Chapter 64: The Hut (3)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 64: The Hut (3)

Since being stranded in the Witch's Forest, I thought about this from time to time: wouldn't the others in the forest be looking for us as well? If so, wasn't it still possible for us to reunite with them by coincidence? In short, it had been a useless delusion.

No way.

Expectations and reality were never aligned. When I saw the number of occupants was three, I had my hopes, but I smiled bitterly. Miracles weren't my style, after all. I was more suited to tragedy.

"...Bjorn," Missha whispered very softly into my ear, climbing onto my back. "What are we going to do now?"

Well, I'm thinking. I never thought I'd run into these bastards here, either. His name was... Davis?

As I prepared myself to smash his head in with my mace at any time, I closely inspected the sleeping man, Davis. The religious freak had a necklace, bracelet, and buttons all covered in symbols of the Reatlas religion. Simply put, he was the leader of the group of adventurers who had attacked us thanks to Elisa's scheme days ago.

Why the hell is this bastard here?

The more I looked at this guy's face, the more my suspicions deepened. Why was he resting here? What the hell did he do with Elisa for there to only be three of them? And why the hell did he look as roughed up as we did?

After setting my suspicions aside, I looked into the hut again through the window. Fortunately, the other two were still sleeping. Since I knew they were his teammates, I could infer their identities based on their hair color and body type.

Those must be the bow and the sword guy.

The large shield warrior and red-haired archer were nowhere to be seen.

...Could it be that they were also separated from their group?

The thought suddenly came to mind, but I couldn't be sure. Dang it, what should I do? This was making me anxious. Should I just smash his head in while he was asleep?

As I was contemplating this, Missha whispered to me, "Bjorn, we might even be able to learrrn about what happened to Hikurod and the others."

Hmm, that was true. It seemed a conversation was in order. Before that, though, we needed to create the appropriate environment for a conversation.

"Let's knock them all out first, then tie them up with ropes."

"Good idea."

After reaching an agreement, I escorted Missha into the hut so that if they woke up, I could subdue them before they came to their senses. Once the preparations were complete, I exchanged glances with Missha through the window and nodded. Then, lifting the mace up into the air, I slammed it down on his head with half my strength.

Smack!

As expected, the religious freak sagged without even making a sound. I let out a long breath, wiping the blood and bits of flesh from my clothes.

Whew, one down.

Now it was time to stun the next one.

When I snuck into the hut, I found the other two completely passed out from the hard journey and lost in their respective dreams. Which one should I take care of first? After thinking for a while, I noticed one of them tossing and turning.

"Ugh..."

Yeah, this guy should be good. Just as I was about to bring down the mace, Missha hurriedly grabbed my arm and cried out in a hoarse whisper, "You said you were just going to knock him out!"

I cocked my head, then belatedly realized what she was getting at and nodded. "Don't worry." Even in fighting games, low-damage blows were my specialty. I was confident in my ability to control my strength. And, well, if he died, then that was just bad luck. That was how the world worked, wouldn't you agree?

Smack!

The moment the mace struck, the man resting in the rocking chair slumped. At the same time, the man on the bed heard the sound and lifted his upper body off the mattress.

"W-Who...?"

Of course, that was no problem for me. Whether awake or asleep, my mace was an equal opportunity weapon.

Smack!

Without needing to sneak up on him, I ran forward and introduced the half-warm mace to his face. Since my objective was to knock him out, I named this skill "Bash." That sounded about right.

The first step was completed successfully with Bash. "What are you doing?" I said to Missha. "Tie them up."

Missha looked at the three bloody bodies and answered, "Is that necessarrry...?"

Uh, well... Better safe than sorry.

There was nothing to lose by being thorough. That was my motto.

***

"Wow, they really arrre alive..."

Despite getting struck by a mace one by one, the three of them luckily survived.

"I told you not to worry—"

"But I think they'rrre going to die soon."

Seeing as their breathing was getting shallower and more irregular, it seemed they would indeed meet their end soon. The one who had been smacked in the face was in the worst shape of them all. But as long as they were alive, there should be no problem. After all, wasn't this a fantasy world?

"Found it." I picked up one of the bags on the floor and pulled out a potion bottle. Then I poured the potion on top of their unconscious heads.

We can't have them getting too spirited, so just a little.

Czzzzzz!

The reactions came at different intervals.

"Ahh! Aaah!"

"Ahhh!"

The broken heads slowly healed, and the three of them flopped on the lawn like live fish. I pulled over the rocking chair, sat down, and waited for them to come to their senses.

"Boneheaded barrrbarian..." Missha noticed and scolded me, but what could I do? They may have been tricked by Elisa, but they still tried to kill us once. The heart of Bjorn the barbarian did not feel sympathy for the enemy at all.

"Y-You...!"

"That barbarian!"

"It was a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! We're not your enemy!"

As time passed, the three of them came to their senses. Since they were all yelling at the same time, things were getting a little hectic.

"One at a time," I grumbled while wiping the blood off my mace, which silenced the room.

The three of them, tied together like a line of fish, glanced at each other and reached an agreement with just a look.

"Look, this is all a big misunderstanding. It's just a misunderstanding." It was the leader and religious freak who ended up getting selected as their representative. "I'll explain everything, so please—"

I cocked my head, then belatedly realized what she was getting at and nodded. "Don't worry." Even in fighting games, low-damage blows were my specialty. I was confident in my ability to control my strength. And, well, if he died, then that was just bad luck. That was how the world worked, wouldn't you agree?

Smack!

The moment the mace struck, the man resting in the rocking chair slumped. At the same time, the man on the bed heard the sound and lifted his upper body off the mattress.

"W-Who...?"

Of course, that was no problem for me. Whether awake or asleep, my mace was an equal opportunity weapon.

Smack!

Without needing to sneak up on him, I ran forward and introduced the half-warm mace to his face. Since my objective was to knock him out, I named this skill "Bash." That sounded about right.

The first step was completed successfully with Bash. "What are you doing?" I said to Missha. "Tie them up."

Missha looked at the three bloody bodies and answered, "Is that necessarrry...?"

Uh, well... Better safe than sorry.

There was nothing to lose by being thorough. That was my motto.

***

"Wow, they really arrre alive..."

Despite getting struck by a mace one by one, the three of them luckily survived.

"I told you not to worry—"

"But I think they'rrre going to die soon."

Seeing as their breathing was getting shallower and more irregular, it seemed they would indeed meet their end soon. The one who had been smacked in the face was in the worst shape of them all. But as long as they were alive, there should be no problem. After all, wasn't this a fantasy world?

"Found it." I picked up one of the bags ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the floor and pulled out a potion bottle. Then I poured the potion on top of their unconscious heads.

We can't have them getting too spirited, so just a little.

Czzzzzz!

The reactions came at different intervals.

"Ahh! Aaah!"

"Ahhh!"

The broken heads slowly healed, and the three of them flopped on the lawn like live fish. I pulled over the rocking chair, sat down, and waited for them to come to their senses.

"Boneheaded barrrbarian..." Missha noticed and scolded me, but what could I do? They may have been tricked by Elisa, but they still tried to kill us once. The heart of Bjorn the barbarian did not feel sympathy for the enemy at all.

"Y-You...!"

"That barbarian!"

"It was a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! We're not your enemy!"

As time passed, the three of them came to their senses. Since they were all yelling at the same time, things were getting a little hectic.

"One at a time," I grumbled while wiping the blood off my mace, which silenced the room.

The three of them, tied together like a line of fish, glanced at each other and reached an agreement with just a look.

"Look, this is all a big misunderstanding. It's just a misunderstanding." It was the leader and religious freak who ended up getting selected as their representative. "I'll explain everything, so please—"

"Uh-huh, and what's the misunderstanding?"

Davis continued talking like I was the one being unfair. "That bitch! She used us. We had no idea that she was a slave to the cursed Karui!"

Oh, so you've realized that now?

Something definitely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠happened to them.

"So, why don't you let us go, and we can talk about this in more detail?"

"Stop asking that." What mattered now was not how unfair things were or how difficult they'd had it. "Tell me from start to finish, what the hell happened after we ran away?" A confirmation of what had transpired. This was the only reason I had used Bash instead of Smash.

"Uh, that's..."

"Don't even think about lying."

"A-All right. In the end, it's our fault for trusting her, but I'll tell you the truth."

"It's up to me to decide whether it's the truth or not."

The religious freak gulped. Then he vomited out the side of the story that I didn't know. "When we fell for that evil villainess's plans and caught up with your group, for some reason, there were only three of you guys."

Yeah. That was right after we had been left behind.

Crunch!

Really, that was shudder-inducing. What kind of fucked up timing was that?

"Should I keep going...?" asked Davis.

"Of course. Continue."

"We thought it would be difficult for us if you guys kept running, so we attacked and wounded the man who looked like the scout first."

"A-Are you talking about Rrrotmiller!?"

"I don't know his name. But don't worry. With a wound like that, he'll still be alive."

Anyway, piecing together the remaining story, it went like this. The surprise attack had incapacitated Brown, leaving our team in a truly desperate situation. The dwarf would have determined that was the case. They would have had to defeat the enemy scout to be able to safely escape.

"I don't know what it was, but just like the first time we met, there was a blast of light that pushed us back. When I woke up, Anderson had been stabbed in the head by an ice lance. Ah, Anderson is the name of our scout. He wasn't the kind of person to be taken down by something like that... Maybe it was because we had numbers on our side, but we were not able to avoid the attack because we weren't vigilant enough."

Whatever the details were, the moment the dwarf managed to buy some time, Dwalkie defeated the enemy scout. Then, without looking back, they ran away with the wounded Brown.

As soon as we heard this, Missha slapped me on the back. "Like I thought, it was all thanks to Hikurod! Hikurod killed their scout forrr us!"

Well, I didn't know what the dwarf was thinking at the time, but I couldn't deny that it was thanks to him that we were still alive. Anyway, back to the main point of the story.

"Anderson's death left us wandering through the forest, too. We couldn't chase after anyone."

The religious freak and his team had been eagerly pursuing us, but when their scout passed away, they were left in a similar situation to us. Of course, they were still better off. They had five people on their side and even a priestess. But...

"It was about two days after we got lost..."

While they had been taking turns on night watch to recover their energy, the bitch Elisa revealed her true nature and killed one of them.

"Uh-huh, and what's the misunderstanding?"

Davis continued talking like I was the one being unfair. "That bitch! She used us. We had no idea that she was a slave to the cursed Karui!"

Oh, so you've realized that now?

Something definitely happened to them.

"So, why don't you let us go, and we can talk about this in more detail?"

"Stop asking that." What mattered now was not how unfair things were or how difficult they'd had it. "Tell me from start to finish, what the hell happened after we ran away?" A confirmation of what had transpired. This was the only reason I had used Bash instead of Smash.

"Uh, that's..."

"Don't even think about lying."

"A-All right. In the end, it's our fault for trusting her, but I'll tell you the truth."

"It's up to me to decide whether it's the truth or not."

The religious freak gulped. Then he vomited out the side of the story that I didn't know. "When we fell for that evil villainess's plans and caught up with your group, for some reason, there were only three of you guys."

Yeah. That was right after we had been left behind.

Crunch!

Really, that was shudder-inducing. What kind of fucked up timing was that?

"Should I keep going...?" asked Davis.

"Of course. Continue."

"We thought it would be difficult for us if you guys kept running, so we attacked and wounded the man who looked like the scout first."

"A-Are you talking about Rrrotmiller!?"

"I don't know his name. But don't worry. With a wound like that, he'll still be alive."

Anyway, piecing together the remaining story, it went like this. The surprise attack had incapacitated Brown, leaving our team in a truly desperate situation. The dwarf would have determined that was the case. They would have had to defeat the enemy scout to be able to safely escape.

"I don't know what it was, but just like the first time we met, there was a blast of light that pushed us back. When I woke up, Anderson had been stabbed in the head by an ice lance. Ah, Anderson is the name of our scout. He wasn't the kind of person to be taken down by something like that... Maybe it was because we had numbers on our side, but we were not able to avoid the attack because we weren't vigilant enough."

Whatever the details were, the moment the dwarf managed to buy some time, Dwalkie defeated the enemy scout. Then, without looking back, they ran away with the wounded Brown.

As soon as we heard this, Missha slapped me on the back. "Like I thought, it was all thanks to Hikurod! Hikurod killed their scout forrr us!"

Well, I didn't know what the dwarf was thinking at the time, but I couldn't deny that it was thanks to him that we were still alive. Anyway, back to the main point of the story.

"Anderson's death left us wandering through the forest, too. We couldn't chase after anyone."

The religious freak and his team had been eagerly pursuing us, but when their scout passed away, they were left in a similar situation to us. Of course, they were still better off. They had five people on their side and even a priestess. But...

"It was about two days after we got lost..."

While they had been taking turns on night watch to recover their energy, the bitch Elisa revealed her true nature and killed one of them.

"When I saw him shriveling up and drying out, I knew right away. That she was a worshiper of the evil Karui!"

"Okay, so why did that bitch kill your friend?" I asked.

"I don't know either... But anyway, the moment we witnessed that horrific sight, the three of us realized we had no choice but to leave and inform the public."

Bullshit. You just ran away and abandoned your teammate so you would survive.

Anyway, they just skipped the rest of the story after that. Except for the fact that they were three, it was no different from what Missha and I had been through.

"So, now that the misunderstanding is cleared up—"

"I think I already told you not to bring that up?" I sighed at the third request for freedom.

"Bjorrrn, what will you do now?"

"Ahem. It seems that you are in a similar situation," said Davis. "Why not work together?"

"You keep your mouth shut."

There was more to consider. Of course, I had no intention at all of accepting this guy's proposal.

"C-Come to think of it, I haven't apologized yet! Let me apologize! We were foolish enough to fall for that bitch's tricks. I'm sorry!"

However, there was room to accept that apology. Could I trust these guys? Of course, a lot of our suffering over the past few days had been caused by these bastards, but no one had died as a result. It seemed that the dwarf and the others were all alive too.

"O-Of course, we'll compensate you for the damage we've caused, too!"

And they were even offering material compensation. Did I still have to kill them?

"Bjorrrn, I will do whatever you tell me to."

I'd killed several people so far, but my life had been at stake in those moments. And those people had been pieces of trash with no capacity for redemption. But these guys? It was iffy. Yes, as I'd said before, there was room for consideration. My modern mind, the mind of someone who had not yet learned the ways of this world, was putting off making a decision.

"What are you thinking so hard about! I-It was a mistake! I never imagined a priestess would lie—"

"Be quiet. Keep talking, and I might accidentally crush your skull."

Davis shut his mouth.

I answered harshly so as not to be seen as weak, but internally, I continued to fret. Is it right to kill them? I finally asked myself.

The barbarian warrior Bjorn Yandel answered me. Does right or wrong matter? It's easier to just kill them, so why should I leave room for uncertainty?

Truly a ridiculous answer. The twenty-nine-year-old Seoul-born Hansu Lee spoke as well. Idiot, what is there to think about? Of course, killing someone for making a mistake is nonsense. But...

For once, their opinions aligned.

But that's when you're in our world, Hansu finished.

Killing someone for making one mistake would be completely unreasonable... if I were still in the place where I was born and raised.

Grip.

I grabbed the mace. However, I still couldn't make a decision. "Missha, what do you think?" I impulsively asked.

Missha, who had been born and raised in this world, answered, "I can't trrrust these guys."

"And?"

"Mistake or not, they trrried to kill us. In situations like these... my father taught me never to forgive people."

Hmm, I see. So this is normal in this world.

Like a fog clearing up, my mind became sharper. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The reason for that was simple: otherwise, you might end up dead.

Slide.

So I lifted the mace.

"I-I said it was a mistake!" the religious freak screamed from the floor.

I nodded. "Mistake, huh?"

It may have really been a mistake, but for some reason, I get the feeling you'll make the same mistake again in the future.

Crunch!

So I slammed down the mace as hard as I could as if to eliminate all hesitation.

Crunch!

Successively.

Crunch!

After three macings, the surrounding area became quiet.

[Achievement Unlocked]

[Condition: Reach a kill count of 10.]

[Reward: Permanently increases your Spirit stat by +1.]

I had no intention of justifying my actions. If I had wanted to do that, I would have set up a trap and waited for them to make a mistake. The worse the bastard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I killed acted, the better for my mental health.

But now is the time to throw all of that away.

Since the moment I woke up in this body, I knew.

Bjorn Yandel.

From now on, I had to live by this name. No, not just the name, but I had to truly be this savage. That was the only way to survive here.

Drip, drip.

Blood and flesh dripped from the mace.

"Bjorn... arrre you okay? Your hands are shaking."

If you were weak, you died. If you made a mistake, you died. In this world, you died if you had no luck.

"Don't worry. It's nothing." Soon, my hands stopped shaking. I took off the religious freak's gear, then dragged the body, clad only in underwear, into the hut.

"Eh? W-What are you going to do with him?!" Missha asked, disgusted.

"What I have to do," I answered.

It was something I had to do even if I didn't want to. Without hesitation, I threw the body into the half-extinguished fire.

Whoosh!

The fire came back to life in an instant. At the same time, a disgusting smell wafted through the room. Actually, that was just what I thought. This agreeable barbarian body couldn't sense the difference between this smell and the scent of meat.

Whoosh!

As I stared at the burning fire, I let out a breath. It seemed this was also the same as in the game.

[A new sacrifice has been made. The duration of the Witch's Hut has increased by 8 hours.]

Since there were two more pieces of firewood left, my calculations told me we could rest in the hut for at least twenty-four more hours.

"What are you doing? Go rest." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I lay on the bed. Missha said something back, but honestly, I couldn't hear it. "...How comfortable."

I closed my eyes and counted down from one, meaninglessly. My tired body slowly fell asleep like it had just discovered what rest was.

Crackle.

The sound of the burning fire gradually faded from my consciousness.

After all, a person has to sleep in a bed.

It wasn't even ironic anymore. In this world, I lost the weariness of modernity—the more I did, the more human I became.

"When I saw him shriveling up and drying out, I knew right away. That she was a worshiper of the evil Karui!"

"Okay, so why did that bitch kill your friend?" I asked.

"I don't know either... But anyway, the moment we witnessed that horrific sight, the three of us realized we had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no choice but to leave and inform the public."

Bullshit. You just ran away and abandoned your teammate so you would survive.

Anyway, they just skipped the rest of the story after that. Except for the fact that they were three, it was no different from what Missha and I had been through.

"So, now that the misunderstanding is cleared up—"

"I think I already told you not to bring that up?" I sighed at the third request for freedom.

"Bjorrrn, what will you do now?"

"Ahem. It seems that you are in a similar situation," said Davis. "Why not work together?"

"You keep your mouth shut."

There was more to consider. Of course, I had no intention at all of accepting this guy's proposal.

"C-Come to think of it, I haven't apologized yet! Let me apologize! We were foolish enough to fall for that bitch's tricks. I'm sorry!"

However, there was room to accept that apology. Could I trust these guys? Of course, a lot of our suffering over the past few days had been caused by these bastards, but no one had died as a result. It seemed that the dwarf and the others were all alive too.

"O-Of course, we'll compensate you for the damage we've caused, too!"

And they were even offering material compensation. Did I still have to kill them?

"Bjorrrn, I will do whatever you tell me to."

I'd killed several people so far, but my life had been at stake in those moments. And those people had been pieces of trash with no capacity for redemption. But these guys? It was iffy. Yes, as I'd said before, there was room for consideration. My modern mind, the mind of someone who had not yet learned the ways of this world, was putting off making a decision.

"What are you thinking so hard about! I-It was a mistake! I never imagined a priestess would lie—"

"Be quiet. Keep talking, and I might accidentally crush your skull."

Davis shut his mouth.

I answered harshly so as not to be seen as weak, but internally, I continued to fret. Is it right to kill them? I finally asked myself.

The barbarian warrior Bjorn Yandel answered me. Does right or wrong matter? It's easier to just kill them, so why should I leave room for uncertainty?

Truly a ridiculous answer. The twenty-nine-year-old Seoul-born Hansu Lee spoke as well. Idiot, what is there to think about? Of course, killing someone for making a mistake is nonsense. But...

For once, their opinions aligned.

But that's when you're in our world, Hansu finished.

Killing someone for making one mistake would be completely unreasonable... if I were still in the place where I was born and raised.

Grip.

I grabbed the mace. However, I still couldn't make a decision. "Missha, what do you think?" I impulsively asked.

Missha, who had been born and raised in this world, answered, "I can't trrrust these guys."

"And?"

"Mistake or not, they trrried to kill us. In situations like these... my father taught me never to forgive people."

Hmm, I see. So this is normal in this world.

Like a fog clearing up, my mind became sharper. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The reason for that was simple: otherwise, you might end up dead.

Slide.

So I lifted the mace.

"I-I said it was a mistake!" the religious freak screamed from the floor.

I nodded. "Mistake, huh?"

It may have really been a mistake, but for some reason, I get the feeling you'll make the same mistake again in the future.

Crunch!

So I slammed down the mace as hard as I could as if to eliminate all hesitation.

Crunch!

Successively.

Crunch!

After three macings, the surrounding area became quiet.

[Achievement Unlocked]

[Condition: Reach a kill count of 10.]

[Reward: Permanently increases your Spirit stat by +1.]

I had no intention of justifying my actions. If I had wanted to do that, I would have set up a trap and waited for them to make a mistake. The worse the bastard I killed acted, the better for my mental health.

But now is the time to throw all of that away.

Since the moment I woke up in this body, I knew.

Bjorn Yandel.

From now on, I had to live by this name. No, not just the name, but I had to truly be this savage. That was the only way to survive here.

Drip, drip.

Blood and flesh dripped from the mace.

"Bjorn... arrre you okay? Your hands are shaking."

If you were weak, you died. If you made a mistake, you died. In this world, you died if you had no luck.

"Don't worry. It's nothing." Soon, my hands stopped shaking. I took off the religious freak's gear, then dragged the body, clad only in underwear, into the hut.

"Eh? W-What are you going to do with him?!" Missha asked, disgusted.

"What I have to do," I answered.

It was something I had to do even if I didn't want to. Without hesitation, I threw the body into the half-extinguished fire.

Whoosh!

The fire came back to life in an instant. At the same time, a disgusting smell wafted through the room. Actually, that was just what I thought. This agreeable barbarian body couldn't sense the difference between this smell and the scent of meat.

Whoosh!

As I stared at the burning fire, I let out a breath. It seemed this was also the same as in the game.

[A new sacrifice has been made. The duration of the Witch's Hut has increased by 8 hours.]

Since there were two more pieces of firewood left, my calculations told me we could rest in the hut for at least twenty-four more hours.

"What are you doing? Go rest." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I lay on the bed. Missha said something back, but honestly, I couldn't hear it. "...How comfortable."

I closed my eyes and counted down from one, meaninglessly. My tired body slowly fell asleep like it had just discovered what rest was.

Crackle.

The sound of the burning fire gradually faded from my consciousness.

After all, a person has to sleep in a bed.

It wasn't even ironic anymore. In this world, I lost the weariness of modernity—the more I did, the more human I became.