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206. Beggar Siblings – Timer

“Kus” was robbed.

Yet the powerful black horse felt rather satisfied. It raced like the wind across the vast meadows, fields, and forest paths, reclaiming its true nature.

Originally, it was destined to pull a plow for a lifetime.

It was born with a sturdy body well-suited for agriculture. Kus expressed gratitude to the master who let him run, snorting and kicking his legs playfully.

Of course, this time too, the master did not react. He was busily gazing north with somewhat dazed eyes. The only change occurred a week later as they forcibly broke through the border and continued toward Oberg.

“Reb!”

“Wha!? Huh?”

[ Achievement: Meeting Another Leo, 3/3 ]

[ The achievement ‘Meeting Another Leo’ is erased. ]

[ Quest: Guardian, 2/3 ]

Guardian?

Something unfamiliar popped up. But Leo had no time to contemplate.

“W-what’s going on? Why are you here? You are…”

“L-let’s talk after dismounting.”

The haze in Reb’s eyes cleared, revealing his utter panic. Surprised by the sudden tugging from Kus, who had been running well until now, Leo de Yeriel hurriedly dismounted.

This friend seemed to need some explanations. After soothing Kus’s nose, Leo snatched the reins from Reb. They both sat down side by side on the roadside.

“Reb. Good to see you. This is my second time seeing you…”

Where to begin?

Leo took a moment to gather his thoughts.

This Reb was the ’16th’ Leo. The next scenario for the Beggar Siblings was a childhood friend, so there hadn’t been much time gap when Reb came to visit before.

He had come right after the previous round of the Beggar Siblings had ended, making it easy for me, the ’15th’ Leo, to accept the situation quickly.

But this friend knew nothing now. The current Reb had only encountered Astroth and had died at the hands of Count Hermann Forte until the ’15th’ round.

He was completely unaware of his own ’16th’ round that had failed in rebellion, nor of the ’17th’ engagement round where he became a Swordmaster. It was necessary for Leo de Yeriel to calmly explain what he had done before leaving Oberg.

“First, I’m Minseo. It’s not exactly relevant now but… you’ll understand what I mean.”

“…Okay. Then what happened to Leah? Did the rebellion succeed?”

“…No.”

A rather long story ensued.

He explained how he had planned to leave his sister at the theater, but she somehow followed him, forcing them to depart together for the Orun Kingdom, then stopped by the House of Marquis Gaidan where {Barbatos’s Bracelet} had been completely consumed, and that he had traveled around the Orun Kingdom to gather barbarians (meaning you, Reb).

However, Leo de Yeriel did not mention the traitor, Cesar’s existence. Instead, he adapted the ending by saying,

“We were besieged in Nevis. There, we died.”

He covered up the horrific ending. There was no need to point out that you killed my sister…

“Don’t worry about Leah. She made it to the Monastery Church. Eventually, she was even canonized, but the problem is… No, I’ll talk about that later. Then the engagement round began.”

That part ended heartbreakingly too.

Leo confessed that Leo Dexter and Lena Ainar went to war and that he became a Swordmaster after killing Katrina, even mentioning that he got so caught up in hunting knights that he couldn’t pay attention to Lena Ainar…

Dejected, she never picked up a sword again. She became pregnant and had a wedding while heavily expecting in the capital of the Jerome Holy Kingdom, Lutetia.

Reb listened in silence. His expression showed no change, but occasionally he would munch on the grass spread across the ground, seemingly troubled.

After explaining everything that had happened in this round in Oberg, Leo paused. When he thought Reb had sufficiently grasped the situation, he advised him to go back.

“Gilbert Forte might head to the Monastery Church. It’s better for you to go check. This round… just live doing what you want.”

Reb appeared greatly shaken by the implication that Gilbert Forte was not definitively dealt with. However, after a long silence, he shook his head and stood up.

“Forget it. Let’s go.”

“Go? Where?”

“Where else? I left my sister behind. Are you out of your mind? She would have found you on her own if I just left her.”

…Maybe that would have happened.

Leos, who are not players, tend to repeat the actions they performed in the previous round. But what if Reb, who came to find me, couldn’t find me in Oberg? To match the actions from the previous round, he would have followed me all the way to the Conrad Kingdom using {Tracking Skill}.

“Ah, you wouldn’t have seen Tiam Village, but it’s just as peaceful as your Demost Village. Besides, don’t we need to go to the Monastery Church?”

“…It’s fine. Count Peter has agreed to help.”

“And?”

“Then we could use the communication device at the church in Baron Monarch’s territory. We can check if Gilbert Forte is handled when we get there, so let’s just go for now.”

“…Got it. Thanks.”

Leo felt warmth in his heart.

He said it like it was no big deal, but he knew it was not an easy decision for Reb. Even though he probably wanted to rush to Leah, he prioritized the Beggar Siblings scenario.

He was someone I could absolutely trust in this perilous world. Leo and Reb returned to Tiam Village on their horses.

When they arrived at Tiam Village, at the chief’s house, it was a dark and gloomy evening. However, only the coachman was in his room; Ksenia, Lena, Santian—none were home.

“He said he’d be out for a walk for a moment, Elder.”

The chief spoke politely to a teenager who looked undeniably like a noble from his late teens. Leo shrugged,

“Seems Ksenia suggested going out. You know how she exercises every morning. She was stuck in the carriage all the way here.”

Casually, he activated {Tracking Skill}. Confirming that his sister, Ksenia, and Santian were all heading in the same direction, they strolled out leisurely.

After quickly surveying Tiam Village, Reb spoke.

“Yeah, it does look livable around here. If I had known this would happen, I could’ve just hidden in the village with Sister Kasia back then.”

“Oh sure, that would have been great. I would have been dead if caught back then, but now my swordsmanship has improved.”

“Haha. True… It really feels like ancient history now. Yet, the memories are vivid… Huh?”

“What?”

At that moment, as they stepped outside the village, parting the fireflies, they heard a faint scream from afar (“You bastard!”). Seized by a sense of unease, Leo and Reb hurried their steps. Soon, fire ignited in their eyes.

A guy was approaching, shirtless, toward Reb and Ksenia, clutching a knife while Tiam was either dead or unconscious.

“What the… bastard.”

Leo and Reb bolted forward.

“Waah!” Urgently, Leo shouted to divert the bastard’s attention, then dashed in to block a drunken man reeking of liquor.

“W-who are you?!”

– Thud!

First, he kicked out.

While Reb sent flying the knife held by the stumbling drunkard, Leo checked on Lena and Ksenia.

“Are you alright? You’re not hurt? Are you okay?”

“O-Oppa! Tiam…!”

His sister burst into tears. Did she get stabbed? He was startled but Tiam was alive, albeit his head was a messy pulp.

“I-I’m okay.”

“What do you mean okay, you fool!”

“Ksenia. What’s going on?”

Ksenia also wore a pale expression. She clutched her heart, which was racing up and down, and spoke.

“T-that man was trying to assault me. W-wait, thank you for coming… it could have been a huge disaster…”

“I’m sorry. I should have come sooner… No, I shouldn’t have left you at all.”

Leo hugged Ksenia. He patted her back while comforting his startled sister.

“Get up. Let’s get inside quickly. This place…”

Creeeak.

I’ll kill him. I’ll chop off the limbs of that bastard who threatened my sister and Ksenia and gouge out his eyes. No, first I’ll cut off that filthy manhood and shove it into his mouth.

As Leo was engulfed in rage, he turned his head. He was going to tell Reb to keep that scum in place while he took the children and Ksenia home, but Reb’s eyes were already rolled back, mercilessly kicking the bastard as if for ‘venting’ his fury.

“…Reb, what’s wrong?”

“Hey. Look at this.”

Reb pointed to the upper body of the would-be rapist. Squinting in the dark, Leo finally realized why Reb was acting this way.

The tattoo in the shape of a trumpet. The symbol of Barbatos was engraved on the man’s chest.

Ah…

Reb is now the 16th Leo.

That means he is still grappling with the emotions of being the Apostle of Barbatos in the 13th round.

Every single round we’ve gone through was horrendous. Whenever a new scenario begins, I reflected on the endings of previous rounds and tried to gather my thoughts.

But this takes time. No matter how much you cover it up with a new round, the emotions remain intact. And those feelings can only be comforted by ‘oneself.’

I, who was next in line, managed to collect those grievance feelings (the 14th engagement round in between was without Minseo, so I didn’t receive the memories).

I felt sorry for Leah, who was devoured by Barbatos, and although it wasn’t my doing, I scolded myself on her behalf.

But this is an unavoidable matter of others. More pressing scenarios related to me took precedence, and I couldn’t sufficiently settle Reb’s feelings.

Seeing Reb’s eyes completely rolled back brought some of Leo’s reason back.

“You do what you want.” Saying that, he supported Santian and returned to the village with Lena and Ksenia. At least Reb had the presence of mind not to kill the bastards in front of his sister.

However, Leo could clearly tell when Reb killed that scumbag. “Oh! Wh-what’s going on? What happened to the little gentleman’s face?” As they rushed past the panicking chief and laid Tiam on the bed,

Leo momentarily thought the world, no, the universe, had shaken.

An unknown wave brushed past him, and a message popped up before his eyes, then vanished. Whether it just flickered or really blinked quickly, Leo only caught a glimpse of the rectangular border of the message.

But what was clear was…

‘W-what is this?’

The mark on his palm had disappeared. The token proving he was an Apostle of Barbatos was gone, replaced by distorted cow prints. What this meant soon appeared in a proper message.

[ The achievement ‘Apostle of Barbatos’ has vanished. ]

[ Debuff: Oriax’s Footprint – Taunt, cannot escape. 13 years, 3 months, 21 days, 5 hours, 25 minutes, 9 seconds. Damaged. ]

It was Oriax’s footprint. The dark night sky was pierced, and that ‘cow eye’ filled with rotten blood had been watching me. The ticking timer of 17 years validated this.

Leo felt a chill run down his spine.

It suddenly feels like someone is watching me. With an immensely strong malice.