Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Drawing a Line (3)

Tarikan Lien.

Of course, it wasn't his real name, but I decided to ignore that.

Itd better to have this conversation over a meal.'

Since my hotel wasn't too far away, I took him to my room, and got him some food from downstairs.

It was just the set meal of the week, priced at only 300 stones.

Chicken stew, a few slices of bread, and a few grilled vegetables were all it had, but that was enough to make him feel overjoyed.

Still, if there was one thing that bothered me, that was

"I will never forget this grace!"

Ugh, what the hell was this clumsy barbarian-style speech?

Although hed thankfully come to his senses, if he was going to do it, he shouldve done it properly.

His voice was much too faint, and he lacked any kind of confidence.

We barbarians rejoiced a lot more enthusiastically when someone bought us something to eat.

Although, Ive been eating well from the start. Is he so starved he simply lacks the energy?'

Seeing him wolf down the food, I hid my bitter smile.

And I learned what I needed to from a short conversation after dinner.

I really thought he was a newbie

Surprisingly, this man was older than me in this world.

Although only by a month.

He was called into this world a month before Id opened my eyes in Bjorn's body.

And there was one more surprising fact.

"C-, coming-of-age ceremony? Ah, I was really surprised back then. Who couldve known that there were e-evil spirits hiding among us?"

So an evil spirit had appeared

Coincidentally, this man and I had very similar beginnings.

A demon had appeared at his coming-of-age ceremony as well.

In other words, there was an incident where a player got executed by the chieftain.

And another question arose at this point.

How did he survive that?'

At the ceremony, your get called by name.

But when you, the evil spirit, wake up, you have no information about who your body previously belonged to. That was why Id had to count the time in my heart, taut with tension, every time the chieftain had called a name.

Even if he hadnt been as jittery as he is now, how did he keep people from suspecting?'

Well, perhaps hed been in better condition back then.

Or, he couldve used a strategy similar to mine to avoid suspicion.

I was mildly curious, so I asked in a roundabout manner, but the answer that came back was a little frustrating.

"When was I called at the coming-of-age ceremony? I don't know why you're asking but I was the last!"

I see. Hed been the last one to be called.

Thats why he hadnt needed to know what his name was.

Because there were no more warriors left to be called up.

All I could think was that he was lucky, but the man himself didn't seem to even realize that.

What an idiot.

"So what happened afterwards?"

"W-, what happened? That why do you want to know?"

Why?

Because I was an evil spirit, too.Yôur favorite stories at novelhall.com

This was market research. Data collection. Whatever youd like to call it.

"Tell me, and if the situation calls for it, I might be able to help."

I deliberately answered as vaguely as possible.

But had this guy already decided in his mind that I was going to help him out?

"I, I see! Then lets talk about it!"

He didnt hide his anticipation, and slowly began to tell his story.

From the day hed woken up in the body of Tarikan Lien, to today.

As I listened, all I could think was that some punishments were well-deserved.

" You mean you couldn't enter the labyrinth after the coming-of-age ceremony?"

"Th-, that couldnt be helped! I got lost along the way "

First of all, he didnt even enter the labyrinth.

He made some excuses about losing his way, but

Its best to filter out the obvious lies.'

Quite possibly, the real reason was that hed felt that fighting monsters was a crazy thing to do.

And it wouldnt have been hard to break away from the horde of over-excited barbarians.

The problem was the next bit.

Left in the city, hed eaten the rock-bread he had with him for a week, and wandered to and fro looking for a job. He hadnt gotten accepted anywhere because he was a barbarian.

Other races can hold side jobs.

For example, beastkin may wait at a tavern, or dwarves may work at a smithy.

On the day the labyrinth opens, they go harvest mana stones inside, and for the rest of the month, they earn a living wage in the city.

Unlike barbarians, whose only option is combat.

"But didnt you know that? You mustve learned that in the sanctuary, right?"

"Th-, that I g-guess I forgot! And, oh, didn't I tell you already! I got lost, and there was nothing I could do "

He was bullshitting[1] again, so it looked like he didnt know.

Id asked him if he hadnt learned about this while living in the sanctuary, but what I meant was he shouldve known about this setting if hed played the game.

But if the answers like this

"Now, Im a bit tired, so shall we wrap this up?"

"Ah, thats right! I get it! I'll be back next time "

"Don't."

I lowered my voice and repeated my words so he could clearly understand me.

"Tarikan son of Lien. Whether youre defeated in the labyrinth or survive and make a fortune, or even if things go well and you can afford to repay the favour "

I closed in and grabbed him by the shoulder, and he flinched.

An awkward feeling passed through my fingertips, but I didnt let that stop me.

" Or for any other reason. Leave this room today, and never return to see me. If you understand what Im telling you, then answer me. Do you understand?"

" I understand."

After his confirmation, I semi-forcibly kicked him out of the room. Then I stretched out on the bed, pondering what Id just done.

My lips twisted into a smirk.

Huh, did he remind me of the past?'

A past when I, too, had desperately needed someone's help.

But even considering that

What a disgusting thing I've done.'

From a pragmatic point of view, itd been a foolish act that had no value.

From an emotional point of view, I couldve done much, much more if Id actually intended to help, instead of this anaemic level of support.

Neither were wrong.

I had neither the ruthlessness to completely step back from the line, nor the recklessness to cross over it.

So Id stopped right on the line Id drawn.

In the end, Im just being a hypocrite.'

I closed my eyes.

And thought.

No matter how hypocritical my actions were today

"Tarikan, live as long as you can."

This was the best that I could do.

And without money, I couldve never made the choice Id made today.

The next morning.

I visited the same Adventurers Guild branch Id visited yesterday.

Unfortunately, it was a different staff member who responded

"Five stars?"

The face of the female employee who checked my identification card underwent an instantaneous transformation, same as whatd happened yesterday, and she also responded very kindly.

What the hell?

Maybe the regional chief had done something to my identity card?

I was curious, so I asked, but couldn't get a definitive answer.

"Star? Oh my, did I say something like that?"

Well, rather they just plainly pretended not to know.

I didn't choose to dig deeper, either.

It had to be something like a password used only by the guild.

Something like being marked as a VIP, or to be temporarily given special treatment.

I was curious how exactly itd been marked, but

Either way, Im the one who benefits.'

It didnt matter if I was considered a VIP, or if it was a limited-edition special treatment.

The end result was the same, to receive a kinder response from the guild staff.

"This is a list of teams that meet the criteria you mentioned. Would you like to check them out? Sir adventurer?"

Same as yesterday, I again went through the recruiting announcements.

They were almost unchanged compared to yesterday, except for a few new teams being added.

Am I going to find a decent team today?'

While looking through the documents focusing on the newly added teams, I stopped my gaze at a specific part.

It was because I saw a familiar name.

[Third Floor Exploration Hikurod Murad]

Preferred Exploration Area: None, to be decided at a later meeting.Average rating: To be decided.Current personnel: 1 dwarf melee warrior/defender (7th rank)Recruitment: 4 (regardless of role, may vary depending on team composition)Equal distribution

Is the team leader called Hikurod Murad?'

The race was dwarf, too.

Could it really be the same guy

Is his original team disbanded?'

Whatever the reason, it wasnt a bad deal for me.

It was a bit odd that there weren't any members yet, but at least the team leader was fairly reliable.

I wondered what numbered item hed gotten at the Blood Citadel'.

I'll have to meet him once.'

I filled out a short application form and submitted it to the administrative officer, then left the building and headed along the road towards the business district.

Maybe tomorrow, or perhaps the day after tomorrow at the latest, a meeting would be arranged.

Then let's do some in-game purchases before then.'

I was certain.

This was definitely going to rank up there in terms of having fun, given my recent history.

Huh But have I ever had fun before?'

I decided not to worry about such trivialities.

Editor's Notes:

[1] (gura) comes from Japanese and used in Korean as a slang, meaning to lie or to exaggerate. Something youd use in a conversation between friends, or a close translation might be spinning a yarn.

[2] (lit. my nose is three lengths), indicating when your nose is running you dont have the time to worry about others.

Thanks to bananeeg for commissioning the chapter!