Chapter 243 - Branching Point (3)

The moment the future marquis leaned toward Bjorn Jandel, a man watching from a distance chuckled.

'So the rumors were true.'

Calling him a delinquent hardly did him justice. Pulling a stunt like that right in front of the Chancellor.

'Or perhaps he believes neither the Chancellor nor the other nobles will blame him.'

Well, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible. A noble about to become a marquis, and a barbarian explorer only now receiving a baronetcy. Not only was the difference in their standing clear... but noble society was fiercely territorial. Far more blatant harassment had often occurred and been tacitly tolerated.

It was a way of putting newcomers in their place.

Still...

'You have to give him credit for his nerve.'

The future marquis wasn't a knight. He had merely absorbed a few Essences to give himself an imposing physique. And yet he was picking a physical fight with an explorer said to have defeated the Corpse Collector...

'Oh, right. He's injured, isn't he?'

Belatedly, the man remembered that Bjorn Jandel was suffering from the aftereffects of his last battle. Hadn't the poison reached his brain? At the recent consolation banquet, he had been sweating buckets just from walking normally.

That was probably why the marquis bastard had tried this.

'... This is going to sour the evening.'

The man unconsciously frowned as he pictured what would follow. The malice of the nobility, concealed beneath all that splendor. A hero publicly humiliated by it.

Not something he wanted to see on his first outing in so long—

"Huh?"

The man tilted his head. The outcome was completely unexpected. Despite the future marquis's trick, the barbarian hadn't budged an inch.

'... Has he already recovered somewhat?'

Good.

Just as he was thinking that, the barbarian's shoulder muscles, impossible to hide beneath mere cloth, flexed.

And at that moment...

"Aaargh!"

The future marquis went flying backward as though struck by a reaction force.

"..."

Even the music stopped, leaving silence. He couldn't understand it at all.

'... He's shoving that marquis bastard here?!'

No one considering the consequences would ever have done that. For some reason, the man felt a surge of secondhand embarrassment, leaving him even more faint than the barbarian.

He was glad the barbarian had recovered enough not to fall victim to that cheap trick, but...

'You should have just stood your ground and pretended not to notice.'

In his place, the man would have saved his barbed remark for later. Something like, "Haha, did your legs give out? You ought to get some exercise."

That would have posed no risk. Still, this was certainly behavior befitting a barbarian.

'... If he really were that person, he wouldn't have handled it this way.'

Was he a native barbarian after all?

Disappointed, the man kept watching. Even now, there was no telling. This might be part of some larger plan... and even if he wasn't that person, the same possibility remained. After all, Bjorn Jandel's extraordinary rate of growth had made him a suspected Player.

'Let's just watch for now.'

He was focusing intently with that thought when...

"Bjorn, son of Jandel."

The Chancellor called the barbarian's name in a troubled voice. He, too, already knew—not only about the future marquis's trick, but exactly how the barbarian had responded.

'Now, how are you going to get out of this?'

Holding out hope for a reversal to the very end, the man waited for the barbarian to speak. It didn't take long.

Soon, the barbarian shouted indignantly.

"... I-I did nothing wrong!"

A protest devoid of any logical defense, like a child throwing a tantrum.

"It's true! I was standing still, and he just used me to do a forward roll!"

He was even openly blaming the marquis. The man felt strangely deflated.

"Marquis! Tell them! You just felt like doing a forward roll!"

He remembered the community members who had met Jandel and insisted that Bjorn Jandel couldn't possibly be a Player. Only now did he understand what they meant.

'This is supposed to be someone from the modern world...?'

His gaze turned cold as he watched the barbarian.

* * *

The conferment ceremony was over.

Honestly, I didn't really remember how it went. It was boring. The Chancellor gave some speech loaded with every flowery phrase in existence, and with the declaration that he was granting me a title on behalf of the royal family, I became a proper noble of this country.

Then the banquet began.

'Fucking hell.'

This wasn't like the consolation banquet. Back then, various nobles had approached me to make friends or simply out of curiosity, but...

"..."

Now there was no one around me. Even Baron Martoin and the count who had tried to arrange a marriage were only watching from afar.

A completely different reception from the marquis and viscount over there, surrounded by nobles.

Well, it wasn't hard to understand. This incident had put me firmly on the marquis's shit list.

'Ha, all because of one fucking weirdo.'

Since things had turned out this way, I casually picked up a piece of meat and tore into it, recalling what had happened earlier.

["Bjorn, son of Jandel."]

How was I supposed to get out of that situation, with even the Chancellor looking at me reproachfully?

This was the answer I'd come up with: Mindless Bar bar ian Mode, which always came to my rescue when I was in trouble.

["... I-I did nothing wrong!"]

Everyone with any sense would already know that the marquis bastard was at fault anyway. I decided to be shameless about it. Besides, political maneuvering didn't really suit a barbarian.

["It's true! I was standing still, and he just used me to do a forward roll!"]

As expected, the Chancellor was at a loss for words.

["... A forward roll?"]

People who spent their lives wielding pens behind desks were always like this. However clever or quick-witted they might be, they inevitably lacked experience with conversations like these.

["Marquis! Tell them! You just felt like doing a forward roll!"]

Even the nobles who had taken my actions as defiance changed their attitude the longer I kept up Mindless Bar bar ian Mode.

They'd realized it. Barbarians were, quite literally, an entirely different race.

["... Kariot Kudo, answer me. Is that true?"]

The Chancellor turned a cold gaze on the marquis, who answered in alarm.

["O-of course not! That barbarian dared to forget his place and shove—"]

["Enough."]

["...?"]

As the marquis faltered at the interruption, the Chancellor merely stared at him with a kindly smile, saying nothing.

Silent pressure not to make a scene.

["Yes, that... is correct..."]

In the end, the marquis bastard had no choice but to admit he'd wanted to do a forward roll. After all, the Chancellor's actions also meant that he'd sided with me in this incident. As a noble, the marquis could read at least that much into it.

'... The Chancellor. Something about this guy bothers me, too.'

Anyway, regardless of that, the conferment ceremony resumed as though nothing had happened. It ended with the delivery of the Essence I'd chosen two days earlier, nestled in a luxurious box.

And now...

'Should I just go home...?'

Sitting alone at a large round table, doing nothing but stuffing myself with meat, I was beginning to feel a powerful urge to leave.

'Hmm, all right. Just one more plate, then I'll go.'

Having decided, I asked the servant assigned to my table to bring another plate packed with nothing but meat.

How much time passed after that?

'Huh?'

Sensing someone approaching, I turned to look. Instead of the plate of meat I'd been waiting for, I saw a man.

"Haha, a pleasure to meet you, Baronet Jandel."

The first noble to approach me at this banquet, where I'd been utterly ostracized.

The instant our eyes met, my barbarian instincts spoke. Something was suspicious.

No...

"My name is Hans, of House Aifreia."

This man was dangerous.

* * *

Hans Aifreia.

Hans I for short.

"... You're rather quieter than I expected."

As the youngest son of a baronial house, he had no title, but I still felt my breath catch.

A "Hans" with the noble trait? This was a type of Hans I'd never seen before!

"I am Bjorn, son of Jandel."

I intended to make a cursory introduction, say I was busy, and leave. But just then...

"Huff, huff. Here you are, Baronet Jandel."

The meat I'd ordered arrived. Perhaps taking into account the appetite I'd displayed today, the servant had brought three plates piled mountain-high with meat.

"... Thanks."

The word slipped out without my thinking. But what was this?

"That's... the first time..."

The servant stared at me, looking oddly moved.

"I've ever heard that while doing this job..."

Ha. These fucking nobles.

The servant then told me not to hesitate to ask for anything I needed and stood behind me, awaiting my next request.

'... I was just going to leave.'

Somehow, I felt doing that would unintentionally hurt his feelings. So I picked up some meat in one hand.

"You were still eating, I see. If it's no imposition, may I join you?"

An ordinary noble would either have readily agreed or declined in a roundabout way. But I was this city's barbarian.

"I'd be uncomfortable with that."

I told him straight up, without holding back. Hans I's eyes narrowed.

"Hmm, that's a little different from what I've heard."

There was something meaningful in both his words and his gaze. So I found myself asking,

"Different?"

"Ah, how careless of me. I simply thought you weren't someone who would find something like this uncomfortable."

What was this bastard's deal? He was strangely composed for the untitled youngest son of a baronial house. And his name was Hans, too.

'... Why exactly did he approach me?'

I needed to test him. After a moment's thought, I spoke naturally.

"Have a plate yourself, then. It's a little uncomfortable being the only one eating."

"Aha, so that's what you meant."

At my words, Hans I ordered the sort of food he wanted from the servant. That left the two of us alone.

"Good to meet you. I was getting bored sitting here by myself all this time."

Without even wiping the hand I'd been holding meat in, I offered it to him. Hans I hesitated briefly but shook it.

Look at that disgusted face.

'Whew, now he's even more suspicious.'

What reason did he have to stick around, even if it meant shaking a hand covered in meat juices?

To find out, I opened my mouth—wide enough that nothing would seem odd about bits of the meat I was chewing spraying onto his face.

"Right! Hans Aifreia, was it? I like you! Let's be friends!!"

"..."

"What, you don't want to be friends?"

At my question, he smiled awkwardly, picking the bits of meat off his face one by one.

"No, of course I do..."

"Haha, I like you!"

Before long, his food arrived, and we chatted as we ate. Congratulations on my new title. How lovely the weather was today. Most of it was meaningless small talk, and at some point, Hans I stopped touching his food.

All the bits of meat flying out of my mouth had landed on his plate, after all.

"Why aren't you eating?"

"... My stomach is a little unsettled."

"Hmm, it's uncomfortable being the only one eating..."

Meaning, if you want something, spit it out already. Otherwise, fuck off.

So how would he react?

The answer was very simple.

"If I'm making you uncomfortable, I'll take my leave."

Hans I rose without hesitation.

And...

"Enjoy your meal."

He promptly left.

'What was his deal?'

Had he really come over just to make friends?

"..."

Now that he'd simply left, I felt even more uneasy.

* * *

It was early evening, and the sun was beginning to set.

After seeing Hans I off, I fled the palace and boarded a carriage bound for home. I'd encountered a Hans, after all. There was no telling what kind of incident I might get caught up in if I stayed in that place teeming with nobles.

'Let's absorb the Essence first.'

After asking Kepler, who had resumed guarding me closely as soon as I left the palace, to excuse me, I uncorked the test tube.

'Come to think of it, this might be my first time absorbing one without breaking the tube.'

Corpse Golem, Orc Hero, Manticore. The circumstances in which I'd absorbed each Essence were different, but in the end, I'd broken the test tube every time.

It couldn't be reused either way, anyway.

I inhaled deeply.

With my nose against the mouth of the test tube, I drew in a great breath, and the Essence inside entered my body like smoke.

「Bayon's Essence seeps into the character's soul.」

Bayon, a rank-three monster.

There was one reason I'd ultimately chosen it. In truth, absorbing Vol-Herchan's Essence to prepare against Aura and boost my combat strength would have been more advantageous right now... but the difference in how hard they were to acquire was considerable.

'Now that I've gotten this one here, I can just grab the EXP in the Land of Immortality later and skip the rest.'

Vol-Herchans lived in groups and were easy to find if you went to their field. Bayon, on the other hand, was difficult even to encounter, and the field where it appeared was exceptionally troublesome.

I'd taken a longer view with this Essence selection.

'Their Essences have different properties, but there isn't all that meaningful a difference in raw stats.'

Besides, factoring in the effects of my next Spirit Seal made this the more rational choice.

「Magic Power increases by +100.」

「Soul Regeneration increases by +30.」

「Strength increases by +25.」

「...」

「...」

A sense of fullness seemed to rise from deep within my chest. The smaller physical stat boosts brought fresh vitality.

After enjoying the lingering sensation for a while, I opened my eyes. Kepler smiled and offered his congratulations.

'It's late today, so the training ground will have to wait until tomorrow.'

Disappointed that I couldn't try out my new power immediately, I closed my eyes again.

How much time passed after that?

SCREEECH.

The carriage suddenly stopped in the middle of the street.

Had a wheel come off?

Just as I opened my eyes with that thought...

"I sense mana below us!"

Kepler shouted. Unlike barbarians, he was a human knight with an aptitude for mana.

And...

"You must get out at on—!"

A massive explosion erupted, engulfing everything in flames.

BOOOOOOOM!

The carriage shattered in an instant.

EEEEEEEEEE!

Through the ringing that began echoing in my ears, I heard the knights shouting.

"An assassin! The assassin is here!!"

Goddammit.

* * *

「Bjorn Jandel」

Level: 5

Physical: 560.88(New +44.4) / Mental: 463.56(New +36) / Ability: 1972.2(New +315)

Item Level: 2,567(New -800)

Overall Combat Index: 3,638.39(New +195.4)

Obtained Essences: Corpse Golem - Rank 7 / Orc Hero - Rank 5 / Ogre - Rank 3 / Manticore - Rank 5 / Bayon - Rank 3(New)