WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 71: Are You in a Hurry?

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A character's image matters a great deal.

Cecilia's changes had all been well within an acceptable range.

Aren Bright's appearance had changed, but the personality was still the same.

The other playable characters were also all within the range I'd imagined.

Mine alone was the exception.

She was the first genuine case of a character acting out of character I'd encountered since entering this world.

Over the past month, Mine had become able to enter dungeons.

No, more precisely, it was Rosia, the fictional character she'd created.

Rosia was a mercenary who dealt damage and provided healing.

Wasn't there a saying that a true support wasn't someone who healed wounds, but someone who found and eliminated the source of the damage?

Rosia was exactly that kind of person.

Thanks to that, we'd started with the Spider Dungeon and cleared the four lower dungeons together, then even the four Upper Dungeons.

Mine's standing within the academy had risen considerably as well.

Word had spread that she'd overcome her fear of dungeons.

"What are you doing today? Going to a dungeon again?"

"No, I have something to do today."

"Then there won't be any need to call Rosia."

Rosia wasn't some kind of split personality.

Mine was remarkably aware that Rosia was a fictional character she'd created and that she herself was playing her.

She knew it was all roleplay meant to deceive herself.

Still, there was a problem.

Rosia was ultimately just a character Mine played.

She wasn't someone who could emerge at a moment's notice in an emergency.

On top of that, before Mine could call out Rosia, she had to take Purple Cloud Herb before entering a dungeon.

The biggest problem came when the dungeon clear was over and she returned to being Mine.

Every sensation she'd experienced as the mercenary Rosia, cutting down monsters and entering dungeons, returned intact to Mine.

Then, to forget those sensations, she turned back into Rosia.

Purple Cloud Herb itself wasn't addictive.

But she was becoming addicted to roleplay.

Whenever I saw her like that, I sensed something precarious about her, like a rubber band stretched taut to the breaking point.

Then one day, I saw her smiling after clearing a dungeon while the hand gripping her mace trembled violently.

That's when I realized it.

Once that rubber band snapped, she would never return.

'What have I done?'

In the original game, Mine had been someone who overcame her trauma on her own.

She had the strength of character to do that.

Of course, it came with the sacrifice of people precious to her, so I'd looked for a way to help her grow without those sacrifices.

Yet the suggestion I'd made to help her overcome her trauma sooner was eating away at her instead.

"Go inside and rest today."

"Yes. If there aren't any dungeons to enter, I should rest too."

"And don't take Purple Cloud Herb."

"Hehe. I've already run out. I won't be able to take any more until tomorrow's Herbalism class."

'If there aren't any dungeons to enter...'

Even those words stabbed at my heart.

In this world, I had erased the distinction between playable characters and extras.

I'd decided to see everyone as living human beings.

Yet at some point, it felt as though things had been reversed.

Was I heaping unbearable burdens onto the shoulders of the playable characters I'd immersed myself in and loved, all to save others?

"But it's strange to hear that Halibal has something to do. You normally don't do anything else, do you?"

"There's someone I need to meet."

"I-Is it a date?!"

"It's not."

So I decided to pull myself together.

The person I was meeting today was none other than Adeline.

I'd never thought I'd ask her for counseling myself, but there were many things I wanted to hear.

About Mine's current state, Purple Cloud Herb, and what I should do from now on.

⁎⁎⁎

"Excuse me."

After school, I knocked on the door to Adeline's office.

A lively voice came from beyond the door.

"You asked for counseling first? Is the sky about to fall?"

It was Adeline.

In her office, she gave off a far more refined atmosphere than the easygoing image she'd had in the military.

She really did look like an instructor.

"Is there anything different about me?"

Seriously, that was her question?

'Calm down.'

I carefully looked her over.

Something about the way she moved her arms and legs felt different.

"...Did you change your training method?"

"What, you noticed that right away? I knew you were my disciple. What else?"

"......"

"Ugh! I should've known. I'm the fool for expecting anything."

While I tried hard to find what had changed, she brought out tea and slices of cake.

"One thing the academy does well is snacks. They feed us so much that I'm putting on weight."

"You don't seem any heavier."

"That's a very rude thing to say. But don't worry. It's only going where it should."

Adeline proudly thrust out her chest.

I didn't bother asking where exactly it had gone.

"Anyway, what's wrong? Tell your big sis everything."

I told her everything about the current situation and Mine.

Unexpectedly, Adeline stayed quiet as I spoke.

With her arms folded, she listened carefully to my story. It was a side of her I'd never seen while we were in the unit.

"So I don't know what I should do."

"What do you mean, what should you do? Give it up."

"...Pardon?"

Adeline's conclusion was simple and clear.

Naturally, it wasn't one I could accept.

"If you want to go to dungeons that badly, just go with the princess. You could go with Cecilia and Aren Bright too. Ah, Eugene and Senia, or Luna, would work too."

"That's..."

"There are plenty of kids who want to go to dungeons, so why do you have to push someone who doesn't want to go? You don't need to do that."

She was only saying that because she didn't know how much Mine could contribute in the Undead Dungeon.

She was on a completely different level from the others.

As I made a dissatisfied expression, Adeline added, her eyes serious.

"You know something? I've thought this ever since you first joined the Gale Raid Party. The way you see things is a little different from everyone else's."

"...The way I see things?"

"I'm not talking about goals. I mean the way you see things. Have you realized that you've acted like you were separate from everyone else the entire time you were in the unit?"

Her words struck right at the heart of it, and I couldn't answer properly.

Of course Adeline had noticed something strange.

Even Cecilia, who had only spent a month with me, had sensed something off about my actions in battle.

There was no way Adeline, who had more experience and had spent far more time with me, wouldn't know.

As if she knew I was wracking my brain, she continued without pressing me further.

"Because of the way you see things, we accomplished things we would've never even tried, and you probably created your swordsmanship too."

"......"

"You've said it yourself countless times, haven't you? That you're a genius. I don't know whether you're a genius or whatever else, but don't force your perspective on others."

'...Don't force it on them.'

"Can you really see other people properly from so far away?"

"What?"

"Don't just stand there. Come over here and look."

Adeline patted the spot beside her on the sofa.

The moment I sat beside her, she grabbed my shoulder and pulled me onto her lap.

My head landed on her thighs in an instant.

I tried to struggle free, but this was Adeline. The more I moved, the tighter her arm squeezed around my upper body.

"What are you..."

"Ahem. Wait!"

Her thighs felt soft beneath my head.

Softer than I'd expected.

So she hadn't been lying about weight only going where it should.

"Well?"

"...What?"

"What can you see from where you are now?"

Adeline looked down at me.

'What can I see?'

The same golden hair and golden eyes as always.

Her cheeks and ears were faintly flushed pink.

Between them, I could see her lips, which carried a strangely reddish tint.

"...Are you wearing makeup?"

"That's right. You noticed my changed training method immediately, but not that I was wearing makeup."

"I'm sorry."

"See? There are things you can only see when you look this close."

Adeline smiled mischievously.

"I don't know how you see Mine, but I've known her for quite a while too. The Mine I see is someone who can overcome her trauma on her own. You don't have to step in and push her from behind."

"......"

"And the same goes for you. No one's pushing you from behind. No one is forcing you to clear the Evil God's Abyss or fight against the cult."

It was the first time I'd ever had such a serious conversation with Adeline.

When we were in the unit, I'd treated her less like a master and more like someone I could use for training.

After changing how I saw her, I could count the times we'd been alone together on one hand.

Come to think of it, why had I been trying to clear the third Abyss before vacation?

Because there was a lot to do during vacation?

That work was farming too.

Once I finished farming, I'd have to challenge the fourth Abyss.

The fifth in the second semester, the sixth in my second year...

Defeat the Evil God before graduation...

'Could it be that I'm in a hurry?'

I definitely was.

But why?

There was no reason behind it.

Nothing would happen if I didn't clear the Undead Dungeon at this particular time.

Then why was I trying to move forward, even if it meant pushing Cecilia, Aren Bright, and Mine?

In the first place...

'What happens to me once I clear all seven dungeons?'

There had definitely been something.

A reason I'd come to believe I had to clear the Dungeons of the Evil God quickly.

Yet for some reason, it felt as though fog had settled over my mind, and I couldn't remember it properly.

'Was I a rubber band too?'

At some point, the hand that had been holding me down was gently stroking my hair.

"Funeral Sword, hero of the Empire, whatever you're called, you're still just my disciple to me."

Back in the unit, she often ruffled my hair too.

"I want you to be happy. Ever since the day I saved you when you were a wreck in that dungeon."

Her touch had been rough back then.

Even so, both then and now, I simply let her keep stroking my hair.

'Should I... reconsider my plans?'

The tea on the table was growing cold.

⁎⁎⁎

My counseling session with Adeline took longer than I'd expected.

I hadn't just gone there to lie on her lap.

I asked her for swordsmanship guidance for the first time in a while, and she gladly agreed even though it broke the rules.

"I'll talk to the Herbalism instructor and have them stop Purple Cloud Herb gathering for a while. After hearing your story, it does seem dangerous."

She spoke as I was about to leave.

"I gave you a hard time, but Mine has a problem too. She seems like she needs counseling. I'll call her in as soon as tomorrow."

I was grateful to her in many ways.

"Thank you for today."

"It's nothing. Drop by whenever you need your big sis. You can drop by even when you don't need me."

She smiled and patted her thigh.

I didn't bother responding.

By the time I left Adeline's office, the sun had already begun to set outside.

I turned down Adeline's invitation to dinner.

I planned to eat with Mine.

I wanted to tell her not to push herself so hard with dungeon clears and ease some of the pressure she was feeling.

When I took out my Core to contact Mine, several messages had already arrived.

[Incoming Call - Raphael]

[Incoming Call - Raphael]

[Incoming Call - Raphael]

'What is this?'

Raphael was Mine's Abyss Core.

Why were there so many missed calls from it?

I tried calling her right away, but the connection wouldn't go through.

Something was wrong.

After the Doll Dungeon had been cleared, the communications network throughout the Empire had been strengthened.

Unless someone was an extreme distance away, there were now hardly any places where communication couldn't reach.

Only a few hours had passed since school ended, so she couldn't have gone that far.

That left only one reason why I couldn't contact her.

'...Did she enter a dungeon?'

Over the past month, she'd sometimes entered dungeons alone as Rosia.

But...

'She said she didn't have any Purple Cloud Herb...'

There was no way she'd enter a dungeon without Purple Cloud Herb.

No, she couldn't enter one.

Yet if I couldn't contact her, there was no explanation except that she'd entered a dungeon.

I immediately headed to the tram station and asked Renee, who was tending to the sheep.

To reach a dungeon from the academy, you had to take either a tram or a train.

Since Renee had eyes everywhere at the station, I thought she might know where Mine had gone.

『The Saintess went toward Angel Plains.』

Angel Plains.

That was where the Centipede Dungeon was located.

It was one of the more difficult Upper Dungeons, a dungeon Mine couldn't clear alone.

『She didn't look well. She was muttering, "Please... please..." too.』

Something had clearly happened.

Something urgent enough to make her run toward a dungeon without even having time to put on Rosia's mask.

I immediately checked the tram schedule for Angel Plains.

The problem was that the intervals between trams bound for Angel Plains were absurdly long.

'Two hours and forty-two minutes? Fuck.'

As I anxiously shifted from foot to foot, Renee chuckled.

『Do you need my help?』

She held out a translucent hand.

Over the past month, I'd confirmed that my hypothesis was correct.

I could enter Halibal Dungeon from any station or stop I'd visited at least once, and within the dungeon, I could freely move between saved locations.

What Renee meant was that we could enter the dungeon here and leave through the Angel Plains station.

I took her hand.

『You're quick to understand. I like that.』

With the familiar sensation of floating, my surroundings changed into the Crystal Temple.

『Now then, where would you like to go, customer?』

Without hesitation, I pointed to the door marked Angel Plains.

Footnotes:

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