I just can’t follow the flow of this conversation.

Suddenly, Ibaekho asks if someone wants to kill him, and Jaina answers yes without any hesitation.

What kind of relationship do these two even have?

“Oh, look at those eyes getting all pissed off again?”

“......”

“St-stop it, Baekho... If we fight among ourselves in a situation like this, the bastard who trapped us here is the only one who benefits!”

Aures, unusually speaking sense, tries to calm the situation.

“You just shut up. Don’t think I don’t know you’re still in contact with the lord of the castle.”

“...W-what are you saying! I, I—!”

“Hey, you can’t lie here, you know?”

“......”

“But you said you didn’t tell anyone about going out this time. So this settles it.”

“T-thank you...”

Listening to the conversation, even innocent Aures seems to have some scheme behind his back...

‘Why do these bastards even hang out together?’ To Ibaekho, ‘comrades’ must mean something totally different from what I know as ‘comrades.’

“Baron, shouldn’t you step in? If this keeps up, we might end up divided...”

“Just stay still for now. I’ll intervene if it gets serious.”

The atmosphere instantly turned as cold as ice.

GM expressed concern, but I decided to watch the situation for now.

Well, I didn’t understand why Ibaekho suspected his comrades so much at first.

‘Hmm, with this kind of background, I can see why.’ I almost mistook their friendly appearances for closeness, but fundamentally it’s different.

They’re together only because their goals align.

These guys aren’t ‘comrades.’

“Old man, enough. I knew from the start there was some ulterior motive anyway.”

Ibaekho sighed deeply and shook his head when about to say something to the destroyer scholar.

For some reason, his eyes looked weary. Maybe he suddenly felt disillusioned?

Tick-tock—

I don’t know why, but that moment marked the end of the time using Broken Trust.

“Any more is a waste. This should be proof there’s no traitor among us.”

“......”

Was it really such a mess that one more round was unnecessary? Following the destroyer’s words, Ibaekho put Broken Trust back into the pocket dimension.

Ah, of course, he added some unnecessary comments.

“Well, it’s a relief. If you killed someone you’ve been with for years, I’d feel uneasy too, but that won’t happen.”

Ibaekho then smirked at Jaina.

“Oh, maybe you don’t know? You couldn’t really remember anyway.”

I don’t know the details, but I instinctively felt those words would pierce someone’s heart.

Step, step.

Jaina silently shivered, then took one step, then another, stopping in front of Ibaekho. Then...

“Why don’t you let me hit you once?”

Looking up at the mocking Ibaekho, Jaina ground her teeth and muttered.

“Ibaekho... we are not your punching bags.”

“......”

“So save your tantrums for your mom.”

A bold comeback that made even GM and Aures flinch.

“Ah, you can’t throw tantrums? You’ll never go back to the real world—”

Just as Jaina was about to hit his nerve, Ibaekho suddenly disappeared from sight.

Kraaaaang—!

A deafening roar spread with a gust of wind everywhere.

“Wow, this is fun.”

The situation was very simple and clear.

Ibaekho tried to attack Jaina, and Aures right next to her blocked it with his shield.

“What? You said you regained your memory or whatever, but you already have someone to cling to?”

Even as an outsider, it sounded like a third-rate villain’s lousy line.

I felt like I had just seen the bottom of this guy named Ibaekho, in an unexpected place.

“Baekho, I know you’re impatient, but get a grip. This isn’t like you.”

“What do you mean, like me?”

“You’re always moody and picky, but at least you’re not the type to go on rampages like this.”

Aures faced Ibaekho, ready to strike, and met his eyes boldly, speaking his mind.

‘Yeah, that’s a real tank.’ There are no bad tanks in the world.

“...Hah, I’ll cool down for a bit.”

After saying that, Ibaekho fled like running away, and Aures sighed deeply as if the tension released.

“Phew... Baekho’s killing intent is always so fierce. I thought I’d suffocate and die for real.”

“Heh, but despite that, I saw no retreat in his eyes. I respect that.” “Ahaha... It’s protecting comrades. But where can one back down...”

“...Thank you.”

Jaina quietly expressed gratitude, and Aures awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“Well then, shall we go ahead? I’ll cool down for a moment and follow.”

“Ah... Ah! Okay then?”

Whatever ‘okay then’ means.

Before Aures could say more, I quickly intervened.

“No solo actions. There’s no guarantee it’s safe here.”

“Uh... but Baekho already went alone, didn’t he?”

Hey, don’t talk back. Are you the same as Baekho or the priest?

“Know when to accept no.”

I said firmly again, but Aures didn’t back down.

“If being alone is the problem, I’ll stay right beside her. Would that be okay then?”

Uh... I have no argument against that, but...

‘How can he have such logical arguments and yet not have done this before?’

Aside from how strange it was, I wasn’t going to allow it.

“No.”

“Why not?”

There are several reasons.

First, it’s uneasy to entrust the only priest to this guy...

“You said earlier being alone is the problem, right? So what’s the problem with me staying next to her?”

Second, it’s just this guy himself.

If even gender issues arise in this already divided team, it would turn into a real disaster party.

“Answer properly. Or I will never back down—.”

Hey, quiet.

“Then you guys go down first. I’ll stay.”

He seemed unwilling to yield unless I stepped in, so I volunteered to do it.

“Uh... uh? I-I was going to...”

As expected, Aures was very flustered.

“It’s okay, Aures. I’ll be right behind you, so don’t worry.”

“...Understood.”

When Jaina said that, Aures lost words and just slouched his shoulders and left.

And then...

“Interesting person, huh?”

When only Jaina and I were left in the chamber, she spoke.

“Always like that. Even when joking, he’s always glancing sideways.”

“You knew?”

“How could I not? He’s such a blatant person.”

Is that so?

To be honest, until today I hadn’t sensed anything particular.

“Well, here we are again, just the two of us.”

“Yeah, somehow it turned out that way again. I’ll be quiet now, so sort out your thoughts alone.”

After saying that, I sat cross-legged near the entrance, and Jaina leaned against the wall a bit farther away.

And then the long silence continued.

As I chewed on some jerky while pondering, she spoke first.

“...Aren’t you going to ask?”

It felt like a random comment, but at least communication was fine.

“Didn’t you want some alone time?”

“But you’re not alone anyway.”

Hmm, that’s true.

“Then if I ask, will you tell me?”

When I asked casually, Jaina answered casually.

“There’s nothing I can’t tell. It’s not something to bring up first, but it’s also not something I’m hiding.”

“......”

“And weren’t you the one who said you wanted to stay to ask because you were curious?”

Well, that’s part of it.

“There was a bigger reason.”

“What is it?”

“I thought it would be troublesome if feelings developed in this situation.”

An honest and straightforward answer.

Jaina laughed out loud as if she hadn’t expected it, then suddenly changed the subject.

“No, actually, I won’t say after all.”

“...What? Suddenly?”

“Just that. It’s not a very interesting story.”

“Is that so? Do as you please.”

Tsk, I was foolish to expect. I sighed with my energy drained.

Did I feel a little guilty about that?

“Well, I’ll tell you one thing. I lied to the baron before. Or rather, I deliberately didn’t say part of it.”

“What was that?”

“The person I tried to save by offering my memories to Karui. That person was killed by me. Well, after hearing Ibaekho’s words, you probably guessed as much.”

“Can I hear how it came to that?”

“There wasn’t any big reason. Karui demanded that person as a sacrifice. He promised new power, so I killed him.”

“......”

“That was a powerful power that saved my life several times. But... I wouldn’t have done it if I’d known /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ it would get this suffocating.”

I could hear deep regret in Jaina’s voice, so I didn’t ask further and gave her some time alone.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes... about thirty minutes passed before Jaina got up and said she was okay, then went down the chamber stairs first.

“Are you feeling better now?”

As soon as I entered the ruin, Aures came up.

They seemed to be talking about something, but I didn’t bother eavesdropping.

“Where is Ibaekho?”

When I asked GM, I only got an answer that he hadn’t returned yet.

Ha, he’s not a teenager or something.

“Should we search?”

“No, no search. If we wait, he’ll come back on his own.”

“But isn’t it possible that someone unknown is in this ruin with us?”

“Wait a little more. If he really doesn’t come, then it won’t be too late to search.”

Above all, there were conversations to be had when Ibaekho was absent.

“Hey.”

I ended the talk with GM and headed to the destroyer scholar.

“What is it, Baron?”

“I want to discuss something with you.”

“Go ahead.”

Since this old man is not talkative, I got straight to the point.

“Ibaekho, does he seem normal to you?”

Actually, I had felt this for a while.

No matter how abnormal Baekho is, he’s not the kind of guy to act thoughtlessly.

He only does things that bring ‘benefit.’

“Probably not normal. Since you say so too.”

“You noticed something strange too?”

“His standard isn’t ‘good and evil.’ He tries to think and act rationally in every situation. But what happened today was too emotional.”

“Could it be that impatience caused it?”

“That’s a ridiculous story. If he were the type to be impatient about something like this, he wouldn’t have pursued one goal for nearly twenty years.”

“I see...”

Then what exactly made Ibaekho like that?

Is there some field effect we don’t know?

But except for Ibaekho, everyone else is fine.

While I was pondering, the destroyer scholar quietly approached and brought up another topic.

“More than that, I’m more suspicious of something else.”

“What is that?”

“After organizing the situation, the only conclusion I reach is that there was a traitor among us.”

“Wasn’t that issue already settled?”

Even using Broken Trust, checking not only Ibaekho’s teammates but also GM.

I couldn’t use it myself, but why does this old man bring it up again?

“Could it be... you suspect me and Ibaekho?”

I lowered my voice and asked, thinking there was no other answer.

The old man chuckled.

“That’s not it. Of course, you have a definite motive to hinder us... but there’s a more suspicious suspect than you.”