The goddess delivered the prophecy in the form of a precognitive dream.

It said I would die in the near future. And that it would be by the expedition force I had begun to somewhat trust.

Thump–!

My warrior’s heart pounded violently at the sensed danger.

But calmly, I first confirmed one thing.

“Are you sure?”

“…Huh?”

“I mean, did you confirm for sure that I die? In that dream.”

It’s a cliche in modern media.

Why do such cases often happen?

They stage a scene where someone dies from a gunshot, turning it into melodrama, but then reveal it was a bulletproof vest and end happily.

“I’m not sure.”

In a situation where certainty is more important than anything, he cautiously continued.

“No matter how many potions were poured on your closed eyes, Baron, the potions didn’t react.”

Potions didn’t work…

Hmph, this is troublesome.

‘Am I… really going to die…?’

To be honest, it didn’t feel real at all.

My head was just full of confusion.

‘What should I do?’

The first idea that came to mind was one.

What if I tricked him like I did Amelia’s sister?

But even then, a doubt arose.

‘If it’s a prophecy you can dodge like that… would they have even shown it as a divine oracle?’

No, why did such a situation arise in the first place?

Wasn’t the expedition’s purpose to bring me back alive?

Ugh, what a nightmare first thing in the morning–

“…Baron!”

While I was racking my brain, he urgently shook me.

“Haven’t you heard? This isn’t the time to just stand here. You must run now.”

“Run…?”

“The goddess said so too. This is not a recorded fate. What future we face depends on us.”

In other words, it means the future can be avoided if we try…

“Why… are you telling me this only now…?”

“Uh…? Well, yeah…”

Hah, you should have said this sooner.

I was beginning to understand why he always gets scolded by others.

‘Anyway, the recorded fate he means is probably the record stone…’

I quickly finished assessing the situation.

Leatlas is one of the three gods representing this world. If such a being said the future can be changed, it must be true.

That changes everything.

‘What, it’s not as serious as I thought.’

Maybe it’s just a red alert on the “Fate Tracker”?

A negative event will happen, but if it’s the kind you can change, I can get through it.

Yes, so…

“Thanks for the news. But I will stay here.”

I politely refused Parab’s advice to run immediately.

For a very simple reason.

“I’ll handle this problem myself. You just tell me everything you saw in the dream. Don’t leave anything out.”

Running away never worked well for me before.

Returning to where my companions were, Amelia suddenly spoke up.

“You looked quite serious. Was it an important conversation?”

“Not really. Nothing special.”

I gave a vague answer, and Amelia didn’t press further.

She just pursed her lips, stared at me for a moment, then quickly turned her head away.

“……”

…Was she sulking?

I’d tried to be considerate not to worry her until I fully sorted out my thoughts.

But I had no choice but to mention it.

Unlike a barbarian, I was a bit indirect.

“Emily, what would you do if I were in danger of being executed by the commander?”

“……?”

At first, Amelia looked at me like I was saying something pointless, then suddenly clenched her teeth.

“They… were plotting something like that?”

“That’s not confirmed yet. So, what’s your answer?”

She replied as if I was asking something obvious.

“I’ll definitely stop it. Even if it costs me everything.”

“There are over a hundred of them.”

“I told you. I’ll risk everything to stop them.”

Her voice carried such firm determination it was palpable.

‘Yeah, I expected that kind of answer…’

Though grateful, a bitter taste lingered.

This problem isn’t just about me dying.

If that happens, everyone around me gets dragged into it.

‘…Maybe I should have run away?’

That thought crossed my mind, but I shook off the weak feeling.

Running away might have made things worse.

‘Let’s watch the situation a bit longer. There’s still time before that happens.’

I had two reasons for thinking there was time.

Parab told me everything in detail about the dream.

From the description, it seemed to be Chief Island.

We hadn’t arrived yet, so it wouldn’t happen yet.

In short, the next few days were definitely safe.

So I could tell the deadline in advance.

Therefore, it wouldn’t be too late to carefully consider fleeing.

“Board the ship!”

After that, we left the library island on schedule and boarded the ship.

By the way, our temporary Squad 4 didn’t take our usual ship but divided among three warships.

That was better for enduring the peak of the rainy season.

‘No wonder it’s so intense on day three.’

Monsters literally rained from the sky.

Of course, with dozens of mages continuously infusing magic power into the protective runes inscribed on the ships, the ships took no damage.

Boom–! Crack–! Boom!

Monsters hit the barrier and fell into the sea, their blood flowing over the barrier.

“Not as troublesome as expected, Evost! Magic consumption per hour? As predicted?”

“Yes! No issues so far!”

The three ships began cutting through the silvery waves in earnest.

Most monsters were driven into the sea by the barriers, but not all.

Sea monsters stubbornly pursued us, and flying monsters disrupted navigation from above.

[Gwooooooooh!]

Hiphramagent even appeared underwater and grabbed the ship.

“It’s Mobilaus!”

A huge Grade 2 sea monster appeared.

But none of it was a big problem.

The warships were built for combat.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

The dozens of magical cannons on the ships continuously fired thunderous blasts to clear the way.

Also, the military magitech propulsion devices, different in grade from ours, were running at full power, increasing speed.

“Imeiz Nula Kini Pitia!”

Mages unleashed attack magic using the runes inscribed on the ships themselves.

Meanwhile…

Clack! Clack! Kkakkkk!

The icebreaking device attached to the front lower hull rotated, grinding the small monsters blocking the way.

‘…How much would a ship like this cost?’

It was on a different level than the warship I took on the Dark Continent expedition.

I guess the purpose of the ship itself was different.

Back then, it was for transporting as many people as possible, but this one was built strictly for naval combat.

6 hours, 12 hours, 18 hours…

A bit over a day after leaving the library island.

“Commander! The destination is in sight!”

The destination appeared.

On the 118th day since entering the labyrinth,

We had really broken through the peak rainy season and arrived at Chief Island.

Without a single casualty.

So from now on, we had one concern.

“Count Saintred, what now? Will we disembark and enter the island?”

Three days left until the rainy season ends.

Well, the frequency of monsters seemed to be dropping as the rainy season peaked…

“No, we will wait here until just before the rainy season ends.”

Jerome chose to stay on the ship.

Having experienced the rainy season directly, he judged it very dangerous to go ashore now.

Geez, never trust what a person says while they’re talking.

“See, wouldn’t it have been better if we had waited for the rainy season to end before coming out?”

“There’s no guarantee how long this journey will continue. If someday we have to endure a rainy season, it’s better to experience it when we are prepared.”

Well, I had no argument.

Since he experienced it himself, he could make the most accurate decisions even in emergencies.

“Besides, one of our expedition’s missions is to investigate this layer. We must gain as much experience as possible and bring these records back to the royal family. Including all the abnormal phenomena that occur after the rainy season.”

No matter how much they said that, it seemed like unnecessary trouble from my viewpoint, but it was different for soldiers. There was even a knight assigned for filming during battles.

‘So we’ll stay on the ship until the rainy season ends…’

That made Elwen important.

If she kept her hair intact after the rainy season, the precognitive dream wouldn’t come true.

“Elwen, do you plan to cut your hair short?”

“Huh? I like it like this now… but if you say that it’s better…”

“What nonsense! I like your long hair! Don’t ever think about cutting it, got it?”

“Y-Yes…? Ah… Yes! I absolutely won’t cut it!!!”

Okay, so she wouldn’t voluntarily cut it…

Even if all my hair burned off and I became bald, I would protect her hair no matter what.

While I was determined, Ainard shouted.

“Oh! Bjorn, you’re over there!”

I laughed softly, not understanding why.

But Amelia gave me a meaningful look.

“Hmm, I didn’t know you had that kind of taste, Yandel.”

…Do I have to explain this?

I don’t know, but Raven coughed awkwardly and started twirling the curly hair that reached his chest with his index finger.

“Ahem…!”

Ah, forget it.

Let them think whatever they want. It’s not important.

I had enough things to worry about without wasting energy on this.

“I’m going to sleep for a while, so don’t bother me until I’m ordered to switch.”

So to avoid disturbance, I went into my cabin, lay down on the bed, closed my eyes, and sorted my thoughts.

‘No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t seem like they came with orders to kill me… suddenly an execution…’

How on earth did things come to this?

‘I think the chief is involved…’

There was no solid evidence, but that was my first suspicion.

Because there was Novelight (Exclusive on Novelight) suspicion about the chief.

There might be a way for him to possess others’ bodies like an evil spirit.

‘If he really has such an ability… this could very well happen.’

There were even two versions of this case.

Commander Jerome Saintred’s body being possessed.

And…

‘My body being possessed.’

Both could explain the scene of the expedition executing me.

So from now on, the important question is one.

‘How do I prevent that situation?’

Assuming the hypothesis so far is correct, I seriously considered countermeasures.

‘Since Elwen’s hair was short…’

What if I shaved it off right now?

Then that scene wouldn’t hold, right?

‘…No way.’

After all, I heard from the goddess herself that the future can be changed. Whether or not I have hair wouldn’t make a big difference.

Something.

Yeah, something…

A flash–!

Suddenly it felt like lightning struck inside my head.

Maybe I was overcomplicating things.

‘Because the goblin saw me killed by Jerome Saintred in the precognitive dream…’

If I just get rid of him, won’t everything be solved?