At first, I couldn’t believe my ears.

Did I really hear that right?

Frozen in shock, unable /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ to control my expression, I then wondered:

“How does the King of Ruin know Korean?”

I racked my brain for an answer, but shock clouded my thoughts.

Even if dozens of ninjas had suddenly appeared from the ceiling and walls, it wouldn’t have been this overwhelming...

“Get a grip.”

Pulling myself together, I focused on the situation.

The first possibility that came to mind was this:

The King of Ruin is a Korean-born evil spirit.

Of course, that was just the first thought that flashed through my head — quickly disproven by what the King said next.

“What are you so stiff about?”

Hearing it again, his Korean was awkward, almost like a white man fumbling for paper towels in a bathroom.

Thanks to that, a more plausible second theory formed:

The King of Ruin is neither Korean nor an evil spirit.

He just learned Korean and can speak it.

Maybe some ‘someone’ pulled into this world from a game taught him.

At that moment, I could accept the idea of the elevator too.

Or rather...

“Hm, I thought you’d have guessed this by now.”

It was as if he understood how such things came to be in this world.

The King of Ruin dropped the awkward Korean accent and spoke in his native tongue.

“You seem more naïve than I expected. But that’s natural. Why do you treat corporations that develop advanced technology like aliens to be tortured?”

“......”

“We were just the same.”

Maybe he was right; I had been naïve.

Not everyone in this barbaric world is unintelligent.

They wouldn’t burn a witch or execute an evil spirit from another dimension without cause.

That wouldn’t be rational.

“There’s much more than meets the eye.”

The evil spirit community, the Ghost Busters.

Not all evil spirits belong to them.

As the first line of a letter I received said:

[This letter is sent randomly to an explorer presumed to be a player.]

These spirits survived in this world, excelled in their fields, and got invitations to join the community — a rare few.

Like the tip of an iceberg.

Many more modern humans were pulled here than I know, including those with expert knowledge.

Among them were those who could build machines powered by electricity or steam.

Though they couldn’t risk revealing those secrets.

“They’re different.”

The royal family, with its secret police, caught and researched these spirits for decades.

How much knowledge could they have gained? How far could they have advanced those technologies?

I saw the fruits of that firsthand.

Click.

As the King of Ruin seated on the throne pressed a button, a familiar melody played.

Though the instrumental differed slightly from what I knew, it was recognizable.

A famous British band’s song wishing for all to proceed as destined.

“...!”

Noticing the song came from a ‘speaker’ in the audience chamber’s corner, I froze.

Seeing my expression, the King of Ruin asked calmly,

“Why that face?”

“As if you’ve seen some magic.”

Damn it.

My head was numb.

That phrase couldn’t capture my state.

It was like watching proof that your loved one cheated.

A trust betrayed.

‘...How can science exist in fantasy?’

Especially in the world of [Dungeon & Stone], which I’ve enjoyed for ten years.

“You know this song?”

“......”

“An American sang and recorded it. So it feels different from the original. But what can you do? Those who heard say it captures the original’s spirit well.”

After a pause, as the King of Ruin said, I just asked bluntly.

“...What happened to that American?”

No point pretending to be barbaric now.

He already knew I was not just an evil spirit but a Korean.

“Your tone got shorter.”

“Weren’t you the one wanting frank talk?”

“Hahaha! Looks like your brain really did turn barbarian.”

“Answer me...”

“Hmm... let me see...”

Trailing off, the guard beside him answered instead.

“The Dimension Technology Department reported no useful information remaining on the subject and disposed of it immediately.”

“Oh, so that’s what happened.”

Hearing that indifferent mutter, I realized something.

In other media—novels, comics—modern humans summoned here are main characters.

Natives only play side roles.

But reality is different.

The true protagonists are those spirits.

Compared to them, we’re just a small part of the world, a mere ‘event.’

Today, I painfully grasped that.

“...Is that why you exterminate evil spirits? To capture and steal their technology?”

I gritted my teeth asking.

A small laugh came from behind the silk curtain.

“Of course not. Evil spirits must vanish from this world—that’s an unchanging truth. We just took some incidental benefits during that process.”

“......”

“Of course, the fox riding the tiger is also angry about the ‘evil spirits.’”

Fox riding a tiger?

I frowned at the vague reference.

“Oh? You don’t know about that yet?”

“......”

“Then I can’t tell you here. Stories are most enjoyable when heard firsthand.”

So no intention to explain.

Judging from context, the ‘fox’ probably means the prime minister.

But that’s not the point now.

Instead of asking about the fox, I brought up something else.

“When you said ‘her’ earlier, did you mean the witch?”

“Correct.”

“What does ‘chosen’ mean?”

“Wrong.”

“...?”

“No reason to answer, so wrong, barbarian.”

“You were the one who wanted frank talk.”

“Aren’t I being frank? I’m the king, after all.”

“......”

The King of Ruin was far different from how I imagined.

I never expected a king to be this casual.

Well, better than being arrogant and condescending.

‘Maybe, like Ibaekho, he just tries to lower his opponent’s guard.’

Anyway, no matter the tone, he was still a ‘king.’

A being who could erase everything I had with a single gesture.

But I knew this.

Sometimes crisis is opportunity.

‘Maybe...’

Today I might step closer to the secret of this world I’ve been chasing.

[You were chosen by her. If I kill you, she’d be angry. How could I do that?]

If what he said was true, my safety was guaranteed.

So I decided to take a more active stance.

“Why have you been hiding behind illness all this time?”

I’d use this chance to keep questioning.

No harm if no answers, but even one clue would be a gain.

“Huh? I’m not hiding. I just sleep a lot and haven’t gone out.”

“Sleep...?”

“Yeah.”

The King of Ruin replied like it was a bother, not a secret.

I didn’t push further.

But one thing caught my attention.

He called me “Bjorn Yandel, junior baron.”

Not baron, junior baron.

If that wasn’t just a slip or memory lapse...

What if he really had only known my past because he had been sleeping?

‘...Maybe there are still restrictions even when awake.’

Though speculation, given who he was, the info was precious.

“Why did you call me here?”

“Strange question. Do thieves entering through the back door usually ask that?”

“But you’re the one who summoned me to the audience chamber.”

“Ah? True. But I’m curious how you got out of there.”

“No other intentions?”

“There was one thing I wanted to check, but it’s done.”

“......”

“So you have no more business here?”

“No, not exactly.”

“...Then tell me.”

“Later. You know, the best part of a meal is saved for last.”

I don’t agree; I always eat the best part first.

Because it might not be there later.

Anyway, enough of that.

“Are you behind this war?”

“No, I’m a victim. I didn’t know everything, but I definitely didn’t lead it. Satisfied?”

“Then who’s behind it?”

“That’s related to the best part, so later.”

Answering my bombardment quickly, the King suddenly cut me off.

“Aren’t you asking too many questions? I’ll answer just one last one. But I won’t answer any that betray too much conscience.”

Last question...

Judging by the tone, the important stuff won’t be revealed.

Then, what’s a reasonable last question, staying within bounds?

After brief thought, I spoke.

“Why do you answer each of my questions?”

About the witch, the war.

Maybe questions more valuable than distant lands’ stories.

“Oh, that?”

The King of Ruin answered from behind the silk.

With an extremely casual tone.

“It’s better to persuade than threaten, isn’t it?”

I expected it, but this king was definitely a loose screw.

“So I’m trying persuasion first.”

“......”

“Before telling you I’ll dispose of everyone you know if you don’t obey.”

Smiling while threatening is still threatening.