time is the key.’

Keeping me company was nothing more than a pretext.

His real goal was clearly to keep me here and stall for time.

Which raised a single question.

Why was the King of of the New World trying to buy time?

I learned the answer the following day.

“Well, it’s already the fourth day.”

The King of the New World spoke while eating a muffin filled with bacon, eggs, and tomatoes for breakfast.

No sooner had he spoken than a group of knights rushed in with a massive screen and spread it across one of the walls.

A ruined city, with blood flowing like rivers.

Countless people swung their swords on the battlefield while arrows and magic rained down on them.

[“Aaaaargh—!”]

[“P-please… save me…”]

Amidst the chaos, filled with screams—

[“Get a grip, Gowland! If we stay like this, we’ll all die!!”]

I saw my allies.

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