Barbarian in a Failed Game

“He, uh, might be a bit tricky to catch all at once. Like all demon worshippers, he’s got many hidden escape routes. Don’t just send the Bannerlords; you should also get the cooperation of the Battle Mages and the Magic Tower.”

In their second meeting, the emperor presented a vastly different demeanor. It seemed that accepting the truth that the trusted aide he personally appointed was a traitor was a hard truth for the emperor to swallow. He struggled to speak.

‘So even the emperor is human after all.’

The emperor in the game and the emperor seen with one’s own eyes were different. Scripts, illustrations, and graphics had their limitations. People say aging makes one more sentimental; maybe the emperor was no different. Seeing a dying man in such a state left Khan feeling unsettled.

“The Saboteur might have infiltrated as a spy from the beginning, but it’s undeniable that he served you loyally during his tenure.”

“… What do you mean by that?”

“You seemed distracted. I thought a brief tangent might help.”

Khan, who had loosened his tie completely, sat back comfortably on the hard stone chair. This casual attitude elicited a slight narrowing of the emperor’s eyes, a look of suspicion over Khan’s intentions.

“Don’t overthink it. As an administrator, he fulfilled his duties faithfully, and as a Saboteur for the Council of Truth, he kept their interests in mind. I believe that as long as you were alive, he had no intention of causing trouble.”

“…”

“It’s likely that, as I mentioned before, he would have made his move only after your passing, during the period of instability for the Empire. That’s what makes the Council of Truth frightening. They act as respectable power figures in the light but can turn into deranged mages when the opportunity arises…”

“Your predictions—are they derived from a special ability? Or are they merely the product of pure conjecture?”

Khan’s mouth twitched at the out-of-context question.

“Predicting future events based on deductive reasoning should be manageable for the imperial administrators as well. But in your case, Han, it’s not deduction at all. You arrive at conclusions without any apparent basis. It’s like creating a dish with an insufficient number of ingredients, yet it turns out perfectly fine—and with ingredients that weren’t there to begin with.”

The emperor’s keen insight sparkled with an astute understanding. His eyes implied that it wasn’t a lack of focus but rather a deep contemplation of Khan’s words.

“And if you had foreseen the future, you might be aware of events occurring across the continent. But can you claim to know personal secrets and relationships? Can that truly be called foresight?”

“That’s—”

Emperor Friedrick didn’t allow Khan to respond.

“That’s not foresight. Knowing those future events means you must have lived through that time period. My suspicion is straightforward.”

Could all the predictions he had made thus far—

“Rather than foresight, are they the recollections of someone who has lived through that future?”

The emperor closely observed the man known as ‘Han’, scrutinizing his reaction down to the smallest muscle twitch and eye movement.

‘So, he’s a different person after all.’

The seemingly random question served not only to gauge if Han had lived through the future but also to determine if Khan and Han were indeed the same person—a suspicion the emperor sought to clarify once and for all.

The result: they were two distinct individuals.

‘That barbarian warrior was undoubtedly a warrior to the core. His overly rigid reactions, like those of a person constantly on edge for battle, were those of a fighter always ready for combat. But this man, Han…’

Though physically robust, his posture and bodily responses were those of an ordinary person. As peculiar as it might sound, the emperor saw a resemblance to the imperial administrators who worked tirelessly day and night.

The emperor chuckled inwardly at how absurd it seemed to equate an enigmatic prophet with imperial administrators. Yet, his discerning eye genuinely saw it that way.

“… So, what’s your answer to my question?”

Having mentally concluded that Khan and Han were different individuals, Emperor Friedrick asked again to resolve his final question.

The man with the weary face, Han, spoke.

“Well, what do you think?”

His answer was neither an affirmation nor a denial.

“Your Majesty, what do you think I am?”

Yet, the emperor saw a clear sense of ‘longing’ in Han’s expression and eyes. What sort of being could reminisce about events that hadn’t occurred yet? An astonishing thought surfaced in Emperor Friedrick’s mind.

‘Could he have… traversed time? Regressed, perhaps?!’

Because of the emperor’s perplexing questions, Khan found himself reminded of earlier times and clicked his tongue.

‘I did live through an era where I lounged with an air conditioner on, clicking a mouse.’

By medieval standards, modern Earth would indeed be considered the future.

Although the emperor didn’t pursue further inquiries, likely satisfied with Khan’s ambiguous but thorough response, they discussed the strategic direction moving forward, concluding the meeting shortly thereafter.

Ultimately, Khan successfully shifted the main quest responsibilities onto someone else, as he had intended.

‘Well, that suspicious old man isn’t likely to act exactly as I suggest, but still…’

Emperor Friedrick was unlikely to simply take the word of a suspicious prophet at face value. He would gather evidence, seek confirmation, and then take action in his own way. While not everything Khan mentioned might come to pass as he stated, even if half of it did, it would surely guide the Empire’s future in a much more positive direction.

Especially the upcoming situation in the ‘Land of the Warriors’, if the emperor moved his forces in advance, the issue could be resolved before it escalated.

After a successful conversation with the emperor, Khan left Levant without the need to consider the royal court’s scrutiny further. His business in the palace was complete, and it was time to wrap things up in the capital.

“Oh, brother…!”

After enduring persistent interrogation by the imperial investigators and virtually being confined to their quarters, the companions naturally slipped away from the imperial hold as attention focused on Khan.

Among them were those who had returned to their homelands for their own duties. Examples included the Archbishop Zion, who had not been seen due to receiving aid for his issues, and Leniyar, who hastened back to Sword Mountain after dealing with Cain Leichtahp’s affairs.

‘Blockhead, feeling ashamed of losing a bet, seemed to have fled.’

The remaining companions had apparently gathered amongst themselves. Among those who reunited was a face Khan hadn’t seen in a while.

“There must have been a lot on your plate in the north, so I apologize for calling you here, Neria.”

“There wasn’t much going on, really.”

“Well, that’s good then.”

Half-Elf Neria.

Originally a town chief on the border of the Argon Kingdom, she was recruited by Khan as a surveillance officer for the Northern Coalition, coming to the Empire at his request.

Before crossing into Northland and seeking to resolve issues with Paradise Bank, Khan had sought the cooperation of the Platinum Merchant Guild leader and initiated plans, including bringing Neria into the mix.

“Even though you’re partly of the same race, I didn’t expect you to agree so readily.”

“Personally, I think of myself as closer to human than elf. It wasn’t a problem for me to accept. I always planned to repay the help I received from you someday.”

“…Then I’m relieved.”

Despite the time passed, Neria still maintained her unchanged, friendly demeanor and bombarded Khan with several casual questions. Suddenly recalling something, Neria’s eyes went wide as she exclaimed.

“Oh, by the way, lord William was looking forward to seeing you, Khan. He had to leave early due to lack of time.”

“Lord William?”

Khan asked, a note of curiosity in his voice.

Although his body was short and stocky, dwarves had a reputation for having surprisingly grand names. Khan found it curious to use honorifics to this particular Dwarf’s name. Normally, he used titles befitting their outward appearances, but something about the title given to this Dwarf felt different, as if implying true nobility.

“Oh, did Lord William not tell you?”

Neria’s words came as a bit of a shock.

“He claimed to be a prince of the Dwarven dynasty.”

“Did he really say that? That he’s a prince of the ‘Dwarven dynasty’?”

“Yes, that’s what he said.”

Because…

The Dwarven dynasty Khan knew did not have a prince named William.

‘Which means…’

Khan, lost in thought, quickly considered a possibility.

Assuming William’s claim was true—that he was indeed the last surviving prince of the Dwarven dynasty—it meant that while William was stuck at Count Wagner’s estate, the Dwarven dynasty had changed.

‘Did the Paradise Bank President know about this?’

Surely, she did. There would have been no reason to imprison a perfectly healthy dwarf otherwise.

Despite the ancient enmity between elves and dwarves in Midland Quest, the collaboration between island-bound elves and the hammer-wielding, cannon- and spear-bearing dwarf pirates had established a relationship that even historical grudges couldn’t overshadow.

“What did William say before he left? Any messages?”

“He just said he didn’t have time and left in a hurry. He mentioned something about reclaiming a hammer, though I’m not sure what that means.”

At that moment, Khan was convinced his hypothesis was correct.

Dwarf William was indeed a prince of the Dwarven dynasty. However, the current dwarf king had replaced the previous dynasty without William’s knowledge, leading to his accidental capture by the Paradise Bank when he went there obliviously.

‘The reason for his imprisonment is obvious.’

To the cunning dwarves, possessing a valuable bargaining chip like William—a former rival and a past adversary—would have been too tempting to pass up. They likely kept him captive while pondering how best to utilize him.

‘Then I showed up…’

William was freed.

Supported by the Platinum Merchant Guild and Berta, he hid from the imperial eyes with Neria’s help, eventually learning about the dynastic change. Now, he sought to reclaim the royal symbol—the hammer.

‘This wasn’t an event I anticipated.’

Already, Khan needed to deal with the Paradise faction to obtain clues about the mage. In this situation, having a dwarf prince—the coveted key to both the dwarves and Paradise Bank—could unlock further paths.

‘This might be the key to solving everything.’

So, his next journey was clear. He needed to track down the dwarf prince who had left ahead of him. Eliminate the gathering elves. And if that didn’t yield the desired clues…

‘Replacing the current dwarf king wouldn’t be the worst idea.’