Chapter 111: Baby Barbarian (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 111: Baby Barbarian (4)
It was pretty common for barbarians to team up with humans. No matter how high their physical stats or fighting instincts, even barbarians needed allies after the first floor. The standard approach was to form a team around the second or third month to head up to the second floor.
The problem is that it's rare to find decent teammates.
Elves, dwarves, and beastpeople—the other races got the better end of the deal. Not only were they less naive than the barbarians, who'd honed only their combat skills in the holy land, but their hearts didn't sell for a high price as magic ingredients.
"What are the other guys doing? Most are dead."
Already, not even a third of the barbarians who had gone through the coming-of-age ceremony with me were left. Could that really be attributed to monsters alone?
No way.
Reasonably suspicious, I listened in on their conversation.
"Then I'll rest now, too. Have a nice watch."
"Was it my turn next?"
Everyone fell asleep in turns, and the topic of the baby barbarian did not continue beyond that. But that wasn't a big problem because I had a rough idea of what the other three were like from that short conversation.
It doesn't seem like they intend to do anything today.
They must have been planning on working him to the bone, then killing him on the last day, since that was more practical.
...What should I do?
I didn't know what to do. As a barbarian myself, I did not want to ignore the baby barbarian in danger. But I couldn't just follow them around forever and keep an eye on them until they revealed their true colors.
Should I just go and kill them all?
I frowned and shook my head. That was an easy and convenient option, but not the best. It didn't matter that I still had no evidence that those three were plunderers. I was confident I could convince Missha and the baby barbarian with a plausible enough argument.
But even if I did, the same thing would just happen again.
Sometimes you had to experience something yourself to truly learn from it.
Anyway, our main goal here was training, so I can invest up to one day...
After thinking it over, I came up with a plan and woke Missha. "Missha."
"Hmm...?"
I held up a finger to tell her to stay quiet and moved to a place where we wouldn't be heard. Then, I briefly explained the plan.
Even while rubbing her eyes, Missha listened without complaints. "Um... So, you'rrre saying they might be looters?"
"Yes. If it's okay with you, I'd like to take some time to check it out."
"I don't mind. Since it's a barrrbarian, it's not like they're a stranger."
"...Not a stranger?"
"N-No! That's not what I meant... I just mean it could be someone I've met beforrre."
She seemed to be referring to how I had been acting as a guide for the young warriors for the past several months. Hmm, maybe this guy was one of them. Although I had advised the baby barbarians to be wary of humans countless times, they wouldn't really understand what I meant until they experienced it for themselves.
"That's it, then. Let's change our clothes." We needed to make some preparations to pull this plan off. I put my mace, breastplate, and the shield made of lithinum into my bag.
As for my weapon... I can just say I lost it.
After finishing my preparations, I did a final check of my appearance. Excluding the helmet, I looked exactly like a baby barbarian without any iron equipment. And beside me was an amateur beastwoman.
"Ughh... this is uncomforrrtable..." To make sure the plan went off without a hitch, I got Missha to put on Jencia's beginner equipment instead of her usual things. But for some reason, Missha kept fiddling with the chest and annoying me.
"What are you doing?"
"Huh? It's just the chest area is super tight..."
"Chest area?"
When I glanced down, Missha smacked me in the stomach. Judging from the chill seeping into my bones, it seemed I'd gotten a proper dose of cold damage. "Where arrre you looking? It's definitely not because I'm fatter than that woman, okay?"
I mean, I didn't say anything. I only looked in the first place because it was an issue I hadn't considered. Her original armor must have been around the same size.
When I pointed out the contradiction, Missha replied without missing a beat. "The other one was small, too, but it didn't have an irrron plate."
Well, if you say so. Jencia and Missha had the nimble bodies of agility characters, but I was sure they had their differences. For example, their builds. This kid was on the taller side. I hadn't measured it, but she must have been around five-six. She also gave off a standoffish vibe, which made me think she was the feisty type at first.
"It's just the chest area that's tight, and the rest is rrrather loose. Understood?"
"Okay." I didn't know what she wanted from me here so I kept my response vague.
Sensing this, Missha let out a deep sigh. "Hah, right... what would you know about a woman's body, anyway?"
"Yes, you are completely right."
"Are you going to keep answering me so insincerrrely?"
"If you're ready, let's go." This was not the time for idle chitchat, so we started walking back the way we came after that, deliberately making loud noises.
"Behelahhh!"
"Kyaaa! Why are you scrrreaming all of a sudden?!"
"I just felt like doing it!"
"What?" Missha shot me a bewildered look, but the payoff was great.
"W-Who are you!" A cry instantly rang out from beyond the darkness.
"Wait! There are people over there!" I shouted innocently and ran in the direction from which I'd heard the sound. Before long, the darkness of the labyrinth came to an end, and the four adventurers around a lit bonfire came into view—three humans and one baby barbarian, who was still sleeping soundly.
"Stop, don't come any closer." The three humans were already awake and wary of us.
"Royce, wake him up, fast."
A bowman named Royce woke the baby barbarian with a prod of his foot.
"W-What is it? Is it a monster?"
"It's adventurers."
"Adventurers? Then why are you waking me up? I was in the middle of a good nap..."
"That's it, then. Let's change our clothes." We needed to make some preparations to pull this plan off. I put my mace, breastplate, and the shield made of lithinum into my bag.
As for my weapon... I can just say I lost it.
After finishing my preparations, I did a final check of my appearance. Excluding the helmet, I looked exactly like a baby barbarian without any iron equipment. And beside me was an amateur beastwoman.
"Ughh... this is uncomforrrtable..." To make sure the plan went off without a hitch, I got Missha to put on Jencia's beginner equipment instead of her usual things. But for some reason, Missha kept fiddling with the chest and annoying me.
"What are you doing?"
"Huh? It's just the chest area is super tight..."
"Chest area?"
When I glanced down, Missha smacked me in the stomach. Judging from the chill seeping into my bones, it seemed I'd gotten a proper dose of cold damage. "Where arrre you looking? It's definitely not because I'm fatter than that woman, okay?"
I mean, I didn't say anything. I only looked in the first place because it was an issue I hadn't considered. Her original armor must have been around the same size.
When I pointed out the contradiction, Missha replied without missing a beat. "The other one was small, too, but it didn't have an irrron plate."
Well, if you say so. Jencia and Missha had the nimble bodies of agility characters, but I was sure they had their differences. For example, their builds. This kid was on the taller side. I hadn't measured it, but she must have been around five-six. She also gave off a standoffish vibe, which made me think she was the feisty type at first.
"It's just the chest area that's tight, and the rest is rrrather loose. Understood?"
"Okay." I didn't know what she wanted from me here so I kept my response vague.
Sensing this, Missha let out a deep sigh. "Hah, right... what would you know about a woman's body, anyway?"
"Yes, you are completely right."
"Are you going to keep answering me so insincerrrely?"
"If you're ready, let's go." This was not the time for idle chitchat, so we started walking back the way we came after that, deliberately making loud noises.
"Behelahhh!"
"Kyaaa! Why are you scrrreaming all of a sudden?!"
"I just felt like doing it!"
"What?" Missha shot me a bewildered look, but the payoff was great.
"W-Who are you!" A cry instantly rang out from beyond the darkness.
"Wait! There are people over there!" I shouted innocently and ran in the direction from which I'd heard the sound. Before long, the darkness of the labyrinth came to an end, and the four adventurers around a lit bonfire came into view—three humans and one baby barbarian, who was still sleeping soundly.
"Stop, don't come any closer." The three humans were already awake and wary of us.
"Royce, wake him up, fast."
A bowman named Royce woke the baby barbarian with a prod of his foot.
"W-What is it? Is it a monster?"
"It's adventurers."
"Adventurers? Then why are you waking me up? I was in the middle of a good nap..."
"Didn't I tell you earlier? Adventurers can be just as dangerous as monsters."
"Ah! I remember! But... that man is one of my people." In the middle of nodding at the bowman's words, the baby barbarian spotted me and waved happily. "I am Kharon, son of Tarson!"
"I am Bjon, son of Thor!" I took the opportunity to move forward, shake his hand, and even bump our shoulders together. Then, when I glanced over, the looks on everyone's faces were a spectacle; not just the three humans, but even Missha, whom I'd told the plan to beforehand.
What the hell are these barbarian bastards doing?
The look in their eyes was clearly saying something like that. Picking up on this, Kharon shot me a reassuring look, then told his teammates, "Everyone, lower your weapons! Thor's son, Bjon, is not a bad adventurer!"
"Yes! I am not a bad adventurer!"
At our words, the bowman and spearman looked at one person in particular. It seemed that guy was the leader. The man sighed and nodded, and everyone lowered their weapons. I guess he figured it would be ridiculous to keep their guards up at this point.
"So, barbarian—"
"It's Bjon, son of Thor."
"Yes, Thor—"
"Thor is my father's name."
"Ahem, Bjon—"
"We're not that close yet, so I'd like you to call me by my full name."
The leader, who had been interrupted three times in a row, looked quite annoyed but held onto his patience and smiled. He addressed me again. "So, Thor's son, Bjon?"
"Speak."
"If you have no business here, I'd like you to leave. As you can see, we were resting."
The leader's request was reasonable and logical. It was polite and customary for adventurers not to approach each other at all. But so what? Right now I was a big, sweet baby barbarian who didn't know anything about stuff like that.
"What a coincidence that you're resting!" I shouted like that was even better. "We were just looking for a place to rest!"
"So... what does that have to do with us?"
"This is meant to be. Let's rest together! We could be... night companions? Yes, that!"
"Night companions?" As if they had just heard something they shouldn't have, the expressions of the three humans screwed up.
It wasn't that I didn't understand why. Seeking out companions for the night was a tradition limited to the first floor. They would never have imagined they would end up receiving such a proposal from some barbarian on the second floor, where adventurers operated in parties.
"Hah..." As if he didn't even know where to start explaining, the leader touched his forehead.
But meanwhile, Kharon nodded. "Ohh, that's a good idea. Come here, I've been lying here and it's not as hard as everywhere else."
It was total chaos. The leader exhibited superhuman patience and explained the customs of adventurers to me. To sum it up, it was simple.
"So, you mean... you don't make night companions on the second floor?"
"Yes, that's it. If you understand—"
Well, understanding was for those who were willing to understand. Instead, I spoke in a tone that suggested I found everything he said genuinely pathetic. "You guys are so stupid! If we all sleep together, we can sleep more!"
"Huh?"
"If you have a brain, think about it. There are four of you and two of us. If six people take turns keeping watch, each person... Anyway, you can sleep more!" It was a hard-headed assertion from a barbarian, from start to finish. Everyone looked dazed, almost like they were wondering if they were hallucinating this entire conversation.
Oh, except for one person. "That's... true! Why haven't any adventurers done this sooner?" As Kharon vigorously nodded at my argument, his team realized that there was no point discussing this any further.
"Look. We'll take care of our own, so you should take your group and go—" The leader looked away from me to speak to Missha, then suddenly stopped. Apparently, he had only seen her face up to this point. His voice, which had been filled with irritation, changed before he knew it. "Ahem. I mean, that's definitely how it usually works, but what do you think?"
Apparently, Missha did not appreciate the way those eyes were scanning her. She tensed, but when I shot her a look, her expression shifted. "Well... I'm not surrre. Since you guys have a barrrbarian, too, you don't seem like dangerrrous people..."
"Haha, the same goes for you as well."
"Anyway, he's lost his weapon, so I was worrried about leaving him alone during the night watch. So if it's okay with you guys, I don't think it would be a bad idea to just spend the night togetherrr..."
"Darn, you lost your weapon?" The man shot me a strange look at Missha's words. It seemed that he had just now noticed that I was empty-handed.
"Oh, my weapon? I accidentally dropped it in a fight with a monster, and it disappeared!"
"I see." When I offered up an excuse, the man believed it, just like that. After all, barbarians were total cheat characters.
Anyway, this should be enough bait...
I made the final offer in a clear voice. "So, are you going to be our night companions or not? Decide quickly. Because I'm getting sleepy."
If he declined, I was planning on going our separate ways. If he refused even after I had gone this far, then it was likely I had misread those three.
"Well... this is definitely not the norm, but..." the leader blurted, exchanging glances with the other two humans. Then he smiled brightly. "But since you're in a tough spot, sending you away would be too heartless."
"If you say it in such a complicated way, I can't understand you."
"...You can spend the night here if you want."
I barely suppressed my laughter because I could see through his intentions so clearly.
It seemed everyone here was scheming.
Anyway, just like that, a one-night relationship happened to get established. It was kind of weird to describe it that way, but oh well. We exchanged introductions first.
"This is Royce, that's Victor, and I'm Briol." Royce the bowman, Victor the spearman, and the leader-slash-hammer warrior Briol.
...No Hans?
Maybe they were using fake names? No, if he had used fake names, that baby barbarian would have thought it strange.
Feeling slightly uneasy, Missha and I lay down nearby. The desire to open up a blanket was very tempting, but then they'd realize I had an expandable backpack.
"You guys get some rest. I'll push your turn back to the end of the rotation."
"Ohh, you guys are really nice adventurers!"
"Hahaha... this guy."
Anyway, as soon as I lay down, Missha whispered in my ear. "Bjorn."
"Be quiet."
"Do we really have to go this farrr?" Although she had obeyed all of my instructions, Missha didn't seem pleased about our current situation.
True, even if these guys were amateurs, no one would feel comfortable lying down defenseless like this.
"Just hold on. I'll owe you a favor for this."
"...Really? You prrromise?"
I stuck with my guns, even tossing Missha a new carrot. There was a possibility that as of today, the baby barbarian Kharon Tarson would be reborn as a warrior, suspicious of humans and killing predators.
"Didn't I tell you earlier? Adventurers can be just as dangerous as monsters."
"Ah! I remember! But... that man is one of my people." In the middle of nodding at the bowman's words, the baby barbarian spotted me and waved happily. "I am Kharon, son of Tarson!"
"I am Bjon, son of Thor!" I took the opportunity to move forward, shake his hand, and even bump our shoulders together. Then, when I glanced over, the looks on everyone's faces were a spectacle; not just the three humans, but even Missha, whom I'd told the plan to beforehand.
What the hell are these barbarian bastards doing?
The look in their eyes was clearly saying something like that. Picking up on this, Kharon shot me a reassuring look, then told his teammates, "Everyone, lower your weapons! Thor's son, Bjon, is not a bad adventurer!"
"Yes! I am not a bad adventurer!"
At our words, the bowman and spearman looked at one person in particular. It seemed that guy was the leader. The man sighed and nodded, and everyone lowered their weapons. I guess he figured it would be ridiculous to keep their guards up at this point.
"So, barbarian—"
"It's Bjon, son of Thor."
"Yes, Thor—"
"Thor is my father's name."
"Ahem, Bjon—"
"We're not that close yet, so I'd like you to call me by my full name."
The leader, who had been interrupted three times in a row, looked quite annoyed but held onto his patience and smiled. He addressed me again. "So, Thor's son, Bjon?"
"Speak."
"If you have no business here, I'd like you to leave. As you can see, we were resting."
The leader's request was reasonable and logical. It was polite and customary for adventurers not to approach each other at all. But so what? Right now I was a big, sweet baby barbarian who didn't know anything about stuff like that.
"What a coincidence that you're resting!" I shouted like that was even better. "We were just looking for a place to rest!"
"So... what does that have to do with us?"
"This is meant to be. Let's rest together! We could be... night companions? Yes, that!"
"Night companions?" As if they had just heard something they shouldn't have, the expressions of the three humans screwed up.
It wasn't that I didn't understand why. Seeking out companions for the night was a tradition limited to the first floor. They would never have imagined they would end up receiving such a proposal from some barbarian on the second floor, where adventurers operated in parties.
"Hah..." As if he didn't even know where to start explaining, the leader touched his forehead.
But meanwhile, Kharon nodded. "Ohh, that's a good idea. Come here, I've been lying here and it's not as hard as everywhere else."
It was total chaos. The leader exhibited superhuman patience and explained the customs of adventurers to me. To sum it up, it was simple.
"So, you mean... you don't make night companions on the second floor?"
"Yes, that's it. If you understand—"
Well, understanding was for those who were willing to understand. Instead, I spoke in a tone that suggested I found everything he said genuinely pathetic. "You guys are so stupid! If we all sleep together, we can sleep more!"
"Huh?"
"If you have a brain, think about it. There are four of you and two of us. If six people take turns keeping watch, each person... Anyway, you can sleep more!" It was a hard-headed assertion from a barbarian, from start to finish. Everyone looked dazed, almost like they were wondering if they were hallucinating this entire conversation.
Oh, except for one person. "That's... true! Why haven't any adventurers done this sooner?" As Kharon vigorously nodded at my argument, his team realized that there was no point discussing this any further.
"Look. We'll take care of our own, so you should take your group and go—" The leader looked away from me to speak to Missha, then suddenly stopped. Apparently, he had only seen her face up to this point. His voice, which had been filled with irritation, changed before he knew it. "Ahem. I mean, that's definitely how it usually works, but what do you think?"
Apparently, Missha did not appreciate the way those eyes were scanning her. She tensed, but when I shot her a look, her expression shifted. "Well... I'm not surrre. Since you guys have a barrrbarian, too, you don't seem like dangerrrous people..."
"Haha, the same goes for you as well."
"Anyway, he's lost his weapon, so I was worrried about leaving him alone during the night watch. So if it's okay with you guys, I don't think it would be a bad idea to just spend the night togetherrr..."
"Darn, you lost your weapon?" The man shot me a strange look at Missha's words. It seemed that he had just now noticed that I was empty-handed.
"Oh, my weapon? I accidentally dropped it in a fight with a monster, and it disappeared!"
"I see." When I offered up an excuse, the man believed it, just like that. After all, barbarians were total cheat characters.
Anyway, this should be enough bait...
I made the final offer in a clear voice. "So, are you going to be our night companions or not? Decide quickly. Because I'm getting sleepy."
If he declined, I was planning on going our separate ways. If he refused even after I had gone this far, then it was likely I had misread those three.
"Well... this is definitely not the norm, but..." the leader blurted, exchanging glances with the other two humans. Then he smiled brightly. "But since you're in a tough spot, sending you away would be too heartless."
"If you say it in such a complicated way, I can't understand you."
"...You can spend the night here if you want."
I barely suppressed my laughter because I could see through his intentions so clearly.
It seemed everyone here was scheming.
Anyway, just like that, a one-night relationship happened to get established. It was kind of weird to describe it that way, but oh well. We exchanged introductions first.
"This is Royce, that's Victor, and I'm Briol." Royce the bowman, Victor the spearman, and the leader-slash-hammer warrior Briol.
...No Hans?
Maybe they were using fake names? No, if he had used fake names, that baby barbarian would have thought it strange.
Feeling slightly uneasy, Missha and I lay down nearby. The desire to open up a blanket was very tempting, but then they'd realize I had an expandable backpack.
"You guys get some rest. I'll push your turn back to the end of the rotation."
"Ohh, you guys are really nice adventurers!"
"Hahaha... this guy."
Anyway, as soon as I lay down, Missha whispered in my ear. "Bjorn."
"Be quiet."
"Do we really have to go this farrr?" Although she had obeyed all of my instructions, Missha didn't seem pleased about our current situation.
True, even if these guys were amateurs, no one would feel comfortable lying down defenseless like this.
"Just hold on. I'll owe you a favor for this."
"...Really? You prrromise?"
I stuck with my guns, even tossing Missha a new carrot. There was a possibility that as of today, the baby barbarian Kharon Tarson would be reborn as a warrior, suspicious of humans and killing predators.