Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

The outing with Misha was quite different from the one with Amelia. There was a pre-planned itinerary, and it was pretty packed. Starting from the very beginning.

“Wake up!!”

First, I was physically dragged out of bed at 7 AM. I had only twenty minutes to wash up, change, and get ready to go out, and just barely made it in time. When I finally stepped outside, she stared at me blankly for a moment.

“…Aren’t we going?”

“Wait—come here a sec! Wow… I can actually see your face when you’re this short!”

“…Huh?”

“Normally from this angle I can only see your chin. Hehe.”

Grinning in satisfaction, Misha led me straight to the outer wall.

“Hurry up! The carriage is waiting!”

Apparently she had made a reservation, because there was a carriage waiting for us on top of the wall. We rode it across the ramparts. Normally, wall-top carriages were strictly for military use, but lately they could be used if you got permission. With Districts 7 and 8 completely wrecked, carriages couldn’t get through the city center anymore. Even if it took a bit longer distance-wise, going along the top of the wall was much faster.

It kind of felt like taking a highway. The travel distance might be longer, but there were no pedestrians or obstructions on the ramparts, so the carriage could move quickly—no traffic, either.

“…Can I sleep for a bit?”

“Sure, I’ll wake you when we get there.”

Thankfully, she let me nap on the way, and when I opened my eyes, we’d arrived in District 5.

“Hehe, I figured you’d wake up from hunger around now.”

“…Are you a shaman?”

“What are you talking about, get off! We’re going to eat meat first!”

It was still District 5, but Misha had brought me to the eastern part, which had far fewer ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) traces of war than the west, which bordered District 4. The roads were relatively clean, the buildings mostly intact.

‘Well, Gnomtree is just east of here…’

I followed Misha while idly thinking that, but it didn’t take long before her confident stride began to slow.

“Uh… it should be around here…”

“Don’t tell me you’re lost.”

“No, I’m not—there are just so many people…”

“What’s the address?”

After she told me, I took over as guide.

“Three hundred-something on Raymond Street… that’ll be over that way.”

We reached our destination in under five minutes after I started leading, and Misha let out a small gasp of admiration.

“Bjorn, you’re good at finding your way even in the city?”

“…I’m not bad. I even got navigation lessons from Rotmiller, back in the—ah…”

My voice trailed off. Misha looked instantly flustered, like she’d said something wrong.

She probably thought she made a mistake bringing up Rotmiller…

‘Great. Now the mood’s awkward.’

She must’ve brought me here hoping to cheer me up, in her own way.

“Never mind that. Let’s go in. I’m starving. Thanks to you getting us lost.”

“Ah… yeah! Let’s go! My treat!”

As we stepped into the place Misha had picked, we were immediately greeted by a familiar face.

“Gomsamo…?”

“Huh? Who… oh—oh!!”

The moment she saw me, Gomsamo, standing at the front counter, stared blankly before her eyes widened.

“Hey, Yan—”

“Shh.”

“I didn’t recognize you. You’re shorter than usual.”

“There’s a magic tool for that. But why are you here…?”

“Oh! This is a friend’s restaurant, and they needed help for the festival period, so I came to work.”

“What about Abet?”

“Of course he’s here too. They needed help out front as well. He stepped out to pick up ingredients, but you’ll probably see him soon if you sit inside.”

“I see…”

Well, with three kids to raise, they probably needed the money. I’d heard the war destroyed their restaurant completely. And the Labyrinth’s closed now, too.

‘Still, a third-tier explorer doing part-time server work…’

On the bright side, no drunkards will be starting fights here.

“Sit over there. It’s in the corner, but should be the quietest spot.”

“Thanks. Appreciate it.”

Gomsamo showed us to a seat and left without even taking our order.

“What about the order…?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll bring something out. Don’t worry about the cost.”

“Mm? But…”

“I have a big debt to repay. If you want to pay it back, do it to Parab.”

“Mm… got it…”

Misha looked a little down afterward, saying she was supposed to treat me today—but this wasn’t something we could turn down. Refusing it would just make them uncomfortable.

“…S-still, don’t worry! I’ll definitely pay at the next place!”

“Sure, sure.”

While we waited for the food, I casually asked Misha:

“Was this the place you wanted to come?”

“Yup. One of them.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her nonchalant response.

“Why this place, though? Because Abet works here?”

“Yeah? I figured since we were out anyway, it’d be nice to see some familiar faces.”

It sounded like something Ainard, that ultra-extroverted barbarian, would say. But I guess Misha was similar—affectionate, sociable.

“Oh, you really did come?”

Abet showed up while we were chatting, bringing a tray of food to our table. The meal was clearly designed with me in mind—over 80% meat, and way too much to be just for two.

‘It’d probably be shameless to ask for another round of this…’

Tsk. If I were paying, I wouldn’t hesitate to order more.

“Abet, if you’re not too busy, join us.”

“Hmm… well, I can take a break from work, but… are you sure it’s okay?”

He glanced at Misha to be sure, and she smiled and nodded.

And so began a meal with drinks.

Naturally, the topic was the war. And more specifically, Sven Parab.

“Not sure what you think of him, but that friend Parab—he’s the real deal. I heard he stayed behind at the temple alone, buying time so others could escape. Who can make a call like that? That’s no normal man.”

The way Abet talked about Sven Parab, it was like he was describing someone I didn’t know.

I’d heard the story several times already, even from Sven himself…

‘That’s not the kind of guy he was… Did he eat something weird that day?’

No matter how often I heard it, I couldn’t quite believe it. But at the same time… it wasn’t completely implausible.

People change.

Even I’ve changed in many ways.

“Sitting here like this with the three of us kind of feels like old times. Would’ve been nice if Ainard came too.”

“Ainard? She’s been busy lately.”

“She… busy? With what?”

“Uh… she said she’s writing a memoir or something?”

“………Ainard?”

Abet’s expression was exactly the same as mine.

“Misha, what are you talking about?”

I’d never heard this before, so I pressed for more. Misha didn’t know the details, but answered with what she had.

“I’m not really sure either… But after the war, she said something clicked for her. That memories always fade, so she wants to write them down while she still remembers…”

“I… I see…?”

Once again, Abet and I wore identical faces. We didn’t understand it at all, and that’s what made it make sense.

If it were anyone else, it’d be weird—but for Ainard? Not really.

“Ahem… So she’s developed the skills to write a memoir, huh?”

This guy clearly wants to read it once it’s done, but he won’t admit it. Not that I’m any better.

“Anyway, even if Ainard isn’t here, I did call one more person.”

“…Huh?”

“Who else could it be?”

“Who else but me?”

Whoa—what the hell.

“Raven? What are you doing here?”

I turned toward the small mage who had suddenly appeared beside our table, eyes wide. No wonder—I hadn’t heard from her at all since the war ended.

“Kalstein called me. Figured I could use a change of pace. It’s festival season, after all… Mind if I sit?”

“Ah, of course. I-it’s been a while…”

With permission, Raven took the seat next to Abet and gave a slight smirk.

“Why’re you so stiff?”

“Ahem… I’m not stiff…”

Come to think of it, it really had been a long time for them. Ever since the party split, Raven had only met up with me. Maybe they hadn’t spoken at all.

“How’s life in the Magic Corps? I heard you got the title ‘Golden Mage’?”

“Ugh, it sucks. Why did everything go to hell the moment I joined…? I want to quit every day, but I hold it in with sheer responsibility.”

“I see…”

“What about you, Mr. Urikfrit? Golden Tree’s a pretty famous clan, isn’t it?”

At Raven’s question, Abet flinched slightly and gave an awkward laugh.

“Ah… the clan… yeah… it’s a good one…”

Everyone at the table tilted their heads at his strangely vague tone.

We all felt something was off.

‘What? Something going on with his clan?’

I didn’t ask. If it was something he didn’t want to talk about, I figured I’d wait until he brought it up himself. Raven and Misha seemed to feel the same.

‘Good thing Ainard isn’t here…’

If she were, she’d have just blurted out the question without hesitation. Then again, she probably wouldn’t even pick up on the awkwardness in the first place.

“Anyway, Raven, why’ve you been so hard to get ahold of lately?”

I quickly changed the subject. Any longer and the atmosphere would’ve gotten weirder.

But then—

“Oh, me? My master passed away. I’ve been busy handling the aftermath.”

…Goddamn it.

‘Really? That’s what this turned into now?’

I walked right into a trap.

‘Well… it’s not like we’re strangers.’

Abet, Raven, all of them—this wasn’t the time to tiptoe around.

Honestly, it just made me feel more distant from them, which kind of sucked.

“…First of all, my condolences.”

I led the way, and Misha and Abet followed with their own words of sympathy. That should be enough.

“You could’ve called us, though.”

“Eh, it wasn’t exactly a happy event. And come on, Yandel, you didn’t even like our master that much.”

“…I didn’t dislike him.”

Though I definitely didn’t like him, either.

‘That old man had an unnerving obsession with evil spirits…’

Anyway, since it came up, Raven started to explain a bit more.

“The war was so intense that the royal family drafted mages from the Tower. It wasn’t unusual. He died in that mess.”

She didn’t want to go into detail.

“I see…”

Good or bad, he was still someone I had history with. Hearing he died out of nowhere left me with mixed feelings.

Whatever he was to me, he was probably someone precious to Raven.

“After he passed, the Master seat was left vacant, so things got hectic. I’m sorry I couldn’t visit.”

“No need to apologize. The ones left behind are always the busiest.”

“Haha… yeah, I’ve learned that.”

Raven gave a bitter smile, then downed a drink in one go.

Then she leaned in over the table and asked me:

“By the way, Yandel.”

“Hm?”

“Need a mage?”

…What the hell is going on now?