Chapter 731: Chapter 731: Traitor (5)

Ricardo Rühenpraha.

My conversation with that bastard unfortunately ended quickly.

“Don’t expect to die gracefully.”

After throwing that taunt one more time, he remained completely silent no matter what I said.

I wondered if maybe he had activated a “radio silence” move, but after thinking it over, that didn’t seem ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) right either.

‘It’s more likely he smashed the radio out of frustration.’

Yeah, no matter how many times I thought about it, that was the more reasonable explanation.

That trembling voice back then was real—something smoke or illusions couldn’t produce.

Ah, and there’s some evidence for this guess.

What kind of guy is he anyway?

In the past, he was called a “sword master,” and now he’s the leader of the ultra-famous terrorist group called Orkulis.

Of course, he’s that strong...

‘Guys like this always have the same kind of brain structure.’

Like the exact opposite of soft outside but strong inside.

According to statistics, big shots like this are resistant to this kind of nonsense.

Because they probably never meet crazy punks like me.

Ah, except for Ibaekho.

He may be a strong man of this era, but he’s Korean-born.

‘I wonder if by now he’s trembling and rushing over?’

Of course, that’s just wishful thinking—I can’t be sure.

Well, that doesn’t mean what I just did was meaningless.

At least I managed to get him to talk to me first, didn’t I?

Just that alone helped Amelia breathe a little easier—

Crackle—!

Suddenly, static noise came from the radio, followed by a familiar voice.

“Prime Minister...?”

But since it was said in code, I couldn’t understand. I signaled Vivian to translate quickly, and she started immediately.

“...It’s the Prime Minister. He’s telling each commander to leave the existing channels.”

Hmm, so this ends our radio eavesdropping?

I wasn’t really disappointed.

It was the expected outcome from when I started drawing attention.

But what followed next over the radio was a bit puzzling.

[Brett Chie, Saela Sa.]

[Tiri Bi, Saela Sa.]

[Tiri Ei, Saela Sa.]

“What are they all saying now?”

“It’s just a simple procedure. They say the district names and then announce the communication is over...”

“Should we leave too...? It doesn’t seem like anything useful will come up... The number of people connected is dropping quickly too...”

“No, stay put for now. Just in case.”

Vivian gave me a ‘just in case?’ look but obeyed without a word.

How much time passed, I don’t know.

“It’s quiet now.”

“Well, only two people remain connected.”

So excluding us, there’s only one person left.

“Give it here.”

I took the radio back from Vivian.

“What? What are you doing?”

“I think he’s about to talk.”

“...You know who it is?”

Even without damage to the crystal ball, their comm system automatically disconnects when someone with authority dies to maintain security.

And now, there’s one left.

What does that mean?

‘It’s obvious who.’

Not long after it dropped to two, a voice came through the radio.

[Tsk.]

It started with a tongue click that made you think about a lot of things.

“Long time no see, Prime Minister. Or should I say the leader of the rebels now?”

I greeted first before he introduced himself, but surprisingly, he replied just as naturally.

[You’ve been quiet for a while, but causing this kind of trouble as soon as you show up is so like you.]

It sounded like we were old friends chatting casually just days ago.

‘Ah, maybe that’s not wrong.’

Before I was imprisoned, I had talked to the Prime Minister quite a bit.

Well, back then he was the Prime Minister of Rafdonia.

“Since it’s an accident, you probably don’t have much to say.”

[Yeah, that’s true. Especially this time.]

Although we’re enemies, I couldn’t help but chuckle for some reason.

But this wasn’t the time for trivial talk.

“Why?”

[You always look for the answer first.]

“I don’t like wasting time.”

[You can’t get close to the answer that way. The answer is like a treasure hidden deep in the labyrinth, found only after wandering lost for a very long time.]

Oh, maybe it’s because he’s older than me?

It sounded meaningful.

But...

“What are you saying? You’re a guy who’s never been in a labyrinth in your life.”

Only experienced explorers can say that coolly.

Like Nara, for example.

[Let me get straight to the point.]

“Are you trying to negotiate?”

He neither confirmed nor denied my question.

Instead, like an impatient businessman, he immediately laid out conditions.

[I guarantee the unconditional safety of your comrades.]

“How can I trust a guy who raised a knife to kill us?”

[In fact, I ordered the entire army to prioritize capturing Bjorn Yandel’s comrades alive.]

I gave Vivian a look asking if that was true, and she nodded.

[For some reason, you always got caught. So I figured capturing your comrades alive might come in handy someday.]

Hmm...

It’s a bad sign the enemy overestimates me...

But at least now I know one thing.

None of my comrades have been captured by the rebels yet.

If they had been, it would be threats, not negotiations.

[So, what’s your answer?]

The Marquis’s question came as Astarotta’s eyes glanced at me.

It didn’t seem like she wanted to interfere—just observing what I’d choose.

‘Sigh...’

My answer was already decided.

“Refuse.”

[Why?]

Like before, the Marquis asked for the answer right away.

But I wasn’t going to waste time with small talk like him.

I’d held it in for a long time.

Until I could say this to his face.

“I swore it in Ice Rock.”

[...]

“That I’d cut off the neck of the bastard who planned this.”

I may look like this, but I’m actually a bit petty.

So far, I’ve never erased a name from my death list.

[Yeah... I see.]

After a brief silence, the Marquis spoke in a somewhat bitter voice.

“We ended up buttoning the first button wrong from the start.”

Not an excuse or self-justification, just resignation.

I even sensed a little regret and some frustration in his voice.

If this was going to end in regret...

Clench.

I wished it hadn’t come to this.

“You know it was you who buttoned the first button.”

I couldn’t help but speak a bit aggressively, but the Marquis didn’t react much.

No, he even chuckled.

[Heh, nothing new. The more I try to untangle my life, the more tangled the thread becomes.]

Is he reflecting on his life now?

Well, if you’re fighting the royal family, I guess that’s natural.

Anyway, more talk would just be idle chatter, so I asked one last thing.

“What happened to Ragna Pepprok?”

Maybe the most personal question.

Surprisingly, he answered honestly.

[That kid’s still asleep, knowing nothing. In the safest place in this world. When he wakes up, some kind of resolution will be made.]

“The safest place in this world... wherever that is, it’s totally different from how I treat my son.”

[You know the reason, don’t you?]

Well, yeah.

The Marquis’s son is a demon.

That’s probably why they took Ragna, who’d been holed up in the library, in the first place.

Ah, I almost forgot to ask this.

“...Is the woman in the portrait hidden in your office Ragna’s birth mother?”

[Yes, she was a very kind woman.]

Why is this guy answering so well?

That thought crossed my mind, but sadly, that was the end.

[Anyway, the situation’s clearer now.]

“When wasn’t it?”

[Ha ha, it still means a lot to me. That hope... it’s what’s made me neither here nor there all this time.]

You could dismiss it as an old man’s nonsense, but it sounded like something said just before awakening, so it wasn’t exactly comforting.

[When this conversation ends, I’ll cancel the capture order and issue a kill order to the entire army.]

Does this mean something real is finally starting?

[In that process, one of the comrades you cherish so much will probably die. No, they will definitely die. Because I will make it so.]

“If this is a threat, you’ve got the order wrong.”

[Isn’t that obvious?]

“...?”

[It’s not a threat.]

He spoke like he was stating a fact, not a threat.

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

Ironically, I felt overwhelmed for the first time talking with the Marquis.

[Do you know how hard it’s been for me, laughing in front of people like you?]

“...”

[You should feel it too. The pain I felt.]

Huh, I didn’t expect him to have such a tough guy side.

After that last word, the radio went dead.

“He’s gone...”

Seeing the number of connected people on the network drop to one, I threw the now useless radio into the burning house.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s just a curse from a traitor.”

Astarotta comforted me as she watched.

“You made the right choice.”

The right choice...

Yeah, it definitely was.

If I had accepted the Marquis’s persuasion, maybe no one would have died during this war, but after it ended, a bigger backlash would have come.

“Then will you tell me why the Marquis started the war now?”

“No. His Majesty ordered you to hear it directly.”

Ha... This really drives a person crazy.

This isn’t some game where you have to discover everything through adventures one by one.

‘...Ah, is that true?’

Now I can say for sure.

Dungeon & Stone is a damn shitty game.

“A lot of people have already gathered.”

Muttering to myself, Astarotta looked around and muttered under her breath.

Basically saying it’s time to move.

So I stopped thinking about the Prime Minister and briefly summarized the situation.

The city is burning.

The rebels have orders to ‘keep out’ and maintain distance, while reinforcements are arriving and the troops are increasing.

‘I still don’t know if Rühenpraha is coming to me or not.’

Amelia is said to be in District 4, and clan members hiding in the sanctuary may or may not be safe.

To make matters worse, the Marquis just declared through some sudden awakening event that he would kill all my comrades...

[The evil spirits from another world ‘————’ realized the path they must take only after losing three comrades.]

I don’t even know if that event I saw in the records is happening during this war or not.

And that’s not all.

[Arua Raven! That wizard who used to be your old comrade is a traitor!]

Vivian accused Raven of betrayal on the day the capital burned.

‘...Why can’t I get this organized?’

I tried to summarize it simply, but it just wouldn’t come together.

“...”

My head feels like it’s going to explode.

There’s too much to think about.

I even thought I’d rather go back to surviving day by day in the labyrinth without thinking.

Thump—!

Extreme stress squeezes tight around my chest.

But because of that, I cleared my head.

Like a barbarian.

‘...If I just keep going, somehow it’ll work out.’

Besides, didn’t the Marquis say earlier?

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

So I decided to focus on surviving this moment.

“Behel—laaaaaaaah!!”

Just like back when all I had was my body alone.