Surviving as a Barbarian in a Fantasy World

[Translator - Night]

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"Oooh."

Ketal let out an exclamation as he stepped into the house.

It was a home of refined luxury—elegant yet restrained in beauty.

This house stood in the middle of a forest, a little apart from the Elves' sanctuary.

"Was there a house like this before? I don't recall seeing it."

"…Probably built recently."

Arkamis frowned slightly as she looked at the enormous bed placed at the center of the house.

The bed was lavishly decorated, dyed in passionate colors hardly fitting for elves, and so large that five grown men could lie on it side by side without trouble.

'Your Majesty… isn't this a bit too blatant?'

She clicked her tongue, already guessing what Queen Karin had in mind.

The thought alone made her flush.

But since Karin's intentions aligned with her own wish, she chose to accept it.

'Fine. Let's do this.'

Arkamis clenched her fist.

"Then, Arkamis. You said you had something to tell me?"

"Before that, why don't we share a drink?"

She pulled a bottle of wine from the cellar and shook it lightly.

Ketal grinned.

"That sounds good."

They poured the wine into glasses with light snacks.

Ketal took in the aroma and sipped, then sighed in admiration.

"This is excellent wine."

Of all the wines he had tasted, this one was in a different league.

Arkamis proudly explained.

"This is the High Elves' secret vintage. A thousand-year-old wine, brewed to commemorate the birth of a child beneath the World Tree."

"Am I really allowed to drink something like that?"

"If it weren't for you, the World Tree would've burned to ashes. Drink as much as you like."

"Then I won't hold back."

Ketal happily sipped the wine, and soon their idle talk began.

"Ketal, what do you think of this world?"

"It's delightful,"

Ketal answered at once.

"Immensely delightful. Truly. To me, this world is like a jewel."

"What delights you most?"

"Its variety. Above all, discovering new things—things I once longed to see."

The Faeries' sanctuary.

The human kingdoms.

The dungeons.

The Elves' sanctuary.

The Mage Tower, the Dwarves' mines… To see all these fantastical sights with his own eyes was a joy beyond compare.

"And learning new things also brings me joy."

Studying magic, researching alchemy, honing swordsmanship, understanding dungeons, grasping the concepts of mysteries—all of it was incomparable happiness to him.

"Meeting new people is another joy. Lord of the Barkan territory. Swordmaster Cain. Merchant guildmaster Milena. High Elf Arkamis."

Hearing her name, Arkamis smiled in satisfaction.

"Above all… what pleases me most is that you all accepted me."

"Accepted you? What do you mean?"

"As you know, I am an outsider. A being of the Forbidden Lands."

He was a barbarian of the White Snow Plains.

A being shunned and rejected by the world.

Or rather—if that were all, it wouldn't be so bad.

The Forbidden Lands's denizens still belonged to this universe, so at worst they were foreign, but not completely alien.

But he was a human from Earth.

Not born in this world, but an interloper in the truest sense.

An alien substance in the fabric of fantasy.

He had always carried that thought.

Arkamis was shocked.

"You really thought that way?"

She could hardly imagine it.

Ketal was always bright, energetic, and straightforward with his emotions.

Ketal explained calmly.

"I simply never showed it. But I always thought of myself as alien here."

Did this fantasy world truly accept him?

Had he not forced himself in?

That worry always followed him like a shadow.

"But despite that, you welcomed me."

When he defeated the Old Man, cleaned up the White Snow Plains, and returned to the continent—

Milena, Arkamis, the Tower Master, Helia—

The companions he had made in this fantasy world greeted his return.

It filled his heart.

It was the same feeling he had when he first left the White Snow Plains and stepped into the fantasy world.

"All thanks to you all. I sincerely thank you."

Ketal bowed respectfully.

Arkamis hurriedly waved her hands.

"No, Ketal. It's us who should thank you. If not for you, this world would already be destroyed."

"If you think so, I'm grateful."

Ketal smirked.

The mood dipped slightly.

Arkamis swirled her glass and spoke slowly.

"Ketal. I'm like you."

"Hm?"

"You remember my wish, right?"

"I do."

She had wished for friends, for family.

It was for that wish she left the Elves' sanctuary for the human world.

"I was a mutant among High Elves. To them, who felt no bonds, I was an anomaly."

[Translator - Night]

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No one understood her.

Only Queen Karin accepted her, though even she did not truly understand—merely treated her like a child needing care.

For Arkamis, that was unbearable.

The sanctuary was a prison to her.

That's why she fled to the continent.

"But… even there, I couldn't achieve my goal."

To the people of the continent, she was still a High Elf—an ethereal, mythical being.

They might talk with her, but never form true bonds.

"Milena is the closest thing to a friend… but she bears the weight of her family. She might see me as a friend, but it never became a strong bond."

In the end, she realized something.

To fill her emptiness, friends weren't enough.

She needed family.

A child.

And for that—she wanted Ketal.

"…Ugh."

Yet she couldn't bring herself to say it outright.

Ketal's quiet listening felt heavy.

Flustered, she quickly changed the subject.

"K-Ketal. How about you? Did you find that kind of fulfillment among the barbarians of the White Snow Plains?"

"Well…"

Ketal's expression turned uncertain.

"At first, I was an outsider. They were wary and kept me at a distance. But over time, I became one of them. Before I knew it, they trusted and followed me."

He became their chieftain.

"I had responsibility as their leader. But that was all. I never felt bonds of affection."

"I never felt like I had a family."

"…I see."

Arkamis's eyes brightened.

If that was true, then she could become his first family.

She was about to finally broach the subject when Ketal spoke.

"Well, there were physical relations, of course."

"…Huh?"

"That place is a frozen wasteland. Survival is harsh. To endure, the tribe needed to increase its numbers."

Among the White Snow Plains barbarians, physical intimacy was not unusual.

It was a necessity for survival.

"Uh… uh?"

Arkamis froze.

Ketal continued matter-of-factly.

"I had relations a few times. Not many, though."

"…W-what?"

To learn that the man she had feelings for had been with others—

Half-dazed, Arkamis asked.

"Did you… marry?"

"Marry? No, there was no such ceremony. As I said, in that place, such things weren't rare."

In the tribe, everything was shared—not just belongings, but people themselves.

"From an outsider's view, it must look promiscuous. But in there, it was simply a means of survival."

"S-so you never had a wife?"

"Never. And besides, those acts only happened in the very early days, when I'd just arrived. Once I realized what kind of world I had come to, I stopped entirely. Even brushing off the clingy ones became bothersome."

Ketal shrugged.

Arkamis managed to calm herself.

It wasn't so strange.

Harsh environments often forced life into incomprehensible patterns.

This was just one of them.

'Though… it is a bit shocking.'

But it didn't matter.

Emotional bonds were absent anyway.

And if Ketal said "early days," then it was likely thousands, even tens of thousands of years ago—long before she was even born.

So her course remained unchanged.

Arkamis steadied her heart and calmed her emotions.

"…Ketal. Remember when I told you my wish?"

"I remember."

"That wish. I've finally achieved it."

"Oooh?"

Ketal's eyes widened.

Then a joyous expression lit his face.

"Oooh! Congratulations, Arkamis! You finally achieved your wish! It seems the rainbow powder I gave you truly worked!"

"Yes. Without it, it would've been difficult."

Arkamis beamed and explained the theory.

Though complicated, Ketal, with his modern knowledge, grasped it easily.

'So it's similar to an artificial womb.'

"Congratulations, Arkamis. At last, your dream is fulfilled."

"Thank you."

Taking a breath, she met his eyes with determination.

"I want to make a family. Ketal. I want someone who shares a bond with me—someone who exists only for me. And I want to bear that person's child. To leave behind my bloodline, and live in this world together."

"A beautiful ideal. I agree with it."

"And… to have a child, one needs a partner. Ketal. Do you remember what I once told you? That when I fulfilled my goal, I'd have something serious to say to you. And I asked if you would listen."

At that time, Ketal had said he would, gladly.

Ketal froze now, realization dawning as he looked at her.

Arkamis forced down her embarrassment and spoke.

"I want you to be that partner. Barbarian of the White Snow Plains—Ketal."

[Translator - Night]

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