Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 472

The answer came after a long pause.

“A favor… you say…?”

Her voice was quite different from when she had told him to get lost.

Though she tried to hide it, her trembling voice clearly betrayed her fear.

It was inevitable.

She had seen it enough times.

How crazy this Baekho was, and how incredibly powerful he was.

“Yeah, a favor.”

So, this couldn’t be a simple favor.

“We’ve been through a lot together, right? It’s okay, isn’t it?”

This was a threat.

It was clear that if she refused, something bad would happen.

That concept unconsciously dominated her mind.

However….

“…No.”

Misha said firmly.

“Without even hearing it?”

“Whatever you want, I won’t do it.”

Her eyes, though trembling, met Baekho’s gaze head-on with strength.

Baekho couldn’t hide his admiration.

“Wow….”

It was quite fascinating to him.

There were many who didn’t know fear, but not many who overcame it.

“How can a person change so much in an instant?”

Then, what was the driving force behind her ability to overcome it this time without being broken?

The answer was too simple.

“Han-soo is really amazing, you know? How hard did he work on building rapport for her to be like this?”

Baekho chuckled.

Though she couldn’t pinpoint the exact difference, Misha felt like she could breathe a little easier.

“Okay, I get it. Everyone’s blind in love, and all that. I wonder if Han-soo knows this… Huh? What is it? Do you have something to say?”

“…Han-soo, who is that…?”

“What…?”

At Misha’s question, Baekho looked blank for a moment, then burst into laughter as if he couldn’t hold it in.

“Pfft, ha! Hahaha! Khehehe… Ah, right. That’s right. This is natural. Oh, I’m such a fool!”

Misha frowned, annoyed by the laughter, and Baekho calmed down and answered her question.

“Lee Han-soo is your husband’s real name. Okay?”

Even at Baekho’s teasing words, Misha showed no particular reaction.

She simply repeated it as if engraving it in her mind.

“…Lee Han-soo.”

“Not Han-soo, but Han-su.”

Even though her pronunciation had improved a lot compared to before, it was still difficult, and Misha was able to pronounce it correctly after repeating it for a while.

“Lee Han-su.”

“Oh, that’s much better.”

“Lee Han-su. Yes, that’s Bjorn’s….”

Misha clasped her hands together as if cherishing something precious and closed her eyes, and Baekho watched her with a somewhat strange gaze.

Of course, it didn’t last long.

Playing around was something to do after finishing all the work. It was Baekho’s long-standing rule.

“So, are you really not going to do me this favor?”

“…Why should I?”

“Hmm, I wonder?”

Baekho shrugged his shoulders.

He was usually playful and could lie without any remorse if necessary.

“Because if you don’t, Bjorn Yandel will die?”

That was the undeniable truth.

***

After the round table ended.

I immediately logged out and went to sleep.

If I stayed there for a full 12 hours and came back, I would be too tired to wake up early….

“Mister! Wake up!”

“…Just five more minutes.”

“Stop talking nonsense and get up. We just need to pack up here, and we’re done.”

“…Already?”

I opened my eyes and checked the time; it was 11 AM.

Sigh, I was really going to wake up earlier today….

“Wait a moment. I’ll pack my room’s stuff.”

“Why bother? Go wash your face.”

“Yes. Mister, there’s not much heavy stuff, we’ll do it.”

No, even so.

I quickly went to wash my face and came back to organize the things in my room. The four large carts already parked in the garden were full of luggage ready to move.

Thud-!

With the barbarian’s iron bed loaded onto the cart, all the packing was finished.

“Then, we’ll depart. Baron.”

“Okay, I’m counting on you.”

The hired coachmen drove the carts away, and we were left alone in the empty mansion.

“…It feels strange.”

Erwen looked somewhat wistful as she looked at the living room, which was completely empty of luggage.

I couldn’t blame her.

Indeed… we had made some memories here in the meantime.

For better or for worse.

[After all, we won’t be going outside anymore, right?]

I wondered what to do with her back then.

Somehow, she was much more stable now.

Even though the negative effects of her stats were much greater than before.

‘It must be that the mental impact was greater than the stats.’

Erwen was also a sore spot for me.

Well, if I had to pick the sorest spot, it would be someone else.

‘…Lee Baekho, when is that guy going to send her back? Just because we moved, it doesn’t mean he can’t find us, right? Hmm, that wouldn’t do….’

“What are you doing? Let’s go quickly. If we want to unpack everything today, there’s no time.”

I was lost in thought, looking around the house one last time before leaving, wondering if we had left anything behind.

We also hurried to our destination.

We rode in a carriage that we had rented for the day, and the coachman was Auyen, our clan’s only navigator.

It turned out that he was not only good at sailing ships.

“…You’re really good at handling horses?”

“I worked as a coachman until I became an adult. Thanks to that, I know the city’s roads well. Of course, it’s nothing compared to the leader’s skills.”

“Flattery.”

Anyway, it suddenly occurred to me that it wouldn’t be bad to buy a carriage and take Auyen with us.

The new house also had a small stable.

Since he had worked as a coachman, he would know how to take care of horses.

‘Hmm, not bad?’

It seemed like a pretty good idea, so I told Amelia about it, and she gave a rather positive answer.

“Everyone needs their own role in any group. If Auyen is okay with it, I don’t mind.”

“Rockrock, what about you? You must have heard everything I just said.”

“I, I would be honored! If you entrust it to me, I will do my best to assist the leader!”

Auyen seemed genuinely pleased, not just saying it out of politeness.

Well, from his point of view, it would be better to do something than to be cooped up in his room every day.

Then, let’s proceed with this later….

“We have arrived, leader.”

I was dozing off, admiring Auyen’s smooth driving skills, when we arrived at our destination.

Commelby Commercial District.

A three-story building located in a bustling area, just 10 minutes away from the Alminus Central Exchange.

“…The building is in much better condition than I expected.”

“I know, right? When I heard about the rent, I thought it would be a very old building.”

This building was owned by the Melbes Merchant Guild and was provided at a low price according to the previous agreement.

Its purpose was to be the Anabada Clan’s clan house.

However, since there were no office workers yet, we decided to live here until the Yandel Baron family was established.

“Okay, let’s move the luggage first. Everyone’s already staring at us.”

It seemed that the news of my move here had already spread, and passersby and explorers were gathering nearby to watch.

Hey, have you never seen a noble carrying moving boxes before?

“Hoo….”

Anyway, since there were four explorers, the unpacking was finished before the day was over.

The first floor was not suitable for residential use, so we decided to use it as a living room, the second floor was for Amelia and Erwen, and the third floor was for me and Auyen.

Oh, by the way, at Amelia’s request, Auyen was assigned a room with a window….

“A room with a view of Commelby’s streets… I never thought I’d live in a place like this….”

It was a bit of an unexpected reaction.

I thought he would be happy to come from a semi-basement to a place with sunlight, but I didn’t expect him to be teary-eyed.

“Where did you live before?”

“I was in the outskirts of Lavigion.”

“The slums near the city walls?”

“Yes….”

A navigator, especially one from a clan that often plundered, should have made quite a bit of money?

When I asked out of curiosity, Auyen said that he was treated almost like a slave in that clan and did not receive any pay.

“But why did you stay there?”

“You may not know, leader, but there are many such clans. You step in without knowing, and then you can’t get out….”

The clan’s internal rules, contracts.

And the crimes they committed together in the dungeon became shackles that they could not escape, Auyen explained.

But strangely enough, I didn’t feel particularly sorry for him.

No, the ones who were truly pitiful were the innocent explorers who were plundered and killed by them.

“Do well in the future. I’ll be watching you.”

“O, of course, leader! Please trust me!”

No matter how much he said that, I couldn’t trust him, so I took the opportunity to give him a lecture about life for about an hour.

“I’m saying this for your own good, so don’t just let it go in one ear and out the other. A man should be steadfast like me. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

“Voice.”

“Yes! Leader!”

Yeah, that’s a little better.

***

Even after the move, there was a lot to do.

“No. The empty lot in the back will be used as a garden.”

“A garden? It seems much more useful to use it as a training ground, don’t you think?”

While Amelia and Erwen were arguing about decorating the house, I went out to work again in the morning.

I had received a call from the Rabbit Baron.

He said that there were several plots of land available for purchase that met the conditions I had mentioned? He contacted me to visit and check the locations myself.

Oh, there was also a complaint mixed in.

[…I still don’t understand why you want to build your family’s foundation in the 7th District instead of the Imperial City. It’s not too late, so how about reconsidering it one more time?]

I decided to establish the Baron family in the 7th District, where I had grown fond of.

Well, even if it’s a noble family, the head of the family is an explorer, isn’t he?

It’s better to be a little closer to the dimensional plaza.

‘If I build a house in the Imperial City, it will definitely be tiny.’

In the 7th District, I could build a much more decent mansion for the same cost, so I thought it was a more rational choice.

‘…Okay, so I’ve got the land, now I just need to build the building?’

Fortunately, there was a place I liked among the available plots of land, so I made a decision right away.

Therefore, all that was left was to consult with an architect from the Melbes Merchant Guild to draw up the blueprints and start construction.

However, it would take at least a year to complete.

‘Then, that’s it for today.’

I went home and fell asleep, and the next day, I went to the dwarf’s smithy to improve my work efficiency. I also visited Rotmiller and made a proposal.

“…Are you serious? You want me to teach exploration skills to the barbarians?”

“I’ll give you enough money. You don’t have anything else to do anyway, right?”

“That’s true, but… if you’re making this offer for my sake, you don’t have to worry about it, I’m telling you clearly—.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not saying this for your sake, but because there’s no one else suitable but you. Let’s rely on each other.”

Rotmiller initially tried to refuse, thinking that he was benefiting from me, but he accepted the offer when he realized that it was a request made out of genuine need.

“Then, let’s go to the sanctuary right away. The second elder will tell you how to work. If you can’t communicate with the second elder, go to the administrative office.”

“…Administrative office?”

Rotmiller looked as if he didn’t know that the barbarian tribe had such a thing, and I felt a little disappointed.

Hey, what era are we living in?

One day, two days, three days, four days.

Anyway, time passed quickly after that.

Versil Gowland, who had settled all his relationships with the church he had been indebted to, finally joined the Anabada Clan as the first member of the expedition team.

“…Are you talking about the vice-leader position?”

“Yeah, I think you’d be good at it.”

“That’s true, but… I think it would be better to leave the vice-leader position vacant. There will definitely be talk if I go straight to that position.”

“….”

“Don’t worry. Even though my position is just a regular member, I’ll do the work that the vice-leader should do. Of course, since I don’t have a position, there will be times when the leader will be needed.”

“Is that so? Then let’s do that. Thank you.”

“But… so are you really going to do it? The Layered Monarch.”

“I have to. Of course, you’re participating too.”

“…It’s too much pressure for my first expedition after joining?”

“What, are you going to submit a petition to some royal family?”

“Oh, you’re joking.”

After Versil officially joined the clan, we began to prepare for the 5-person raid in earnest.

Honestly, my mind was complicated, so I couldn’t concentrate well.

‘Why isn’t she coming…?’

Misha still hadn’t come.

Could it be that Baekho is trying to break his promise?

That anxiety also began to creep in, but there was nothing I could do.

I could only wait and do what I could.

“Are you going out again in the morning?”

“Today is the last day. After today, there won’t be any schedule until the dungeon opens.”

“Is that so… you’re working hard.”

“I might be late, so don’t prepare dinner. I don’t want to eat it all cold again like last time.”

With that conversation, I went out to the empty lot.

And I tore up the paper that Lavien had secretly given me a while ago.

Whoosh-!

Soon, a magic circle was drawn on the floor, and the light emanating from it engulfed my body.

“It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while.”

It had been years since I had visited the Dragon’s Temple.

Looking at the old man sitting on the throne, I repeated what I had to do today in my mind.

‘Deliver the Dragon Slayer’s heart and receive the reward.’

It was the last quest of this month.