Surviving as a Useless Bard in a Game

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The Night Gate is noisy.

Most of those crossing the desert were merchants from faraway places, and it was rare for adventurers to visit or cross the desert.

Except for some ‘special circumstances’ that happened in the past.

“Like, for instance, defeating a Demon King.”

In other words, this city was a terminal where adventurers returned to the starting point, a good stage for exotic merchants to lay out their goods and sell.

Simply coming to the Gateway City, which could be considered the end of their adventures, demonstrated that their wealth and military power were anything but ordinary. Their appearances mirrored through the eyes of the merchants would surely be very appealing.

The merchants selling exotic goods, somewhat different from those in Regan, were also appealing to adventurers.

So to cut to the chase, what I want to say right now is…

“Skylar, let’s go explore.”

“Huh?”

The dawn’s Gateway City was still loud and bustling with merchants raising their voices to sell their goods and adventurers bargaining.

The flickering lamps seemed to tempt me, like will-o’-the-wisps, as if to say now was not the time for you to fall asleep.

The city was still bright. Ironically, the ground at night was brighter than the night sky.

Seeing a gray cat that had already fallen into sleep and Fura sprawled across a bed, wings spread wide, Skylar let out a deep sigh.

“It’s already too late.”

“What does that matter?”

“Everyone’s asleep.”

“Yeah. So what about it?”

“…Huh?”

I smiled slyly, and only then did Skylar, grasping my intention and meaning, retreat slowly with a flustered expression.

Bathed in the moonlight streaming through the window, I approached Skylar with bold strides.

Finally, as he bumped into the inn’s door, I swung it open.

In a very natural sequence of events, we left the inn behind, leaving our two sleeping companions inside.

In the long hallway of the inn, Skylar and I’s eyes met.

“…Shall we go back inside?”

“No?”

“Since we have some money to spare, it’d be fine to buy a few things we like, but honestly, there probably isn’t anything satisfactory.”

“I didn’t say I want to come out to buy things.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s just walk a bit.”

I took Skylar’s hand and headed outside.

Though he could’ve resisted my weak arm with his strength, for some reason, he didn’t, and Skylar accepted my lead.

The sounds of our footsteps filled the hallway and stairs until finally, they reached the pub operating on the first floor, leading us to the night market.

“Before Fura and the cat wake up… let’s see everything!”

“Everything?”

“That might be too much, huh?”

“Yeah. It sounds like it would be too much even if we spent the entire night. The scale…”

“Then… how about we just grab a bite together?”

“Sounds good.”

“You’re honestly taking my words so well; goodness. Are you sure you’re not some creepy look-alike of Skylar?”

“Do I have to take that insult now…?”

“Sorry.”

I released Skylar’s hand and adjusted the ring on my pinky.

I must’ve held onto his hand a bit tightly since the ring was about to slip off.

For some reason, Skylar watched that scene silently, his ears slightly turning red, though his expression and face remained the same.

“Can I pet you?”

“I told you not to treat me like a kid. I’m of an age, after all.”

“But you still look like a kid. Plus, you’re really not that old, are you?”

“Yeah. But how…”

“Your behavior doesn’t look that of an old person… I’m calling it!”

“Oh, I see.”

I rested my hand atop Skylar’s head.

Skylar jumped in surprise and looked up at me.

I casually moved my hand around his hair, which was in a complete mess, and his frowning face peeked through his tangled locks.

He looked slightly angry… but his yellow eyes shining through the hair sent chills down my spine.

Is it really worth getting so upset…? Right?

As I stepped back a bit, sweating, Skylar’s expression relaxed.

“You’re quite the coward.”

“You did it on purpose.”

“Yeah. Your scared face is just so amusing.”

“Hey.”

“Anyway, where are we headed? You didn’t bring me out here without a plan, did you?”

“I didn’t have any ideas!”

“…Alright. First, let’s hit a jewelry shop, a theater, a restaurant, and then pick one suitable grocery store for replenishing supplies.”

“Is it really necessary to check all that out? We’re leaving tomorrow anyway.”

“Let’s do it properly, if we’re going. It’s my principle.”

“I’ve never heard of that.”

“Consider it a new principle I came up with today. I didn’t know I had such a principle until yesterday.”

“Is that a joke?”

“Probably, yeah.”

“Skylar, please don’t joke around anymore. It’s not funny.”

“……Anyway, since we’ve snuck out, let’s enjoy ourselves. It’ll be more efficient in terms of time. Even if we try to go back to sleep, I doubt we could—sleep is all gone.”

“Wizards aren’t honest in situations like this, huh?”

“Yeah?”

“You keep looking for excuses like ‘efficiency’ even in situations like this. People want to have fun sometimes without any reason, Skylar. So… let’s enjoy.”

“…Okay.”

Skylar responded with a slight smile.

I smiled back at him in reply.

Holding hands, we raced towards the night market.

The first place we headed was a shop selling jewelry.

“Looks fancy.”

“Yeah. Seems like it’s from the East.”

“The East?”

There was clearly a location called the Eastern Continent in the previous installment. I was a bit disappointed that they just threw in some hints without showing it, but did we actually get to go there in this new installment?

“It used to be a land connected by land routes to the northern part of the Empire. After the death of the Orc Khan, the Empire’s former Emperor and the Holy Kingdom eradicated the land routes.”

“…Eradicated the land routes?”

“Yeah. It was an uninhabited area where no humans lived. They managed it with miracles and magic…?”

“Humans can do stuff like that?”

“The Saintess is originally closer to a god than a human. A possession bearer is just a human borrowing a god’s body, and the Saintess is a representative of the god, and can be a candidate for the next god…”

“Where’s such an extraordinary person now?”

“She’s stuck in the Holy Kingdom’s papal office and never comes out. We don’t even know if she’s alive.”

“I see.”

I wonder if that was the protagonist from the previous game before the original saga?

“How intriguing.”

Were their actions closer to my own experiences from playing the previous and original installments? Or was there someone else entirely? If there’s a chance… I’d love to see it for myself.

For now, how about checking out the jewelry?

Ever since I became this way, I’ve developed an unusual interest in jewels, gold, and silver. My eyes were delighted.

“Hmm, not bad.”

“Shall we buy it?”

“No, I have enough rings already. Maybe next time?”

“…Why are you still wearing a ring on your pinky? Isn’t that going to give people the wrong idea?”

“Doesn’t really matter, does it? Wearing a ring like this keeps a few people at bay. It’s pretty funny when someone mistakes you for my kid sometimes.”

“……Don’t mention that. I’m still a bit upset about it.”

When we were headed towards Regan, I had a hard time stopping my laughter when a passerby said Skylar and I looked just alike.

How could he, who hated being treated like a child, be mistaken for my kid?

Seeing him tremble and turn red was rather adorable.

‘Why can’t you show that side of yourself more often? Always speaking formally with no expression just seems cold.’

Anyway, I had lost my interest in the jewelry now.

If I were to nitpick, it was enough to please my eyes, but they were all things I didn’t need right now.

I had already resolved my status penalty, and there was no rush to buy anything. This jewelry was completely plain and had no engravings or circuits.

I didn’t want to buy beautiful trash for an expensive price.

Even in my previous life, I hadn’t bought luxury items with my own earned money. Looking back, I feel a bit regretful. If I had known I would end up in a game world, I should have spent it all before getting reincarnated.

As I walked through the night market absentmindedly, my eyes were caught by a theater labeled with ‘Songs and Dances.’

Looking at it roughly, the building made of expensive marble had a long red carpet leading to its entrance, and the door was glimmering in gold.

I glanced at Skylar to gauge his reaction.

“…No way?”

“I just want to check the prices!”

I took Skylar’s hand and headed towards the theater, and he let out a deep sigh.