Surviving as a Trash Bard in a Game

The flowers in full bloom swayed in the wind, and the sound of windmills turning in the distance filled the streets in the afternoon.

The spires of the magic tower and the church, located in the center of the city, soared high into the sky.

Yes. This city was a metropolis where both a church and a magic tower existed 'simultaneously.'

Skyler briefly explained about this city, but the fact that a church and a magic tower existed at the same time revealed that this city was difficult to describe simply as a 'metropolis.'

Churches were sparsely located in local cities and small towns to spread their denomination, but magic towers pursued only efficiency.

Mages are born on their own, without the need to preach doctrines or faith or spread the Bible. They awaken their talents and eventually head for the magic tower.

Because they are always the ones who stand and walk on their own.

In other words, magic towers only exist in large-scale cities with a large population, where research can be conducted smoothly, with convenient transportation.

Therefore, the main towers and branch towers of the magic tower only exist in the capitals of each country or in large cities comparable in size to the capitals.

Why am I explaining this in such detail when I could just say it's a metropolis? Of course, it's because this city was not a metropolis!

This city is a nation. To be precise, a city-state protected by the empire.

This city, ruled by a merchant guild, was famous for its artificially improved, colorful, beautiful flowers, its mills powered by windmills, and the clear water drawn up by waterwheels.

‘…Why did he omit all these explanations?’

When I asked Skyler why he didn't tell me it was this kind of city, he said, "There's no need, is there?" I was dumbfounded.

Anyway, my condition has gradually recovered. Now I was thinking of moving again.

In front of the mirror, I checked my appearance one last time. The perfectly tailored new clothes fit well, and the bag, the cloak, and the instrument I always carried with me were all ready.

‘I'm pretty today too.’

I muttered with a satisfied smile at my reflection in the mirror.

As I was about to leave the room, a familiar voice came from the hallway.

"You're late."

It was Skyler. I remembered that our second meeting also started like this.

He still had a calm and composed expression, but I could feel a subtle sense of familiarity in his tone.

"...Haven't we been like this before?"

"Yes. You were late when we first met too."

"To be precise, it was the second time we met."

"What are we doing today?"

"Going to another city—"

"We're going to another city, right! It's a bit of a shame to leave such a big city and move to a smaller one, but it's better to get to the capital quickly! I'm a little excited."

"—There's something I need to do before we go."

The excited mood from a moment ago subsided a little.

Honestly, I was secretly looking forward to another city.

Although I am an attention seeker who likes to get other people's attention, it was too tiring to play an instrument all day and earn a few coins.

I couldn't feel it while playing, but the gazes of people pouring in after the performance were very burdensome.

I even had to concentrate all my nerves on buying a single loaf of bread.

If I lost my mind for even a moment, I would have my belongings or equipment stolen by a pickpocket, get pushed around by the crowd, and get lost… It really felt like my energy was being sucked out.

I fully understood why people with certain tendencies hate going outside.

Anyway, that's not important.

"What is it?"

"I received a request. It's a rare 16-person request. The reward is low, but the experience of a large-scale request is quite important."

"When? Why?"

"When I was staying in the previous city, I sent a carrier pigeon to express my intention to participate. And the reason is simple. Without the experience of solving a large-scale request, no matter how many individual requests you solve, you can never get gold or platinum."

"Hmm… I see."

"It's about time I prepared to get a gold tag with this name."

Skyler's words were a little strange.

'With this name?'

Honestly, I wanted to ask, but I held back. Prying into things the other person doesn't tell you is not my style.

Besides, Skyler didn't pry into the things I didn't tell him first.

You could say it's mutual respect?

***

The front of the association building was bustling with people. Like a symbol of a thriving city, people were constantly coming and going.

Before checking the request, I couldn't hold back my curiosity and asked.

"...It's a bit late to ask now, but what kind of request is it that it requires 16 people?"

"Because it's related to the Witch of the Ward."

"The Witch of the Ward?"

"It refers to the four powerful witches that exist in the world. They each don't invade each other's territory and are scattered in the east, west, south, and north."

"...Can you really take down such a witch with just 16 people?"

"Selina, you didn't read the request, did you?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you so confident?"

"Because you explain everything anyway."

Skyler let out a deep sigh.

Honestly, this is my fault, but it was much easier and more convenient to listen to Skyler's explanation than to bother reading the request.

As a change of thought, can I say that it's Skyler's fault for explaining things too well?

‘…Well, that's a bit too shameless.’

Yeah. It wouldn't be bad to read a little, but I'd forget about half of it after a day anyway. How am I supposed to memorize with such low intelligence?

The conclusion always ended with blaming others.

-

[ Grade: Gold ]

[ Regarding the Witch of the West, subjugation of minions. ]

[ Subjugate the 'Subservient Magic: Moving Corpses' possessed by the Witch of the West. ]

[ Note: The targets are already dead. Severing limbs is an effective method of incapacitation. ]

[ They will move even if the head and heart are destroyed. Do not deal with them using common sense. ]

[ Recently, a very large number of moving corpses have been observed. The scale is over 100. ]

[ 20 Ducats ]

-

"...100?"

"They're just moving corpses anyway."

"That's too many."

"They don't even have the strength to properly swing a sword, and all they do is slowly walk towards the opponent. Compared to the subservient magic of other mages and witches, their power is quite weak."

Skyler's eyes, which were speaking as if it were nothing, wavered slightly.

I could see it.

He had something else in mind.

"Is it okay to kill the minions of such a powerful witch as we please?"

"Yes. That person doesn't care about her minions at all anyway."

"No, but still, is there really a need to take on this kind of request? Honestly, it's a bit scary."

"I didn't want to take on this kind of request either. Especially the ones related to the Witch of the West… But the reward is too high. It's too much money to refuse."

Certainly, to get an item good enough to solve my minus status in the capital… I needed more money.

It's unlikely that Skyler knows about my situation. It's probably just about earning travel expenses, especially the cost of buying scrolls.

Scroll-users, who borrow the power of others instead of using their own magic, are always short of funds.

In a big city like this, there would be more types of scrolls available, and their performance would naturally be better. After all, it was a city with a magic tower.

In other words, it means that you can buy scrolls at a higher price.

Humans who have the profession of adventurer share a single common characteristic. That is the desire for equipment.

When they get a little money, they immediately sell their current equipment and add more money to buy better equipment. They repeat this process over and over. That's what an adventurer is.

Skyler, as a scroll-user, was similar to them, except that it was consumables rather than equipment.

‘…Let's just leave it to him.’

His travel plans rarely go wrong.

You could say that I'm still alive thanks to him.

I don't know much about travel or adventure. At best, I'm probably just barely surviving thanks to the 'traveler' trait.

‘Come to think of it, I've never tried cooking.’

I've been eating stale bread all this time, so maybe it's time to try cooking myself?

I've had the traveler and cooking traits for a while now, and I haven't used them once. It's starting to feel like awaste.

Well… strictly speaking, thanks to the traveler trait, my health hasn't deteriorated significantly despite living a wandering life, but it didn't feel like I was properly 'using' it.

"Let's go."

"Okay."

…Wait a minute, if it's a large-scale request?

At that moment, a thought struck me.

‘Can I… test my performance?’

I haven't had a chance to use it until now, and the only opportunity that came up was ruined because Nisha was too strong. Isn't now the time to show my skills?

I have no basis, but I felt a surge of confidence that I could succeed in one go if I entered a real battle.

Honestly, until now, I couldn't even tell if I was a bard or just a useless person! I want to do what a real bard does too!

No, it would be better if I were a useless bard. If I stay like this, I'll just be useless, you know?

The weight of being useless is different for someone with a proper job and someone without any job!

If you have a job, you can say you're useless as a joke, but if a person without a job is called useless, it's like certifying that their life is at rock bottom…!

‘Fighting… myself…!’

Creak.

The door opened, and the 14 people gathered in the adventurer's association all looked at us.

It seemed we were the last ones to arrive.