Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Episode 87

Baron Martoin (3)

Auril Gavis.

The nickname of the creator, which always appears at the bottom of the loading screen.

Well, I’m not sure if it’s a nickname or a real name, but anyway.

‘Why is that name here…’

It’s a bit sudden, but there are two possibilities.

[Chronicle of the Rift II]

Either this book was written by a player.

Or it was actually written by the person himself.

If it’s the latter, it makes me kind of anxious.

It would mean that the game creator is closely related to the incident of me waking up in this body.

‘Is that asshole really some sort of divine being?’

Anyway, finding this clue is a good sign.

Auril Gavis.

Careful tracking of this name might eventually lead me to a way back home.

But let me say it again, I still don’t know anything.

Not even whether reaching the final floor and opening the door to the Abyss is the key to returning home.

‘I should be careful asking around, I might end up in trouble.’

With that in mind, I thoroughly examined the book.

There was nothing particular in it.

Only the presumed author’s signature on the last page, with no year of publication.

Confirming Ragna wasn’t around, I carefully tore a corner of the page and slipped it into my bag.

‘Even just finding out when this book was made would be a big gain—’

What the hell, is it morning already?

With that thought, I got up from my seat.

As I approached the desk, I saw Ragna dozing off. I thought about covering her with a blanket that was nearby.

“Hmm.”

She woke up, sensing my presence.

“Why didn’t you say anything? If I knew it was this late, I would have left earlier.”

“Don’t misunderstand. I was just resting because organizing the books took a bit longer.”

Organizing the books took a bit longer?

But isn’t it almost time for the library to open?

“Really, don’t misunderstand.”

“…Okay.”

Since she insisted, I just nodded and left the library.

Before stepping out, I glanced back and saw her stretching, looking tired.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going?”

Is she actually a nice person?

As it was morning, I started my day.

I’m a Barbarian, so it doesn’t matter if I wash or not.

But I should at least eat something.

I walked into a nearby restaurant that was open, had a quick meal, and then headed straight to the Mage Tower.

“Why is Mr. Jandel here at this time…?”

“I came to ask something.”

“Hurry up. I’m sleepy.”

“There’s a vacant spot for a mage in our team, would you consider joining—”

Thud.

Damn it, if you don’t like it, at least say something.

Looks like another failure.

Fine, I wasn’t really expecting anything.

“Wait! I have another favor to ask!”

Desperately shouting, I knocked on the door, which creaked open slightly.

“Another favor?”

“I want to know when this paper was made.”

“Hmm? Let me see.”

Intrigued, Raven examined the paper I handed her.

However, it appeared she couldn’t find anything particularly special.

“I can do it, but why are you curious about it?”

“Can’t you just do it?”

“Well, alright. But not for free. I need something in return…”

Raven trailed off, then spoke up as if she’d thought of something suitable.

“The seniors have been showing a lot of interest in Mr. Jandel, so go help them with their research. They have been bothering me a lot recently.”

You want me to entrust myself to those perverts?

“…Just once is enough?”

“Yes, it’s not a difficult favour. I’ll have the analysis done by next week. Oh! And try not to come unannounced at such an early hour.”

“…Alright.”

Having completed my task, I left the Mage Tower. It was 9am. A bit early, but with nothing else to do, I went to the agreed pub.

Surprisingly, someone had arrived before me.

“Bjorn! I went to your lodging, but you weren’t there!”

“Ah, I was at the library.”

“What, what? You’ve been up all night……? Is that what you meant when you said you had some business?!”

“What are you talking about? Ragna was considerate, so I ended up reading books there.”

Misha looked at me sceptically, even though I was telling the truth.

This felt like being interrogated by a real mother.

“Really?”

“Why would I lie to you?”

“Well… that’s true. Alright then.”

She seemed convinced when I looked her in the eye and spoke plainly. Maybe she thought a good son wouldn’t lie?

Anyway, as I sat down, Misha handed me a drink she was having.

“Try this. It’s supposed to be made from a fruit called a tomato, but it has a very strange flavour!”
I don’t know about strange taste, but the mention of tomato reminded me of something.

“By the way, what were you going to say yesterday?”

It seemed like she was about to say something important before HansB interrupted, but I didn’t get to hear it.

However…

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Don’t you remember?”

“Uh, uh… Did I say something wrong?”

Her innocent eyes seemed genuinely blank, probably because she was drunk. I tried to probe to see if she meant to say something usual, but there was no clue.

“Huh? Nothing like that?”

“I see.”

“…Are you upset?”

“No.”

There are two ways to make someone angry in this world, but I don’t get angry over such things.

After all, it’s not like she did anything wrong.

Then, the others arrived at the quiet pub, which felt more like a café.

“Oh, did you get here first?”

“Sorry, I’m the reason you’ve been here all morning…….”

The Dwarf, who always appeared with Dwalki, arrived as usual. We waited a while, then Rotmiller joined us and the meeting began.

The topic was, of course, how to lift Dwalki’s ban from entering the labyrinth.

“Let’s each share our thoughts. Let’s start with… Bjorn.”

Me, first?

It was a nerve-wracking position, but I presented my honest and concise view.

“We should look for a new teammate.”

“…What?”

“Finding a new mage might be difficult. I asked two other mages, but they flatly refused.”

“…Are you saying you’ve already approached other mages?”

“Is there a problem?”

I asked confidently.

I realized that my behavior might seem patronizing to the dwarf who was trying to find a way out…….

But selfishness is always one step away from selflessness.

I was merely trying to find a realistic alternative for the team, assuming the worst.

“Someone had to say it, if not me. Isn’t that right, Rottmiller?”

When I asked Rotmiller directly what he thought, Rotmiller nodded, looking slightly uncomfortable.

The Dwarf’s expression grew serious, but…

“Mu, Murad! It’s fine. Don’t look so troubled. Bjorn hasn’t said anything wrong, has he?”

Even Dwalki, the person in trouble, spoke out, making the dwarf close his mouth.

“I’ll speak then!”

“Go ahead, Miss Karlstein.”

Misha eagerly raised her hand, trying to lighten the mood.

Of course, what she was about to suggest wasn’t exactly noble.

“I’ve heard that the Mozlans are susceptible to bribes. What if we gather some money and give them a little incentive?”

Her innocent voice proposed bribery.

Surely Baron Martoin, or someone like him, must have bribed the Mozlans to sabotage Dwalki.
However…

“Miss Karlstein, the Mozlans never deal with non-nobles.”

The Mozlans strictly exclude commoners.

Most of them are without titles, but that might be their last shred of pride.

“Is that so…? I didn’t know. Then, Rotmiller, it’s your turn.”

Misha, looking flustered, passed the turn to Rotmiller.

I awaited Rotmiller’s opinion with some seriousness.

However…

“Honestly, I don’t know how to deal with nobles, especially titled ones. I’m sorry…”

Rotmiller, too, had no viable solution.

Unlike with me, the Dwarf sighed and comforted him.

“It’s not your fault. In fact, it’s to be expected.”

Why then did he glare at me for saying the same?

Grumbling internally, the Dwarf spoke in a low voice.

“That’s why… last night, Dwalki and I thought hard about it.”

“Get to the point.”

“Perhaps we should talk directly to Baron Martoin.”

A frontal approach, but there was a significant issue.

“How will we meet him?”

Nobles mostly live in the 1st district, Carnon, inaccessible to lower-tier explorers like us.
It’s a different world.

But the Dwarf seemed to have a detailed plan.

“There’s a tea house Baron Martoin regularly visits. We can wait for him there.”

Well, it’s worth a try.

There’s no loss in trying, even if the chances of changing his mind are slim.

“Then it’s settled. The two of you go.”

“What a dismissive tone! Come with us!”

Why is he insisting on this?

“We’re just going to beg. Why should we all go?”

“…We need courage! He’s a titled noble, after all!”

The dwarf began to whine excessively at my suggestion that they go alone.

Despite his annoying attitude, I considered the practical benefits.

‘With only nine days left, finding a new mage is unlikely…’

Any replacement not up to par would cause more trouble.

It’s best if Dwalki remains with the team.

‘They’ll probably just stutter and come back empty-handed.’

It seems more plausible that I should go myself.

But…

“I don’t like meeting nobles.

Even in the game, it was a rule to stay away from nobles as much as possible.

There are hardly any decent ones—

“I’ll pay 300,000 stones for this, each!”

Now that’s tempting.

If it’s not just a loyalty payment, meeting a noble once isn’t too bad.
***

“Then, it’s not a bad idea to meet him.”

“Really!”

The dwarf brightened at my agreement.

But I calmly confirmed the necessary details.

“So, when do we go?”

Even in a world where nobles can’t just kill anyone they want, especially respected explorers, some preparation is needed.

I don’t think I’ll be in any real danger, but it will be the first time I’ve met a real noble since I woke up in this body.

I had to prepare mentally—

“Today.”

“What…?”

“If not today, it’ll be next month before he visits that place again.”

I felt an urge to refuse.

But I agreed to do it anyway, I inquired about more details:

How old Baron Martoin is, whether he’s a man, if there’s anything he dislikes, or anything else that would be good to know.

As I gathered this information, time quickly passed.

“Hurry, we should go. If we want to make it look like a chance encounter, we need to be there early.”

Baron Martoin usually visits the tea house between three and four in the afternoon.

So, we planned to arrive at the tea house around two o’clock to wait for the right moment.
After a while…

“There, that gentleman is my second elder brother.”

Baron Martoin appeared, accompanied by his attendants.

Does he come personally to enjoy the tea brewed by the master himself?

If he entered a private room, there’d be no chance to talk, so I quickly stood up to take the lead.

“What do you want!”

As I approached, a towering knight blocked my path.

Sticking to the plan, Dwalki took the initiative.

“Lord Martoin! It’s me, Leor Wuerv Dwalki! Please hear me out just once!”

Dwalki, following our advice, prostrated himself on the ground in a gesture of submission.

This caught the attention of Baron Martoin, who had been conversing with the owner.

However, his reaction was not what we expected.

“Dwalki…? That name sounds familiar.”

He muttered, seemingly struggling to remember.

A man who looked like a butler whispered in his ear.

“The Dwalki family is the maternal home of your third wife, Lady Carlina.”

“Ah, yes, that’s right! So, what business does someone from that family have with me?”

“Uh, well… that is…”

Dwalki, thrown off by the unexpected turn of events, started to stutter.

It seemed it was time for me to step in.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Bjorn, son of Jandel.”

I spoke confidently, regardless of the noble status.

Normally, speaking so directly to a noble would be considered offensive, but…

The Barbarians are an exception, due to a great deed done by an ancestor that earned us a special concession from the king.

“It’s been a while since I’ve spoken with a barbarian. Always an intriguing experience.”

Fortunately, the Baron seemed amused by the situation.

‘How often do they get to speak candidly with a barbarian, after all’

“So, what brings you to me?”

“After being taken away by the Mozlans yesterday, this man’s labyrinth access has been
restricted.”

“That’s unfortunate. But why are you telling me this?”

Because he claimed you were behind it all.

‘Why does he seem so clueless?’

At first, I thought he was feigning ignorance, but now I began to doubt.

Then, the butler whispered again to the Baron.

“Hmm, a bastard child? Was there such a thing? I see. You dealt with it…”

“Yes, Lord, it wasn’t worth bothering you with such a trivial matter.”

“Well done. Such minor issues are a waste of my time.”

It turned out the Baron was unaware of the incident, and the butler had handled it all.

“Such a minor issue…?”

Dwalki was visibly shocked, but it wasn’t a bad outcome for us.

If they considered it trivial, there was a higher chance of achieving our goal.

“Could you possibly reverse the labyrinth access restriction?”

“Hmm, why should I do that?”

The Baron looked genuinely puzzled, and annoyingly, there was no malice in his confusion.

His way of thinking was just different from ours.

‘Damn these high-and-mighty nobles…’

As I cursed inwardly and pondered our next move, the butler whispered something else.

“Huh? What? This man is the barbarian?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Heh, the little Balkan… I’ve heard the name before. At the banquet two nights ago, the Count mentioned that an interesting explorer had appeared.”

The Baron’s gaze changed, looking at me as if he’d found an intriguing toy.

“Bjorn, was it? I’ll agree to your request, but in return, could you do me a favor?”

Ah, um, well…

I wasn’t expecting this either…….

“It’s not a big favour. Besides, I’ll give you a good reward for it, how about that?”

Somehow, I ended up with a second request.

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