Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 286

After Raven left the library, I considered following her to find out where she lived, but I stopped myself. That wouldn’t be appropriate behavior for a colleague. She hasn’t shared her family situation with me until now because she doesn’t want to reveal it. If I’m truly curious, it’s better to ask her directly later.

‘……So, what should I do now?’

After Raven left, I tried to continue organizing my plans, but I couldn’t concentrate, so I just left. After grabbing a quick meal and lazing around in bed, Amelia, who had gone out early, returned.

“……Have you been doing that all day?”

“So?”

You told me to stay home, didn’t you?

As I stared at her with that look, Amelia shook her head and tossed a heavy pouch.

“Here, take this.”

“……Money?”

“It’s the proceeds from selling the equipment and items the looters had. I’ve divided it exactly in half, so tomorrow, go to the city and get the equipment you’ll need.”

“Oh, that’s quite a lot?”

“There aren’t many blacksmiths in Noark, so it’s hard to get new equipment. Don’t waste it, and only use it where it’s necessary.”

Geez, with the nagging.

“How’s your work going? Is it progressing well?”

“It’s still in progress.”

Amelia said she would let me know when there were results, and then she disappeared somewhere, saying she had things to do.

Was she just here to give me the money?

‘I should go get some barbecue tomorrow.’

After dawn, I went out early to Commelby, the commercial district known as the ‘Free Market.’ And I requested custom-made equipment from the blacksmith I often used.

They said it would take about three weeks……

‘This place was doing well 20 years ago too.’

Well, I understand.

There aren’t many places in Commelby that offer high-quality equipment at a good price like this.

‘Since I’m here, I should look around a bit.’

After that, since there wasn’t much else to do, I just wandered around and enjoyed the sights. I checked the prices at the central exchange, asked the local explorers about good restaurants from 20 years ago, and so on. I spent time until just after the last train and then went back to the inn at night for a drink before going to sleep.

And the next day, the morning of the third day.

‘Hoo, I’m nervous.’

I visited the holy site. I was worried that someone might talk to me because I was a new face……

‘Is it because there are so many people? The holy site is completely different from what it was 20 years later.’

Fortunately, the things I was worried about didn’t happen. There were many differences from our time, where we memorized the names and faces of all our classmates, even those a year above or below us.

‘Okay, let’s quickly leave the letter and get out of here.’

Soon, I was loitering near the tribal chief’s tent, and while the chief was away, I slipped in the letter I had written the day before and left the holy site. And then I visited the Leatlass Order. Coincidentally, there was a request notice that was just right. The content was to repair the buildings under the Order. The reward was public contribution points, which was practically a volunteer activity.

“It has been accepted.”

The request start date was three days later, so today, I just submitted the application and went out into the street. That’s all I have to do today…… Since I had quite a bit of time left, I moved to the library. And as I was quietly organizing my thoughts like yesterday, the chair across from me was pulled out with a sound.

*Creak.*

Yeah, she came again.

“Nice to see you, Arua.”

“……”

She greeted me by calling my name, but Raven’s expression was sulky.

“Why didn’t you come yesterday?”

It’s like she was expecting me to be there. She was the one who left without looking back, saying it was time to go.

“Anyway, have you eaten?”

“Yeah.”

To my question, Raven replied that she had eaten a piece of bread she had brought from home.

Geez, that’s not a meal.

“Let’s go out, let’s get some barbecue.”

“……Barbecue?”

“Do you not like it?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I’ve never had it before.”

Sigh, this kid is really making this old man tear up.

“Then you can try it today. What are you doing? Get up quickly. You can study later.”

“But……”

“We’re just going to the shop right in front of us, so don’t worry too much.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

Annoyed by being treated like a child, Raven closed her book and got off the chair. And she moved one seat over, putting a little more distance between us.

“Don’t pity me. I can buy meat with my own money later.”

It seemed that the act of trying to buy her something was a great blow to her pride. Sigh, it was my mistake. There must be an approach that suits this type of person.

“Ah, I’m sorry if you thought that.”

When I honestly apologized, Raven got off the chair again. And……

“You’re the first adult to apologize. I’ll let it slide.”

She went back to the seat she had been sitting in. This is just like a cat.

“I’m going to read now, so don’t bother me.”

Soon, Raven said that in a clear voice and started reading her book. I was a little dumbfounded. When did I ever bother her……

“……”

“……”

Anyway, time passed quietly with that appropriate distance between us.

*Thump.*

Raven spoke again when she turned the last page of the book she was reading.

“……Are you an explorer?”

Honestly, it was a question I was wondering when she would ask. Kids are crazy about this kind of thing.

“Yeah, I’m an explorer.”

“What’s your rank?”

“Rank 5…… No, Rank 6.”

I quickly corrected myself. Just in case, I decided that it was right to base all my answers on the ‘Nivels Enche’ standard.

“Is that high?”

“It’s just average. Most of the explorers you read about in the books here would be above Rank 4.”

“Oh, I see.”

Surprisingly, Raven didn’t pick a fight with me for having a low rank or show any signs of ignoring me. She was just curious.

“Can you tell me about it?”

“About the labyrinth?”

“Yeah.”

After that, I told her stories about what happened in the labyrinth, fun incidents I had heard while living as an explorer, and exaggerated tales, as if I were playing with a child. Ah, I left out the bad stories as much as possible. Raven is different from Dwarki. Yeah, we have to protect the children’s innocence.

“That’s fun. Are all Barbarians like you?”

“It’s not ‘you,’ it’s Nivels Enche.”

“Ah, sorry. I’ll call you by your name properly from now on.”

Unlike my first impression of her as a crazy kid, Raven was surprisingly well-grounded. She was considerate and tried not to do to others what she didn’t like. She just had one deficiency.

“But why do you go around picking fights with adults?”

“I didn’t pick a fight.”

“A smart kid like you must know that there are better ways than suddenly zapping people with electricity.”

“……I don’t know, about that.”

From our conversation, I realized that Raven had a strong desire to be recognized. Well, who doesn’t have that desire…… But hers was several times stronger than other kids her age. Perhaps the reason she zapped random passersby with electricity was an expression of that desire. She wanted to show off that she was a mage to anyone. Well, she probably never got the reaction she was hoping for. Based on my experience, when you suddenly get zapped with electricity, you only think one thing: Is this crazy kid out of her mind?

“Then I’m going to go now. Take care.”

It was a little earlier than yesterday, but Raven left the library as if she was running away from an uncomfortable topic. So I just went back to the inn too. And three days passed.

***

20 years ago, in the past. There was a time when I was fascinated by that fact and wandered around the streets every day, but I quickly lost interest. After all, what’s so special about it being 20 years ago? In the end, it’s still just a place where people live. So, for the past three days, I’ve mostly been at the inn, except for chatting with Raven at the library.

‘Ah, come to think of it, I didn’t tell her that I can’t go today.’

After meeting and talking every day for a few days, I became quite close to Raven. Not only did I tell her stories about the labyrinth, but she even started talking about her family first.

‘……That was unexpected.’

Raven was from a single-parent family. However, it wasn’t that her father had died, but that he had an affair and left home a year ago? Ah, by the way, her father was also a mage. No matter how smart she was, I wondered how she could learn magic just by reading books in the library, but it was possible because her father had laid the foundation for her.

[Anyway, that’s why my mom hates me learning magic. She sold all the books in the house. I think it reminds her of him.]

I was taken aback by the sudden family story, but Raven said it as if it was nothing. In my opinion, even that was part of her defense mechanism. If she pretended that it was nothing to others, it would feel like it was nothing to her too.

‘Ha, this is really heartbreaking……’

So, recently, I’ve developed a new goal. The goal is to help Raven get into the Magic Tower. Well, she’ll become a member of the Magic Tower someday even if it’s not me…… ‘The sooner she gets in, the better.’ Maybe when I return to the future, Raven will be an even greater mage. Hmm, but then would our first meeting be different? ‘Eh, how different could it be?’ It would just make the vampire war a little easier, and even if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t matter. The past has already been twisted. I left a letter at the holy site. Not only that, but in three weeks, I will go down to Noark with Amelia and save the life of someone who should have died. ‘If it’s going to change anyway, it’s better to guide it to change in a way that’s at least a little better for us.’ Yeah, in that sense……

*Thump.*

Having arrived at my destination, I took a deep breath at the entrance. ‘I’m a little nervous.’ The Leatlass Order’s orphanage. The place where Dwarki spent his childhood.

“Ah, are you Nivels Enche?”

“Yes, I am.”

“If you wait here for a moment, the work foreman will tell you what to do today. Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thank you.”

Soon, I went into the orphanage and said that I had come to volunteer, and then I sat down and waited. As I was doing so, a rough-looking man came and led me and a few other volunteers to the site.

“As you can see, the building is a bit old, and there are quite a few places that are uncomfortable and dangerous for the children to live in. We’ve mixed experienced people with newcomers, so let’s all work hard today.”

For about a week starting today, my job here is to repair the old building. It felt a bit strange. The last time I was here, I was carrying luggage right before demolition, not doing repairs.

“Hey, Barbarian! The morning work is over, so go take a break!”

Anyway, I worked hard as I was told, and then I went to the open space where the children were playing during my free time. It wasn’t hard to find Dwarki. There was a kid reading a book alone under the shade of a tree while everyone else was running around. ‘……He didn’t have any friends even back then.’ I drank the water in my canteen and naturally went to the shade and sat next to him. However, the lines I had prepared to get close to him naturally didn’t come to mind. I just remembered his last moment. There were many things I wanted to say to him when I met him again someday.

“I, I’ll move. Please, rest……”

Feeling uncomfortable with my gaze, Dwarki hesitated and stood up. That’s when I came to my senses. I can get lost in my feelings later, but for now, let’s do what I have to do.

“Sit down.”

“Y-yes!”

“……You can speak comfortably. I won’t bite.”

“……”

Dwarki sat back down at my words, but he was just looking at me nervously, as if he was sitting on pins and needles. Sigh, I didn’t know he would be this passive. “What’s your name?”

“Riol.”

“What’s your last name?”

“I don’t want to say.”

“I’m Nivels Enche. A Rank 6 explorer.”

“Yes……”

Sigh, I feel like I’m bullying him. Usually, wouldn’t they be happy if someone who looked like an explorer came? Like these kids.

“Wow, it’s a Barbarian!”

“Is that a tattoo? Did it hurt when you got it?”

When I sat on the ground, the children who were playing came to me with curiosity. And when I revealed that I was an explorer, they begged me to tell them stories about the labyrinth. I looked at Dwarki’s expression, who had moved to a corner. ‘He could have slipped away, but he’s still here, so he must be curious.’ Dwarki also seemed to want to hear about the labyrinth, as he was looking this way from afar. So, I started to tell my stories in earnest. Ah, of course, it was a different version from the one I had told Raven, which was full of dreams and innocence.

“Goblins! Have you ever caught a goblin?”

“Yeah, I’ve killed them. I crushed their eyeballs like this with my hand, and then I hit them here with my fist. Their skulls are quite hard, so I had to hit them three times.”

“Wow……”

“I also remember the time I suddenly stepped on a trap. I thought I was going to die then. My muscles and tendons were torn, so I couldn’t use one of my feet at all. I crawled in the dark for hours, unable to walk properly, looking for someone to save me.”

“Uh oh……”

“Yeah. It was a tough experience, even thinking about it now. I don’t know if a bone was sticking out on my shin, but it hurt so much every time the bone touched the ground. In the middle, the goblin paralysis poison wore off, and I thought I was going crazy. I didn’t know it then, but later I found out that I was missing a molar.”

“……Huh?”

It seemed that they weren’t expecting such realistic stories, as the children’s faces darkened as the story went on. Well, who would have come and told them these kinds of stories?

“Ah, and one more thing. Usually, people think that monsters turn into magic stones as soon as they die, but that’s a misconception. They pour out brain fluid from their nose and ears, and they still stare at me for about 3 seconds. With this kind of look.”

“……”

“Are you not having fun just hearing about monsters? Then I’ll tell you about people. I once met a looter who wore human ears as necklaces……”

“……Uwaaaaaah!”

One of the little girls who was trembling in the front cried and ran away. Regardless, I continued my story.

“Is this not good? Then this time, I’ll tell you about the first time my arm was torn off.”

“……”

“Is this not good either? Then…… Hmm, I should tell you about the time the guild framed me and tried to kill me.”

“Excuse me……”

“Yeah?”

“Is that, is that all you have?”

Just as I was about to continue my story again, one of the children asked me, trembling. I nodded without hesitation.

“Then what are you expecting? I don’t know what kind of stories you’ve heard so far, but these kinds of terrible things happen every day during exploration.”

This was the honest truth. Even though you smiled at that moment, saying that you were glad you became an explorer. It was definitely a terrible thing.

“Yeah, so……”

I pointedly looked at Dwarki and said,

“You guys, don’t do this kind of thing. Okay?”