WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer

[Translator – Aren]

◈Chapter 274 Tell Me (4)

“Uhm……”

The Archmage had hastily drawn a line to prevent the spreading of unfair prejudice, but it seemed like Meister had taken offense at that very act.

Daniel carefully raised his hand.

“Erm, does magic have various fields of study? I always thought it was just a single discipline……”

The question that he raised was about wizards. For an ordinary person with little contact with them, it was a completely reasonable question to have.

“Heh. That’s like saying a single doctor should be able to treat both external wounds and internal illnesses.”

Naturally, Meister didn’t have the slightest intention of being understanding of Daniel’s ignorance. He didn’t care that this knowledge was something even the most worldly, knowledgeable person might not know.

Daniel’s eyes rolled awkwardly at Meister’s disdainful gaze.

“…So it’s not like that?”

“Are you sure you actually belong to the Church?”

“…I have never served as a healer before.”

“But you must’ve at least worked with them or received some treatment from them, right?”

“Erm, well……”

Still, Deathbringer made no move to save Daniel from this exchange. True, he hadn’t known this detail until he began traveling with this party either, but that was beside the point.

“Do you just carry that head of yours around for decoration?”

…Seeing Daniel getting chewed out like that all the time seemed a bit pitiful, but still, beside the point.

“Don’t be so harsh. There are fields you simply can’t understand until you’ve tried them yourself.”

“Tsk.”

Only after the Archmage stepped forward did Meister finally shut his mouth.

“I’ll explain this just once, so clean out your ears and listen carefully. If you ask again, I’ll make your eardrums burst.”

No, he still couldn’t just tolerate others’ ignorance, so he opened his mouth, determined to hammer his knowledge into the other’s head.

“Magic does have fields as well. For instance, there’s Essence Magic, which explores the fundamental nature of matter, or Nature Magic, which attempts to understand the flow of the natural world and mimic it……”

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, he didn’t intend to impart any higher-level knowledge. He just kept his explanation at the conceptual level.

As such, Denial and Deathbringer, forced into this sudden lecture during their meal, both wore awkwardly crumpled expressions. The Inquisitor, on the other hand, simply continued to eat silently.

“…Lastly, there’s Life Magic, which analyzes and manipulates life itself.”

“……?”

Then he suddenly paused. Deathbringer perked up his ears, noticing that Meister’s voice had dipped slightly at that moment. Even the Inquisitor, who had appeared completely uninterested in the conversation, suddenly clenched her fists, but that wasn’t important to him at the moment.

Did he perhaps dislike Life Magic? His dark green eyes intently stared at Meister’s face.

“Wait… Analyzing and manipulating life? That sounds like……”

“Like encroaching on the domain of God? Exactly. There are wizards like that.”

“That’s blasphemy!”

Ah, seriously, so noisy.

Deathbringer frowned reflexively at Daniel’s outburst. He, too, felt kind of uncomfortable with the idea of meddling with life itself, but Life Magic was something pretty far removed from him, while Daniel was standing right beside him. His lips pursed slightly.

“The Magic Tower is aware of this and just lets it be?”

“Look, you stubborn priest. You’ve got the wrong idea—”

But now wasn’t the time to worry about Daniel. Half by habit, half by occupational instinct, Deathbringer carefully observed Meister.

That subdued voice, the slightly darkened eyes, and those defensively crossed arms.

“When I say ‘analyze and manipulate,’ I mean things like regenerating severed limbs or studying the physiology of Demons to find weaknesses, got it? Stuff like creating new life forms was outlawed by wizards long before the Church ever got wind of it. You think we’re idiots?”

Meanwhile, Meister’s hand kept brushing over the back of his neck.

“And Life Magic wasn’t originally created for making new beings. It began when a wizard who lost a family member tried to overcome the limitations of medicine, so it started as a branch of Healing Magic.”

But was he really just brushing over his neck?

“…That’s all it is. Just like there are corrupt priests, there are wizards who cross the line. That’s what this is.”

Deathbringer’s dark green eyes scanned those gloved fingers. They weren’t just randomly brushing over the neck but were actually tracing a circular tattoo engraved on it.

“…My apologies. I seem to have overreacted. I didn’t realize it was a discipline with such a meaningful origin.”

“Forget about it. Whatever the starting point, the truth is Life Magic’s also the field that gathers the most lunatics.”

“Uhm, erm… Is that so?”

“Hm… It is. The place Life Magic’s mostly practiced is in the North after all, where the fiercest battlefront lies… and where disregard for life runs deepest. So it’s no wonder many of this field’s followers are willing to use any means necessary.”

“Any means necessary……”

“In case you ever go to the North, stay far away from the Magic Tower there. It’s… not a place worth seeing.”

Deathbringer watched the man’s hand, which had been tracing the ring-shaped tattoo, now scratching at another tattoo on his forearm this time. It didn’t seem like a conscious action.

“I agree. A rigid priest like you would wind up a criminal the moment you set foot there.”

“…Why would I become a criminal?”

“Because you wouldn't be able to tolerate those lunatics' mad experiments. You’d start swinging that sword of yours, and next thing you know, the city guard’s throwing you into jail.”

But was it really normal for someone to touch only those tattooed parts without even looking properly, completely unconsciously?

…Even though he never showed such a habit before?

“…So, it’s really that bad?”

“They don’t stop at dissecting live Demons. Some Magic Towers even conduct experiments on people under the Church's supervision. That would be quite hard to tolerate for a rigid person like you, wouldn’t you say?”

“E-experiments on people……?”

“Ah, but of course, kidnapping people for research is illegal. The guys who try that get their heads smashed in on sight, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about……! Are there actually those who just kidnap people?”

“You think the existence of laws means there aren’t any criminals? Of course there are.”

“Such things……!!”

Deathbinger silently cursed his occupational instincts as he watched Meister chuckle. Damn it. He hadn’t meant to dig into that idiot’s past.

He felt kind of uneasy for some reason.

* * *

“What the hell happened?”

The situation wasn’t exactly one where I could take a proper bath, so I just followed the villagers to the well and washed off some of the blood covering me. Thank goodness the wig was tightly fixed in place. Even when I splashed water over my head, it didn’t budge.

“They say they dispatched soldiers to check how many Demons were occupying the road. But apparently there were far more than expected……”

“You mean they were all attacked by Demons……?”

“I’m not sure. I only heard bits and pieces from their rambling, but judging by the black veins spreading across their skin, it’s pretty clear that they were attacked by Demons.”

“This is……”

That was how I learned of this mess of a situation. More precisely, why those three people had come back with wounds all over their bodies.

“They were pretty lucky actually.”

Could one really call this lucky? One man had his shoulder half torn away, another had his belly ripped open so his entrails nearly spilled out, and the last had his hand ripped clean off.

“…And the others?”

“No one knows. But isn’t it pretty damn obvious they’re dead? The fact that the soldiers dispatched were so helplessly maimed means there were just that many Demons out there.”

I couldn’t entirely deny it. As the village chief said, there must have been those who couldn’t even attempt to flee.

“Hmm, I should’ve asked sooner, but who exactly are you?”

I suddenly found myself wondering just how many people were still alive beyond those walls, and if I rushed out now, how many I could save.

“…Just a traveler.”

But if I did save them, if I fought through that horde of Demons that had defeated those soldiers, what then? Could evade the questions that would inevitably follow? Could I avoid suspicion about who I really was?

“A traveler who knows a bit of magic.”

Even so, despite all the anxiety I was feeling, those were the words that left my mouth.

“Please tell me where they came running from. If there are any survivors left, I want to bring them back.”

“What?!”

A sound too strained to be called laughter escaped Tisha’s mouth.

“Are you out of your mind?! Didn’t you hear the village chief just now?! The soldiers were completely helpless!!”

“I did hear that, yes……”

“And you still want to go out there?!”

Tisha completely bristled up in alarm, though I couldn’t say why. We hadn’t really known each other for long, yet he was worrying over me this much. I clenched my hands a few times.

“But if there’s even a slight chance that there are still some survivors, I can’t just leave them.”

“Rescuing survivors has to be done with some judgment! And right now the roads are crawling with Demons, you know?!”

“It’s fine. I can handle myself.”

“No, Demons aren’t the type of being you could just handle or something……!”

Tisha pounded his chest in frustration, seeing that he couldn’t get through. The village chief, on the other hand, who had been standing there silently until now, finally spoke with a calm face.

“…That’s suicide.”

It seemed like he wanted to stop me as well.

“Hmm. Perhaps it is.”

And he wasn’t exactly wrong. The Demons roaming outside wouldn’t be able to kill me, but if fighting them led to my identity being exposed, that would also be a type of suicide, I guess.

“But if I don’t act for that reason, then I’ll just bring dishonor to myself. It would mean that even though I could have done something, I turned away just because I didn’t want to take any risks.”

But in the end, this only would become a problem if I got caught, right? I just had to avoid others seeing me fight and not show them anything that could remind them of the Demon Knight.

“On the other hand, what might appear like a gamble for me might be the one and only chance for those people, you know?”

So I accepted that rationalization, trying hard to convince myself.

“In other words… I have no other choice.”

I would definitely go out there to be at peace with myself.

“You……”

Tisha and the village chief’s eyes widened.

Still, both of them refused to point out the way for me immediately. I could understand why they acted like that. To them, I probably looked like a suicidal madman, taking on a deadly mission, and now, on top of that, I was even asking them to assist me with my suicide attempt.

Even if my intentions were noble, who would ever want to enable something like that? So it was only natural that they hesitated.

I greatly sympathized with them.

“If you don’t want to tell me, I can just find it out myself. Would that be alright?”

But I couldn't drag this out for too long. I pulled out the gloves from my pocket again.

My wet hands didn’t slide into them easily, but I forced them on. My bloodied sleeves covered them, and then I threw my cloak back over my shoulders and upper body.

“…It’s that way.”

“Thank you.”

“…But I won’t open the gate for you. If I open it and Demons rush in, we’d……”

“That’s fine. I can just jump over.”

“Young master. Aren’t you saying that a bit too lightly……?”

I simply smiled faintly at TIsha’s words.

“Instead, erm, if I bring the survivors back, please at least prepare something so they can be taken inside without opening the gate. Would you at least help me out that much?”

“As long as it doesn’t mean opening the gate, I don’t mind… But how do we get someone in here without doing that?”

“Ah, hm.”

Didn’t they have stretchers for mountain rescues here? After pondering over it for a moment, I pulled paper and a fountain pen from my inventory and sketched something quickly.

The villagers' eyes widened at the objects that had suddenly appeared from nowhere, but that didn’t matter. I had already claimed that I could use some magic.

“If you manage to… make something like this while I’m gone, then once I return, you can lower it from the wall. I’ll just lay the survivors on it, and you pull them up. This way you won’t need to open the gate.”

“I…I see.”

“I’ll leave this paper with you.”

How fortunate that all that webtoon work made me as fast as lightning at drawing. If I wasn’t, it would have taken up far too much time.

I handed the sketch to the village chief before heading for the wall he had pointed towards. If the gate I had entered through was at the six o’clock position, this one was around ten.

“I’ll be back.”

“…Even if you can’t save anyone, no one will blame you. Just make sure to come back alive, young master!”

“Yeah.”

Alright. Looks like the Demons hadn’t made it this far yet.

I drew a deep breath, deactivating my Disguise skill. The lingering debugs hadn’t completely faded yet, but……

“I’ll see you later.”

This much was nothing. I quickly leaped over the two-story-tall wall.

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