Episode 81: A Farce of Hostage Situation
“Doesn’t look like you came back here to relax, huh?”
As soon as I returned to room 403 after the memory restoration was complete, the Demon King’s taunting voice reached my ears.
“Lord Jung Yong, are you alright?”
At the same moment, Seop Baek’s worried voice could also be heard. I unfolded my furrowed eyes and finally gave the room a proper glance.
On the bed sat the Demon King and Seop Baek side by side. It seemed they had been waiting for me.
Among the two women staring intently at me, it was the Demon King who spoke first.
“I thought my neck would snap waiting for you. Did you have a pleasant bowel movement?”
“Ah, Miss Ruci! Wh, why are you asking something like that!”
“It’s painfully obvious you’re reacting to a joke.”
“…… Hmm.”
Is it just me, or does it feel like the distance between them has gotten closer? Usually, there seemed to be an invisible wall between them, but now that wall seems to have disappeared.
Seeing them chat familiarly, it seems they must have exchanged pleasantries while I was away.
“Haha…”
Though it was hard to find anything to laugh about, a hollow laugh escaped me at their usual banter.
Then, immediately after, I straightened my expression and spoke up.
“Seop Baek. There’s something I need to tell you.”
At my words, Seop Baek flinched slightly before sitting up straight and nodding.
“Yes, sir. Please speak.”
Her demeanor suggested she had been told roughly what to expect by the Demon King—something along the lines of me having a serious matter to discuss.
… For some reason, her face seemed flushed. What exactly is she expecting?
“Hmm. Actually, between me and Ruci…”
With that, I divulged the truth to her expectant gaze.
Seop Baek’s eyes widened more and more as she listened to my story.
*
“To be honest… It’s hard to believe.”
After I revealed my time-loop experience and Ruci’s identity, as well as my relationship with her and explained the present situation to her, this was Seop Baek’s reaction.
Yeah, well. That’s a normal response. Nodding, I accepted her skeptical gaze.
“But it’s the truth.”
“… Even knowing I’ve died and come back to life, what you’re saying is difficult to believe…”
“There’s no evidence, but I’d like you to trust me.”
I declared this while looking directly into Seop Baek’s eyes. She blinked and quickly looked away before nodding vigorously.
“Yes… I’ll believe you. Since it’s Lord Jung Yong speaking… I want to believe anything you say.”
“Alright. Thanks. That’ll do.”
Finally, I can relax a bit. Sighing, I turned my eyes to the Demon King.
By coincidence, Ruci was also looking at me, and our eyes met. She grinned immediately.
“Good to see one big worry’s taken care of. Lucky you.”
“Mm… Worries haven’t disappeared. If anything, they’ve increased. I’m not sure if this is the right move.”
“Of course it is. From now on, we’re avoiding nights at that inn.”
“Hmph. I’d like to do that…”
Recalling past events reflexively, my smile disappeared.
Frustrated, I clenched my fists until they bled.
“… Nothing I’ve done has turned out right.”
The reason I decided immediately, following the Demon King’s advice, to disclose the truth to Seop Baek was precisely because of this.
The deep-rooted sense of powerlessness from my previous life—it taught me something.
This matter this time… It’s absolutely not something I can handle on my own. Help is needed.
“Anyone would do. I need to increase my allies.”
When I engaged in revenge for what had been done to me against Zenon, it ended in total humiliation.
Not only was there a level difference, but I couldn’t even figure out why Zenon dominated me.
Not to mention, I couldn’t stop the explosion. At the moment Seop Baek was dying, I was unconscious, sprawled on the ground after lunging at Zenon.
In the end, the Demon King couldn’t protect me either.
“Who exactly is that guy?”
I recalled the overwhelming defeat I faced just before death.
The lion-like white mane, the deeply scarred face. The fierce, dangerous smile. The speed, invisible to the eye. The overwhelming power that pierced through my heart in one go.
… And the cruel precision with which he shoved the extracted heart into my mouth. Everything’s vivid.
“Adrang, they called him.”
I realized I was trembling.
It’s been a while since I felt this way. The feeling of facing Mount Tai. The realization that I’m dealing with something I cannot handle. This overwhelming skill gap is the first since Halsenberg.
“Adrang… Halsenberg…”
Wait a moment. Halsenberg?
“Yes! Halsenberg!”
A sudden déjà vu struck me like lightning, and I straightened up. Although the two women looked at me strangely, I began pacing around the inn room.
Halsenberg and Adrang. I definitely remember seeing these two words together somewhere.
My mind started spinning with the heat of recollection.
“Where was it?”
Why does this come to mind? Just because both are absurdly strong, so it’s a mistake? No, it’s not just that. They are definitely connected in some way. What causes this certainty within me?
Exhausted by trying to connect the dots, I suddenly jumped up.
“Ah, yes! A letter!”
“Ah, you scared me! What is it all of a sudden?”
“A letter! Halsenberg’s letter!”
“What the heck about the letter?! You are insane!”
Though surprised Ruci kept kicking my shins, I rummaged through my bag without paying her any attention.
Look. Not the ether flask, not the Box of the Dead, and not the portable igniter… Yes. This one.
Taking out the crumpled envelope I held in my hand, I opened it and read the words written on the surface.
“To my dear friend Adrang, Halsenberg”
Adrang (赤狼). Red Wolf. Clearly written.
“That man…! Adrang!”
I remembered the middle-aged man with white hair in my memory. His gaze was different from Halsenberg’s upright one, but there was a similar lurking ferocity in his languid air.
I had an inkling of familiarity from him already, but understanding why Adrang is so powerful made sense now if he’s an acquaintance of Halsenberg. After all, doesn’t the saying go that birds of a feather flock together?
“Could it be a coincidence?”
No. There’s no way a fighter of his caliber would just be anywhere.
Someone with a name like ‘Adrang’, which smacks of middle-school fantasy, wouldn’t be someone less than significant.
There’s only one answer.
“That man… the white-haired middle-aged man was Halsenberg’s friend!”
“Since when have you started muttering crazy stuff to yourself, you insane hero?!”
At Ruci’s drop kick from the side, my dazed mind caused me to take the blow and tumble across the inn floor.
“Ah! Lord Jung Yong, are you okay?!”
Seop Baek hastily helped me up, flustered. I stood up with her help in a daze.
As I slumped on the bed, I couldn’t help but laugh like a madman.
“Human affairs are truly bizarre.”
“What? What do you mean by that…?”
“It’s nothing.”
Originally, according to Halsenberg’s plan, I was supposed to visit the capital of Markeiteuriseu to seek out this person named Adrang personally at a place called Cross faded.
To receive help from the man Halsenberg gave me a letter to contact, but I failed so horribly in the village of Kern on the frontier.
“Damn you, Halsenberg. You had a good friend, did you not?!”
While feeling self-reproach, I stroked my chin and my eyes glittered.
“But… this is an opportunity.”
An incredible one. A huge chance for me to make a comeback.
No matter how I recollect, the white-haired man seemed a bit unhinged.
―Everyone involved with witches must be exterminated. I pledge this in Adrang’s name.
His clear hatred for witches, seen in his eyes and voice, is memorable.
The man killed me because he thought I was the one causing the explosion. If I can clear up this misunderstanding, there’s a chance he could become an ally since both his and my purposes seem similar.
―I questioned the nearby followers of the Resurrection Sect, but they knew nothing.
“Right. The followers of the Resurrection Sect!”
I muttered this without realizing.
The organization I overheard about at the Kernel Upper Trade Conference. The bad guys trying to bring back the final boss, Diana.
Come to think of it, Hick also gave me a similar warning.
“He tried to ask me if I had any ties with the Resurrection Sect.”
Realizing this, a new possibility emerged. My eyes widened.
What if… Hick already knew there was an infiltrator from the Resurrection Sect?
If we assume this is true, then Kernel was already swarming with members of the Resurrection Sect by this point.
Thinking about it this way, everything fits surprisingly well.
“I should…”
Verification is required. Perhaps I’ll need to meet Hick again in this life.
If I had known this before, I should have learned the code to contact the Kernel Trade Conference in my previous life. The repeated unnecessary conflicts will continue to frustrate me.
“Even so…”
I decided to console myself with these reflections, trying to organize my chaotic mind.
What I’ve learned from my previous life can be summarized as follows:
A massive explosion was caused by the Resurrection Sect, with Seop Baek’s ring as the medium.
During this, Zenon was hired to eliminate variables. His goal was to disrupt communication between me and the Demon King.
Finally, the man who killed me was… Adrang, who was originally supposed to help me.
When I organized this, I felt a renewed sense of motivation.
“Then… it’s clear what I need to do now.”
The most urgent tasks I must accomplish are threefold.
First, stop the Resurrection Sect.
Second, stop Zenon.
Third, gather allies, including Adrang, to collectively wipe out these members of the Resurrection Sect.
However, time is limited and so is my power. Both are far from sufficient.
I still can’t come up with a way to overcome Zenon. I’m keenly aware of my own weakness.
And then, I stopped thinking. I abruptly opened my eyes.
“Which means I need help from others.”
Simultaneously, I must search for a way to become as strong as possible within the time limit.
Ultimately, the most efficient person to fully utilize today’s schedule is me. It’s unacceptable to be in this useless state since there’s still much to accomplish. I must become stronger than I am now.
Gripping and releasing my fists, I noticed they were trembling.
“I have a plan to become stronger. But, it’s…”
Simply put, it’s a crazy plan.
Anything going wrong could lead to immediate failure, and fundamentally, it requires treating my life as expendable… a plan like that.
The trembling of my hands now isn’t because I’m afraid of death.
It’s not because I’m afraid to die, but because I’m scared of myself for immediately thinking of such a plan.
I’ve changed. I can feel I’m turning into something non-human. I felt it clearly now.
“… Ah, whatever. Doesn’t matter now.”
If becoming a monster is necessary to resolve this situation, then I’ll become a monster.
Grimacing, I walked towards the entrance of the inn room. Predictably, the Demon King and Seop Baek followed me.
I briefly glanced at the two of them, murmured something in a bold tone, and then decisively strode ahead of them.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
And just as I was roughly reviewing my packed schedule for the day,
while walking down the main street after leaving the inn, Seop Baek suddenly spoke to me.
“Um, anyway Lord Jung Yong.”
“Hmm?”
“So… what is your plan first?”
“If I may ask…”
I paused for a moment, thinking, then smiled slightly, somewhat maliciously.
“Kidnapping.”
“What?”
“Kidnapping and hostage-taking.”
“… E, excuse me? Could you explain… more precisely?”
Seop Baek wore an expression of disbelief, as if questioning my voice. She probably thought I was joking around.
Yes, I am joking around, but I’m not so clueless as to joke during such situations.
Adhering to her wishes, I gave a more precise explanation.
“Kidnap a pretty fifteen-year-old girl who’s naïve about worldly affairs and use her as a hostage for extortion.”
I dropped my tone deliberately, striving to convey seriousness.
And then, for the first time that day, I almost got hit seriously by a woman.
