WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer

[Translator – Aren]

◈Chapter 267 If it Exists (5)

“Uhm… So you’re asking if there was an incident where three knights died overnight?”

“More precisely, three knights and their family members.”

“Hmm. Can’t say I’ve heard of anything like that.”

“…Is that so?”

“Or wait, are you maybe talking about the Battle of Batero? Or maybe the Battle of Brüsada?”

“Battle of Brüsada… I don’t think so. But what’s the Battle of Bartero……?”

“Twelve years ago, there was a huge invasion by Demons. It was such a fierce battle that even in a city where losing one Knight was considered a big deal, seven were killed……”

I see… Twelve years ago. Would that line up with the timeline?

I looked at the stall owner with expectant eyes, hoping for a more detailed explanation, while I tried to figure out if this fit in the already established timeline. He accepted my silent request with a shrug and continued.

“One of the prestigious knightly families of this city was wiped out because of it. Sir Rippenstein, the family head and knight himself, died along with his successor… Hmm. That’s how it is.”

Seemingly something that one should shout about, he offered me a seat and lowered his voice, leaning closer to me, speaking in a whisper. It was just loud enough for me to hear and just enough for me to start wondering, ‘Could it be?’

“…A knightly family?”

“If a family produces a knight every generation, that’s what we usually call a knightly family. You didn’t know?”

“Ah… So that’s what that means.”

If they produced a knight every generation, they would call those families knightly families.

Then was the Demon Knight really from one of those families? Considering his father, older brother, and older sister were all Knights, chances of that were quite high……

“Would you happen to remember what they looked like?”

I pulled out a pouch of pre-boiled tea for the stall owner who had offered me a seat. The pouch was made out of leather, but it had been in my inventory, so the tea shouldn’t have taken on the smell of it.

“You carry your own cups?”

Well, yeah… I mean, it was still hot when I put it in, so how else was I supposed to drink it with that tiny opening?

“Anyway, I can tell you what I remember… But I only ever saw them from a distance.”

“It’s enough even if it’s something small… like their hair color.”

“That’s a relief then. But hey, why’s the tea still warm?”

“I boiled it right before leaving the inn.”

“Even so, how could it still be this warm……?”

The stall owner tilted his head but thankfully didn’t push any further, returning to the topic at hand.

“Anyway, those folks didn’t really have a hair color.”

“……?”

“They were from the Shaggi tribe. Ones with scales at that.”

“Ah……”

If they were scaly Shaggi, that would explain it. They often had their whole body covered in scales instead of fur.

“They were huge. I’d say at least two heads taller than you.”

“And… Their children?”

“Same. The kids took after their father, all covered in those elegant black scales… A real shame.”

And like that, the ‘could it be’ turned out to be an ‘of course not.’ They weren’t the people I was looking for.

“So, was that what you were after?”

“No… I don’t think they’re the people I’m looking for.”

I opened my mouth, then let my gaze fall down.

“The people I’m looking for were all Middle.”

Although my memory of that opening cutscene had faded quite a bit, there were still some fragments I could recall. The Demon Knight’s father, older brother, and sister had all been Middle Knights.

“There are no knightly families entirely made up of Middle in this city……”

“I see.”

All three of them had brown hair, and their mother and the youngest kid had gray hair. I couldn’t quite recall their eye color, since the eyes were too small for me to make out and kept changing under the shifting light.

“Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”

“It’s okay. I guess… This just wasn’t the right place.”

Still, even if the people presumed to be the Demon Knight’s late family weren’t here, that was fine. I stood up from the small chair, feeling somewhat relieved. This seat had no backrest and wasn’t even that comfortable to sit on unless I tucked my legs up.

“Leaving already?”

“Yes. Thank you for sharing this story with me.”

Of course, I didn’t plan to leave the city right away just because of this one lead. One never knew, depending on who one asked, I might be able to uncover something I might have missed otherwise.

So I decided to continue investigating. Even if it meant seeking out those related to the Knight Academy… or asking around random people.

And if that still gave me no results, I would just move on to another city. After all, the one in Mannafeld wasn’t the only Knight Academy in the East.

I could always just go to the city of Bergard, which I had put off visiting because it was the farthest away. It was the place the City Lord who gave me a few leads before was in charge of.

It was a bit far, and considering my current identity, I was saving that as a last resort… But at the very least, I still had other options besides this city.

I quietly pressed down my rising anxiety.

Bustle, bustle.

Maybe it was fate or something, but right then noise began pouring out from within the school building. Judging by the mixed mess of voices and footsteps approaching the passage leading through the wall, it seemed like the students would soon come out.

“Oh dear, look at me. I got so caught up talking that I forgot to get things ready.”

“Ah… Was that because of me?”

“Not just because of you……”

The stall owner started to get busy, hurriedly stuffing fillings onto the prepared bread.

“They're out earlier than usual today. Normally, they wouldn’t be done for another thirty minutes.”

His words seemed to be right, seeing that he wasn’t the only one who suddenly picked up the pace. The other food vendors were also trying to quickly get ready. Everyone seemed flustered since the students came out so early today.

“Would you like some help?”

“I’d appreciate it, but are you sure you can manage?”

“As long as it’s not actual cooking, I can handle it.”

With that said, I rolled up my sleeves. He had shown me kindness, and I wasn’t one to lose in generosity.

While he lit the fire to grill meat, I swapped out the nearly empty pickle jars with full ones and laid up the bread.

Soon enough, the horde of ravenous diners, fresh out of training, began to storm here.

“Ugh, I’m starving!”

“Two, please!”

“I want mine stuffed with meat!”

The soldiers slightly tilted their heads, confronted with the unfamiliar face, but then quickly focused on satisfying their hungry stomachs, shouting out orders.

Thanks to that, I could help the stall owner without attracting too much attention. All I did was fill the buns with pickled vegetables and handle the payment, so it wasn’t really hard.

“It’s really busy.”

“It’ll ease up after this wave.”

Another silver lining was that the crowd of customers was spread out across several stalls, so I only had to handle a portion of them.

After surviving the flood of orders, it seemed to me that things were starting to calm down again. My hands, which had been moving quickly, stretched out slightly in the air.

“Do you do this every day?”

“Sure do.”

“That must be really exhausting……”

“Life’s tough all around, isn’t it?”

The owner chuckled and gave me his thanks. He said today was easier thanks to me.

“Do you want me to refund the bread you had as payment for the help?”

“No, that’s alright.”

“Huh, really?”

“If it weren’t for you, I would’ve had to go ask around a lot more just to hear about what you told me.”

“Well, that’s a relief then……”

He scratched his head bashfully and offered to treat me to dinner. Apparently, his kid had moved out recently, and his wife was feeling a bit lonely. He also added that he would appreciate having some company.

“I’d be grateful for the invitation, but……”

“Boss, if you’re still open, I’ll take… Oh? Isn't that the young man from earlier?”

But that invitation was interrupted by something unexpected.

“What are you doing here?”

It was the Knight I had met earlier at the checkpoint, now arriving as a customer.

“You know each other… Sir?”

Even the most sociable shopkeeper would stiffen up in the presence of a Knight in full plate armor. So the usually friendly stall keeper reflexively slipped into formal speech, glancing back and forth between the Knight and me. It seemed like he was trying to figure out if I was some kind of big shot.

“I saw him at the checkpoint earlier.”

“Aah……”

But there was no need to let someone who helped me out so much worry about that kind of nonsense. I gently cleared up the misunderstanding before turning to face the Knight again.

“I couldn’t go inside the school… So I was getting information from this gentleman here. I decided that I might as well help him out while I was at it.”

“I see.”

Well, it wasn’t like I had gotten any information about the Academy, but the Knight didn’t need to know that. And the stall keeper, who was clearly quite scared by the Knight’s mere presence, wasn’t about to tell him otherwise.

Besides, it technically wasn’t that much of a lie.

“I’d love to give you a quick tour myself, but… that place is off-limits to civilians.”

“I understand.”

Rather, it was surprising that a Knight I had only met once would talk to me so kindly.

While wondering if my act before had been too convincing, I bid the stall owner farewell. Dinner was clearly out of the question now, so I at least wanted to leave on a good note.

“Erm, take care.”

As expected, the stall owner, wearing a slightly conflicted expression, didn’t try to stop me, only whispering some odd encouragement like “Hope you learn something.”

“This might be fate, so if there’s anything you’re curious about, feel free to ask. As long as it doesn’t compromise security, I’ll answer.”

Meanwhile, the Knight who had just gotten his stuffed bun from the stall keeper made an offer. A really welcome one at that. Who would know better about Knights than another Knight?

“Do you happen to know a Middle Knight who raised both his eldest son and eldest daughter to be Knights as well? I heard the second son was also a Knight candidate.”

“Hmm… Do you know his name?”

“I don’t.”

“Any physical traits?”

“Ah, I do know he had chestnut-brown hair.”

“Brown… That’s pretty common.”

“…Also, I believe he already passed away. Together with his entire family, all at once.”

“Hmm?”

The Knight, who had been stroking his mustache, paused for a moment.

“So that’s who you meant. The Ember of Munmund.”

Bzzt. My right arm suddenly began to burn with pain.

“…You know him?”

“I can’t say for sure if he’s the one you're looking for, but I do know him. He was the most famous Knight in Munmund, after all.”

But the pain didn’t bother me. I had found him. My hand tightened over my shoulder, the calloused fingertips scraping over my sleeve.

“But why are you looking for him?”

“…Someone who taught me swordsmanship briefly once said they wished they could have learned properly under that Knight. That’s all I heard, but once I set out on this journey, I started to become curious about him.”

As the conversation continued, I tried to quickly come up with an excuse. I hadn’t expected to come across such concrete information so quickly, so it might be a bit rushed, but this was the best I could come up with.

“So he was affiliated with Munmund? I assumed he was a Knight of Tsechebator.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well… If he was esteemed enough to be talked about like that, I figured he must have been a truly outstanding Knight. And when I think of highly skilled Knights, Tsechebator is the first place that comes to my mind.”

Of course, I couldn’t just end it there and risk raising suspicion. I quickly tried steering the conversation into a different direction.

Tsechebator’s the best, number one. The first place that would come to mind when thinking about the best, better than Munmund! That was what I tried to convey indirectly, to which the Knight’s expression changed slightly. He didn’t look displeased but rather extremely pleased.

It seemed like my diversion had worked perfectly.

“Ahem, I can see why you’d think that. Ahem, quite understandable.”

Twitching his lips, he gave me a few hearty pats on the shoulder. -300. -300. -300. My HP sharply dropped, and my throat filled with red liquid.

“Cough.”

“Uwah, are you alright?!”

“I-I’m fine.”

Was this some kind of sitcom?

I wiped the blood from my mouth with a pale face and waved my hands to calm the concerned Knight down. It took quite some time.

.

.

.

“So, what will you do now?”

It was only after the blood finally stopped coming out of my mouth that the Knight finally asked me calmly.

It was a difficult question to answer.

“Hmm……”

Honestly, I wanted to head to Munmund right away, but… realistically speaking, that would be quite tough. I needed to restock the supplies I had used up getting here, and I really wanted to sleep in a soft bed for once.

“I’m not sure. I guess I just came here without much thought, feeling like it probably wouldn’t work out.”

More importantly, if I said I would head straight for Munmund, I had a feeling the barely raised favorability with this Knight would instantly drop all the way back to zero. Even if it was just a fleeting encounter, I would rather avoid that.

“Hmmm……”

“And I don’t exactly have much money left for travel either……”

Well, considering my Disguise skill, I would probably have to leave in two or three days anyway. I smiled awkwardly, equating my abysmally low HP with travel funds.

“Still, I did get to lay eyes on the place I had dreamed of entering, so even that much is satisfying eno—”

“You!”

“Huh?”

The Knight suddenly reached out for my hand. It was fortunate that I didn’t instinctively pull away thanks to my desperate efforts.

Avoiding his hand here would look incredibly suspicious after all. Just let him grab it. Just let him. His hands were covered in crumbs, but still, let him grab it……!

“Then how about staying at my place for a few days?”

But that determination wavered when faced with the question that followed.

“Even if I can’t take you inside the school, I can give you a taste of what we do there.”

Urgh, was letting him grab my hand really the right call……?

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