Surviving as a Trash Bard in a Game

“Lastly, the reason why I don’t want to get involved with you—”

“Hey—!”

“…Let’s put the story on hold for now.”

At the entrance of the forest, a human in slightly shabby attire was waving at us.

Tuk.

Skyler tapped my wrist with his finger.

“What?”

“Since you seem to lack common sense, I’ll tell you in advance. Those people are the forest keepers who monitor the movements of monsters. Don’t make any trouble.”

“Yeah. I have that much sense, you know?”

“Unfortunately, you don’t seem to have that much common sense, so I’m letting you know.”

“Ugh.”

Skyler, who whispered precautions to me in a small voice, changed his expression and waved at the forest keeper.

The forest keeper and Skyler seemed to be acquaintances.

He looks like a child, but to think he has built up connections while adventuring alone at that age. Is he actually older than I thought?

Ugh, let’s stop. I’ve called him a kid so many times already. Just imagining that gives me mental damage.

I was quietly following behind them.

I figured it would be better to stay out of sight at the back rather than creating an awkward atmosphere between the two close friends.

No, to be precise… my ‘timid’ personality was strongly rejecting the idea of approaching them first.

Yeah. I don’t like strangers. I just instinctively feel a sense of rejection.

It wasn’t like this before, but it is now. It felt terrible that my personality had been artificially changed by someone.

“You’re a new face, miss.”

“Ah, me… me?”

“Yes. Is this your first time on an observation mission?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so! Since I’m a veteran forest keeper, I would have recognized a new face.”

“…Yes?”

“I would have definitely remembered such beauty!”

Ah, a compliment about my appearance. There’s no better tool than a compliment to ease the atmosphere.

But there was a problem.

That is, I am a (former) man. I shouldn’t feel anything when receiving compliments about my appearance… shouldn’t… shouldn’t I? But why do I feel a bit good?

Why?

‘It’s because this is a character I created.’

That’s right. I’m not feeling good because I received a compliment about my looks. I’m feeling good because the forest keeper recognized my excellent character customization skills!

“Thank you.”

With a faint smile, I expressed my gratitude to the forest keeper.

The forest keeper stared at me blankly for a moment, then turned his head and cleared his throat.

“Ahem, anyway, I’ll tell you about the area you’ll be searching this time. Are you familiar with the stories and precautions regarding the Forest of Songs?”

“I don’t know…”

“Honestly, it’s quite a hassle to explain. But since it’s your first time, I’ll make sure to tell you properly. Instead, make sure to take notes so this doesn’t happen again next time.”

“Yes.”

I reached deep into my bag, trying to find my notebook, memo, and pen.

Rummage rummage.

…After rummaging for a while, I was struck by a bad feeling.

No matter how much I stirred my hand inside the bag, I couldn’t find anything resembling a pen or paper.

It must be because of my ‘clumsy habit’. Yeah. This is too much. It’s really bad. What kind of person forgets the paper and pen they put in their bag because of a clumsy habit?!

Are you trying to defy the laws of physics?!

I pulled my empty hand out of the bag and looked around.

Skyler, as if he already knew what was going on, closed his eyes, frowned, and sighed.

“I… I’ll remember it in my head!”

“Hmm, alright. It’s not a very long explanation anyway. Skyler, stop giving your companion a hard time and follow me.”

Skyler, with a frown, glanced at me for a moment, then started walking again.

And, true to his character, he didn’t just let it go.

“It’s because she doesn’t know any better.”

“Hmm?”

“She got lost during a herb-gathering mission before, and even before that, she collapsed in the middle of the street. And when she first came to the adventurer’s guild…”

“When she came?”

“Wait a minute. Put your ear closer. Lower your head.”

The forest keeper’s ear lowered to reach Skyler’s mouth, and Skyler started whispering to him in a voice so low that I couldn’t hear.

When Skyler finished his story, the forest keeper looked back and forth between me and Skyler with shaking eyes.

“…Really?”

“I’m telling you, it’s true.”

“Even though she looks like that?”

“Yes! I was surprised too!”

I could feel the forest keeper avoiding my gaze as I glared at them.

Could it be… did she tell him all my embarrassing history? This damn brat…!

Just you wait.

***

The entrance of the forest looked ominous. A place where lush leaves did not allow sunlight. The forest keeper stopped at the border between shadow and light.

“My guidance ends here. I’ll be on top of that watchtower, so light a fire if you need help.”

“Yes.”

“And, I’ll let you know the dangers of the Forest of Songs. I know it’s originally my job, but the situation isn’t good in other sections either…”

“Support?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.”

Skyler waved at the forest keeper, and the forest keeper climbed up the tall watchtower.

It was a similar height to a modern fire lookout tower.

The small outpost at the top of the tower was so high that it looked like a dot, and the forest keeper was already out of sight.

‘…Can he even see our signal from up there?’

I felt a bit uneasy, but it was a forest keeper after all. People who do this for a living probably have good eyesight, right? It’s probably just unnecessary worry.

More than that, there was something else that concerned me.

“Precautions?”

“The reason why this forest is called the Forest of Songs.”

“Huh?”

“The forest itself is cursed. Honestly, it’s a curse that only an idiot would fall for… but you never know.”

“What is it?”

“When you enter the forest, you’ll hear a song. If you follow the direction the song is coming from, you’ll disappear.”

“Disappear? You’re not sure.”

“No human has ever fallen for that curse. No one knows what happens. The only thing that’s certain is… there’s nothing good about falling for such a curse.”

He added that this forest is restricted to the general public and explained the basic principles of the curse.

Only adventurers can enter, and unless it’s a time when there are many requests or work, there’s no reason to enter the forest. As long as you have the mental fortitude of a child, you can endure it.

The curse is basically designed to force people to act and have a negative effect. A powerful mage could even make a curse follow a person until they die.

And, one question.

“Wait a minute, that’s a bit strange.”

“Yes?”

“If a powerful mage’s curse can affect a person until they die, then this forest? How old is it?”

“…If I had to say, it hasn’t been more than 300 years since the singing began.”

“Then how powerful of a mage is the one who cursed this forest?”

“I don’t know. According to rumors, a legendary bard asked a mage friend from the age of myths—that’s what they say, but there are no details.”

Skyler added that if this rumor were true, countless adventurers and treasure hunters would have flocked here.

I felt a little strange.

No, first of all, I should prepare for when I enter the forest rather than worry about an unconfirmed rumor. I was in a bit of a dangerous state right now.

‘…First of all, the clumsy habit was triggered by leaving the prepared memo and pen behind. So it won’t be triggered again today. Then, is it narcolepsy?’

If I suddenly fall asleep or collapse, Skyler will take care of me.

He’s that kind of person, and there’s already a precedent. He’s not the type to abandon me.

If necessary, I can stab myself with a dagger before falling asleep to avoid narcolepsy. Honestly, it’s not a method I want to use, but if the situation becomes dangerous, I might have no choice.

It was my first proper request.

I need to quickly get promoted to a silver tag.

Collect money, solve requests, and roll until I fix my status and penalties. That’s the path I’ve chosen.

‘…I feel like I’m forgetting something.’

It’ll be fine.

If I forgot it, it can’t be that important.

I followed Skyler.

We entered the dark forest.

And we walked for a long time.

Skyler suddenly stopped in the middle of the path and pulled out a map. It seemed to be a map of the forest.

Since I was watching from a distance over his shoulder, I didn’t have a chance to examine the map in detail. In the first place, a map is a luxury item in this era.

Stealing it, or asking to see it for free, would be a bit shameless.

As I waited quietly, Skyler spoke.

“It starts from this boundary.”

“…What does?”

“Just step on it.”

Skyler took a step forward first.

I followed him.

I stepped on the imaginary boundary.

♩♫♫♩♩♩—

A song tickled my ears.