Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 439

The green light that had flickered for a moment had long since faded, but a heavy silence followed.

“……”

“……”

A reaction like students being scolded by a scary teacher.

Seeing grown adults act like that might make one feel a bit sorry for them, but for some reason, it only made me more annoyed.

‘If I had known it would be like this, I would have just stayed home and slept.’

They’re all so engrossed.

How much have they been neglecting information gathering?

I didn’t drag my tired body here to listen to this kind of talk.

‘Ugh, more than that, I’m so sleepy, seriously…’

Maybe I’m just being sensitive because I’m tired.

No, that must be it.

If I were in a normal state, I wouldn’t be this annoyed, and I wouldn’t be so emotional about being annoyed.

Tap, tap.

My dilemma grows a little.

Should I end it now before wasting any more time?

Hmm, but that’s a bit of a shame…

Tap.

Having finished my deliberation, I slowly opened my mouth.

“One more time.”

Yeah, let’s go around one more time.

You never know what might come up.

“I’ll give you a chance.”

As I said that and looked around, the members who met my gaze flinched and began to look at each other.

It was a satisfying sight in many ways.

After all, when this kind of atmosphere is formed, the members are more likely to bring out the information they’ve been holding back, and…

‘Thankfully, no one is pointing it out.’

My turn was skipped very naturally.

Being able to skip a round with just one comment, ‘It was all garbage.’

‘Thinking about it like that, I feel a little less annoyed.’

While I was thinking that and waiting for a moment.

One of the members, who had been exchanging glances and sizing each other up, took the lead.

“……Then, let’s go in reverse order this round. Heh heh.”

The clown, even in this situation, looked at me while making his unique laugh.

Still, I was quite expectant.

I could feel a sense of determination in his voice.

He must have volunteered to go first because he was somewhat confident.

“However, before we start……”

The clown then looked around at the members and said.

“I hope that no one here is thinking of trying to get by with nothing this time.”

At first, I thought he was targeting me, but I quickly realized that wasn’t the case.

The clown was giving a warning.

‘I’m going to bring out what I’ve been holding back, so you guys do the same.’

“……”

Unfortunately, no member responded to that warning.

However, did he take that silence as a sign of agreement?

The clown soon placed his hand on the jewel.

And…

“In Noark, they are planning a city invasion.”

As soon as the green light turned on.

“……!”

The pupils of the members hidden behind their masks widened greatly. I was too tired to react, but I was just as surprised.

And that’s because…

“C-City invasion, you say?”

Not a war within the labyrinth, but a city invasion.

Doesn’t that mean that the guys who went outside are planning to invade Lapdonia?

“……Why?”

The fox couldn’t hide her bewildered voice as she asked the clown.

“You said the outside was fine? Is there any need for the Noark forces to go that far?”

It was a reasonable question, and it was something I was thinking about myself.

It’s strange that they went out to the fine outside and still came into the labyrinth to grow stronger…

And now a city invasion?

‘…Is the outside not in such a good situation? Or is there a reason why they must bring down the royal family?’

There were many questionable points, but the clown kept his answer to himself.

“Well… my turn is over, isn’t it? Heh heh.”

Yeah, this is enough to skip a turn.

The clown then glanced at me once before leaning back in his chair as if his turn was over.

And so, it was the Queen’s turn.

“……”

The Queen remained silent for a moment, even though it was her turn.

She seemed to be pondering something.

Sensing this, the clown didn’t miss the opportunity and quickly provoked her.

“What are you pondering about? Surely you’re not thinking of just skipping this time too?”

“……I was just thinking for a moment.”

The Queen answered curtly and immediately placed her hand on the jewel. Whether she liked it or not, the clown’s words had pushed her.

‘Nice assist.’

I mentally gave the clown a sticker of praise and waited, and soon the Queen opened her mouth.

“This is one of the pieces of information that I was only recently able to confirm.”

But what is she trying to say with such a long introduction—

“The master of the Round Table is Auriel Gavis.”

…What?

***

The master of the Round Table.

The person who recruited promising players and created this secret gathering.

Actually, I had thought about it.

That old man I saw once, could he be Auriel Gavis?

The suspicion started in the past era.

[If you want to add the rules you mentioned, I’ll have to give you more authority.]

In the era about 22 years ago, I built a system similar to the Round Table with that old man.

Of course, up to this point, it’s just suspicious, and there’s a good chance it’s just a coincidence. It’s not a special idea, and anyone could think of it.

What’s really coincidental was something else.

‘They do the same things.’

Auriel Gavis created this spiritual world and subtly helped promising players grow.

Just like the master did at this Round Table.

“W-What are you saying? T-That person… is Auriel Gavis?”

The fox, who had seemed to follow the master particularly closely from the beginning, muttered in a daze, but the Queen’s answer didn’t change.

“It’s exactly as I said.”

“T-Then, is that person the one who brought us to this world…?”

“According to what we’ve confirmed, yes.”

Perhaps because she knew that there was a GM [Game Master] behind the Queen, the fox couldn’t even offer a word of denial and closed her mouth.

Whoosh.

As soon as the green light went out, the Queen took her hand off the jewel and glanced at the clown. And she shot him a look as if to say, ‘How was that?’

It was a little funny.

Seeing her check on the clown before me, it seemed like her pride was quite hurt…

‘These two, they have good synergy.’

Okay, from now on, I should keep starting fights between them whenever I get the chance.

‘The master of the Round Table is Auriel Gavis…’

I had expected it, but it’s still a bit shocking.

But I decided to properly think about this old man later.

I’m too tired to think straight right now.

‘For now, let’s just make sure to input it properly so I don’t forget…’

While I was setting my new goal, the situation was settled, and attention was turned to the next person in line.

“Fox, it’s your turn now.”

The third turn had arrived.

Was it because the two previous pieces of information were so shocking?

My head was blank, but my concentration was still higher than before.

‘Yeah, this is what the Round Table is about.’

I guess people need to be stimulated when they get complacent?

I just poked them a little, and good information is flowing out.

Ah, but I hope the fox doesn’t just spill out information about the expedition…

‘…There must be something else.’

As I watched the fox with a mixture of worry and anticipation, the fox brought out information. It was information related to the boycott of the large clan that she had mentioned before, and the jewel turned green, as if no one knew about it.

However…

“Fox, are you kidding me?”

“…If it’s like this, I don’t think you’ll be able to continue participating in this gathering.”

The clown and the Queen, who had been fighting, joined forces this time to raise objections, and in the end, the fox had to try again.

It was a pity.

“The guild master of the Explorer’s Guild, Iria Adnerus, sent a spy, hoping that this royal family’s expedition would fail.”

If it weren’t for this situation, information related to the expedition wouldn’t have been mentioned outside.

Well… is this what they call reaping what you sow?

‘Well, this isn’t something that will have a big impact.’

I decided to think positively.

In the first place, there’s no guarantee that the guild master is our ally.

Besides, if this information is revealed, other members might investigate and find new information.

‘Hmm… maybe she even mentioned it thinking about that.’

I gave up on my regrets and focused on observing the members’ expressions.

The clown had a ‘Guild master?’ kind of look, and the Queen was hard to read.

The goblin glanced at the fox with concern, and…

“Lord Adnerus… a spy…?”

The deer antlers, who seemed to be affiliated with the royal family, showed the most intense reaction.

Yeah, it seems like you guys didn’t know about this at all.

“Well, the green light did turn on, but…”

The crescent moon, who had been quiet throughout the second round, cautiously opened his mouth. It was a way of asking if anyone wanted to object.

However…

“Heh heh, well, it’s still quite lacking, but…”

“The previous information was also something that others didn’t know.”

The fox’s turn ended with the feeling that she barely passed the minimum cut by using two pieces of information.

Then, the problem now is the goblin?

“……I-It’s my turn now.”

I hope he doesn’t say anything weird.

“Why are you so nervous? Heh heh. No one here expects anything from you.”

“Well, isn’t that just your opinion, clown?”

“Heh heh, is the Queen different?”

“……Even if you search a winter squirrel well, you’ll find at least one acorn hidden in its cheeks.”

A mumble that was hard to tell if it was praise or criticism.

The goblin, who was unsure about this, replied in a strange voice.

“Uh… thank you…?”

It seemed like he decided to take it as praise.

“Heh heh, I don’t know if this person is clueless or just shameless. Anyway, hurry up and do it?”

“Ah, yes… a divine revelation… a divine revelation came down—”

“……Another divine revelation? Does the goddess of the Leatlass Church have so much to say?”

“T-This isn’t from our church, but a divine revelation from the Tobera Church!”

“Hmm? The Tobera Church?”

“Yes! The Tobera Church. I don’t know if you know, but it’s famous for not giving divine revelations often—”

“There’s no need for idle talk, how about you just tell us the content of the divine revelation?”

At the clown’s urging, the goblin sighed and immediately got to the point.

“The Sage of Eternal Life has returned.”

A single line of information that was too short.

The green light turned on, but the reaction was not good.

“……Is that it?”

“Yes… that was the content.”

The clown laughed as if he was dumbfounded, and the Queen asked an additional question.

“Were there any annotations interpreted by cardinals or high priests? If there were, it would help in judging the value of the information.”

“…There weren’t. I-In the first place… I was only able to hear the content of the divine revelation somehow…”

The goblin’s voice was full of bewilderment.

It seemed like he hadn’t expected this situation.

Well, this round is a bit unusual.

Normally, any divine revelation would have been a free pass.

‘…Should I help him out?’

If I just leave him alone, I don’t know what kind of information he’ll bring out.

As soon as I made that judgment, I interrupted the clown and joined the conversation.

“Heh heh. It seems like everyone thinks it’s a bit lacking, how about trying again with something else—”

“The Sage of Eternal Life……”

“…………Yes?”

A trick that only I can pull off in this gathering.

It’s called…

“Yes, so he has returned……”

Lion Style.

Fifth Form, Fun Judgment.

“Interesting.”

I said it’s interesting, so what are you going to do about it?

“……!!”

[Dungeon & Stone] is clearly a team game.