Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 653

The moment the explosion erupted.

‘Kyaaaaaaah!’

The crowd’s cheers turned into screams.

‘Over there! Magic came from over there!’

‘Secure the area! Don’t let anyone leave!’

Soldiers who had been on standby nearby, in case of any unforeseen incidents, rushed toward the source of the magic.

‘G-get out of the wayyyy…!’

The crowd, fearing they’d be caught in the chaos, scattered, causing even more confusion.

‘…Marquis! Are you hurt?’

It was a terror attack.

At such a large event, they had brazenly targeted the prime minister of the nation.

‘…It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced something like this.’

Was he perhaps more experienced in these kinds of situations than I thought?

The marquis, who had seemed momentarily stunned, quickly regained his composure, brushed off his sleeves, and stood up as if nothing had happened.

And then…

‘I’m fine, but please tend to this friend first.’

He spoke to me, his voice surprisingly gentle, as he looked at me.

At his words, a priest attending the event rushed to me and began to heal me…

‘You must leave this place immediately!’

‘Wait a moment.’

Despite the knights’ urgent pleas, the marquis waited until my injuries had somewhat recovered before approaching me and speaking.

It wasn’t a long thank you, but…

‘Thank you for your help today.’

It felt very strange.

Come to think of it, had I ever heard the marquis say thank you before?

‘…I don’t think so.’

Maybe if I really thought about it, there might be something, but it would be very different from now. In the first place, I had never done anything that would warrant a sincere thank you.

‘I’ll call for you separately when this matter is settled.’

With those words, the marquis left, escorted by the knights, and I was left alone, reflecting on what had just happened.

It wasn’t like I was expecting a thank you and then planning to think about it, but…

‘…Why did I do that?’

To be honest, I was a little regretful.

After all, why would I throw myself in front of the marquis to save him?

Moreover, wasn’t that magic powerful enough to harm me, even in my dragon form?

If I had just left him alone, the marquis would have died—.

‘Ah, maybe not?’

In the past, when I asked Baekho if he could kill the marquis, he had answered like this:

‘[Uh, that’s a bit… That guy revives in the royal palace even if you kill him.]’

‘[…Revives? What are you talking about?]’

‘[Ah, you don’t know about that. Is it because it wasn’t in the game? Anyway, there’s a royal treasure like that, and the marquis has it now.]’

Whether I threw myself in front of him or just watched from behind, the marquis wouldn’t have died anyway.

‘Hmm, thinking about it that way, it might not be so bad?’

I could build up his favor with this incident, and then stab him in the back later.

After all, even if you get stabbed in the back, it hurts more when it’s someone you trusted, right?

‘…Anyway, I need to fix this habit of rushing in to block things.’

Regardless of the situation not being so bad, I clearly recognized my bad habit in this incident.

Is it because my job in the labyrinth is to take hits for others?

It seems like I have a deep-seated obsession with being the first to get hit, no matter what I do…

‘T-thank you.’

‘…Huh?’

What’s this now?

Suddenly, someone spoke to me, and when I looked, it was Earl Langlestone, who had won first place in this competition.

‘If you hadn’t pushed me out of the way in time, I would have been caught in that explosion as well. Baron Yandel, you saved my life.’

Ah… it could be interpreted that way too.

Well, if I hadn’t pushed him, he would have been seriously injured. When the magic flew, this old man was right next to the marquis.

‘I’m glad you’re safe.’

After giving a brief answer, Earl Langlestone cautiously asked me one thing.

‘But… if you don’t mind me asking, why did you save me?’

Coincidentally, it was the same question the marquis had asked.

I chuckled and asked back.

‘Why shouldn’t I save you?’

‘Well…’

Earl Langlestone, who had been trailing off, continued frankly.

‘I am your competitor. If I were gone, Baron Yandel could have been in first place.’

It was a bit absurd.

Did he think this competition was some kind of battle royale?

‘Or… maybe it’s just a noble way of thinking.’

‘Besides, even if that weren’t the case… there’s no reason for the baron to look favorably upon me, is there?’

In other words, he was saying that I had treated him badly earlier…

To be honest, this was nothing more than a lucky break.

In fact, I had forgotten about his existence until he came to thank me.

But there was no need to say that directly.

‘I don’t care about that. I just saved you because I could.’

As I said that and patted his shoulder heartily, the earl looked up at me with a strange gaze.

‘Baron Yandel… you are truly as the rumors say. I sincerely apologize for my previous rudeness.’

Hearing these words from someone who disliked me.

…This is surprisingly rewarding.

***

「Your character’s reputation has increased by +10.」

「Your character’s reputation has increased by +10.」

「Your character’s reputation has increased by +10…」

「…」

「…」

***

The architectural competition that had garnered much attention.

And the terror attack that occurred there.

It goes without saying that the next morning, all the media outlets in Lapdonia were headlining the story.

The assassination attempt on the marquis and the hero who stopped it, Bjorn, the son of the giant Yandel.

The headlines were different, but in the end, this was the main content, and everything else was very quiet.

Whether it was an assassin sent by Noark.

Or a terror attack for political reasons.

Or perhaps the son was trying to seize the title.

Unlike the numerous rumors that were being spread on the streets, the media did not make any speculations.

Even the third-rate tabloids that lived off of sensationalism were quiet on this matter…

‘The marquis’s power is quite something.’

It’s a bit strange that even the media, which always wrote elaborate nonsense whenever my story came up, was acting like this.

Well, it’s only natural to be cautious when it involves the second-in-command of the country, right?

Anyway.

Three days after that incident.

‘Wow… they still haven’t caught the culprit…’

I was checking the news in the newspaper again today when Misha poked her head in from behind.

‘Bjorn, where do you think it’s from? Noark? A political rival? Or that annoying son?’

‘Well, I think Noark is the most likely, but… why don’t you step back a bit?’

‘Why? Is it because we’re too close to be just colleagues?’

‘…’

I’ve been feeling lately that Misha’s tension has been noticeably higher.

Well, did something good happen?

Since it’s been a while since we’ve been alone, I asked her about her recent activities, and I could quickly understand why her expression had brightened.

‘Huh? Well? I haven’t really done anything special… I just exercise with Einar during the day… and after dinner is prepared, I draw a little…’

‘Drawing?’

‘Ah, I’ve been trying it out as a hobby recently. I went to the art museum with Reinz [Amelia’s nickname] the other day and got a little interested… Ah! I’m definitely not going to show it to you yet, so don’t ask me to show you!’

If she’s going to the art museum with Amelia, it seems like the period of being an outsider is completely over.

And it seems like her old personality is coming back.

‘It was kind of cute when she was being a recluse though…’

After talking a bit more, it seems like her relationships have improved quite a bit, not just with Einar and Amelia.

‘I’m not close with Gowland yet, but he doesn’t seem like a bad person… Erwen… I don’t know. Thinking about it now, I think I was more at fault, so I apologized to her a while ago, but she avoided me…’

‘I see.’

‘But I’ve become really close with Emuer. She was really curious about Rotmiller? Oh, right, the day before yesterday, I saw Hiku Road and Rotmiller together.’

‘What? But why didn’t you go with me?’

‘Um, you said you were busy that day and went out?’

The day before yesterday was when I went to the Royal Intelligence Department because they said they had some questions about the terror incident.

Ha… If I had known there was such a plan, I would have postponed it.

‘So… what are you doing today?’

‘Today?’

‘Yeah. If you have nothing to do, would you like to go to Commelby with me later? I saw yesterday that the hilt of my sword is too worn out, so I’m going to get it replaced…’

‘Ah… I can’t come back with you, is that okay?’

‘Huh? Why?’

‘I have a meeting with the marquis in the evening. I’ll probably have to go straight to Karnon after going to Commelby. Um, if that’s the case, I’ll just do it later—.’

‘No, it’s okay, don’t worry about it! I’m just dropping off the sword! I’ll get ready right now!’

Saying that, Misha finished preparing to go out like lightning and came back, and after that, we immediately left the holy land and headed to Commelby.

And after dropping off the sword at the blacksmith’s first, we had a simple meal nearby, and then, since we had come all the way to Commelby, we stopped by the exchange to check the market prices and spent some time there.

‘Ugh! Why is everything so cheap? If I had more money, I would buy it all!’

‘It seems like there aren’t many people buying right now since the labyrinth is closed. You should wait a bit longer. The prices of explorer equipment will continue to fall.’

‘Okay… but it was still fun.’

‘I had fun too after a long time. If I could, I’d like to stay here longer…’

‘You have to go, right?’

‘Since it’s an appointment with the marquis.’

‘Okay, have a good trip…’

After parting with Misha, I went straight to Karnon.

Since it was an appointment, this time I was given a free pass without any arguments at the entrance.

‘Welcome, Baron Yandel. The marquis is waiting for you. Please come inside.’

From the fact that the head butler was waiting for me in front of the entrance at my expected arrival time, to the fact that the servants were lined up to welcome me as I walked through the garden.

‘…The noble families are really different.’

I’m realizing again, how much time would it take for even those servants to be able to give such elegant greetings?

As someone who doesn’t even have a house yet, it’s something I can’t know.

Swoosh.

Soon, the door that I arrived at, guided by the head butler, opened smoothly, revealing a reception room with a very luxurious and dignified atmosphere.

‘…How many reception rooms does the marquis’s family have?’

Come to think of it, the reception room is always different every time I come.

It seems like they have several reception rooms so they can use them depending on the guest…

‘This one looks the best out of all the ones I’ve been to.’

A room that clearly gives the impression that I’m being treated very well.

‘You’ve arrived.’

Even the marquis himself got up to greet me as I entered the room.

It was truly a new experience.

There were times when I had visited this mansion and talked through the crystal ball.

‘…Sit down, your legs must be tired.’

‘Haha, you should sit first. You’re the guest.’

‘If you insist…’

Only after I sat down did the marquis sit facing me, and after that, the conversation flowed naturally.

‘There’s nothing but talk about it these days, so have you found out who the culprit is?’

‘Not yet. The more I dig, the more I feel that they were thoroughly prepared. If it weren’t for you, I would have been in great trouble.’

‘It was something anyone could have done.’

Trouble…

So, he still doesn’t plan to reveal the revival item to me?

I don’t know, but the praise for me continued.

‘Anyone could have done it… well, there were many nobles and many knights there that day, but you were the only one who threw yourself to save me when the incident happened.’

‘It was just luck that you were okay, Marquis.’

‘I also heard about the conversation you had with Earl Langlestone through the newspaper. You said you just saved him because you could? Is that true?’

‘Well… it’s true…’

I don’t like being praised like this, so I quickly changed the subject.

‘But why did you call me here today?’

‘First of all, I thought it was my duty to tell you about the progress of this incident. Oh, and I was also going to let you know that the Yandel barony has been put in charge of the reconstruction of District 7. You’ll probably be contacted soon.’

Oh, I’m relieved that it turned out that way—.

‘But this is not the main point, so let’s move on quickly.’

‘…Huh?’

If this isn’t the main point, then what is?

As I was tilting my head with that thought.

‘Knowing your personality, I’ll be frank with you.’

The marquis wiped away the gentle smile he had on his face until just now and called my name in a cold voice.

‘Bjorn, son of Yandel.’

‘…?’

‘I think you are a demon.’