Surviving game as a barbarian Episode 577

Return (3)

The number of participants was already dwindling, and it shrank further with fox’s departure.

Wolf, Goblin, Queen.

Now, only three remained in the game.

Auril Gavis looked at the empty round table and muttered,

“I prepared so hard for this, but it’s a bit disappointing. To think there are only three left already.”

It wasn’t that he disliked the situation—it was just unexpected.

Well, I could understand how he felt.

Even I found this turn of events a bit surprising.

‘I didn’t think they’d give up their return tickets so easily.’

Losing anonymity and having your identity exposed?

In a world where evil spirits are executed on the spot, that’s an incredibly dangerous thing. But if it meant being able to return home, it shouldn’t matter.

So, I expected a game of chicken to unfold.

But…

The clown and the black mask left right from the start, Butterfly quickly cut her losses, and the fox gave up, saying living in this world wasn’t so bad.

Before the game could even properly begin, the players were dropping one by one…

“Then, let’s continue,”

Just as Auril Gavis was about to resume the game, goblin hesitantly raised a hand.

“Um… I’d like to quit too…”

The third player to declare their withdrawal, following Butterfly and Fox.

Auril Gavis clicked his tongue.

“Is that so? Then leave quickly.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me why…? I-I’m not complaining or anything… I’m just curious…”

“…Fine. What’s the reason? Did Fox’s words change your mind or something?”

“Uh… Well, I can’t say it didn’t affect me at all, but…”

“But?”

“It’s… kind of hard to explain…”

“Enough. Just spit it out.”

At Auril Gavis’s irritated tone, goblin averted his gaze and muttered softly.

“I just… have a bad feeling about this.”

Hmm, if it’s goblin’s intuition, it’s probably reliable.

That was my first thought upon hearing it, but Auril Gavis, on the other hand, seemed utterly unimpressed.

“I see. Now that I know the reason, hurry up and leave. Ah, do you also need time to say your goodbyes?”

“Ah, yes… Just for a moment…”

The goblin then addressed everyone.

“A friend I met at the language institute once told me that even brushing sleeves with someone is a form of fate. If that’s true, then being dragged to this strange world and meeting all of you here while wearing masks must be no ordinary fate. Some of you even know who I really am.”

A long preamble.

“So… if you ever have a reason to kill me, please spare me. Aren’t we all fellow players?”

Wait, what kind of speech is this?

“…Is that all?”

“Huh? Oh, yes… That’s all I wanted to say.”

“Then go.”

“Ah… Yes… Well then, goodbye, everyone…”

With that, Goblin left, leaving Queen and Wolf to exchange awkward glances.

Somehow, only two remained, turning this into a final showdown….

‘Are they really going to see this through to the end now?’

That was my first thought, but then the situation took another completely unexpected turn.

“I’ll quit here too.”

At those words, Auril Gavis showed genuine emotion for the first time.

“…And what’s your reason?”

His voice carried not just displeasure but something closer to anger.

Well, of course. He must have prepared so much for this, only for it to fall apart like this.

“The reason is simple. I don’t trust you.”

“Distrust… I have the power to send you home, you know.”

“Sure. Maybe you do. Actually, I think you probably do have that ability. But I still can’t trust you.”

The Queen glanced sideways at the Wolf and continued.

“He’s closely connected to you, isn’t he?”

It seemed the Queen suspected Auril Gavis of using everyone’s hope of going home as bait and pushing us into deeper despair later.

“Even if this whole thing was set up for him to win in the end, I’d have no way of knowing. Besides, for a winner to be decided in the current situation, the Wolf would have to give up—and he doesn’t seem like the type to do that.”

A very rational judgment.

Though, it was only possible because she’d seen the others quickly cut their losses beforehand.

“I won’t be saying my goodbyes. I’ll be going now.”

Without any farewells, the queen left the room, and just like that, the winner of the quiz was decided in the most anticlimactic way.

“Uh… Huh…?”

The winner was Wolf mask.

Looking stunned as if it hadn’t sunk in, the Wolf finally seemed to gather his wits and asked in an excited voice:

“M-Mr. Gavis… Does this mean I can go home now?”

Has this guy never learned to read a room?

I couldn’t tell, but as an observer, it was definitely an entertaining show.

“Of course. A promise is a promise.”

“Th-thank you…! Really, I’m so—”

“So can you shut your mouth for a moment?”

During the quiz, he’d seemed full of energy, but now…

‘He’s pissed. Really pissed.’

It was a very rare sight.

“…”

“…”

The wolf, belatedly sensing the mood, shut his mouth, and a heavy silence settled in.

And yet, the Wolf mustered up some courage again.

“Um… then… when will I receive my reward…?”

He brought up the prize again.

“When the time comes, I’ll come find you. So go on and wait outside.”

His voice was thick with irritation.

The Wolf didn’t press further and bowed deeply.

“…Yes. Then I’ll wait outside. Mr. Gavis.”

With the Wolf gone too, only the two of us remained at the round table.

Having quietly watched until now, I finally spoke up.

“Are you really going to send him home?” I asked, signaling that he could speak openly now that we were alone.

But of course, he wouldn’t give a straight answer.

“Hmm, what do you think?”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t think this is heading toward a happy ending.”

“You don’t have much faith in me.”

What a ridiculous thing to say.

Then maybe he should’ve acted more trustworthy in the first place.

“Anyway, what a shame. If it had gone just one or two more rounds, you could’ve seen something truly amusing.”

“‘Amusing,’ huh? You’ve got quite the unique taste.”

“I won’t deny that… but isn’t that a bit rich coming from you?”

Well, I couldn’t deny it either.

Given the things I’d done while wearing this mask, I wasn’t much different from this old man.

I cut straight to the point.

“So why did you do all this?”

The apology for unmasking everyone was just an excuse.

But I still didn’t understand why he’d set up this quiz game in the first place.

What was the reason?

“Trust is like gambling. All you can do is hope the other person is betting just as much as you are.”

“And?”

“There was something I wanted to show you before our conversation. But… given how things turned out, explaining it in words feels a bit ridiculous.”.

You really know how to talk in circles when all you really mean is that you’re not going to tell me

“Kekeke, and you have a talent for simplifying everything, don’t you?”

It seemed like the old man was set on disagreeing with me no matter what.

“The more I looked at him, the more unpleasant he seemed. But having been raised in a Confucian culture that values respect for elders, I chose to endure it. This was a rare opportunity—I couldn’t waste it.”

“Fine. I just have one question.”

“A question? Go ahead.”

“How did you find out about me?”

It was something I’d planned to ask once it was just the two of us.

Because he hadn’t seemed like he was just guessing.

[“In fact, this place is practically your own creation, isn’t it?”]

The moment he entered the round table and saw me, he had thrown those words at me.

In other words, he knew the Lion Mask was none other than Nibelz Entze from twenty years ago.

‘Actually, judging by the way he talks, it seems like he might even know I’m Bjorn Jandel.’

Either way, before starting a proper conversation, I needed to gauge how much he knew.

“You’re always so inconsistent with how much you say, aren’t you?”

“What, would you prefer I start calling you ‘sir’ now?”

I smirked as I asked, and Auril Gavis responded in a pleased tone.

“Why does the way you speak to me change every time we meet?

“What, should I start calling you ‘sir’ and act all respectful now?”

I smirked as I said it, and Auril Gavis responded in a pleased tone.

“Oh… Would you? Now that everyone else is gone, there’s no need to keep pretending to be the Lion.”

It seemed my way of speaking had been bothering him.

“Sure, fine. I’ll do that. It’s not hard. Anyway, what about my question? Are you going to answer, or is this another ‘secret’?”

“Ah, how did I find out about you? The answer is simple. I waited and waited for 20 years. With that much information, figuring out that you’re Bjorn Jandel was child’s play.”

Hmm, I see.

It was a convincing enough explanation, but it also raised another contradiction.

“But there’s something strange about that. If what you’re saying is true, why didn’t you recognize me immediately when we first met at the round table?”

“Well, in your mind, that was before we’d met, wasn’t it? I figured it’d be better to wait a little longer.”

“And that ‘little longer’ would be now, I assume?”

“Something like that. Up until now, I’d been doing my best to avoid interacting with you directly… but there’s something I need to confirm as soon as possible.”

Ah, right—he said he had a question for me earlier.

“Well then, go ahead and ask. What are you curious about?”

I threw it back coolly, like I’d answer anything. The old man clearly took that as his cue and jumped at the opportunity.

“You said here at the round table that you’d met the Witch, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. So?”

“I’d like to hear the full story—where and how you met her.”

It was almost comical déjà vu.

The Wolf had asked me the same question earlier.

‘So he came himself because I didn’t answer the Wolf, huh?’

Yeah, it definitely felt that way.

This meant that this piece of information was important enough for him to alter his plans.

From another angle…

‘That means I’m the one in control here, doesn’t it?’

The moment I realized that, I found myself leaning back in my chair, crossing my legs arrogantly.

It’s the instinctive behavior of a K-barbarian sensing they have the advantage.

“……”

Auril Gavis gave me a questioning look at my sudden change in demeanor, but he didn’t say anything.

‘Okay, so he’s willing to let this slide?’

Tap. Tap.

As I idly drummed my fingers on the table, I noticed the discarded OX cards lying around.

The old man had conjured them with a mere gesture.

“Come to think of it, he did say he regained all his authority.”

With that in mind, I licked my lips and made a “request” for Auril Gavis.

“Hey, old man? My throat’s a bit dry—how about pouring me a glass of soda?”

“……?”

“Oh, and make sure it’s nice and cold, with ice floating on top.”

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