Surviving as a Trash Bard in a Game

The lake slowly changes its appearance.

The water ripples as if it has a will of its own. In the water, made transparent by the sunlight... the skeletal remains and equipment of someone else could be vaguely seen.

The thought that I could have ended up like that made me feel terrible.

I felt like I was going to throw up.

Physical attacks don't work, and it's an opponent that uses mental attacks. There's no way I can deal with it. The only way I can do my share is to support them from behind.

I am a bard.

I pick up my instrument. I check the strings of the lute.

A melody rings out.

But it wasn't beautiful. It's closer to a terrible cacophony.

The magic of bards is different from the magic of mages. Mages command and ask nature, make deals, and make contracts.

Then, what is the magic of bards?

The magic of bards is... I don't know. From the beginning, I don't know how a bard can play a melody that supports allies or hinders enemies.

I just happened to succeed once. Even then, it was done instinctively, intoxicated by the feeling of dancing in my fingers, not by intention.

I haven't even tried it once since then!

'...No, I can do it.'

Vague confidence surged. I can do it! If it's me!

Grab.

And then, someone suddenly grabbed my wrist.

I raised my head and looked at the face. Contrary to my expectations, it wasn't Skyler, but someone else.

'Propertius.'

The suspicious priest, who looked like Skyler's friend, kept holding my wrist and spoke softly.

"It's not necessary."

"...Yes?"

"Look."

Propertius pointed with his thick finger in the direction where Nisha was.

It was the place where I had witnessed the slime a little while ago.

And, the slime was not there.

No, to be precise... the things that were slime were lying on the ground, not moving.

Only Nisha could be seen, staring at the tip of her spear with a slightly unpleasant expression, as if the blue slime was stuck to it.

'The shape of the spear... it could be changed.'

The lake was clearly huge. The size of the slime was also huge in proportion to the lake.

It was by no means an opponent that could be dealt with in an instant. No matter how much Nisha is a platinum adventurer, there is a clear limit to the weapon called a spear.

"...How?"

"Skyler is a mage. And I'm a cleric?"

"Yes?"

"To explain, you must first understand how different the perspectives of mages and clerics are. May I borrow your time for a moment?"

Skyler was staring at me and Propertius with sharp eyes from a distance.

He seemed to be displeased with something.

I didn't do anything to offend him. Why is she looking at me like that? I really don't know.

Is he annoyed that I have such a weak mental state that I could be subjected to a mental attack? It's not like I wanted to be like this!

"He's jealous."

"Yes?"

"Whether your eyes have cast an unbreakable fascination on Skyler. Or whether his mind has become younger along with his body."

"Isn't it a misunderstanding?"

"Yes. Considering his usual personality, it's probably anger rather than jealousy. Anyway, shall we get back to the main point? About what that mage didn't explain properly."

"...Why do you assume that I don't know?"

"Because I overheard your conversation with Skyler."

He said that and smiled. There was a blade in his smile.

Should I be relieved that the blade hidden in the smile is not directed at us for now? Or should I tell Skyler that this person is a bit strange?

It wouldn't be too late to listen to the story first.

"Please explain."

"First of all, the reason I'm giving you information kindly is that you are also a holder of a divine body like us, and at the same time, you don't collect divine bodies."

"Can you be sure that I won't collect divine bodies?"

"Because you are too weak to attack other divine body holders."

Ugh, it means it's not my will, but someone else's.

Is the reason he's giving me information now just out of kindness? No, it just means that it's less dangerous for me to have the 'eye' than for someone else to have it.

"..."

"Surely that mage has explained about gods to you before."

"Yes."

"The god of storms has the Achilles tendon, the god of love has the eyes, the god of wisdom has the brain... did he say that each god has a divine body that they symbolize?"

"Yes."

"That's wrong."

From afar, Skyler, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, approached us as soon as Propertius finished speaking.

He looked slightly annoyed.

"Propertius, you're saying strange things."

"From a cleric's perspective, God is one and many at the same time."

"...Don't you know that it's more correct to explain with magic and science than with such ambiguous doctrines?"

"How can the one and only God be many? The church has pondered this question for many years, and the answer they finally arrived at is this."

"Selina, you don't need to listen. Let's go. The request ended in vain anyway."

"Please don't interrupt me."

Propertius looked down at Skyler with a blank expression. Skyler frowned, but I could feel the strength in the hand holding my wrist gradually fading.

It seemed to mean that he didn't want to fight over such a useless thing.

It felt like, 'Yeah. Do whatever you want.'

Anyway, Propertius continued to explain to me.

The main point was how Nisha could slaughter the huge slime with a single blow. Somehow, the topic seems to have moved quite far from the main point.

"God is one. At the same time, many."

"Yes?"

"Think of a cube die. Let's say the die is God. The die 1 is God, and the die 6 is also God."

Only my intelligence has decreased, and my memory remained the same.

Thanks to this, I was able to recall the topic of the Trinity, which had been burning the internet for a while, and I could understand a little what Propertius was talking about.

"So... the god of love and the god of wisdom are the same as one side of the die?"

"That's right. It was this theory that held the divided church together."

"What does that have to do with Nisha killing the slime in one blow...?"

"Just as God has many sides, humans also have many sides. Therefore... there is a realm that only humans can reach."

And, the moment Propertius was about to say more.

Nisha suddenly appeared from behind and grabbed Propertius' shoulder tightly.

She was smiling.

"What are you talking about?"

"Ah, Nisha. I was explaining about you."

"About me?"

"To be precise, about the skill that cleared the slime before we even had to step in."

"I'll explain it myself."

"Yes."

Propertius took a step back, and Nisha, holding her now clean spear, excitedly began to explain.

With her index finger extended, she wore a triumphant smile, and her shoulders were raised as if they could pierce the sky.

'This person... is similar to me.'

Of course, it didn't mean that they were similar in strength or personality. It meant that they were similar in that they responded more positively to the gaze and attention of others... especially the kind where someone lower looks up to their higher self.

In short, I saw the seeds of a talent that was very suitable for becoming an attention seeker.

"Propertius explained all the basics, right? God is one and has many sides. Humans are the same. That kind of story."

"Yes."

"Good. Just as God can separate his body into many sides, humans can do the same."

"...Won't you die if you separate like that?"

"No, it's not that kind of physical separation. To be precise, it's a momentary revelation of something that a human has accumulated over many years of time and effort."

"I don't understand."

"I'm not talented at explaining, but there's no one who can explain it better than me, even if you call someone else."

Nisha scratched her face for a moment and made a troubled expression.

I still couldn't understand the words of Propertius and Nisha. What does it mean to emphasize and reveal one side of a person?

"Okay. I'll just show you once."

"Yes?"

"One side of a spear master."

With a roar, countless spears shot out from the void.

An unrealistic scene, more akin to magic than spearmanship, unfolded for a moment and then disappeared just as quickly.

Nothing remained where the spears had passed, and the forest, which had been intact until a moment ago, was now a mess of pierced trees and debris.

"Did you understand?"

-

[ Understanding - 15 or higher ]

[ 10 - 3]

[ Failure! ]

-

"No. I don't understand at all."

-

You have disappointed Nisha, who kindly showed you a demonstration.

You made her use a technique that strains her body twice in one day and showed no results. Congratulations. You are an idiot who will go down in history.

-

No matter how I think about it, the status window seems to hate me.

No, is there a person inside that thing, typing?

As time passed, we received our reward from the Adventurer's Association.

We submitted a part of the slime's body in a water bottle and collected the adventurer's tag from the skeletal corpse to prove the subjugation.

The reward was 10 denarions.

We divided it into 2, 2, 2, and 4.

I insisted that Nisha should receive it all, but she said, 'I have a lot of money anyway,' and shared the reward with us, looking like a saint.

And so, another sun appeared.

A day had passed.

"Let's depart for the capital soon. We've saved money, and I've replenished the scrolls."

"...Okay."

The time to leave was approaching.