Surviving as a Useless Bard in a Game

Chapter 71




The man remained crouched, staring into the void.

Our gazes casually ignored him, while we fiddled with the mask in our hands.

“…You can come in.”

“Y-yes….”

His voice oddly drained the energy from the room, making everything feel heavier, as if the air itself had sunk.

Honestly speaking, I had never encountered someone on a trip who seemed less helpful than this guy.

He neither exuded strength nor lifted the mood, and he certainly didn’t look like a wizard or a knight.

To sum it up, he was a peculiar fellow—weak, incapable, not particularly handsome, yet somehow just a man.

‘Skylar is way better.’

Honestly, with skills like this, I could probably beat him back when I was a guy.

Even though my current body was like this, I used to get confessions and manage social relationships quite well.

‘…Though I’ve never really dated anyone.’

Let’s stop embarrassing myself with the past and get back to the present.

“Are you sure he’s a person who can help us…?”

I get it, I do know it’s rude to say such things in front of him.

But what am I supposed to do with my doubts?

Even if I’m a bit dense, thanks to my conversational skills, I know to be careful with my words. I understand that saying something like this right now is a bad idea.

But there’s something I need to say. I need it!

To be completely honest, I can’t cover my share as a bard, and Skylar is only strong when it comes to using scrolls, you know? This isn’t a proper party!

But now we have another person who can’t pull their weight? That’s pure hell.

“Yeah. It’s only natural to doubt. However, the power he possesses within his body will certainly be helpful.”

“What kind of power?”

Skylar suddenly jumped into the conversation.

…By the way, it was the party “Star Chasers” that discovered the intact body of a god in the past. Maybe he doesn’t like that someone else is using a body his comrades once claimed.

After all, that body has changed hands several times over the span of 200 years.

‘Is it about confirming life and death…?’

With a slightly sorrowful look, I glanced back at Skylar.

Everyone I once knew has become a relic of the past, forgotten by history, and thus vanished. A life full of only fleeting connections after living so many years.

I will someday leave him, too.

Just to return to the original world.

Maybe I’ll find my blade pointing at him. In the end, we could end up as enemies.

—Is it really okay?

I don’t know. Only uncertainties keep piling up. My head and heart have become a mess.

Just because my heart is confused doesn’t mean that the Emperor can read others’ feelings, so the conversation flowed like water regardless.

“It’s the face. What he has is the face of a god.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Yup.”

“What ability does it grant?”

“You’ll know when you see it. It’s the ability that has helped me the most.”

The ability that has helped the Emperor the most. And the face of a god.

…Could it be the ability to transform into a handsome person?

He also has those captivating eyes after all. Who knows?

The pale-faced man slowly covered his face with the mask. Then, he draped his body completely with a black robe.

And within the robe, his form began to change.

‘…Is the condition for activation covering all the body and face? Or is there a restriction against revealing the process?’

His body began to squirm within the robe, shrinking smaller and smaller, to the point where I wondered if it was even okay to keep getting smaller.

Finally, the robe and mask fell to the floor.

What emerged from the droopy black robe was a luxurious cat with bluish eyes and a gray coat.

“…So cute.”

The words escaped me unintentionally.

Finding something cute in a person…that was rude.

Skylar shot me a sharp glare from the side.

Yeah, I know! I just realized I messed up! No need to look at me like that!

…No matter how long I waited, Skylar didn’t scold me. Instead, he glanced back and forth between the cat and me, muttering to himself.

“…Is that your type?”

—Huh? What good is knowing my type?

Skylar’s oddly strange behavior annoyed me, but I ignored it for the time being because I was more curious about the identity of this bizarre man who had transformed into a cat.

“This is the power of the face.”

“Turning into a cat?”

“…You’re dumber than I thought. Are you a different person from the one I spoke to before?”

“N-no, that’s not it.”

“Right. Anyway, the power of the face is simple. You can transform into any living creature you’ve seen in the past. You can’t become stationary like a plant, and it’s limited to animals, insects, and humans. Additionally, it requires a ‘high level of understanding.’”

“What happens after you transform?”

“You can also use the power of the transformed subject. Ah, of course, you can’t do anything special like bodily power, and the same goes for any unique traits.”

Even if he can’t use bodily power or unique traits, that power is still formidable.

If you’ve seen the face of a platinum adventurer, you can reproduce the same strength and destructive power… a living weapon.

That’s the power of the face.

But the requirement of a high level of understanding weighs heavily on my mind.

Skylar took a step forward, looking determined.

“You know, we’re not that stupid.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“If needed, you’re thinking of stealing the ‘eyes,’ aren’t you?”

“Honestly, yeah. That’s correct.”

“It’s pretty cumbersome to keep a ‘companion’ just for watching. No matter how you think about it, this is an ability meant for assassination. If there’s even a remote chance of betrayal, you’re considering killing them?”

“Let me reiterate, what I want is war with the Mad King. This isn’t some children’s game or a trivial adventure.”

“…Understood.”

It didn’t take long for me to catch up to their pace of conversation.

The reason the Emperor chose a subordinate with the ‘face’ is simply that he has an ability optimized for assassination.

The Emperor won’t just sit back and watch as another faction takes possession of such a body.

However, knowing this, we would still accept that proposal. We came here with that mindset from the beginning.

‘If we weren’t going to accept, we wouldn’t have showed up at all.’

We’ve been mentally prepared to some extent since we first met the Emperor. Entering Regan means we’re at the closest point to the Emperor.

The Emperor knows that fact as well.

‘…It would have been better to just seize our bodies from the beginning. Although he talks about using us as bait, he seems to be expecting something.’

This is too much. My mind is starting to completely dull out.

Let’s think about this later.

The Emperor spoke.

“I promised you a safe journey. It’s magically enforced. So, if you actively collect bodies, he won’t act against you. In fact, he’ll protect you.”

We stared at the Emperor and the cat sitting beside him in silence.

The Emperor’s lips curled into a faint smile.

With a gesture full of grace and dignity, the Emperor bowed slightly as if he were addressing some nobility.

Skylar remained still, and I clumsily followed the Emperor’s greeting, my body creaking awkwardly in the process.

“Have a pleasant journey. And I hope to meet you again upon that path someday.”

“…Yes.”

The cat quietly hopped off the table and stood beside us.

Until we left the palace and returned to our lodging at the Adventurer’s Guild, the cat just continued to follow us.

***

After Selina left the Grand Reception Room.

The Emperor turned to Skylar.

“…Why didn’t you tell her about the side effects of the body?”

Skylar simply ignored the Emperor’s words and remained silent.

Inside the closed Grand Reception Room, Eckhart fell deep into thought with a strange expression.

***

We didn’t leave the Adventurer’s Guild.

We needed to adjust our plan.

First off, if we were going to move to gather bodies, we needed information. I was tired of just doing the tasks Skylar told me to without thinking.

But that didn’t mean I could gather information alone.

‘Charm, conversation, dice, choices… there aren’t many methods.’

Even using such tactics, I couldn’t get my hands on the rare information specifically about the bodies.

Honestly, expecting information about a god’s body to be floating around in some alley was something only bigger fools than me would do. Right?

***

Time passed, narcolepsy hit, and the sun began to set.

Finally, Skylar rose from the table.

The cat, which had been lingering quietly near the window, moved closer to us.

“I’ve made a decision.”

“Hmm?”

“Let’s go to the alley.”

“…Huh?”

For a moment, I doubted Skylar.

Honestly, it was suspect.


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