WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer

[Translator – Aren]

◈Chapter 273 Tell Me (3)

“Atya?”

A name I couldn’t recall ever hearing before reached my ears.

At the same time, pain began to surge through me. Not something one could see outwardly, but something gnawing at me from the inside, like phantom pain.

“Ah… That can’t be.”

But it wasn’t unbearable, as it had been back at that ruined hut. Or maybe, since this was the second time, I had become somewhat bearable. Or perhaps it was the certainty that this pain had brought… me……

I clenched my teeth to endure it more easily. The clue that had suddenly landed in my lap was like an adrenaline shot. It was enough to make me straighten my back.

I could bear this. I was sure of it.

“Tisha, who’s this person……?”

“Umm, he’s an outsider who got lost on his way to Munmund, ending up here… More importantly, who are these people?”

“They’re soldiers from Munmund. They need treatment……”

Fueled by that certainty, I turned quickly toward the one who had just spoken.

A Curety with gray hair and triangular ears. Their right shoulder was half torn away, and black, variegated veins, probably due to Demonic Erosion, were spreading all over their body.

I remembered.

“Tisha, how many medicinal herbs do you have left at home?”

“I’ve stocked up a bit recently, so I should have quite a lot, but it’s probably all died out by now……!”

“Damn it……!”

Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the others’ conversation. Not that I had much of a choice. “If there aren’t any usable herbs, it’ll be difficult to treat them,” is what they said. How could I ignore that when the clue that I had finally found might slip away?

“I’m sorry for interrupting.”

With that, I reached into my bag with hands trembling from pain. If I let this person die, then I would lose the chance to hear anything from them. So, I had to offer them something. That was the decision I came to.

Of course, Tisha might start wondering where those herbs suddenly came from since he hadn’t seen them during his search. I would probably be treated even more like a spoiled noble brat, mistaken for a wizard, or worse, be suspected of hiding even more things.

“I have some medicinal herbs with me.”

However, compared to Tisha possibly suspecting me, the information that person might hold was far more important.

I kind of hated myself for weighing reasons before saving a life and loathed the reality that had forced me to act like this even more as I stared at them. Tisha and the village chief were both looking at me with bewildered expressions.

“May I offer them to you?”

“What?”

“Are you serious about that?”

“I wouldn’t joke when someone’s life is on the line. What do you need?”

“Tell us what you have first.”

What did I have again?

I thought about reciting the whole list, but instead, I simply pulled out a bundle of herbs from my inventory using my bag as cover. The Mountain Lord had told me their names, but no one outside of the Forest would probably know them. Besides, I didn’t know all their names anyway.

“You……”

As I did that, Tisha’s eyes widened slightly. If he said something like “Where did you pull those out from?!” right now, things would become a bit awkward.

I moved my hand that had been pulling out herbs and pressed my index finger to my lips. This gesture seemed to be universal, seeing that Tisha’s body jolted slightly.

His mumbling mouth and deep dimples clearly showed just how flustered he was.

“…We don’t need this one. Do you have more of this instead?”

Still, his stiffness didn’t last that long. Instead of pressing me for the truth, he began helping sort the herbs.

I was somewhat thankful for that.

“Can you treat others too?”

“I’m… not that good at that.”

“Wow, a real young master.”

“……”

I had just shown him the miracle of pulling things out of nowhere, so denying these things any further was probably pointless.

Smiling bitterly, I laid out all the necessary herbs. Those who knew how to treat wounds hurriedly grabbed them.

“I’ll help.”

“You said you didn’t know how to treat others.”

“I’m not good at that, but I can still hold people down.”

“Oh… That would definitely be helpful. Then hold this one steady!”

“Yes.”

I firmly restrained a patient who was writhing in pain. Since all it took was some physical strength, the way my arms and legs shook like I had a tremor didn’t really affect the outcome.

“Bite down on this piece of wood. Now, applying!”

Meanwhile, Tisha shoved a wooden stick into the patient’s mouth, then began stuffing herbs onto the affected area. His hands were rather dirty.

“Wait, did you wash your hands?”

“My hands? Why?”

“…Wash them first. Otherwise they’ll die from an infection.”

“Infection……?”

Right, this world was still severely lacking the concept of hygiene.

I hurriedly rolled up my sleeves and stripped off my gloves—I had no idea I would have to activate my Disguise skill so quickly again after just deactivating it—and pulled out some of my drinking water.

“Hold on.”

Splaaash.

The river water I had drawn splashed over Tisha’s hands and mine, as well as across the patient’s wound.

“That should do.”

I didn’t know if pouring water directly on the wound was really the right thing to do… but at least it was better than leaving dirt in there. As the patient let out a helpless scream and squirmed, I held down their limbs.

The treatment resumed.

“…So you’re actually an intellectual. Even in the cities, there aren’t many who know about infection.”

After one person had been treated, it was finally the turn of the one who had called me ‘Atya.’ He had been bandaged to stop the bleeding, but even so, he had lost so much blood that his face was pale to the point that the dark veins stood out even more.

“I won’t deny I’ve had a decent education.”

Was it really okay for someone in his condition to keep talking? Then again, maybe it was better for him to keep speaking than to just faint or fall asleep.

I promised myself that if I ever went back, I’d look into becoming a paramedic or at least getting certified in first aid. With that thought, I poured water over his shoulder. Half of the drinking water I had been carrying around had vanished just like that.

“Don’t close your eyes. Keep talking with me.”

“…Yes.”

Still, one patient had already been dealt with, and the other was being held down by someone else. There wouldn’t be a sudden need for more water, I thought.

With that in mind, I tossed aside the now-empty waterskin and kept the soldier’s attention while Tisha treated him.

“…Who is Atya?”

I slipped in the question I had been dying to ask. Superficially I did it to keep his mind active, but the actual reason was because I absolutely needed to hear the answer.

“He’s my… nephew. You look a lot like him……”

“Quite a lot, it seems. Considering that you thought of him the instant you saw me.”

“Yes… very much. Your hair’s a bit lighter, though… but it sometimes would look like that when the sun shone on it……”

Fortunately or unfortunately, being on the verge of death seemed to have lowered his guard quite a lot. He told me everything without even knowing who I was.

His left hand clutched at the small charm pouch hanging from his neck.

That was when a pain stabbed through my chest, as though a hundred needles were piercing me. I couldn’t tell if it was because of guilt or the physical pain I was suffering from.

“Still… his eyes were a bit different… His were this strange greenish-brown……”

“…I see.”

Maybe if blood came up with the pain, it would hurt less. My body trembled, but I forced a smile.

“If you want to see that nephew again, you’ll have to hold on. If you die here, you’ll never make it home.”

Was I really saying that to him right now? If Atya was the person I hoped him to be, he'd already be dead. And knowing that, was it right for me to speak this way?

“…Just a little longer. Hang in there.”

But I wanted to go home.

“…How strange.”

“What is?”

“The more I look at you, the more you seem to resemble Atya… But the way you speak is so different……”

“…Is that so?”

So Atya, his nephew, must have had a more stubborn personality. I waited, almost crying as I smiled, for the patient to finish his words. I hadn’t heard what I needed yet.

Fsssh. The pain seared even hotter, as though firebrands were being burned into my flesh, and it grew harder and harder for me to swallow the groans that came up my throat.

“What… kind of person… was he?”

“Amazing… brilliant and clever. But… not the soldier type… He hated rules and rigid order… completely unlike his parents……”

But his words were slowing down, slurring. And in that moment, the pain ravaging my body vanished, replaced by a rush of panic. My hand tightened around my shoulder reflexively.

“But he was a good kid……”

Sob. I suddenly heard a sob slip through someone’s teeth. But while there were many screaming in pain, none of them were crying like that.

“You can’t sleep yet. It’s not over.”

“Forgive me, but I’m just so tired……”

“I know, but you need to stay awake just a little longer, please.”

“Yes, yes……”

But it had to just be my imagination. It had to be.

Otherwise, what did it make me, someone who couldn’t even see his own family, to be standing before a dying man and acting like that?

“First aid’s done. We need to move him inside now.”

“Ah, yes.”

Blankly, I followed Tisha’s instructions and lifted the patient. The unending, burning pain made my legs falter, but everyone else just assumed it was because the man I was carrying was heavy.

“Want me to help?”

“I… I’m fine.”

I kept walking, forcing a shaky smile. Cold sweat streamed down my face, but the urgency of the situation kept anyone from noticing. The palms of my gloveless hands became slick with sweat.

“Thank you……”

Just then, the man in my arms whispered.

His voice was so faint that if my hearing were any worse, I wouldn’t have heard it at all. His body, drained of all its strength, sagged heavier in my arms.

“Ah.”

Just like before, the pain vanished completely in my urgency. I quickened my pace. Rustle. I laid him down on the prepared bed. I could see his chest rise and fall slightly.

Not dead yet.

He wasn’t dead yet.

“…Will he make it?”

“Who knows? He’s lost far too much blood……”

I pushed aside the question of whether the relief I felt came from empathy for a fellow person or from my own selfish feelings as I sat down, dazed.

I wanted to cry. Or maybe laugh.

No, what I wanted most of all……

“…He has to live.”

The pressure in my chest forced me to unbutton the first few buttons of my shirt while I rubbed my face with my other hand. It was only a beat later that I realized my hands were smeared with blood from the people I had helped treat.

My cheek felt damp. It should have felt warm, yet now it was as cold as ice.

“From here on, it’s in God’s hands. Go wash up.”

“…Yes.”

I shuddered at that. Every inch of my body ached as though I had been beaten thoroughly, and yet I bore not a single wound, and that only made the feeling stronger.

Still, I did as Tisha suggested.

* * *

“Things are already busy enough as is, so why are the wild beasts going berserk now of all times?”

Meanwhile, on the road leading towards Brisden or Hirsenzig, at a small village outside of Schuburcken, Deathbringer grumbled.

Thanks to those beasts, they had been delayed for half a day.

“Still, at least we won’t be sleeping on the streets tonight……”

Of course, if they had pressed on past the village, they would have been forced to camp on the road. In that sense, the beast incident wasn’t entirely bad. After all, it was a lot more comfortable to sleep in a bed inside the village than on the dirty road.

“Hmmm……”

But still. Being held back by something so petty when they were in such a hurry was truly infuriating. It made one want to kick away every pebble in the vicinity just because they were there.

“Maybe they’re taking orders from the Demons.”

“…Please don’t say things like that, even as a joke.”

Just then, Meister tossed out one of his usual insufferable remarks. Daniel’s face instantly turned cold.

It seemed like he had actually pictured the beasts on this world moving at the mere command of a Demon.

“Why are you so repulsed?”

“…Hmm. Well, I suppose it is a rather horrifying thought.”

Deathbringer found it quite unsettling, too. It didn’t help that this was mealtime, and the dish in front of him had been made from the very beasts they had hunted.

“You two really can’t stomach much, can you?”

“Or maybe you’re just abnormal……”

“Look at the Hero. She’s perfectly fine.”

“Not, she’s……”

Deathbringer’s lips twitched as he glanced at the Inquisitor, who was quietly eating.

This wasn't about having a strong or weak stomach. That woman was simply not acknowledging this conversation at all… But Deathbringer didn’t dare to let these words climb out of his throat.

“Are all wizards like this?”

In the end, he chose to steer the topic elsewhere.

“Not really.”

The Archmage, who had been eating silently, finally spoke up.

Her curt tone, one that left no room for any follow-up words, carried her clear intent to keep Meister’s bizarre behavior from tainting the reputation of every wizard.

“Of course… compared to ordinary people, most of us do have higher tolerance for certain topics. The range varies depending on one’s field of study, but generally speaking, yes.”

Even so, her conscience seemed to be slightly pricked, trying to let this matter go so lightly, so added further explanation to her words even though no one asked her to.

“But not to that degree.”

She still didn’t deny that Meister was exceptional in his own way. “What’s so wrong with me?” Meister muttered, his face turning sour.

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