Chapter 111 - Baby Barbarian (4)

Barbarians teaming up with humans was more common than you might think. No matter how high their innate Physical stats or how keen their combat instincts, they needed companions from the second floor onward. In fact, the standard route was to form a team and head to the second floor just two or three months into their careers.

'The problem is, they almost never meet anyone decent.'

Elves, dwarves, Therianthropes... The other nonhuman races at least had it better. They were less naive than barbarians, who spent their time in the sanctuary honing nothing but their combat skills... and their hearts didn't fetch a fortune as magical ingredients.

["What are the others doing? Most of them are dead."]

Fewer than a third of the barbarians who had undergone the coming-of-age ceremony with me were still alive. Could monsters really be responsible for all that?

'Not a chance.'

Those reasonable suspicions were all the more reason to listen closely to their conversation. But...

"I'll get some rest now, too. I'm counting on you."

"My turn next, right?"

They went to sleep one after another, and the subject of the baby barbarian never came up again. Still, that wasn't much of a problem. Those first three remarks had already given me a pretty good idea of what the three of them were like.

'For now, it doesn't look like they're planning to do it today.'

They probably intended to work him to the bone, then kill him on the last day. That would be far more efficient.

'... What should I do?'

I mulled it over. As a fellow barbarian, I had no intention of turning a blind eye to a baby barbarian in danger. But I couldn't follow them around forever, watching until they showed their true colors.

'Should I just go over and kill them all?'

I chuckled and shook my head. Easy and convenient, yes, but not the best solution. The lack of proof that those three were plunderers didn't really matter. I was confident I could convince Misha and the baby barbarian with a plausible explanation.

But...

'That would only leave him repeating the same mistake.'

Some lessons only truly sank in when you experienced them for yourself.

'Training was our main purpose anyway, so I can afford to spend up to a day on this...'

After some thought, I settled on a plan and woke Misha.

"Misha."

"Mmm...?"

I gestured for her to keep quiet, then led her somewhere we wouldn't be overheard. There, I briefly explained the plan. Rubbing her eyes, Misha listened without complaint.

"Hmm... So you think those guys are plunderers, nyah?"

"Yes. If you don't mind, I'd like to take a little time to check."

"I don't mind, nyah. A barbarian isn't exactly a stranger to me."

"... Not a stranger?"

"N-no! That's not what I meant... It could be someone I've met before, nyah."

She seemed to be referring to how I'd served as a guide for the young warriors whenever I entered the Labyrinth over the past few months...

Hmm. It could be one of them. I'd warned them countless times to beware of humans, but warnings rarely hit home until you experienced things firsthand.

"Good, then. Let's get changed."

We had preparations to make for the plan.

* * *

I put my mace, raitinium breastplate, and shield into my bag.

'As for my weapon... I'll just say I lost it.'

Once I was ready, I gave myself a final inspection. Aside from my helmet, I had no metal equipment to speak of: the perfect picture of a baby barbarian. As a bonus, a starter-gear Therianthrope stood beside me.

"Ugh... This is uncomfortable, nyah..."

To make the plan foolproof, I'd had her replace her usual equipment with Jenssia's beginner gear. But Misha kept fiddling with the chest area.

It was distracting.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh? The rest is one thing, but it's really tight around the chest, nyah..."

"The chest?"

I glanced over, and Misha punched me in the solar plexus. The chill went right to my bones. Apparently, the cold damage had landed properly.

"Where are you looking, nyah? It's definitely not because I'm fatter than that woman!"

I hadn't even said anything. I'd only looked because the complaint hadn't occurred to me. The light armor she'd been wearing before should have been the same size.

When I pointed out that contradiction, Misha answered matter-of-factly.

"The other one was small too, but at least it didn't have metal plates, nyah."

Hmm. Fair enough, then. Jenssia and Misha both had the figures you'd expect from Agility builds, but there were bound to be differences if you looked closely. Their frames, for instance. Misha was actually fairly tall. I hadn't measured her, but she had to be around 170 centimeters. She looked a little cold, too, so at first I'd assumed she was the prickly type.

"It's only tight around the chest. Everywhere else, there's actually room to spare. Got it, nyah?"

"Got it."

I wasn't sure what she wanted, so I gave her a halfhearted answer. Perhaps she'd picked up on that, because she let out a deep sigh.

"Phew, right... What would you know about a woman's body, nyah?"

"Right. You're absolutely right."

"Are you going to keep giving me those halfhearted answers, nyah?"

"If you're ready, let's go."

This wasn't the time for idle chatter, so we ended the conversation there and returned to our previous spot, deliberately making plenty of noise as we went.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!!"

"Eek! Why are you shouting all of a sudden, nyah?!"

"I just felt like it!"

"What?"

Misha stared at me in disbelief, but the effect was tremendous.

"W-who's there?!"

A shout came immediately from beyond the darkness.

"Oh! There are people over there!"

Calling out with innocent delight, I ran toward the voice. Soon, we closed the distance obscured by the Labyrinth's visibility limit, and four explorers gathered around a campfire came into view. Three humans and one soundly sleeping baby barbarian.

"Stop. Don't come any closer."

The three humans were already awake and watching us warily.

"Royce, wake him up."

The bowman called Royce prodded the baby barbarian awake with his foot.

"W-what is it? Monsters?"

"Explorers."

"Explorers? Then why wake me? I was sleeping so well..."

"Didn't I tell you last time? You have to be as careful of explorers as monsters."

"Ah! I remember! But... he's one of our own!"

The baby barbarian had barely nodded at the bowman's words before he spotted me and waved enthusiastically in greeting.

"I am Karon, son of Tarson!"

"I am Byon, son of Thor!"

While I was at it, I walked right up to him, shook his hand, and bumped shoulders with him. A quick glance around revealed some spectacular expressions. Not just the three humans, but even Misha, who'd been forewarned, was watching us with eyes that said:

'What the hell are these barbarian bastards doing?'

Had he noticed? The baby barbarian gave me a reassuring look, then addressed his companions.

"Put down your weapons, everyone! Byon, son of Thor, is not a bad explorer!"

"That's right! I am not a bad explorer!"

At our declarations, the bowman and spearman both looked toward one man. He seemed to be their leader... The man sighed and nodded, and everyone lowered their weapons. Apparently, he thought remaining on guard now would only make them look ridiculous.

"So, barbarian—"

"I am Byon, son of Thor."

"Right, Thor—"

"Thor is my father's name."

"Ahem. Byon—"

"We aren't that close yet. I'd prefer you use my full name."

After being interrupted three times in a row, the leader looked pretty pissed off, but he mustered his patience and put on a smile. Then he addressed me again.

"Right. Byon, son of Thor?"

"Speak."

"If you don't need anything, I'd like you to leave now. As you can see, we were resting."

The leader's request was reasonable and perfectly sensible. It was both courtesy and custom for explorers to avoid approaching one another unless necessary. But... so what? Right now, I was a big, precious baby barbarian who couldn't possibly know any of that crap. I shouted as though this were excellent news.

"You're resting? What a coincidence! We were just looking for a place to rest!"

"And... what does that have to do with us?"

"Fate brought us together, so let's rest together! What was it, overnight companions? Yes, that's a thing, isn't it!"

"Overnight companions?"

The three humans' faces contorted strangely, as though they'd heard something unthinkable. Their reaction was understandable. Finding an overnight companion was a custom limited to the first floor. They could never have imagined some barbarian asking them to be overnight companions on the second floor, where people traveled in teams.

"Haa..."

The leader rubbed his forehead as though he had no idea where to begin explaining. Meanwhile...

"Ohh, that would work! Come here. I tried lying down here, and it's a little less hard."

The baby barbarian nodded eagerly in agreement. It was a complete and utter mess.

Displaying superhuman patience, the leader explained the customs of explorers. It boiled down to something simple.

"So you're saying... people don't make overnight companions from the second floor onward?"

"Yes, exactly. Now that you understand—"

Well, understanding was for people who intended to understand. I spoke as though I genuinely found them pathetic.

"You people are so stupid! If we all sleep together, we can sleep longer!"

"Huh?"

"Use your heads and think. There are four of you and two of us. If the seven of us take turns keeping watch, each person gets... Anyway, we can sleep longer!"

It was a hopelessly barbarian argument from beginning to end. Everyone went blank, as though they couldn't believe their ears. Oh, except for one person.

"That's... true...! Why haven't explorers been doing that all along?"

Had the sight of the baby barbarian nodding vigorously at my argument made him realize further discussion was pointless?

"Listen. We'll handle ours, so you take yours and—"

The leader turned away from me to address Misha, only to stop short. Apparently, he'd finally gotten a good look at her face. His voice, previously full of nothing but irritation, changed as well.

"Ahem, ahem. Ordinarily, that would be the thing to do, but what do you think?"

Perhaps Misha disliked the way his eyes swept over her. She stiffened, but when I discreetly signaled her, she changed her expression.

"Well...? I'm not really sure, nyah... You have a barbarian with you too, so you don't really seem dangerous..."

"Haha, the same goes for you."

"Anyway, he lost his weapon, so I was worried about leaving him on watch alone, nyah. If you're all right with it, I think spending the night together would be fine..."

"Oh dear. He lost his weapon?"

At Misha's words, the man gave me an odd look. He seemed to have only just noticed that I was unarmed.

"Ah, my weapon? I accidentally dropped it while fighting monsters, and it disappeared!"

"I see?"

He readily accepted the excuse I'd thrown together. Being a barbarian really was overpowered.

'Anyway, I think that's enough bait...'

In a clear, decisive voice, I made my final offer.

"So, are we going to be overnight companions or not? Decide quickly. I'm getting sleepy."

For the record, if they turned down the offer here, I intended to leave then and there. If they still refused after all that, it was far more likely that I'd misjudged the three of them. But...

"Well... It's not the usual situation, but..."

The leader trailed off and exchanged glances among the three humans, then broke into a bright smile.

"Since you say you're in a difficult position, it would be rather heartless to send you away."

"I can't understand you when you use such difficult words."

"... You can stay and rest for the night if you want."

His intentions were so painfully obvious that I could barely keep from laughing. Everyone had a plan.

* * *

And so, somehow, we'd ended up in a one-night relationship. Hmm, that sounded a little strange when I put it that way, but anyway. First, we briefly introduced ourselves.

"These are Royce and Victor. I'm Briol."

Royce the bowman, Victor the spearman, and Briol, their leader and hammer-wielding warrior.

'... Not a Hans among them.'

Could they be using fake names? No, the baby barbarian would have found that strange, wouldn't he?

Feeling oddly uneasy, Misha and I lay down together nearby. I desperately wanted to at least spread a blanket underneath us... but doing so would reveal that I was using an Expanded Backpack.

"Get plenty of rest, you two. We'll give you the last watch."

"Ohh, you really are kind explorers!"

"Hahaha... Oh, you."

Anyway, as soon as we lay down, Misha whispered into my ear.

"Bjorn."

"Keep quiet."

"Do we really have to go this far, nyah?"

She was following my instructions for now, but she didn't seem very happy about the situation. Fair enough. No matter how weak these little shits were, lying defenseless around them would be uncomfortable both physically and mentally. But...

"Just bear with it a little longer. I'll do one thing you want later."

"... Really, nyah? You promise?"

I stuck to the plan, even dangling a fresh carrot in front of Misha. It was worth it. After today, the baby barbarian Karon Tarson would be reborn as a true warrior.

One who distrusted humans and took down plunderers.