Chapter 20 - Raphdonia (4)

“Good work. You can go now.”

“Goodbye!”

Erwin promptly prepared to leave without so much as a polite protest. Apparently, the half day we had spent studying her Ability had been quite exhausting...

“I'll come by again, then!”

Come by again?

Oh, I hadn't told her.

“You don't need to make time to come here anymore.”

“Whaaat?”

What's so surprising? It's only natural. You're not my teammate.

“You will need time to get used to your new abilities, too. You would be better off spending your time more productively until the Labyrinth opens.”

Strictly speaking, all of that applied to me, too. Yesterday, I had set myself a new goal: to become a mid-floor explorer and reach the fifth floor. That meant I had plenty to do.

First, I needed to spend three million Stone on making myself stronger.

If possible, I wanted professional combat training, too. I still wasn't making full use of this monstrous body's capabilities. I also needed to read to build up my knowledge and common sense, and spend as much time as possible exploring the city to get used to its prices and culture.

In short, unless we had business to discuss, I had no reason to lounge around with Erwin.

“Of course! Th-that's true, but...?”

“I believe you mentioned a younger sibling. Go spend some time together. You will be going back into the Labyrinth in three weeks, after all.”

“Okay...”

Erwin nodded dejectedly.

Was it because I had been her first teammate? She seemed to have some strange, idealized notion of me. Honestly, I could more or less guess what sort of notion it was.

But business relationships were the ones that lasted.

“I intend to keep staying here, so if you run into any trouble, feel free to visit. I will help however I can.”

“Oh, really?”

“We are comrades-in-arms, aren't we?”

“Hehe, we certainly are! All right!”

Once I offered her that carrot, Erwin left looking satisfied.

Still easy to handle, huh.

Since things had turned out this way, I decided to maintain my friendship with Erwin. She counted as a connection, after all. You couldn't do anything about blood ties, but you could build ties through shared roots later in life.

She might be helpful someday.

“... Am I being too mercenary?”

Well, so what? I wasn't in a position to be picky.

After a quick wash, I headed out and went straight to the library again. I had the same indolent librarian from yesterday cast her spell on me, then spent five or six hours reading.

'I suppose nowhere sells rice soup here.'

It was a little late for lunch, but I went into a cheap-looking restaurant and made do with watery stew and a few pieces of bread. The price was 450 Stone.

Eating at the inn seemed to be better value for money.

“It's the greatest warrior, Bjorn, son of Jandel!”

After eating, I asked around and found the Angry Bull Inn, where Aynar was staying. To my surprise, the place was crawling with barbarians.

“Are you planning to stay here, too? A wise choice! It's only 300 Stone a day!”

What, 300 Stone?

Stunned by the unbelievable price, I looked into it a little and discovered there was a reason. The moment I entered a room with five narrow beds, a powerful stench of sweat that had been fermenting for days assaulted my nose.

“Five people share one room?”

“No! Ten warriors share it!”

“... But there are only five beds.”

“We set a schedule and take turns sleeping!”

So it wasn't actually cheap. It only cost so little because so many of them split the bill.

Then again, they had only earned thirty or forty thousand Stone at most. They probably hadn't had much choice.

“What brings you here, anyway?”

“I am looking for Aynar, third daughter of Pheneline.”

“If you mean Aynar, second daughter of Pheneline, she went out this morning!”

So she was the second daughter after all. I shouldn't have changed my answer at the last second.

Anyway, after I waited for about an hour, Aynar returned from her outing.

“Bjorn, son of Jandel? Has something happened?”

Since we were both barbarians, I got straight to the point.

“I want to fight you.”

“You mean spar?”

“Yes.”

I needed training. I might have achieved more in the Labyrinth than any of the other barbarians, but in terms of pure fighting skill, I would be no match for them.

“That is a little strange.”

Aynar tilted her head. It didn't seem to be because I was asking for something difficult...

“If that is what you want, why bother asking? Can't you just go out to the yard?”

The yard?

Aynar led me outside through the inn's back door. Around fifteen barbarians were already gathered there, throwing punches and rolling on the ground, shedding sweat.

Well, perhaps blood, too.

“Hahahaha! That punch had some weight behind it!”

“So did yours!”

No wonder it had been so noisy outside all this time. This was just everyday life for them.

The elves had giggled and chatted about what their spirits' voices sounded like and such.

As I smiled wryly at the barbarians fighting tooth and nail as though facing their mortal enemies, Aynar asked me a question.

“Is there some reason your opponent has to be me?”

Not really. I had merely thought she would agree to my request. But saying no now would make me look strange.

“Because you are the only one who uses a sword.”

“You want to learn how to fight a swordsman?”

“Yes.”

“If that is your reason, very well. I have to go learn to read in the mornings, so come at this time, and I will spar with you whenever you want, for as long as you like.”

So her schedule was clear from five in the afternoon onward. I would have to stop by every day.

“Shall we start today?”

“Of course.”

I waited a moment while Aynar went back to her room and returned wearing her sword.

“Aynar and Bjorn are going to fight!”

The other barbarians stopped fighting to watch. I might have come to learn, but I had no intention of losing without putting up a fight. I tightened my grip on my shield and focused.

But the result...

“Here I come!”

I got my ass kicked.

Had I even lasted three minutes before dropping my shield, getting the shit beaten out of me the whole time?

She really knew how to fight.

Still, it had been productive in all sorts of ways.

“Bjorn, son of Jandel, was not the greatest warrior of all time!!”

“Now Aynar is the greatest warrior of all time!!”

“Woooooo!!”

Apart from these assholes.

* * *

How many more times did I get my ass handed to me after that?

Before I knew it, the sky had grown dark.

“Do you want to keep going? I would like to rest soon.”

“No. We will end today's sparring here.”

The other barbarians had long since left the yard. After much deliberation, I made my decision.

“Aynar.”

“What is it?”

Stretching as she headed toward the building, she stopped.

“Are you planning to enter the Labyrinth alone next time, too?”

“I suppose I must. I don't have enough money to form a team. Still, I intend to try the second floor this time, if I can.”

It struck me anew just how hardcore a barbarian's life was.

A compass and a torch. Those two things were all you needed to reach the second floor. But to earn the money for consumables on your first expedition and spend it heading straight to the next floor...

“It will be difficult alone.”

“What choice do I have?”

No choice, huh...

Perhaps this was precisely why the lower floors had been teeming with humans and no one else. Nonhumans, whose taxes were several times higher, couldn't even pay their first year's taxes by working on the first and second floors.

The barbarians who had come of age with me made that plain enough. Hadn't even the highest earner only made a little over twenty thousand Stone?

“If I am lucky, I might meet others of our kind on the first floor and form a team.”

“I see.”

“So, what are you trying to say?”

Sensing that the conversation might drag on, Aynar went straight to the point. I answered just as directly, like a proper barbarian.

“Aynar, will you become my teammate?”

“Your teammate?”

“I will cover the cost of forming a team.”

Sparring with her several times today had taught me something. Aynar was strong. From what the others were saying, she seemed to rank among the very best of the barbarians who had come of age with us.

Above all, she was reasonably smart, too.

“Thank you for the offer, but why?”

I needed a teammate anyway. Finding an overnight companion every time was a pain, and having a partner actually increased my earnings. Aynar was not only a powerful fighter, but her racial disposition meant I wouldn't have to worry about betrayal.

Our classes did overlap, but...

With Erwin gone, Aynar was the best option available to me.

Of course, none of that required a long-winded explanation.

“I simply wanted to.”

“I see.”

Aynar nodded and made her decision immediately.

“Very well. To enter the Labyrinth with a clever warrior like you is something any warrior would wish for.”

That was a much more positive response than I had expected.

Maybe I could afford to be a little greedier?

“However, I have a condition.”

“What is it?”

“I will take eight parts of the split.”

“...?”

Aynar frowned at my high-handed demand.

Had I offended her?

I spoke again, elaborating.

“I am paying the cost of forming the team, after all. And I promise you this: even with a smaller share, you will earn far more than you would entering the Labyrinth alone. Besides, I will pay for all our other consumables—”

“Enough. You need not explain any further.”

“...?”

“I won't understand difficult talk about eight parts or whatever anyway. Just give me what you think is right. I trust you.”

“... I see.”

I had no choice but to admit that I had seriously underestimated the barbarian race.

“I will be in your care, Bjorn, son of Jandel.”

Aynar came over and walloped me on the back. It hit far too hard to feel like a friendly gesture, but...

Well, I had better get used to it quickly.

“And I in yours.”

I had gained a dependable barbarian teammate.

* * *

The next morning, I visited the sanctuary with Aynar.

The sanctuary was a sort of communal child-rearing facility. When barbarians who had left for the city had children, they sent them here. As people who had to remain warriors until the day they died, they had no resources to spare for raising children.

Once those children grew up and left for the city, they repeated the process.

Not that this was what I needed to worry about right now.

“Bjorn, son of Jandel.”

The chieftain came out to greet us as soon as we arrived.

Fuck, this was why I hadn't wanted to come here unless I absolutely had to...

“It is rare for a warrior to return once they have left. Have you come to learn to read, like Aynar, second daughter of Pheneline?”

I calmed my pounding heart and shook my head.

“No. Chieftain, I have come to the sanctuary for another reason.”

“Another reason...”

The chieftain regarded me with interest.

No need to be nervous. Hadn't I already learned barbarian speech and forms of address from Aynar? As long as I didn't make a mistake, I would be fine.

“Tell me what it is.”

I steadied my breathing and spoke calmly.

“I wish to receive a Spirit Seal.”

Every nonhuman race had its own unique traits. Elves commanded spirits, for example, and dwarves wielded artifacts.

Barbarians had Spirit Seals.

In the game, they cost so much that this method of growth wasn't available early on...

But luckily, I had come into a fortune of over a million Stone. And so, after thinking it over and over, I had reached a conclusion.

Standing before this fucking asshole of a chieftain still scared the living shit out of me, but...

“To be precise, I wish to receive the Immortal's Seal.”

There was no doubt about it.

This was the best possible use of my money.