Barbarian in a Failed Game

Chapter 041. The Border Town (1)

Suddenly losing both the city’s private soldiers and the market had thrown Picard into considerable turmoil.

Seemingly due to the strong influence exerted by Count Emil, rampant crime didn’t immediately ensue, but it seemed only a matter of time.

Khan, essentially the main instigator of this chaos, acted as if it were none of his concern, and his companions agreed, not wanting to get involved in needless disputes. Thus, they left Picard without any issues.

Before heading north, they made use of Maya’s identity in the last city they could visit.

“It turns out this has its uses after all. Should we call it an identity card instead of talking to the branch manager?”

“……”

Maya, the branch manager of the Wagner Mercenary Guild in the area and one of the hands of the Argon Kingdom’s overall branch manager.

As long as there was a guild branch, even a small one, her mercenary badge essentially served as an all-access pass.

Moreover, since the guild provided accommodation, they considered just carrying her around for her identity card’s purpose.

“There’s rampant talk that Wagner has sent a message to the royal family. Likely, they made the first move before the other side could, probably hoping to gain as much advantage as possible.”

While comfortably residing in the lodging gained through the human identity card, Maya, having darted around with the guild’s employees, brought news of Wagner.

Seems like leaving Wagner behind bothered Khan a bit? Watching Maya busily move around as if sparks had landed on her, Khan couldn’t help but smirk.

“They’ll handle it. Preferably, it ends in them being screwed over. Though, since the count bowed first, that might be difficult.”

“That sounds about right.”

Maya nodded in agreement.

The dwarf had left for Ermon before the party. It was a natural step for the count to bow to the royal family upon this late realization.

‘The situation in the western kingdom is bound to change significantly.’

Perhaps the surroundings of Nordic might emerge as a new center for mercenary activities instead of Wagner.

If that happened, the exploration of Necker Mountain and the further Western Great Mountains might not be such a far-fetched idea after all.

“Ahem. Sorry to interrupt the constructive conversation,”

“What is it, Jego?”

“It’s not Jego… Ah, never mind. The fact is, I’ve somehow ended up here with you… Strictly speaking, I’m not exactly part of your group, am I? Just got caught up in the flow and wound up in various situations….”

Diego, with his eyes rolling, somehow looked terrified.

And he had every reason to be.

Khan had saved his life and brought him along to Wagner, and then he had ended up in a deadly situation in the Quivering Forest without any way out.

But, in the end, Khan solved all the problems, and just by being there, he got modified equipment from the dwarf.

“So… I was thinking, maybe it’s time for me to split off here.”

Bringing up leaving in such a situation felt shameless to him. Wasn’t it like saying he’d just wipe his mouth and run after receiving benefits?

However, for Diego, it was a truly earnest wish.

Being part of a group that treated a knight like a child, an uncivilized band. No matter how he thought about it, he didn’t seem to fit in, being a mere mediocre swordsman.

“I’m not ungrateful. I’ll pay for the gear through the guild to you….”

“Who said anything about keeping you? If you want to go, just go.”

“Eh? Can I really?”

Khan couldn’t help but let out a incredulous chuckle at Diego’s questioning if he was serious. How on earth did he see me, he wondered.

“What, did you think I’d drag you around until you’re almost dead? You’re on your own now. As for the equipment cost… sort that out yourself, too.”

In truth, he could have pressed for the money if he really wanted to, but the thought of going through the hassle hardly seemed worth it.

Besides, Khan wasn’t one to prefer moving in groups.

‘There’s no point in dragging someone around who wouldn’t be of any help.’

“Still, you’ve had a tough time. If I were to give you one piece of advice, it would be to stay away from Nordic for a while. The city’s a bit chaotic.”

“…I’m curious about the reason, but it feels like knowing too much could bring trouble. I’d rather just go. I should find some odd jobs in the south for the time being.”

“That’s the spirit. Take care.”

With words of thanks, Diego left the lodging county in the morning, adding that he would keep them posted if he hears any interesting news from the south.

It was the day after Diego left that Khan and his party also departed.

“From here, there are no towns or estates to stop by and rest, which means we’ll have to camp outdoors for a while. Normally, we would set up a watch rotation to protect against frequent monster attacks, and designate fighters each day to ensure everyone gets enough rest. That’s the usual way of doing things, but…”

Boom!

Ron shook his head, bemused, witnessing Khan effortlessly take down a massive wolf monster with a single axe strike.

Setting aside the struggles normal mercenaries would go through just to catch one of these monsters, it seemed unlikely they’d face much trouble with monsters as long as Khan was around.

“In the case of our party, it seems all we need to do is to find the right path. If everything goes well, we should reach Border Town within ten days. We just have to endure till then.”

“Border Town? That’s an unusual name.”

“Well, it is. It was given that name for convenience since there wasn’t anything else to call it. It’s not managed by any kind of kingdom or city administrator.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It originally started as a mere campsite for mercenaries, but it grew as more people came together, eventually becoming what it is now. There’s a person managing the place, though…”

Ron added that this person was a retired mercenary who, without anyone asking him to, took it upon himself to manage the security of the area.

His role was crucial in making Border Town an essential stopover between the west and the north.

“He sounds like a good person. Technically, the country could have just taken over, but he chose to help out instead, right?”

“Hmm… That’s true. I heard rumors that he declined a title offered to him. Whether that’s true or not is something only he would know.”

“There was indeed such an offer. I remember a senior from the guild mentioning it.”

Maya interjected, confirming the rumor.

“I heard the guild leader was quite troubled by it at the time. Accepting nobility would have made it quite difficult for the guild if the retired mercenary…now referred to as the town chief, went under a noble.”

“Is that so? Regardless, to think they offered him a title…”

Something dawned on Ron as he grimaced, recalling the information.

Khan, noticing Ron’s meaningful look, queried if there was a problem, to which Ron shook his head, indicating it was nothing.

“Boss here will probably make the right call. I wouldn’t want to bias you with my chatter.”

“Is it about that town chief?”

“…Uh-huh. That’s right. I’d rather not say more. Like I said before, it’s better for you to see and judge for yourself.”

It was rare for Ron, who wouldn’t usually be so stubborn except when arguing that his name was Ron Ironhammer, to close up like this.

Seeing him so resolutely silent hinted that there might indeed be something to this town chief character.

“You’ll see later.”

Khan wasn’t particularly curious, so the topic about the town chief faded away without conclusion.

After that, only conversations between the curious Jan asking Ron various questions continued. Mayana, who still hadn’t blended in with the group, and Khan, who had no interest in small talk in the first place, quietly moved forward.

And not many days passed before hiring Ron as their guide proved to be an excellent decision.

Due to the scarce population, they only encountered solitary wanderers or small groups of beasts, despite being on roads where more beasts should have been. They were avoiding truly dangerous beast territories by nimbly navigating around them.

Moreover, Ron’s extensive knowledge of wild food, combined with his cooking skills, meant they never went hungry, even after their preserved food supplies ran low.

“If you live off the land for over twenty years, you’ll all end up like this.”

He humbled himself, saying his skill was nothing special, but the fact that he had been a mercenary for over twenty years was indeed an impressive feat.

Even more so because he was a mere human, not someone with superhuman strength like Khan.

“Whether he survived to develop his skills, or he survived because of his skills, is unclear…”

In any case, there was no denying that he was an invaluable asset to the group.

“In the northern regions or inside the North, this kind of skill is useless. It’s places where people are more dangerous than beasts. The land is barren, making it hard to procure anything on-site.”

“That area is really the worst. The land, the people, the beasts. Everything.”

Khan frowned, mumbling as if to chide Ron’s words. Memories of the terrible experiences he had in the North resurfaced.

Whether it was the barren land that was the problem, or the genes of the people living there.

The so-called ‘Northerners’ tended to have a particularly strong individualistic streak, even more pronounced than in the rest of Midland.

It’s not just about solving one’s own problems; if someone is in trouble, they scramble to take advantage in any way possible. It was almost akin to Harlem, if one were to compare it to a place on Earth.

In other regions, what would be considered thieves or bandits often formed militias, and in the North, it was common for nobles to openly encourage or engage in banditry.

“Don’t act naive there. Especially mages, they’ll see you as easy targets.”

“Me, a mage? Why…?”

Jan, unable to comprehend, widened his eyes. The notion that a mage would be considered an easy target was hard for him to grasp, having received better treatment than many nobles.

“The wandering mages are mostly naive about the secular world. Most of them are arrogant due to being mages and often act recklessly. There’s a saying in the mercenary world that after barbarian, they are the easiest to deceive.”

“Barbarians being second… But you seem tough to fool.”

“Ah, but our Khan is different from other barbarian. Usually, those known as barbarian are the ones with nothing but fighting in their minds…”

Khan raised a finger to Ron’s lips, silencing him.

As Ron defensively covered the back of his head, bracing for another hit, Khan interjected.

“Something’s coming.”

“What’s coming?”

Before Ron could finish his question, a faint noise reached his ears, soon growing loud enough for the entire group to hear.

Thudding rapidly…

Ron’s expression hardened.

With the already unsettling reputation of the North being discussed, the arrival of numerous horsemen heading directly towards them was an ominous sign.

“A rather warm welcome.”

And Khan, who was the only one to immediately recognize their identity, smiled as if seeing a familiar aspect of his once-homeland.

It was the emergence of bandits, a notorious hallmark of the North, rarely seen in other parts of the kingdom.