Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 503

What’s the most important thing when telling a lie?

It’s not about having a logical story that anyone can believe, nor is it about building trust over a long time. It’s all about the expression.

“T, this is… something, o, a misunderstanding…!”

No matter how much you talk with that kind of expression, you won’t be convincing.

“I was just testing the waters, but it seems like it really is human blood.”

Occasionally, there are professional liars who can control even the slightest movements of their facial muscles, but thankfully, this guy wasn’t that type.

“…Th, that is… a misunderstanding—!”

“Tell me about it. I’ll listen.”

Without needing to say much, I called out to Bersil, and she activated her verification magic right away.

But….

“…This guy seems stronger than he looks.”

Unfortunately, the magic failed.

If your magic resistance and mental stats are above a certain level, this magic doesn’t work well.

Well, it’s not that I can’t understand. They’re a small to medium-sized clan of about 20 people that I’ve never heard of, but he’s still the leader, so he must be at a certain level.

“What should we do?”

What to do?

There are plenty of witnesses around, so there’s no reason to stick with just one.

“Try it on that guy.”

I pointed to an archer with a timid look, and Bersil cast the magic again.

“It worked.”

Yeah, I knew it would work on him.

“Hey, you there.”

“…Yes, Baron….”

“Tell me what happened here.”

The archer, upon receiving the question, turned pale and glanced back and forth between me and the leader.

“Uh… well, that is….”

It was time to raise the whip [metaphor for applying pressure].

“Judging by how you can’t speak properly, it seems the ‘misunderstanding’ was a lie after all?”

As I spoke with a cold tone, the leader bit his lip and nodded.

“Jason, it’s okay, tell them.”

“Yes… I understand.”

The archer, who had been busy looking around, opened his mouth after the leader’s permission.

After hearing the story, it wasn’t entirely a lie that there was a misunderstanding.

To summarize, it was true that these guys found this place first.

However, soon after, a team of six explorers appeared, and that’s where the incident began.

“Did they covet your achievements?”

“It’s not like that, but….”

“Don’t be vague, just say it.”

“Well….”

It would have been better if they hadn’t seen anything, but the explorer group noticed that this clan had found something. Or at least, that’s what they thought.

So, they apprehended the explorer group, fearing that information would leak out.

“Th, then there was an accident.”

“An accident?”

“They resisted fiercely and killed one of our members first….”

This was the starting point of the battle, and in the end, the explorer group met their end in the dark cave.

“What about the bodies?”

“…After taking their equipment, we used a dissolving agent to get rid of them all.”

I see. No wonder I smelled that peculiar odor.

“Everything I’ve said so far is true. Please believe me. They were the ones who attacked us first—.”

What is he even saying?

“If they had been captured peacefully, were you planning to let them go without doing anything?”

“Th, that’s….”

The archer himself knew it was a lie, so he couldn’t continue and trailed off.

Then, the leader, who had been silent, stepped forward.

“So, what’s wrong with that?”

“Huh?”

“Do you think those six guys would have been any different? If we were the ones with fewer numbers, we would have had our achievements stolen and been killed.”

What is he even talking about?

Well, it wasn’t entirely nonsense.

But….

“It’s just that difference. No one can blame us. Even if it’s Baron Yandel, you!”

He’s fearlessly spouting that logic in front of me.

“Then, it wouldn’t be a problem if I killed you all here? No one would blame us, right?”

When I responded with the same logic, he widened his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it.

“If you did that, your reputation would—!”

“What, are you going to become a ghost and spread rumors?”

“……!”

It seemed like he was finally realizing it. That Bjorn, the son of the giant Yandel, wasn’t as noble as the rumors said.

“Anyway, that’s enough talk.”

I ended the conversation there and called a meeting.

The only agenda was this.

“What do you think is the best way to deal with these guys? Don’t hold back, just say what you think.”

“I’m for killing them.”

Starting with Erwen, who gave his opinion without hesitation, everyone gave their opinions one by one.

“Misha, what about you?”

“W, well… killing them… wouldn’t that be… better…? I think….”

“I agree with Mr. Karlstein.”

Misha and Bersil were on the side of killing them, while Auyen and Ainar were on the side of letting them live.

And….

“I’m also on the side of letting them live.”

Surprisingly, Amelia voted to let them live.

Therefore, I couldn’t help but ask her.

“What’s the reason?”

“If you want to hold them accountable, it’s more appropriate to leave it to the guild.”

What is this…?

I never expected such a model student-like comment to come from her mouth.

As I stared blankly, Amelia avoided my gaze.

“And….”

“……?”

“It seems like it would be better for you.”

“…What?”

“It’s just my opinion, so don’t take it too seriously.”

“No, that’s not it. What do you mean it would be better for me? What does that mean?”

When I seriously asked again, Amelia seemed to ponder for a moment before giving an answer.

“Yandel, don’t be offended, but listen. You are in a very unstable state right now.”

“…Unstable state?”

“Have they harmed you so far? Or tried to kill you? No. In fact, even if you let them go, they wouldn’t be a threat to you. But you’re looking for a reason to kill them.”

Looking for a reason?

It’s not like I’m some psycho barbarian.

“Emily, I think there’s a misunderstanding. I’m not like that—.”

“Really not?”

I should have said that I really wasn’t.

But for some reason, the words wouldn’t come out when I looked into Amelia’s eyes.

Her gaze wasn’t blaming me. It was just a gaze of deep concern.

“…Coincidentally, there are three for killing and three for letting them live.”

Amelia said.

“Yandel, the rest is up to you.”

What should I do?

***

Should I kill them or let them live?

I never dreamed I’d be so seriously worried about this issue.

And maybe… it’s because of that. That’s why Amelia put on the brakes like this. Because she was genuinely worried about ‘Lee Han-soo,’ who had been fighting for years in the body of a warrior.

“Archer.”

“…Yes?”

I asked him just one last thing.

“Do you or any of your companions have any experience with looting?”

“…No. We… we’re not that kind of clan. This time, it’s just… everyone was blinded by greed and lost their judgment for a moment.”

“That’s true.”

Okay, so that’s how it is.

“Bersil, get their testimonies again and record them in a crystal ball. Emily, search their belongings and find the victims’ IDs. Oh, and make sure to collect everything else that can be submitted as evidence to the guild.”

“Does that mean….”

“Whether or not to consider them looters will be up to the guild’s judgment later.”

It’s a pointless and troublesome thing to do. That thought was still in my head, but once I made the decision, everything proceeded smoothly.

“Don’t cause any other incidents until the dungeon closes. The guild will also conduct a thorough investigation for this expedition.”

“…O, of course!”

Okay, then this issue is over.

“But what was inside here?”

“Th, there’s a stele [an upright stone slab or pillar bearing an inscription].”

“A stele?”

It seems like it would be faster to see it myself.

While Amelia and Bersil were gathering testimonies and evidence, I approached the wall and examined the gap.

No matter how I looked at it, it wasn’t a size I could fit through.

‘Seriously, it’s like they’re discriminating against barbarians.’

After a moment of thought, I smashed the wall with my hammer.

Kwaaaang-! Thud thud thud-!

The fragments shattered and fell down.

After hitting the edges a few more times with the hammer, the wall completely collapsed, and a path appeared.

And….

“Oh! It looks just like the portal stele!”

“It’s amazing.”

“I wonder if touching it will open a portal?”

A stele was standing about 10 meters down the passage. I immediately went over and put my hand on it, but nothing happened, like a portal opening.

‘I thought it was too easy to find. So, there’s some special condition, huh?’

Still, it seems like I found the right place. Originally, there wasn’t a secret space like this in the first-floor crystal cave.

‘And the broken wall isn’t being restored either.’

That’s why the basic rule of hidden piece searches is destruction. If everything else regenerates except for one place, that’s likely the answer.

“Did you find anything?”

“Not yet….”

“I see.”

After that, I was examining the area around the stele with my team members when Amelia and Bersil joined us. It seems like the testimony and evidence collection was over.

So, I let them go.

“A, are you saying we can just go like this?”

“Yeah. Like I said before, don’t cause any trouble.”

He left with a confused expression, taking care of his clan members, and then Bersil cautiously spoke.

“Is it really okay to let them go like that? The information might spread.”

That’s true. Actually, I thought it might be cleaner to just kill them all. But….

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t matter?”

“It’s a place that even those guys could find before the third day. They seem to be mistaken that they made some great discovery… But no matter what, those who are going to find it will find it soon enough.”

“That’s… true, I guess.”

“So, let’s stop thinking about that problem and come take a look? I want to use magic detection to see if there’s anything hidden.”

“Yes.”

After that, we finished all the basic searches using magic and other methods, but unfortunately, there were no results.

But….

“Mr. Yandel, I think it’s best to stop here. There’s nothing to find here—.”

“Bjorn! There’s something written here!”

A clue was found in a completely unexpected place. Ainar had dug up the ground around the stele, revealing the inscription hidden beneath it….

“Good find.”

“Hehe, a highly trained warrior’s intuition is no different from magic. It’s one of the reasons why barbarians are a superior race.”

“…….”

I ignored Ainar’s nonsense and squatted down to read the inscription.

“It’s ancient language….”

“It’s okay. I can read it.”

“Y, you can read ancient language…?”

Ah, I didn’t tell them about that, did I? The world is always show and prove [a phrase meaning actions speak louder than words]. Instead of a complicated explanation, I read the ancient language written under the stele out loud.

“One star, one sun, one moon.”

“On this land we look down upon, all shall be the same.”

“I shall look up to you.”

As soon as the translation was finished, Bersil and Erwen’s expressions turned strange.

“Mr. Yandel, this….”

“That’s what we heard there, right!”

“Yes.”

It was the inscription written on the witch statue back then. Unfortunately, it seems like Ainar doesn’t remember it.

“…Huh? Heard it back then? What are you talking about?”

“There’s something like that.”

After that, we dug deeper under the stele, but nothing came out, and at this point, we restored the dug-up area and went outside.

“This is troublesome. In the end, we didn’t get any clues.”

Amelia looked like she was in trouble, but I couldn’t relate. Why are there no clues?

‘One star, one sun, one moon.’

This is practically spoon-feeding us.

“From now on, we’re going to the second floor.”

If we hurry, it seems like we’ll be able to enter this round as well.