Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 259

A barbarian warrior emerged from the sanctuary.

A man watching Bjorn Yandel sighed in relief.

‘Luckily, he came out right away.’

If Bjorn had stayed overnight in the sanctuary, they would have had to wait until the 15th of next month. It was too risky to infiltrate the sanctuary in this body.

Stumble.

The man, turning to follow Bjorn Yandel, lost his balance and swayed heavily. It was his first time controlling a golem, so the controls were unfamiliar.

‘Are you alright?’

The man’s body froze in a bizarre pose as he regained his balance, drawing attention from those nearby.

‘I’m, I’m fine.’

The man, feeling a strange sense of shame, quickly moved away. He followed Bjorn Yandel with a gait that sounded like creaking.

‘Mommy, that man is weird…!’

‘……If it weren’t for Baekho, that guy.’

The reason he was linked to an unfamiliar golem instead of using his own healthy body was all because of Baekho.

Who knew when he might pop up again?

It was too risky to go outside the magic tower in his real body.

‘So, where is he going now?’

It was still early morning with a clear blue sky, and the man continued to follow Bjorn Yandel.

And then…

‘Drinking this early in the morning?’

They arrived at a famous pub in District 7.

A place that was open 24 hours a day with employees working in three shifts.

‘Isn’t that… Bjorn, Yandel’s son?’

‘Oh, is that him?’

‘Lucky us. To see the famous one in person.’

As soon as Bjorn Yandel entered the pub, all eyes turned to him. He had become so famous that he was recognized wherever he went.

Smirk.

As if enjoying his fame, Bjorn Yandel wore an undisguised smile and sat alone at a table in the center.

Then, he started gulping down alcohol.

‘Um, how about your order, sir…’

The man, who had also entered the pub and taken a table, ordered some food and observed Bjorn Yandel’s behavior.

There was nothing special.

‘Kuhhhhhh…!’

He just kept drinking and drinking and drinking.

Soon, the table, which had been empty, was surrounded by drunkards drawn by the smell of alcohol.

‘Haha! To drink that strong liquor in one go, you’re truly a giant of a man!’

They had initially come to talk to the celebrity, but they stayed because it was more fun than they expected.

Oh, and there were quite a few women among them.

‘Hey, can I touch your arm?’

‘……Of, of course!’

‘Wow, it’s like real steel! Oh, I’m Amy.’

The women, intrigued by the appearance of the famous explorer, pretended not to be interested while trying to seduce the barbarian warrior.

It was impossible.

Bjorn Yandel already had three lovers, and it was known that he cherished them dearly—

‘I’m… Y-Yandel’s son, Bjorn! Nice to meet you…!’

Huh?

‘Ahem…!’

‘Oh my, how manly.’

Even as the women’s touches became more subtle and daring, the barbarian warrior didn’t stop them.

‘Can I touch your thigh too?’

‘Kuh-hum! If you wish…’

He pretended to give in, but the slight upturn of his lips proved that he was enjoying it.

‘Is this a hero…?’

The man was dumbfounded, but the people around him didn’t seem to find his behavior uncomfortable at all.

They didn’t think it was a moral issue.

Anyway, the drinking party continued until evening.

‘Behel—laaaaaaaa!!! More booze! Bring more booze! I have plenty of money!!’

As it approached midnight, the man hoped that Bjorn Yandel wasn’t a player [a person who plays video games].

He couldn’t help but feel that way.

He suddenly started arm wrestling and broke a table, paid for everything with his money, and intimidated a drunkard who glared at him for being too loud.

This was far beyond the level of ‘perfectly’ ‘acting’ like a barbarian.

He was the very embodiment of a brainless barbarian warrior.

‘This… this can’t be the elf sister…’

The man thought so, but he waited until midnight.

He didn’t want to leave without a final confirmation, as he had spent the whole day waiting.

How much time had passed?

[23:59]

It was now one minute before the community opened [likely referring to a game or virtual world].

The barbarian was still drinking with people.

An action that a user of the community would never do.

Ticking.

The minute hand moved, and it became midnight.

The man, who had set it up so that he wouldn’t enter the community this time, was able to observe Bjorn Yandel without missing a single moment.

‘……He wasn’t.’

Even though it was midnight, Bjorn Yandel was still laughing and chatting. Even if he logged out quickly, there would be a moment of stiffness, but there was none.

That meant he was not a member of the community, at least.

‘Even though I sent that letter before, he’s not a member… So, he’s probably not a player either. If he could read the letter, there’s no reason why he wouldn’t have joined yet.’

The man got up from his seat with a sense of relief.

Bjorn Yandel was not a player.

And at that fact.

‘Yeah, there’s no way someone like that is a modern person.’

A strange sense of relief also arose.

***

Caron’s account of yesterday was simple.

He had been holed up in a pub since morning, drinking all day.

‘No wonder I smelled so much alcohol.’

Of course, I didn’t intend to say anything about it.

I was the one who told him to drink in the first place.

I judged that he wouldn’t be able to openly cause trouble in a pub because of the people around.

‘So, what happened while you were drinking?’

‘Ah, that? It’s a long story… It was very fun!’

He quickly skipped over the stories of the drunkards he had befriended at the pub and how he had to pay for breaking a table.

I had expected that much.

The cost of the table and the drinks didn’t matter.

As long as the part I wanted was resolved properly.

‘Was there anyone strange at the pub? Hmm…’

Caron seemed to be rummaging through his alcohol-soaked brain before giving me the answer I wanted.

‘Come to think of it, there was a weird, scrawny guy in the corner all day. He didn’t eat or drink, but he kept ordering things.’

As soon as I heard that, I knew it was him.

‘So, what did you do? Did you try talking to him?’

‘No way. He seemed a bit mentally deficient, so I didn’t go and talk to him first.’

‘How long was he at the pub?’

‘I’m not sure… I think it was around midnight.’

I couldn’t help but smile.

He was at the pub all day and left as soon as it turned midnight?

It seemed like my plan had worked.

Judging by how Caron was playing with the drunkards, he must have completely dropped his suspicion of me.

Then, this plan was a success—

‘Oh, yeah. It must have been midnight. I met that beastkin woman around 1 AM.’

Huh?

‘……Beastkin woman?’

A sense of unease began to rise.

As expected, my premonition was never wrong.

‘I’m talking about that daughter of Kalstein!’

Caron, in my form, had met Misha.

‘What happened when you met her?’

I urgently asked about the situation, and Caron explained what had happened.

In summary, it was like this.

‘She’s a beastkin, but she’s quite fierce. I can see why you like her.’

Misha grabbed Caron by the collar, who was flirting with the women, and dragged him outside.

Then, they had a short conversation alone…

‘Sorry. No matter how I tried to make excuses, it didn’t work.’

It wasn’t long before Caron’s identity was exposed.

Well, how could he hide it from her?

But the important thing was what happened next.

‘So, what were you originally doing? I just told her the truth.’

‘……You told her the truth?’

Caron flinched as I asked through gritted teeth.

But did he really have to say that?

‘Bjorn, aren’t you a hero of our clan? You’re just fulfilling your duty, so why do you have to hide it?’

‘……’

‘So, I told her the truth! Bjorn is currently fulfilling his duty with his fellow female warriors, so don’t even think about interfering!’

‘……’

‘Hehe, she didn’t seem to know what “duty” was, so I explained it in detail. So, thankfully, she seemed to understand and left?’

‘……’

‘You should be grateful to me! Now you can go to the sanctuary and fulfill your duty anytime!’

‘……’

‘But… why have you been so quiet?’

Caron asked cautiously, and I still answered with silence.

I just didn’t know what to say.

Damn it, how did things turn out like this?

It felt strange to get angry at Caron.

‘Caron, son of Tarson. Take the oath of a warrior. Swear that you will keep everything that happened today a secret.’

‘An oath? I’ll do it a hundred times if you want.’

When I asked for an oath while groaning inwardly, Caron agreed without any hesitation.

That was why I couldn’t get angry at him.

‘Ah, but what does “keep a secret” mean?’

‘……It means don’t tell anyone.’

‘That’s not difficult! I’m known as a warrior who keeps his mouth shut even within the clan!’

Yeah, what would I achieve by getting angry at him?

It was something unavoidable, like a natural disaster. No one gets angry at the dark clouds when it rains, right?

Caron had already done his part.

Thanks to him, I had successfully deceived the GM [Game Master].

‘Now, I just have to deal with the aftermath somehow.’

After parting with Caron, I headed home.

Thump, thump.

Unlike usual, my steps towards home were very heavy.

***

When I arrived home, Misha was on the sofa.

She was sitting on the sofa in the dark living room, and there was no emotion on her face.

Yes, absolutely nothing.

‘You’re back, nya?’

Misha asked casually.

However, her nails, which were always neatly trimmed, were rough, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Could it be that she had been sitting on the sofa like that all night?

‘Y-yeah…’

My heart tightened.

I couldn’t say any of the lines I had prepared and just stood there.

‘Then, that’s good. Go to sleep.’

Misha, who had been looking at me as if giving me time to speak, turned around and went back to her room.

Even then, I just watched her.

‘……’

Well, what could I say?

That what Caron said wasn’t true?

To explain that, I would have to talk about the GM.

Of course, it was possible to make up other lies, but…

‘It could make things worse.’

That might have worked before.

But now, Misha suspected that I might be an evil spirit. Therefore, it was better to be suspected of this than that.

To fulfill the duty of the clan?

At least it didn’t sound like an evil spirit.

This was the best I could do.

‘……Yeah, right.’

I quickly went up the stairs and knocked on Misha’s door.

There was no answer.

Did she not want to talk to me?

‘I’m opening it.’

Like a barbarian, I ignored the other party’s wishes and did what I wanted.

Crack-!

Fortunately, the door wasn’t locked, and it opened easily.

Misha was seen covered in a blanket on the bed.

‘……’

Yeah, she didn’t even want to see my face.

I was right to follow her.

There was a time for everything.

A tank was someone who protected their allies, not someone who hurt them.

Therefore…

‘If you don’t want to talk, just listen.’

I said.

I still didn’t have the courage to reveal that I was an evil spirit.

Without any finesse, using the body of a barbarian.

‘Nothing happened at the sanctuary.’

Misha lowered the blanket a little at my words.

And asked.

‘……Why are you telling me that?’

It meant that there was no reason to believe or make excuses.

In fact, she wasn’t wrong.

Misha and I were just comrades.

There had been an opportunity to become closer, but I had pushed it away. I thought that if a man and woman’s feelings were intertwined, it would be difficult to make rational decisions in the future.

But…

‘Bjorn, if you’re worried that I might be uncomfortable, you don’t have to—’

‘I’m not saying this for you, but for my own comfort. Unlike Dwarki, I’m a selfish guy.’

I cut off Misha’s words and said.

‘Misha, nothing really happened at the sanctuary last night, and I don’t want you to misunderstand me because of that.’

‘Why don’t you want me to misunderstand you…?’

In Misha’s eyes, which were revealed from under the blanket, there was a hint of expectation and longing.

Something that I couldn’t ignore forever.

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I continued.

Even though I was just an evil spirit inhabiting Bjorn Yandel’s body.

‘Because I don’t see you as just a comrade anymore.’

It was a fact that I couldn’t deny forever.