Chapter 260: Chapter 260 Clan (4)

Clan (4)

The man sighed in relief as he saw the barbarian warrior, Bjorn Yandel, leaving the sanctuary.

“Fortunately, he came out right away.”

If he had planned to spend the night there, he would have had to wait until the 15th of next month.

After all, infiltrating the sanctuary in this body—

Slip.

The man, who was turning his body to follow Bjorn Yandel, lost his balance and stumbled. It was because he wasn’t used to controlling the golem, having just connected to it for the first time.

“Um, are you okay?”

People looked at him as his body froze in a strange posture, trying to regain his balance.

“I, I’m fine.”

The man felt a strange sense of shame and quickly left. And he followed Bjorn Yandel with a gait that sounded like creaking wood.

“Mommy, that mister is strange…!”

‘…If it weren’t for Lee Baekho…’

The reason he was currently linked to an unfamiliar golem, leaving his perfectly fine body behind, was all because of Lee Baekho.

Because he didn’t know when he might appear again.

He was a bit worried about leaving the Magic Tower in his real body.

‘So where is he going now?’

The man continued to follow Bjorn Yandel as the sky was still dark blue in the early morning.

And…

‘He’s drinking at this hour?’

…they arrived at a famous bar in the 7th district.

The bar that was open 24 hours a day, with employees working in three shifts.

“Is that… Bjorn, son of Yandel?”

“Hoo, that’s him?”

“We’re lucky. To see the man who’s been the talk of the town.”

Everyone’s attention was focused on Bjorn Yandel as soon as he entered the bar. He had become famous enough to be recognized wherever he went.

Smirk.

As if enjoying his fame, Bjorn Yandel couldn’t hide his smile and sat down alone at the table in the center.

And he started chugging alcohol.

“Um, sir, what would you like to order…?”

The man, who also entered the bar and took a table, casually ordered some food and observed Bjorn Yandel’s movements.

There wasn’t anything special.

“Keuuuuuh…!”

He just kept drinking.

The table, which was initially empty, was soon filled with drunkards who were drawn to the smell of alcohol.

“Haha! To down that strong alcohol in one gulp, he’s truly a giant!”

They had come to greet the celebrity, but they stayed because it was more entertaining than they expected.

Ah, and there were quite a few women among them.

“Um, can I touch your arm?”

“…Of, of course!”

“Wow, it’s really like steel! Ah, I’m Amy.”

The women, who were interested in the famous explorer, subtly seduced him.

It wouldn’t work.

After all, Bjorn Yandel already had three lovers, and he was known to be very devoted to them—

“I’m… Bjo, Bjorn, son of Yandel! It’s nice to meet you…!”

Huh?

“Ahem…!”

“Oh my, oh my, how manly.”

The barbarian warrior didn’t stop them as their touches became more intimate and bold.

“Can I touch your thigh too?”

“Ahem! If you want…”

Although he pretended to reluctantly agree, his slightly upturned lips showed that he was also enjoying it.

‘This is… a hero…?’

The man couldn’t believe it, but the people here didn’t seem to find it strange at all.

They didn’t think it was morally wrong.

Anyway, the drinking party continued until evening.

“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa! More alcohol! Bring me more alcohol! I have plenty of money!!”

The man hoped that Bjorn Yandel wasn’t a player as it got closer to midnight.

It was only natural.

He suddenly started arm wrestling and broke the table, he resolved things with money, saying he had a lot of it, and he even intimidated a drunkard who glared at him for being too noisy.

It was far beyond just ‘perfectly’ ‘acting’ like a barbarian.

He was a mindless barbarian warrior.

‘This… this can’t be Elfnunna…’

The man waited until midnight, even though he thought that.

He couldn’t just leave without a final confirmation after spending the whole day here.

After some time…

[23:59]

…only 1 minute was left until the community opened.

The barbarian was still drinking with the others.

It was something a community user would never do.

Tick.

The minute hand moved, and it was midnight.

And since he had set it up beforehand to not enter the community this cycle, he could observe Bjorn Yandel without missing a single moment.

‘…He’s not.’

Bjorn Yandel was still laughing and chatting even though it was midnight. There would be at least a brief moment of stiffness even if you logged out quickly, but there was nothing.

It meant he wasn’t a community user.

‘He wasn’t a member even though I sent him that letter… then he’s probably not a player either. There’s no reason for him not to join if he could read the letter.’

The man got up from his seat, feeling relieved.

Bjorn Yandel wasn’t a player.

And…

‘Right, there’s no way this is a modern person.’

…he felt a sense of relief.

_______________________

Karon’s daily routine yesterday was simple.

He had just been drinking in the bar all day since morning.

‘No wonder the smell of alcohol was so strong.’

Of course, I wasn’t going to scold him for it.

After all, I was the one who told him to drink.

I judged that he wouldn’t be able to pull anything in a bar because of the people watching.

“So what happened while you were drinking?”

“Ah, that? It’s a long story… but it was fun!”

I quickly skipped the stories about the drunkards he befriended at the bar and the time he accidentally broke a table and had to pay for it.

I had expected that much.

I didn’t care about the cost of the table or the alcohol.

As long as the part I wanted was taken care of.

“You’re asking if there were any strange people in the bar? Hmm…”

Karon seemed to be searching his alcohol-soaked brain and then gave me the answer I wanted.

“Come to think of it, there was a strange skinny guy in the corner all day. He was a strange guy who kept ordering things but didn’t drink or eat.”

I knew it was him as soon as I heard it.

“So what did you do? Did you talk to him?”

“No, there’s no way. He seemed a bit mentally challenged, so I didn’t approach him.”

“How long was he in the bar?”

“I don’t know for sure… but I think it was until around midnight.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

He stayed in the bar all day and then left as soon as it was midnight?

It seemed like my plan had worked.

He must have dismissed his suspicion after seeing Karon drinking with the other drunkards.

Then this plan was successfully completed—

“Yeah, that’s right. It was midnight. I met that beastman woman around 1:00.”

Huh?

“…Beastman woman?”

I felt a sense of unease.

And as expected, my premonition didn’t fail.

“That Kaltstein’s daughter!”

Karon, who was disguised as me, met Misha.

“What happened?”

Karon explained what happened as I hurriedly asked.

To summarize:

“She’s a fierce woman, even though she’s a beastman. I can see why you like her.”

Misha grabbed Karon by the collar and dragged him outside.

And they had a brief conversation…

“I’m sorry. It didn’t work, no matter how I tried to make excuses.”

…and Karon’s identity was revealed.

Well, there’s no way he could have hidden it from her.

But the important thing was what happened next.

“She asked me what you were doing, so I just told her the truth.”

“…You told her the truth?”

Karon flinched as I gritted my teeth and asked back.

But did he really want to say this?

“Bjorn, you’re the hero of our tribe. Why should you hide something that’s just fulfilling your duty?”

“…….”

“So I told her honestly! I said you were currently fulfilling your duty with the female warriors of the tribe, so she shouldn’t even think of interrupting!”

“…….”

“Huhu, it seemed like she didn’t know what ‘duty’ meant, so I explained it to her in detail. And then she seemed to understand and left.”

“…….”

“You should thank me! Now you can fulfill your duty at the sanctuary whenever you want!”

“…….”

“But… why are you so quiet?”

Karon then asked cautiously, and I still answered with silence.

I didn’t know what to say.

Damn it, how did this happen?

It felt strange to be angry at Karon.

“Karon, son of Tarson, make a warrior’s oath. That you’ll keep everything that happened today a secret.”

“An oath? I’ll do it a hundred times if you want.”

Karon agreed without hesitation as I struggled inwardly and asked for an oath.

That was why I couldn’t be angry at him.

“Ah, but what does ‘keep a secret’ mean?”

“…It means don’t tell anyone.”

“That’s easy! I’m known for being tight-lipped even within the tribe!”

Right, what was the point of being angry at him?

It was better to just accept it as something I couldn’t do anything about, like a natural disaster. No one gets angry at clouds for raining, right?

Karon had already done his part.

And thanks to him, the GM was successfully deceived.

‘I have no choice but to deal with the aftermath myself.’

I then parted ways with Karon and headed home.

Thud, thud.

My steps towards home were unusually heavy.

____________________

Misha was on the sofa when I arrived.

She was sitting there in the dark living room, and I couldn’t read her expression.

Right, nothing at all.

“You’re back?”

Misha asked nonchalantly.

But her nails, which were usually neatly trimmed, were rough, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Don’t tell me, she stayed on the sofa all night?

“Uh, uh…”

My heart sank.

That’s when, as I stood there silently, unable to say anything…

“Then it’s fine. Go to sleep.”

…Misha, who had been watching me as if giving me time to speak, turned around and went back to her room.

I just watched her until then.

“…….”

What could I say?

That what Karon said wasn’t true?

I would have to tell her about the GM if I wanted to explain that.

Of course, I could make up another lie…

‘But it might make things worse.’

It would have been different in the past.

Misha was currently suspecting me of being an evil spirit. Therefore, it was better to be suspected of this than of that.

Because of fulfilling my duty to the tribe?

At least it didn’t sound like an evil spirit.

This was the best option.

‘…My ass.’

I quickly went upstairs and knocked on Misha’s door.

There was no answer.

Did she not want to talk to me?

“I’m coming in.”

I did what I wanted, ignoring her wishes, like a barbarian.

Kwagic!

Fortunately, the door wasn’t locked, so it easily opened.

I saw Misha lying on the bed, covered in blankets.

“…….”

Right, she didn’t even want to see my face.

It was a good thing I followed her.

There’s a time for everything.

A tank is a being who protects their companions, not someone who hurts them.

Therefore…

“Just listen if you don’t want to talk.”

…I said.

I still didn’t have the courage to reveal that I was an evil spirit.

So I just said it bluntly, using my barbarian body.

“Nothing happened at the sanctuary.”

Misha lowered her blanket a bit at my words.

And she asked,

“…Why are you telling me this?”

It meant there was no reason for me to make excuses, whether she believed me or not.

Actually, she wasn’t wrong.

We were just companions.

Although there was a chance for us to become closer, I was the one who rejected it. I judged that if our feelings were involved, it would be difficult to make rational decisions at a crossroads.

But…

“Bjorn, if you’re doing this because you’re worried about me, you don’t have to—”

“I’m not saying this for you, I’m saying it for myself. I’m selfish, unlike Dwarkey.”

I cut Misha off and said,

“Misha, nothing really happened at the sanctuary last night, and I don’t want you to misunderstand me because of that.”

“Why wouldn’t I misunderstand you…?”

Misha’s eyes, visible from beneath the blanket, were filled with a certain hope and longing.

It was something I couldn’t avoid forever.

I took a breath and continued.

Even though I was just an evil spirit residing in Bjorn Yandel’s body.

“Because you’re no longer just a companion to me.”

It was a truth I could no longer deny.