Surviving as a Trash Bard in a Game

The deliberation ended faster than expected.

I… decided to continue this strange journey with Skyler.

‘I’m not strong, I don’t know the surrounding geography, and I don’t have much money.’

Power, knowledge, money.

Even though there was an easy way to solve all three elements at once, I didn’t choose it.

Even if there are elements of instability, and it seems like a tempting path akin to the devil’s temptation… surviving right now is the most important thing.

Someone who knows my penalty and can be trusted to protect me while I’m asleep.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t think of a better option than Skyler. Until a better option appears, it is right to accompany him.

“Shall we go to a nearby church first?”

“…Did you figure out where we are now?”

“No. I have to look around from now on.”

“How are you going to look around?”

“I’m always prepared for situations like this. I just need to use a few scrolls to observe the surrounding terrain, compare it roughly with a map, and find the matching terrain.”

“…”

“Yes. I know even if you don’t look at me with those eyes. It’s easy to say… it will take a while. We had almost no food, and we activated teleportation urgently without resupplying.”

Skyler was pretending to be cheerful on the outside.

However, the seriousness of the situation was so great that even my now-dumb head could understand it.

Yes. Even a fool could tell… we were in danger.

Adventurers are always thoroughly prepared. Before heading to the next town, they buy twice the amount of food they need, and the same goes for drinking water. They research all the surrounding geography and study edible plants and animals, even monsters.

However, those who are both magicians and adventurers are different.

Magicians are inherently unsuitable for wandering around outside. As if that were the essence of a magician.

Yes. Skyler was thoroughly a magician in this respect as well.

His ability to live was lacking, and his knowledge of adventure and camping was almost non-existent.

He hadn’t started his adventurer life that long ago, and he said it was because he ran out of money while handling scrolls after his heart was taken away…

‘Is it time for me to step up?’

Although I haven’t had a chance to use it yet, among the positive traits I chose, there was definitely the [Traveler] trait.

Knowledge of everything edible, knowledge of camping, how to know the surrounding geography.

Naturally, unfamiliar memories that had taken root deep in my head unfolded like a dictionary.

“Skyler, let’s go to the forest.”

“…Yes?”

“We have no food and no drinking water.”

“That’s right. Before our food and water run out and we starve to death, we need to hurry to the city…”

“No, you can tell just by thinking about it for a moment?”

“…I’m not so dumb as to be told that by you.”

“Yes. You are that dumb.”

“Okay. Let’s hear your opinion first.”

Skyler frowned slightly and looked at me.

I smiled triumphantly, put my hands on my waist, and looked down at him.

He glared at me as if he didn’t like something. I looked into his eyes as well. Skyler immediately avoided my eyes.

…Why?

No, let’s hear the reason later. Food and water are more urgent right now.

It’s time to use the traveler trait.

“The existence of a forest means there are also animals.”

“Yes.”

“If there are animals, it means there are also plants that those animals eat, and there are also water sources.”

“If we go into the forest and track the footprints and traces of animals, we can at least solve the food and water problem within a day… is that what you mean?”

“Yes.”

“Well, no, no. Certainly, there is no better option than this right now. To compare the map and the surrounding terrain, it is definitely better to understand the size of the forest.”

Skyler nodded and agreed with my opinion.

Well, the persuade is over… shall I ask a question?

I’m a little curious why he avoided my eyes earlier.

“Why did you avoid my eyes?”

“…You’re too clumsy at handling mana.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a symptom that occurs because you just started handling mana. Just like a newborn baby’s body temperature is high… Selina, your mana is constantly circulating throughout your body.”

“So?”

“Mana is also circulating in your eyes. Constantly.”

…Ah.

Only then did I understand what I had done.

I had been constantly seducing him.

I hurriedly grasped the faint mana flowing through my body and slowly began to suppress it.

I felt something that had been constantly flowing suddenly stop.

“Is it okay now?”

“…Yes. More than that, the disguise engraved on your eyes has fallen off again.”

“If it falls off this often, it’s almost useless.”

“If you hadn’t circulated your mana, the replacement cycle wouldn’t have come so quickly?!”

“Ugh.”

“Anyway, when we find a city, I’ll use a scroll on your eyes again. Let’s just leave it like that for now.”

Alright!

Back to my perfect self again! Perfect—Resurrection!

…Why did I just think that? Am I crazy?

Am I mentally ill?

Anyway, let’s go to the forest for now.

Let’s get some food and water and clear my head. I’m starting to get scared of my own thoughts and impulses.

***

Entering the forest, we couldn’t find any traces of wild animals.

It was a large forest, and considering the cave we used as a shelter for a while to recover, I thought we would see at least a few.

My expectations were completely off.

Instead, although it wasn’t much, we were able to pick some wild mushrooms and grass.

For now… my trait was telling me that these foods were edible.

Skyler looked at them for a long time with a disbelieving look, then used one of the few remaining scrolls to ‘identify’ them.

“Hey, don’t you trust me that much?”

“Yes.”

“…Hey!”

“Anyway, they’re edible. I thought at least one of them would be poisonous.”

Skyler said that and took out a brightly shining rainbow-colored mushroom from the basket and held it in front of my eyes.

“…W-well. I guess you could be suspicious.”

“Right? Honestly, when you said this mushroom was edible, I thought you were crazy. No matter how you look at it, it looks like you’ll die if you eat it!”

“Let’s eat it later. There are plenty of other mushrooms and herbs.”

“No, the idea of eating herbs is good. But there are herbs that have a bad effect on the body when eaten together, right? I’m a magician, you know?”

“So?”

“I have basic knowledge of pharmacology. All you can identify is what is edible and what is not. What if you eat everything without knowing the effects?!”

“Calm down, I haven’t eaten yet. And even if we can only eat mushrooms, it’s enough for one meal.”

“…Let’s find drinking water first.”

Skyler calmed down his emotions and finally calmed down.

He has a strangely childish side.

Ah, I remembered.

‘I didn’t ask one important thing…!’

I wanted to blame myself for why I only remembered it now, but let’s put the blame aside for later.

I didn’t think he would answer even if I asked him now, and I didn’t want to bring up anything that would ruin this strange atmosphere even more.

‘When Skyler used magic, it seemed like the image of a grown-up Skyler overlapped.’

Yes. A very handsome… I mean, a tremendously handsome man that even a man would say he was handsome.

He appeared in a form that looked just like Skyler would look like when he grew up.

After wandering around for a long time, we eventually failed to find any usable drinking water.

To be precise… it would be more accurate to say that we gave up on finding it and took care of the small things first.

Dew on the leaves.

Rain from before.

Small puddles.

It wasn’t of sufficient quality for drinking water, and it definitely wasn’t enough to last for a long time, but we had to be satisfied with this.

Fortunately, among the scrolls Skyler had, there was one related to purification… so we were able to change the water to a reasonably sufficient quality.

It was a blessing in disguise.

I carefully put a little less than a cup into my pocket. Among the basic equipment, there was a waterproof leather bag for storing drinking water.

We were diligently equipped with items necessary for the adventure.

We sat down and began a simple meal.

We lit a fire with dry branches found nearby and skewered the edible mushrooms on a moderately thin and long stick.

Skyler’s scrolls seemed to still have plenty left, as they kept coming out.

Thanks to that, we didn’t have to go through the trouble of lighting the fire ourselves.

The mushrooms were cooked to a golden brown, and just when they were cooked enough to satisfy our hungry stomachs—when my hand was holding a pouch with a little water sloshing around, and my mouth was wide open—

Skyler suddenly spoke.

“Wipe your drool first.”

“…Okay.”

I rubbed the end of my cloak over my eyes and brought it to my mouth. A slightly cold sensation… and the feeling of a snowflake sticking to my lips and melting away.

Skyler looked at me with slightly pitying eyes and began to speak.

“I figured out where this forest is. We can probably reach a city tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“…Is there anything else you want to say?”

“There are some basic common sense things I need to tell you before we reach the city.”

I wanted to ask if he could have told me those things in advance, but honestly, it was a bit funny to ask that as a student.

So, I just kept my mouth shut and listened to his long story.

My stomach kept growling— the sound echoed continuously.