Surviving as a Trash Bard in a Game

The carriage was as silent as the deepening night.

Moonlight faintly seeped through the dusky window, and Skyler, as usual, was fast asleep despite the unfamiliar presence.

I moved silently like a thief, wrapping the milk and bread in paper and placing them in my bag. The warmth of the still-warm milk lingered on my fingertips, a temptation I had to resist.

"...You’re late."

I thought I hadn't been caught, but it seemed I was mistaken. No, I was definitely caught.

Skyler spoke to me in a low voice.

I was scrambling to think of an excuse when I realized Skyler's words didn't continue. That's right. He was talking in his sleep.

'…What a relief.'

Not wanting to wake a sleeping person, I tried my best to move without making a rustling sound, and finally managed to lie down on the floor of the carriage.

The coachman in the driver's seat was still awake, but he was as quiet as if he were absent.

Is he on night watch?

"Now, it's too late now. It's already too late to get out..."

Skyler still had his eyes closed. The sight of him lost in sleep, frowning and speaking words I didn't know, was a little unsettling.

It was a sight I had never seen in all our time together.

I always went to bed first, and he always woke up first. Come to think of it, this was only the second time I'd seen Skyler in such a defenseless state.

The first time, of course, was when he lost consciousness right after teleporting.

I became a little intrigued. I might be accused of having a bad habit. But I was curious. Why were Skyler's dreams so troubled?

I moved a little closer and listened to his murmurs.

"I didn't want you to die."

…What does that mean?

No matter how much I thought about it, no answer came. The only thing I could figure out was that someone Skyler had lost always appeared in his dreams.

It's a common story for a loved one to appear in your dreams after they die.

But it's not common for that loved one to appear every night. Nor is it common for the moment of their death to repeat itself every night.

If such things were common, it would surely be a terrible world.

How much time passed like that?

I realized that the people in Skyler's dreams were not just one person.

"You, and you, and even you. Everyone is gone, and only I remain. Now, including me, there are not even ten of us left from the old exploration party."

—It was too detailed.

As if someone was intentionally showing me Skyler's vulnerable side. Skyler's sleep-talking was too detailed, too long and calm to be dismissed as mere sleep-talking.

Yes. It felt somewhat artificial, induced.

I had definitely felt this way before.

'…It's a similar feeling to when I chose an option from the status window.'

My body felt a little cold. But even so, I moved away from Skyler.

It's never good to secretly eavesdrop on someone else's secrets. Especially if I was the one who made him speak that secret, made him remember it…

I closed my eyes and shut my ears.

Only after a long time had passed could I fall asleep.

-

1. [ You cannot wake up. ]

2. [ You cannot wake up. ]

3. [ You cannot wake up. ]

.

.

.

99. [ You cannot wake up. ]

-

And, as I fell asleep, I faced a blue window in a dark, dim room.

***

As dawn approached, Skyler opened his eyes.

In the faint morning light, his gaze searched his surroundings.

Selina was fast asleep in the corner with her back turned. Only her breathing, a quiet sign of life, echoed. Skyler let out a silent sigh.

'So she came in late yesterday after all.'

Despite his insistence, it seemed she had failed to manage her condition.

With a sigh, Skyler decided to postpone the schedule until tomorrow. He could simply pay the coachman extra.

Adding an unplanned visit to the Adventurer's Guild to his schedule, he briefly considered waking Selina. But waking someone exhausted from fatigue was not a wise choice.

Though he appeared to be a cold-hearted mage on the outside, he cared for others more than one might think.

'Especially considering recent events...'

She might think she was hiding it, but having shown him the sight of her spitting up blood twice, it was already impossible to conceal.

In Skyler's mind, Selina's image had already settled as a frail and unlucky bard with a peculiar temperament. Only one of those assessments was close to the truth, but who could know that?

'Let's quickly finish a worthwhile quest at the guild and make up for the money.'

Skyler set off towards the guild.

As soon as he opened the guild door, Skyler encountered a familiar face. It took no time to recognize him. A face impossible to forget, the catalyst of his first encounter with Selina.

When he and Selina first met, thanks to him… well, it might be a stretch to say thanks, but he did manage to make a good first impression.

"Haroon."

"It's been a while. More importantly, where's the bard?"

"…Did you meet her?"

"Yes. We met yesterday. Didn't you come after hearing about it?"

"Unfortunately, I haven't heard anything. It's already 11 o'clock, and she's still sleeping."

"Well, maybe you had a reunion after a long time?"

"There's time for that. But wouldn't there be a more valuable activity than just sitting around and chatting? For example…"

"I knew you were a mage, always obsessed with efficiency. Alright. I'll join you for one quest."

"I like how quick you are."

There were no quests on the board, but that was no problem.

A word to the receptionist, and they would find a quest from somewhere and post it.

Even in a peaceful village known as a resort, there were always those in need of an adventurer's help.

As the sun began to set, they completed their quest in the forest near the village.

It was just dealing with a few monsters, wild boars, and moles that were ravaging the crops.

The reward wasn't generous, but it was enough to be called a day's wage. They returned to the guild with satisfied steps.

In the dim hall of the guild, Haroon ordered ale and bread.

The beer in the glass could be judged by its color and foam alone. It was a crude drink that even praise would be flattery.

'…It can't be helped.'

This was the kind of thing one could get in a rural village. They should be grateful for even that. Skyler was about to lift his glass without a word of complaint.

Just as Skyler reached for the handle of his glass.

Thud.

Someone's hand grabbed Skyler's glass.

"Haroon, what are you doing?"

"You're not of age."

In truth, Skyler was an adult.

There was a long story behind his childlike appearance.

But it was not a story he could tell others. In the end, all he could do was glare sharply at Haroon.

"Ha…"

"Drink when you're older, kid."

"My adventurer career is longer than yours."

"Yeah, yeah. Alright. This is confiscated."

"You should have said something when ordering!"

"Then there would have been only one drink."

Haroon grinned and emptied his own glass in one gulp, then pulled Skyler's glass towards himself.

Skyler had thought Haroon was a pretty decent guy up until now.

Although it was strange that he flirted with Selina as soon as he met her, he had thought Haroon was a decent adventurer after working together on a quest near the Forest of Songs.

But now, that image was shattered, replaced by the sight of a pathetic adult.

Night deepened.

The sky, which had exposed its bare skin during the day, now wore black silk adorned with jewels. The moon hid behind dark clouds. Only then did Skyler remember the one left alone in the carriage.

Hurrying to the carriage, he encountered the coachman, still wide awake with sparkling eyes.

After a brief nod, Skyler turned to the back of the carriage and froze.

And what Skyler saw was Selina, still lost in sleep, not yet awake. This was clearly abnormal.

"Selina?"

He carefully placed a hand on her shoulder.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind. An obsessive thought that he must not harm her. This feeling, as if forcibly injected by someone—

No, that was not the most important thing right now.

Why couldn't she wake up?

Was there a way to wake her?

What was the reason for her being in this state?

The answers were hidden in the darkness, unseen.

In the end, all he could do was wait.