BXBX NOVEL Chapter 2 – The Barbarian of the White Snowfield (2)
Chapter 2 – The Barbarian of the White Snowfield (2)
Chapter 2 -The Barbarian of the White Snowfield (2)
The fluent, dialect-free, and surprisingly neat common tongue struck their ears.
They were so flustered that they couldn’t answer.
The barbarian glanced behind them.
There were a considerable number of carriages.
Eight in total.
“Merchants?”
“Y-yes.”
“You’re taking a dangerous route by crossing the snowfield on purpose.”
A deep voice rang out.
The mercenaries hesitated with their swords drawn.
They had thought it was a monster, but what appeared was a barbarian they had only heard of in legends.
It was already hard to wrap their heads around, but he was also having a very fluent conversation.
The barbarian looked at the mercenaries’ uniforms and opened his mouth again.
“You seem to be mercenaries protecting merchants.”
“…Yes.”
Merchant and mercenary.
Concepts that anyone living a normal life would know.
But the other was a barbarian.
A legendary being who lived in this snowfield.
And that being understood those concepts.
“I recommend you go back, but I guess you don’t have that in mind.”
The barbarian stroked his chin.
A tense silence hangs in the air.
And then, as if he had made up his mind, the barbarian raises his finger.
“You must have your employer in that carriage, right?”
The tip of his finger pointed towards a neat yellow carriage.
“I’d like to be hired too.”
“…What?”
“Is it hard to understand? I mean I’ll help you cross the snowfield.”
“I understand what you mean.”
The legendary barbarian, speaking fluently, suddenly makes a request.
It was hard to keep up with the situation.
The leader of the mercenaries barely managed to come to his senses.
“…You don’t mean to be hostile, do you?”
“If I did, I would have killed you all.”
“I see.”
The leader nodded at the languid words.
He approached the carriage and knocked on the door.
“Did you hear that?”
“Yes.”
A calm voice rang out.
Inside the carriage, the old man was fumbling around with a white face.
“W-what is this…”
“He over there wants to hire himself out to you. What do you think?”
“…”
The young woman closes her eyes for a moment and asks.
“If we fight, what do you think will happen?”
“…Personally, I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“I see.”
The young woman opened her eyes.
“Tell him we accept.”
“Yes.”
The leader stepped forward.
“Your request has been approved.”
“That’s good news.”
The barbarian smiled satisfactorily and approached them.
The mercenaries flinched back in fear.
“Don’t be afraid. You’re just employees. Can’t I talk to my employer face to face?”
“…What if you do something strange?”
“Be careful.”
The barbarian replied leisurely and passed the leader.
The mercenaries belatedly approached and whispered.
“Captain. Is it okay to let him meet her like this?”
“The employer has agreed.”
“Even so, we are mercenaries. How can we stop him…”
“Stop him?”
The leader chuckled bitterly.
“That thing? You’re joking, right?”
The barbarian approached closer and closer.
Inside the carriage, the old man’s face was so white that he looked like he was about to faint.
“Oh, oh, young lady! What is this…”
“Calm down.”
Tap. Tap.
A knock sounded.
A polite knock that didn’t seem to fit the barbarian.
It was a very strange sensation.
“May I come in?”
“…Yes. Come in.”
Creak.
The door opens.
The young woman was instantly overwhelmed.
He wasn’t that big in itself.
Only about two heads taller than a strong man.
But it wasn’t his body.
He was wearing only a leather vest, so his skin was bare.
Every muscle twitched.
His muscles were more like a statue than a living creature.
A monster in human form.
That was the impression the young woman had.
“Ugh.”
The carriage was filled.
The old man retreated as far as he could.
“I hope you will calm down. I have no intention of hurting you.”
“…Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
The barbarian smiled.
His black eyes met the young woman’s.
“It’s quite warm in here. Even indoors, it must be difficult to maintain this level of warmth in this snowfield.”
“…It’s treated with magic.”
At that moment, a strange light flashed in the barbarian’s eyes.
“Magic. Your mysterious power, right? I understand that concept.”
“…Is that so.”
The woman was perplexed.
Her counterpart was a barbarian.
He possessed a physique that was nothing short of a symbol of savagery.
However, his vocabulary and speech were remarkably fluent and sophisticated.
It felt like dealing with a noble who had received a high education.
“I understand, but this place is dangerous. The chance of safely passing through with those mercenaries is very slim. So, I’ll protect your lives.”
“…What do you want in return?”
The woman’s mind raced.
Most likely, what the other party wanted was food with a high probability.
Alternatively, the likelihood of wanting cold weapons was high.
Then, how much could she afford to pay?
She quickly pondered, but the words that came out of the barbarian’s mouth exceeded her expectations.
“It’s nothing remarkable. Quite simple, actually.”
The barbarian said lightly.
“Knowledge.”
“Pardon?”
“Knowledge beyond the snow. The information you possess. That’s what I want.”
“Knowledge and information…?”
“Yeah. There shouldn’t be any loss.”
Having said that, the barbarian chuckled.
At that moment, the woman almost wet herself without realizing it.
Even though it was a simple laughter, it felt like being thrown naked in front of a predator.
She pretended to be calm and slowly nodded her head.
“Alright, understood.”
“Good.”
The barbarian smiled satisfactorily.
“Then what is your name?”
“…I am Milena. Milena of the Akasha family.”
“I’m Ketal. Nice to meet you.”
* * *
‘This time, the conversation seems to flow.’
Ketal sighed with relief inwardly.
It had been a while since he had a conversational partner.
Most humans who saw him mostly panicked and thrust their blades.
He had tried to calm them down and engage in conversation, but most of them were halfway gone in madness and babbled evil, making it impossible to have a proper conversation.
This time, his counterpart’s calm demeanor pleased him greatly.
‘I didn’t want to go back, so I came to take a look around, but what luck.’
He couldn’t understand why people willingly entered such cursed places, but occasionally, people did come from outside.
As he couldn’t escape from this cursed wilderness, the information he obtained from those who came from outside was incredibly valuable.
Above all else.
‘It’s like feeling healed when conversing with civilized people after dealing with ignorant barbarians.’
Ketal asked Milena many questions.
About the situation outside.
About the relationships between nations.
About the state of the world.
The more questions he asked, the more confused Milena became as she answered.
These were not the kind of questions one would expect from a barbarian who was only known from legends in the snowfields.
“I see.”
Ketal nodded in response to Milena’s answer.
“So the outside world isn’t exactly peaceful either.”
“Yes. The Empire and the Kingdom are at war.”
The current world was in a state of war.
A powerful empire and the largest kingdom were fighting a war for the survival of their nations.
“The Empire is slowly pushing forward with its overwhelming numbers and naval power, but the Kingdom is not giving up easily. The Swordmaster and the Hero are defending the border.”
“Hero? Swordmaster?”
Interest lit up in Ketal’s eyes.
“Are they strong?”
“They are strong. Beyond human comprehension.”
“Some of them have even slain dragons.”
“Dragons, you say.”
Ketal muttered softly.
A Swordmaster and dragons.
How fantastical a name that was.
What would a real dragon look like?
An Eastern dragon or a Western dragon?
Would it be serpentine or reptilian?
“I would like to meet them.”
Fantasy existed beyond the snowfields.
How long had he been trapped here?
He couldn’t even remember anymore.
He had only been desperate to survive.
All he knew was that this was a snowfield in the middle of a fantasy world, and that he couldn’t escape.
Outside.
A fantasy world.
He really wanted to go out.
And then Milena felt a chill run down her spine.
‘…Surely not.’
Could this barbarian be planning to attack the outside world?
Was he asking about the strong and the information outside in order to do so?
That was her delusional thought.
Milena asked cautiously.
“You are… a barbarian, aren’t you?”
“I suppose you could say that. From your expressions, it seems you know of my existence.”
“Yes. There are legends.”
“Legends?”
Milena told him about the legends she knew.
Ketal chuckled when he heard the story.
“So that’s how the story goes. The emperor. Was that madman the emperor?”
‘I thought he was just a lunatic.’
“Yes?”
“No. No.”
Ketal shook his head.
“Your legends are probably right. There have been others like that before.”
“I-is that so?”
She received the answer that the legend was true from the legendary being himself.
Awe filled Milena’s eyes.
She was talking to a legend right now.
Surprised by that fact, she missed one thing in Ketal’s words.
He spoke as if he had experienced the stories of ancient legends firsthand.
As the conversation progressed, Milena’s guard against Ketal gradually diminished.
She began to ask questions little by little.
“You… seem to know our language and knowledge.”
“Many people passed through here a long time ago. They were all dying, buried in the snow. I learned in exchange for protecting them. I’m not sure if they made it back safely.”
“They probably didn’t.”
If they had returned, news about the barbarians would have spread.
“That’s unfortunate.”
“But…”
That alone didn’t explain the barbarian’s fluent vocabulary and knowledge.
His knowledge seemed exceptional to the point where it couldn’t be reached without making an effort.
After a moment of silence, Ketal asked.
“Are you transporting weapons?”
“Oh. Yes. How did you…?”
“I hear the sound of sharp iron from the carriages. It’s unmistakable.”
“I-Is that so.”
This was a white wilderness.
The cold was so intense that it was difficult to have a proper conversation.
Moreover, the carriages were completely sealed, so there was no way the sound could be heard outside.
“There seem to be quite a few carriages. Is there a reason to pass through this wilderness?”
“We need a lot of money.”
Milena bit her lip tightly.
Her family had been engaged in commerce for generations.
However, due to recent interference and machinations from the surroundings, they had incurred considerable debt.
The family itself was in a precarious situation.
It was a peddling venture to resolve that debt.
Ketal understood her words.
“Are you planning to sell weapons to the kingdom at war with the empire?”
“…What?”
Milena’s pupils dilated.
She hadn’t mentioned the destination.
“How did you know?”
“There are only two countries that would want that many weapons.”
Ketal said solemnly.
“The empire, or the kingdom. But the empire has already been mentioned as a buyer in bulk. It means there’s no problem with the supply of weapons. That leaves only one kingdom.”
“…”
“When demand exceeds supply, prices rise. I don’t know the value outside, but with the amount like this, it wouldn’t be insignificant. Seems like a worthwhile investment.”
Milena blinked rapidly.
“If you’re trying to pass through the white wilderness, it seems like there’s no other way to reach the kingdom, right? Is it because the empire shares a border with it?”
“…That’s correct.”
It was a perfect answer.
“Even so, trying to pass through here is a risky choice.”
Milena was so shocked that she couldn’t be more surprised.
“Who are you?”
Are you really a barbarian?
Just as she was about to ask that question, the carriage stopped.
Outside, the sound of a monster echoed.
“Uninvited guests have arrived.”
Ketal said quietly.