Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 302

Noark doesn’t reject evil spirits.

Therefore, unlike the surface world, quite a few openly live with their identities revealed. In fact, judging from our previous conversation, Amelia, who was born here, didn’t seem particularly hostile to evil spirits either.

But…

‘The moment I admit it, it’ll be a lifelong weakness.’

Byorn Yandel is an evil spirit.

That statement is more than just my Achilles’ heel.

It’s a bomb that could obliterate my social standing and even threaten my life.

And the detonator for that bomb has been handed to Amelia.

Of course, we have a friendly relationship right now, but…

‘No one knows what might happen later.’

What if things go wrong because of some incident?

From that day on, I wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly, and even if our relationship remains stable, it’s still a source of unease.

If she decides to use me, I’ll be called out like a dog and treated like a slave.

That’s why…

“Amelia Rainwales, are you trying to insult me right now?”

I speak in a low voice, like a beast growling.

An evil spirit doesn’t lose their memories? That’s ridiculous.

It could just be a story she made up to test me.

No, even if the medicine really had such a characteristic, I have to make it seem like it was a defective product—

“What if I am insulting you?”

“…Huh?”

This is the first time I’ve encountered someone so brazen…

While I was momentarily flustered, Amelia spoke.

“Are you going to attack me? It’ll be even harder to get the item the lord is keeping without my help, you know?”

“…Don’t test my patience.”

Amelia scoffed at my words.

“The fact that you’re saying that proves you’re not that angry. If you were, you would have attacked me already. Like the other barbarians.”

“…”

“Come to think of it, it was strange from the first time we met. I told you to beg for your life in the name of a warrior’s honor, but you didn’t hesitate for even a moment.”

“…”

“But an insult? Isn’t it a bit funny to say that now?”

Ha, is this karma?

After she said that, I suddenly have nothing to say.

Therefore, the only option left for me now is one.

“To laugh at a barbarian, you must have a problem with your head.”

It was a final warning.

If I hesitate any longer, it’s obvious that I’ll be at a disadvantage.

With that thought, I was about to tense my body.

“Why, are you really going to attack me? Like you did to the evil spirit hunter who came to find you back then?”

Huh?

She even knows about that?

“…You, did you even investigate me?”

“There were more than one or two suspicious things. It’s not just me, most people would have done it. Well, after you received the noble title, everyone stopped suspecting you, like me.”

Amelia continued to speak without giving me a chance to interject.

“But to think you were really an evil spirit. You’re quite talented. How did you even get the noble title? No matter how much the secret security department cleared you, the royal family would have tried to verify you separately since it was a title conferment.”

Oh, there was no such thing.

I don’t know, but it’s good.

I can use this.

“Can’t you consider that it was because I’m not an evil spirit?”

I said, confidently puffing out my chest, but Amelia didn’t even listen and immediately replied.

“As I said before, only evil spirits don’t lose their memories from that medicine.”

“Defective product—”

“That’s not possible.”

Is she a stubborn mule?

Her guard is so tight that nothing I say gets through.

What should I do?

While I was pondering, Amelia muttered something.

“…Hmm, now that I think about it, the royal family might have known and turned a blind eye. You were like a hero in the city back then.”

Huh, what is she talking about now?

I’m curious about what she’s going to say next, but I barely held back because I thought it would be like admitting it if I asked.

But, did it show on my face?

“You look like you don’t understand what I mean.”

“No, not at all. Why would I even be curious about that in the first place?”

Amelia chuckled at my denial.

“You’re not going to admit it until the end, are you?”

“Of course. I’m not something like an evil spirit.”

“Well, that’s like you. Fine. It’s not like there’s no other way.”

Amelia then took out a disc the size of a compass from her subspace.

It was an item that I couldn’t not know, even if I tried.

‘Damn it, why is this here?’

No.7234 Distorted Trust.

A consumable item that prevents you from lying within a 10-meter radius when activated, and the one that caused all that chaos in the Doppelganger Forest.

“I didn’t see it when you unpacked your luggage from the merchant guild.”

“I bought it separately when I was living in the city before. I thought it would be useful in a city like this. I didn’t expect to use it on you first, though.”

Right, that’s how it was.

You had already simulated how to corner me by combining the cards you already had.

“Looking at your expression, I don’t think I need to explain what this is. Well, if you’re an evil spirit, you would know.”

Click.

Amelia pressed the groove on the top of ‘Distorted Trust’.

And placed it on the bedside table between the beds.

The second hand started moving slowly, ticking.

In that state, Amelia asked.

“Byorn Yandel, are you an evil spirit?”

It was checkmate.

***

A suffocating silence continues.

In that silence, I desperately racked my brain.

‘…What should I do?’

It’s not a matter of whether to reveal that I’m an evil spirit or not.

That was already decided the moment ‘Distorted Trust’ appeared.

‘It’s not a fake.’

Unfortunately, ‘Distorted Trust’ was genuine.

I tested it as soon as it was activated.

I couldn’t even say a lie like ‘I’m a woman’.

“There are 5 minutes left.”

“…”

“Are you just going to keep doing that?”

An item where silence itself becomes an answer.

The fact that I’m an evil spirit has already been proven.

Therefore, the only thing I’m worried about is one thing.

‘Kill her?’

Since it’s the most important secret for me, extreme measures are also tempting.

But…

‘…Let’s not think about such nonsense.’

I tried to shake off that thought.

In the first place, killing her is impossible.

To be honest, it’s not like I have no chance of winning in a 1:1 fight, but…

If Amelia chooses to flee, it won’t be easy to chase her.

Also, if I fall out with her right now, all my future plans will be in the dark.

‘Besides, she looks like the type who would be a huge pain in the ass if she became an enemy.’

Then, there’s only one way.

It’s not a barbarian-like solution, but since she’s a woman trapped in black and white logic, if I don’t want to be her enemy, I have to become her friend.

“It’s a waste to just let it go like this, so I should say something. The statement that ‘only evil spirits don’t lose their memories from the medicine’ is not a made-up story, it’s true.”

I finally ended my long deliberation.

“…Yes, I am an evil spirit.”

My second coming out, following Lee Baek-ho.

Amelia didn’t seem particularly surprised.

She probably already knew, and I just said it to admit it myself.

“You have a strange expression.”

“…You wouldn’t know. How relieved and frustrated I am right now.”

“Somehow—”

Suddenly, Amelia stopped talking.

At first, I wondered what it was, but I soon understood the situation.

‘Distorted Trust’ recognized it as a lie and blocked her mouth.

“Were you perhaps going to say something like ‘I’m sorry’?”

“…”

Ha, I’m so dumbfounded.

I was furious for a moment, but I barely managed to hold it back.

Right, I can’t become her enemy, can I?

Now that it’s been revealed that I’m an evil spirit, I have to become her best friend in the world.

Right, so let’s check this first.

“But are you okay? Even though I’m an evil spirit.”

“If you’re asking if I have any ill feelings like the people in the city, the answer is no. I used to work with an evil spirit as a team for over a year.”

“…Then why were you so persistent in digging into it?”

“Because I was curious.”

This was the second hurdle.

Just for that reason, she dug into something that a person wanted to hide at all costs?

Just as steam was rising from my head.

“…It’s strange, but I keep getting entangled with you. So I was curious. If you were hiding something, if I could trust you.”

Amelia said, avoiding my gaze.

Looking at ‘Distorted Trust’ working, it’s not an empty word or something she doesn’t mean…

Ha, that makes it hard to get angry—

“Ah, of course, I also calculated that if I had a weakness of yours, you wouldn’t be able to betray me easily.”

She shouldn’t have said that.

Well, what can I do? That’s just how she is.

“I have a question.”

“…Ask away.”

“If you’re an evil spirit, why were you so angry about Yandel Jarku’s death? Was it guilt?”

“That’s…”

I don’t know either.

I tried to answer that, but the words wouldn’t come out.

So I just admitted it honestly.

“Yes.”

“Hmm, you’re actually a very sensitive person.”

Amelia looked at me with an interested expression.

“Is your goal to return like other evil spirits?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Because of those companions?”

“…”

“You’ve always been so sentimental, it seems.”

Seriously, why is she so interested in me?

I should change the subject soon…

Click.

At that moment, the needle of ‘Distorted Trust’ stopped moving with a click.

It meant that the effect duration had ended.

‘I’m finally alive.’

I quickly changed the topic of conversation.

Whether I like it or not, I’ve revealed that I’m an evil spirit.

I need to check the things I couldn’t ask about because I was trying to hide my identity.

“Amelia, why were you looking for Auriel Gavis before?”

“Ah, come to think of it, if you’re an evil spirit, you would know about him.”

“Do I just know about him? I even met him directly a while ago.”

“You met him?”

“Let’s talk about that later, answer what I’m asking first.”

“…My sister died, and he was there that day.”

“What?”

“I thought he must have been involved in some way. So I wanted to meet him and hear the truth. That’s all.”

Hmm, it’s less than I thought.

I thought there would be a bigger secret.

‘No, the fact that the old man was there that day is not bad information. Maybe I can find out what the old man’s goal is during this journey.’

“Okay, then tell me. Where did you meet him?”

“Do you know about the Ghost Busters?”

“If you’re talking about the gathering of evil spirits, I know to some extent.”

Okay, then there’s less to explain.

“I thought I wouldn’t be summoned since it was 20 years ago, but I fell asleep and was summoned. I met someone there who claimed to be Auriel Gavis.”

After briefly explaining that I was caught for being from the future while talking, I continued.

“The important thing is from now on, so listen carefully. The old man said that no matter what we do here, we can’t change the past.”

“…He said that?”

“Yes, I couldn’t believe it either, so I tested it. And the result was what I said back then.”

Dwarki and Raven.

I tried to change their future, but the situation flowed as if even that action was part of the cause and effect.

“So I’ll ask again, Amelia.”

“…”

“Are you still going to try?”

Amelia didn’t answer.

When I said it last time, she didn’t even flinch.

It seems that the weight of Auriel Gavis’s words was different.

“I’m going to try.”

After a long time of quietly calming her emotions, Amelia opened her mouth.

“It’s too late to give up now.”

Too late…

It’s like someone who bought stocks at the peak of a cliff.

“I see. Then I’ll help too.”

Instead of recommending a cut loss, I expressed my intention to join her.

She’s a woman with a lot of hidden kindness, isn’t she?

If I build up her favorability and make her owe me, she won’t think about playing with my weakness—

“…I’m tired, I’ll rest first.”

Then Amelia ended the conversation and lay down on the bed.

I was a little embarrassed.

‘Huh? She’s going to sleep? Isn’t this the time to say thank you?’

I didn’t expect lines like ‘I’m relieved to have you’ or ‘I’m glad you’re here’, but I didn’t expect her to just lie down without saying anything.

Huh, this is messing up my plan…

How can I score points?

“Amelia, are you asleep?”

“…?”

“I, I was just wondering if you were tired, I could give you a massage.”

“…”

“Ah, right… It’s a bit much, isn’t it? Sorry for disturbing your rest.”

I lay down on the opposite bed, watching Amelia’s reaction.

I closed my eyes, but there was no way I could fall asleep.

That’s how a time of silence flowed endlessly.

“What’s your real name?”

Then, a question flew in without any warning, and I just answered honestly.

I don’t know why she suddenly became curious about my real name, but since I’ve been caught as an evil spirit, my real name isn’t that important, and I judged that refusing to answer could lower my favorability.

Well, yes.

It must have been like that…

“Hans? So your name is Hans? It’s a surprisingly common name—”

I couldn’t help but swear.

“What the fuck?”

Even if it’s like that, this is crossing the line.