Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 568

Closed Doors(2)

We are searching an empty village.

Actually, “plundering” would be a more fitting word.

After taking over the commander’s body, the village chief gave a simple order:

“Search the village and gather everything you find in one place!”

Furniture, household items, equipment, daily tools—There was no categorization.

It didn’t matter if it looked useful or not.

The command was to bring back everything we found.

So, why did the village chief give such an order?

I had a guess—and it wasn’t that he didn’t want to waste the things he’d collected over the years while building the village.

He wasn’t the type to be sentimental about possessions.

Which left only one reason:

Jerome Saintred would have done exactly that.

In the name of the Crown he would have stripped the place bare, and the chief knew it.

“Squad leaders, take these maps and go to the sectors you’ve been assigned…!”

And so, the expedition force split into teams and began looting the homes of monsters who had believed themselves to be human and raised children there.

It was a tedious labor devoid of combat.

But there were those who welcomed this monotonous task.

“Items used by the first intelligent monsters capable of communication!”

“This will be invaluable research material!”

“What a shame… If only we could’ve captured one or two alive to hear their stories…”

“Maybe some are still hiding somewhere?”

The mad mages, obsessed with their research, were the only ones who saw great value in this work.

Raven included, of course.

“Jandel… you said you stayed here before, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“If there’s a chance later… could we talk about it in more detail?”

“Sure, if we get the chance.”

“Promise? Okay, I’m off. Break time’s over. See you later.”

Our temporary Fourth Squad combed through our assigned sector again and again.

But the whole time, I felt strangely off.

As Raven had mentioned, we had memories of living here.

“…That’s the mansion where we stayed.”

“Ah! That’s the training ground where I sparred with Piarochichi!”

“Creepy, isn’t it? The forge still has the fire lit, but there’s no one inside…”

“It’s hard to put into words, but… it just feels strange. I mean, some of those monsters were actually pretty decent…”

What really separates humans from monsters?

Appearance? Racial traits? Whether or not you grant experience points?

Then what about the chief—who regained a human body? Is he human now?

What if I were to transform into a monster or take over one of their bodies? Would I be the monster then?

I don’t know anymore.

I’ve reached a point where I’m not even sure if drawing such distinctions has any meaning.

“Jandel… you okay? You don’t look so good.”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“…If you say so.”

We continued with our task, and once we finished searching our area, we regrouped with the other teams at the village center.

And before we knew it, it was time to set up camp.

“The sheer volume is staggering…”

“Well, it’s inevitable. This was a village where hundreds lived.”

The day-long search and plunder of the village had come to an end.

Even after scouring every corner, no survivors were found hiding.

After the day’s work, each squad settled into empty houses for the night. This gave me the opportunity to have a quiet talk with my comrades.

“We’ll… be in the other room.”

“Yes. Please talk freely.”

After the Armin Expedition team and the Hex Clan politely left, Versil cast a Voice Control spell, and Amelia quickly spoke up.

“So… what the hell actually happened?”

“Ah, well…”

“Don’t expect me to believe you and the commander secretly plotted something. If you really had, you would’ve given us a heads-up beforehand.”

She’s not even giving me time to speak.

‘…Well, she’s not wrong.’

It could’ve been extremely dangerous.

According to the goddess, the moment I passed out, my comrades were ambushed and subdued.

The biggest factor was that they had no one to give them orders.

What do we do? Should we fight here? But they’re the royal army… What decision would I have made?

In that split-second moment where judgment determines the outcome—

Without me, Clan Anabada couldn’t make a timely decision, and as a result, they were all effortlessly captured.

‘…Still, it all worked out in the end.’

But that was pure luck, not good judgment.

Had they resisted to the end, someone would’ve died or been severely injured.

That’s why she’s suspicious.

She knows I wouldn’t have left something like that to chance without giving at least some hint.

“You’re right. There was no secret planning. In fact, Jerome Saintred tried to hand me over to the chief.”

That much was absolutely true.

“He apparently tried to bribe me with some royal treasure the village chief had. But things worked out, and I used that to capture the village chief instead.”

“…What do you mean, ‘things worked out’?”

Versil asked cautiously, clearly unconvinced.

I sighed internally and replied.

“I received a lot of help from Reatlas.”

That was also true.

.Well, it was more like advice to “talk my way out of it,” but—

At the very least, it helped me get through the situation.

“Rheatlas…?”

“Wait, that light that burst out when you collapsed… was that…?”

“Anyway, I can’t say more. I made a promise to the goddess. But in the end, everything worked out. I escaped the village and made a deal with Jerome Saintred. I told him that I would forget that he tried to use me as a pawn if we took down the chief first.

“…So that grand reward you were promised earlier was because of that.”

I glanced around.

With the goddess’s name backing me and the commander offering me a reward, most of them seemed to accept my story without question.

Everyone except Amelia.

‘…She’s definitely going to grill me later when we’re alone.’

My head hurts just thinking about it, but I can’t help it.

The fewer people who knew the truth about the chief, the better.

No matter how good the acting, the chief could sniff out who knew the secret.

And if that happened, the person with whom I shared the secret would also become the target of his unpredictable nature.

‘More importantly… if things ever really go south, they’ll be able to help me prove I had nothing to do with it.’

Anyway, after fielding a few more questions from my comrades, the topic concluded.

It was time to move on to the next phase.

“Everyone, could you give us some space?”

“Ah… yeah, you should rest too…”

“Misha, not you.”

“…Huh?”

Misha froze as if she had been singled out by the homeroom teacher.

After the others left to rest, Misha fidgeted in her seat, fists clenched on her knees.

She cautiously asked first.

“W-what is it…? Why did you tell me to stay behing…?”

I wasn’t in the mood to draw things out, so I got straight to the point.

“The Resurrection Stone.”

“…!”

Just saying those three words made her shoulders flinch.

It was hard to believe she’d managed to hide it this long, but when I think about it, it’s all my fault.

I should’ve pressed harder, even if it meant pushing her a little.

But for some reason, it was always hard to be forceful with her.

“Did Baek-ho give it to you?”

She didn’t ask how I knew or try to deflect the question. In a voice as quiet as a mouse, all she said was,

“Mm hmm…”

“What did he say when he gave it to you?”

“That I should stay close to you and use it to bring you back to life if you ever died.”

Of course. I figured as much.

It wasn’t a surprise; I’d already suspected as much.

But a few things still needed to be cleared up.

“Did you know the person revived by the stone loses all their memories?”

“…What?”

Judging by her expression, she definitely didn’t know.

I moved on to the next question.

“If you didn’t know, then why didn’t you tell me earlier? As far as I can tell, there wouldn’t have been any harm in it.

“He said… if you found out… something worse would happen to you…”

“So you hid it from me? Just because that bastard said so?”

“……”

Misha lowered her head and pressed her lips together.

But as I stared at her, a strange emotion welled up inside me.

I wasn’t angry. My mind was calm.

But I couldn’t say I was emotionally composed either—my heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

It wasn’t sadness, either.

What was this feeling?

“All right. You can go now.”

Since I couldn’t understand it, I decided to end the conversation there.

I didn’t want to make her more uncomfortable.

But for some reason…

“…”

She didn’t move.

“…Why aren’t you leaving? Go get some rest. I’ve heard all I needed.”

Misha slowly lifted her head.

And with visible effort, she spoke.

“That’s it…? That’s all…?”

Her question struck me as odd.

“What, were you expecting more?”

“…”

“I wasn’t planning to scold you. You didn’t act out of evil intent—you just did what you thought was best for me, right?”

At my composed reply, Misha fell silent again for a long while.

And after some time had passed in the silence.

Then—

“I can’t accept that…”

“…?”

“Just… tell me what you think. Anything…”

Her plea carried desperation.

And without realizing it, my lips moved.

“I just didn’t think there was any more to discuss.”

 

It was a strange feeling.

I didn’t realize that I could express what I was feeling even when I didn’t know myself.

“No matter what you say, I can’t bring myself to fully believe it anymore.”

She had once been the person I could rely on the most in this strange world,

But not anymore.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely her fault.

If we were assigning blame, Lee Baek-ho was far more responsible.

“To be honest…”

“……”

“Even after hearing you today, my first thought was whether you were still hiding something.”

“…I see…”

I’m sorry.

I almost said it, but it didn’t feel like something I should apologize for, so I kept my mouth shut.

Misha stared at me for a moment, then slowly stood up.

And then—

Step, step.

Without a word, she walked away.

Thud.

The door closed softly behind her.

***

The Next Morning
After the usual morning briefing—which I found a waste of time—I had a private meeting with the village chief.

“Can’t we just scrap these pointless morning meetings?”

“Not possible. Jerome Saintred values routine.”

“Well, I guess so.”

“By the way, have you thought about the reward I mentioned yesterday?”

“Ah, that. I’ll hold off for now. There’s nothing I need immediately.”

“Very well. Let me know whenever.”

“I will. Anyway, the important thing is our next move. What’s your plan?”

“As I said before, I’ll take my time adjusting to this body first.”

His answer hadn’t changed.

But—

“Adjusting, huh…”

In the end, those words meant he still didn’t trust me.

He wanted to confirm things first—what essence he carried in that body, whether he’d truly consumed the Iblis Essence, if the [Heretic Altar] was really installed in the city, and so on.

“What after the adjustment?”

“I’ll leave this place immediately.”

In other words, once the Iblis Essence was confirmed, he would step aside.

For me, that was something to eagerly await.

Though, my curiosity remained.

“But if you’re planning to keep living in that body, why not just leave with us during the escape? The Iblis Essence can’t be removed anyway.”

Was it a player’s occupational disease?

The thought of wasting an escape opportunity just to leave a little earlier felt unbearably inefficient.

It wasn’t like I was losing anything.

“Besides, if you die and escape alone, the royal family won’t look kindly on you. You might even lose your position as captain.”

“Ahaha, fascinating! I never expected you of all people to give me such advice.”

“We’re on the same boat now. We might need to cooperate outside too. By the way, your fake smile has improved.”

“I’m gradually adapting to this thing called a human heart.”

“So, what’s your answer?”

“Same as before. Once I’ve adjusted, I’ll leave immediately.”

Why was the village chief so insistent on doing something so inefficient?

When I looked at him with that question in my eyes, he forced a smile and spoke.

“It’s been just over 100 days since you entered this floor, hasn’t it?”

“And?”

“You still know nothing about this floor.”

“……?”

“Of course, you’ll eventually escape, just as the records say… but who knows how long that will take?”

The village chief continued.

“This moment… I’ve waited for it for a very, very long time.”

This time, it wasn’t a fabricated emotion.

His voice carried an intensity I had never heard before.

Of course, the moment was fleeting.

“Haha, don’t all people have different values? If I can leave this place even a single day sooner, that’s worth everything to me.”

Then, as if nothing had happened, the village chief resumed his artificial smile.

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