Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 86

Auril Gavis.

The name of the creator that was always displayed at the bottom of the loading screen.

Well, I don’t know if it’s a nickname or a real name, but whatever.

‘Why is that name here…’

This is a bit sudden, but there are two possibilities.

[Rift Compendium II]

Either a player wrote this book,

Or the author actually wrote it themselves.

If it’s the latter, it makes me feel strangely uneasy.

At the very least, it means that the game developer is closely connected to the incident where I woke up in this body.

‘Is that guy really some kind of divine being?’

Anyway, getting a clue is a good sign.

Auril Gavis.

If I carefully track this name, I might find a way to return home someday.

Then again, I still don’t know anything.

I don’t even know if reaching the last floor and opening the gate to the abyss again is the key to returning.

‘I could get into trouble if I go around asking, so let’s investigate carefully.’

With that in mind, I thoroughly scanned the book.

There wasn’t anything particularly noteworthy.

There was only a signature, presumably the author’s, on the last page, and not even the year the book was written was recorded.

After confirming that Ragna wasn’t around, I tore off a small corner and slipped it into my bag.

‘Even just finding out when this book was made would be a big gain—’

What, is it already morning?

I stopped my thoughts there and got up from my seat.

When I went to the desk, I saw Ragna dozing off. There was a blanket next to her, so I was about to cover her with it.

“Uhm.”

She woke up, sensing my presence.

“Why didn’t you say anything? If I had known so much time had passed, I would have left earlier.”

“Don’t misunderstand. I was just resting because the book organization was a bit delayed.”

Book organization was a bit delayed?

Looking at the time, it’s almost time to open the library doors?

“It’s true. Don’t misunderstand.”

“…Okay.”

Since she insisted, I just nodded and left the library.

Before opening the door and stepping out, I glanced back and saw her stretching with a tired face.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you leaving?”

Is she actually a nice person?

***

Since it was morning, I just started the day.

After all, I’m a barbarian, so it’s the same whether I wash or not.

‘Still, I should eat first.’

I went into a random restaurant near the door, had a quick meal, and headed straight to the magic tower.

“Why are you here at this hour, Yandel?”

“I came to ask you something.”

“Hurry up. I’m sleepy.”

“There’s an opening for a mage in our team, and I was wondering if you’d consider joining—”

Thud.

Damn it, if you don’t like it, at least say something.

So she’s a failure too.

Fine, I wasn’t expecting anything anyway.

“Wait! I have another request!”

I urgently shouted and knocked on the door, and it creaked open a crack.

“Another request?”

“I want to know when this paper was made.”

“Hmm? Let me see.”

Raven, intrigued, carefully examined the paper I handed over.

However, she couldn’t find anything particularly special.

“It’s not impossible, but why are you curious about that?”

“Can’t you just do it?”

“Well, okay. But it can’t be free, I need to get something in return…”

Raven, trailing off, continued as if she had thought of something suitable.

“The seniors are very interested in you, Yandel. Go help them with their research. They’ve been bothering me lately.”

Are you telling me to offer myself to those perverts?

“…Is once enough?”

“Yes, it’s not a difficult request. I’ll finish the analysis by the time you come next week. Oh! Right, and try not to come barging in so early in the morning.”

“…I won’t.”

The time when I left the magic tower after finishing my business was 9 a.m. It was a bit early, but since I had nothing else to do, I headed to the bar where we were supposed to meet.

Surprisingly, someone had arrived before me.

“Bjorn! What is it! I went to the dorm and you weren’t there!”

“Ah, I was at the library.”

“Wha, what? All night…? Don’t tell me that’s what you meant by business?!”

“What are you talking about? Ragna was considerate, and I was reading a book.”

Even though I only told the truth, Misha looked at me with suspicious eyes.

It’s like she’s my real mom or something.

“Really…?”

“Why would I lie to you?”

“That’s… true. Okay.”

Surprisingly, she readily accepted it when I looked her straight in the eye and said one word. A good son wouldn’t lie, that kind of feeling?

Anyway, as I sat down next to her, Misha handed me the drink she was having.

“Try this. It’s made by grinding a fruit called tomato, and it has a very strange taste!”

I don’t know about a strange taste, but talking about tomato juice reminded me of something.

“More importantly, what were you going to say yesterday?”

From the atmosphere, it seemed like she was going to say something quite important, but I couldn’t hear it because Hans B interrupted.

However…

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t remember?”

“Uh, uh… Did I perhaps say something wrong?”

Looking at her innocent eyes, it seems she really doesn’t remember because she was drunk. I asked if there was anything she usually wanted to say, but there was no gain.

“Huh? There’s nothing like that?”

“I see.”

“…Are you angry?”

“No.”

There are two ways to make people angry in this world, but I don’t get angry over such things.

It’s not like she did anything wrong in the first place.

After that, we spent time in the quiet bar like it was a cafe, and then my colleagues arrived.

“Oh, you were here first?”

“I’m sorry, because of me, you’re here so early…”

The dwarf and Dwarki, who always appeared as a pair, arrived as usual. After waiting a bit, Rotmuller arrived at the appointed time and sat down.

And then the meeting began.

The topic was, of course, how to lift Dwarki’s ban from entering the labyrinth.

“Then, let’s each say what comes to mind. First… well, Bjorn, you can start.”

Oh, me first?

It’s not a comfortable position, but I finished my presentation honestly and concisely.

“It would be better to find a new colleague.”

“…What?”

“Of course, it seems impossible to find a mage. I recommended it to two other mages, but they refused right away.”

“…Wha, what are you saying? You already went to find other mages?”

“Is there a problem?”

I asked back confidently.

My actions might feel disappointing to the dwarf who was trying to find a way, but…

Selfishness and altruism are always a hair’s breadth apart.

I was just trying to find a realistic alternative for the team, assuming the worst.

“Someone had to say it, even if it wasn’t me. Isn’t that right, Rotmuller?”

“That’s… true.”

When I specifically asked for his opinion, Rotmuller nodded with a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

At this, the dwarf’s eyes became serious, but…

“Mu, Murad! I’m fine, so please relax your expression. Bjorn didn’t say anything wrong, did he?”

Even Dwarki, the person involved, said that, so the dwarf shut his mouth.

“Th, then I’ll speak!”

Misha raised her hand, trying to brighten the mood.

Of course, it wasn’t something worth listening to.

“I found out that the Mozlans are weak to bribes. How about we gather some money and slip it to them?”

Bribery discussed in a pure voice.

Certainly, Marquis Martoang or whatever, must have bribed them to mess with Dwarki.

However…

“Miss Kalstein, the Mozlans never deal with those who are not nobles.”

The Mozlans thoroughly reject commoners.

Most of them are people without titles, but… no, maybe that’s why it’s their last bit of pride.

“I, is that so…? I didn’t know that. So, next is Rotmuller, you try.”

Misha, flustered, passed the turn.

Since it was Rotmuller’s opinion, I also waited for his words with a bit of seriousness.

However…

“Honestly, I don’t know how to achieve what we want against a noble… especially a titled noble. I’m sorry…”

It seems Rotmuller also couldn’t find a suitable answer.

However, unlike when it was my turn, the dwarf sighed and comforted him instead.

“How is that your fault? Actually… that’s only natural.”

No, if you know it’s natural, why did you glare at me?

As I was grumbling inwardly, the dwarf opened his mouth in a subtle voice.

“So, that’s why… Dwarki and I thought about it carefully last night, and…”

“Just get to the point.”

“How about we go directly to Marquis Martoang and talk to him?”

In short, he meant to face it head-on.

But there’s a serious problem with this too.

“How are we going to meet him?”

Most nobles live in District 1, the imperial capital of Karnon. And that area is a place where lower-class adventurers like us can’t even enter.

It’s like we live in different worlds, let alone have a conversation.

However, the dwarf seemed to have already planned out the details.

“There’s a tea house that Marquis Martoang visits regularly. If we wait there, we’ll definitely be able to meet him.”

Well, in that case.

It’s certainly not bad.

Regardless of the problem that the marquis is unlikely to change his mind, there’s no harm in trying.

“Then there’s no problem. You two go.”

“Wh, what are you saying! Come with us!”

What is he talking about again?

“We’re just going to beg, why would we all go there?”

“…We need courage! The opponent is a titled noble!”

The dwarf started whining excessively at the idea of the two of them going alone.

I’m already sighing at his hopeless attitude, but since we’ve been together for a while, I calculated the practical benefits.

‘With 9 days left, it would be impossible to find a new mage…’

Even if we find any job, if it’s not a decent one, we’ll suffer a lot.

It’s best for Dwarki to stay on this team.

‘If those two go, they’ll just stammer and come back without solving anything.’

No matter how I think about it, it seems like going myself has a slightly higher chance of success.

However…

‘Meeting a noble is bothersome.’

Even in the game, the rule was to avoid getting involved with nobles as much as possible.

Because there aren’t any decent ones—

“I’ll give you 300,000 stones for whatever happens! And that’s per person!”

Well, that’s a bit tempting.

If it’s not a matter of loyalty, there’s no reason not to meet a noble once.

***

“In that case, it wouldn’t be bad to meet him.”

“Really!”

The dwarf’s face brightened noticeably at my acceptance.

However, rather than being swept away by his fuss, I calmly checked what I needed to know first.

“So, when do we go?”

Even if he’s a noble, it’s not a world where he can just kill anyone.

Especially if you’re a respected adventurer.

There shouldn’t be anything too dangerous, but isn’t this the first time I’m meeting a real noble since I opened my eyes in this body?

I need to prepare myself a little—

“Oh, it’s today.”

“What…?”

“Oh, if it’s not today, he won’t visit that place until next month.”

Sigh, I knew I wanted to refuse.

But since I already agreed, I checked other things one by one.

How old Marquis Martoang is, if he’s a man, if he dislikes anything, and if there’s anything else I should know.

Time flew by quickly as I learned various things.

“Le, let’s go. As you said, if we want to pretend to meet by chance, we have to go early!”

The time when the marquis visits the tea house is usually between 3 and 4 p.m.

So, we arrived at the tea house at 2 p.m. and waited for the time.

How much time had passed since then?

“Th, that person is my second older brother.”

Marquis Martoang appeared with his attendants.

Does he come in person to enjoy the tea that the owner makes himself?

If he goes into a private room, there won’t be any chance to talk to him, so I quickly got up and took the lead.

“Who are you!”

A huge knight blocked our way as soon as we got close.

As planned, Dwarki stepped forward first.

“M, Marquis Martoang! It’s me! Riol Worb Dwarki! Please, just listen to me once!”

Dwarki prostrated himself on the floor, showing his submission as advised.

At this, Marquis Martoang, who was talking to the owner, turned his attention to us.

However, the reaction that followed was completely different from what we expected.

“Dwarki…? That’s somehow familiar?”

A murmur that felt like he didn’t even remember properly.

A man who looked like a butler added in his ear.

“The Dwarki family is the family of Lady Carlina, the third wife of the former marquis.”

“Ah, that’s right! So, what business does someone from that side have with me?”

“W, well… that is, um…”

Dwarki started stammering, as the situation was different from the plan from the very beginning.

It was earlier than expected, but it was my turn to step in.

“Nice to meet you. I am Bjorn, son of Yandel.”

A confident statement that I just blurted out, regardless of whether he’s a noble or not.

If it were another race, that alone would constitute insulting a noble, but…

The big and precious barbarians are excluded.

My ancestor did a great deed in the past and received such permission from the king.

“It’s been a while since I’ve talked to a barbarian. It always feels strange.”

Fortunately, the marquis seemed amused by the current situation.

Well, when would these guys ever meet a barbarian and hear them speak informally?

“So, what business do you have with me?”

“After being dragged away by the Mozlans yesterday, this guy was banned from entering the labyrinth.”

“That’s too bad. But why are you telling me that?”

Because he said that you were the one who ordered it all.

‘What is it? Why does he look like he doesn’t know anything?’

At first, I thought he was just denying it, but at this point, I was also starting to have doubts.

And then.

The butler whispered something to the marquis again.

“Hmm, a bastard? Was there such a thing? I see. You did it…”

“Yes, it was not a matter for the marquis to be concerned about, so I did not report it separately.”

“Good job. It’s a waste of time to look into such small matters.”

Now that I see it, the marquis didn’t know anything about this, and it seems the butler was the one who handled everything.

“Such a small matter…?”

Regardless of how shocked Dwarki was.

Looking at the result, it’s not bad.

The fact that they consider it a trivial matter means that the possibility of achieving our goal has also increased.

“Is it possible to withdraw the ban on entering the labyrinth?”

“Hmm, why should I do that?”

The marquis tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand at all. And what’s annoying here is that I didn’t feel any malice.

Their way of thinking is different from ours.

‘Damn celestial dragon bastards…’

As I was cursing the marquis in my mind and thinking about what to do next.

The butler whispered something again.

I couldn’t hear a single word of what he was saying, no matter what method he used.

Still, I could roughly guess what it was about.

“Huh? What? This guy is that barbarian?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Hoo, Little Balkan… I’ve heard the name myself. At the banquet two days ago, the count said that an interesting adventurer had appeared.”

The marquis looked at me with a completely different gaze than before. His eyes were lively as if he had found an interesting toy.

“Bjorn, was it? Instead of granting your request, would you grant me one request?”

Ah, uh, um…

I didn’t expect this situation either…

“It’s not a big request. And I’ll give you enough compensation for it! How about it?”

Somehow, I ended up receiving a second request.