Surviving the Game As a Barbarian [EN]: Chapter 98

A magic tool that can identify the souls of evil spirits? Just a second ago, I hadn’t expected to be in this situation at all. But… ‘Whatever it is, nothing changes.’ I dismiss the question that was only born out of curiosity. Is he saying that knowing something? Or is it just a coincidence? If I can’t be sure, it’s right to assume the worst and act accordingly. The old man is suspicious of me. Then what should I do right now? “…A magic tool?” I frown and look at the old man. As if the word ‘magic tool’ is more concerning than ‘evil spirit’. As if the short silence just now was all because of that. “…It’s safe, right?” I look at him with distrust. I’m just a barbarian who knows nothing about magic. I’ve seen countless suspicious-looking magic tools in Raven’s lab. ‘This is the right reaction, right?’ I finish my split-second judgment and take action. So now it’s the old man’s turn. “Hmm.” The old man observes me with a meaningful look, then changes his expression and opens his mouth. “Hehe, do you not trust me? Me, the master of the Artemion School?” I look at him as if to say, ‘Do you really need to ask?’ and the old man clicks his tongue. “Tsk, what does this fellow think of me? Don’t worry. Aru will prove that the magic tool is harmless to the human body.” “…Huh? Me?” “It’s not a difficult task, is it?” “Well, if it’s just checking what kind of spell is in the magic tool…” The master of the school and a barbarian with a three-month connection. It’s obvious which one Raven would prioritize, so those words are hard to trust. But… ‘No matter what excuse I make to refuse, I’ll just end up falling for his trick.’ Listening to the two of them talking, I became certain. I don’t know where I left a clue, but the old man is suspicious of me. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be at the stage of certainty. He’s trying to test me with a non-existent magic tool. ‘Maybe… there isn’t such a magic tool.’ I erase my anxiety and rationally gather the evidence. A magic tool that identifies evil spirits? It hasn’t existed for thousands of years. As civilization develops, it wouldn’t be strange if such a thing appeared someday, but… ‘Still, it’s ridiculous that this old man is the first creator.’ The Artemion School is an orthodox magic school. Rather than minor topics like dimensions or souls, they mainly conduct research such as creating new spells. But such a magician creates an evil spirit detector? ‘In the first place, if there really was such a thing, he would have somehow tricked me into sitting in front of the magic tool. Not testing me like this.’ I soon made my final judgment. There is no evil spirit detector. The old man is just trying to see my reaction. Therefore—, “So what are you going to do? There’s no danger, and it won’t take long.” “…It won’t take long?” “It’ll probably take about five minutes.” “Tch, if that’s the case.” I accepted the old man’s offer. As if it’s a bit unsettling, but if it ends quickly, there’s nothing bad about it. But was my decision unexpected? “…Are you really okay with this?” The old man asks me a question instead. A reaction that even erases the slightest bit of remaining anxiety. I asked back nonchalantly. “What are you talking about? Okay with what?” “…Didn’t you worry that it might be dangerous earlier?” “Well, she said she’d check it for me!” “That’s true, but…” “Let’s go quickly. I’m already tired from waking up early this morning, I need to go back and get some more sleep!” Damn it, what kind of trick is this old man playing? *** “He’s gone…” In the lab where Bjorn had left. Raven sighed deeply at her master’s seemingly hollow mutter. She didn’t understand the situation itself. A magic tool that identifies evil spirits? She had never heard that her master was researching such a thing… “What was that just now?” “…” “Don’t just stay silent. Are you really not going to tell me?” Under her master’s instructions, she had to prove to Bjorn that this magic tool was safe. It wasn’t a difficult task. The magic tool that her master had brought out, claiming it was an evil spirit detector, didn’t even have a spell on it. It was just a strangely shaped chair. [Don’t say anything and just go along with it.] However, she kept silent about this fact according to her master’s words. So now it was time to hear the truth. Of course, there was something she could guess. It’s not like she didn’t have that much sense. “…Could it be that you thought Yandel was an evil spirit? Is that why you were asking about what happened in the labyrinth?” Her master neither affirmed nor denied it. But sometimes silence can be a more definite answer than anything else. “Haa… So, has your suspicion been cleared?” “…Yes, I was wrong.” “I can understand your feelings, Master. He’s a unique person. But there’s one thing I’m curious about. I’d like you to answer this.” At the repeated question, her master asked back weakly. “…What is it?” “Why did you do that? If you suspected him of being an evil spirit, you could have just told the secret police, and they would have taken care of it—.” “They would have died if I did that.” A small mutter. “Huh? What do you mean—.” “That’s enough, I’m tired. I’m going to leave, so please clean up.” Soon, her master stood up with his small, old body. And unlike usual, he left the place with a shrunken gait. She was left alone in the lab. She pondered over the words her master had left behind. ‘They would have died if I did that…’ In other words, doesn’t that mean he needs a living evil spirit? ‘What on earth does Master want?’ She couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling. *** Thud! I returned to my lodgings and immediately collapsed onto the bed. It felt like I was completely drained from the morning. I wanted to close my eyes for a bit, but… ‘He suddenly jumped in without warning, it really surprised me.’ I relaxed my tense body and took some time to review what happened today. It didn’t seem like I made any mistakes. Even thinking about it again, it was a good response. I assumed the worst, but I prevented myself from endlessly jumping to conclusions based on the given clues, and as a result, I was able to deduce the best answer. ‘Looking at his expression at the end, it seems like the old man has completely dropped his suspicion.’ It was a sudden incident, but it worked out well. However, there was one point that was a bit unsettling. When he became certain that I wasn’t an evil spirit, the old man seemed somewhat disappointed. Why was that? ‘…Well, that’s not something I need to worry about.’ After thinking about it for a while, I cleanly emptied my mind. It was a problem that had no answer, and whatever the reason was, it was determined that it had no direct connection to my safety. ‘Still, I feel a little relieved.’ I had a shitty experience this morning. But paradoxically, this incident gave me a strange sense of relief. This should have offset some of the luck stack that had been piling up lately— “Bjorn! Wake up! It’s already midday, how long are you going to sleep!” Was I asleep already? When I opened my eyes, Misha was shaking my body. It’s not like I left the door open, she must have used the spare key I gave her a while ago to come in. ‘I gave it to her to use when something happens…’ “Misha, why are you here? I thought you were going to the magic tower today.” “You came back late yesterday, didn’t you? I was going to wake you up if you were sleeping!” Well, if that’s the reason. I’ll have to think about taking back the spare key later. “Ah, but how did you know I came back late yesterday? Were you waiting for me?” “You said you’d tell me what happened when you got back. Besides, I didn’t wait long, so don’t worry about it.” She says that, but she must have been waiting for me until late at night. Is she that curious about what happened at the banquet? “Okay, then tell me quickly. What happened?” At Misha’s urging, I slowly told her about what happened yesterday. How I wore the barbarian warrior equipment prepared by the butler and headed to the banquet venue leading the carriage procession. The food I ate there. And how I ended up winning the tournament. “Eek, you really won? You beat all those knights?” “They weren’t knights, they were apprentice knights.” “Still, they’re knights! That’s amazing!” Amazing my ass. Except for the guy I met in the final, Misha could have easily won against the rest if she was there. She’s really something when it comes to martial arts. “Okay, take this.” Anyway, after briefly explaining what happened, I started writing letters with Misha. They were replies to the nobles. I had written them all in the morning, but when I woke up, there were even more. “…Bjorn, is it really okay to send these? They’re nobles. Something might happen if we do this.” “It’s okay.” “Well, if you say so, I guess it’s okay, but…” Misha wrote the letters as I dictated, with an uneasy look. Seriously, there’s nothing to worry about. What more can you expect from a letter written by a barbarian? In the first place, being able to receive a reply is a miracle… [I’m too busy to go.] [So look for another barbarian.] [Sender: Bjorn, son of Yandel] Yeah, this is enough to maintain my dignity. *** I’m at a noble’s mansion. A wide, sparkling place where delicious smells waft from everywhere. “I think I understand what the chief meant when he said the world is wide!” It’s like being in another world. The people’s clothes, their way of speaking, the music playing. All we had was drumming… “What are you doing? Come here quickly.” “Ah, I understand!” Dukart, the son of Kapen, a barbarian who came of age a month ago, followed the client to the center of the banquet. “Tsk, what’s with that gait? Walk with more confidence!” It was a bit unfair. I don’t even know what walking with confidence means. The equipment I’m wearing is unnecessarily big and uncomfortable. I’m more comfortable just being bare… I wanted to complain, but Dukart kept his mouth shut. It was because the memories of the past came to mind. [That guy wore even bigger things and walked around just fine?] A few days ago, he followed a noble after hearing that he would give him a lot of money, and he received various kinds of training. Most of it was about how to behave at a banquet. At first, I was angry. Am I being asked to do these ridiculous things because I’m a barbarian? I wondered if they were ignoring me. But… [That guy! Who is that guy that you keep asking me to do things after hearing strange things about him!] [I’m talking about Bjorn, the son of Yandel, the little Balkan?] After learning about his identity, I had no choice but to endure all the requests. Bjorn, the son of Yandel. A warrior among warriors who knocked down all the knights at the nobles’ banquet and even earned the cool nickname of Knight Crusher. ‘Am I not good enough to be like him…’ After hearing his story, Dukart vowed to show a great performance at this banquet. There’s no way that the actions of that warrior, whom the chief praised so much, were wrong. If there’s anything wrong, it must be me. I decided to act like a ‘warrior’. But it wasn’t as easy as I thought. Being among the elegant and refined nobles, who looked so different from him, made him shrink. Also… “Th, this is delicious…!” “Louder! He wasn’t that shy!” “Be, Behel—laa…!!!” Honestly, it was embarrassing. Even if I’m a barbarian, is it okay to shout in admiration of the food in front of people? Well, if I was alone, I would have shouted it many times. “Don’t just eat the meat, chew the bones too!” Anyway, my teeth hurt. “Ask for a napkin? Why do you need that?” The hand that was picking up food was sticky. “Ahem, why are you taking off your helmet again?” My neck is stiff and my shoulders are heavy. And soon, I have to go out for a match consisting only of barbarian participants. Will I even be able to fight properly? I was pathetic for worrying about this. Unlike him, it’s not like my opponent is a knight. ‘They said that if you chase after goblins and trolls, your head will be crushed…’ When I finished my coming-of-age ceremony and entered the city, my heart was pounding with the ambition to become a famous warrior someday. But is this the wall of reality? In less than a month, he was confronted with his own shortcomings. “Why can’t you even do that?” Dukart finally uttered the words he had been holding back. “I’m… just an ordinary warrior.” Shouting when I want to shout. Smashing what I want to smash. Acting as I please without knowing shame, no matter who is next to me. “I can’t do that…” That is the right of a true strongman, A true warrior who has confidence in himself. “Please. Don’t compare me to him anymore. Bjorn, the son of Yandel, he is a great warrior that I can’t compare to.” “Hah, so he was special after all…” At Dukart’s confession, the noble sighed. And he looked at the air with greedy eyes. No, maybe it wasn’t just that one person. “I see. So it has to be him…” “Well, it’s not like there are many barbarians as barbaric as him.” “I thought all barbarians would be like him.” “They’re more normal than I thought.” If you look closely, similar words were coming out from all over the banquet hall. *** 「The character’s reputation has increased by +10.」 「The character’s reputation has increased by +10…」 「…」