Chapter 84

"The people often say that the inferior are bound to become slaves... that it is their rightful place. But I don't agree. Slaves are merely the misfortunate. If luck had not smiled in our favour, even you or I could have been slaves."

- Sverkel

A Convenient Dream (都合のいい夢) is the 84th chapter of the Vinland Saga series.

Overview
Thorfinn follows Einar, who knows Gardar will try to take away Arnheid and wants to do anything he can to keep her from more suffering. They find her at Sverkel's, where she tells them she was the one who helped Gardar escape. She reveals that she brought Gardar to Sverkel's to treat his critical wound, but that he passed out and she couldn't carry him away. On Sverkel's advice, she hid him inside before Snake and the guests came. On the assumption that Gardar ran away on his own, they stationed her outside as bait and are waiting for Gardar to come for her. Einar tells her that if she can't give up on Gardar, he and Thorfinn will help her run away with her husband. Spider, one of the guests, tells Snake he thinks he just spotted Gardar by the trees.

Summary
Thorfinn rushes after Einar and tells him to stop for a second. Einar tells him that if Gardar really did escape, they both know he'll be taking Arnheid away. Thorfinn asks him what he intends to do, and if he plans to chase Gardar away himself. Einar replies that he doesn't know, but that he has to do anything that could help Arnheid not suffer more than she has already. They get to Sverkel's and see Arnheid outside. Inside, Badger tells Snake about the two slaves arriving. Snake tells Badger to let them do whatever they came there for. Arnheid starts to wash the dishes and asks them if they came because of Gardar's escape the previous night. Einar is surprised she already knew; Arnheid tells him she's the one who cut his ropes, as he'd have been killed if she hadn't and she felt like she had no other choice. She tells them that Gardar killed the guards and received a severe cut. Thorfinn sees Badger in the window and tells Einar to crouch down and pretend to help Arnheid with the dishes, as the guards are keeping an eye on her from inside the house. Einar complies and asks Arnheid to tell them the situation. Arnheid tells them that in last night's rain, they made their way to Sverkel's. She brought him inside and treated his wound, but he lost consciousness. Since he was too heavy for her to carry, she hid him inside. Thorfinn asks her if she means Gardar is inside Sverkel's house. Arnheid confirms and tells him it's what Sverkel told her to do, and that Snake and the other guests came as soon as she'd hidden him. She adds that Snake seems to think Gardar escaped on his own and hid somewhere, and decided to wait with two other guards for Gardar to come for Arnheid. Einar asks Arnheid why she did something so reckless after saying she'd move on for the sake of her new child the day prior. Arnheid says she's not sure why she went to see Gardar, and that maybe she'd had a small hope that she, Gardar, and her new child could start over together despite how unlikely it would be. She calls it a stupid fantasy and berates herself for being despicable and thinking only of herself, while Gardar had always been thinking of her — that he had escaped and killed others only for her sake and their son's. She cries as she says she was prepared to blame Gardar for their problems and let him die despite that. Thorfinn asks where Gardar was wounded and if he's stopped bleeding. Arnheid replies that his right arm was wounded and had not yet stopped heavily bleeding when she'd hidden him. Thorfinn surmises that means he's still in critical condition. Einar asks Arnheid if she's prepared to do whatever it takes to live with Gardar again, and says that if she can't bring herself to give up on her husband, trying to escape with Gardar is her only option. He warns her the road ahead will be difficult due to her pregnancy, but that they'll help her. He tells Thorfinn there's no other choice and asks him if he'll help; Thorfinn agrees, as he cannot see an alternative. Snake throws a drinking horn at Badger's head, as he was falling asleep while keeping watch by the window. He tells him he'll break his nose the next time he lets Arnheid out of his sight. Badger apologizes. Arnheid comes in and tells them it's time for her to make lunch for Sverkel. Snake tells her to take everything she needs and cook outside, since she's bait and needs to stay visible. From his bed, Sverkel tells Snake that people say the inferior are bound to become slaves and that it's their rightful place, but that he personally disagrees and sees them as simply misfortunate, as anyone could become a slave if luck hadn't been in their favour. Snake replies that he doesn't see how that has anything to do with the situation, as Gardar killed five of his men and he won't rest until he kills him in return. He adds that it's also about honour, as his days as a hired guard are over if he can't take care of a single escaped slave. Sverkel tells him no longer being a hired guard and throwing away his sword would be a good chance for him to do something respectable. He tells Snake he'll give him his fields to give him a chance to make an honest living. Sverkel tells him that soon, he won't be able to stand anymore and will die, and that the fields will be his way of thanking him for reading him the Bible. Snake tells him to stop talking and rest, and that he's crazy if he thinks he'd work like a peasant. Spider tells Snake to come take a look at the window, as he thinks he spotted Gardar by the trees.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Snake
 * Thorfinn
 * Einar
 * Arnheid
 * Badger
 * Gardar
 * Sverkel
 * Spider