Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 305

Was my recruitment offer that unexpected?

Amelia looked at me, her gaze trying to discern my intentions. But, unable to find any other motive, she continued with a somewhat bitter voice.

“I am… a plunderer.”

“You’re from Noark, so it’s natural. But I know better that you’re fundamentally different from them.”

Indeed, Amelia had let me and Ainar live and return during our first encounter.

It was the same when we met in the sewers.

The dwarf, Rotmiller, Misha, and even Dwarki.

Not only me, a ‘Barbarian,’ but she fed everyone the precious ‘Blessing of Lethe’ [a potion that temporarily erases memories] and sought other ways.

Therefore.

“My information is registered with the Explorer’s Guild. Of course, the royal family will know too—”

I cut Amelia off firmly.

“A new identity can be created.”

“It’s not as easy as you say. If I’m by your side, there will surely be those who try to uncover my identity—”

Ugh, she’s really talkative today.

“That’s why I said, if I solve all those restrictions, then join my clan.”

“That kind of thing… is impossible, so I’m saying this now. If you force it when the time comes, it’ll be troublesome for both of us—”

“You’re hedging your bets.”

“Hedging… what?”

“Never mind, whether it works or not is for me to figure out, you just need to answer.”

A binary choice of ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

As I neatly organized the situation, Amelia hesitated for a moment before sighing.

“Haa, why do you always make things difficult for me…”

“So, what’s your answer?”

“Okay. If a situation arises where there are no problems with me being by your side…”

Amelia trailed off, avoiding my gaze.

But, was she displeased with her own unconscious action?

Swoosh.

Amelia, raising her head, looked into my eyes and said.

“Then, I will become your comrade.”

The quest was established.

***

Quest Name: Save My Sister!

Objective: Sister’s Survival (0/1), Resolve Identity Issues (0/1)

Reward: Amelia Rainwales (SSR) Recruitment Ticket

Well, something like that.

As I neatly organized this quest, Amelia took a bottle of alcohol from the table and gulped it down.

“I thought you weren’t drinking because you weren’t drunk?”

“I was thirsty.”

Oh, I see.

But, saying that while chugging alcohol makes her seem very macho.

Thud.

Amelia put down the bottle and frowned.

Seeing this, I couldn’t help but ask.

“Do you perhaps not like the taste of alcohol?”

“How can anyone find this stuff tasty?”

“No, I was just checking. I don’t really like the taste of alcohol either.”

They say that if you go through a lot of hardships, it becomes like a sweet drink, so I asked just in case. I feel like I’ve gone through enough hardships, but it’s still just not good.

“…Stop with the nonsense and let’s get to the main point.”

Saying that, Amelia sat across from me.

“You said you wanted to hear about Nivels Enche, right? I’ll tell you. Maybe if I hear your opinion, I might think of another way.”

“Good.”

“Ah, and one more thing. I’m saying this in advance, but me becoming your comrade is only if you keep all the promises you made earlier. Understand?”

“But I said to join my clan, not become a comrade?”

“Ah, uh…”

Amelia flinched at my words.

“That’s… certainly true. I… thought that was really what it meant. If the two are different, I’ll correct my words—”

“It’s okay, now that I think about it, ‘comrade’ sounds better than ‘clan member’.”

“…Did you just tease me?”

She’s quick to catch on.

“Of course not.”

Amelia looked at me suspiciously, but since she had no proof, she couldn’t say anything.

Therefore, it’s time to change the subject.

“Hurry up and tell me. Everything I don’t know, including Nivels Enche.”

As we returned to the main topic, Amelia also dropped her playful demeanor and began to recount her memories.

“Nivels Enche was the name of the man who saved my life that day. ‘Iron Mask’ was the nickname he used in Noark.”

“I knew it.”

That clarified a part I was unsure about.

I am this woman’s savior.

Heh, no wonder, ever since I came down to Noark wearing the Iron Mask, he seemed to soften only towards me.

“That’s why I kept worrying about whether I should tell you this. I came here to change the past, but the more I struggled, the more it felt like everything was flowing as it was destined to.”

“I see.”

Since I had already experienced it once, there was no need for long explanations.

“But you said you wouldn’t give up. Anyway, tell me. When did I… no, when did Nivels Enche and I meet again after that?”

“I don’t know the exact date. However, if my memory is correct, it was about three weeks from now. The place is in the inner castle…”

After that, I talked with Amelia for a long time, acquiring the information I needed to know.

Amelia didn’t guard herself or try to test me like before, and she honestly revealed everything I asked.

In a way, it was the first time we had perfect communication.

Ah, of course, that didn’t mean a solution was immediately derived.

“Do you have any more questions?”

“No, I think I’ve heard everything I needed to hear.”

“I see, then perhaps…”

“I’m sorry. To be honest, I still don’t know. I need to think about it more.”

“I see…”

When I replied that I didn’t have anything in mind either, Amelia seemed disappointed but didn’t say anything else.

“Well, it’s not like you’d come up with a solution right away.”

“That sounds like you didn’t expect anything at all.”

“…You’re a strange one. If that were really the case, I wouldn’t have told you all this.”

“Hmm, so you trust me?”

“…To some extent.”

“To some extent.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle as soon as I heard that.

Normally, I would have thought it was a sly answer, but since it was Amelia who said it, I felt somewhat proud.

You know that feeling, right?

Your parents’ praise is just something you casually ignore, but when someone who’s usually prickly gives you a compliment, it feels like you’ve been acknowledged.

“Anyway, if you don’t have any more questions, it’s my turn now.”

“Huh?”

“Why are you surprised? It’s natural for me to have questions for you too, isn’t it?”

“Ah, I guess so. Go ahead. What are you so curious about?”

“What exactly did you talk about with Auriel Gavis? You didn’t ask in detail back then.”

I thought she would ask about the world I lived in, but she didn’t.

She really doesn’t have any unnecessary curiosity.

Well, that’s convenient for me, though.

“Actually, what you’d be curious about is all that I mentioned earlier. But since you’re curious, I’ll tell you from the beginning. When I opened my eyes, I was in a mansion that felt very familiar. Ah, explaining why it felt familiar would make the story long…”

“It’s okay, go ahead. There’s still a lot of night left.”

“Oh… if that’s the case, okay.”

After that, I told her everything that happened in the spiritual world I visited last month.

In the process, the names of some big shots were mentioned.

The leader of Orculius.

The Destruction Scholar, Belbeve Ruinjenes.

And the unidentified man called ‘Kagureas.’

“Kagureas? That’s a name I’ve never heard of.”

Unfortunately, Amelia didn’t know anything about that man either.

Well, the other two were a bit different.

“The leader of Orculius was there… There were rumors that he might be a demon, but I didn’t know it was true. So, did you come from the same place as the leader?”

“That’s not quite right. Not all demons come from the same dimension.”

“Is it the same for the Destruction Scholar?”

“Probably. It’s around this time that people from my hometown started getting dragged here.”

“I see… Thanks to you, I’ve heard some amazing secrets. I didn’t even hear rumors that Ruinjenes, that old man, was a demon, let alone the leader.”

“Speaking of which, can you tell me a bit about those two?”

“I don’t know much, but if you want, I can.”

Amelia, once again, hedged her bets before giving information. But, there was more useful information than I expected.

After all, I didn’t know much.

There wasn’t much information about the leader or the Destruction Scholar that was known to the public.

As a native of Noark with many connections to Orculius, Amelia’s level of common knowledge was bound to be different from mine.

“So, are you going to be summoned there again in 15 days?”

“Probably. At the end, he said he’d resolve the fairness issue, so I’m a bit curious about how that turned out. Ah, do you have anything you want to ask him? If so, I’ll ask him when I get summoned next time.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

After that, there was no more to talk about, so we called it a night and went to bed. It felt like the day was particularly long, probably because we had stayed up almost all night.

But, did I get curious again after lying down?

“Bion, what was the world you were in like?”

Unusually, Amelia asked me various questions, and I answered them one by one.

Democracy, science, cars and airplanes, missiles.

Every time I talked about something, I needed to explain it, so the conversations got long, but it wasn’t boring or annoying.

That’s because it was the first time.

It was the first time I had shared these kinds of stories with someone in this body.

Because I had to hide that I was a demon, I had to think even about each word I used, but in my conversation with Amelia, there was no need for that.

How much time had passed?

“That was quite an interesting story. Though, I knew most of it.”

“What? You knew it? How?”

“There are many demons in Noark who have revealed their identities. You tend to hear various stories as you live here.”

“I see… No, wait a minute, then why did you ask me all that again?”

“That’s…”

Amelia trailed off.

And a long silence followed.

“By any chance, are you asleep?”

“…”

“Don’t pretend to be asleep. I know you only sleep half-way like a dolphin.”

“…”

Is this a case of the student surpassing the master?

I didn’t know she would use one of the two ways to make someone angry on me.

“…Are you really asleep?”

“…”

Well, she’s even snoring now.

Ha, it’s so funny. Is it acting or what?

I don’t know, but after that, I didn’t say anything and closed my eyes.

It was a simple reason.

If she had really fallen into a deep sleep for the first time in a long time, I didn’t want to disturb her.

“…Sleep well.”

I also turned my back to the wall and lay down, and soon fell asleep.

***

After that day, time passed quickly.

No, is it a bit strange to say it was fast?

To be honest, it was a very boring time.

Because I was strictly avoiding going out, for the reason that I didn’t want to create variables, I spent all day killing time inside the lodging.

Ah, but that doesn’t mean it was a meaningless time.

“Bion, take a shower.”

“Why? I’m not even going out.”

“…You smell.”

We talked all day.

The topics were varied.

Sometimes it was about my hometown, sometimes it was about Amelia and her sister’s memories, and sometimes it was about episodes that happened in the labyrinth.

Anyway, as we had conversations on various topics, I learned more about Amelia as a person.

Well, the biggest gain was probably finally hearing about Amelia’s possession of essence.

‘Has she never had proper team activities? I don’t understand why she only went up to the 8th floor with those specs.’

Amelia’s specs were much better than I expected.

Honestly, if she didn’t have the Arcane Greatsword or ‘Dragon Words’ [a type of magic], she could be considered on par with the Dragonslayer.

‘But she also has the talent of a guide, not just combat.’

Based on this, she can perform the role of a scout, and as an aura user, she can easily cut down monsters with physical resistance, making her an extreme damage dealer.

However, she has the disadvantage of being physically weak…

That’s a problem that can be solved if I just tank well in front.

“Ah, right. How did it go with going out today?”

“As expected, we received a rejection.”

Amelia, who had just finished showering, replied while drying her hair with a towel.

Tsk, so it’s going to be like this.

“Hmm, maybe the problem was that we offered too little…”

Our attempt to bring the Rainwales sisters, who were part of another team as ‘moles’ [spies or infiltrators], by paying them money failed.

“How were those guys? Did they seem like they would change their minds if we offered more money?”

“I don’t know. But, it’s better not to do it that way. If they know we’re obsessed with them, they’ll become wary, and they’ll try to use that against us.”

“That’s true. The guys here are all cunning.”

“But, we succeeded in approaching them naturally. Fortunately, they showed interest in us first.”

“Interest?”

“They asked if we were interested in joining their team.”

In a way, things were progressing according to our plan, but neither of us had bright expressions.

After all, all of this had already happened in the past.

“It’s all just fitting together too perfectly, it’s suffocating.”

In the original history, we join that team.

And after experiencing various things, we experience that incident about 5 months later.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“…I’ll join the team as planned. It’s a bit frustrating, but that’s the best way to be near when that incident happens.”

“Really? Then let’s do that.”

I didn’t particularly object or anything.

No matter how much I think about it, it seems impossible to change the past this way, but I don’t have any other ideas.

I decided to follow Amelia’s plan for now.

At least until a better plan comes to mind.

Yes, so in that sense…

[23:55]

I check the time once more.

Seeing me do that, Amelia said.

“Ah, now that I think about it, today’s the day.”

“Yeah.”

I drank a glass of water and then lay down on the bed.

“Have a good trip.”

A send-off, this is quite awkward.

“There are still 5 minutes left before I go. It’s just a very short time here anyway.”

“Ah, that’s true too.”

After that, I spent time chatting with Amelia about trivial things.

Is it because the opponent is Auriel Gavis?

I’m a bit nervous—

Click.

At that moment, the second hand of the clock on the side table clicked, and my vision blurred.

‘That cider was really delicious back then.’

I wonder if they’ll give me another one if I ask?