At first, I thought he might be the GM again, but if he was, he wouldn't use a face he used before to get close to me again. Furthermore, the atmosphere radiated by the escort knights and the person themselves was completely different. Simply put, this guy was the real Hans I, not the GM posing as him. Therefore, he only had one thing to do.
«I must apologize...»
Holding my breath, I gritted my teeth and pretended I couldn't hear him.
Run.
«Why are you running away?!»
«Ooh! I wanted to run!»
«T-that's it...!» When I started an ignorant race, (True) Hans startled me enormously, but that wasn't going to stop my feet from moving.
«Behell-ahhhhh!» Our distance widened in an instant and he didn't follow me either. Luckily, he didn't have that much tenacity.
Did I get rid of him?
Arriving quickly in front of the inn, I tried to calm my beating heart. I only heard his voice, I didn't even see his face. Thanks to that there was no eye contact, and since I held my breath, the possibility of air pollution was low.
...This should be enough. Yes, it should be fine.
«Welcome back.» As I was taking a breath in front of the door, a waiting worker greeted me. I followed him inside.
«Nyaha, Bjorn is here!» A very blushing Missha greeted me. I was in High Voltage Mode (Alcohol).
Erwen, who was sitting gracefully next to him, was not much different. «Sir... hehe, hehe!» Calling me with a gloomy voice, she then burst into a creepy laugh.
What's going on here?
The surroundings were full of empty bottles and the smell of alcohol vibrated throughout the room.
Not even an hour has passed since I left...?
What had happened here in the meantime? Putting on my detective hat and peering around me, that's when I realized Ainar wasn't here.
«Where is Ainar?»
«The warrior had already been drunk and asleep for a long time». The person who answered my question was the building's contract worker. When I asked about its location, it was not a room but a patio in the middle of the building.
Honkkkkk!
Ha, really.
First I put Ainar in his bed and went back down. Missha was drinking from the bottle, seemingly ecstatic about something. «Mm...!»
Sensing an unknown danger, I cautiously approached Missha. «Has something happened while I was gone?» There were times when she would take small sips of alcohol and get drunk, but I had never seen her serve bottles like that.
«Something happened? Nyaha, nothing!»
«So why do you drink like that?».
«He was in a good mood!»
«I see?»
Drinking because he was in a good mood? I guess I was worried about nothing. Feeling refreshed after the hot springs and with free drinks next door, there was no reason not to drink.
«Yes, at the beginning». Missha wiped the alcohol from her lips with her sleeve and wiped all laughter from her face.
Without realizing it I turned my head to avoid that look. Naturally, Erwen's disheveled posture on the couch caught my attention. He stared into the empty air and, for some reason, couldn't stop laughing to himself. «Hehehe...» Was laughter your drinking habit?
«Hey, Bjorn». Then Missha grabbed my wrist and spoke to me.
«Yes, speak.»
«Your rejection that day».
Are you going to talk about it now?
It was an uncomfortable topic, but not the environment to reject it. As soon as I closed my mouth and waited, Missha bit her lip and asked, «Is it because I can't give birth to a barbaric baby?».
Hey? That? Has Ainar said something strange?
My brain malfunctioned for a moment, but the barbarian's body was good in a crisis. «Of course not». My mouth opened without an iota of hesitation. It wasn't exactly a lie. The reason I rejected Missha that day wasn't because I didn't feel any attraction to her or because I was a beastwoman. There was a reason he had to carry her alone.
«So, I see...» As if to discern truth from falsehood, Missha stared me in the eyes before opening a new bottle and putting it in her mouth. «Then it must be...» He looked me in the eyes and then avoided them, and opened and closed his lips before continuing in a low voice: «You... one day, you disappeared... you disappeared...». Missha interrupted herself before lowering her head. «Nyahang...»
No wonder he seemed to have exceeded his alcohol limit. I let out the breath I had been holding and picked her up. I took her to her room and laid her on the bed.
When I returned to the living room, Erwen was looking at me with her lips raised. «Finally, everyone... is asleep...».
What was this boy saying? «Go to sleep if you're drunk».
Neck slice.
«...Kehk.»
I knocked her out and threw her next to Missha.
***
Midnight was slowly approaching. I wondered if I should clean the bottles out there, but decided to let it be. It wasn't even our house. I was sure they would take care of it as soon as I left the room.
«Ugh...»
I collapsed on the couch which was a little tight for me. My thoughts were all scrambled by what Missha said at the end.
«You... one day, I disappeared... you disappeared...»
It was obvious what he was going to say in the end. Because you're going to disappear someday... She was probably going to ask if that's why I did it. Of course, I doubted she was sure I was an evil spirit. No, rather, she probably considered it more likely that it wasn't. She herself saw me receiving an oracle in a city where evil spirits were known to be enemies of God. For God to help an evil spirit and grant it a sacred relic made no sense in this universe. It was probably just a stalk of anxiety that had been ingrained in his mind like a seed that came out thanks to alcohol.
Still, the lucky thing is that I don't think he'll be hostile to me, even if he's an evil spirit.
I was relieved by that fact. I was grateful, and even satisfied, that I had not lived in vain. But the biggest emotion was shame.
What did you really expect?
When I woke up in Bjorn Yandel's body, my biggest goal was to survive. After somehow surviving and adapting to this world first, I decided to find a way to return to my original world. But....Wasn't it okay to live like this? Did I really have to go back there? Rather, fewer good things happened there.
Lately, this thought had been growing in my mind. Somehow, I thought I knew why players called resident NPCs to distinguish them. It was necessary to draw a line, that this world was not the world to which we belonged, that we had a place to return to.
Stop.
I forcibly stopped the constant flow of thoughts. Would I go home? Or would I stay here? I still couldn't make either decision. Hadn't I decided after seeing those sentenced to death die for not being able to pay their taxes? He was determined to go to at least the sixth floor.
Anyway, there's no point in asking him now.
It wasn't just a tax issue. The dragon slayer, the clown, Noark, the palace, it was a world full of things that could threaten my life. Whether I liked it or not, I had to become stronger. No matter what he wanted to do, he needed to be alive for it to make sense. So, in that sense...
«Where are you going so late at night?»
«Oh, I'm going for a little walk. You don't need to wait for me». I let the worker know and left the building. An hour was approaching when there were no people.
[02:37]
When I came out, the fresh night air enveloped my lungs. Was it because it was right under the mountain? It was also a little cold.
Step step.
As expected, the street was sparsely populated, but not completely empty. The brightly lit game room was still bustling with noise. Well, it didn't really matter much because my destination right now was outside this city.
It's dark.
As soon as I left the city, a darkness comparable to the labyrinth unfolded in front of me. The countryside in Korea was like that. If I walked away, even a little from the light, the gloomy nature would greet me.
Anyway, it should be out soon.
I struggled between turning on a flashlight, but just in case, I just walked carefully. I didn't know how much time had passed like this. The cave in question marked on the map provided by the inn appeared. This place was also a tourist attraction.
Nobody was watching her.
As soon as I carefully entered the cave, the surroundings began to slowly light up. That was because this place was similar to the first floor, a cave with a mysterious atmosphere, filled with crystals on the walls that emitted blue light. I moved without hesitation. There were no side roads, but in the game you just had to go straight from the entrance.
Whooooom!
Indeed, soon a wide cavity appeared. In its center was a rock that vibrated at regular intervals.
Rignaracia.
The pamphlet map said that the origin of the name was an ancient language that literally translated as «blessing of the earth». Apparently touching him brought good luck. It was probably a superstition. The real object with the hidden piece wasn't that boulder, after all.
Slide.
I opened the subspace bag and took out my mace. As I passed the rock in the center, I pressed the interaction button on the wall where the mural was painted. That meant I hit him with all my might.
Bannggg!
The wall collapsed when it was shattered by a macing containing the power of an Ogre, but I didn't worry too much. This cave had a magic self-healing circle applied. It would fix itself after five minutes or so.
Come on then.
After that, I entered the passage revealed beyond the collapsed wall. Inside there was a small space like in the game.
Seeing as it's hidden like this, the one outside is probably fake and the one here is real.
I put my hand on the rock in the center. Unlike the one outside, it was a normal rock that did not vibrate at regular intervals or give off a mysterious sensation. But as time went by, the feeling came.
[The energy of the Earth Dragon has inhabited. (1/3)]
A feeling of satisfaction flowed into my body through my fingertips.
[Soul power has increased +10. Ground resistance has increased +20.]
It was a pretty sweet hidden piece. Although it came with the condition that you had to become a noble and be able to enter and exit the Gnome Tree, it gave you almost thirty free stats.
Most people who played the original version, even a little, should know this. Because they would have pressed the key to interact everywhere.
This was my guess, but I suspected that quite a few players knew about this hidden piece. However, he was sure that they did not know this.
[The blessing imprinted on the soul has reacted. Additional statistics have increased by 30%].
Upon receiving the Earth Dragon blessing, the stat increase rate went from 20% to 30%.
However, I didn't know that I would be the first to resolve this unlock condition.
Without a doubt, it was very far from normal play. Be noble with only level 5? If this were the game, I would have thought it was a bug.
Anyway, I should be back soon.
Now that I had gotten it all, I turned towards the exit when I froze.
Swoosh.
In front of the wall, which had begun to be restored as if against the clock, was a man.
«Wow, were you really a player?». It was Baekho Lee.
All kinds of possibilities passed through my head. Why was Baekho here? I couldn't even see his shadow since that day. Could it be that he had been following me the entire time? The answer was really simple.
«Our lives are really strange. I followed you here because I thought the GM guy was in disguise, but to think you'd show up».
It was Hans again. Baekho met Hans I by chance at the Gnome Tree and, while following him, discovered me.
From then on, he must have followed me everywhere.
An outline of the incident was made in broad strokes. So how should he act now? The decision had practically already been made.
«You say that again. Aren't you tired?» As I thought, it was not good to reveal my identity to Baekho. He was clearly a fickle guy. Even if we were still friends, he would probably pull out a knife and force me to make a decision when something went wrong.
«It seems that cat has noticed too. Wouldn't it be better to kill her?»
Yes, like that. I felt cornered, but I acted oblivious. «I see why the chief calls evil spirits perverse beings».
«Wow, I admit you have a good head. To think that you would even try to get out of this situation».
«This situation...?» I put on a questioning face with all my might.
Baekho giggled as if he hadn't been fooled. «Yes, this situation. The fact that you're here is proof that you're a gamer, right? If not, how did you know this was hidden here?».
Okay, I thought you'd ask that, asshole.
I responded as if nothing had happened, skillfully mixing only the truth. «I am a benefactor of the dragon race. After returning the dragon sword to his people, I became good friends with the old dragon Lapir. Even the dragon priestess, his daughter, gets along well with me». This response implied that he would have heard this information from them.
As soon as Baekho heard this, he tilted his head. «...What the hell? You are telling the truth».
Of course. Because I didn't lie.
«So you were the one who messed with that bastard dragon? Wow, this is epic!» Baekho exclaimed as if this were something interesting.
I sighed internally. Although I had to reveal hidden information about myself to escape the situation... If I was picky, it really wasn't a loss.
Yes, the ring broke anyway.
Now that the effect of the sacred relic was over, whether I liked it or not, the day would come when I would be reunited with it. It meant I had no reason to take him to the grave with me like before.
«Of course».
Baekho looked at me for a moment and nodded. «Makes sense. Yes, such an achievement, it makes sense that they told you so. It's nothing special».
Does that mean it worked? Of course not. It's too early to feel relieved.
I waited patiently for his next words, keeping watch. After a few seconds passed about a year, Baekho asked me smiling: «But do you know something? Why do you answer all my questions?».
My head went numb for a moment.
«Last time, when I asked you if you were a player, you flatly refused to answer. Why are you so kind all of a sudden?»
That damn idiot.