As someone who had lived in modern society, there were a few advantages to ending up in the body of an ignorant barbarian.
Yes, it’s not just disadvantages (though hard to list each one individually)—there were definitely some perks too.
Anyway.
One of them was that I no longer had to worry about how others saw me.
When I first fell into this medieval fantasy world, my knowledge of the Middle Ages was pretty narrow and shallow.
To make things worse, the bizarre elements of this game-like world made it almost inevitable that I would make mistakes or misunderstand things.
“Hey, after you use the toilet, you should—ah, right. You’re a barbarian. My mistake. Haha.”
“Excuse me, you’re not supposed to do that like—ah, barbarian. I apologize…”
“What the hell, what are you even—ah, one of those small-headed folks. Right, F+HM.”
Every mistake I made was just brushed off with an “Ah, [he’s a] ○○○.”
By the way, the last person was speaking in a dialect from the northern region where the barbarians live.
It’s a local phrase used to express an apology.
Shoutout again to the Korean patch that made it possible to understand even stuff like that.
Anyway, in this world, I didn’t have to constantly be aware of others’ judgments.
Except for now.
“I’m the one asking questions here. Go ahead, open that petty little mouth of yours. I want to know exactly what was going through your mind when you acted like that.”
For the first time since entering a barbarian’s body, I… made an awkward expression.
That’s how unsettling the situation was.
005. A Mistake Born of Ignorance
A strange silence fell.
The village chief turned his gaze toward the crazy woman behind me who called herself a goddess—the same woman who had just hurled insults at him.
“…Hmm.”
A low hum.
His troubled feelings were written all over his face.
And behind them, unmistakable hostility.
His breathing grew heavier, a red flush rose to his aged face, and his clenched fists didn’t seem like they’d relax anytime soon.
In short, he looked very pissed.
“…Who are you?”
Honestly, the only reason he hadn’t already exploded with curses might have been me.
I was the one who asked her identity first, and since we seemed to be traveling together, he probably held back.
No one here wanted to gamble with their life in front of a barbarian capable of wiping out the whole village in an instant.
“Who do you think you are, saying something like that…?”
I was quietly impressed with the chief’s patience.
Having lived in this fantasy medieval world for several years, I knew this much:
Human rights didn’t hold much weight in a typical medieval setting.
And now, here we had an unknown woman throwing insults at a high-status man.
Sure, the chief may not be a noble, but everything is relative.
Inside the village, he was practically royalty.
He probably hadn’t experienced anything like this before.
Yet still, he was staying composed.
Maybe her noble-like appearance was helping.
The woman ignored the chief’s question, maintaining her arrogant attitude.
“How utterly foolish.”
“…What?”
“Pitiful, filthy, repulsive, and even stupid.”
“…….”
The verbal abuse was brutal enough to leave the chief speechless.
Even a sandbag would burst under this kind of pummeling.
Reaching the limit of his patience, the chief pointed a trembling finger at her.
“…So who the hell are you to say such nonsense!?”
Thick veins bulged from his neck.
I was curious too.
But when asked the most basic of questions, the woman simply nodded, looking pleased.
“Yes, who indeed.”
She nodded along as if she were sympathizing.
“A very important question. According to the goddess, it’s the most basic promise between people meeting each other.”
The chief was momentarily stunned by her sudden change in tone.
He didn’t seem to focus much on the part where she called herself a goddess.
Maybe he had just realized how ridiculous he looked a moment ago.
He let out a small cough.
“Hm-hm. Anyway, thank you, Barbarian.”
He glanced at me warily.
Seemed he had just now started to fear the fact that he’d raised his voice in front of a barbarian.
The woman, watching him, opened her mouth again.
“And yet, why is it that you do not ask my name?”
“……Hm?”
She continued speaking, directing her words at the puzzled-looking village chief.
“Even though you yourself know how important it is to know who you’re dealing with… why haven’t you asked the name of the savior standing right in front of you?”
She stared at the chief with sharp eyes.
“You thank me, but you don’t ask for my name.”
Then she turned her gaze to the innkeeper who had come to watch.
“You promised a reward, but all you offer now is silent avoidance.”
Finally, she murmured toward all the gathered villagers.
“I protected your village, but all I see are uncomfortable glances.”
A crooked smile curled on her lips.
“And yet you expect me to accept your gratitude? The only person who truly meant it isn’t even here. There’s no reason for me to continue accepting the rudeness of the ignorant.”
Seeming to have said everything she wanted to say, the woman fell silent.
If I were a third-party observer watching this unfold, it probably would’ve felt like watching a subway brawl on Line 1—awkward but kind of entertaining.
Unfortunately, I was a participant in the conversation.
Maybe because her words revealed feelings I had tried to keep hidden, the village chief grew hesitant and glanced at me.
“W-Well…”
He probably hadn’t even thought of it.
To him, a barbarian was just… a barbarian.
Why would he bother asking for a name?
For the record, the name recorded in the inn’s guestbook was “Northern Savage,” and my name wasn’t listed on the mercenary roster of the battlefield I’d come from either.
The chief was probably hoping I’d reveal my name here to ease the awkward tension.
But this wasn’t some college MT (Membership Training) where we go around doing introductions.
Given the mood in the room, saying my name wasn’t going to be easy.
And besides, the actual name this body came with was something ridiculous like “WarriorStrongman.”
So I muttered briefly:
“I’ll just take your thanks as it is.”
I turned away and left the crowd.
Thankfully, the chief and the others—more specifically, the entire group—didn’t seem interested in following us.
As the woman trailed behind me with brisk, dainty steps, I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye.
Despite everything, I felt an odd sense of relief.
The village wasn’t exactly tiny, but it still only amounted to the scale of a “village.”
Not long after we began walking, the people and buildings disappeared from view.
“…So,” I said, turning to the woman who was silently following me.
“How did you know I was promised a reward?”
“Hmm?”
She gave me a baffled look, tilting her head slightly and narrowing her eyes.
“That’s what you’re curious about right now? Of all things, shouldn’t you be asking this goddess more important questions?”
“Well, that’s what I’m most curious about right now.”
The conversation about a reward had only happened privately between me and the innkeeper, in the hallway.
If she had overheard it, that meant she had assassin-level stealth, completely beyond my senses—which would be a serious problem.
The woman gave me a dissatisfied look.
Then, suddenly, she dashed ahead and stood in my path.
Well, I say “dashed,” but like before, it was more of a light skip.
Standing in front of me, she spread her arms slightly and puffed out her (small) chest.
It felt like a light, almost playful moment.
But just then, I felt the entire atmosphere of the forest shift dramatically.
It was as if I’d been dropped into an entirely different space.
A strange, otherworldly sensation.
And in the middle of it—
Her golden eyes stared straight into mine.
“I am,” she began, her voice flat and calm,
“the first moon to rise, the companion of darkness, the queen of countless stars, and the abyss veiled behind the curtain.”
“The guide of wisdom, ruler of the sightless space, penitent of original sin, and bearer of the lowliest burdens.”
“The only sister of Rundel, now bound to a barbarian—such a pitiful maiden I am.”
Finally, she smiled sweetly.
“You may call me ‘Neb.’ It would please this goddess greatly.”
Such an unnecessarily dramatic self-introduction.
I had no idea what half of those titles meant, but in the end, it seemed all she wanted to do was share her name.
To add a little more:
In this world, there was a “one true god.”
And of course, that god’s name wasn’t Neb.
…Well, yeah.
There’s no way she’s an actual god.
I quietly sighed in relief.
If she really was a god, then the right thing to do would’ve been to pick up my axe and split her head open on the spot.
Besides, I didn’t remember a “Neb” from any of the game’s lore.
“Just a woman with a few screws loose.”
I nodded to myself, satisfied with that conclusion.
Anyway.
The woman—Neb—just stood there, waiting for something.
I had a pretty good idea of what it was.
Eventually, after a few seconds passed, I finally remembered the name I’d barely used since crashing into this medieval fantasy world.
“…Just call me Cheon I-Deun.”
“Hehe.”
Most people would’ve questioned the weird name, but Neb didn’t seem to think much of it.
I still didn’t know exactly who or what she was, but she didn’t seem like a bad person.
A little dumb, maybe.
Still, if she kept going around claiming to be a goddess, she might end up getting tied to a tree for a nice little witch trial experience—so it felt like a good idea to rein her in.
Maybe my thoughts showed on my face.
Neb muttered in a grumpy tone.
“You don’t believe this goddess, do you?”
“No, I do. Totally. You’re definitely a goddess.”
…I didn’t believe her.
Honestly, it just felt like I was playing pretend with my nieces and nephews.
Neb frowned at my response.
“…Even though this goddess has just awakened from a long sleep, with much of her power sealed away and trapped in this small body, proving my divinity is still well within my means.”
“Hmm.”
If she was going that far, now I was kinda curious.
If she started dancing or something, I was ready to clap at least.
At that moment, Neb’s eyes pierced through me.
It wasn’t magic or a spell.
It felt like something… else.
Another kind of power altogether.
The world went dark in an instant.
Without losing consciousness, I felt myself sinking deep into the void.
She pierced a barbarian’s magic resistance?
If the northern tribes heard this, they’d lose their minds.
A mental spell? Or did she shift the whole space itself?
I looked around the pitch-black surroundings.
I could move freely.
It felt like floating—like dreaming while still awake.
Then, something appeared in front of me.
An M-brand cheeseburger.
“…!!”
If this was a real dream, the food would disappear the moment I tried to grab it.
I don’t know why, but even in dreams, I was never able to eat food from the real world.
But this time was different.
The burger was solid in my hand.
Warm.
It had weight.
It even smelled like real cheese.
I couldn’t help myself.
I took a big bite.
“…What the fuck.”
After all that anticipation…
The burger was mint chocolate flavored.