Barbarians often allied with humans. No matter how high their physical stats and combat qualities were, even the barbarians after the 1st floor needed allies. The standard order was to form a team in the 2nd or 3rd month to go to the 2nd floor.

The problem is that it is rare to meet worthy comrades-in-arms.

With other races—elves, dwarves, beastmen, and so on—nothing usually happened. Not only were they less naïve than the barbarians who did nothing but hone their martial skills in the Holy Land, but their hearts weren't sold for a high price as magical ingredients.

"What are the other guys doing?! Most are dead."

Not even a third of the barbarians who went through the coming-of-age ceremony with me are left.

Could the monsters be to blame for this?

This cannot be.

With this well-founded suspicion, I listened to their conversation.

"Then I'll rest too." Enjoy your duty.

"Is it my turn?"

Everyone fell asleep in turn, and the theme of the young barbarian did not continue. Of course, this was not a big problem, because from this short conversation I had a rough idea of what the other three were like.

It doesn't look like they intend to do anything today.

They must have planned to exhaust him dry, and then kill him on the last day, as that would be more effective.

... What should I do?

I didn't know what to do. Being a barbarian, I didn't want to ignore this young barbarian in danger. But I couldn't just follow them forever and watch over him until they revealed their true intentions.

Maybe I should just go and kill them all?

I grinned and shook my head. It was a simple and convenient option, but not the best. It didn't matter that I still didn't have proof that these three were looters. I was sure that I would be able to convince Misha and the barbarian with plausible words.

But even if I did, the same thing would happen again.

Sometimes, in order to truly understand something, you need to experience it yourself.

In the end, the main goal was to teach, so I decided that I could spend one day on it.

After thinking about it, I came up with a plan and woke Misha up.

"Misha.

"Hmm...?"

I held up my finger to silence her, and we moved to a place where we could not be heard. Then I briefly explained the plan.

Even rubbing her eyes, Misha listened without complaint.

"Hmm... So you're saying they could be looters?

— Yes. If you don't mind, I'd like to take a little time to check it out.

"I don't care. Since they are barbarians, they are not strangers.

— ... Not strangers?

"N-no!" I didn't mean that... I mean, it could be someone I've met before.

What she seemed to mean was that I had been acting as a guide for the young warriors for the past few months. Hmm, maybe he was one of them. Although I have advised them countless times to be careful with people, they will not understand until they experience it themselves.

"Well, that's all. Let's change our clothes.

Something had to be prepared for this plan.

***

I put my mace, bib and litinum shield in my backpack.

Weapon... You could say that I lost it.

After finishing the preparations, I finally checked my appearance. Except for the helmet, I had the perfect appearance of a young barbarian without any iron equipment. Next to me stood a rookie beastman.

"Phew... How inconvenient...

In order to execute the plan perfectly, I asked Misha to put on the rookie gear that belonged to Jencia. But for some reason, Misha continued to mess with her breasts and interfered with me.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?" It's just very tight in the chest area...

"Chest area?"

When I looked down, Misha hit me in the stomach. Judging by the cold penetrating my bones, it seems that the cold attack was delivered correctly.

"Where are you looking?" It's definitely not because I'm fatter than that woman, okay?

I didn't say anything.

I only watched it because it was a complaint I hadn't thought of. The advanced leather armor that Misha had been wearing before was supposed to be the same size.

When I pointed out the contradiction, Misha calmly answered.

"It was also cramped, but it didn't have an iron plate.

Well, since that's what you say. Gencia and Misha had agile bodies, like agility characters, but I was sure they had their differences. For example, physique. This girl was taller. I didn't measure her, but she must have been about 170 cm tall.

"It's only cramped in the chest area, and otherwise it's quite free. Got it?

- I see.

I didn't know what she wanted, so I just agreed.

Feeling this, Mike took a deep breath.

"Well, yes... What can you know about the female body?

"Yes, you're quite right.

"Are you going to continue to answer so insincerely?"

"If you're done, let's go."

This was not the time for idle talk, so after that, we returned to the previous place, deliberately making loud noises.

'Behellaaa

"Oh!" Why did you suddenly scream?!

"I just wanted to do it!"

"What?" Misha looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face, but the effect was amazing.

"Who's there?" An instant scream came from the darkness.

"Wait!" There are people there! I shouted innocently and ran in the direction from which the sound was heard.

Soon the invisible distance of the labyrinth ended, and four researchers appeared in sight around the fire: three people and one young barbarian were fast asleep.

"Stop, don't come any closer.

Three people had already woken up and were looking at us warily.

"Royce, wake him up quickly.

An archer named Royce woke the barbarian by tapping on him with his foot.

"What's wrong?" Monsters?

— These are researchers.

"Researchers?" Then why did you wake me up? I was in the middle of a good dream...

"Didn't I tell you last time?" Explorers can be just as dangerous as monsters.

"Oh!" I remember! But... This man is one of my kin.

Nodding at the archer's words, the young barbarian noticed me and waved his hand happily.

"I am Charon, son of Tarson!"

"I am Bion, son of Thor!"

I took the opportunity to walk forward, shook his hand, and even bumped my shoulders. Then, looking around, I saw that on the faces of everyone – not only three people, but even Misha, to whom I had told about the plan in advance – was written:

"What the hell are these barbaric bastards doing?"

They looked at us with such eyes. Sensing this, Charon looked at me as if to tell me not to worry, and then said to his companions:

"Everyone put down their weapons!" Thor's son, Bion, is not a bad explorer!

"Yes!" I'm not a bad researcher!

At our words, the archer and spearman looked at one person. Obviously, this person was a leader. He sighed and nodded, and everyone lowered their weapons. I suppose he thought it would be ridiculous to remain vigilant at the moment.

"So, barbarian-...

"Bion, son of Thor."

"Yes, Thor-...

"Thor is my father's name.

"Ahem, Bion-...

"We're not that close yet, so I'd like you to call me by my full name.

The leader, who had been interrupted 3 times in a row, looked quite annoyed, but showed patience and smiled. He spoke to me again.

"So, son of Thor, Bion?"

— Speak.

"If you don't have anything to do, I'd like you to leave." As you can see, we were resting.

The leader's words were reasonable and logical. The researchers were not accustomed or polite to approach each other.

But so what?

I was now a big and naïve young barbarian who knew nothing of the sort.

I shouted, as if it were even better:

"What a coincidence that you are resting!" We were just looking for a place to relax!

"So... And what do we have to do with it?

"Since we've met, let's relax together!" What is it called? Night companions, right?

"Night companions?"

As if they had heard something they shouldn't have heard, the expressions of the three people's faces were bizarrely distorted.

It's not that I didn't understand. Looking for companions at night is a culture common only on the 1st floor. They had no idea that they would receive such an offer from some barbarian on the 2nd floor, where researchers work in teams.

"Phew...

As if he didn't know where to start his explanation, the leader touched his forehead.

Meanwhile, Charon nodded.

"Oh, that's a good idea. Come here, it's not as tough here as it is around.

It was complete chaos.

The leader showed superhuman patience and explained the researchers' customs.

It was easy to summarize everything.

"I mean... Do you have night companions on the 2nd floor?

— Yes, exactly. If you understand-...

Well, understanding was for those who wanted to understand. I spoke as if it were genuinely pathetic.

"Guys, you're so stupid!" If we all sleep together, we can sleep longer!

"Huh?"

"If you have a head, think about it. There are four of you, and there are two of us. If six people are on duty in turn, then everyone... Either way, you'll be able to sleep more!

It was a harsh statement from the barbarian, from beginning to end.

Everyone looked stunned, as if they had heard an auditory hallucination.

Except for one person.

"You're right!" Why didn't researchers do it sooner?

Seeing how Charon nodded vigorously in response to my arguments, he realized that further conversation with us was pointless.

"Look. We'll take care of our side, so you should take your bags and...

The leader turned away from me and spoke to Misha, then stopped abruptly. Obviously, he had just seen her face. His voice, which had been filled with irritation before, changed before he knew it.

"Ahem. It's not usually customary to do this, but what do you think?

Obviously, Misha did not like the way people looked at her. She froze, but when I looked at her, her expression changed.

"Well... I'm not sure. Since you guys have a barbarian too, you don't seem to be dangerous people...

"Haha, the same applies to you.

"Anyway, he lost his weapon, so I was worried about leaving him alone on the night watch. So if you don't mind, I think it's a good idea to spend the night together...

"God, did you lose your weapon?"

The man looked at me strangely at Misha's words. It seemed that he only now realized that I was unarmed.

"Oh, weapons?" I accidentally dropped it in a fight with a monster, and it disappeared!

- I see.

When I came up with a stupid excuse, the man just believed it. After all, barbarians were cheating characters.

Either way, it should be enough bait...

I made the last sentence in a clear voice.

"So will you be our night companions or not?" Decide faster. I'm already sleepy.

For the record, if he refuses, I plan to go my own way.

If he refuses after I've gone this far, then I've probably misunderstood the three.

"Well... This is not quite an ordinary situation...

The leader stammered and exchanged glances with the other two people, then smiled brightly.

"Since you are in a difficult situation, it would be too heartless to send you away.

"If you're expressing yourself so complicated, I can't understand.

— ... You can spend the night here if you want.

I could hardly suppress my laughter, because I saw his intentions so clearly.

Everyone had their own plans.

***

Somehow, we accidentally got into a one-night stand. It was strange to describe it that way, but it didn't matter. First, we introduced ourselves.

"It's Royce, Victor, and I'm Briol.

Royce is an archer, Victor is a spearman, and the leader/hammer warrior is Briol.

... No Hans?

Maybe it was a pseudonym? No, if he had used a pseudonym, this young barbarian would have found it strange.

Feeling a little uneasy, Misha and I lay down next to each other. The desire to spread the blanket was very tempting, but then they would have realized that I had an expandable backpack.

"Guys, rest a little. I'll leave your turn for the end.

"Oh guys, you are really good researchers!"

"Hahaha... What a guy.

In any case, as soon as I lay down, Misha whispered in my ear.

"Bjorn."

"Hush.

"Do we really need to go that far?"

Although she obeyed my instructions, Misha did not look happy with the situation.

True, even if they were a bunch of amateurs, it would still not be very pleasant to lie defenseless.

"Just hold on. Next time, I'll let you ask for a favor.

— ... Really? You promise?

I stuck to this plan, even threw a new carrot to Misha. There was a possibility that from now on, young Charon Tarson would be reborn as a warrior suspicious of people and killing marauders.