Chapter 99: Chapter 99 Rumors (1)

Rumors (1)

A magic tool that can identify the souls of evil spirits?

Just a second ago, I never expected to be in this situation.

But…

‘Whatever it is, nothing changes.’

I dismiss the curiosity-driven questions.

Does he know something?

Or is it just a coincidence?

If I can’t be sure, it’s best to assume the worst and act accordingly.

The old man suspects me.

Then what should I do right now?

“…Magic tool?”

I frown and look at the old man.

As if the word ‘magic tool’ bothers me more than ‘evil spirit’. As if that’s the reason for the brief silence earlier.

“…It’s safe, right?”

I look at him with distrust.

I’m a barbarian who knows nothing about magic.

And I’ve seen countless suspicious-looking magic tools in Raven’s research lab.

‘This is the right reaction, right?’

I finish my split-second judgment and take action.

Therefore, it’s the old man’s turn to make a move.

“Hmm.”

The old man observes me with a meaningful look and then changes his expression and speaks.

“Huhu, you don’t trust me? Me, the master of the Artemion school?”

As I look at him as if to say, ‘do you really need to say that?’, the old man clicks his tongue.

“Tsk, what does this friend take me for? Don’t worry. Aru will prove that the magic tool is harmless to the human body.”

“…Yes? Me?”

“It’s not that difficult, is it?”

“Yes, well… if it’s just confirming what kind of spells are imbued in the magic tool…”

The master of the school and a barbarian she’s known for 3 months.

It’s obvious which side Raven will prioritize, so it’s hard to trust those words.

But…

‘No matter what excuse I make to refuse, I’ll just fall for their tricks in the end.’

As I listen to their conversation, I’m convinced.

The old man suspects me, although I don’t know where I left a clue.

Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to be certain yet.

Judging by the fact that he’s trying to test me with a non-existent magic tool.

‘There probably… is no such magic tool.’

I suppress my anxiety and rationally gather evidence.

A magic tool that identifies evil spirits?

It hasn’t existed for thousands of years.

As civilization develops, it wouldn’t be strange for such a thing to appear someday, but…

‘There’s no way this old man would be the first to create it.’

The Artemion school is a traditional mage school.

They mainly conduct research on creating new spells and such, rather than minor topics like dimensions or souls.

But for a mage like that to create an evil spirit detector?

‘In the first place, if such a thing really existed, he would have somehow tricked me into sitting in front of the magic tool. He wouldn’t be testing me like this.’

I finally reach my conclusion.

There’s no evil spirit detector.

The old man is just trying to observe my reaction.

Therefore…

“So what are you going to do? There’s no danger, and it won’t even take long.”

“…It won’t take long?”

“About 5 minutes should be enough.”

“Tsk, if that’s the case…”

I accept the old man’s offer.

Although it’s a bit unsettling, there’s nothing to lose if it ends quickly.

But was my decision unexpected?

“…Are you really okay with it?”

The old man asks me back, completely erasing any remaining anxiety I had.

I ask nonchalantly,

“What do you mean? Okay with what?”

“…Didn’t you say it could be dangerous earlier?”

“She said she would check it, didn’t she!”

“That’s true, but…”

“Let’s go. I woke up early this morning and I’m tired, so I want to go back and get some sleep!”

Damn it, this old man is up to something.

________________________

“He’s gone…”

Raven sighs deeply as she hears her master’s seemingly empty words in the lab where Bjorn left.

She doesn’t understand the situation at all.

A magic tool that identifies evil spirits?

She’s never heard of her master researching such a thing…

“What was that about earlier?”

“…….”

“Stop being like that. Are you really not going to tell me?”

She had to prove to Bjorn that the magic tool was safe under her master’s instructions.

It wasn’t a difficult task.

The magic tool that the master brought out as an evil spirit detector didn’t have any spells imbued in it.

It was just a strangely shaped chair.

[Don’t say anything and just play along.]

However, she remained silent as instructed by her master.

So now it's time to hear the truth.

Of course, she has a guess.

She's not that clueless.

"...Don't tell me you thought Mr. Yandel was an evil spirit? Is that why you kept asking about what happened in the labyrinth?"

The master neither denies nor confirms.

But sometimes, silence is the most definitive answer.

"Ha... so have you cleared your suspicion?"

"...Yes, I was wrong."

"It's understandable that you would think that, Master. He's a unique person. But I have one question. I really want you to answer this."

At her repeated question, the master replies weakly,

"...What is it?"

"Why did you do that? If you suspected him of being an evil spirit, you could have just given a hint to the Secret Security Department, and they would have taken care of it—"

"Then he would die."

A small murmur.

"Yes? What do you mean—."

"Enough, I'm tired. I'll be on my way, so please clean up."

The master then gets up, his small body seeming frail.

And he leaves with a gait that's uncharacteristically subdued.

The lab is now empty, with only her left.

She ponders the words her master left behind.

'Then he would die...'

In other words, it means he needs a live evil spirit.

'What the hell do you want, Master?'

She can't shake off the unsettling feeling.

__________________________

Thud!

I return to the inn and collapse onto the bed.

I feel like all my energy has been drained since morning.

I want to get some sleep, but...

'I was really surprised when he suddenly appeared without warning.'

I loosen up my tense muscles and reflect on what happened today.

It doesn't seem like I made any mistakes.

Thinking back, it was a good response.

I assumed the worst but prevented myself from jumping to conclusions based on the clues available, and as a result, I was able to deduce the best answer.

'Judging by his expression at the end, the old man seems to have completely cleared his suspicion.'

Although it was a sudden incident, it worked out well.

However, there's one thing that's slightly unsettling.

When the old man became certain that I wasn't an evil spirit, he seemed somewhat disappointed.

Why?

'...Well, it's none of my business.'

I briefly contemplate and then clear my thoughts.

It's a question with no answer, and whatever the reason, it has no direct connection to my safety.

'Still, I feel a bit relieved.'

I went through some shitty things this morning.

But paradoxically, this incident has given me a strange sense of relief. With this, the luck stacks that have been piling up recently should be somewhat offset—

"Bjorn! Wake up! It's already midday, how long are you going to sleep?!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Did I fall asleep?

I open my eyes to see Misha shaking my body.

I didn't leave the door open, so she must have used the spare key I gave her a while ago.

'I gave it to her to use in case of an emergency...'

"Misha, why are you here? You said you were going to the Magic Tower today."

"You came home late yesterday. I was going to wake you up if you were asleep!"

Hmm, if that's the reason...

I'll think about taking back the spare key later.

"Ah, but how did you know I came home late? Don't tell me you were waiting?"

"Didn't you promise to tell me what happened there when you got back? And besides, I didn't wait that long, so don't worry about it."

Although she says that, she must have been waiting for me until late at night.

Is she that curious about what happened at the banquet?

"So tell me. What happened?"

At Misha's urging, I slowly tell her what happened yesterday.

How I wore the barbarian warrior outfit prepared by the butler, led the carriage procession to the banquet venue...

The food I ate there.

And how I ended up winning the tournament.

"Eek, you really won? You defeated all those knights?"

"Apprentice knights, not knights."

"They're still knights! That's amazing!"

Amazing my ass.

Except for the guy I met in the finals, Misha could have easily won against the rest even if she had been there.

Her physical skills are truly amazing.

"Anyway, just use this."

After briefly explaining what happened, I start writing letters with Misha.

Replies to the nobles.

I had written them all this morning, but somehow there were more after I woke up.

"...Bjorn, is it really okay to send them like this? They're nobles. Something might happen."

"It's fine."

"Hmm, if you say so, but..."

Misha writes the letters as I dictate, with an uneasy expression.

Geez, there's nothing to worry about.

What more could they expect from a letter written by a barbarian?

In the first place, it's a miracle that we even get replies...

[I'm busy, so I can't go.]

[So find another barbarian.]

[Sender: Bjorn, son of Yandel]

Yeah, this is more than enough to maintain my dignity.

______________________________

I'm at a noble's mansion.

It's a spacious, glittering place with delicious smells wafting from everywhere.

"I think I finally understand what the chieftain meant when he said the world is vast!"

It feels like I've come to another world.

People's clothes, their way of speaking, the sound of music...

All we had were drums...

"What are you doing? Come here."

"Ah, alright!"

A barbarian who became an adult a month ago.

Dkart, son of Kafen, follows the client towards the center of the banquet.

"Tsk, what's with that gait? Walk more confidently!"

He feels a bit wronged.

He doesn't even know what walking confidently means.

And the equipment he's wearing is unnecessarily large and uncomfortable.

He's more comfortable with his bare body...

He wants to complain, but Dkart keeps his mouth shut.

It's because he remembers what happened the other day.

[That guy walked just fine even while wearing something bigger?]

A few days ago, he was lured by the promise of a large sum of money and followed a noble, where he received various kinds of education. Most of it was about how to behave at banquets.

At first, he was angry.

Is he making these ridiculous demands because I'm a barbarian?

Is he looking down on me?

But...

[That guy? Who is that guy that you keep making demands based on something you heard?]

[I'm talking about Bjorn, son of Yandel, Little Balkan.]

...after learning who that guy was, he had no choice but to endure everything.

Bjorn, son of Yandel.

He's a warrior among warriors, who defeated all the knights at a noble's banquet and even earned the cool title of Knight Crusher.

'As expected, am I not good enough to become like him...'

Dkart, who heard about his story, resolved to show a cool side of himself at this banquet.

Because there's no way the actions of that warrior, whom even the chieftain praised so highly, could be wrong.

If there's anything wrong, it must be on my side.

He decided to act like a 'warrior'.

However, it wasn't as easy as he thought.

He feels involuntarily intimidated being among elegant and noble-looking aristocrats who are so different from him.

And...

"De, delicious…!"

"Louder! That guy wasn't embarrassed!"

"Be, Behel—la…!!!"

Honestly, it was embarrassing.

Even for a barbarian, isn't it ridiculous to shout in admiration of food in front of people?

Well, if he were alone, he would probably have shouted several times.

"Don't just eat the meat, chew on the bones too!"

Anyway, his teeth hurt too.

"Napkin? Why do you need that?"

His hands are sticky from eating.

"Why are you taking off the helmet again?"

His neck and shoulders are stiff.

And soon, he has to participate in a tournament exclusively for barbarian participants.

Will he even be able to fight properly?

He feels pathetic for even worrying about this.

It's not like his opponent is a knight, unlike that guy.

'They say you'll get your head smashed while chasing goblins and trolls...'

When he first entered the city after finishing his coming-of-age ceremony, his heart pounded with the ambition of becoming a famous warrior someday.

But is this the wall of reality?

In less than a month, he's faced with his own shortcomings.

"Why can't you even do that?"

Dkart finally says what he's been holding back.

"I'm... just an ordinary warrior."

To shout when you want to shout.

To smash things when you want to smash them.

To act as you please without shame, regardless of who's around.

"I can't do that..."

That's a right reserved only for true strong individuals, true warriors who have confidence in themselves.

"Please, stop comparing me to him. Bjorn, son of Yandel, he's an amazing warrior that I can't even compare to."

"Phew, so that guy was special after all..."

The noble sighs at Dkart's confession.

And he looks at the empty air with eyes filled with desire.

Or maybe it's not just him.

"I see. So it has to be him..."

"Well, there's no way a barbarian as barbaric as him would be common."

"I thought all barbarians were like him."

"They're unexpectedly normal..."

If you listen closely, similar words are being uttered throughout the banquet hall.

__________________________________

「Character’s fame has increased by +10.」

「Character’s fame has increased by +10…….」

「…….」