Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 395

Captain Barbarian (5)

James Carla’s head was throbbing.

He felt nauseated, his lips were dry, and his throat was parched and unpleasant.

But more than the discomfort, a question troubled him.

‘Wait, why am I in this state?’

James Carla, vice-captain of the Gearfang Clan, took a deep breath, gasping as if he had been on the verge of death, and opened his eyes.

“Gasp…!”

The first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.

A ceiling made of luxurious hardwood engraved with beautiful patterns, and next to it, a dazzling chandelier hanging from a rope.

 As he was trying to piece together where he was, a face appeared above him.

“It seems you’re awake.”

It was Jun, the paladin of Tobera Church.

James’s first thought when he’d met Jun was ‘Is there really such a handsome paladin?—

“Ah…!”…’

Recalling the last memory before he lost consciousness, James abruptly sat up. He turned to the paladin, who had thankfully dodged in time to avoid getting hit in the face, he then hastily asked.

“The fight… what happened in the fight?”

At this, the paladin’s lips curled into an awkward smile.

“You already know, don’t you?”

“So, that means…”

“Yes, we lost. In every sense of the word, he was truly strong.”

Unlike the paladin’s calm tone, devoid of any bitterness,  James Carla unconsciously let out a sigh.

“Is it hard for you to accept defeat, Mr. Carla?”

“No… it’s just that… I’m at a loss on how to break the news to the Alminus Merchant Guild and the Explorer’s Guild, who trusted me and gave their support…”

“Can’t you just be honest?”

“That four of us attacked and lost, and now we’re in a position where we have to give the commander’s position to some barbaric brute?How am I supposed to… wait, why are you smiling?”

“Oh, pardon me. The term ‘barbaric’ was simply too fitting.”

James realized his slip of the tongue and inwardly rebuked himself.

Such words sounded like bitter disparagement coming from a defeated man. Just like those despicable people he’d encountered on his path to becoming the vice-captain.

“Is it still difficult for you to acknowledge him, Mr. Carla?”

“That’s…”

Trailing off, he replied in a bitter tone.

“No, it’s not.”

He spoke sincerely, without pretense.

He meant what he said. He wasn’t being polite. The word “savage” had come to mind only because of the overwhelming impression of his first encounter.

“That man… is surprisingly smart.”

At Carla’s murmur, the paladin agreed without objection.

“Yes, indeed.”

“Looking back, from the beginning we were playing into his hands. We thought he underestimated us. But in reality, it wasn’t like that at all.”

“That’s correct. Embarrassingly, even to the very end, I didn’t think we would lose. It seems I still lack training.”

James Carla agreed wholeheartedly.

Perhaps if he hadn’t dismissed the name “Blood Spirit Queen’s man” when he first heard it, and  investigated it more thoroughly, this might not have happened.

“The problem is, we don’t know how the others will take this. Ah, where are Sir Kaislan and Senior Akuraba now?”

“They’re in other rooms. Until a little while ago, they were unconscious, but I don’t know about them now. Unlike you, their injuries were more severe.”

“…I should go check on them.”

The two got up and headed to the other room.

The others had already been healed by the priests, and they just had to wait for them to regain consciousness.

“Judging by that expression… I guess we lost?”

Unlike Carla, she didn’t ask many questions.

She just looked troubled and was silent for a while, then asked where the others were.

“Miss Akuraba, you’re awake. Do you feel any discomfort?” Jun asked

“Yes, fortunately. But… where is that man?”

“Well, I don’t know that either. Maybe he’s giving us time until we all wake up and sort out our thoughts.”

“No way, he’s that considerate.”

As Akuraba laughed it off, the heavy atmosphere lightened somewhat. They continued their conversation until Kaislan, too, regained consciousness.

“That man! What happened to that man!”

It was time for a serious discussion.

***

“I see. We have lost…”

A murmuring filled with deep regret and an inexplicable anger.

Then, Sir Kaislan clenched his fist tightly.

“I cannot accept this.”

“The fact that we lost?”

“No, I’m not so foolish as to deny that. But accepting our defeat and allowing that man to lead us are two separate issues.”

“Oh my, do you plan to go back on a sworn agreement, even after the marquis witnessed it?”

At the mention of the Marquis, Kaislan flinched slightly, but it wasn’t enough to break his stubbornness.

“So, you’re all ready to accept this? Thirty people! And not just any thirty people, but the brightest future of this city! And you would entrust them to a man who has nothing but strength? For the sake of the greater good, I cannot stand by and watch this.”

At his sharp words, James Carla unconsciously held his throbbing forehead.  He hadn’t expected such a stubborn reaction.

“Mr. Kaislan, are you saying that, aside from brute strength, you believe you’re better than him in every other area?”

“Not just me, I’m talking about all of us. We’re better than some guy who crawled out of who-knows-where, aren’t we?”

“I see. Then please tell us why you think that way.”

“I don’t understand why you’re giving me that look. Didn’t we all have an in-depth conversation earlier about what makes an ideal commander? Except for him, not a single person mentioned brute force.”

“That’s right.”

“We all know, don’t we? A commander’s strength is the least important quality.”

And James had to admit that the knight wasn’t wrong.

A commander wields a sword; they don’t have to be that sword themselves.

But…

‘Since the Marquis notarized it, the result cannot be overturned. It would be better to draw a line now.’

Having finished his political calculations, James opened his mouth.

“I do not consider that man’s qualities to be inferior to ours.”

“…What?”

“It’s awkward to say from the position of the defeated, but he wasn’t overwhelmingly stronger than the four of us.”

James genuinely thought so.

If they had had the time to coordinate in advance and had faced him seriously from the start, the winner might have been different.

But…

‘There’s no point thinking about it now.’

“In that one fight, we lost, and he won. Do you know what made the difference?”

The knight just looked at him with a displeased expression and didn’t answer.

So James didn’t wait any longer and continued.

“Because we lacked information. Watching the fight, I realized. He already knew us too well. Even which essences we possessed and what equipment we used.”

“So you’re saying that he’s suitable as the ideal commander you mentioned? Get a hold of yourself! He just got information from the Marquis!”

“Isn’t that the scariest part? That the Marquis knew, while we didn’t even know who was coming until we arrived.”

Kaislan had no response to James’s statement.

“Fine, I see your point. You intend to just watch that man stand above us. Is that the opinion of everyone?”

Then Kaislan’s gaze moved to Titania Akuraba, the 9th-floor explorer.

But…

“Even if you see it that way, I’m not much different.”

He didn’t get the support he expected.

“…Why? Is it because you’re afraid of the Marquis?”

“I won’t say that’s completely untrue. But there’s a bigger reason.”

“A bigger reason?”

“Yes. I don’t think that man is particularly inferior to us.”

Kaislan narrowed his eyes as if he couldn’t understand, and Akuraba shrugged and continued.

“What impressed me was not his backing, but his own meticulousness.”

“Meticulousness…?”

Kaislan exhaled as if he had heard something unbelievable.

“Yes, meticulousness. For example, how was it at the banquet? He acted as if he didn’t know about us, even though he did, and used his arrogant behavior to get us to bite the bait.”

Not only that.

It was the same when the battle began.

He reserved various abilities of his essences until he could use them at the most optimal moment.

James Carla was the prime example.

His early defeat put even more burden on the remaining three.

“And this… It’s a bit odd to call it judgment, but his combat sense was astonishing.”

“He is a natural.” added Carla

It seemed as if he was burning himself up, but when they came to their senses, they were engulfed in that fierce flame.

In that situation, he smiled contentedly.

“At the time, I thought he was fighting instinctively, but thinking back, it seems he was making thoroughly rational judgments and decisions.” said Jun

“If that’s really true, then it’s truly amazing. Sacrificing one eye to strike Sir Kaislan with a hammer was a rational decision?”

“Since the front line collapsed from that point, he gained much more benefit from his perspective.”

As James Carla and the Paladin exchanged words of praise, Kaislan ground his teeth.

He couldn’t understand at all.

‘What is with these people?’

They knew how important the expedition leader position was, yet they were acting like this.

He even suspected that while he was unconscious, they might have made some secret agreement with the Marquis.

But regardless of his worries, the conversation continued.

“To be honest… what I admired most was his unbreakable resolve.” 

Ha, resolve this time?

Kaislan scoffed inwardly, but the paladin continued without any reaction.

“Mr. Carla has already said it;  he wasn’t overwhelmingly stronger than the four of us. Yet, he boldly challenged us, almost arrogantly.”

His bones were broken countless times, his internal organs were cooked, and an arrow was lodged in one eye, making him half-blind.

However, he never fell.

He climbed over walls of flame even as his skin blistered, when blood poured from his bitten tongue, he spat it out and swung his hammer with a dangling shoulder.

“Could anyone else here do that?”

“…….”

“Embarrassingly, I have never seen someone fight without a shred of doubt in such a state.”

It couldn’t have been that the man enjoyed the process.

He must have been in pain.

No one would have blamed him if he’d given up.

He was pushed to the limit.

‘Most people would have found an excuse to stop there.’

But he hadn’t.

And for the paladin, a man bound to faith, the reason lay in his beliefs.

“In that situation, most people would have a doubt in their heart. ‘Well, this is enough. I’ve done my best.’ They start making excuses to compromise and persuade themselves.”

But he didn’t.

How was he able to do it?

And for the paladin, a man bound to faith, the reason lay in his beliefs.

“It was faith. He believed beyond doubt that he would not fall. That self-belief kept him standing, driving him to seize victory.”

“So you, too, support him as our leader, Sir Jun?”

There was a hint of sarcasm in Kaislan’s tone.

The paladin replied without hesitation.

“Yes. If I am to follow someone, his back seems the most trustworthy.”

“……”

“Because even if everyone else collapses, he will stand firm.”

It seemed the paladin was thoroughly impressed by that man.

James Carla was concerned about the Marquis, and Akuraba seemed prideful about not breaking a promise.

“Just accept it. We lost. And he didn’t even complain when we recovered and returned to the battlefield. At the time, we were too busy fighting to realize, but that was tantamount to cheating.”

“Perhaps he remained silent because he knew we needed that level of strength to accept his leadership.”

Since the opinions of the three matched, there was nothing more Kaislan could do.

‘In a way, we’re lucky. If he had resisted and demanded a rematch from the marquis, things would have turned ugly.’

James glanced at the silent Kaislan and breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, there were still some uneasy factors remaining.

“Since everyone feels that way, I won’t say any more. But remember this—this will prove to be a mistake, only strong discipline and strict control can create a strong group. I cannot believe that he possesses that level of leadership.”

Kaislan’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge the other man’s strengths hinted at trouble brewing. It was clear that he might cause trouble at the slightest opportunity…

If that were to happen inside the labyrinth, it could escalate into a big problem.

But then…

Knock, knock.

There was a knock at the door.

“Ah, it seems everyone is awake.”

Before they could even grant permission, the door swung open, and a man stepped inside.

At that moment, James Carla let go of his remaining worries.

“Now that you’re under my command, I don’t need to be so formal with you,”

The man brazenly muttered such words, even though he had never used honorifics in the first place.

He fixed his gaze on Kaislan, tilting his head with a faint smirk.

“What’s with that look, Knight? Did you get some brain damage from the hit earlier?”

It was truly astonishing.

No one could pinpoint exactly when it had happened.

But the knight, who had been adamantly stressing the importance of discipline and control, was now…

“Answer me. I’m asking if you have a problem.”

“N-no, I don’t…”

…was already lowering his eyes.

As if it were the most natural thing in the world.