Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 430

A slightly gloomy sky.
Yet, the sunlight still manages to peek through.
A warm embrace that pushes away the chill that had seeped into my bones.
Here, there’s no shivering cold, no hunger.

‘Now… it feels a bit real. We really… came back alive…’

As always, the city we returned to after enduring hardships presented us with a peculiar sensation.
We were certainly happy to have survived, but our hearts were heavy.
Because there were those who couldn’t come back with us.

‘If only we had held on a little longer… just a little bit more…’

If only.
Perhaps a few more people could have come back with us.

‘Marone, dear.’

Sven Parav, who was beside her, called her name, drawing her attention. Marone stopped her muttering and gritted her teeth.
After all, returning to the city wasn’t the end.
It was too early to relax. Perhaps even more difficult challenges than in the labyrinth awaited us.
But…

Clench-.

Even the complaints rising from within were forcibly swallowed.
It wasn’t just because this place was the mansion where we had stayed for a few days before entering the labyrinth, and thus we had to be careful.
It was simply because we shouldn’t.
No matter how high and treacherous the mountain we had to climb was.
We had to leave behind those who fought until the very end just to stand here.

‘Kaislan, are you feeling alright?’

‘Ah, I couldn’t be better. But it seems I’m the last one here?’

Soon, Kaislan, who had been summoned by the priest dispatched to the empty mansion, returned, and all the members gathered in the reception room.

‘Why don’t you take a walk instead of just staying here? The weather looks quite nice today.’

‘I wish I could.’

‘You wish you could?’

‘You saw the knights in front of the reception room on your way here, right? They stop us even if we just try to go outside for a moment.’

Marone, the mage, voiced her dissatisfaction at Akuraba’s explanation.

‘Ha! It’s as if we’ve done something wrong! We’ve returned after completing our mission, and this is how we’re treated? We should be treated like heroes, not this!’

‘Um, Marone, dear…’

‘What! Did I say something wrong?’

Sven Parav glanced at me, but there was nothing I could do to stop her.
It would be strange if they didn’t complain at least this much.
Besides, I had told them to do so in the first place.
The important thing was something else.

‘Haha, well, our expedition team belongs to the military. We can’t say our journey is over until we officially report to the higher-ups.’

‘Still, I’m from the military too, but isn’t this too strict?’

‘Now, now, calm down. Aren’t we the ones who achieved the task of destroying the Eye of the Sky to turn the tide of the war? Once the report is all done, then comes the time for the reward we’ve all been waiting for.’

‘Whew, is it finally here?’

James Kala responded with a whistle to Kaislan’s words.
Then, the conversation naturally continued.
Stories about how they were looking forward to the rewards, or what I would ask for, those kinds of materialistic talks.
Of course, these were all words meant for the guys outside to hear.
The conversation we were having would be relayed to the ears of high-ranking officials.

‘Hey, mister, they still managed to get us some food quickly. Try some of this.’

‘Ah, thanks.’

As I tore into the meat on the plate Erwen had brought, I reviewed the events that had happened so far once more.
I had to prepare countermeasures in case there were any mistakes.

‘…The guys at the checkpoint didn’t seem to know anything.’

As soon as we returned to the dimensional plaza, we put our backpacks into the subordinate sub-space [a pocket dimension].
We had carefully organized the equipment we could show the royal family and the items we couldn’t, storing them separately.
And then we arrived at the checkpoint.
There, I loudly declared that we were a special unit of the royal family and asked for the Marquis to be summoned.
It was a deliberate action.

‘Since there were so many explorers at the checkpoint, the stories about the special unit must have spread throughout the city by now.’

The checkpoint official who contacted the Marquis was initially flustered, but then he just kept repeating the Marquis’s words that we should be ‘kept there’ and held us back.
And then…

[We will guide you from now on.]

Less than 30 minutes later, the Marquis’s knights arrived. They escorted us to the empty mansion in the capital where the inauguration ceremony had been held.

[We will carry your luggage.]

[Luggage…?]

[It is the Marquis’s order. I swear on my knight’s honor that no items will be lost.]

Even the backpacks containing the spoils we could show were taken away in the process, and after arriving at the mansion, we were treated one by one by the priests the knights had called.
That’s how time had passed until now.
Knock knock.
Soon, a knock was heard, and the door opened.
Yeah, it’s about time.
They’ve finally finished assessing the situation, have they?

‘The Marquis requests to meet with you all.’

From now on, let’s stay sharp.

***

The place we arrived at, following the knights, was a reception room similar to the one we had been in. The only slightly unusual thing was that the seat of honor was empty, and…

There was a crystal ball placed in that spot.

‘A message stone, huh…’

It was so absurd that I couldn’t help but laugh.
It wasn’t that far from here to the Marquis’s estate, yet they were using long-distance communication.
Well, it seems they know, at least.
That they had done something terrible to us that would warrant having their heads smashed the moment our eyes met.

[I apologize for greeting you in this manner, as I have urgent business.]

‘Well, I guess it can’t be helped.’

[Hmm, judging by the fact that you’re not using honorifics… it seems the members already know?]

A subtle voice was heard as soon as we sat on the sofa.
It wasn’t something to hide, so I coolly admitted it.

‘It just so happened that we got found out. I already said that I’m Bjorn Yandel. Ah, of course, only to the extent that I had no choice but to work with the royal family.’

[I’m glad to hear that.]

‘More importantly, isn’t there something you should say first?’

At this point, I ended the introduction and got to the main point.
With a slightly angry voice.

‘Now, tell me. Why didn’t the rescue team come?’

We had discussed what would be the most natural reaction during the time we had to spare.

‘Surely you couldn’t have missed my voice sent across the entire region. What happened?’

[…The exact situation is still being investigated.]

‘You’re still investigating even though you’re contacting us this late, and through a crystal ball?’

[From what I’ve heard, it seems there were more enemy forces in Deadwood than expected. So, they tried to rescue you, but they had no choice but to give up.]

It was the kind of answer I had expected.
However, I hadn’t anticipated this.

[It seems that when you sent the communication across the region, the Noark side also noticed the presence of the rescue team.]

Wow, they’re even saying it’s my fault here…
How thick is this Marquis’s face?

‘Then what about the fact that we didn’t get contacted in the first place? If we had been contacted properly from the start, none of this would have happened!’

[That… it seems there was some kind of mistake on my son’s part.]

‘…Mistake?’

I asked back as if I had heard a word I shouldn’t have.
And…

[I apologize for this on his behalf. I’m sorry—.]

I exploded in anger.

‘Behel—laaaaaaaaaaaaa!’

Not towards the Marquis or the royal family.
But towards the person who was just a pawn.

‘Eltora Terserion!’

[Wait, calm down—.]

‘So, it was all because of that bastard! Because he was incompetent! Because he mistakenly failed to receive our contact in time!’

[So, that’s—.]

‘Marquis! Where is that bastard? Ah, don’t tell me. I feel like I’ll accidentally crush his head the moment I find him.’

[……]

I smashed the table in front of me with my fist, as if I couldn’t contain my anger.
Then, I took a deep breath.

[…Have you calmed down a bit?]

The Marquis’s gaze beyond the crystal ball was filled with doubt.
Well, it wouldn’t be like me to get angry like this.
Even if I was a bit more aggressive than the average person, I always acted realistically based on gains and losses.
So…

‘Compensation.’

At this point, I suppressed my anger and spoke.
It wasn’t that my anger had completely subsided.
But it was as if I had been openly angry all along for this reason.

‘You’d better have the compensation prepared properly. I took on the role of the expedition’s commander as you wished, and I succeeded in the mission.’

[Ah… of course. Compensation… yes, of course, we must.]

As soon as the Marquis’s promise was made, I moved my head and exchanged glances with the members.
Then, some of the members nodded as if to say I had done well.
Details are important in these kinds of things.

[Now, then, let’s postpone talking about compensation for the mistake for later…]

‘……’

[Could you tell me? What happened there?]

Right, this is the part.
I took a breath and began the story I had prepared. It took a bit longer because the Marquis kept interrupting with questions, but it didn’t take an hour for the story to be finished.

[You went through a lot because of my incompetent son.]

A short remark the Marquis made after the story was over.
A lot of trouble, huh…
Somehow, I felt the blood rush to my head at the fact that it ended with just that one sentence, but I managed to hold it back.

[I will make sure you receive proper compensation for my son’s mistake. I will use my influence to the fullest.]

The Marquis continued.

[And… I sincerely congratulate you on your safe return.]

Oh, how nice of you to say something you don’t mean.

[Then, I’ll contact you again.]

Anyway, that was the end of the communication with the Marquis.

‘We will escort you to your rooms.’

Did our story get through, or not?
Well, I guess we’ll find out as time passes.

***

Afterward, we were guided to our respective rooms by the knights.
A large bed with fluffy bedding.
The warm sunlight streaming through the window.
It was too much of a room considering the time we had spent sleeping on the ice with our bare bodies, but my body, which had accumulated 75 days of fatigue, showed no signs of falling asleep easily.
Perhaps it was the same for my companions in the other rooms.
There was also the anxiety that the knights might attack us the moment we fell asleep.

‘……’

Nevertheless, the moment I lay down, my body began to feel drowsy, and I soon fell asleep.
And…

‘My head is still attached.’

The next morning, I woke up perfectly fine.
Sigh, from now on, will I have to go to sleep with this kind of anxiety every day, even in the city?
We still have a long way to go.

‘Well, what can I do? I still have to do it.’

Anyway, that’s how we greeted the second day of our return.
We received the backpacks that had been taken from us the day before.
At that time, the Marquis’s answer to my question of why they had taken them in the first place was truly something.

[Oh dear… it seems it was conveyed in that way. I simply wanted to have your spoils appraised on your behalf, as you must be tired, and to convey my intention to purchase them at a higher price than the market value. I will make sure to give strict instructions so that my words are not misinterpreted in the future.]

It was absurd, but the Marquis actually kept his word.
He bought items that we were willing to sell at a much higher price than the market value, and we didn’t miss this opportunity to dispose of all the unnecessary things.
Wow, we’ll have plenty of military funds from now on.

[Ah, and one more thing. Because of your appearance at the checkpoint, there’s a lot of public interest in the expedition team.]

There was also good news amidst all of this.
The message that ‘the Eye of the Sky has been destroyed’ that had spread throughout the Dark Continent during the war.
And the special unit of the royal family that appeared in the city.
Perhaps it was thanks to these two things combined that the rumors spread so quickly.

[There will be a triumphal return ceremony in two days.]

‘A triumphal return ceremony?’

[It will be held at the royal palace, and on that day, your existence, which has been kept secret, will be announced in front of the kingdom’s nobles and citizens, and your achievements will be praised.]

Well, I expected it, but two days is too fast.
Is it possible to process things this quickly?
I had doubts, but I soon understood.

‘Ah, they had already prepared it.’

The triumphal return ceremony must have been prepared in advance.
Just because there were no survivors, it didn’t mean they couldn’t hold a festival.
They must have been planning to mourn the annihilated expedition team and divide the credit for destroying the Eye of the Sky among themselves.

[So, please prepare. I will send you the details of the event and the ceremony, so please read them. Ah, of course, we will prepare all the costumes as well.]

‘Okay. I’ll pass it on to the members.’

[As I said earlier, there’s a lot of public interest. Even if it’s uncomfortable, please stay here and hide until then for the sake of a successful triumphal return ceremony. If you need anything or have any special requests, please let me know at any time.]

‘Ah, in that case, there’s one thing I’d like to ask…’

I asked the Marquis for one thing, and after that, time passed quickly.
And so.

‘Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah-!’

‘The heroes are coming!’

The day of the triumphal return ceremony dawned.