WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer

[Translator – Aren]

◈Chapter 269 If it Exists (7)

Cough.

Just before dawn broke, I woke up with a fit of coughing. Cough, cough. I instinctively covered my mouth, feeling warmth on my palm.

That warmth overflowed, dripping down my fingers. Drip. Bloodstains marked the old blanket beneath me.

Ah. It had been nice, being surrounded by people for the first time in so long.

I gave a bitter smile, watching the rate of my damage per second climb beyond what my regeneration could handle.

It was time to leave.

“I’m sorry. I thought I’d be able to stay for a few more days.”

Draping a cloak over my shoulders and hefting my bag, which I used to hide my use of the Inventory, I smiled faintly. In my other hand was a bloodstained handkerchief. I’d just used it to cover my mouth and nose.

As soon as I announced my departure, Sir Walter and the knight trainees immediately gathered around, their faces solemn.

“The time I was given wasn’t very long.”

“…If you go to a Temple then maybe…”

Ah, that absolutely wasn’t an option. That would be an immediate death sentence.

I swallowed those words and just continued to smile instead. Sir Walter seemed to have misunderstood my actions, seeing that he was trailing off before falling silent. The knight trainees, who had heard about my situation last night, also kept their mouths shut.

Their affectionate expressions showed that they were caught between wanting to stop me and knowing that they couldn’t.

“Take a lunch box with you.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Meanwhile, Sir Walter’s wife handed me a lunch box with concern in her eyes. My bag grew warm. It was a fleeting warmth, yet one that I would remember forever.

“So where will you go now?”

“I’m not sure how much time I have left… But I’d like to see more of the world while I can. I’ve already accomplished the goal I set out to reach.”

Even if it was an act, it had to be perfect to the very end.

I turned toward the window and looked out at Tsechebator with a heavy heart. Thinking of my mother and father made it easier to let the right emotions surface.

Ah, please. I miss you both so much.

“…Or maybe I’ll head to Munmund. It might not be as impressive as here, but… It’s still a city with a Knight Academy.”

I might have let my emotions bleed into my acting a bit too much, but what could I do?

To stop myself from crying, I tightened my eyes. Though my vision blurred from the liquid pooling along my lashline, I barely managed to keep the tears from falling.

The world rippled.

“…If only I had a little more time.”

I had to somehow distract myself. To shake off the gloom, I started recalling the day I had spent at Sir Walter’s house.

The warm, lively evening, and the night filled with snoring. Having to part so suddenly without being able to fully enjoy any of it. Ah, this was bad. I felt even sadder now.

“It’s just such a shame.”

My nose let out a sniffle as I forced a smile. But when I looked back, Sir Walter and the trainees seemed to be in an even worse state than me.

“Youuuu……”

“You……”

“Uuurgh, this is just too sad……”

Wait, I was trying to hold it together here, so why were all of them crying now? Why were they the ones sobbing with tears and snot running down their faces?

Feeling my tears completely drying up at that absurdity – was that a good thing? It was, right? – I raised my hand with the handkerchief. Oh, right. It was drenched in blood. I only remembered then how wrecked that poor piece of cloth was.

The handkerchief that I had lifted, promptly fell back down.

“My God bless you……”

“There’s no way God would turn His back on someone like you. A miracle will definitely happen.”

“Uuuugh. Please, stay healthy……”

Erm, it might actually be a problem if I got a God’s blessing or something. The moment a priest cast a single buff on me it’d be like ‘-1.000! Critical Hit!’ and I’d be coughing up blood again.

I bit my lip as I accepted their well–wishes. Despite my efforts to brush it off with jokes, their sincerity still got through to me. My eyes reddened again.

“If I ever……”

Just because I would go to Munmund didn’t mean a direct path home would magically appear. So…So if I couldn’t return anytime soon, and I started to feel dreadfully lonely, then…maybe……

Ding, ding, ding.

That was when I heard the bell ring.

“…Everyone, put on your armor and grab your swords.”

It was a bell I had never heard before, but I immediately knew what it meant.

I clenched my hand which no longer held a longsword of a Zweihänder.

* * *

Before departing from Bemürchen, Deathbringer quietly glanced around the party.

The Archmage, Deathbringer himself, that annoying inquisitor, Meister. And the Hero, Inquisitor, currently absent.

While two had left, now two others had filled their place. While the lineup had changed, the headcount strangely remained the same. He wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad.

“Can we really go on like this?”

However, it was clear that despite having the same number of members, the party’s combat strength had sharply plummeted. Deathbringer’s eyes were filled with nothing but concern.

“Well… I suppose that’s something we’ll have to find out gradually, right?”

The Archmage responded quietly. Her vague phrasing, neither affirmative nor negative, made it very obvious that she, too, was uncertain about their situation.

“There’s no one left to kill Demons now.”

“Hmmmm.”

Up until now, their journey had largely consisted of the Inquisitor protecting people, and the Demon Knight and Berserk taking down powerful enemies.

In other words, no one person could handle everything, so they had divided their roles based on individual strengths.

Now with both the Demon Knight and Berserk gone, there was no one left to handle strong foes anymore. It might not matter right away, but they were definitely going to painfully feel their absence later on.

“Isn’t that what the Hero’s for?”

“…She can’t cover both offense and defense at the same time, right?”

Of course, if they had absolutely no other choice, they could ask the Inquisitor to do it. It wasn’t like she was completely incapable of attacking, her skills just leaned more towards defense.

But if that happened, who would protect the rear? Without the Hero covering their backs, it was unclear how long they would last.

“It’d honestly be lucky if just one powerful enemy showed up……”

But what if something like the Bemürchen incident happened again, with multiple enemies attacking at once, from every direction? Could they hold out while the Hero defeated them one by one? What about other people who might get caught up in the chaos?

…If they could at least win while taking some damage, that might be fortunate, but what if they still failed after taking losses? What then?

“…I’ll do my best.”

“If effort alone could fix this, wouldn’t that be great?”

“……”

Daniel had joined, but he was just an ordinary inquisitor. He couldn’t even take down a low-level Demon in one blow, and he was completely outmatched against massive beasts.

So, his presence wasn’t enough to fill the void left by the two who were gone. And Meister, who possessed some strength as a craftsman, but had not a shred of combat talent, didn’t even need a mention.

“We’ll just have to recruit someone new. Wasn’t the whole reason we’re heading to the next palace to bring in new people anyway?”

“But… Do you think someone that skilled is easy to find……?”

In the end, what they needed was someone of a high calibre. Someone who, at the very least, could hold their own to half the Hero’s level.

“If there were that many people like that around, we’d have wiped out the Demons long ago……”

But where could one even find someone like that?

In Deathbringer's opinion, for the ironwall and the Archmage to meet the Demon Knight and recruit Berserk had been a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of luck. That was how rare people with that level of skill were.

“Now just because of the damn Church, we have to……”

By now, he was cursing the Church's short-sightedness yet again. Did they even realize how much destruction could have been prevented just by letting one Demon Knight remain in the party? Did they actually want to eliminate the Demons? Those were the kinds of thoughts he held.

“They have always been completely brain-dead like that.”

Damn it……”

“…I’m still standing right here, you know.”

“So what?”

“……”

And just like that, Daniel was forced to sit there and listen to them cussing out the Church, looking visibly uncomfortable. He was probably wondering if it would be worth it to keep this a secret. Deathbringer could read him like a book.

“…You should be glad that the Representative isn’t here to hear this.”

“I’d say it even if she was here.”

“……”

This time, even Deathbringer wore a sour expression alongside him. How could that guy be a Hero’s companion? Wasn’t he just a goddamn thug? It seemed like Daniel and Deathbringer were of one mind and heart for the first time at that moment.

“Are you ready?”

At that moment, the Inquisitor returned with a grim look on her face. Her once sparkling eyes were now as rotten and lifeless as fallen leaves.

“Yes, we’ve prepared everything.”

“And the others?”

“…I’m ready too.”

Deathbringer never imagined seeing the ironwall with that look on her face. His mouth went dry with bitterness, desperately wanting to pour water on it.

If only he could wash away the despair visible in those eyes, and bring back the old foolish and honest version of her, he would have gladly spent all night collecting morning dew just to make that happen.

“…Me, too. Yeah.”

But he knew this wasn’t the kind of pain one could wash away like that.

So Deathbringer simply nodded. The Inquisitor, who had glanced his way briefly, turned her head once again.

“Then let’s move out.”

Their destination was in the North.

* * *

“You should go.”

“…Sorry.”

“If the bell rings three times, it doesn’t mean the Demons are attacking right now, but that they’re gathering.”

Because they weren’t attacking just yet, there was still time to escape. Especially given the long stretch of walls surrounding the city and the terrain that made frontal assaults difficult.

“In cases like this, merchants who don’t want to get caught in the fighting will sometimes gather together and try to flee. It’s dangerous, so I wouldn’t normally recommend it… But in your case, there’s not much of a choice.”

And if one joined a convoy of merchants fleeing together… the odds of making it out were quite high. Experience had proven as much.

The Knight, Walter, wore a grave expression.

“So if you’re going to leave, move fast. The moment the Demons show any sign of attacking, the gates will be completely shut. There won’t be time.”

“But……”

Clang.

While he was giving advice, Walter began donning his armor and equipping his sword with his wife’s help. The knight candidates were nearly geared up as well.

Only his wife and a certain sickly young man had no weapons or armor prepared.

“What are you waiting for? Or do you want to die here?”

“That’s not it, but……”

“In that case, go. Who knows how long the lockdown will last if you don’t go now.”

If it were up to Walter, he would have dragged the young man back inside, pried the truth from him, and shoved him straight into the Academy… If he were just someone with no aptitude for Arcane Power but otherwise healthy, he would have done exactly that, actually.

But he couldn’t hold onto someone whose lifespan was diminishing with each breath he took. Even with the money to buy Arcane items, his disease – perhaps his constitution – was still untreatable.

Letting the young man do whatever he wanted and live how he wished would be the best course of action. With that in mind, Walter took his helmet.

“And realistically speaking, even if you stayed, there’s not much you could do. The main enemies this time are Ghouls and Skeletons rising from the sand, and you’re someone unsuited for this kind of one-on-one combat.”

Clunk. With the helmet atop his head, he was now fully equipped for battle. It was no time to head for the walls.

“I wish I could say anything more, but… there's no time. You’re an adult, so you can figure out things for yourself, right?”

“……”

“Take care. I hope we meet again.”

Walter gave the young man’s shoulders a few pats, then turned toward his gathered Knight candidates. “We’re moving out!” The eyes of these youths, who had been enduring grueling training for a day like this, were sharp. They knew full well that they might die today, or tomorrow, or a few days from now.

“I’m heading out, dear.”

“Come back safe.”

But he desperately hoped that they wouldn’t perish. That every young life, breathing in this city, including that foolish young man who coughed up blood at every opportunity yet still longed to fight, would survive.

“…If some unexplainable luck were to come our way.”

And then, the wind blew.

“I’m sure it would be drawn to your kindness, Sir Walter.”

His wheat-colored hair gently swayed in the wind, like a field during the season of abundance just before the harvest.

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