Chapter 260 - Clan (4)

A man breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Bjorn Jandel, the barbarian warrior who had just emerged from the sanctuary.

“Good. He came straight out.”

If he had planned to spend the night in the sanctuary, the man would have had no choice but to wait until the fifteenth of next month. Sneaking into the sanctuary in this body would be a bit—

He stumbled.

Turning to follow Bjorn Jandel, the man lost his balance and swayed wildly. This was his first time linking his senses to a golem, and he wasn't used to controlling it.

“Excuse me, are you all right?”

As his body stopped moving, balanced in a bizarre pose, people around him began to stare.

“I-I'm fine.”

Feeling a peculiar sense of shame, the man hurried away. Then he followed Bjorn Jandel with a gait so stiff it looked as though he ought to creak.

“Mommy, that man's weird...!”

'... If it weren't for that Lee Baekho.'

Lee Baekho was the sole reason he had linked to an unfamiliar golem instead of using his perfectly functional body. There was no telling when the man might pop up again. Leaving the Magic Tower in his real body was simply too risky.

'So where is he going now?'

It was early morning, the sky still a deep blue, and the man continued walking after Bjorn Jandel.

Then...

'He's drinking this early in the morning?'

Their destination was a famous tavern in District 7—the one that stayed open twenty-four hours a day, running its staff in three shifts.

“Is that... Bjorn, son of Jandel?”

“Oh, so that's him?”

“What luck. To see the man we've heard so much about in person.”

The moment Bjorn Jandel entered the tavern, all eyes turned toward him. He was now famous enough to be recognized wherever he went.

Grinning openly, as though savoring his fame, he sat alone at a table right in the center. Then he ordered liquor and began knocking it back.

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

The man had followed him inside and taken a table. He placed a perfunctory order, including some food, and watched Bjorn Jandel.

There was nothing particularly noteworthy.

“Ahhhhh...!”

He drank, drank, and drank some more.

Before long, the table where he had been sitting alone was packed with drinkers drawn by the scent of booze.

“Hahaha! Downing liquor that strong in one go! You really are a TITAN of a man!”

They had initially approached just to exchange a few words with a celebrity, only to find him more entertaining than expected and settle in.

Oh, and quite a few of them were women.

“Um, may I touch your arm?”

“... O-of course!”

“Wow, it's really like steel! Oh, I'm Amy.”

Intrigued by the famous explorer's arrival, the women approached and coyly tried to seduce the barbarian warrior.

They didn't stand a chance.

After all, Bjorn Jandel already had three lovers and was known to cherish all three deep—

“I am... Bjorn, son of J-Jandel! A pleasure to meet you...!”

Huh?

“Ahem...!”

“Oh my, how manly.”

Even as the women's hands grew bolder and more intimate, the barbarian warrior did nothing to stop them.

“May I touch your thigh too?”

“Ahem! If you wish...”

He gave his permission with a show of reluctance, but the slight upturn of his lips proved he was enjoying it too.

'This is a hero...?'

The man was dumbfounded, but no one here seemed remotely uncomfortable with the behavior. They simply didn't consider it morally objectionable.

In any case, the drinking continued into the evening.

“Behel—raaaaaaaa!!! Booze! Bring more booze! I've got all the money I need!!”

The closer it got to midnight, the more the man hoped Bjorn Jandel wasn't a Player.

How could he not?

He would abruptly start arm wrestling and break a table, declare he had plenty of money and pay for the damage, then intimidate a drunk who had glared at him for being so loud with sheer brute strength.

Hadn't this gone far beyond merely “acting” like a barbarian “perfectly”?

He was a brainless barbarian warrior through and through.

'This... This can't be Elfnuna...'

Despite those thoughts, the man waited until midnight. Having spent the entire day here, he couldn't bear to leave without one final check.

How much time passed after that?

[23 : 59]

One minute remained before the community opened.

The barbarian was still knocking back drinks with the others—something a community user would never do.

TICK.

The minute hand moved, and midnight arrived.

Having configured his settings in advance to skip entering the community this session, the man was able to watch Bjorn Jandel without missing a moment.

'... So he wasn't.'

Even after midnight, Bjorn Jandel kept laughing and talking. No matter how quickly someone logged out, there would always be a brief moment of stillness, but there wasn't even that.

At the very least, he wasn't a member of the community.

'If he still isn't a member after I sent that letter before... then he must not be a Player either. If he could read the letter, there's no reason he wouldn't have joined by now.'

At last, the man rose from his seat, feeling relieved.

Bjorn Jandel wasn't a Player.

And that fact brought an inexplicable sense of relief.

'Right. There's no way something like that could be a modern person.'

* * *

Karon's account of his day yesterday was simple.

He had holed up in a tavern from morning onward and spent the entire day guzzling booze.

'No wonder he reeked of alcohol.'

Of course, I wasn't going to give him grief about that. I was the one who had told him to drink in the first place.

I'd figured that, with so many eyes on him in a tavern, that bastard wouldn't be able to openly try anything.

“So, did anything happen while you were drinking?”

“Oh, that? It's a long story... It was great fun!”

I quickly skipped past stories about a drunk he'd befriended at the tavern and the table he'd accidentally broken and paid for.

I'd expected that much. I didn't begrudge the money for the table or the booze—as long as the part I actually cared about had worked out.

“Was there anyone strange in the tavern? Hmm...”

Karon seemed to rummage through his booze-soaked brain before finally giving me the answer I wanted.

“Now that you mention it, there was one strange weakling sitting in a corner all day. A weird fellow who kept ordering without touching his food or drink.”

The moment I heard that, I knew it had to be him.

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

“No, of course not. He seemed a bit touched in the head, so I didn't go out of my way to speak to him.”

“How long was he in the tavern?”

“I'm not sure... Around midnight, I think.”

I smiled despite myself.

He had spent all day in the tavern, then left as soon as midnight came?

It looked like my plan had worked. Judging by Karon's account of his antics with the drinkers, the man must have dropped all his suspicions of me.

That meant this plan had ended without a hitch—

“Yes, that's right. It must have been midnight. I met that Therianthrope woman around one.”

Huh?

“... What Therianthrope woman?”

An inexplicable unease crept over me.

Sure enough, my premonition proved right.

“That daughter of Karlstein!”

Karon had met Misha while wearing my face.

“What happened when you met her?”

As I urgently pressed him for details, Karon explained what had happened.

In short, it went like this.

“She's quite a fierce woman for a Therianthrope. I can see why you like her.”

Misha had grabbed Karon by the collar while he was flirting with the women and dragged him outside.

Then the two had spoken briefly in private...

“Sorry. No matter what excuse I tried, she wouldn't buy it.”

It hadn't taken long for her to uncover Karon's identity.

Well, how could he possibly have hidden it from her?

But what mattered was what came next.

What had happened after that?

“She asked what the real you was doing, so I simply told her the truth.”

“... You told her the truth?”

Karon flinched as I repeated his words through gritted teeth.

But apparently, he felt this had to be said.

“Bjorn, aren't you a hero of our tribe? You're only fulfilling your duty. Why should you have to hide it?”

“...”

“So I told her honestly! Bjorn is fulfilling his duty with the female warriors of our tribe right now, so don't even think about interrupting him!”

“...”

“Heh heh. She didn't seem to know what that ‘duty’ was, so I explained it in detail. Thankfully, she seemed to understand after that. She said she got it and left.”

“...”

“You should thank me! Now you can go to the sanctuary and fulfill your duty whenever you like!”

“...”

“But... why haven't you said anything for a while?”

Karon finally asked cautiously, and I continued to answer with silence.

I simply didn't know what to say.

Damn it, how the hell had things ended up like this?

Even getting angry at Karon felt wrong.

“Karon, son of Tarson. Swear a warrior's oath. Swear that you will maintain absolute silence about everything that happened today.”

“An oath? If you want, I'll swear a hundred.”

As I inwardly agonized and demanded an oath, Karon agreed without a moment's hesitation.

That was why I couldn't get angry at him.

“Oh, but what does ‘maintain silence’ mean?”

“... It means don't tell anyone.”

“That's easy enough! Even among our tribe, I'm known as a warrior who knows how to keep his mouth shut!”

Right. What good would getting angry at him do?

It was best to think of this as an unavoidable natural disaster. Nobody got angry at rain clouds because it rained, did they?

Karon had already done everything he was supposed to. Thanks to him, I'd successfully fooled GM, hadn't I?

'Now I'll just have to deal with the fallout somehow.'

After parting ways with Karon, I headed home, trudging along.

Unlike usual, every step toward home felt terribly heavy.

* * *

When I arrived home, Misha was on the sofa.

She was sitting in the dark living room, her face betraying nothing.

Yes, absolutely nothing.

“You're back, nyah?”

She asked as though nothing were wrong. But her normally well-kept nails were ragged, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Had she really spent all night sitting there on the sofa?

“Y-yeah...”

My heart clenched.

As I stood there, unable to utter any of the lines I'd prepared, she spoke.

“That's all, then. Go get some sleep, nyah.”

Misha had watched me quietly, as if giving me time to speak. Then she turned away and went back to her room.

Even then, I could only watch her go.

“...”

What could I say?

That what Karon had told her wasn't true?

To explain that, I'd have to tell her about GM as well.

Of course, I could try to cover it up with another lie, but...

'One wrong move could make it worse.'

Things might have been different before, but Misha now suspected I might be an evil spirit. Better to have her suspect this than that.

Fulfilling my duty to my race?

At least that didn't sound like something an evil spirit would do.

This was the best option.

'... My ass.'

I hurried upstairs and knocked on Misha's door.

No answer came.

Did she not want to talk to me?

“I'm opening it.”

Like a proper barbarian, I ignored the other person's wishes and did as I pleased.

CRACK!

Thankfully, the door must not have been locked, because it tore free and opened easily.

Misha lay on the bed with the covers pulled over her head.

“...”

Right. She didn't even want to see my face.

I'd been right to follow her.

There was a right time for everything. A tank existed to protect his companions, not hurt them.

So...

“If you don't want to talk, just listen.”

I spoke, still lacking the courage to reveal that I was an evil spirit, clumsily borrowing a barbarian's body.

“Nothing happened at the sanctuary.”

At my words, Misha lowered the covers a little and asked,

“... Why are you telling me that, nyah?”

She meant that whether she believed me or not, I had no reason to make excuses.

She wasn't wrong, really. Misha and I were only companions.

We'd had a chance to become something more, but I'd been the one to push her away. I'd thought that if romantic feelings got involved, it would be difficult to make a rational decision when I eventually reached a crossroads.

But...

“Bjorn, if you're worried about upsetting me... If that's why you're being considerate, you don't have to—”

“I'm not saying this for your sake. I'm saying it to make myself feel better. Unlike Dwalki, I'm selfish.”

I cut her off.

“Misha, nothing really happened at the sanctuary last night, and I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me because of it.”

“Why don't you want me to get the wrong idea, nyah...?”

In Misha's eyes, visible above the covers, I saw a certain hope and longing.

The kind I couldn't keep turning away from forever.

After taking a moment to steady my breathing, I continued.

Even if I was nothing more than a wicked evil spirit inhabiting Bjorn Jandel's body.

“Because I no longer see you as just a companion.”

It was a truth I couldn't keep denying forever.