WE TRIED TLS

Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer

Chapter 195 | Even If I Shout (4)

“Looks like there’s nothing to be gained from this after all.”

After some time, Meister finally came to that conclusion. His face, calm and monotonous, was unchanged from the first time we met.

“So, to get some insight, it appears I have no choice but to study these items directly…”

No, one thing seemed to have changed: his purple eyes were practically sparkling with interest.

“How interesting.”

To earn the title of craftsman at such a young age, you apparently had to find enjoyment even in situations like these.

Well, as someone highly curious about this equipment’s identity, I only stood to benefit from this.

“Anway, you. If you ever regain any of your lost memories regarding the equipment, let me know. I’m not really expecting you to, but just in case, alright?”

Meanwhile, Meister took out a piece of paper and a pen from inside his clothes and began to scribble something down.

“Also, since this thing will just keep returning to you, I think I’ll need your cooperation on this.”

“Cooperation?”

“I won’t force you if you don’t want to. It’s not like I bought your equipment off you, nor do I have the money to buy your cooperation or something.”

However, I couldn’t really read what he had written down. Normally, a Korean translation would just appear above the text so I could read it… but this time, the translation wasn’t showing up properly.

“But you’ll do it, right?”

I wasn’t sure whether it was because the letters were upside down or because they were simply uninterpretable. It also wasn’t like the translation function wasn’t working altogether.

It just looked like… “@$%#@HaESEo#@#” and so on.

“…You have to share the results with me.”

“That’s a given.”

Why was it showing up like that? I narrowed my eyes and stared at the text, trying to make out the letters beneath the translation.

“Alright, then next… Let’s align our schedules.”

And then it hit me. Compared to the writing I’d read thus far, this one was much more smudged and sloppy. Could it be he just had bad handwriting? Was that why the system couldn’t interpret it?

That was just ridiculous.

“Are you free tomorrow?”

“In the morning.”

“Then, could you meet me at the Magic Tower tomorrow morning?”

At the Magic Tower? Not the workshop?

I raised my eyebrows slightly before nodding. I had an appointment at the Magic Tower after lunch tomorrow anyway. I figured going there a bit earlier wouldn’t be a loss for me.

At least it wouldn’t be a waste of time.

While I wasn’t all too happy about visiting the Magic Tower, that was only because of the… eccentric… nature of those wizards, so it wasn’t that big a deal.

“Then, let’s meet tomorrow morning at the Magic Tower.”

“Understood.”

So I smoothly made an appointment with him. Meister’s clear-cut way of doing things was strangely comfortable.

…Or maybe I just felt more comfortable because he didn’t know me, or rather, the character I was playing. I couldn’t even hold such a long, straightforward conversation with my own party members without feeling uncomfortable.

Well, not that it mattered much. Ever since the Dorfmine incident, I no longer allowed myself to drop the act entirely, even in front of strangers.

Bang!

“Just what did you bring here?!”

“Wait, Sage Karl. Calm down…”

“Let’s go to the research wing right now…!”

“Sir Sage!!”

On another note, just because making an appointment was easy didn’t mean the following day would pass just as smoothly.

As expected of the Magic Tower… no, the Weirdo Tower.

* * *

“The Demon Knight is running pretty late. Do you think something happened…?”

“That can’t be. He’s probably just a little late.”

“Still…”

“Maybe he just overslept?”

“There’s no way.”

Even the Archmage, who was quietly listening to their conversation, couldn’t help but furrow her eyebrows at Berserk’s words.

While the idea of the Demon Knight getting knocked unconscious for two whole weeks due to some injuries was quite believable, it was hard to imagine the Demon Knight ever oversleeping.

“Why, though? The Demon Knight can oversleep like anyone else.”

“I mean, yeah, but…”

Of course, as Berserk said, it wasn’t entirely impossible that the Demon Knight had simply overslept. No one could be perfect at every moment of their life.

Furthermore, hadn’t the Demon Knight also secretly shed some tears in the middle of a city before? Even if it seemed unfitting, it could still happen. Given his history, she had no choice but to accept this as reality.

“Knowing it could happen and being able to imagine it are two different things…”

“Right.”

But, well… it still felt off. It was like trying to imagine the Demon Knight laughing. It just didn’t fit.

As a result, they all grew worried and unsettled.

“Ah, he’s coming.”

“Rather, why is he coming out of the Magic Tower…?”

Fortunately, before their minds ran completely wild trying to imagine him oversleeping or something else, the Demon Knight appeared before them. But he looked slightly different than usual.

“Mister’s clothes…”

It wasn’t like the Demon Knight had never worn different clothes before.

While he always wore his usual equipment in battle, he often wore something else when resting. Even then, it was usually just a different inner shirt, or some manner of corset instead of a vest, or a swapped-out coat.

“Demon Knight, have you decided to join the Magic Tower?”

But right now, he was wearing a loose gown fit for a wizard over his shoulders. None of them could understand the meaning behind that.

“…Looks like you went ahead of us, huh?”

Who would have thought she would ever see the Demon Knight wearing these robes? The Archmage glanced at the Demon Knight, feeling slightly bemused.

She could see a visitor’s pass dangling from his gauntlet, flitting through the folds of the wizard robe.

“…Well, come in first.”

Judging by the presence of that pass, someone must have lent the Demon Knight this robe…

Recalling the Magic Tower’s unspoken rule conveyed by this act—“This person is my guest, so if you mess with them, I’ll kill you”—the Archmage tried to look at the robe more closely.

Wizard robes usually had their owner’s name embroidered on them somewhere.

“…How did you end up wearing Karl’s robe?”

To her surprise, the Archmage recognized the name she found.

It was the name of Surging Azure Lake’s proud apprentice, who was often mentioned as a potential next Great Sage.

However, he was also known as quite the eccentric who only knew how to research. He was the type of weirdo who’d never lend anyone his robes, even if they begged him to.

“Did you call me here just for some trivial small talk?”

…Well, there was no way the Demon Knight would readily explain these circumstances to them, though.

Sighing, she led the party forward. The Demon Knight followed right behind them, obviously uncomfortable and annoyed.

“Demon Knight, are you planning to learn magic?”

“Come on, there’s no way, right…?”

“But he’s wearing these robes!”

“But for that to be the reason…”

And so, the endless chatter of those two’s tireless attempts to get closer to the Demon Knight echoed through the halls yet again.

“Ah, Madam Archmage!”

“Hmm? Ah, Liam, it’s you.”

At that moment, someone hurriedly approached them. His gray hair, almost an afro, bounced to and fro.

“Due to a sudden request from the city’s lord, the Great Sage had to leave immediately. Thus, I’ll be guiding you today.”

“I see. Well, it can’t be helped then.”

Sage Liam pushed back his curly, puffy hair and offered them a light apology.

The Archmage felt a twinge of disappointment.

If Azure Lake himself had overseen the Demon Knight’s examination, nothing would have been more certain. That was what she thought.

“So the person examining him today will be… that person, right?”

However, that they were examining him was already a grand gesture of goodwill from the Magic Tower. Azure Lake’s time was notoriously valuable, even among the many great sages.

So, rather than expressing her disappointment, she chose to proceed with today’s task.

“Yes, right this way.”

Liam began to guide the group.

* * *

WE TRIED TLS

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* * *

“Could you remove the robe for a moment? It’s imbued with interference spells, which could complicate the examination.”

While the location where they carried out these examinations differed, the process was always quite similar. I slowly removed the robes as instructed.

Sage Karl had given me these robes in exchange for lending him not only my gloves but also my coat. I still didn’t know how this exchange worked.

“…Unbelievable, I never thought I’d ever get to touch a sage’s robe.”

“Maybe taking just a little peek inside… probably won’t work, huh?”

“Who is that guy anyway for Sage Karl to lend him his robe?”

“Don’t you know? That’s the Demon Knight.”

“If you don’t want to be torn to pieces by Sage Karl, you’d better stop.”

“Right.”

Still, with everyone staying back and just watching, it was a little easier for me to move around. But seriously, what kind of wizard was that Karl guy for them to retreat at the mere sight of his robe?

With that thought in mind, I lay down on the examination table.

Not long after, several wizards gathered around me and started casting some kind of spell on my body.

“Here, take a look at the results from Hudelen as well.”

“They don’t really have many wizards specialized in essence magic there, though, right?”

“True, but the Great Sage White Wind led the examination, so it should be fairly reliable.”

“Oh, in that case.”

Ah, just lying here and listening to those people talk made me sleepy.

“There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him physically. However, the Demonic Energy level in his right arm seems higher than what’s recorded in the data.”

“More importantly, how did it end up like this? I heard he was wearing a seal crafted by the Great Sage White Wind herself, right? Could it be because of that?”

“Who knows? This seems a bit strange…?”

But I couldn’t just sleep now, right? I desperately tried to keep my eyes from closing, forcing myself to stay awake. I hoped I might catch something useful from the conversation between these wizards.

“Doesn’t this structure seem closer to a Demon Contractor than a Zombie?”

But this was a bit much.

“If you move—!”

Crunch.

“Gasp.”

As I was trying to sit up, I accidentally put too much strength into the hand holding onto the edge of the bed. A gauntlet-shaped dent was left in the metal frame.

The wizards, who were much softer than steel, collectively fell silent. Compared to those I met in Hudelen, these guys seemed far less tough.

“Did you see that? The Demonic Energy shifted.”

“I saw it.”

“Me too.”

“Did he Purify it into Arcane Power just now? I couldn’t get a clear look.”

“Erm, from what I saw, it didn’t really seem that way.”

“Hrm. So when he used it instinctively, the Demonic Energy automatically reacted?”

…Correction. It seemed they were actually even tougher. Just look at those eyes.

“Just one more time! Please, demonstrate what you did just now one more time.”

I debated whether I should pressure them a bit more for calling me a “Demon Contractor” or just go along with their demands. In the end, I chose the latter.

After all, I’d heard similar things in Hudelen, so I thought it would be better to let it go just this once.

“…”

Still, I at least made sure to look very annoyed.

Pretending to be extremely angry, I obediently followed their request.

I swung my right arm once, then my left. First weakly, then stronger. The wizards started huddling together, locked in fierce discussion.

“Hey, this is really strange. If he didn’t make some sort of contract, how could all that Demonic Energy be concentrated in just his right arm?”

“If the right arm were the core… but there’s no way, right? There’s no way the Great Sage White Wind wouldn’t have noticed.”

“If the right arm were really the core, they would have ordered it to be amputated long ago. That clearly means the Demon is just possessing him. For some reason, it seems to be directing all of its power into his right arm.”

Then, I heard something that sounded familiar to me. It wasn’t anything particularly significant.

To summarize, cutting off my right arm wouldn’t make the Demon inside of me disappear, so there was no reason to do something that drastic.

That was also precisely why I hadn’t considered cutting off my arm either.

“If it’s not because of the seal… It also seems like the Demonic Energy was concentrated in his right arm before that, so it can’t be that either.”

“Are you saying this can’t be some side effect of a contract? Couldn’t he have just offered his right arm as a vessel for the Demonic Energy while making the contract?”

“…Ben, watch your mouth. Unless you want to be killed by the Demon Knight.”

“Oh.”

Rather than that, was that guy really trying to pick a fight with my character or something? I glared at the one who kept mentioning contracts and whatnot, making sure my veins were visibly throbbing with irritation.

Lucky for him, he’d only said the distribution of the Demonic Energy was similar to that of a Demon Contractor. Had he actually called me a contractor, following my character setting, I might have been forced to stab him.

“…So is it just instinct, then, that he automatically directs all the Demonic Energy to his right arm?”

Still, despite his passion for research, it seemed he still valued his life enough to backpedal his words.

“But that doesn't really fit either, right? Contractors compartmentalize their Demonic Energy to give it higher purity, but… if he were going to use it as Arcane Power anyway, there’s no need to gather it in just one place.”

“…No, maybe this has some significance. According to the Archmage, over time…”

Their voices gradually became quieter and quieter, as if just out of reach. Well, it couldn’t be helped, but it was still a bit disappointing. I’d hoped to glean at least something new from their words this time around.

Bang!

At that moment, the door to the examination room slammed open. The rest of the Hero’s party waiting by the entrance—except for Bers, who seemed to have already anticipated it—sprang up in surprise.

“What?”

“Meister! Even if you’re a wizard, you can’t just barge in…!”

“Well. Normally, I would respect your protocol, too, but I don’t think it’s really necessary anymore after you dared to mess with one of Sage Karl’s guests, right?”

More importantly, just why was Meister here?

“Sage Liam, you know the rules. Touching someone wearing Karl’s robe is equivalent to declaring you have a death wish.”

“This is a misunderstanding. And this is something Karl should come tell me himself. Why are you…?”

“Who do you think would get here faster, Sage Karl or me? That’s why I’m here. And if this is a misunderstanding, why is the robe emitting a strong signal?”

“I didn’t even touch the robe, so why would it emit a signal…?!”

Yeah… about that. I certainly saw something touching it.

Still standing by the door, Meister turned his eyes from side to side, and I couldn’t help but follow his gaze. Naturally, Liam also turned his head to do the same—though, since I was standing behind him, he couldn’t see that I was doing the same.

“Ah, hahaha…”

A wizard in the corner was holding Sage Karl’s robe, laughing awkwardly. It was obvious he was the culprit.

“You…!”

Liam clutched his head.

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