Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 239

240. Awl (5)

A study filled with the subtle scent of books.

“How was the place?”

At the man’s question, the blonde woman, Soul Queens, paused for a moment before answering.

“It was a very interesting place.”

That was the most fitting description.

A place where a corpse collector was just a regular member, and even such a person was completely out of their depth? She had no idea there was such a chat room within the community.

But…

“I’m sure you’re not really interested in my personal impressions, are you?”

Soul Queens smiled teasingly, and the man didn’t deny it.

After all, there was a specific reason why he had her infiltrate as a ‘Watcher of the Round Table’.

[Perhaps the Watchers of the Round Table created their own gathering to avoid our eyes.]

A spy sent by the royal family.

Or a player from another world.

The man had sent her there to confirm these two possibilities.

So, what was the result?

Soul Queens added with a smile.

“It seems Love’s hunch was right again this time.”

“Which way are you referring to?”

“It seems the Watchers of the Round Table are indeed a group created by a player from another world.”

“We need to hear more details.”

Soul Queens slowly explained what had happened there.

The lion who exuded an overwhelming presence.

The clown whose identity as a corpse collector was exposed.

The deer antlers, presumed to be from the royal family, and the goblin, who seemed even more out of place because of his ordinariness.

“Well, I’m not sure about Fox. She doesn’t seem to be the quiet type, but I didn’t really get a chance to talk to her this time.”

Nevertheless, Fox was a woman to be wary of.

After all, she had asked the lion for a conversation at the end.

What if that was a kind of ‘contact’?

“So, you suspect the member called Lion?”

“Yes, if there’s a player from another world mixed among them, it would have to be that man.”

The man then asked for the basis, and Soul Queens answered without hesitation.

“He drove the corpse collector to the brink of mental corruption with just his bloodlust. Judging by how he withdrew his bloodlust right at the limit, it seemed like he still had plenty of room to spare.”

This alone was clear.

It was something impossible for a normal human’s mental strength.

Unless he was a player from another dimension who had fallen into this world a hundred years ago and survived.

Moreover, this wasn’t the only basis.

In the second round, the lion had said.

[The Ghost Busters were created by an evil spirit from another world.]

He had jokingly brought up information that only a very few people knew, in response to her saying that the community wasn’t created by a GM [Game Master].

As if he knew their true identities.

At that moment, she was certain.

[‘Yes, that’s what it was.’]

This man, who already seemed dangerous, was not just a simple player.

“Come to think of it, he said he knew the corpse collector’s information from the beginning, right?”

“Yes, and the members were expecting that Lion would know their identities.”

“…That’s quite suspicious.”

The security within the community was absolute.

Even he, who had taken over the administrator rights and created the current Ghost Busters, couldn’t figure out their identities.

“How do you think he knew their identities?”

“Well, if he really knew, there are two possibilities.”

At Soul Queens’ question, the man presented two possible scenarios.

“One, Lion is either on par with a great mage from another world who created this subspace, or he has such a being as a companion. And the second is…”

“The second is, Lion is in cahoots with the one who created the Watchers of the Round Table, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Since all the current members were gathered by that ‘Master,’ it’s natural that he would know if he was tipped off.”

“But then it doesn’t make sense that he knows my identity.”

“It’s not certain yet, is it? Try throwing out a bait next time. To see if that man really knows Soul Queens’ identity or not.”

“I will.”

“Anyway, then information about the Master becomes important. Did you find out anything?”

“I haven’t met the Master yet. But I heard from Goblin after the gathering that he visited this place on the day there was a strange login record.”

“So, that means the one who secretly entered the community that day was the one with the nickname ‘0720’?”

“It seems so. I wanted to find out more, but it seems Goblin is still wary of me…”

After that, the two talked for about an hour.

The topic wasn’t just about the ‘Watchers of the Round Table’.

The incident that had happened this time.

The players who had died in such large numbers.

What would be the most efficient way to increase the recruitment of new members in the future?

And…

“What are you going to do about Lee Baek-ho? He’s turning the Magic Tower upside down looking for Love. Right now, Love is just one of the many suspects, but it seems difficult to hide his identity forever…”

Even the most troublesome incident that had happened recently.

“Baek-ho is still thinking about it. It seems that he’s become hostile to the royal family, but we need to be careful. It could be a trap.”

“Yes, I’ll leave that part to Love.”

They were in the middle of such a conversation.

“Elf Sister, how’s the investigation on that person going?”

“The posts were all deleted, so it’s taking a bit of time to recover them. But he had quite a lot of GP [Game Points].”

“Did you get it from Baek-ho?”

“No, he earned almost all of it on the first day. By selling some high-level information.”

Soul Queens went on to explain that it was information that anyone who had played the game to some extent would know, and that all the posts and comments he had left were deleted, so it would take time to recover them.

“Hmm, I see…”

The man tapped the armrest with his index finger as if organizing his thoughts.

The reason he had dug into ‘Elf Sister’ was one.

He had judged that there was a possibility that ‘Bjorn Yandel’ and ‘Elf Sister’ were the same person.

Bjorn Yandel.

The barbarian who had shown an unprecedented growth rate.

He had uniquely chosen a shield during his coming-of-age ceremony.

Elf Sister.

He had easily acquired GP by selling in-game information within the community.

Also, he was a ‘Korean’ whom Lee Baek-ho followed as an older brother.

This was a very important point for the man.

If the two were the same person, there was a possibility that he was ‘that person’ he had been waiting for—.

‘…Wait a minute.’

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and the man quietly opened his mouth.

“Soul Queens.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Did you say that the lion was an Asian?”

“Yes, even if he was wearing a mask, he couldn’t hide his skin color.”

As it was a Western game, the proportion of Asian players was very small.

You could tell just by looking at Lee Baek-ho.

He had opened a chat room while waiting for a Korean, but it had taken him several years to meet someone from his homeland.

And that person from his homeland was ‘Elf Sister’.

The very person suspected of being the same as ‘Bjorn Yandel’.

“The only identity that Lion definitely mentioned was the clown’s, right?”

The man straightened his posture and asked.

“Well, it’s my first visit, so I can’t say for sure, but it seemed like that was the case based on the atmosphere.”

“I see…”

The man trailed off, lost in thought.

After all, ‘Bjorn Yandel’ had fought against the ‘Corpse Collector’ most recently.

Could this really be a simple coincidence?

Of course, he hadn’t even figured out if he was the same person as ‘Elf Sister’, so it was still a far-fetched leap.

But, that’s why.

“When is Bjorn Yandel’s knighthood ceremony?”

“I remember it being three days from now.”

“Three days from now…”

The man soon made a decision.

“I’ll be going out for the first time in a while.”

Instead of just worrying about it, he decided to meet him in person.

***

“Hey, wake up, wake up! Wake up!”

The morning after returning from the community.

I woke up to Misha’s back smack.

I had used bloodlust for the first time in a while, so I felt like I was going to die from exhaustion, but…

“What did you do yesterday to be so sluggish from the morning!”

It was better to wake up on time, even if I was forcing myself, after going to the community.

If there was anyone who knew about this place, even the fact that I was sleeping in late on this day could look suspicious.

And there were more eyes on me now.

‘That damn assassin bastard said he was coming too…’

I was so exhausted yesterday that I just collapsed, but from now on, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep properly at night.

Ha, this is really annoying.

‘Why is everyone so eager to get their hands on me?’

I wouldn’t even be able to fight as usual with my current condition. I couldn’t help but sigh, but I quickly washed my face and went down to the first floor to have breakfast with everyone.

It was a slightly unfamiliar sight.

After all, there was one more new person at the usual breakfast table.

“Y-you’re awake?”

“Of course, I’m awake. Don’t just stand there awkwardly, come and sit down. The food will get cold.”

“Yes, yes!”

Erwen sat at the table with a somewhat nervous expression, picking at her food.

“…”

An awkward silence began to hang over the table, unlike usual. Fortunately, Misha, sensing the atmosphere, opened her mouth cheerfully first.

“So, how is it? My food?”

“I-it’s delicious… Thank you…”

“If there’s anything you want to eat, tell me. I’ll make it for dinner later. Oh, and if there are any ingredients you can’t eat, let me know later.”

Misha, as always, took care of even the smallest details first.

“Carrots! I can’t eat carrots!”

Ainar jumped in at the opportune moment, only to get smacked on the back.

Sigh, as if that would work.

I’ve tried it ten times, and I’ve failed every time.

We always eat meat, so we have to eat things like this properly, or so she says?

‘I appreciate the thought, but…’

Well, barbarians have their own way of life.

“I-I’ll do the dishes!”

After the meal, Ainar went out to the holy site as usual, and the remaining three spent time together.

The atmosphere was better than I thought.

It felt like the hierarchy was perfectly established, or something?

“Erwen, come and sit here. We need to talk too.”

“Yes, yes!”

“It might be a bit early to ask this, but what are you going to do in the future? Our team is already full.”

“That’s…”

Erwen trailed off, looking at me.

She was probably asking if it was okay to talk about the clan.

Well, there was no reason why it shouldn’t be, but…

I didn’t have the energy to have a long conversation right now, so I just vaguely glossed over it.

“It’s too early, Misha. We don’t even know if we’ll be able to enter the labyrinth next month.”

“That’s… true.”

To be honest, it was wise to put the labyrinth exploration on hold for a while unless this situation was resolved.

We didn’t have any immediate financial problems.

‘…But the fact that the city isn’t safe is the most annoying part.’

The Dragonslayer.

The Corpse Collector.

The assassin from Noark.

Even the royal family’s actions, which were impossible to understand.

There were too many reasons why I had to get stronger as soon as possible.

But…

‘Still, it’s better to watch the situation until it calms down to some extent.’

I tried to suppress my impatience.

There’s a saying that you should take the long way around when you’re in a hurry.

‘I should meet Raven later and talk about this properly.’

Anyway, after that, the three of us had snacks and talked about various things.

Erwen, who had been uncomfortable with a very subdued expression at first, surprisingly calmed down quickly as Misha treated her kindly.

‘It seems she had sorted out her feelings about her sister to some extent before coming to our house.’

Thanks to that, I also felt a lot less burdened.

I would inevitably have to carry heavy burdens in the future, but Erwen had stood up on her own.

So, she would definitely be able to go further.

“Huh? You have a younger sibling?”

“Yes, she’s still young, so she’s living at the holy site. When she becomes an adult… I’ll have to take care of her somehow. Just like my sister did for me…”

“Nyahat, don’t worry too much. There’s still a lot of time left, right? By then, you’ll be much more relaxed.”

“Do you think so…?”

Erwen and Misha were having a surprisingly heartwarming conversation. However, Erwen suddenly bowed her head.

“I-I didn’t apologize properly back then, did I? I-I’m sorry, I think I lost my mind back then…”

“…Apology for what? It’s fine. Rather, some good things happened because of that incident.”

I tilted my head.

Back then?

Was there something that happened between the two of them that they needed to apologize for?

“B-but, are you okay, Sister…?”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay? My thoughts have changed a lot since then… and I don’t even have the right to do that in the first place.”

Misha said, glancing at me.

I felt a chill for some reason.

It was then.

Knock knock.

A knock was heard from beyond the front door.

“I’ll go.”

I quickly got up and approached the door.

If it was a normal day, I would have opened the door right away, but given that I had heard information that an assassin might come yesterday.

I first asked who it was.

“I am Raymon Keplow, a regular knight of the Second Royal Knights Order.”

The knight, who was scheduled to receive the title of Baron, politely revealed his identity.

Looking through the peephole, he was properly armored, and other knights were gathered behind him.

‘This seems like it’s not a lie.’

There was also a part that I could guess, so I opened the door.

And after facing them, I confirmed the reason for their visit.

It was good news for the first time in a while.

“An order has been issued from the higher-ups.”

“An order?”

“It is an order to protect Yandel from any possible subversive elements.”

So, the deer antlers had moved.