Barbarian in a Failed Game

The Three Pillars Meeting concluded in secrecy. While the atmosphere was somber, the actual content of the meeting was deemed highly successful by Emperor Friedrick, who later shared his thoughts with his close aides.

It was a natural reaction. As the empire’s foundation solidified, the occurrence of the Three Pillars Meetings had decreased, but records of them remained. Many such meetings began in turmoil and involved tense negotiations, often resulting in reluctant agreements.

In the worst cases, conflicts between the imperial family and the three pillars, or even among the three pillars themselves, intensified and led to catastrophic outcomes.

In contrast, the Three Pillars Meeting convened by Emperor Friedrick ended with amicable agreements and promises of unprecedented cooperation.

Of course, since those who attended were not the leaders of their respective factions, they would need to persuade their factions upon returning. However, Emperor Friedrick considered this process to be merely a matter of time.

‘Once again, I owe him a great deal for this success.’

Even for an emperor like Friedrick, persuading the representatives of each faction was no simple task.

Cain Richtstaff, who temporarily led the Sword Mountain in place of Sword Master Valken Richtstaff, had been left crippled and secluded due to the Paradise incident, leaving Leniyar the Sword Phantom to represent Sword Mountain.

The two young girls, favored by the Goddess of Justice, though only prospective apostles at the moment. The genius mage receiving attention from the Magic Tower and his mentor, along with the guide and kan’s old comrade from the Land of Warriors.

Each one of them came from different backgrounds and possessed unique strengths and personalities. Predictably, getting them all to agree was an arduous task, as foretold by Emperor Friedrick.

It wasn’t feasible to simply assert the emperor’s authority over them, given the backing of the Three Pillars and the complexity of the issues at hand required sincere persuasion. However, a single name rendered all those concerns irrelevant.

“Gordi Khan and the man cooperating with him, known as ‘Han’, have warned me of the incoming threats to the continent. It began with eliminating the pawns of the faction known as ‘Followers of Truth’ domestically. And I plan to use the prophecy… or rather, the advice he left as a guidepost for our plans.”

“You say the boss left a prophecy— cough, I mean, left advice?”

“As I said, it wasn’t Gordi Khan himself. It was an unusual man named Han, but he shares the same goals as the warrior Khan.”

While Emperor Friedrick harbored suspicions about Han, who cut off contact immediately following Gordi Khan’s disappearance, he chose not to reveal them. At the moment, more pressing matters required attention.

“We must prepare for war.”

War.

No one remained unaffected by the word “war”. It hadn’t been long since they had lost loved ones in the war instigated by the Greenskins.

“Could it be that the frontier kingdoms have finally reached their limit and…?”

The Emperor dismissed Ron’s suspicion. Such minor issues wouldn’t necessitate convening the Three Pillars Meeting.

‘So, a coalition of frontier kingdoms is merely a trivial matter…’

Ron felt a moment of dizziness at the Emperor’s reaction. He was taken aback by the imperial perspective that regarded the frontier kingdoms as so inconsequential that they warranted the term “trivial”.

Simultaneously, he worried about how catastrophic the issue addressed by the Emperor might be.

“Soon, the beastfolk of the southern lands will rise.”

And then, with Friedrick’s next words, Ron deeply understood why the Emperor had used the term “trivial”.

“With the emergence of the Beast King, who has unified the dozens of scattered tribes, their plan is to launch a preemptive strike before the Empire can respond. This was Han’s warning. And indeed, there are alarming signs emerging from the southern borders.”

“…So, do you want me to behead the Beast King?”

Leniyar, who had maintained a sharp aura throughout, spoke, prompting Friedrick to laugh heartily, as if he had heard an amusing joke. Leniyar’s sharp eyes narrowed in response.

“What’s so funny? Do you think I can’t—”

“Of course, with your sword, nothing is uncuttable. You aren’t just any swordsman, but the Sword Phantom.”

The Emperor interjected, stopping Leniyar’s outburst with a remark that combined respect and a touch of irony.

“But it seems his thoughts differ. To deal with the Beast King, he implied that the Empire would need to mobilize its full might.”

“…Did he really say that?”

“And this isn’t unrelated to the church. Han warned that demons might be backing the Beastfolk. He suggested that the war’s true goal might be the demon’s descent.”

Even though the Emperor shared Han’s message, the current reality was that Aecharis, due to Khan’s interference, had chosen the Greenskin as his pawns instead of the Beastfolk. This alteration implied that there might be no demon backing the Beastfolk in this timeline.

However, with Khan missing and heightened wariness towards demons following the Greenskin affair, the remaining individuals had no choice but to be even more conscious of the possibility.

Nod.

Aries, representing the church, quietly nodded.

‘Sword of Justice… One of Gordi Khan’s old comrades, if I recall correctly.’

The Emperor studied Aries with narrowed eyes, attempting to discern her true thoughts but eventually gave up and looked away.

‘I can’t tell.’

Years of reigning as Emperor naturally developed Friedrick’s ability to discern people. However, with Aries, he couldn’t read anything. It was like observing a golem devoid of emotions or thoughts.

It was known that Aries, the prospective apostle, rarely displayed emotions. Even so, the Emperor found her condition particularly unsettling.

‘People like her fall into two categories. Either they are unaware of their own emotions, or they’ve abandoned their thoughts in a state of extreme confusion.’

Such individuals are unpredictable. In other words, a walking bomb was wandering the Empire.

‘This is the turning point.’

The Emperor signaled with his eyes, and Duke Deon, who had been waiting in the corner, levitated dozens of books into the air, drawing everyone’s attention.

“These are all the books and studies related to ‘dimensions’ and ‘space’ from the royal archive. Of course, the royal librarians are still searching for more related texts, so the number will increase.”

For a moment, there was silence as everyone processed the Emperor’s words, then Ron, seated with the Magic Tower representatives, stood up abruptly.

“…Can we save him?!”

“I don’t like making empty promises. So, I won’t claim we can definitely save him or that there’s hope. You, coming from the Magic Tower, know this better than anyone, don’t you?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The pressure produced by a collapsing dimension is unsurvivable, regardless of its scale. Even among ancient transcendents, few could withstand spatial pressure.”

Magus Jerome of the Gray Tower explained somberly, crushing the possibility of Khan’s survival. However, it was Jan who contradicted his mentor’s statement.

“But the warrior had a means…! There’s a chance he survived the dimensional collapse!”

Jan distinctly remembered. The memory of Khan tearing open space at the Al-Ranzas Monastery. Using that memory as a basis, Jan suggested that Khan might have survived and intended to gather all research books on dimensions and space.

It was also the reason the Emperor had instructed the royal librarians to find so many books. The Emperor nodded quietly at Jan’s fervent gaze and solemnly declared.

“So, you will cooperate. Imagine he returns, only to find Midland in ruins because we weren’t united while he was gone.”

No further persuasion was needed. The Emperor stressed the need for the Empire to unite fully in preparation for the war the southern beastfolk would incite. And that unity meant including not just the Three Pillars but also the Electorate.

“… Damn it. Doesn’t mean I have to go, you old fool.”

“Lady Leniyar, he is still the Emperor.”

“So what? Can’t I curse him out behind his back?”

Leniyar clicked her tongue as she glanced at the golden-haired paladin, recognizing that he had chosen silence because the conversation was going unfavorably for him.

After the Three Pillars Meeting had concluded, she received a request from the Emperor. To visit an Electorate family and secure their cooperation.

‘Annoying…’

The place she had arrived at was an extensive estate. The history of the Electorate families was almost as long as the Empire itself. Holding the power to elect the Emperor, they wielded immense power, which they passed down through generations.

This grand estate was a testament to that power.

“Building something like this, calling it a ‘summer house’… They must be insane.”

The enormous mansion, known locally as the “Castle of the Blue Rose” was one such ‘summer house’ belonging to an Electorate family. As the name suggested, it was adorned with tall walls and sprawling grounds filled with blue roses in bloom throughout the year.

“All this maintained by magitech. The costs must be astronomical.”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Leniyar shot a fierce glare at the paladin who, from the outside, looked like a typical golden-haired noble youth. Leonir von Istantil – a direct descendant of the Istantil family and a recently acclaimed genius paladin who had shown remarkable growth. He was appointed as Leniyar’s temporary companion by the Emperor.

“Just typical noble crap.”

She spat out the words, laden with numerous implications. Leonir, recalling the background of Leniyar’s upbringing as told by Palace Steward Deon, tried to understand the roots of her animosity.

Leniyar von Asir. A child born between a maid of the Asir family and the then head of the Asir family, later abandoned into the slums for disrupting the family’s rules.

‘Her mother couldn’t bear the life in the slums and eventually took her own life. But the tenacious Leniyar survived and was discovered by a relative of the Asir family, who attempted to assault her but ended up being killed instead…’

A truly vile and sordid tale. More shocking was that at the time, Leniyar was merely a fourteen-year-old girl, and during the scuffle, she killed all twenty-two of the family guards.

‘With just a single dagger.’

The tale of a frail-looking slum girl annihilating elite guards who had trained under noble patronage and rigorous discipline greatly contributed to her being called the Sword Phantom.

However, there was another event that earned Leniyar the nickname “Sword Phantom”.

“Well, well… Who do we have here!”

The playful voice snapped Leonir out of his thoughts, making him look up.

“Our esteemed Sword Phantom, Leniyar! Hahaha!”

A man emerged from the mansion built within the castle grounds, using crutches as though his legs were impaired. Despite the southern heat, he was dressed in long sleeves that covered his body and his face bore numerous hideous scars, giving him a grotesque appearance.

Leonir quickly realized that the scars were caused by a sword. It wasn’t particularly a feat of insight; the history between this man and Leniyar was well-known throughout the Empire.

‘So, this is the man…’

The second son of a prominent Electorate family and once a leading contender for the heir, alongside his elder hyungnim.

And.

“What brings you here, oh noble Sword Phantom, to see the cripple you so graciously mutilated?”

He was the man who had once coveted Leniyar, famous for being a disciple of the Sword Master, but ended up half-crippled and out of the succession race. Afterward, he was sent by the Electorate’s command to the southern borders as a frontier lord.

The mission given to Leonir and Leniyar was simple.

‘Of all people, we have to persuade him…’

The task was to secure the cooperation of the southern frontier lord in preparation for the imminent war against the beastfolk. Leonir thought, swallowing a sigh that threatened to escape.

She’d rather face a demon descending upon Midland than try to convince this man.

TL’s Corner:
We’re back to the side characters POV.
It’s also kind of weird, because the title of the chapter is The ones left behind(2), but there’s no 1.