The Berserker’s Second Playthrough in the Game - Chapter 148



Only Krnovel

Episode 148 At least one friend like that (3)

Even after the aftereffects of the slap on the cheek had subsided, the emotional reunion did not take place.

“Uh-huh… … . Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu… … .”

Julia sat down on the dirt floor and cried out in sorrow. Duncan was at a loss and floundered, while Kadim remained silent, looking at the distant mountains.

“You, Julia, calm down. Just calm down for now… … Okay?

“Ughhhhh… … Am I going to calm down now, you bad person… … . Ughhhh… … Of course I thought you were dead… … Where did you go and now you come back without saying anything… … .”

“Well, it’s too long to explain… … . “Where is Dunsen, our son?”

“Ugh, uh, more, Duncan… … . That’s right, Duncan right now… … .”

Even before hearing the situation, Kadim realized the whole story.

“I guess my son ran away from town.”

“……yes?”

“I can hear small footsteps about ten minutes to the north. They’ve been calling out someone’s name for a while now, so it must be your son.”

Julia wiped away her tears and looked up. She was filled with a sense of alarm and suspicion as to who this man was, why he was accompanying her husband, and how he had heard the sound from so far away.

But Kadim didn’t particularly care about that attitude. It was a reaction he was used to seeing wherever he went.

“There don’t seem to be any demons or monsters around, but it’s not a good time for a child to be walking around alone. “Let’s put off reporting for later and look for the kid first, Duncan.”

“… … Oh, yes! Yes! That would be good, Your Majesty!”

Kadim and Duncan turned their backs on the puzzled Julia and hurried into the forest.

Tracking the child wasn’t difficult at all. Kadim’s senses have now become closer to omnidirectional magic rather than senses. Sensing the distant child as if it were right in front of him, he ran without a moment of hesitation.

Of course, it was not just Kadim who developed. It is now possible for the peddler to keep pace with his companions to some extent. Considering that he had thrown up a beating while chasing Kadim on the Golden Road, this was truly a huge improvement.

“Whoosh, whoosh…” … .”

“… … .”

Kadim thought it was a very fortunate thing. If he had found the child on his own, the child might have panicked and started a fight. If his father was with him, he wouldn’t have been so wary.

However, that was also a complacent idea.

“Dunsan! Dunsan! There you are! Daddy’s back!”

“Uh… … Ewwh …

I managed to find him in the depths of the forest, but he immediately ran away again.

“… … Huh?”

Duncan made a dumbfounded expression. Kadim frowned, then realized why the child had run away.

To a child, they probably looked like this. I thought he was going to die, but my father suddenly appeared in the middle of the night, and behind him was a barbarian who looked as vicious as a devil.

‘… … It’s good enough to run away again.’

There were also suspicious marks on the child’s body. Colorful scars covering the skin, they were definitely… … .

It was never a good thing to see my biological father returning after half a year. First, it was necessary to find out the circumstances. Kadim narrowed his eyes sharply at her.

“Duncan, I will go back and find the child by myself. “You go back first and comfort her wife.”

“……yes?!”

Duncan’s eyes wavered faintly. He was deeply troubled as to whether he should follow those words.

Nevertheless, I eventually agreed. Judging from past experiences, Kadim was definitely not the type of person to say something like that without a valid reason. also… … There was no sign of mental instability right now.

“… … Okay, I’ll be fine. I’ll go back first. “But, if you are in a situation where you need my help, please be sure to call me again.”

“… … .”

Kadim nodded slightly and resumed his pursuit.

The child was well-versed in geography and had a quick step, but of course, it was impossible for him to outrun the savage who was skilled at chasing. In less than a minute, the child was caught and grabbed by the scruff of the neck. He was hanging in the air, crying and snotting, and struggling like he was about to die.

“Aaaaaaa!! Haaaaaaa!! sorry!! Don’t eat it!! Don’t eat it!!

“… … don’t eat it “I have no hobby of eating people.”

Kadim then explained calmly. That person is really your father, he is someone your father knows well, and he came to pick you up at your request.

However, the child’s struggles did not subside, and he only realized that what he had just said was a typical line from a kidnapper.

“Ahh, hwaaaaah!! hwaaaaah!!”

“… … .”

Kadim’s taste was bitter. Anyway, dealing with children was very difficult. It’s very easy to deal with the human scum that fights… … .

So I decided to just give up on trying to coax and appease her and ask her questions.

“I just want to ask you one thing, kid. If you answer honestly, I will take you straight to your parents. Who on earth beat you up like that?”

“… … !”

The wounded child stopped struggling at those words. There was still no sign of an answer. Kadim hesitated a little longer and then changed the question to multiple choice.

“No, that’s enough. Are you an adult or a child? “Answer that first.”

After a long hesitation, the child finally opened his mouth.

“… … Uh, what would you do if you were an adult, and oh, what would you do if you were a child… … ?”

“If I were an adult, I would go and kill him right now.”

“… … !”

“If it’s a child, we’ll have to kill half of them or find another way.”

Croak, rustle, the sound of grasshoppers filling the sudden silence.

It was an extreme solution that a child could never have imagined even in his dreams. The child, who had stood still like a stone, was only able to flail around when the night wind brushed the back of his neck.

“Well, then, you can’t do that, sir… … . My, my father said that no matter how bad a friend is, we should not hit each other and should get along well… … .”

“… … .”

Oh yeah. Now that I think about it, he was the son of that moral peddler.

He felt sorry for the knight who had been chasing him, or he stabbed the wizard and felt guilty and couldn’t even eat… All the images of Duncan that he had seen so far flashed through his mind. But that was all in the past now. Kadim let out a small laugh inside.

“… … Your father’s thoughts may have changed a bit now. Rather, from what you’re saying, it looks like you got beaten up by your friends.”

“… … !”

“There is a saying in the Wilderness Code that the Atalains keep: He who loses a finger and does not fight will soon lose his toes as well.”

The child was startled by the eerie proverb and opened his eyes wide. Kadim looked at his bruise-stained face and spoke clearly.

“Of course you shouldn’t hit your friends. But do you really think that the people who beat you so mercilessly are your ‘friends’?”

“… … .”

“… … Tell me, kid. What happened? From now on, I will tell you what to do so that you do not lose your toes.”

*

Duncan, who returned home first, was listening to half a year’s worth of nagging at once.

“How can a person, a person, not come back for half a year without saying anything! So I did that! I told him not to be greedy and to make a living by working as a wage earner… … .”

“No, and who was that guy next to him? Why are you hanging out with someone so scary? You’re not in some weird gang or a bandit group, are you?”

“What? You left our son with that guy?! This, this crazy… … .”

“Uh… … Julia, just a moment… … Come here.”

When no one would listen no matter how much he said, the strategy Duncan chose was to hug. Hugging someone without any context and telling them that you missed them a lot. Surprisingly, it worked, and my wife’s anger, which had been rising like an active volcano, temporarily stopped.

But it didn’t last long.

“… … Don’t try to gloss over it with useless talk. So who is that person you came with? Is he some famous mercenary or something?”

“Ahem, that’s true… … But to be more precise… … That, that’s the person who kidnapped me half a year ago.”

“……I beg your pardon?!”

By the time he realized his slip of the tongue and tried to correct it, it was already too late. Julia was wielding a poker and running wild as if she was going to run away at any moment. Duncan thought that her momentum was no less than that of a frenzied Kadim.

“no no! Yes, the kidnapper is right! It’s true that Nauri is a kidnapper, but you actually saved my life before that? Because I’m definitely not as bad a person as you think… … .”

“Stop talking nonsense! What’s wrong with your head? Put this down and get out of the way before I tear out all your beard! Get out of the way, you idiot!”

“… … Ahhh!! It hurts! “Let go, let go!”

Neither persuasion nor hugs worked. Duncan was at a loss as to what to do. For a while, he had no choice but to engage in a tense wrestling match with his wife, who was furious, holding onto his beard.

Fortunately, Khadim returned with his son before his beard was completely plucked out.

kkieeeeek –

“… … More, Dunsen?”

“mom… … ? dad… … ?”

“Dunsen, are you okay! “No one got hurt!”

“Dunsen!! Dad is back… … uh?”

There was a strange misunderstanding due to the appearance of the son who was covered in wounds, but the situation was somehow resolved. The Duncan family, who had gathered for the first time in half a year, belatedly embraced each other and had a touching reunion, while Kadim stood back and watched with his arms folded.

But just saving the child safely wasn’t enough to completely dispel her guard. Julia quickly wiped away her tears, hugged the child tightly, and stepped back.

“So, so… … who are you? Who are you to take my husband away without permission and make a healthy person a widow for half a year?”

“… … It’s a mercenary passing by. He felt sorry. “He needed a guide on his journey, so he borrowed your husband for a while.”

“… … .”

It was quite a long period of time. Even though Julia couldn’t speak carelessly, she had a very scary look on her face. Unlike Duncan, who didn’t know what to do with her, Kadim seemed to know roughly how to calm her down.

Kadim puts down the black bag and takes out boxes one after another from inside.

Thump, thump, thump – !

“Is this enough to pay for borrowing your husband for half a year?”

“… … !!!”

Moonlight seeped through the window and hit the pile of gold coins, creating a soft reflected light. A light that melts dissatisfaction and wariness like snow. Julia’s eyes sparkle brighter than that clear gold, and she hesitantly opens her mouth.

“Well, maybe… … “My husband, aren’t you thinking about borrowing for a few more years?”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … Yu, Yulia?”

Kadim thought this as he looked at the figure that looked exactly like someone he knew well.

Duncan truly met his match made in heaven.

*

Maltana is a rural area with nothing to see and few people passing by. Naturally, the residents were hungry for any kind of entertainment. In that respect, the two news that came out of nowhere were enough to make the whole village excited.

One is that Duncan the Peddler has returned.

“Oh my god, Duncan is back? The same Duncan who used to be a traveling merchant trying to pay off his debts?”

“Huh, of course I thought he would have died in some nameless outskirts… … .”

“Oh, that immature person… … . “Where did you go, abandoning your wife and children?”

“I don’t know, maybe I’ve been to the end of a continent somewhere… … . But I heard you made a lot of money… … ”

“What, really? How much did you earn?”

Another thing is that Duncan brought an unidentified savage.

“Who is that savage? I saw him from afar, but hey, the mercenaries at the office look so wicked that they look like savages… … .”

“If Duncan made that much money… … Didn’t you bring us here to scare us? “You think we’re going to extort even a penny from me?”

“That seems right… … . Wow, heh heh… … If you’ve earned that much money, you should share it kindly without anyone saying anything… … .”

“That’s right. He pretended to be the nicest person in the world, but he was also a useless snob… … .”

The villagers’ interest in the two news was great. However, adults who were tired of their hard lives showed much more interest in the money Duncan was said to have earned, and children who were absorbed in playing mercenaries showed much more interest in the unidentified barbarian.

“My dad told me about that barbarian, the ‘demon slayer’?”

“No, what kind of demon slayer is a demon slayer? “Why would such a famous mercenary come to a corner like this?”

“that’s right! And Uncle Nokel said the demon slayer looks several times scarier than that one, and is twice as big!”

“Hey, if that thing over there is twice as big, is that an ogre or a human?”

The children were so absorbed in their discussion that they forgot to even play the role of mercenaries. But not everyone was like that. The leader of the children, Hurek, suddenly stood up from his corner with an uncomfortable expression and asked.

“… … Hey, you guys. Have you not seen ‘The Goblin Who Lost His Father’?”

“Uh, boss! You mean Dunsen? I don’t know, he’s been strangely invisible these days… … .”

“But Captain? That guy’s father came back, right? Then shouldn’t we call him something other than ‘the goblin who lost his father’? … .”

Bam!

“… … “Ahh!”

“Shut up. Their father is a wanderer anyway, so he’ll leave again soon. Once a guy loses his father, he’ll always lose his father. What’s the point of calling him something else… ?”

The child who had been suddenly struck by disaster burst into tears. Hurek wandered around the forest with a displeased expression on his face. Like a child who had lost his favorite toy.

How many days passed like that?

As Hurek had hoped, Dunsen finally returned to the group of children.

But the crybaby kid I knew before wasn’t there.

“Yah… … Oh, that big idiot over there… … .”

“… … ?”

“Yeah, yeah… … . That’s right, Hurek, you dude… … . Follow me this way… … . Oh, if you don’t follow me, I’ll break your skull into four bones… … .”

““… … .””

Hurek and the children were completely speechless as they watched the little brat who was the size of a walnut provoking them with unheard words.