Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel 2025 - Chapter 498
Chapter 498: Quest (3)
Despite the table of finely brewed tea and the handful of formal refreshments that Auyen had prepared with the utmost hospitality, an awkward silence filled the room.
Missha was eventually the first to break it.
“These snacks…”
“Hm?”
“These are snacks from Lubat’s Bakery… They’re not bad, but the ones from Nielon Bakery are cheaper and will probably suit your taste more…”
Why was she talking about snacks all of a sudden?
I thought it was strange, but I figured that she must have just been trying to make small talk to ease some of the tension in the air. “Really I don’t know much about stuff like that since Auyen takes care of it himself. Oh, right. You don’t know who—”
“I know. Auyen Rockrobe… He’s your Navigator.”
“…Yeah?”
Once again, the conversation came to an end as an awkward atmosphere drenched the room.
Ugh, why am I so nervous?
If it was going to hurt anyway, might as well just rip off the bandage. With that settled, I quickly brought up the main topic of today. “Since you came here, you must have made up your mind, Missha?”
“…Yeah.”
“So what did you decide to do?”
When I asked bluntly, Missha hesitated for a moment before replying, “Your new clan… I’ll join.”
“Really?”
“Yeah…”
Her nod finally allowed me to relax. I thought she would refuse, given how she kept fidgeting and hesitating over there. I even prepared myself beforehand.
“As long as you… and your colleagues don’t…”
I responded firmly before she could even finish her sentence. “Of course everyone’s going to welcome you! Right, I forgot. You and Erwen aren’t on good terms, huh?
It’s fine. I’m sure you’ll be able to be close like you two were before. She’s a lot better now as well.”
“Oh… Is that so…?”
“Why don’t I call them down now?”
“H-huh…?”
“You weren’t able to really chat with them last time. Since we’re all going to be heading into the labyrinth together now, we should all have a good time together…”
Missha looked taken aback but eventually nodded her head in agreement. I quickly left her as I went upstairs to grab Amelia and Erwen.
However, once we came down to the living room, the suffocating awkwardness was still there. After sitting in silence for an unbearable amount of time, Amelia let out a heavy sigh, then glanced toward me.
Nothing’s going to happen at this rate, so she must have decided to take the initiative.
“Yandel. Wait upstairs.”
“…Huh?”
“If you want us to get along, don’t talk back and just get going. You being here is only bothering us.”
I was kicked out from the get-go.
***
Amelia, Erwen, and Missha talked for about an hour. Eventually, Amelia came up to my room and knocked on my door, telling me it was okay to come down. I rushed back down to the living room on the first floor, but the situation was completely different than I had expected.
They were neither getting along nor fighting. Instead, everything looked in disarray, as if a hurricane had just passed by.
“Um…Amelia?” I asked, dumbfounded. “What happened here?”
“After a long conversation, the three of us have decided to get along from now on,”
Amelia replied like nothing happened.
“Um, that’s great and all, but…I wasn’t talking about that. It looks like…something broke?”
“Oh, that? Don’t worry about it. While we were talking, my hand slipped.”
How did it make any sense for the entire living room to be in such a mess just because her hand slipped?
As I looked around at the rest of them, Erwen quickly avoided my gaze. “…That’s right. Her hand slipped.”
So they all agreed with this excuse? I then turned my gaze to Missha, but she kept her mouth shut without giving me a proper response.
Well, since nobody is hurt, I guess it’s fine…
I decided to stop questioning them about the living room. I wasn’t that clueless.
They must have argued for a bit, but it looks like everything turned out okay.
Though if I had to make a more accurate guess, I would say that Missha and Erwen were probably still at odds, but Amelia agreed to mediate between them.
“Then…I’ll head up first.” Erwen quickly went back to her room like she was running away.
Missha also got up from her seat. “I w-will…go too, then…”
“Hm? Where are you going? Why don’t you just stay here? We have a lot of empty rooms?”
“W-well… I thought about it, but I think it would be better if I lived separately… Me being here will only make things more uncomfortable… I heard that Ainar was doing the same…?”
Ah, that’s true. Ainar told me that the holy land is pretty interesting these days, so she prefers to spend her time there as the first elder.
“So…can you let me go?” I let go of Missha’s wrist, which I had grabbed. She gently touched the part that I was holding, as if I had grabbed her too tightly. “G-goodbye, then…”
Missha quickly left through the front door. In the end, I was unable to overcome the line that was drawn between us.
“…The three of you. What did you guys talk about?”
I’d asked Amelia out of frustration, but again, she didn’t give me a proper answer.
“That’s a secret between us girls. There’s no need for you to know.”
There wasn’t even a single clue I could glean from that to figure out what in the world those three discussed.
The day after Missha’s visit, another guest showed up at our front door.
“…Raven?”
“Can I come in?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Ever since she ran tests on Erwen’s new essence, Raven has been busy taking care of her work. It had been a while since she last visited.
“Your house is smaller than before?”
“Oh, right. It’s your first time here.” I quickly gave her a tour of the house as Auyen prepared refreshments for us. The two of us sat down to enjoy them, as we talked.
“I’m sure you didn’t come here just because you’re bored. What’s the matter?”
“What’s the matter?’ How can you ask me that after what you did?”
“So it was about the magic tower.”
She let out a heavy sigh but, surprisingly, didn’t complain much. She knew the circumstances surrounding the event. Even though my way of handling it was a bit extreme, at the end of the day, I was just doing my job as the chieftain. More importantly, everything ended smoothly.
“What kind of magic did you use on him?”
This was the real point of her visit.
“I can’t understand why the lord of the magic tower would concede so much for you. To be honest, I thought for sure that it was going to lead to war…”
“You came because you were curious about that?”
“More or less.”
I hesitated but decided to tell her the full story, including the deal I made with the lord. I actually wanted her advice on it.
“Lurendel Garlinbarret…” she murmured. “He conceded all of that to protect her?”
“Do you know anything about her?”
“…Not really. In the past, we didn’t talk much since our ranks were different. And after I joined the military, I barely visited the magic tower.”
“Still, you’re a wizard just like she is. I’m sure you know more than me. Any information you have will do.”
“Then…” Raven hesitated for a moment before admitting, “Lurendel Garlinbarret is the most proficient and well-known wizard when it comes to papers and research on a barbarian’s heart. In fact, the Tritten School itself is primarily focused on researching it.”
“Hm, so that’s why she wanted my heart.”
“Probably. There’s a good chance that she made the request because she sincerely wanted to research your heart.”
“And that must mean there’s a good chance her research is something the magic tower is highly interested in.”
“It seems so… Otherwise, there was no reason for the lord of the magic tower to give up so much just to save her.”
“…Raven, could you look into it for me?”
“Hmmm… Alright. I’m curious as well. I’ll do my own investigation and share it with you if I find anything interesting.”
“Thanks.”
That was the end of that topic, but since Raven was already here, I decided to ask a question of my own. “Raven. Hypothetically, and I do mean this completely hypothetically… Has anyone gained ‘knowledge’ from the labyrinth?”
“…Knowledge?”
“Yeah, knowledge. Like for example, someone suddenly gains the ability to read and write in the ancient language even when they couldn’t before—”
Raven jumped to her feet and smacked the table. “Ancient language? You can read it now?”
“N-no… I-I was just giving an exam—”
“What do you mean, example?! It’s obviously about you!”
These women around me are always so quick-witted.
I decided to admit it to her. She wouldn’t believe me if I said no, anyway. “Yeah, I can read in the ancient language now.”
“How much…?”
“I’m not sure? I’ve never tried it, so…”
Before I could finish my sentence, once again, Raven made a ruckus as she quickly pulled out a book from her subspace, forcing me to read what was, of course, the text written in the ancient language.
“Mahniarsus earnestly asked for his wife’s return, but Kaprakadakh flatly refused his request. He believed that he could love her more than the former ever could…
What kind of book is this?”
“It doesn’t matter. Keep reading.”
“…So Mahniarsus drew his sword and stabbed it into his rival’s heart. As Kaprakadakh bled, he reached his hand out, but the only thing he could do was…”
Raven’s expression darkened as I continued to read the book to her. “Th-that’s a book I can’t even read properly without a dictionary…”
Hm, so that’s how it was…
Raven was even considered to have studied ancient languages quite a bit compared to most wizards.
“Muttin Abiyur Bukrath.”
“…What did you just say?”
“That means, ‘I can even speak in Ancient Language.’”
When I shrugged my shoulders, she was left completely dumbfounded. It took a while before she could get a hold of herself and retort, “…Mr. Yandel, can I punch you?”
Raven raised her small fist, which didn’t look threatening at all, toward me.
“Keeatho KeeKeehu Kooekhu. Oh, that means, ‘I don’t want to get hit,’ in—”
“Are you making fun of me?!”
In the end, I got punched. The one who was left with a bruise was the one hitting me, though.
“Ah, seriously… What’s wrong with you, Mr. Yandel?”
“Sorry. Anyway, back to my story, have you heard of a case like this before?”
“…As far as I know, no. There hasn’t been anything like this. But…what happened?
Was it…a reward? Is it related to the fact that your name was written down on the Stone of Honor…?”
“Well, something like that.”
“…Can you tell me?” Raven asked cautiously Despite her caution, I decided there was no need to keep it a secret from her. We may not have been as close with each other as when we were teammates, but she was still someone who helped me even knowing that I was an evil spirit. I also needed a wizard’s insight.
“What you experienced there wasn’t just an illusion. No, it must have actually happened in the past! There is clearly some connection between the Lord of the Floor and the Witch!”
When Raven heard my story, she couldn’t hide her excitement.
“This is a great discovery! This proves the hypothesis that the labyrinth isn’t another dimension! Maybe the labyrinth’s dimensional coordinates aren’t by space, but rather, the axis of time!”
I, of course, didn’t understand a thing she was saying. Axis of space, time, or whatever, none of it really made any sense to me. “Is that so?”
“Versyl Gowland! What did she say? She’s a wizard too, right?! I’m sure after making such a great discovery, she’s researching it!”
“No. She wasn’t all that interested in it, honestly?”
“Wha-Whaaaaaat?!”
It was because Versyl was also a player. Players like us, we didn’t have all that much interest in the history of this world. We pretty much just ignored it.
“N-no way… Even though she’s a wizard? If I was there—”
Raven had been shouting as if outraged, but she suddenly stopped talking.
“If you were there?”
“…Never mind. It’s pointless, anyway.”
The mood suddenly died. For some reason, I felt like I had to change the subject, and quickly. I hastily brought up some news that I was sure would make Raven happy. “Oh, that’s right! I have some other news to tell you.”
“…News?”
“Missha came back.”
I briefed her on our reunion with Missha and how she decided to join our clan.
“…Is that so? That’s great.”
What’s with her reaction?
“I’ll tell you her address later, so you should pay her a visit too. I’m sure Missha will be happy if—”
“Later.”
“…Huh?”
“I-I should get going now. I’ve got work to take care of.”
Raven then left the house as if fleeing, a dark expression on her face.
***
After Raven left, I went back to my busy day. I stopped by the holy land to see if Rotmiller was adapting well. Then, I swung by the dwarf’s blacksmith shop to check on his progress. I even summoned all the clan members to discuss our next expedition as well. Most of the following days were made up of similar menial tasks, but they didn’t take up all of my day.
Today, for example, I had something else to do.
“We are delighted to welcome you to the House of Viscount Goodrix.”
I visited Viscount Goodrix’s mansion after receiving a letter of invitation from him. He was one of the members of Melbeth, which is made up of thirty-one— No, now thirty-two noble houses.
“Haha! It’s a pleasure to see you, Your Lordship. I am Viscount Goodrix. I’m sure you’re busy as is, so I’m incredibly grateful that you took the time to accept my invitation.”
Since he was a dwarf, he spoke in a much more cheerful tone than the other nobles. However, since he still was a member of the nobility, he spoke in a roundabout way with no shortage of pleasantries. After signaling to him that he could skip through all of that, he finally got to the point.
“So,” I asked, “why did you call me?”
“On behalf of Melbeth, we have a request for you, Baron Yandel.”
It was my first Melbeth-exclusive quest.