Surviving as a Trash Bard in a Game

Back at the Adventurer’s Guild, Skyler and I received our payment.

The reward was, of course, split 8:2.

I was the 2, and Skyler was the 8.

It couldn’t be helped. In the end, I hadn’t done anything, and instead, I was a nuisance… a burden. Honestly, getting 20% was lucky.

“Do you need another scroll?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know why, but it seems like the duration of the scrolls has completely run out. I thought they were semi-permanent…”

“No, it’s fine.”

“But…”

“I feel a bit relieved. Ever since we came out of the forest.”

I smiled and waved at Skyler.

Skyler looked at me with a slightly disappointed expression, then waved back in response.

Finally, we returned from the quest.

The tension eased, and I felt the strength drain from my muscles. The pain in my joints suddenly returned. I thought I had fully recovered…

‘First, the money I earned from this quest… how much was it?’

The quest was a complete success. That meant the reward was 1 denarion.

‘This time, the silver content definitely went down, and thanks to me being a burden to that kid, my share was 20%. After conversion, my remaining share is 4 copper, I think.’

I could have just taken the coins out of my pocket and counted them, but I didn’t feel like doing anything at the moment.

My mind, which wasn’t working properly, creaked as I finished the calculation.

My current wealth was 9 denarions, 19 copper.

The pennies… I spent them all on bread and drinking water.

‘I need to earn more money…’

The probability of finding an item that could enhance my status in this rural village was low. I hadn’t even seen anything resembling accessories at the blacksmith or shops.

That meant I had to go to the capital or a decent-sized city.

There was also the option of taking on quests myself and exploring to obtain items, but I thought it was nearly impossible with my body.

‘…If only I could provide buffs through playing.’

Wait, hold on.

Why am I only thinking of this now?

The answer was much closer than I thought.

I immediately stood up, took out my new lute, which had a somewhat mystical aura, and held it. I casually placed it on my lap and held it like a guitar.

‘It’s a bit uncomfortable.’

I adjusted my posture. For some reason, a very practiced posture emerged.

It was definitely my first time handling an instrument. At most, I could barely remember the piano lessons my mother forced me to take when I was a child.

But… my body was leading me somewhere.

I surrendered myself to that guidance.

Without thinking, my fingers moved. I had never touched a stringed instrument in my life. Yet, from my fingertips, the melody of a skilled performer was being created.

♩♫♫♩♩♩ㅡ

A song that made the listener hum along without realizing it.

[You felt a surge of courage.]

‘…Buff.’

There was something I could do.

Even for me.

***

Skyler.

The name, meaning wisdom and trust, was certainly fitting for the boy.

“How did it go?”

“Well. Aside from suddenly disappearing in the middle and being found collapsed, it was quite… normal.”

“That’s what you call an abnormal situation, kid.”

“…Don’t call me kid.”

“Alright. Kid.”

Skyler frowned and looked at the adventurer Haroon. He was the rough-looking adventurer who had immediately tried to hit on Selina when they first met.

The warm impression and smile, so different from when he had rushed at Selina, drawn by her eyes… and the way he acted and spoke as if dealing with a child.

Skyler was annoyed by it.

‘…At this age, to someone younger than me.’

It was a bit more complex than simple annoyance for him.

Regardless, Haroon, oblivious, was spouting whatever he wanted to say next to him like a machine gun. Without paying any attention to Skyler’s expression.

“…”

“How does she seem to you?”

“What are you asking?”

“Overall.”

“If you let yourself get caught up in every little thing, you wouldn’t be here. No matter what dangerous things await, adventurers keep moving forward. That’s what we are.”

“You’ve never studied ecology. How can you talk like that?”

“Haha… So? Don’t try to change the subject.”

Skyler realized Haroon had seen through his intentions.

Honestly, he had never seen a human with so many curses and blessings in one body. He had no idea what had happened to her.

She was an unfortunate woman from birth.

On top of that, she had experienced hardships while working as an adventurer. No one could ask her directly, but they could tell it was no ordinary matter.

That’s why Skyler hesitated.

He could just leave her alone and watch her go. His mission wasn’t something he could carry out while taking care of others.

…Perhaps, someone might covet the body parts she possessed.

Originally, fragments are meant to reunite and bind together. They are drawn to each other, returning to their origin.

‘Eventually, all the body parts will gather as one.’

Haroon was a trustworthy adventurer. But if asked if he was a good person… he couldn’t readily answer. There are trustworthy people in the world, but there’s no such thing as a person who is nice for no reason.

And, I didn’t want to share my mission with others.

“Do I need to tell you?”

“…Kid.”

“Haroon, the fact that I went on a quest with her in the first place was a huge consideration on my part.”

“I know.”

“I don’t understand why you care so much about others. Is it just because she’s pretty? Or because you made a mistake when you first met? If it’s neither of those—”

“That’s enough.”

Haroon’s face contorted.

Skyler thought he had hit the nail on the head.

Their gazes met. Sparks seemed to fly in the air.

The atmosphere turned unusual, and the adventurers’ gazes gathered.

The unique air that forms when people gather is called the atmosphere. And adventurers were always sensitive to the atmosphere.

It was probably because awareness was their lifeline.

The current was flowing towards them.

‘…At this distance, it’s a bit dangerous.’

The first floor of the Adventurer’s Guild was a tavern and also the reception desk for quests.

It wasn’t common, but occasionally you could see adventurers getting into fistfights. Adventurers considered these fistfights as something akin to an annual event.

Turning their heads, turning their bodies, adjusting their posture.

Each of them began to prepare for a proper viewing.

There were no humans trying to stop them. After all, interfering in other people’s fights was crossing the line in the relationships between adventurers.

Looser than family or colleagues, but closer than friends.

In such a strange and ambiguous relationship.

Discord sprouts.

“Haroon, do you really need to hear it that badly?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m curious.”

“…Is that really all? Such a frivolous thought?”

“Yes. I hate it the most when people stop talking mid-sentence and then shut their mouths forever. It makes people curious.”

Selina.

A remarkable new adventurer who suddenly appeared at the Adventurer’s Guild.

A bard who carries her instrument carelessly, doesn’t manage her hair properly, yet is quite conscious of others’ gazes.

She usually has sparkling, round eyes, but when an important topic comes up, her gaze instantly turns sharp.

Every time she returned from a quest, her clothes were covered in dirt, mud, and dust, but she always had a look that said, ‘I’m fine.’

‘…And, whenever she falls asleep, I feel a strange mental suppression, no, something close to mental domination. Is it a protective mechanism attached to the curse itself?’

She was a being that attracted others’ attention in many ways.

It wasn’t just because she possessed body parts. They were unknowingly concerned about her.

In other words, their ears were now gathered in one place.

To hear Skyler’s story.

They say that rumors travel faster than the wind, but in reality, they are not faster than the wind.

This is evident as they are easily caught up by people’s footsteps.

Someone was coming down to the first floor. The gazes that had been focused on Skyler and Haroon were instantly dispersed and refocused on the stairs.

“…Eh.”

The girl who came down the stairs, holding her instrument carefully like a bard, was sweating under the gazes focused on her.

The adventurers subtly averted their gazes.

Only then could Selina take the next step down.

Why was she here now?

Her pink eyes sparkled.

Skyler thought to himself.

‘Is there a curse that turns you into an idiot?’