The man had long white hair, fine wrinkles, a friendly impression, a straight posture that did not correspond to his age, and blue eyes that seemed to see through a person's mind.
«Hmm, this place is boring every time I come».
When I saw the old man who looked the same as in the community, my heart sank.
¿Auril Gavis ...?
Of course, I figured we could meet today. Amelia told me that the day her older sister died, this old man was there too.
Wait, why is this grandpa here?
No matter how much he thought about it, there was only one reason why this old man was here and not at the center of the incident.
He... came to look for me.
My heart started beating faster and my mind was confused. How did this old man find me? Did you also find out that I was Bjorn Yandel? And why had the community been closed for months? No, and more importantly, what was he planning to do with me from now on?
As I was wondering this, a cold sweat began to run down my spine. That's when Auril Gavis cleared his throat and caught my attention. «Ahem». It seemed like he didn't like the fact that I stopped and stared at him without responding. I had to do something.
Ugh, but what do I say? Well, first, a natural greeting.
«Now, do you want to get out of the way?»
¿Eh?
«If someone as big as you is blocking the way, I can't get through, right?»
What did he say? Don't you know it's me?
The unexpected development of the plot left me dizzy, but this mouth that had previously spit out countless lies did its job on its own. «Ah yes... It can happen, sir». That was an honorific that he had not used since inhabiting the barbarian body.
Auril Gavis smiled happily at this. «What a polite guy. Or are you very smart? You will live long». When I pressed myself against the wall to let him pass, Auril passed by, chuckling.
Step step.
His steps were moving further and further away. Suddenly, an idea occurred to me. I may have instinctively avoided the situation, but was it a good idea to hide my identity? Of course, it was just a passing thought. It wasn't like we were in the community; We were meeting in person. If I could hide my identity, of course I had to. If Auril found out that I was Bjorn Yandel, there would be a lot to worry about once I returned to the future.
Yes, I had a good time.
Thinking like this, my rigid body began to relax and I slowly began to realize what had just happened.
«Ah, I haven't asked this». Auril, who was walking, turned around. Then he looked at me carefully and asked: «What the hell happened today for this place to be in this mess?».
«The lord of the castle allied himself with the palace and attacked Orcules».
«Oh? What an event...» Contrary to his tone and his words that seemed amusing, I didn't sense any interest in his voice. «Oh, and let me ask you one more question. Wasn't there a new barbarian in town recently? About five or six months ago...».
I thought I was wrong, but upon hearing the second question, the difference in interest became evident. Although his tone was informal, there was an undeniable and deep interest in his voice.
Composure, composure…
Calming my racing heart, I found the most appropriate answer and opened my mouth calmly. «Yes, there was». It wasn't good to tell lies. Anyone in town could respond, so there was no reason to lie.
«Oh yeah? Can you also tell me where I can find you?»
«If my memory serves me correctly, I was part of the castle lord faction. So I'm probably fighting in the east right now».
«Haha, you were not only polite but also very friendly. What is it called?»
«Excuse me?»
«Oh, not you, that barbarian.»
«Bjorn. I heard it was Bjorn, son of Thor».
When Auril heard my response he nodded, then tapped me on the arm with good intentions. «Thanks for answering. You seem busy, you should go now».
«Yes, I hope you achieve your goal too, sir».
Ugh, why is it so cold?
As the conversation seemed to come to an end, I briefly bowed my head and entered the passage.
Step step.
I could hear the old man walking away behind me, and as soon as I stopped hearing him, I started running with all my might.
Ugh, I almost peed myself.
***
Meanwhile, elsewhere, the silver-haired knight Jerome Saintred listened to the assistant magician's report and nodded with a satisfied face. «What is the situation on the Eastern Front?».
«As ordered, we are investing only a minimum of troops to buy time, and withdrawal is possible at any time after contact».
He was satisfied thanks to the successful end of his first special mission as commander. He obtained the Records Stone Fragment, which was the first objective of this mission. He also achieved the additional goal of reducing Noark's power by causing infighting.
«Send communication to battle mages immediately. In ten minutes, we will meet at the meeting place and return.»
«Yes sir.»
If the troops stationed in the east retreated, the Orcules would vent their wrath on the now-dead lord of the castle, and the civil war would officially begin.
«Um ...»
Jerome nodded to the assistant's voice. It was a gesture to continue if he had something to say.
When given permission, the assistant asked in a cautious but polite voice: «Can I ask what the necklace you are holding is for?».
«That information is not allowed», Jerome responded sternly and put the necklace in subspace.
Then the assistant lowered his head to acknowledge his mistake. «Please excuse me. I saw that you were wearing a necklace of refined stones and... I swear I had no idea that it was related to the exclusive mission».
That explanation made him believe that the question had been asked out of pure curiosity and without any other intention. Jerome shuddered at this. «A necklace of refined stones...? What do you mean by that?»
«...Sorry?»
«Explain it in detail. Are you saying that this necklace is made of refined stone?» Jerome took out the necklace again and showed it to his assistant.
He received the same response. «Yes, I'm sure of it. It is a magical artifact made entirely of high-ranking refined stone. Ah, a refined stone refers to a specially processed fissure stone that allows magic to be cast more smoothly...» The helper fell silent as a strange creak came out of his superior's mouth.
«So they fooled me...». The assistant reluctantly lowered his head. It was natural. Normally, Jerome was someone who would laugh at paying a million stones for something worth 10,000. «...Helper Avex, take the army back to the city first.»
«Excuse me? But, Commander Saintred, you...»
«I have work to do.» Jerome stormed out without hearing the answer.
The assistant simply watched without saying a word. He had never seen his commander so angry.
***
An underground sewage system supplied Rafdonia's water and drainage. Anyone who had been here thought the same. First, it was not enough to say that the stench was terrible, and second, the path was more complicated than a maze.
This place is becoming more and more unpleasant.
After running down the straight passage for a long time, I climbed the stairs to reach the sewer. When I went up after removing a steel structure similar to a manhole cover, I was greeted by a path divided into four branches. Of course, there was no problem finding the address. There were footprints of dozens of people who had already passed by on one side of the road. I just had to follow them as a reference point. The problem was elsewhere.
Damn sewer.
Perhaps it was a section designed to allow only the passage of water because, unlike the sewer section I had experienced, there were no side roads that people could pass through. Strictly speaking, it was not non-existent, but the path was too narrow for a barbarian over six feet tall to pass.
Even the design of the sewers discriminates against barbarians now.
Splash, splash.
In the end, I had no choice but to get into the dirty water that reached my shins. After who knew how long like this, the battle traces left on the walls began to catch my attention from time to time. Most were sword marks engraved on the walls. The depths were all different, but all the marks had something in common. The cut surface was very clean, as if a precision machine had been used. It was also possible to roughly deduce the identity of the people who had left the marks; the shallowest would be Amelia, and the deepest, him. The head of Orcules, Traitor, Ricardo Lüchenprague.
«Tsk».
It left a bitter taste in my mouth. In the original plan that we were supposed to execute together, our goal was to get rid of this guy somehow and get into the sewer later. That was because when Amelia met her childhood self in the sewer, she was being chased by this guy.
But in the end he couldn't get rid of it.
Judging by the circumstances, it appears that he was unsuccessful. Why did he do something so stupid? The future was not something that could be changed like that.
This girl is strangely simple on points like this.
In some ways, Amelia was similar to a barbarian. Although she was human, she was so stubborn that she never knew when to give up. That was not all. Although he pretended to be reasonable, he wore his heart on his sleeve.
¡How!
Just then, there was an explosion in the distance and the sewer system shook.
¡Run!
I quickened my pace.
***
The physical body had limits. No matter how much you exercised and increased your strength, there was a maximum amount of strength you could produce. That is why an essence was the basis of an explorer. Because this power existed, scouts were able to fight giant monsters with powers beyond their limits. However, that ended here.
«Have you finally decided to fight?»
Helplessness took hold of Amelia. The great increase in his body's performance remained the same. However, all special abilities were sealed: Fountain of Youth, the ability that greatly increased natural regeneration in exchange for not receiving any potion or healing effect; Self-replication, the ability that always gave him numerical advantage in one-on-one combat; Power of the Abyss; Asura Kick; etc. All the skills that served as wings in battle became ineffective because of that man in front of him.
«...Why are you so obsessed with me?». Amelia asked the question she had been holding back. And rightly so, because I didn't understand it. She wandered around the city for more than two hours trying to get rid of this man, but he followed her persistently, even to this sewer and its foul stench.
«Was my behavior unexpected?»
Amelia nodded to the man's question. «Yes, the truth is that I don't understand it. Instead of chasing me, going to see the lord of the castle will be much more important to you, right?».
It was a situation in which the palace and the lord of the castle joined forces to destroy the oculi. But had this man, his commander and strongest fighter, left the front to pursue a woman with whom he had no relationship? Apart from knowing the outcome, he couldn't accept how things were happening.
«What a ridiculous question». The man's smile was very cold. «A human woman, with a punch-shaped aura that appears to be specialized in daggers. All characteristics of the Order of the Rose».
«...Order of the Rose?»
«Will you deny it now?»
Amelia was really confused. He knew what the Order of the Rose was, a unit directly dependent on the palace responsible for special missions such as assassinations, infiltration and maneuvers. There were rumors that the unit was made up of women, but nothing had been confirmed exactly about it.
«I take it you're a new recruit? That's probably why you asked a question like that».
«I do not belong to the Order of-»
«Abandon the idea of living». Amelia tried to communicate somehow, but it didn't work. «Because I have no questions for you». A sword flew, intercepting all conversation.
Amelia quickly raised her aura to block it. No, he thought he had blocked her.
Slash!
His right hand was cut at the wrist and he fell into the sewer, still holding the dagger.
¡Latigo!
The sword flew again. The target was his left wrist. The cruel determination to cut off everything he could was evident in the sword.
¡How!
Amelia used the dagger containing the aura to hit back at the sword and then backed away. But did you also anticipate that move? The sword pointing at his left wrist took advantage of the recoil and bent like a snake to turn its path towards Amelia's neck.
«Ah...!» When she came to, Amelia was pushed against the wall. The cold feel of the metal was on his neck.
Aprieta.
As the man inserted the blade, blood dripped along with a stabbing pain. «What a pretty face». Because her airways were blocked, Amelia couldn't breathe, much less speak properly. «It suits you».
Running out of oxygen, his mind went blank.
Am I really going to die? So what will become of Laura and me as a child? Certainly, if things developed as they had happened, I should meet them only in a wounded state...
Amelia worried about looking around as if she were looking for someone to solve this crisis.
...Yandel.
When she realized who she was looking for, Amelia giggled. It was impossible for him to be here because she herself had given him medicine that would render him unconscious for at least six hours. By now, he would have woken up, read the note and arrived at the castle. Or if he had woken up a little earlier, he could have obtained that item and returned to his original time. No, there was a better chance that he had already returned. Otherwise, it couldn't be explained.
«Are you looking for a way out?»
No matter how hard he searched, there was no way out. The moment this sword stabbed a little further, its pitifully long life would end.
«Pft…»
In other words, history had changed. She was going to die here today.
The cause was... the return of Bjorn Yandel.
She had excluded Yandel from this plan. There were several reasons. To begin with, he didn't want to be indebted to that barbarian. He thought that if he used the Records Stone Fragment to return to the original world, he might twist the established cause and effect. It was not in vain that the legend arose that history could change. Surely, since it was an object that contained an ability whose origin was unknown, the answer would be there.
No, I just hoped so. He was no different from a castaway in a lifeboat drinking seawater to quench his thirst. But surprisingly, that worked.
«Why are you laughing?»
Press.
The man pushed the sword a little deeper out of displeasure. Death, which he always felt close in his life, felt a little closer.
So he really managed to go back.
Amelia closed her eyes and started thinking.
«Suffer more».
What will happen to the Rainwales sisters once I die? Without me, someone will surely die... Or, maybe, everything will end well because I'm not here.
It was an ending she could never know. But if that was really the case, he felt happy and somewhat sad at the same time.
The sword stabbed a little deeper into the flesh. He couldn't breathe and his thoughts began to dull. It occurred to him that it didn't matter. He had done the best he could, so he could rest now.
The moment he made up his mind, he heard a familiar voice on the other side of the passage. «Behell-ahhhh!»