Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 336

To the Future (6)

“Are you saying we can go back tomorrow? What do you mean by that?”

Amelia averted her gaze at my question.

“It’s not certain, but there was something I suspected from the beginning.”

“From the beginning…?”

My mind went blank for a moment.

‘Could it be that the awkward expression she made whenever we discussed returning was because of this?’

I realized that the sense of unease I’d felt during our previous conversations wasn’t just my imagination. However, there were still things that didn’t make sense.

“If you had a feeling from the start, why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

As I stared intently at her, Amelia glanced at me once more before looking away.

In the end, I had to ask directly.

“Do you… not want to go back?”

“That’s not it…”

Amelia shook her head as she trailed off.

“It’s just that staying here a bit longer didn’t seem so bad…”

“What? Why?”

I found myself tilting my head in confusion, but upon considering her perspective, I began to understand.

“Oh, I see.”

“You see…?”

“You didn’t want to leave your sister behind, did you?”

If we left, Laura would have to live alone for the next 20 years.

It was only natural that Amelia would want to help ensure Laura had a better life, and at the very least, see what kind of life she would lead before leaving.

“You could have just told me honestly. Did you think I wouldn’t trust you that much?”

“Ah…”

“We’re comrades, aren’t we? Just tell me these things.”

“…I will, next time.”

“Good.”

With the misunderstanding between us swiftly resolved, I moved on to the next matter.

The one thing that might be the most important from this conversation.

“So, what was it that made you so confident that we could return tomorrow?”

“Oh, that…”

Amelia, now focused, explained the method to me. I listened carefully, asking a few questions along the way, and eventually nodded in understanding.

‘Hmm, indeed…’

It was a plausible plan.

No, to be honest, I had an immediate gut feeling as soon as I heard it.

Yes, this was it.

Our final role.

***

The next morning.

After checking out early, Amelia and I headed to a nearby restaurant.

Amelia had a place she wanted to go to.

Well, I was eager to finish up and return, but…

“The restaurant will be gone in 20 years… Of course, if it’s too much trouble, we can just go straight back.”

How could I say no when she put it that way?

‘Come to think of it, we won’t have much time to rest when we get back. She’s been working every day without a break.’

Amelia seemed embarrassed as she made the request, likely feeling shy about expressing such a simple desire.

It was a positive change, one worth encouraging.

It meant our bond had grown strong enough for her to make such a request.

“If there’s anything else you want to do, just let me know.”

“Then… would it be alright to visit the Arandeze Art Museum in District 9?”

“…A museum?”

“There’s a painting I’d like to see. I wanted to see it, but when I finally went to look, it had already been bought by a wealthy noble.”

So, after our meal, we headed to the museum. Amelia spent more than 30 minutes silently gazing at the painting she wanted to see.

And then…

“…Would it be okay to look at some other pieces too?”

“Of course.”

We then wandered around the museum, admiring various paintings and sculptures.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised.

‘I didn’t know she had such a hobby.’

From the look in her eyes, it was clear she was genuinely enjoying herself.

Well, that was that, but…

“Amelia, as much as I enjoy this, I’m starting to get hungry…”

As we explored, it became midday, so we stopped by a nearby restaurant for a meal.

And then…

“Jandel, can we visit just one more place?”

At Amelia’s request, we boarded a carriage again.

Our destination was the orphanage run by the Leatlas Order.

The very place where young Dwalki had once stayed.

‘This place always seems to be connected to something.’

Instead of entering the building, we sat on a bench across the street, watching Laura through the window.

She had recovered from her illness and was sitting at a desk, working on paperwork.

She’d apparently gotten a job at the orphanage through the priest’s introduction?

“I thought she’d just be helping out with minor tasks, but seeing her do paperwork, she must have already learned to read.”

“Could it be that her memories weren’t completely erased?” I asked Amelia. She just gave a bitter smile and shook her head.

“I don’t think so.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“My sister… couldn’t read.”

“…What?”

So she learned enough from a priest in just a few weeks to handle administrative work?

It was surprising, but not entirely unbelievable.

There are people like that in the world sometimes.

“…She’s a genius.”

“I didn’t realize she was this capable. I knew she had an exceptional memory, but…”

“And the priest? Didn’t the priest find it strange to teach her how to read?”

“She just assumed it was part of the process of regaining her memories. My sister thinks so too.”

Maybe the true talent of these sisters wasn’t in killing people.

It was just their environment that shaped them into what they became.

If they had been born into a normal family, what might Amelia have become? She seemed to have an interest in art—maybe she could have become famous in that field…

“What’s with that look?”

Oh, was I staring too much?

“…It’s nothing. But when do you plan on leaving? Your sister looks like she’s about to finish up for the day.”

“It’s time to go, isn’t it?”

As Laura finished her paperwork and put on her coat, we got up from the bench.

And then…

Creak.

Unlocking the padlock on a hidden sewer entrance, we descended below.

After all, this was the only way to get back to Noark.

“I didn’t think we’d be taking this path again. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong.”

“It should be fine. Even if it’s not the graveyard, there’s another secret way in.”

Last time, we needed Noark citizenship and had to use a broker to enter officially, but this time we didn’t need that, so Amelia led us through a smuggler’s route she knew.

A passage connected to the lord’s castle, apparently?

“So what’s going to happen to Noark from now on?”

As we traveled, we talked about Noarc.

After that big incident involving the royal family, the Lord of Orcules, and the third party—us—I was curious about what would happen next.

“Noark? The current lord should be busy trying to stabilize things.”

“Stabilize?”

“Cleaning up?”

Of course, I knew it would eventually be stabilized, but I was curious about the process.

“They ambushed the royal family, lost, and now have to stabilize things? How can that be?”

“Because Orcules still needs this city.”

I thought they could just take it over, but after listening to Amelia, I understood why that wasn’t possible.

“For the portal connected to the labyrinth to open in Noark, it needs the bloodline of the lord’s family.”

So as soon as the current lord realized his father was dead, he killed off all his remaining relatives except himself.

He feared they might turn his weak siblings into puppets to control the city…

‘He’s quite the cunning one. To make such a decision at that moment.’

After that, the lord negotiated a truce by making some concessions to Orcules, gradually stabilizing the city.

This is the story of the city for the next 20 years.

“We’ve arrived.”

After passing through the sewers and reaching the lord’s castle, we moved discreetly, avoiding the guards as we exited the castle. Then, we walked through the still-smoldering city streets until we arrived at a modest house.

“Jandel, could you wait here for a moment? I’ll go in alone.”

“Alright.”

It was Amelia’s home.

***

There was no need to knock.

The Amelia of this time never locked her doors.

It was a sign of her resignation, a mindset of “whatever happens, happens.”

Creak-

Amelia opened the door and stepped inside, glancing around.

The house was sparsely furnished, with only the most basic items, but that was how it had always been.

The alchemist who gave her this house had kept it like this from the beginning.

Even until she left as an adult.

“……”

Sensing a presence, a young girl huddled against the wall looked up at her.

“Emily…?”

A glimmer of emotion appeared in her otherwise dull eyes.

Amelia didn’t have telepathy, but because the person before her was her past self, she could guess what the girl was thinking.

“Could it be…?”

Could it be that Amelia’s sister was still alive? That faint hope…

“Your sister is dead.”

“Ah…”

Amelia cut her off bluntly, and the girl lowered her head.

The spark of hope that had flickered in her eyes was gone.

But Amelia pulled the girl to her feet and spoke to her sternly.

“You’ll soon be entering the labyrinth again. And just like before, you’ll live a wretched life, meet many people, and kill many of them.”

“…So what?”

The harsh words seemed to stir something in the empty-eyed girl, who looked up at Amelia defiantly. Amelia held out her hand to her.

“Promise me you won’t kill the barbarian.”

“…Why should I?”

Amelia responded with absolute certainty.

“Because someday, you’ll look back and realize that keeping this promise was the luckiest thing that ever happened to you.”

The girl pressed her lips together, staying silent.

Outwardly, she showed no expression, but Amelia knew.

Her younger self would be thinking about this, wondering why this stranger was saying such things. But at the very least, she wouldn’t think the woman was lying.

No, she would feel that this woman was genuinely offering her advice.

Just like her sister, who was no longer here…

Amelia squeezed the girl’s hand, intertwining their fingers. She repeated the gesture three times, a ritual the sisters used to seal a promise.

“How… how do you know this…?”

Amelia didn’t answer the girl’s question.

She simply released her hand, turned around, and walked towards the door.

Step, step.

When Amelia reached the door, the girl spoke in a weary voice.

“If…”

“……”

“If my life is in danger because I don’t kill that barbarian… do I still have to keep that promise?”

It was a question typical of her younger self.

Even though her sister had always emphasized the importance of keeping promises, she wouldn’t make a promise she couldn’t keep.

But Amelia answered confidently.

“In that case, do whatever you want.”

After all, that would never happen.

Amelia opened the door and stepped outside.

And then…

“Oh, one last thing.”

“……”

“Lock your door.”

Amelia quietly closed the door and turned away.

In the distance, she saw the barbarian waiting for her in the alley.

“Are you done talking?”

“Yes.”

The promise would be kept.

Even though the girl wouldn’t understand their intentions and couldn’t prevent her sister’s death.

The fact remained that they had helped her.

Her sister always taught her to repay those who helped her.

“Amelia, by the way, that blond kid over there has been staring at me for a while now… Shouldn’t we do something about it?”

Amelia followed his gaze and saw a familiar face.

“Ah, that’s why he looked so familiar. Could it be… is that Guardweaver Drowes?”

“Yes, that’s him. Though his real name is something else.”

As Amelia spoke, she felt a strange sensation.

That boy would one day inform her about the existence of the Fragment of Records. And just before she could claim it, he would betray her and escape, becoming her enemy.

The scar on her ear was from that incident.

The vow made to prevent murder within Noark’s walls was also because of him. Though it had a specific duration,so the pact didn’t work in this era.

But that wasn’t the important part.

‘It’s strange how I feel nothing.’

Even after seeing his face, there was no anger.

As if the old emotions of rage and hatred in her heart had just vanished.

“Shouldn’t we do something about it?”

At his concerned question, Amelia realized the cause of her newfound tranquility.

“No, it doesn’t matter. Let him be.”

“Let him be?”

In the end, it was all part of the process.

Even the suffering caused by getting involved with that boy…

It was all for the purpose of meeting this man.

“…What? Why are you smiling all of a sudden?”

“I’m not.”

“But you are.”

“……”

Amelia ignored the barbarian’s persistent questioning and continued walking.

He hurriedly followed her.

“Hey, but why isn’t this thing working?”

“Who knows, maybe it’ll start working soon.”

“But what if it doesn’t?”

“Then we’ll just live here together. I don’t mind.”

“Oh… That’s a bit… Not that I don’t like you…”

The barbarian trailed off awkwardly.

Amelia found herself smiling again.

This time, it was a genuine smile, not the awkward one she used to force in front of the mirror.

Whoosh.

Amelia stopped walking and turned around, colliding with the barbarian as he followed closely behind.

And at that moment…

Flash-!

The world was bathed in a blinding white light.

***

‘The iron mask…?’

The blond boy spotted them purely by chance. While wandering the streets looking for drunkards to rob, his eyes fell on the two figures.

He wasn’t wearing his famous iron helmet, but…

There was no mistaking that massive figure. No one else in this city, or even the entire surface, could look like that.

If anyone, it had to be the barbarian.

‘And that red-haired woman beside him…’

It was the infamous Iron Mask and Emily.

The boy watched them from a hiding spot as the woman entered a house.

After a while, she came back out and rejoined the barbarian.

Did they sense his gaze?

“…!”

The boy shrank back, feeling as though they had spotted him.

At that moment, a brilliant light burst forth, illuminating the dark underground city.

Flash-!

It was a blinding light, gone in an instant.

As the light faded, confusion spread through the now-empty streets. Drunks scrambled to their feet, and those inside buildings hurried to their windows.

“What was that? That light just now!”

“…Magic?”

“Did something happen to us?”

Everyone was in a panic, searching for the cause of the strange phenomenon.

But the blond boy hiding in the alley was different.

‘The Iron Mask is gone…’

They had disappeared.

But the boy didn’t question why.

Having survived in Noark since birth, he trusted his instincts and ran.

And then…

‘…This stone! This stone was the source of the light.’

The boy picked up a small stone that had fallen onto his clothes, tucked it into his coat, and quickly slipped into the alley.

Time passed…

“Over there! The light came from there!”

“I saw it! The light burst out and then the people disappeared!”

Guards arrived, questioning everyone about the commotion. They soon realized the identity of the man and woman at the center of it.

“A man resembling a barbarian and a red-haired woman?”

“The Iron Mask! That’s who it was! The very one the lord has been searching for! Search the area for any clues!”

“Sir! We found an identification tag among the clothes!”

“A rank 6 explorer, Nibelz Entze… Is this the Iron Mask’s real name? What about the woman’s tag?”

“Unfortunately, none was found!”

“Captain, someone said they saw a kid pick something up here.”

“What? Which way did he go?”

The guards immediately rushed into the alley where the boy had vanished, but he was long gone.