Barbarian in a Failed Game

083. Infiltration (2)

After a battle with the Puppeteer, in the midst of unconsciousness, the Duke had declared independence, branding Khan as a ‘minion of the devil’—a situation Khan would have been blindsided by if he had not obtained this information in advance.

Among those who helped was Reven’s white crow.

“Frankly, we had been keeping an eye on you since our customer beat up my boys in the west. You had some idea, I suppose?”

“Well….”

Khan responded by nonchalantly shrugging his shoulders.

‘Is he referring to the time I got played by Eliya and scrambled for information trying to find another disciple of Darkin?’

At the time, the intelligence guild’s guys were being uncooperatively annoying, so he had indeed dealt with them gently. But to say he beat them up?

“Especially since the Witch of Loren joined forces with you to hunt the ogre, ‘Ogre Slayer’, aroused our interest. Then came news from the east about a barbarian wreaking havoc in the industry. So, we dug around. Deployed quite a few people.”

‘A malignant stalker, then.’

The rest of the story was somewhat predictable.

Following his trail to gather information, they must have realized he was the same person as the executioner from the north. Having been indebted to the White Crow Guild for various reasons, it would have been easy to pinpoint…

“The thing is, it was like watching an adventure from olden books, following your information. Then suddenly, Marquis Deillon caused trouble, trying to kill the hero of the story that was entertaining my boredom…”

I particularly dislike interruptions to my reading. Reven muttered, as if making a playful joke.

“So, how could I help you? That was the question I pondered. A figure connected to the barbarian known as the executioner around Al-Rosene and Al-Lorenze, and deeply involved with the Witch of Loren, who I must make a good impression to.”

“…It’s not about making a good impression, we’re favoring her. A fair compensation for the help we’ve received.”

“Well, anyway. He showed interest, and under certain conditions, even agreed to meet with you. Looks like you’re in the same boat now.”

Khan frowned as he met Reven’s gaze.

The eyes scanning every inch of Khan, filled with deep curiosity, kindness, and an indecipherable color, were somewhat chilling.

‘Fuck, he better not be interested in that way.’

“There seems to be some background I’m unaware of… but I won’t pry. Rather, let’s move on to business. I believe I’ve explained enough reasons for my aid. You are Court Minister Lebron, correct?”

“Ah, oh. Right.”

“Since you went missing, this has been the state of affairs in the alliance. The staff headquarters seem to be taking over your role, but even that appears to have been replaced recently.”

Reven spread a complexly written paper, pointing at a certain diagram with his fingertip.

“Is this… a blueprint? You don’t mean of the Duke’s castle?!”

“Indeed. Acquired it with much effort. It’s quite a maze in there.”

Lebron looked warily at Reven. Acquired it with much effort? Of course. But what surprised Lebron wasn’t that.

‘This wasn’t made for this mission. It’s a blueprint drawn over several years!’

The intricacy of the map mattered, but what caught Lebron’s attention was the vast amount of information contained in Reven’s blueprint.

It was clear it had been enhanced little by little over a long period, evidenced by multiple revisions. It was a map completed based on the testimonies of various individuals.

‘A labor of many years, slowly, gradually culminating in its current state.’

“Am I truly joining a rebellion, or had you planned to assassinate the Duke all along…?”

“Such an amusing joke. What would a mere information broker like me gain from a rebellion? Rather, it is my expertise to take advantage of the chaos others create. There’s money to be made in various ways.”

“Then, the castle blueprint is…?”

“Well. Seemed like someone would eventually buy it, so I consistently collected testimonies. It wasn’t that hard. Approaching servants who worked in the castle, those with military service history there, or anyone who entered the castle for separate affairs, a little compensation and a few words would do the job.”

It might sound simple, but in reality, it was far from it. Selecting a suitable target for the deal and making considerable efforts to keep the secret must have been hard work indeed. Lebron completely revised his perception of the so-called ‘Intelligence Guild.’

“A blueprint with the castle’s structure is in itself a bomb. The guild could have been targeted, or it might have ended up gaining nothing from it….”

Yet, despite this, they had poured years of manpower and financial resources into this and now, it had come to fruition.

The man before him must either be a shrewd businessman or a madman who wouldn’t hesitate to do anything for his interests.

And it was almost certainly the latter.

“That’s why I’m here.”

“Well, if you’re interested in my business, you can find me later. First, let’s talk about the grand fortress. It’s more interesting than you might think.”

“Interesting?”

“Take a look at these as well.”

Lebron unfolded another piece of paper on top of the blueprint, layering them together. The reaction from those present was lukewarm at best, ‘Not quite sure what to make of it.’

“It looks like a magic circle.”

“Eh? A magic circle?”

“There are many blank spots, so it’s not certain…. But if you overlay this blueprint, it forms a shape similar to a magic circle. Don’t you see?”

Khan scorned his companions with a tone of disdain. Was it not obvious that it resembled a magic circle, even at a glance? He clicked his tongue at their puzzled faces staring intently at the blueprint.

“Let’s move on.”

“Hmm… I’m more surprised that you figured it out so quickly. Yes. It does form a magic circle. The grand fortress itself is a giant magic circle…”

“That. Wasn’t there a rumor about that?”

“That rumor turned out to be true. Whether our leader knew and spread it, I don’t know.”

“Enough with the pointless chatter. What did we discuss?”

Of course, I have it all worked out. Lebron smirked and circled a specific area of the blueprint.

“It wasn’t easy to track down experts in this field, but I managed to piece together a rough composition. Considering the space ‘the grand fortress’ occupies, there weren’t as many candidates as you might think.”

“Let’s see it before discussing further.”

“One possibility is underground. The space used by the grand fortress’s mages for generations is all below. It’s also where the most inexplicable spaces are found.”

The likelihood of encountering magical traps in the search process was high, and there was also a chance that the mages could have prepared in advance and ambushed the party, making it a challenging candidate.

“Next is one of the most secretive places within the grand fortress. It’s presumed to hide the treasures of the Duke’s family, dating back to the time of the ancient Elpellan Duchy. Naturally, security is tight, and little is known about it. Perhaps only the usurper king who destroyed the duchy would have gone there.”

“Isn’t that the most plausible location? If I were the Duke, I’d hide my back door in the most secretive place too.”

“Crude, but the guild master is correct. In my opinion, that’s the most likely location. And the last is……”

Lebron’s finger smoothly glided across the blueprint, stopping at a certain point, causing Lebron to react. Lebron smiled pleasantly at the anticipated response.

“You’re familiar with this space, aren’t you?”

“……The audience chamber.”

“Exactly. The place where the Duke conducts official business or receives his vassals or guests from outside. Perhaps the most open space one could consider.”

“The ‘Black Iron Door’ of rumors is in the audience chamber? That’s impossible…”

“It’s only a possibility. The audience chamber is located at the heart of the grand fortress. According to experts, the size estimated from the grand fortress’s outer appearance does not match the chamber.”

Well, the choice is ultimately up to our leader. Lebron shrugged and turned his gaze toward Khan.”So, which route are you considering for your journey today, our protagonist of the day?”

Hmm- Khan, postponing his answer to the question, scrutinized the blueprint intently. The corridor he had seen in the memories of the puppeteer lacked windows, making it an enclosed space.

From that perspective, the first route, through the underground, seemed the most plausible. However, when considering the mages’ damp nature, it was, paradoxically, the least likely route.

‘Mages hate nothing more than sharing their research with others or being robbed of it. They would avoid places easily accessed by other mages.’

The second route, deemed most probable by Lebron, was equally dubious.

Although it was said to be the most secretive and confidential area within the grand duchy, hadn’t it already been breached once by the so-called ‘Conquest King’?

If he had left any record within the royal archives?

‘In a situation that necessitates opposition against the royal family, would one opt to reuse a space that has been compromised? As much as it is susceptible to surveillance, it might as well be a trap…’

And the last route didn’t sit right with him, either. Would a mage really hide his damp and dark secret base in a location that not only insiders of the grand ducal family but also outsiders frequented the most? On asking himself, he found reasons to shake his head. In the end, it seemed they had no choice but to take a wild guess. Or maybe split up and search…

‘This is hard.’

Despite much contemplation, finding no definitive option, Khan finally spoke up, “We are…”

*

*

*

The grand duke stepped into the ‘workshop,’ his gaze firmly ahead, to inspect the state of ‘Alpha,’ which marked both the beginning and the culmination of all plans.

‘I can hardly read it now.’

Initially, the grand duke had participated in the design of Alpha, but since then, Ashus and the puppeteer had taken over the experimentation, and many aspects had changed significantly.

The complexity of the engraved magic circles was now incomparably intricate to the original design—a project involving engraving hundreds of magic circles onto a human-sized doll, something even a magus of the golden tower would find a mad obsession with impossible dreams.

‘It’s only natural that such attempts yield significant results. If only the final phase is completed successfully…’

Holding a scepter entwined by two snakes skirting a skull, the grand duke slowly approached Alpha. The scepter hummed in resonance as he moved closer.

“Duke. If you get closer, the spells engraved on Alpha will react.”

“Puppeteer.”

At that moment, the puppeteer emerged from the sarcophagus where Alpha lay asleep.

“The fruits of our research are within reach, you wouldn’t want to ruin it with your own hands, would you?”

“Don’t be insolent.”

“Ha. Just saying. But it seems, Duke, you are very curious? About how great a being Alpha has become-.”

“I’ve always known what kind of being it would become. That I also participated in its design. Did you forget?”

“Of course not. It was a great help.”

The grand duke frowned at the words, which seemed to carry a slightly mocking tone. Annoying fellow.

“Enough with the trivial talk. Tell me how the preparation for the grand magic circle is progressing. I’ve instructed to keep it ready at any time. You haven’t forgotten, have you.”

“Of course not. If the Duke so desires, the grand magic circle can be activated at any time. And then…”

The grand magic circle, upon which stood the mages, will suck in the souls of all humans, nourishing itself with them.

“Just as you have always wished, Duke.”