episode_0097

The Hart family, which guarded the border, had many skilled torture technicians.

It was to obtain information from charlatans who were secretly digging for information about the empire or from those who wanted to do subversive things to the empire.

Gilbert clicked his tongue as he looked around the musty-smelling torture chamber.

Whenever this happened, I felt that this world was definitely not modern.

The Middle Ages were divided by a strict class system, and things like human rights and the Geneva Convention were nowhere to be found.

If he had to pick the best thing he did while creating a custom character, he could confidently say that it was setting the identity of the character Gilbert as the eldest son of the Count of Hart.

If I had insisted that I was going to play Geumtaeyang, which is not funny, as a commoner, the situation would have been very different from what it is now.

He shook his head as he thought about useless things at the somewhat unpleasant sight of the torture room.

I couldn’t forget why I came to this eerie place.

“Have you found out any information?”

“Nothing in particular. They say he’s a pretty harsh guy, so he doesn’t open his mouth easily. Even the torture technicians employed by the count say they haven’t seen a guy like this in a long time.”

Fermo, who was watching the man being tortured, answered in a businesslike tone.

Seeing that he didn’t say anything even though his body was covered in blood, it seemed like he was a pretty stubborn guy.

It didn’t seem like he had any professional training.

Gilbert stroked the tip of his chin.

Withstanding the torture was not something that even a reasonable amount of mental strength could do.

A person’s patience can be established because he or she knows that what he or she is holding on to will end someday.

The pain inflicted on the body with no sign of ending drives a person’s spirit to the edge.

Endless patience?

The only result was that people lost their minds and went crazy.

“Do you think it would be possible for an untrained ordinary person to endure the torture of a skilled torturer?”

“Did you know?”

“Are you saying that guy wasn’t trained?”

“Yes, because it is usually not easy to notice that fact.”

“I see. Let’s just call it a hunch.”

I made this distinction through various experiences from my past life to the present, but there was no need to say it straight away.

He had to reveal that this world, including possession, was based on the world he played in, but when he said that, the usual reaction was to suspect insanity.

And there was a belief that if you just messed around like this, the intelligent Fermo would figure it out on his own.

As expected, Fermo looked at Gilbert with a strange look, but he pretended not to notice.

“I am very interested in that intuition, but it would be wise not to ask. Well, that’s good. You already knew that the master had changed, so you must have a secret or two.”

“The editorial seems to be unusually long as usual.”

“This is also limited to the first master. Anyway, to answer your previous question, it’s usually not possible. It is said that the more you experience pain, the more you become accustomed to it, but the art of torture is to prevent you from becoming accustomed to it. So there are a few possibilities left here.”

“Is one of them a characteristic skill?”

Gilbert said the thought that suddenly occurred to him.

Although I did not memorize all of Tactical Combat’s numerous characteristic skills, I had a rough understanding of all of them. Among them, there was also a characteristic skill related to pain tolerance.

“You saw it right away. Among the characteristic skills, there are also those related to pain tolerance. But unfortunately not in this case. He’s clearly feeling pain. I’ve come up with many other hypotheses, but there’s only one left.”

Fermo’s eyes sank solemnly.

Gilbert asked, feeling nervous at the sudden change in Fermo’s atmosphere.

“What is that?”

“It is prohibited. It is not clear what the method is, but it seems there is a ban on disclosing information.”

Gilbert’s expression hardened at the word prohibition.

In Tactical Combat, there was a unique status condition called prohibition.

This was a condition caused by drugs or characteristic skills that could impose a ban, so it was quite difficult to lift the ban. To put it mildly, when newbies were told that they were banned due to a status abnormality, they would just tell them to start the game again.

Among the status abnormalities, prohibition was the most vicious, so much so that Gilbert also had a history of restarting the game after being caught by prohibition when he was a newbie.

“The problem is that the ban on him seems to be a ban based on a characteristic skill that is known to be impossible to break. It can never be solved unless you kill the caster, so it seems difficult to actually get any information from him.”

“I guess so.”

Gilbert was easily convinced. Because it was a well-established opinion that lifting the ban through characteristic skills was impossible at this point.

Of course, Gilbert, who was a veteran of Tactical Combat, knew of another method, but he could not use it right now.

In the end, there is nothing that can be found out.

Gilbert couldn’t stop the pain in his head.

It was clear that there was a third force involved in this main scenario, but I had no idea what it was. Since it was a variable that wasn’t even in the game, there was nothing to guess about it.

I was very frustrated because I was sure he would show his teeth again in some way, but I had no choice but to deal with it passively.

Gilbert decided there was no need to stay here any longer and immediately left the torture room. Perhaps because I was in a musty, damp dungeon, I felt refreshed when I came out.

“Did things go well?”

The first person to greet Gilbert after leaving the torture room was Brynhild, who was leaning against the wall and closing his eyes.

Ever since she made the bombshell statement a few days ago that she would make him her husband, her range of actions has always overlapped with that of Gilbert.

I followed him around most of the time I woke up and was with him in his every move.

At first, I flatly refused, saying I had no intention of doing so, but that was just because I saw the woman named Brynhild too easily. I didn’t care at all about Gilbert’s cruel attitude as to what point I was hooked on, and I just kept going at my own pace.

Fortunately, I was careful to avoid the situation when dealing with the affairs of the Count Hart family, but it was quite inconvenient to always follow him.

“I would have told you to stop following me.”

“Where the husband goes, the wife also goes.”

“I would have said no.”

“It’s already too late. Sigurd’s descendant and great warrior, I always keep my word.”

I was familiar with her personality from my time playing Tactical Combat, but experiencing it in this way found it extremely annoying.

Personally, I quite liked her bossy personality. At least it was much better to push forward with what you thought than to not.

However, for Gilbert, whose ultimate goal was to return to Earth, her appearance felt a bit uncomfortable. Even if I couldn’t find a way to go back and had to stay here, I had no intention of accepting her feelings.

Am I still the same?

Gilbert couldn’t help but swallow a bitter smile.

It’s quite heartbreaking to see that nothing has changed even after quite a long time.

***

“It is said that the operation failed”

Van Dyke fell flat on his face as he reported the intel he had received.

The elderly man in front of him had a benevolent appearance at first glance, but he was a more level-headed person than anyone he knew. He never tolerated the mistakes of his subordinates, and his hand speed was extremely cruel.

One day, when I saw a member who had made a mistake being torn apart, I even got wet.

The day the Resistance was wiped out by the Empire, I wore a life jacket, but honestly, all I could think about was wanting to run away.

Of course, Van Dyke only thought about that and had no intention of carrying out the plan.

Rather than running away from that monstrous old man, it might have been easier to break through the empire’s siege and survive.

“Huh, is it as expected? I didn’t expect that much, but I feel really bad that it happened like that.”

“Sorry, sorry. We will make sure to succeed next time.”

“That’s what you should do. This old man is not very patient.”

This damn old man.

Van Dyke, who was face down on the floor, barely managed to avoid getting his face crumpled. He was extremely quick-witted when it came to tricky topics, so he was beaten like a dog more than once for squinting his eyes.

“Gilbert the Lion Heart… It’s really annoying and annoying.”

Van Dyke, who noticed with raised eyes that he was listening with his long white beard, lowered his body further to the floor. From past experience, stroking one’s beard is never a good sign.

“It’s a bit too annoying to say it’s nothing special. What do you think?”

“You are right. I am concerned that if we leave it as is, there will be a setback in our grand plan.”

Van Dyke brought together all his experiences from his time in the theater. Although he was a third-rate theater actor, he was still good at speaking.

I tried my best to avoid doing anything that would offend the old man, and I prayed and prayed that somehow this time would pass quickly.

“I guess you also have the same thoughts. That’s true. This is the result of leaving it alone thinking it was a mess.”

“Can we convene the members?”

“No, not yet. It may be easy to deal with that child, but it has its uses. Nobu has something in mind, I’ll tell you when the time comes.”

“Okay. In that case, I will tell the members to carry out their duties as usual.”

“Hehe, Van Dyke, I can only trust you.”

With those words, the old man disappeared in an instant, as if he had been erased from the spot. Van Dyke, feeling the pressure in the room disappearing, stood up, sweating profusely.

Maybe it was because I was so nervous or because I had been lying down for a long time, but my legs were cramping and I couldn’t get up all at once.

“Phew”

What a terrible old man.

Van Dyke managed to get up from his seat and slumped down in his chair. Fortunately, today passed without incident, but even he didn’t know how long that luck would last.

I just prayed earnestly that I would not die and that it would continue.