This Barbarian Charges for Services

Camilla unleashed words that sounded half like laments toward Serena. Barkal glanced at the “rat” rogue, then asked Serena,

“Are you acquainted with those rats?”

At the term ‘rat’, Serena tilted her head for a moment, but soon seemed to understand and replied,

“Yes, yes… They’re members of the adventurer party I used to join.”

“Were you a rat as well?”

“Barkal, just because someone knows a rogue doesn’t mean they are a rat.”

Barkal still looked unconvinced.

“Aren’t you also acquainted with that rat? Are you a rat, too?”

“Of course not! I am a barbarian, the warrior of warriors!”

As Barkal continued, he suddenly let out a gasp, “Huh!”

“I understand now! As expected of you, Dmihtan, you are truly a sage!”

Maybe I was getting used to this ‘barbarian-level education’.

It felt like I was getting better at making Barkal understand.

So, what business does Serena’s former party have with us, anyway?

Judging by the fact that the ones I saw in the alley earlier were here too, it seems related to ‘Dark Shade’.

“Ahem.”

Camilla, who’d been speaking to Serena as if dumbfounded, now covered her mouth and cleared her throat, perhaps to air out the situation.

Wow.

What’s with those rings on her fingers.

Each one looks ridiculously expensive.

Some even seem to be on par with the ‘Iron Fortress Ring’.

How many “Dungeon God” adventurer parties does she have on her fingers right now?

“Do you have something to say?”

“I imagine you have a good guess as to what I’m here to talk about?”

Of course I could guess.

But things only get done when you say it out loud.

“Still, there are a lot of eyes here for a private conversation.”

With that, Camilla looked around. Adventurers who met her eyes hesitated for a moment and then looked away.

“I’d like to rent out this building for an hour—will this be enough?”

At her words, one of her colleagues standing by her side showed Hordi, the owner of the Bearded Cat Inn, three silver coins.

“Hmph! My inn might be cheap, but for this miserly sum…!”

As Hordi protested, Camilla unfurled her fingers. Her companion added two more silver coins to make five.

“You damned beggars! Get lost for an hour!”

He hadn’t survived as an adventurer and opened an inn for nothing. What a sales talent.

At Hordi’s shout, the other adventurers got up and left.

Should we step out, too?

“W-wait!”

As Barkal, Serena, and I prepared to leave after our meal, Camilla cried out in an anxious voice.

“You guys have to stay! What do you think I spent money renting out this shabby inn for?”

Shabby inn, she says, right in front of the owner. Such a lack of manners.

But Hordi didn’t seem to care at all, counting his silver coins instead.

“You just said with your own mouth that you were renting this place, didn’t you?”

“And?”

“We are barbarians who love the law. Since you rented the place, we—the outsiders—will leave.”

“What!?”

Camilla looked dumbfounded. She let out a few dry sighs, then pointed at Barkal.

“You law-lovers did that to another party member’s arm!”

“He meddled with a brother’s property!”

As Camilla pointed at herself, Barkal’s mood soured. I could feel his displeasure radiate between the bones of his helmet.

“Anyone who meddles with family, friends, or property must receive pain worthy of their deeds! That is the law!”

“What kind of law is that!?”

“It is the law of the Red Wolf Tribe!”

Barkal slapped his chest with confidence. Well, barbarian tribal law is still a kind of law.

Anyway, now that we had a private space, we should give them the room. Isn’t that what it means to love the law?

“T-then I’ll buy your time, too!”

Clink!

Camilla put her coin pouch on the table.

Seeing how easily she showed and dropped her purse, two things were clear.

First:

This friend, she’s loaded.

Second:

This friend, she’s a pushover.

“Our time is expensive.”

“What could possibly be expensive about the time of mere bronze-rank adventurers?”

“Did you come here to talk to mere cheaplings?”

In these cases, if you touch the other party’s pride, things go your way.

Don’t believe me? In all the web novels I’ve read, it always goes this way.

“T-that’s not it…”

As expected. All that reading is paying off now. “Knowledge is power” isn’t wrong at all, is it?

* * *

In the end, we decided to have a conversation with Camilla. Strictly speaking, not ‘we’, but just me.

“You’re the leader of ‘Dungeon God’, aren’t you? At first, when I heard a barbarian was the leader, I thought it was ridiculous, but now that I’ve talked to you, I think differently.”

So she meant for me to stay alone? As I wondered this, I looked at Barkal and Serena, and both gave awkward smiles.

“T-to be honest, I was expelled from that party, so it’s a little uncomfortable talking to them.”

And you, Barkal?

“I do not speak with rats! I leave it to you, Dmihtan! Sage of the Red Wolf Tribe!”

Are these guys really ditching me? I sighed, but there was nothing I could do.

I was getting paid anyway, and I’m the one who agreed to talk.

So I stayed to have a one-on-one conversation with Camilla.

The fee was 1 silver coin per minute.

“Even consulting a gold-rank adventurer would cost less than this…!”

Why are you telling me this? I folded my arms and waited silently, signaling for her to get to the point.

Her story was simple.

She was indeed the leader of “Dark Shade” and started talking again about joining “Dark Shade” and the “necromancer” who had sneaked into Iushil.

Although, the story was a little different from before.

“Ten gold coins if you capture him alive. Five if you bring the corpse.”

Camilla offered the bounty.

You really are spending money like water.

It raised a question. Why was she so desperate to hunt this necromancer?

Is it simply to eliminate an enemy of mankind? She didn’t look like a particularly just person.

It’s probably for revenge. Most people chasing necromancers are.

Though I wasn’t particularly curious. Still, something felt off.

If it were for vengeance, there’d be no need to capture him alive.

“Why must he live? Necromancers should be killed. That is enough.”

“As expected of a barbarian. I feel the same way.”

Tsk.

Camilla clicked her tongue.

“Our treasure. That necromancer bastard stole it.”

Hearing that, I understood why she wanted the necromancer alive.

It was to get back her belongings. I’d thought there was some special reason.

Is that possession so important? If she’s willing to offer ten gold coins, that’s huge.

Given that our party earns about five gold coins on average from a dungeon run, this was quite the reward.

“The necromancer hiding in Iushil should be weakened, having run into one of our members.”

According to her, he should even be easy to capture.

If I can just find him, I could easily make ten gold coins, right? Besides, I’m skilled at locating colleagues.

Necromancy Detection.

With this, I can sniff out traitors quickly.

“So? Doesn’t this sound like a good deal?”

Camilla had a self-satisfied smile, convinced she’d made a killer offer.

I also didn’t think it was a bad deal. Ten gold coins!

“Why are you so insistent on leaving this to us?”

The weird thing was, why was she so hung up on ‘Dungeon God’?

There are plenty of more famous, higher-ranked parties out there. So why us?

“I believe in potential. You guys made bronze rank in record time, right?”

That’s true. Can’t deny it. I feel my nose turning up a little.

“But there’s a condition.”

“What is it?”

“I want an advance payment.”

Contracts require mutual trust—that’s what advances are for, right? It’s no different here.

“Two gold coins upfront. After that, the rest depending on results.”

“… Dark Shade doesn’t scam people, but whether you can trust us is another question.”

“Good.”

Camilla nodded.

“I’ll give you the advance.”

True to her word, she produced two gold coins and handed them to me.

How refreshing.

“My colleagues told me barbarians are so eccentric, you can’t communicate with them.”

She glanced at her companions—the ones I’d seen in the alley.

“But I guess that isn’t the case.”

Camilla held out her hand.

I took it for a handshake and smiled, as if I’d already caught the necromancer.

But I felt a little guilty inside.

I had no intention of catching the necromancer.

No matter how weakened, a necromancer is still dangerous.

He could use all sorts of necromancy and dark magic, and who knows what the “god” he serves might do?

Recently, we’d even stumbled into Mortis’ domain, so the danger was burned into my bones.

So I made up my mind.

I’d take the advance and back out.

“I’m counting on you, Dungeon God party.”

Don’t say that—it makes me feel bad for no reason.

And with all this money, why are you so desperate? Whatever you’re looking for, wouldn’t it be easier to just buy another?

“What is it that you’re searching for?”

Out of curiosity, I asked. Camilla’s face grew serious.

“It’s an item bestowed by Archeion, God of Truth and Pursuit, to his devout follower.”

An item given by a god to a follower.

It’s like my ‘Blood-Colored Awl’, but it can’t be a divinity-grade item.

A god’s “divinity” is something you can count on one hand.

Most likely, this was just a blessed object.

Wait a second.

Archeion, the God of Truth and Pursuit?

The mention of that name made cold sweat trickle down my back.

Archeion is notoriously hard to believe in. Like the barbarians, you can’t gain his faith from birth.

His temples are extremely rare as well.

But true to his title as ‘God of Truth and Pursuit’, anything involving “searching” is his specialty.

Some of his items could even identify people with certain “classes.”

“… Is this item for finding necromancers?”

Camilla nodded.

“For a barbarian, you catch on quick. Yes, it tells me whether I’ve met a necromancer.”

An object that tells her if she’s met a necromancer. I let out a sigh internally.

I’ve met one myself.

If she gets it back and uses Archeion’s whatever, it’ll tell her I’m a necromancer, won’t it?

But I’m not a bad necromancer who worships evil gods like Mortis. I’m a good necromancer. Not that that’ll make a difference, right?

Hmm.

Damn.

————-= Clacky’s Corner ————-=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep