Surviving The Game As A Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 709

A large room located inside the Hall of Glory.

“What did you say? Say it again.”

At my question, Marquis Terserion, the current commander-in-chief and also the prime minister, slammed his desk roughly, replying without any change in expression.

“I’ll say it one last time. As commander-in-chief, I cannot allow your transfer.”

The answer I received to my request to be sent to the front lines where our clan is located.

It was a natural response, but it was hard to accept.

Because none of the reasons made sense.

“What’s the reason for not allowing the transfer?”

“You are a titled noble.”

“I’ve heard that transfers are sometimes allowed if the person wishes it?”

“The military makes decisions and acts for the benefit of the group, not individuals.”

“How can me going there not be for the benefit of the group?”

It might be a bit un-barbarian-like, but this time, I tried my best to argue logically to persuade him.

However…

“You have work to do within the military headquarters. And I have determined that this ‘mission’ is more important than going to the front lines to fight directly.”

“Work to do…?”

“I’m only telling you this. This imperial capital, Karnon, is not safe either. The wicked Noark people infiltrated here that day, and the intelligence department has yet to uncover what they are hiding.”

“…So, what does that have to do with me?”

“No matter how sturdy a building is, if the pillars collapse, it will eventually fall. And the titled nobles gathered here are the pillars that support this country.”

“No, I’m asking what that has to do with me.”

“Isn’t there anyone as specialized in ‘protecting’ as you are in this city? I’m not asking for much. Just stay here and prepare for any emergencies.”

“Haa…”

Despite sighing, I understood why they were holding me back so much after he said all that.

Ah, of course, that doesn’t mean I agreed.

‘After all, I’m a barbarian, right?’

A simple-minded warrior who knows nothing but fighting.

A savage of this era, not bound by laws and morals.

‘Still, I’m a little worried about what might happen later…’

Then, what should I do?

Just ignore everything and act like a stubborn fool?

‘Or…’

It was when my thoughts reached that point.

As if sensing that I was thinking something strange, the marquis muttered to himself, trying to appease me.

“But well… the reason I can’t send you is all because of the Noark people who have infiltrated this city… If you were to find them all, then maybe I could consider it. Maybe then I could grant your request.”

At that, a ‘ding!’ notification sound echoed in my head for some reason.

‘Is this some kind of side quest…?’

Okay, so all I have to do is solve this, right?

***

Sometimes when playing games, there are areas that are normally inaccessible due to a ‘No Entry’ sign, but they open up after completing a specific quest.

In a way, the current situation was exactly like that.

[Find all the Noark special forces hidden in the imperial capital, Karnon.]

If I clear this quest, I can leave the imperial capital and legally go to the front lines where my comrades are.

However, the only disappointing thing here is…

“Then bring our clan here. Then I’ll take responsibility for finding them.”

“Impossible.”

“So, you’re telling me to find them all by myself?”

“Even if you say that, what’s not possible is not possible. If only your clan receives special treatment, what will the other explorers think? No one will try to fight for the royal family with sincerity.”

I thought about trying to cheat, but as expected, the marquis cut me off with a single stroke.

“Of course, you’ll need people. I’ll assign some suitable people to you separately.”

Still, I decided to think that it wasn’t a meaningless attempt since I got manpower.

“I’ll tell you in advance, you and the people assigned to you are only separately organized for a special mission, and your affiliation is with the military headquarters.”

“Understood.”

“I’m saying this because you don’t seem to understand at all. I’ll say it again, absolutely do not leave the imperial capital, Karnon, without permission. If you do, it will be considered ‘desertion’.”

“…So, I said I understood.”

“Good. Then you may leave.”

After the private meeting with the marquis ended, I returned to the main hall of the Palace of Glory and spent some time chatting with other titled nobles, gathering various information.

“Haha! What’s there to worry about? This situation is nothing more than their last struggle. The power of the royal family is absolute.”

“There’s talk that they’ll be ‘wiped out’ soon, but who knows what will happen.”

“By the way, seeing that His Majesty the King hasn’t shown himself even in this situation, it seems that there’s really no sign of his health recovering.”

Well, most of it was useless talk.

Still, I talked to as many people as possible and listened to their stories.

And how much time had passed since then?

“Baron Yandel, the unit members that the commander-in-chief mentioned have all arrived.”

I was able to meet the ‘manpower’ that the marquis mentioned faster than I thought.

There were a total of 19 people.

Including me, the total of 20 people would be organized into a ‘special search unit’ under the military headquarters and move from now on…

But that didn’t matter.

There was only one thing that surprised me.

“…Mr. Yandel?”

“Raven…?”

Heh, I never thought the marquis would send him along with me.

“Could it be that Mr. Yandel is the leader of this special search unit…?”

Raven, who also seemed to have not heard about me beforehand, was greatly flustered and surprised.

“It just happened that way. Please take care of me for the time being.”

I knew that Raven was a capable person, so I reached out my hand, thinking it was a good thing.

However, Raven had a troubled expression even while shaking my hand.

“…Ah, I’m suddenly feeling really uneasy.”

“Uneasy?”

“It’s nothing. I just realized that this is going to be a very, very dangerous mission.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on causing any trouble.”

“When did you ever have such thoughts before causing trouble?”

…Geez, that’s hurtful to a barbarian.

“Anyway, so what exactly are we supposed to do from now on?”

“Huh? Didn’t you hear anything before coming here?”

“No. I only heard that we would be doing something to find something. Since we were summoned so urgently, I just thought it must be a pretty important matter. So, what is it?”

It seemed like they were really dragged here without knowing anything, so I explained the mission we had to do from now on.

“In short, we have to start from scratch and find those people that even the royal intelligence department couldn’t find, right?”

Raven already looked like he was sighing, his expression not good. I felt a little sorry, but I lowered my pride and bowed.

“Please, take care of it.”

“No, even if you say that… it’s not like I have superpowers…”

“I can only go back to my comrades if I do this.”

When I said that and looked at him with desperate eyes, Raven, who had been silent for a while, let out a breath he had been holding back.

“Haa… okay. I’ll try my best too.”

“Yes, that’s enough.”

It wasn’t an empty promise, that promise was really enough.

How long have I known him?

Considering his personality, saying this much meant that he was sincerely going to roll up his sleeves and help.

‘Still, the marquis was thoughtful enough to send him.’

Why did the marquis, who always did things I didn’t like, do something I liked for once? While feeling a sense of wonder, I also greeted the other unit members I was seeing for the first time besides Raven.

“As you know, I am Bjorn, the son of Yandel. You there, what’s your name?”

“Marcus Baytlan, sir.”

“Oh, you’re from the Baytlan baronial family?”

“Not a direct descendant, but a collateral one, sir.”

I took some time to find out each person’s background, as well as what their specialties were.

To summarize, there were ten knights, three mages, and five ‘search unit’ members who were treated as special positions within the military…

“If you’re a search unit member, did you awaken with abilities related to detecting other abilities?”

“Yes, that’s correct, sir.”

“How good are your abilities?”

“Within a radius of 20 meters, no one can escape our eyes.”

I could feel genuine pride in the voices of the search unit members as they answered.

Well, it didn’t feel like baseless pride.

“As you may know, our search unit members always participate when the royal knights guard the gates.”

If they were used by the royal family for guarding the gates, it was safe to say that their abilities were proven.

I then turned my attention away from the search unit members and looked at the last person.

A man wearing a black uniform without any patterns or designs, unlike the usual military uniform.

“You’re from the intelligence department?”

“That is correct, sir.”

“What’s your name?”

“I hope you will understand with your great generosity that I cannot reveal it due to the regulations of the intelligence department.”

“Then answer me just this one thing. Is your name or surname perhaps ‘Hans’?”

“…?”

“It’s important, so hurry up. If you can’t answer, I’ll have no choice but to kick you out, regardless of the intelligence department.”

“I don’t know why you’re asking that, but I am not Hans.”

“Do you swear on the name of the royal family?”

“…I swear it.”

Okay, so there’s no Hans at all.

There’s no way a guy from the intelligence department would lie while swearing on the name of the royal family.

“Then what should I call you?”

“Please call me Nameless.”

Geez, with that tone and uniform, and his name is Nameless?

He looks like he doesn’t have many friends…

Okay, I’ve decided.

“Nameless is too long.”

“Nameless is too long, what does that—”

“From now on, I’ll call you Mu-mu.”

The newly named ‘Mu-mu’ had an expression that he couldn’t understand what I was talking about.

“…How is that a shortening?”

“Mu-mu, and Nameless. The pronunciation has been shortened, hasn’t it?”

“…?”

“If you don’t like it, tell me your real name. Then I’ll call you by your name.”

When I said that subtly, Mu-mu sighed and shook his head.

“It’s fine. What does a title matter, call me whatever you want.”

“Okay, Mu-mu.”

“…”

Even after giving permission, he had a constipated expression as if he didn’t like the name ‘Mu-mu’.

Well, it wasn’t my business to care.

He looked like the marquis had planted him here, so why would I treat him well?

“Anyway, before we start searching in earnest, I’d like to share what the intelligence department has found out.”

“I knew you would say that, so I prepared it in advance.”

After that, I spent time sharing information with Mu-mu from the intelligence department about which areas the military had searched, what they had found, and what clues they had obtained.

Ah, of course, there were no particular gains.

“In short, even though you searched everywhere, you couldn’t find even a single strand of hair?”

“If I had to say it, yes…”

“Hmm, then it’s possible that all the Noark people who infiltrated have no hair.”

“…Are you serious?”

“No, I was joking?”

Does he think barbarians are a brainless species?

“Okay, let’s go outside for now.”

“Do you have any leads?”

“Not really, but I’ll think of something if we just wander around, right?”

“…”

Mu-mu looked at me as if he had a lot to say, but he seemed to be holding it back.

Should I say he looked like he thought he could just kill time?

“Still, thanks to you, it’s narrowed down to some extent.”

“…?”

“It means that the Noark people didn’t hide in ordinary places.”

At that, Mu-mu, who had a hopeful expression, looked at me again with an expression that said, ‘Are you stating the obvious?’, but this point was actually important.

“It seems like the mansions of the noble families haven’t been searched.”

When I pointed out the areas that the intelligence department hadn’t searched, Mu-mu flinched and hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Baron? Baron, you don’t mean…”

Even while speaking, he looked like he didn’t think I would do that, but I had no intention of compromising on this point.

“What’s so strange about the possibility that there might be a family colluding with the Noark people?”

“D-Do you think we didn’t know that possibility and left it alone?”

“Raven, does our special search unit have the authority to search inside the mansions of noble families?”

“I don’t know? I don’t know about that?”

“Then let’s say we do from now on.”

At my brazen answer, Mu-mu looked at Raven in surprise, but Raven just nodded nonchalantly.

“Yes. After all, the marquis created this organization, so he’ll take care of the aftermath. Besides, the heads of the families are all gathered at the Palace of Glory, so the servants won’t dare stop us.”

“What are you two talking about!”

“Okay, then it’s all settled. Hurry up. We need to search as many families as possible before the heads of the families notice and take action.”

“Yes, but what does ‘search and seizure’ mean…?”

“You never know. If there are any suspicious items, we should take them and check them out.”

“Ah…”

Looking at his contemptuous expression, he seemed to have understood my intention to secretly take useful things while searching the families.

However, had he given up on stopping me?

Raven just looked at me with a resigned look and asked.

“Then which family should we start with?”

Ah, that?

It’s obvious, isn’t it?

“Our first destination is the Terserion marquisate.”