Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 237

The moment I spoke.

“……!”

The clown took a deep breath, his bewilderment clear despite his mask.

That reaction alone confirmed the truth.

However, perhaps the information was too shocking.

“A corpse collector……?”

The members stared, their eyes wide with disbelief, at the jewel on the round table.

Soon, the jewel glowed a clear green.

“……It was true.”

Now, their gazes shifted again.

Not to the now-useless jewel, but to the clown, who seemed to have frozen.

“…….”

Under the wary, perhaps hostile, gazes, the clown remained silent.

Of course, it wasn’t because he was uncomfortable with their stares.

If he were that type, he wouldn’t have revealed his connection to Noah’s Ark in the first place.

‘He must be surprised that I know his identity.’

Originally, I hadn’t planned to reveal it either.

Well, it’s almost impossible to connect ‘Bjorn Yandel’ with just this information….

I figured revealing it would only cause more problems.

‘But the stage was set on its own.’

If I had revealed his identity first, the clown might have thought I had recently obtained that information.

But what about now?

[Crescent Moon said that Lion seemed to know all of our identities. But it seems that’s not the case.]

The clown provoked me, creating a natural setup.

No, was that all?

This guy even revealed he was from Noah’s Ark himself. In short, he wasn’t the type to leave the gathering even if his identity was exposed.

‘Well, since he’s a player known worldwide, his personal information wouldn’t be as valuable as the others’.

Thanks to that, I had no reason to hold back.

I could expose his identity and mess with him, while also keeping him around to gather as much information as possible, maintaining Plan B?

There were even several additional benefits.

Now that it was revealed he was from Noah’s Ark, the members would openly expect information from that side.

Also, I could further solidify the Lion persona in front of the members, and leave room for the newcomer Queen to be mistaken.

This was also very important for me.

The more the Lion seemed like a veteran, the harder it would be to link me to Bjorn Yandel.

It was truly a great gain.

“……A secret chat room with a corpse collector, I’m glad I joined.”

The Queen muttered, breaking the short silence.

“……Heh heh, I’ve been hit hard.”

Only then did the clown come to his senses, forcing a laugh as if he hadn’t lost his composure.

“…….”

The Goblin had been unable to make eye contact with the clown since hearing the words ‘corpse collector,’ and the Fox and Antler were looking at me with even more wary eyes than they were at the clown.

“……You really knew everything.”

“Just who are you…….”

Yes, that’s it.

I suppressed the urge to smile and pretended to be as indifferent as possible. As I did, the attention shifted back to the clown.

“Well, how about you give us your thoughts on having your identity exposed? Corpse collector.”

Antler, with an aggressive tone, spoke as if he had a score to settle.

However, the clown didn’t back down at all.

“……Heh, well? Thoughts? Just that Mr. Lion is more dangerous than I thought?”

“Still pretending to be calm until the end.”

“Tsk, that’s why they say you only see what you want to see. Do you think I care about you guys? I’m not like you guys, hiding in the shadows.”

What the clown said wasn’t entirely wrong.

However, perhaps they sensed something in his tone.

“……Surely, even in this situation, you still intend to stay in the gathering?”

“Of course. Ah, but I hope you don’t misunderstand that I’m staying because of you guys. The reason I’m staying is all because of Mr. Lion.”

Honestly, this reaction was a bit strange.

I had hit him with a barrage of killing intent and identity exposure, yet he was still acting friendly towards me.

Is this guy some kind of punching bag?

While I was internally marveling, the battle of nerves between Antler and the clown continued.

“By the way, Mr. Antler, you should be careful with your mouth. What if I come looking for you?”

“I don’t think there’s any need to worry about that. I’m not stupid enough to expose my identity like you.”

“Heh, are you really that confident? I can think of about four guys just off the top of my head? If I kill them all, wouldn’t one of them be the right answer?”

“Pfft, come if you dare. Do you think I’m scared? It hasn’t been long since I was beaten to a pulp by a barbarian, and your arrogant personality is still the same.”

“You…… do you really want to die?”

Judging by the outburst of insults, Antler was the winner.

The clown then emitted killing intent and pressured Antler, but they seemed to be at a similar level, as Antler didn’t budge.

It was at that moment.

“Okay, okay, stop it. We members should get along. Okay?”

The Queen stepped in, mediating their fight.

It was a little funny.

Is this what a new member is like?

“Instead of that, let’s quickly move on to the next round. I didn’t know before trying it, but it’s quite fun.”

Perhaps impressed by the Queen’s absurd level of sociability, their battle of nerves stopped.

However, just as they were about to move on to the next round.

“……I’ll stop here.”

The Fox declared his surrender.

He had tried several times before, but it seemed he didn’t have any useful information. This happened occasionally, so it wasn’t surprising.

However…….

“I’ll wait outside until it’s over.”

Instead of leaving the chat room, the Fox chose to open the door and wait outside.

It was the first time this had happened since I became a member.

“Please make some time for me when it’s over. I have something to tell Mr. Lion.”

Something to tell me…….

Is it related to him being dazed since earlier?

“……Maybe you already know.”

The Fox then left with a meaningful remark, and the second round began immediately.

***

The first turn was the Queen’s.

She seemed to like the system of this gathering, as she revealed information in a cheerful voice.

“Everyone knows about GMs [Game Masters], right? But I wonder if you know this. Hehe! Many people misunderstand, but this community wasn’t actually created by a GM?”

It was a voice that didn’t doubt the free pass, but of course, the light emitted by the jewel was red.

“Huh…?”

Seeing the flustered Queen, Antler recited.

“The information that Lion mentioned before.”

It was information that I had already revealed once in the gathering.

“……Mr. Lion knew this?”

The Queen stared intently at me.

It seemed that her curiosity about me had grown even more.

Well, it was the same for me.

‘Who is she really?’

It was high-level information that no one knew at the conference, yet she knew it.

‘Maybe she’s someone from the community’s management team…….’

It was the moment that thought suddenly popped up.

‘No, wait a minute.’

The face of someone who had been engraved in my subconscious, though I had only met her once, flashed in my mind.

The woman who had guided me and told me various things when I first entered this community.

‘Come to think of it, her nickname was SoulQueens.’

And the woman chose the Queen mask.

The clown said that people usually choose the mask that most resembles them…….

Could this really be a coincidence?

She also has the same blonde hair and is white?

‘……Now that I hear it, her voice seems similar too. Why didn’t I think of this right away?’

It was a belated thought, but in fact, it was natural. Even if just one part of the face, like the nose, is not visible, a person’s impression can change drastically.

Perhaps if there hadn’t been the ‘Queen’ point, I wouldn’t have even subconsciously thought of ‘SoulQueens.’

‘It’s not certain yet, but it’s better to assume she’s that person for now.’

While I was organizing the possibilities, the Queen spat out new information and was once again rejected.

“Hmm, in this case, it’s better to go with the latest information. The six-person binding magic will be distributed within a few years. The exploration structure will be completely changed. How is it? Amazing—.”

Ha, how many people are late to the party?

“Huh?”

The Queen looked flustered at the jewel with the red light on.

“Isn’t something wrong with this?”

“There’s no way. It’s information that has already been mentioned once. It’s been about half a year, so there’s about a year and a half left until the binding magic comes out.”

“Wow, even the time frame? The level here is really high?”

The Queen purely exclaimed in admiration, and the clown smiled arrogantly.

“Heh, isn’t it just that your level is low?”

Perhaps he didn’t mean it sincerely.

The Queen had shown a presence that didn’t fall behind anyone from beginning to end.

‘But he’s doing that just to get her to reveal more valuable information.’

Ah, by the way, the Goblin had shut his mouth and was keeping a low profile when the topic of ‘level’ came up.

He was a guy who was exceptionally good at reading the room.

“Hmm, this is a bit troublesome…….”

The Queen said that with a feeling that she wasn’t troubled at all, and made her third try.

“The king is not sick.”

……Huh?

***

In response to the Queen’s words, the jewel reacted with a green light.

That’s why even greater confusion engulfed the round table.

The reason was simple.

Information that was the exact opposite had been mentioned by the clown earlier.

[The condition of King Lapdonia has worsened.]

In a way, it was a weakness of the round table.

If that person was 100% sure, the jewel would turn green.

It only judged the truth, not the facts.

Well, if that wasn’t the case, they would have used this system to access all sorts of information.

“This has become troublesome.”

“Huh? What do you mean by troublesome?”

Antler sighed and explained the situation to the Queen.

“Hmm, it means that no one lied, but one of them was mistaken?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then isn’t it natural that my side has more weight? It’s common knowledge that the king is sick, but I’m the only one who is sure that it’s a lie, even knowing that, right?”

“Heh, where did you hear something strange and say that?”

“Hmm, is this the level of a corpse collector?”

“……What did you just say?”

The clown flared up at the Queen’s provocation.

However, the Queen just retorted with a sly smile.

“Then where did you hear that information, Mr. Clown? I met the king myself. Are you more certain than me?”

“……Anyone can say that.”

“I didn’t know a corpse collector would be such a cheapskate. Okay, I’ll put my hand on the jewel and say it. Is that okay?”

The Queen then said that she had met the king, and the jewel emitted a green light.

“…….”

The clown was left speechless.

How did he become this kind of character?

He’s just been getting beaten up all day.

“Following Lion, another monster has joined. A player who can contact the king…….”

“It’s not that much. I just had the opportunity once.”

The Queen, befitting her mask, imprinted her presence on the members from her first gathering.

“Why are only these kinds of people increasing……?”

The Goblin, who had become shriveled by the newcomer’s performance, was a bonus.

“Well, this problem is solved, so let’s move on to the next one! It’s Mr. Goblin’s turn this time!”

“M-Me?”

“Yes!”

The Queen naturally emitted an aura and took the lead. The Goblin couldn’t refuse and obediently took the next turn.

“Yesterday, I found a way to break through Noah’s Ark’s barrier at the magic tower. It seems they can do it right away. Ah, but there’s a prerequisite that thirty high priests must gather and offer prayers.”

Okay, so a method has finally been found.

Perhaps a second subjugation force will be formed in the near future.

“So that’s what it is, corpse collector.”

“Why are you being so smug? I heard earlier that the temple is going to withdraw its support for the royal family.”

“Do you really believe that a religious force can rebel against the royal family?”

“Isn’t ‘he’ gone from the royal family now?”

“Damn it, if I had known you were one of those guys, I wouldn’t have said that.”

Antler and the clown, seizing the opportunity, started bickering.

“Um… aren’t you going to stop them this time?”

The Goblin gave the Queen a look, but the Queen just watched with interest.

“Why? Now that I see it, it seems like another fun point.”

“I-Is that so?”

Even the Queen was watching their battle of nerves, and it seemed like the conversation would continue endlessly, but surprisingly, the winner was quickly decided.

“Ah, that’s right. Congratulations. You got a new nickname this time, right?”

“……What are you talking about?”

The clown reacted as if he was hearing it for the first time.

“Oh, you don’t know? The new nickname, Toy Collector?”

“Oh my, how awful.”

The Queen covered her mouth with her hand as if she knew something, and Antler continued his explanation, unable to hide his laughter.

“Toy Collector. It’s a name given because you’re like a baby.”

“I’m like a baby……?”

The clown looked like he didn’t understand.

As if he had expected that reaction, Antler tilted his head exaggeratedly.

“Why? Is it not? It’s famous that Bjorn Yandel says it every day at drinking parties?”

“T-That guy……?”

The clown’s voice began to tremble as if he was starting to get a grasp of things.

It was the perfect timing to deliver the finishing blow.

“You’re small, right?”

Antler, like a veteran, didn’t miss the opportunity and stabbed a dagger into his heart.

Crack.

A sound of something breaking came from the clown’s mouth.

I had a moment of apology in my heart.

“…….”

Ah, sorry, sorry.

I told him so many times to keep it a secret.

“Pfft.”

It turned out like this?