Chapter 235: Chapter 235: New Era (5) - Surviving the Game as a Barbarian

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 235: New Era (5)

Take my daughter as your wife and your lover as your concubine. Upon making that sudden proposal, the count continued. "Limenin, the first Abyss Seeker to reach the tenth floor. Great Pikma, the adventurer who journeyed to every district of the vast sixth floor and created a map. Juggernaut, the Iron Hero. Besides them, there have been countless heroes. Do you know what they all had in common? Their journeys were always backed by strong sponsors."

In the end, I had no choice but to ask. I fully understood what he was trying to say, but still. "What do you gain by sponsoring me?"

"There is always a shortage of talent in this city. I was already planning on sponsoring you even if this incident hadn't happened." Those didn't sound like empty words.

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

"It is common for nobles to ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sponsor promising adventurers, because it helps their reputation."

I already knew about that. You could say it was a highbrow hobby of the upper class. To put it in modern terms, it was a lot like collecting luxury cars, but I didn't know this next part.

"Sometimes, this becomes the measure of a family's power. If they don't sponsor any adventurers, they are shunned, and if their adventurers have no significant achievements, they're seen as having poor judgment."

Now I was seeing that this went beyond the realm of a mere hobby. For noblemen, the social sphere was a political arena and the opinions of others were powerful.

"The wealth of the Ferdehilt family is not inferior to that of any great noble line or Order of Knights. But there is one thing we are missing." I didn't know much about the count but I did know this. "Despite our efforts, we have not had a prominent adventurer for a long time."

"So that's why you said you'd call on me when I was ready."

"I see no reason to hide it. At the time, I didn't have confidence in you. If my sponsored adventurer died soon after I chose them, that would damage the reputation of my family as well." Yet, not wanting someone else to snatch me, he warned me not to accept the invitations of other nobles. An act of calling dibs. "If I knew this would happen, I would have sponsored you without hesitation back then."

I smirked at the regret dripping from his tone. If he did, the count's reputation would have risen as much as my stock price, and he wouldn't have had to offer his daughter to me like this.

"I have no doubts now. You are going to be an even bigger figure in years to come. Many adventurers have died, but this won't be the end. As always, time will pass and the vacancies will be filled, and you will surely become the figurehead leading this new era."

"...You flatter me."

"Well, we'll find out in time. Anyway, that should be enough to explain what I gain from this. Will you give me an answer now?"

I silently pondered this for a moment. Or, rather, I pretended to, since he'd be upset if I refused right away. "Sorry, but a relationship like that would be tough." It was a refusal with as little room for negotiation as possible.

"Think carefully about this. Everyone will want to be on friendly terms with you, but who will want a blood relationship? I can do more for you than you can imagine."

My conversation with the count ended there. After briefly saying goodbye to his daughter, I returned outdoors. As soon as I came out, Missha found me. "Bjorn! Wherrre did you go?! I went looking for you because you took so long and you werrre gone!"

"Ah, there was a nobleman who wanted to talk."

I didn't need to tell her what just happened. Making an excuse, I returned to where I was earlier and had another drink. But the more I laughed and chatted, the more I remembered what the count had said.

"You will surely become the figurehead leading this new era."

The banquet came to an end.

***

The performance ended and the cacophony stopped. The damned banquet was finally over.

"Fuckers."

At first, he hadn't known what kind of banquet this was. As his only source of information had dried up, he was no different from blind. Communicating with the outside world was impossible. However, thanks to the conversation with the prime minister he'd had a little while ago, he came to learn about what had happened recently.

"It's been a long time since we've met face-to-face. Those scoundrels from Noark dealt us a blow. There has been a lot of damage."

"A lot of damage? Just how much...?" the man had asked, trying to hide his rising anxiety.

The prime minister had answered, "Whatever you're imagining, even more than that."

Seventy percent of adventurers on the fourth floor and above were dead. Of course, the part that was important to him was something else. Most adventurers active on the seventh floor or higher, large clans that could easily live without climbing for the rest of their lives yet pushed themselves to go even higher, were also dead. How long would it take to repair the damage that had been done?

Ha, I'm gonna freak the fuck out, he'd thought. I should've bashed that skull in when I had the chance.

The man gritted his teeth. When he heard the news, the first thing that came to mind was, They got me.

"Was this... what you were aiming for?" he asked, barely suppressing his murderous energy.

The prime minister answered with a smile. "We didn't know this would happen, either. If you want, you can use that ability of yours to check if it's true."

It seemed true that he hadn't known, but he'd been tricked by that clever tongue more than once. "Piss off. It's obvious things would've ended up like this even without this particular incident happening."

"Well, what do you think?"

"Shut the hell up. If you had let me kill them all during the conquest, this never would have happened."

It felt like his question had finally been answered. At the time of the conquest, Rafdonia had a much more significant advantage. They'd taken a lot of damage, but if they'd pushed a little further, they could have ended the battle decisively. However, Rafdonia did not do so. They took their time, and in the end, Noark activated an ancient barrier and locked their castle gates.

"Why don't you be honest? That you had no intention of keeping our promise from the start."

"Don't be disrespectful. His Majesty the King placed the honor of the royal family on the line for that promise. Do not doubt that it will be seen through."

"Don't doubt, my ass."

That was when it had hit the man—or more like when he had finally admitted to himself—that these bastards had no intention of letting them go.

He's probably acting so arrogantly because he thinks we have no way of escaping, he thought.

On that note, the prime minister had left. The reason why he hadn't bashed his skull in and instead let him leave was simple: because night inevitably had to fall.

Ha... where should I look now?

He had thought the palace would have some kind of clue, but he hadn't been able to find any. Rather, he only just realized there were no answers here. It was safe to say he had lost ten years on that hunch, but the man did not give up.