Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 434
C434: The Return of the Lion (5)
The reunion with Aynar went exactly as expected.
A tearful reunion is not something Barbarians are known for.
Well, if anything, this sort of reunion feels more fitting.
“Aah, Bjooooooorrrrrn!”
“Yes, Aynar. It’s been a long time-”
“Betheeeeeeeeel—Raaaaaa!!”
As soon as I opened the gate, Aynar pushed me towards the yard.
And then…
“You deceived meeeeeee!”
The fistfight began immediately.
Seems she’s more than a little pissed off about how I faked my death for over two years, and how I pretended to be ‘Rihen Schuiz’ even after meeting her again at the library.
Considering the emotional distress she had gone through, it wasn’t unexpected.
But that’s not what Aynar’s after.
“Betheeeeeeeeel—Raaaaaaa!!”
We shout the names of our ancestors and go at it.
Puh-uck—!
We slam fists into each other’s faces.
“Aaaaargh!!”
We roll across the grass, wrestling like wild animals.
How long did this dogfight last?
As our emotions heightened, Aynar grabbed her greatsword she had thrown on the ground, and I yelled for Erwin to bring my hammer, when
“Both of you… stop it!!”
Erwin’s intervention marked the end of our reunion fight.
The garden was a mess, Erwin looked sad, but she averted her gaze as if he didn’t see it.
Still, it was Aynar’s moment.
“Ptui!”
Aynar spat blood onto the grass and then grinned.
“What the hell… so you really are Bjorn after all…”
Is this what ‘natural barbarians’ are like?
To think that she’d get over such a thing so quickly.
Misha would have cursed me for a while and struck my abdomen with frost damage.
“Aynar, you haven’t changed a bit.”
“Really? I feel like I’ve changed a lot.”
Aynar shrugged and approached me, tapping me on the chest with her fist.
“Whatever the circumstances were, I probably wouldn’t understand them. It’s always been that way. But still…”
“Still?”
“I’m glad you’re alive, Bjorn.”
“Ah…”
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
The sincerity in her calm voice had caught me off guard.
Maybe it felt awkward for her too.
“Anyway… what’s up with that weak-looking body of yours?”
Aynar looked me up and down, making me feel strangely ashamed.
Perhaps it hurt my pride as a barbarian?
For some reason, my mouth was quicker to respond than ever.
“It’s because of the essence! The same kind of essence you ate from the Bonnight, but don’t worry! Now that I’ve regained my name, I’ll get rid of it soon!”
“Huh. Is that right? Do it as soon as you can. Seeing Bjorn shorter than me feels strange.”
A dagger seemed to pierce my chest.
“And… I’ll spare taking you to the sanctuary today. If our tribe saw you like this… they’d definitely be disappointed.”
My heart ached.
I would’ve preferred her mocking my gaming skills—it’d hurt less.
Hoo, I’ll have to get rid of the Gachabon essence quickly.
“So… is the reunion over?”
After quietly watching us for a while, Raven joined in, and Aynar acknowledged her presence.
“Oh! Aruru! Long time no see!”
“Is that all you have to say after half a year?”
“Hahaha! You worry about the strangest things! If you keep that up, you won’t grow.”
“It’s not like I’m going to grow taller anyway!”
“Don’t lose hope. Look at me, I’m here, aren’t I?”
“That’s because you were affected by the essence!”
When Raven shouted back in outrage, Aynar chuckled heartily and scratched her ear.
Raven clutched the back of her neck once again.
For some reason, the scene made my heart feel warm and fuzzy.
‘It’s been a long time…’
A sense of nostalgia.
I wasn’t the only one who shared this feeling; Raven, who followed Aynar into the house while shouting irritably, also had a smile on her face.
“That’s a relief.” she said quietly as she passed by me
“Huh?”
“That you’ve become cheerful again.”
“What are you talking about? Let’s go inside.”
“Okay.”
After the reunion in the garden, we moved inside the house to continue our conversation.
Following Raven, Aynar awkwardly greeted Erwin, and next, it was Amelia’s turn.
“Barbarian, it’s been a while—”
Don’t act like you know her so casually.
I quickly cut in and covered Amelia’s mouth.
“You two have met before, right?”
“Met… before?”
I was honestly dumbfounded. Back then, she had been absolutely miserable about her “warrior’s honor” being trampled by her or whatever.
Then again, when we first met on Farune Island, Aynar couldn’t even recognize her right away.
“Ah, aah…! I remember now! That woman from Noark who stayed behind with Bjorn until the end!”
It seemed Aynar remembered the time on the island of Parune.
“So your name was…”
“Emily Raines.”
“Ah, yes, that was it!”
What do you mean ‘that was it’?
We never exchanged names back then. Everyone just called her a plunderer and a bitch, and nobody cared about her real name.
‘About her honor being trampled on the 2nd Floor… Maybe it’s best to just pretend it never happened’
I was thinking this when—
“Emily Raines, was it?”
“What about it?”
Aynar’s voice was surprisingly friendly toward Amelia, and what she said next was even more unexpected.
“First of all, I want to say thank you.”
“…Huh?”
“I don’t know much about you, but you must be someone reliable. Otherwise, Bjorn wouldn’t have kept you around.”
Aynar unexpectedly spoke with a serious tone, thanking Amelia.
“Thank you for being by Bjorn’s side during his toughest times.”
“It’s not really something to be thanked for.”
“Haha! It’s my duty! I’m a bit jealous that his reliance wasn’t on me, but that can’t be helped given my condition!”
“…”
“I’m not as smart as Aruru, nor blindly loyal enough to abandon my tribe like that fairy.”
“…Um, you just insulted me, right?”
After a long pause, Erwin frowned and spoke up, and Aynar cleverly dodged the question.
“Haha, did it sound like that?”
Wow, look at her not even denying it.
I don’t know what happened, but Aynar’s way with words has greatly improved.
“Anyway, let’s talk. I came right over after hearing about you at the pub, but what exactly has been going on?”
I then spent some time explaining what had happened to me. Of course, I didn’t tell the full 100% truth; I filtered some details out. Even so—
“O!”
“Ah!”
“Oh!”
“I see.”
Aynar only repeated these four exclamations while listening to my story.
Unlike the conversation with Erwin or Raven, the story ended fairly quickly. That’s the upside of talking with a Barbarian: chats don’t drag on too long.
But then again…
“…And that’s everything that happened.”
“O!”
Simultaneously, it was also a problem when talking with a Barbarian. It was hard to tell if they really understood.
“Got it?”
“I get it… mostly!”
“…That’ll do.”
That was the end of that. I gladly moved on to the next topic.
“By the way, Aynar, you must’ve been pretty shocked.”
“Huh?”
“When the Royal Family declared me an evil spirit. It must’ve been a massive surprise, right? Not just for you but for the rest of our tribe, too.”
“Oh, that? Nah, it wasn’t as big of a deal as you’d think.”
“…Not a big deal?”
“Sure, maybe some foolish humans would believe it, but does calling you an ‘evil spirit’ even make sense? Nobody in our tribe bought that for a second. We all just thought the Royal Family messed up again.”
Oh… that’s unexpected.
Though it wasn’t the answer I was expecting, I still had something I wanted to clarify.
“Speaking purely out of curiosity: if—just if—”
Carefully, I tested the waters with Aynar.
“What would you do if I really were an evil spirit?”
It was an important question in deciding how I’d treat Aynar moving forward. Depending on her answer, I might invalidate everything I told her and share the true story.
So, what would Aynar say? Everyone else—Erwin, Amelia, Raven—swallowed nervously, trying to act calm.
And then…
“Haha! Bjorn, an evil spirit? You’re saying the funniest stuff!”
“I’m serious. Think about it for a second. I’m genuinely curious about your answer.”
In that strange, tense atmosphere, Aynar finally caved to my questioning and replied.
“Hmm, you being an evil spirit, huh…? Well, then there’s only one answer.”
“Only one?”
“You mean you’d accept him as an evil spirit because you’ve shared so much time and trust with him?” Raven and Erwin asked.
Aynar tilted his head, looking puzzled.
“What are you talking about? Of course we’d kill you!”
“K-kill…?”
“Yeah, our tribe chief said it! An evil spirit must be put to death!”
Phew… right.
This one won’t be easy…….
***
Raven and Aynar’s visit lasted until late that night. We chatted for hours over tea, and had a simple drink with dinner.
Once we finished eating, the drinking really took off.
“It’s getting late… I’d better head home.”
Late at night, Raven finally gathered her coat and got up to leave, while Aynar – who had been drinking heavily from the start – had passed out. She ended up sleeping over and only left the next morning after nursing her hangover.
“You said you had something to do starting today, right? Once you’re settled, let me know. Stop by the sanctuary. Despite what I said yesterday, everyone would be happy if you came.”
“Yeah…”
After sending Aynar off, Erwin prepared to leave as well. Something about having to go to the Sanctuary because of what happened in the Labyrinth?
“Well, I’ll be leaving the house in your care.”
After Erwin left, I entrusted the house to Amelia and went out alone. As I told Aynar yesterday, I had a lot to do starting today.
“Look, it’s Baron Jandel…!”
As Erwin had warned me before she climbed over the fence to go out, there was quite a crowd outside the house. My story must be all over the city by now.
Some of them were the equivalent of journalists in this world, while others had come simply to see my face.
“Baron! Could you please spare a few words for us?”
“Waaaaaaah!”
“Please shake my hand!”
Wow, so did Aynar manage to escape here by herself?
Well, it wouldn’t have been too hard.
“Bethel—raaaaaaaaaaaa!!”
Calling upon the name of my ancestors, I pushed through the crowd.
“Ah! He’s escaping!”
“Follow him!”
Escape, huh.
I was just pushing forward.
Tadadadat—
Exploiting my overwhelming strength, I quickly broke through the crowd and ran down the empty morning streets. Some of them tried to give chase, but I quickly shook them off.
‘Alright, let’s get going…’
Finding a shadowy back alley, I pulled a large robe over my body, then checked my map and headed for my destination.
The closest place should be…
‘Here it is.’
A small house with a striking red gate.
After confirming the name written on the nameplate, I took a deep breath and knocked softly.
Knock, knock.
After a moment a tired looking woman opened the door.
“Y-You are…!”
She couldn’t hide her shock at the sight of my face.
Well, it was understandable.
“May I come in, Mrs. Ashid?”
At my question she bit her lip and then stepped aside to let me in.
“I… I don’t have anything prepared, but perhaps some tea…”
“That’s fine. I’m not here to be treated. I’ve come to return something.”
“To return something…”
Instead of answering, I pulled an item from my sub-space.
The woman carefully unwrapped the cloth and collapsed at the sight of the ashes inside the box.
“Ah, ah, ah…”
“I’m sorry. The circumstances were such. . It would have been better if I could have brought it back intact.”
“Here are the possessions Ashid had. I’ve kept them organized in my subspace, so take a careful look through them later. If anything seems to be missing, let me know anytime.”
“…….”
“…”
“Even if it’s not about that, if you ever need anything or find yourself in a situation where you need me, here’s my address, come find me anytime.”
“Ahh…”
“If my presence is uncomfortable, I’ll take my leave now.”
No answer came.
But taking the silence as confirmation, I slowly pushed myself to my feet.
Then, she spoke.
“Wait…”
“…?”
“P-please wait… just a moment….”
She got up and went to the kitchen, returning soon with a cup of tea with a rich, deep aroma.
“He… When guests would visit, he always served them this tea.”
“I see… I’m not well-versed in tea, but it smells lovely. Gentle, and it suits him well.”
“Please, tell me. How… how was he…?”
“Hmm, it looks like I’ll need more tea.”
After that, I sipped the tea and began to speak.
Most of what I said was trivial, small stories.
After all, I couldn’t reveal the truth.
Minor incidents during the expedition. The fleeting conversations he and I shared. His subtle kindnesses and thoughtfulness, so subtle that only the keen-eyed would notice.
“And so, everyone in the team liked him. You know what I mean, don’t you? He didn’t stand out in a flashy way, but having him around made us feel comfortable and secure…”
“Yes… truly.”
“He always listened carefully to others, yet for some strange reason, he hardly ever spoke about himself. That’s why when he first mentioned having a wife, we were all so surprised…”
“He… talked about me…?”
“Yes.”
“W-What did he say?”
“He said you were a strong woman.”
“…….”
“But he also said that if he were gone, you’d definitely cry.”
“Ku—… khhk…”
Since receiving his ashes, she had tried so hard to hold back her tears as she listened, but now her head fell forward as she cried.
I said nothing, merely turning my gaze elsewhere and waiting for her to calm down.
Time passed.
“Thank you… for coming all this way…”
“Thank me? Thanks to you, I’ve discovered a good tea.”
“…Are you going to visit the others now?”
I gave a small nod.
“It’s the least the living can do.”
After leaving Ashid’s home, I visited the homes of each of the fallen members, one by one.
If I had managed to bring back their remains, I returned them. If not, I gave them a few of their belongings. And if even that was impossible, I bowed my head and apologized.
Their reactions varied.
“Huh, if it isn’t the great hero, Baron Jandel himself. To what do we owe the honour of visiting such a humble place?”
Some greeted me with sarcasm.
Some accepted the items with stoic faces and then kicked me away.
Some doubted the truth of the expedition the Marquis had spoken of, while others were deeply moved that a famous hero hadn’t forgotten them and had come to visit.
But one thing was certain.
“Come here, Meirin… say hello to Mommy…”
“This is my mom? Why?”
No matter the reaction, I stood before them as a sinner.
Perhaps until the day comes when I can boldly speak the truths of that day, I must continue bearing this burden in my heart.
One day. Two days. Three days…
Time passed.
It took more than a few days to return all the fallen squad members to their homes.
Four days, five days, six days…
Time passed, and passed again.
And then…
「The character’s soul resonates and is drawn toward a specific world.」
That day had finally come.