Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 39

“Wh-What do you mean, mage? Even if you know him, you can’t just cover for him like that…”The investigator spoke, flustered. It wasn’t so much that he couldn’t believe it, but more like he wanted to ignore the truth. However, her reaction was sharp.”Are you saying I’m lying right now?””N-No, that’s not what I meant…””Then what is it? You’ve been investigating explorers with your measly authority, and now you think you can look down on mages?”Mages from the Magic Tower were akin to minor nobles. Though there were many schools, they were largely united as one group, fiercely protecting their own interests. Either way, the fact that a low-level employee like the investigator dared to question her words was a problem. The branch manager, unable to watch any longer, cautiously intervened.”How about we stop here? As the mage knows, if you don’t know the situation, it can sound absurd.”She nodded as if she agreed.”Certainly, there’s no precedent for a vampire being seen in a first-floor rift [a tear in space leading to a dungeon].”Unlike when she spoke to the investigator, she had a kind smile on her face. It was only for a brief moment.”Thank you for saying that—””But since the labyrinth was created, it’s been full of unknowns. So, absurd? I don’t think that’s something the branch manager of the Explorer’s Guild should say.”A sharp rebuke followed, delivered with a time delay. Was she really a mage? Even the position of branch manager of the guild seemed insignificant to her.”…”Just as the branch manager, who had intervened for nothing, shut his mouth, there was a knock. Knock knock. It wasn’t a request to enter. The door burst open before anyone could grant permission.”Are you the barbarian?””Who are you?””I am Nile Urbans.”Two men had entered the room. A middle-aged man in a neat tuxedo and a young man who seemed to be his bodyguard.”B-Branch Director!””Father…?”Julian, who had been held hostage, and the branch manager both gaped. I tightened my grip again, which had been loosening.’…In the end, even the regional director came.’The guild’s operating system was simple. Each of the hundreds of branches in the city had a branch manager, and there were 13 regional directors who oversaw them. The only rank above them was the ‘Guild Master,’ so the 13 regional directors could be considered the second-in-command of the guild. As a 9th-grade explorer, it was impossible to even see such a big shot from afar. But even for them, things didn’t always go their way.”You’ve caused quite a ridiculous mess, haven’t you?”I chuckled, feeling the regional director’s gaze filled with displeasure. A ridiculous mess, huh?”Yeah, I guess it would seem that way to you.”If that guy, Hatz Young, hadn’t given false testimony. Even then, if the investigator hadn’t been greedy and had followed the proper procedures. No, if the Explorer’s Guild had been fair and managed its employees well from the start… Maybe I wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble. But they didn’t.”Because it would have been a very small matter for you.”But it wasn’t for me. My life was on the line.”So, you caused this madness?””Madness?”I asked back.”Is struggling to survive madness?””Hah, still, there could have been other ways, right? You’ve blown this way out of proportion.”Other ways, my ass. Before I broke out of the cell and arrived here, the branch manager didn’t even know I existed in his branch. And the regional director, who had the authority to change the guild’s internal regulations to allow the investigation of 9th-grade explorers based solely on suspicion, was no different.”If you had done your jobs properly, none of this would have happened.”I muttered coldly, laced with sarcasm.”You! How dare you speak such nonsense in front of the regional director!”The branch manager intervened. The investigator and the regional director’s bodyguard were looking at me as if I were some kind of madman. Well, to them, I must be an oddity. A complete nutcase that couldn’t be explained by common sense. The regional director sighed and shifted his gaze.”What is your name, mage?””Aruea Raven.””I see, Ms. Raven. How much would you want to sell that crystal ball to me?”A blatant offer of appeasement. I didn’t expect him to be so direct. My heart sank for a moment, but…”I refuse that offer.””That’s a shame.””You’re not thinking of taking it by force, are you?””Haha! Of course not. If I did, your school’s master wouldn’t stand for it.”The regional director laughed cheerfully.”Why is everyone so stiff? It was all a joke. There are so many people gathered outside waiting for the results, how could I dare do that?”A joke, my ass. Cold sweat trickled down my back.”…”That’s why I tried to bring a priest in the first place. ‘Video memory’ magic or whatever, mages could be bought off for their own gain. If she had been a complete stranger, and if she had been bought off by the regional director… ‘Regardless of the crowd outside, I would have died here.’ Anyway, the result wasn’t bad. She kept her word, and now the regional director couldn’t bury the matter with his power. In other words, now I just need to prove that I’m innocent. One way or another, the end was near.”Okay, how about we wrap this up?”I approached the closet and woke up Hatz Young, who was sleeping inside.”Wh-What, why am I here…?”I could hear people swallowing nervously around me. Well, it was understandable. The moment it was proven that this guy had given false testimony. From their perspective, a truly ridiculous thing would happen. ***”This man is lying.”As Raven spoke, a heavy silence began to fall over the room.”So, what are you going to do now? Regional Director?”Looking at the regional director’s forced smile, I replied.”I can’t say thank you.”This time, even the branch manager, who was listening from the side, didn’t dare to add anything to my tone. He just trembled, watching the regional director’s reaction.

“So, what do you want us to do now?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I demand punishment and compensation.”

“I see.”

The regional director nodded slowly, as if calculating something in his head, before finally opening his mouth.

“First, the investigator in charge of you will be dismissed.”

“R-Regional Director! I, I swear to heaven, I only investigated according to the regulations… !”

“Are you trying to shift your incompetence onto the guild? All the judgments you’ve made will be thoroughly reinvestigated. And if there’s even a hint of corruption in that process, you’ll be punished accordingly.”

“T-That can’t be!”

The investigator, who had been so arrogant, knelt down, his face pale.

Seeing how frightened he was, it seemed he hadn’t lived a completely clean life.

Well, given his past behavior, it wasn’t surprising.

“P-Please, spare me! Please… !”

‘Shouldn’t you be begging over here?’

The thought that he was barking up the wrong tree crossed my mind, but I didn’t bother to say it out loud. If he were the type to do that, he wouldn’t have ended up in this mess in the first place.

That’s how the world is.

No one ever regrets when they’re hitting someone.

Regret only comes when they’re paying the price.

“Then, what about this guy?”

I asked, looking at Hatz Young, another contributor to this incident.

The regional director replied without much thought.

“He gave false testimony to cover up his own crimes, causing serious confusion in the investigation. He’ll be dealt with similarly.”

“Similarly, as in?”

“He’ll be thoroughly investigated and then sent to the gallows.”

The regional director’s words carried weight.

Although the trial hadn’t even started, and the investigation was yet to begin, it was practically a death sentence.

“Ah, no…”

Hatz Young’s eyes rolled back, and he fainted, but no one paid him any attention.

“While we’re at it, I’d like it if you could investigate the clan he belongs to as well.”

“The ‘Modified Union,’ they’ve been causing a stir with all sorts of rumors anyway. We’ll do as you say.”

The regional director readily agreed to everything I asked for.

He was quite clever, I thought.

It meant he clearly recognized that he had no choice but to give me what I wanted.

“So, is that enough for the punishment?”

“Well…”

I trailed off, staring at one spot. The branch manager, who met my gaze, quickly looked away.

I chuckled and nodded.

“It would be greedy to ask for more here.”

“Thank you for considering our situation.”

There’s no need to thank me.

I plan to get something else out of this.

“Now that the punishment is over, we need to talk about compensation for the mistakes we made against you. Is there anything you desire?”

“I’ll decide after hearing what you have to say.”

“First, we’ll upgrade your rank to 7.”

“Rank upgrade, huh…”

Not bad.

If I become a Rank 7 explorer, the exchange will be less crowded, and there will be various other benefits.

If I hadn’t been Rank 9, that investigator wouldn’t have been so arrogant in the first place.

“R-Regional Director! To raise an explorer who’s only been here for two months to Rank 7 in one go!”

The branch manager added, worried about the fairness issues that might arise later, but the regional director firmly shook his head.

“We are apologizing right now. So, don’t raise any objections on this matter.”

“…Understood.”

The regional director’s attitude was like a politician making a sincere apology.

Especially in the part where there was no substance.

“Wait a minute. From what I’m hearing, something’s a bit off, isn’t it?”

Just as I was about to say something, Raven, who had been quiet, jumped into the conversation.

Everyone around seemed tense, wondering what she was going to say this time…

But she didn’t seem to care at all.

“How can a rank upgrade be compensation? Giving benefits to capable explorers by raising their rank is just part of the guild’s job, isn’t it?”

“But, as you just heard, this person—”

“Doesn’t have much experience? What does that have to do with anything?”

“There’s no precedent for such a thing—”

“Of course, there’s no precedent.”

She interrupted the regional director several times and continued to speak rapidly.

“There wouldn’t be any explorer who, in just two months, ate the essence of a Rank 5 monster, a vampire, and a guardian of the rift at that.”

“…So, what are you trying to say, Miss Raven?”

“Well, it just seemed a little pathetic to try to act like you’re doing something special when it’s something you should be doing anyway.”

She then smiled at me.

I wasn’t so clueless that I couldn’t take the hint, so I quickly played along.

“Then, I can expect real compensation.”

“…What do you want?”

Well, after all this trouble, I should get something in return.

Just as I was wondering what to ask for,

Raven’s mouth opened again, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“It’s obviously money. What else can the explorer’s guild do?”

There would be more if you looked for it.

Like getting free binding magic for life, or being able to post personal notices on the guild’s bulletin board, and so on.

‘In the end, it’s all things that can be done with money.’

I nodded as if agreeing, and the regional director sighed and surrendered.

“How much would be enough?”

It was like being given a blank check, and all that was left was to write down the amount.

For some reason, I felt reliable since a while ago, so I looked at her.

It was a sign that I trusted the mage’s rational judgment.

Fortunately, the meaning was well conveyed, and she opened her mouth with a somewhat proud expression.

“Since you almost killed a promising explorer by mistake…”

She trailed off and then blurted out.

“Don’t you think you should pay at least 5 million stones?”

The regional director nodded without a word.

“…Alright, we’ll pay it.”

It wasn’t that surprising.

5 million stones was far beyond the maximum amount I had expected…

‘But that’s if I had asked for it.’

If Raven hadn’t been there, the deal wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.

Is this the power of status?

I was inwardly realizing its power and wondering how I should repay the help I received today when Raven spoke again.

“Ah, my service fee is 1 million stones, separate.”

“Service fee? What are you talking about? The support fee agreed with the Magic Tower is—”

“It includes the value of this crystal ball that recorded the regional director’s joke. Even though you said it was a joke… I think there would be quite a few people who would want this crystal ball if they looked for it?”

“…Hahaha, young lady, you’re quite the joker.”

“I’m not joking.”

When she became serious, the regional director’s expression hardened to the point of rotting.

However, the time for deliberation was not long.

“I see…”

The regional director nodded.

In a way, 1 million stones had been blown away by a single slip of the tongue earlier.

‘…I don’t need to give her a separate service fee.’

Is this what mages are like?

I was admiring her for taking care of her own needs in an instant when her voice echoed in my head.

[Thanks to you, I’ll be able to get some pocket money.]

Listening to that voice, it was the first time in a long time that I had such a thought about someone else.

I should try to stay close to her in the future.