Surviving as a Useless Bard in a Game

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The silence inside the rattling wagon didn’t last long.

Every time the atmosphere grew heavy, Selina, who had her own guilty conscience, hurriedly brought up a new topic.

Due to an unwanted drowsiness, our journey to Regan had been delayed, causing her to cautiously glance at Skylar.

Wizards, by nature, were those who delicately handled the threads of time and space, rules and promises.

Their plans followed the same intricate pattern.

Even if Skylar had lost his heart and become a half-wizard, his essence hadn’t changed.

Since Selina had woken up, his expression bore a peculiar light, and Selina’s interpretation of it as anger wasn’t entirely off; it was merely a different kind of anger.

“Where is the next city?”

“It would be best to head down along the coast.”

Skylar’s response was as cold as winter frost.

He was clearly showing, “I’m angry.”

Trying to appear unaffected, I replied to his words.

“Really?”

“There’s a route straight down from the northern region, but the roads aren’t maintained, and there aren’t any major cities to stop at.”

“Why?”

“Cities near the coast or water sources naturally prosper; it’s common sense.”

“Are you angry?”

“No. Have I had any reason to be angry lately?”

Skylar’s words were as sharp as icicles, and his furrowed brow seemed to challenge me.

“No, you’re definitely angry! There’ve been enough reasons to be angry lately!”

He hadn’t even answered my initial question and was just rambling on about roads and logic.

If he was upset, he could just say he was mad. Honestly, this tense atmosphere felt worse than just yelling it out. I didn’t choose to sleep!

…Even if I thought like this, if Skylar were to ask, “Then why did you sleep?” I wouldn’t have a good argument to make.

“Well, I could honestly say it was because of the status window… but I’d end up being treated like a psycho. I do know about narcolepsy, but I’ve never slept that long before.”

What would happen if I suddenly fell into an unending slumber in this medieval setting, or said I was cursed by something unseen, or claimed to see strange things?

Fortunately, this world wasn’t simply a medieval one; thus, being accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake wasn’t a fate I faced.

Most things witches could do were things alchemists or wizards were also capable of. After all, the term ‘witch’ merely referred to a female wizard.

Let’s rephrase the question a bit.

What would happen if I claimed to see strange things in a medieval fantasy world? Something special that others couldn’t see.

The answer would likely be that I’d be dragged to the Mage Tower as a test subject.

“Just look at the case Skylar mentioned in passing; that place is clearly a criminal organization. How on earth does that still exist?”

If someone asked whether the Mage Tower existed in the previous worlds, the answer would be yes; it certainly did.

However, the Mage Tower Skylar referred to now seemed to be a different entity than that of the past.

While the old Mage Tower was a pure sanctuary of research and scholarship, the new one had become a beast engulfed in war and politics, shamelessly committing sins.

“It would be best to hear both sides, but honestly, I don’t think Skylar would lie.”

I stared at Skylar, who sat there silently, lost in thought.

Feeling my gaze, he turned his head and met my eyes.

“…The scroll has been torn again.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s gone back to pink.”

Could the things I saw in my dreams have influenced the reality of his eyes? I couldn’t be sure if what I saw in that dream was the truth, but the influence seemed to have seeped into reality.

“…I think it’ll be okay.”

“We’ve been traveling through towns that are basically rural. We need to be careful as we get closer to Regan.”

“Why?”

“I think I mentioned before about the forces targeting bodies, didn’t I?”

“Oh, right.”

“In big cities, they typically have both the Mage Tower and the Church. This city only has the Mage Tower…”

“…What did you say?”

“Huh?”

“No, the part you said just now.”

“In big cities, they have both the Mage Tower and the Church…”

“No, what came after that.”

“This city only has the Mage Tower.”

“Why are we going to a city with a Mage Tower?!”

The Mage Tower isn’t just a place that abducts people; it’s an organization that secretly conducts human experimentation. One must be cautious when going near the Mage Tower if one has a body. If caught by the Mage Tower, it’s best to take one’s own life.

After throwing out such spine-chilling warnings, now they’re saying we’re heading to a city with a Mage Tower?!

Are they trying to kill me? Or have they finally decided to abandon our journey and sell me off to the Mage Tower?

It’s true; of all the people around, I was the only one who felt some sort of camaraderie, and honestly, I had just been dragged around on this adventure by Skylar.

Aside from the fact that our ultimate destination is Regan, I honestly didn’t know much about Skylar’s real objective.

I don’t even understand why they’re helping me, or why we’re traveling together, or why every time they use magic, there’s an image of ‘grown-up Skylar’! I know nothing!

“Even if you look at me with that expression, nothing particularly different will happen.”

“You said the Mage Tower is a terrifying place!”

“No, I never said the Mage Tower was an organization in the first place.”

“…Huh?”

“The Mage Tower originally operated by establishing branches for each school based on the main tower. Nowadays, each school has split and declared independence because their ideologies differ.”

“What does that mean?”

“Let’s apologize for a second. I kinda forgot to explain because I temporarily overlooked the fact that you’re lacking in basic common sense.”

“Hey.”

“Selina, you should stop rolling power in your eyes just because you’re a little angry.”

Oops.

Unknowingly.

I slowly released the gathered power in my eyes and retrieved it back into my body.

Skylar sighed deeply and continued his explanation.

No matter how foolish I felt I had been, was it really worthy of such a heavy sigh?

Just because my body had turned female, did that mean my thoughts would change to be feminine as well? It was irritatingly annoying over trivial things. Honestly… I just wanted to be angry for no reason.

Wait, in this day and age of equality, wouldn’t this thought be toxic?

‘…Wait a moment.’

There seemed to be something nagging at me. I hoped it wouldn’t be what I feared, but no other thought came to mind.

*

On the road to the city adorned with windmills and tulips, I was facing an even more pressing issue.

–
This city…

–
The status window popped up, but I ignored it.

Skylar was excitedly explaining why the Mage Tower we were about to visit was safe, but most of his explanations weren’t even registering in my ears.

Because, right now, something more important was at hand.

After jabbering away for a while, Skylar seemed to feel something was off since I hadn’t replied, so he paused to look at me.

Finally, when Skylar noticed my pale complexion and asked if I was okay, I could no longer maintain my composure.

I had hidden it, but some things in this world can’t be hidden. Eventually, I got asked one question by Skylar.

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

“…What’s wrong?”

“I feel like I’m carsick.”

“You’ve taken a wagon before, and you’ve never gotten carsick.”

My stomach churned, and I felt irritated even at the smallest conversations. I wanted to question why Skylar was digging into me so much.

But, that made no sense.

Right. There’s no reason. No logic behind it; I just can’t control my emotions right now.

It feels different from when my intelligence waned because of the status window. And I know exactly why I’m feeling this way.

But I wish it weren’t so! Please!

“Skylar.”

“Yes?”

“How about once we arrive, we just secure a place to stay and rest for the day?”

“…Just one room.”

“No, two rooms.”

“Fine, I understand.”

His worried gaze unexpectedly made my heart flutter.

It felt different from simple interest.

For a moment, I thought I wanted to see that worried look a little longer, but I quickly shook my head in embarrassment.

Even if it was for just a moment, I’d wonder if by pretending to be hurt, I could keep getting that look indefinitely—such a pitiful thought crossed my mind.

How embarrassing.

Suddenly shaking my head side to side made Skylar look at me strangely.

His expression lost a bit of the worry. I felt a little disappointed. My heart ached.

A faint power swirled in my eyes. Skylar’s figure overlapped with that of the ‘grown-up Skylar’ I had seen before. …An annoyingly handsome face.

I dispersed the magic.

.

.

.

Time passed by, and I threw myself straight onto the bed in my room.

The sky had already darkened.

I felt something leaving my body. It was similar to the feeling of wetting the bed when I was four. But I was an adult now.

With a fearful heart, I slowly took off my clothes and tidied myself.

As expected, my bad predictions were always spot on.

The truth I faced in my room proved that my body was ‘complete’ as a ‘woman.’

With no spare clothes… what on earth was going on?

“I’m losing it.”

I felt a slight scent of blood in my room. While there was no smell emanating from my body, it seemed unavoidable that some came from outside of it.

I had heard that the bare minimum correction of TS was a cute girl without accumulated waste.

Knock knock.

Someone knocked at my room’s door. It was Skylar’s presence.