Barbarian’s Dark Fantasy Strategy Guide

Chapter 3: Strange Encounter （3）

Hojae Arik, the Lord of Windfall.

He was a shrewd man who rose from a mere merchant to the position of a Baron, and the ‘Arik Trading Company’ he led grew in scale day by day.

“He transformed Windfall, which was nothing but a barren wasteland, into the wealthiest town in the area. Not only that, but he also has the ambition to develop it into the best trading city in the Dunhelm Kingdom.”

The Guild Master’s mouth was full of praise for the Lord. While guiding Khalid to the Lord’s mansion, he kept talking about things Khalid didn’t even ask about.

The Lord of Windfall was a figure respected by the residents, to the point that even the usually taciturn Guild Master became a chatterbox.

“Please don’t make any mistakes.”

The Guild Master advised as they arrived at the mansion.

Khalid knocked on the office door, and a response came from inside.

-Come in.

Inside, a middle-aged man who appeared to be the Lord was seated, and beside him stood a thin man in a robe.

“My Lord, I have brought the mercenary who subjugated the ogre.”

The Guild Master bowed and greeted.

He also glanced at Khalid.

It seemed he wanted Khalid to introduce himself.

“Khalid.”

Khalid simply stated his name, making direct eye contact. The Guild Master and the thin man seemed momentarily flustered, but the Lord burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahahaha! Indeed, you have great spirit. Come now, don’t stand there stiffly and come sit down.”

Hojae offered him a seat opposite.

Having finished his guidance, the Guild Master left.

As Khalid sat facing Hojae, the thin man stood behind, silently observing Khalid’s appearance.

“I heard you crossed the Forbidden Mountains? I couldn’t believe it at first when I heard that a single mercenary defeated a Commander-level monster, but if you’re from the Volcanus Plateau, it makes a little more sense.”

“What did you call me for?”

Khalid’s curt speech continued to grate on the thin man’s nerves.

“You……! Even if you’re a barbarian, you’re too rude. Show proper respect to your Lord!”

“When you call someone a barbarian, aren’t you not expecting that kind of respect?”

“This……!”

Sparks flew between the two men’s eyes.

The Lord himself intervened.

“Whoa, calm down. I don’t like unnecessary formalities either. It’s just a bother. That’s the most annoying thing about becoming a noble. Let me be comfortable in my own home.”

“But my Lord……”

“Dominic. I said it’s alright.”

Dominic, Hojae’s advisor, bowed his head and stepped back. Hojae laughed heartily once more to lighten the mood.

“The reason I called for you is that I want to personally express my gratitude as the Lord of Windfall.”

“If it’s about the ogre, isn’t the bounty enough?”

“It’s not just that I’m grateful for. You took care of another problem for me.”

“Another problem?”

The only thing Khalid had done since coming to Windfall was subjugate the ogre.

He didn’t remember doing anything else to be thanked for.

“It’s about the blacksmith in this town. You really taught him a lesson.”

“Is that something you’re grateful for?”

“Very much so. Thanks to you, I got an excuse to kick out the blacksmith. A noble must be someone the commoners look up to, so if you harass them for no reason, you’ll eventually pay for it.”

‘That blacksmith must have behaved badly.’

Khalid had only taken care of his own business, but it turned out to be helpful to the Lord as well. However, he still wondered if it was something to be grateful for to the point of being invited.

“You may or may not have heard, but even though I look like this, I’m a former merchant, so I really hate those who don’t know business ethics. Whether they’re barbarians or whatever, anyone who tries to rip off customers doesn’t deserve to do business.”

“You seem a little different from the fenced-in people I’ve seen.”

“Fenced-in people? ……Ahahaha! I see. Do you call us fenced-in people beyond the mountains?”

“It’s the same as you calling us barbarians.”

Hojae burst into laughter and then returned to a rather serious expression.

“By the way, I shouldn’t really be laughing and joking like this right now. The reason I called for you is because I have a very urgent request.”

“A request?”

“Yes. The reason I didn’t go through the guild is because it’s a personal request.”

“Let’s hear it.”

The expression of gratitude was a pretext, and this was the real reason.

“There’s a problem in the neighboring village right now.”

“The neighboring village……”

“It’s a place called Stoneberry, a mining village a little ways from here.”

He vaguely remembered hearing about it at the inn.

It was said to be a mining town, but now it was nothing more than a declining village, almost a ghost town. While Windfall was growing, Stoneberry was already a town that had been completely drained.

“There are rumors of a rebellion happening there. The Lord was killed by the rebels, and the residents are divided into two factions, fighting each other.”

Windfall had been severely hit by the ogre recently and had no resources to support other villages.

It was understandable to hire mercenaries since they lacked troops, but it was a bit strange to ask Khalid alone to do such a thing.

“Are you asking me to suppress the rebellion?”

“No, no. I don’t care what happens to the rebels. What I want is a certain person in that village. I want you to bring her to this town before she’s in danger.”

“Her?”

“Her name is Melissa Smith. She’s the blacksmith of Stoneberry.”

“Blacksmith……”

Khalid had just heard that the blacksmith position in Windfall was vacant.

Now he could see Hojae’s intentions.

“So that’s it. You’re planning to take this opportunity to poach the blacksmith from the neighboring village.”

“That’s right. Stoneberry’s mine is no longer functional, they’ve lost their Lord, and the residents are divided. Even if the rebellion ends, it will be difficult to rebuild the village.”

The plan was to attract useful talent before the village completely collapsed.

As expected of a former merchant, his ability to seize opportunities was exceptional.

“What’s the reward?”

“I’ll offer you a gold coin this time as well.”

“What?”

Khalid couldn’t believe his ears.

Gold coins were not a currency that even nobles could spend so freely.

Offering such a large sum for simply finding someone was beyond common sense, even for Khalid, an outsider.

“Are you joking?”

“Of course not. It means she’s that important to me. She’s a descendant of a renowned master craftsman who was famous across the continent. She’s stubborn, so I haven’t been able to bring her here, but it might be possible now that the village is in chaos. You must bring her to me.”

An unexpected harvest. A simple task with an incredibly good reward. It was a little disappointing that it wasn’t a combat mission, but it was a perfect stepping stone to achieving the first goal he had set.

“I’ll try.”

“I’ve prepared a sturdy horse in the stable. You should be able to arrive within three days.”

Hojae had already made all the preparations, assuming Khalid would accept. After all, no mercenary could refuse such a reward.

As Khalid, who had accepted the request, stepped outside.

Suddenly, a loud shout rang out in his head.

『You damn bastard! You’re muting me?!』

“Ugh……!”

Khalid paused with his hand on the doorknob, and Hojae asked with a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“……It’s nothing.”

This guy, he hadn’t disappeared.

Khalid left the office, pressing his temple with one hand.

◈◈◈◈◈◈ ◈◈◈◈◈◈ ◈◈◈◈◈◈

『Wow! Run, run! Giddy up!』

The voice that had been spewing all sorts of irritation just moments ago was now cheering with delight. It felt like a child had been put on a horse. Khalid was certain.

‘It must be a demon.’

The ancestors said that when the heart is stained with darkness, a demon will eventually come looking for it.

Those who are seduced by the whispers of demons and sell their souls gain great power, but a corrupted soul can never be restored.

And if they even hand over their physical body, a ‘demon’ will descend.

Perhaps after killing the two mercenaries yesterday, his heart was stained with darkness, and because of that, the demon came looking for him.

‘This is troublesome.’

He needed to get rid of this demon before it consumed his soul. But he couldn’t think of a good way. It seemed that shouting as the ancestors did wouldn’t be enough to defeat it.

‘If I kill the demon and cleanse my heart again, it will disappear then.’

It would take some time, but since it wasn’t causing any immediate harm other than being noisy, he had no choice but to leave it alone until he found a way.

‘Be quiet.’

『Shut up! Just drive.』

‘……’

The impudent demon.

He would punish it properly soon.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

The cheerful sound of hooves.

Perhaps absorbed in the pleasant breeze, the demon didn’t complain or bother him for a while.

It said things like the ride was surprisingly comfortable.

That it was secretly thrilling.

Although it continued to babble on about things he couldn’t quite understand, it seemed to have released some of the pent-up frustration from being unable to speak all day.

After riding for about half a day like that.

Khalid gathered firewood for the campfire before nightfall.

『What, are you already preparing to camp?』

‘……’

『Come to think of it, the horse looks a bit tired. It seems to have weak stamina.』

‘You talk as if you’ve never seen a horse before.’

『It’s my first time riding one directly. I remember seeing them at the zoo when I was young.』

It wasn’t unusual to have a companion on a journey. Even Khalid, who was accustomed to being alone, had occasionally been relieved of boredom thanks to travelers who chatted beside him.

The rumors and information about various regions he heard from them were sometimes helpful to Khalid.

However, most of what this demon said was incomprehensible.

The strange thing was that whenever he heard unfamiliar words, unknown scenes flashed through his mind, vaguely helping him understand.

‘It’s like a hallucination……’

But the fact that he instinctively felt her words to be true also bewildered Khalid. He even began to think that perhaps it wasn’t a demon but some other being.

If he couldn’t get rid of it anyway, it wouldn’t be bad to have a proper conversation.

Khalid sat by the campfire, biting into dried meat, and asked.

‘So, what are you?’

『What? Yesterday you wouldn’t even listen to my story. Weren’t you not interested in me?』

‘I’m not particularly interested in your circumstances.’

『But you want to know what I am?』

‘So I can find a way to get you out.’

『Ah, I see. That’s what I want too, so please do that.』

‘Then tell me. In words I can understand.’

『Tsk. You’re really showing off as the homeowner.』

The demon grumbled, seemingly offended.

But it still chose words that Khalid could understand and explained briefly.

『I’m an ordinary human. I’m not ordinary now, but anyway, I’m not a demon like you think, so don’t worry.』

‘A human. Then do you have a name?’

『Of course I do. Song Baekhui.』

‘Song Beki? That’s an unusual name.’

『It’s not Song Beki, it’s Song, Baekhui. Song is the surname, Baekhui is the given name, okay?』

‘Then I can call you Becky.’

『Yes.』

Although the parts they understood each other were subtly different, communication wasn’t much of a problem.

‘So Becky, where did you come from? Do you have any idea why you’re stuck in my body?’

『I don’t know, not at all. I was just resting in my room like usual. When I opened my eyes, you were smashing someone’s head and splattering blood everywhere.』

‘Hmm, that time.’

Khalid recalled the time he killed Fang Kyle and Sharpshooter Bill.

『I won’t explain in detail where I came from. You wouldn’t understand even if you heard it. And you don’t like it much anyway. Just think of it as a country very far from here.』

‘Alright.’

His head throbbed when he heard about the unfamiliar language and culture she used.

He had no desire to know more deeply.

『Your name was Khalid, right?』

‘Yes.’

『Unlike you, I know quite a lot about this Pandora continent. But……』

Becky trailed off.

『……You’re a bit unfamiliar, to be honest.』

‘It’s only natural since we’ve only known each other for a day.’

『No, that’s true, but that’s not what I meant……』

She tried to explain something but stopped.

It was clear that he would refuse to hear about the game she enjoyed as a hobby, saying it was useless information.

『Then let me ask you something too.』

‘Go ahead.’

『The villagers said they saw you coming from beyond the Forbidden Mountains, is that true?』

‘Yes.’

『Didn’t you originally live in the Empire? When did you migrate beyond the mountains?』

‘You’re mistaken about something. We’ve lived in our ancestors’ land from the beginning. It’s true that as time passed, many people sought refuge in the Empire, but at first, everyone lived on the Volcanus Plateau.’

『Oh, really? That’s a little different from what I know. What’s the name of your tribe?』

‘The Thunder Axe Tribe.’

『Thunder Axe……?』

This was also a name she was hearing for the first time.

『Then what are you doing here now? Did you come to seek refuge in the Empire too?』

‘No way.’

『Aha. You came to catch the Great Demon?』

Becky asked as if she knew everything, but Khalid’s answer was unexpected.

‘I came to behead the Emperor.’

『What, the Emperor?!』

Becky was flustered.

She had been surprised many times since coming to this world, but this was the most surprising of all.

‘Why. Do you think it’s impossible?’

『No, it’s not about whether it’s impossible or not……』

（This isn’t that kind of game?）