WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 70: Rosia

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Monday morning.

On my way to Herbalism class, I reviewed the training I'd done over the weekend.

Halibal Dungeon.

I'd shut myself in there for two whole days, tackling the boss rush Renee had named Stampede.

'I could solo up to Maliaas.'

Varhatan and Maliaas had been easy enough to take down.

The problem was Rose and Lilian.

They were originally a pair of bosses, so fighting them alone was difficult.

Still, it had helped a great deal with learning the timing for Just Guard and sharpening my physical instincts.

With a few more Shards, I could probably take them down too.

Which meant it was about time to enter dungeons again.

The newly opened ones.

The problem was...

'It's awkward to go alone.'

Alicia had been grounded for taking Hyperion out without permission.

That left me needing a two-person party like I had with Cecilia, but Mine was still an issue.

'Isn't there some way around this?'

By the time I reached the classroom, I spotted Mine lingering hesitantly near the entrance.

"Have you made your decision?"

After noticing me, she walked straight over.

"......You're right, Halibal. Every dungeon lies beneath the Evil God's authority. Ignoring dungeons is no different from avoiding a fight against the Evil God."

"......"

"Yesterday, I went to the Spider Dungeon by myself."

"And?"

"To be honest, I was still scared. Without even Halibal by my side, I couldn't bring myself to take a single step inside."

She suddenly grabbed my hand.

"So please help me. Help me deceive myself."

"Deceive yourself?"

"I understand it in my head. I know I have to fight. But my body and heart won't follow. When I stand at a dungeon entrance, the memories from that time..."

Her voice trembled faintly.

"I'm scared of entering dungeons as Saintess Mine. I'm afraid I'll lose someone again. Afraid I'll fail again."

I thought I understood.

She wasn't afraid of the dungeon itself.

She was afraid of the failure and responsibility tied to being a Saintess there.

But come to think of it, who said Mine had to remain a Saintess?

"Then don't be a Saintess."

"......What?"

"From now on, you're no longer Saintess Mine."

I looked directly into her eyes.

"You're Rosia, the mercenary. And mercenary Rosia enters dungeons to help her comrades. Not for atonement, but for a job."

That was what she meant by deceiving herself.

She needed an excuse to avoid facing her trauma directly.

"Mercenary... Rosia..."

She quietly repeated her new alias.

Her expression looked somehow lighter.

I asked her once more.

"Can you do it, Rosia?"

After hesitating briefly, she nodded as if making up her mind.

"...Yes. Valhilar."

No, I'm Halibal.

Still, hearing her answer made me smile a little.

I supposed it was fine as long as it worked.

I held out my hand to her.

"Let's go, Rosia. We need to finish that herb-gathering job."

"Ah... Ah. Yes...!"

Mine took my hand.

With that, the game's title changed.

From Minecess Maker to Tales of Rosia.

⁎⁎⁎

Mine Rose.

Her surname came from the Rose Orphanage in Erandar.

Before she became a Saintess, no, before her immense holy power was discovered and she became a priestess...

Her dream had been to become a bard.

A bard who traveled the world, singing tales of adventure.

Her favorite story had been about the father of the nun who cared for her.

A great mercenary who had fought demonic energy on the front lines.

Whenever Mine heard that story, she promised herself over and over that she would become like him someday.

Her heart had been shattered on the day she set off with the nun and Imperial soldiers to explore a dungeon.

Gifted in healing, she had joined the expedition as support.

Deep within the dungeon stood an enormous stone door bearing the same emblem as the Church.

When she grabbed the handle, the door opened by itself.

A skeletal giant burst from within and mercilessly slaughtered the soldiers.

Amid the chaos, the nun grabbed Mine's hand and ran for the exit with all her strength.

Ignoring the soldiers' screams behind them.

When they were nearly at the entrance, the skeletal giant was chasing them at terrifying speed.

The nun looked at Mine and spoke.

"Mine. The truth is... my father being a mercenary was a lie."

"S-Sister...?"

"My father was an ordinary fisherman. He died after being swept up in demonic energy. I only made up those stories because you liked them."

"W-why are you telling me this now...?"

"I'm sorry I made you live in a false story for so long, Mine."

"......"

"But from now on, live your own real story."

As soon as she finished speaking, the nun shoved Mine hard in the back.

"Sister!"

The last thing Mine saw after being pushed out of the dungeon was the nun's back as she stood alone against the skeletal giant.

Then, the dungeon entrance closed.

It meant everyone inside had been wiped out.

The day Mine Rose's dream ended.

And the day she began living under the false name of Saintess.

Yet she began dreaming again.

Ever since meeting that man, Halibal Velder.

This, too, was a lie.

Nothing but a fleeting dream.

Still, it didn't matter if it was a lie.

In her imagination, she pictured a mercenary.

A mercenary with purple hair tied tightly behind her in a long ponytail, carrying a mace and a rosary instead of a sword.

The mace shattered monsters without hesitation, while the rosary purified demonic energy.

She was as cold as Cecilia and as bold as Adeline.

As resourceful as Alicia, and as sharp as Senia.

And... like that man, Halibal.

No matter the danger, she never felt fear and advanced toward the dungeon before her without hesitation.

Her name was Rosia.

A fleeting dream dreamed by Mine Rose.

She looked down at the Purple Cloud Herb roots in her basket.

It was an enormous amount, enough to cause hallucinations under normal circumstances.

She put every last root into her mouth.

It didn't matter.

As long as she was with Halibal, she had decided to live within a lie.

The "Saintess" fell asleep.

The "mercenary" stretched.

"Valhilar."

All the students' attention turned toward her.

Some still carried trauma from that name, but she didn't care.

It was the name of a comrade.

"......Out of nowhere?"

The man whose name had been called felt the same way.

Rosia flashed him a bright smile.

"You didn't forget about today's dungeon job, did you?"

"??????"

⁎⁎⁎

The game's difficulty had gone completely insane.

It was already getting out of hand.

After class ended, I grabbed Mine's arm and led her out of the classroom before the other students could stare at us any more strangely.

"What the hell was that just now, Mine?"

"......Mine?"

Mine, of all people, looked back at me in confusion.

"Who's that?"

"?"

"Hahaha! What are you talking about?"

She patted my dumbfounded shoulder.

Mine was famous even within the academy.

In good ways and bad.

She had drawn even more attention since becoming my Follower.

Students walking through the hall all stopped at behavior she would normally never have shown.

Senia, who had come up beside me, poked me in the side.

"......What is that?"

I don't know either.

I really don't.

Instead of her usual long, loose hair, Mine had tied it back in a ponytail like Adeline's.

She began rolling her delicate shoulders as if her muscles were stiff.

"Halibal. I think you need to take responsibility for whatever this is."

"No, I..."

'I think I really do.'

This was serious.

"What's wrong? Our client likes people who move quickly, Valhilar. I naturally assumed we'd head to the dungeon today."

"She called you Valhilar."

"......Hm."

Then, a strong scent of Purple Cloud Herb drifted from Mine's mouth as she came closer.

Ugh.

Senia and I covered our noses at the same time.

It was obviously far more than Cecilia had taken in the Doll Dungeon.

I could roughly picture what had happened.

'Did she max out the Purple Cloud Herb's effects to deceive herself?'

I hadn't told her to go this far.

Still, I thought I knew how to handle it.

"...All right. Let's go, Rosia."

Using her alias on purpose meant I was willing to play along with her role-playing.

Once the Purple Cloud Herb wore off, she might die of embarrassment, but I could deal with that when the time came.

"Where to?"

"We have a job to carry out. To the dungeon."

When I deliberately declared it with confidence, Senia narrowed her eyes and whispered.

"......You'll turn her back to normal later, right?"

"Is she a toy?"

"She's obviously playing around, though."

Was it playing around?

For a moment, I looked at Mine. No, Rosia.

I didn't think it was.

She was clearly trying.

Trying to deceive herself somehow, so that she could conquer the Dungeons of the Evil God.

'I'll watch for now. It'd be strange to stop her after coming this far.'

Having made my decision, I said to Rosia,

"Good. Come to the tram stop where we always meet after school. We have a job to complete."

"I knew my reliable comrade and I understood each other! See you in a little while, friend!"

Her lines sounded as if they had come straight from a play.

Rosia's stride as she led the way was astonishingly confident.

Senia glanced at me.

What are you looking at?

After school, when I headed to the tram stop, Rosia was already there.

Renee was standing at the stop as well, looking at Rosia with the same expression Senia had worn.

『......That trash-tier Saintess became a god-tier mercenary.』

That sounded like a web novel title.

Before long, we arrived at the entrance to the Spider Dungeon.

I swallowed dryly.

This was the very place where Mine had been unable to take even one step for an entire week.

But Rosia didn't stop even at a red light.

She gave the dungeon entrance a quick look, then snorted as though it were beneath her notice.

"Hmph. A spider nest? Pathetic compared to the job description."

Without the slightest hesitation, she stepped into the dark cave.

Crunch! Crunch!

"Ha, you think these pathetic monsters can stand against me, Rosia? Not a chance!"

Once inside, she began butchering spiders with her mace.

It worked.

Did it work?

It worked, right?

That day, I gained the capable partner I had wanted and the ticking time bomb I hadn't, both at once.

Footnotes:

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