WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer

[Translator – Aren]

◈Chapter 280 Tell Me (10)

“A wizard, huh.”

Gunther glanced toward the one lying down as he listened to the wounded soldier’s words. According to his testimony, the man, diagnosed to be suffering from ‘Arcane Power overuse, leading to an overload and fainting,’ had been sleeping peacefully for more than half a day now.

Considering he had collapsed after coughing up a mouthful of blood, his current peaceful appearance almost seemed absurd.

Well, considering that the wizard who had examined him shrieked, “How is he even alive?! His insides are in a complete mess!” It seemed like his internal state wasn’t quite as tranquil, but still.

Compared to most wizards who would thrash about and scream after receiving a similar diagnosis, this guy really did look as though he was simply enjoying a peaceful nap.

“He’s quite fit for a wizard.”

“…I believe it’s hardly right for a traveler to be frail.”

“No, I didn't mean it like that……”

Gunther kept thinking about the man’s identity. His image of a wizard locked away in his study, immersed in some research, didn’t exactly match with this guy’s well-built physique.

“I meant to say that his body looks too developed even for a traveler.”

“If I may offer my opinion, my Lord, couldn’t it be that he’s worked as a mercenary? Even a wandering wizard would surely find himself in battle now and then, so he must have been quite active physically.”

“Hmm……”

Whether it was because he had understood something about the other man when he was reduced, or because fighting alongside him had left him feeling close to him, the soldier went so far as to defend the wizard with quite some enthusiasm despite the difference in rank between him and the soldier. 

Even accounting for Gunther’s habit of treating his men without aloofness or flaunting his rank, this was quite unusual.

“You seem to have grown quite close to him, huh?”

“…My apologies, young lord.”

“Ah, no, no. Don’t bow. I wasn’t trying to reproach you. It just slipped out of my mouth without thought. If it were me, I would also defend my comrade if someone suspected them after fighting through a Demon-infested forest along with me.”

Besides, the soldier wasn’t exactly wrong. Gunther had no intentions of chastising him. He was just curious as to why the man was so attached to this wizard, and that lingering question of “Is that really all?” floated through his mind.

“…It’d help if we could take a look at his hands.”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind.”

If he could just take off his shirt—there hadn’t been a need to do that during the initial examination. All they did was take his pulse at his wrist—or check the calluses on his palms, he could confirm his suspicions.

But the former would be far too indecent, and to pull off his gloves while he slept would be quite discourteous. Gunther forced himself to restrain his curiosity to preserve his dignity. 

Twitch. The man finally stirred.

“He seems to be waking up. You should go and rest for now.”

“…Yes.”

If the wizard was coming to, there was no further need to press this soldier. Gunther dismissed him so he could rest, then turned his attention to the slowly awakening wizard.

“Hmm.”

A low, muffled sound escaped the man’s throat, and his wheat-colored eyelashes fluttered. As his eyes cracked open a little, the sunlight streaming through the window obscured their color.

“Ah.”

And just as quickly, they disappeared from view again. The man had raised a hand to cover his face, letting out an “Ah?” as his other hand groped around the bed. It seemed like he was searching for something.

“Your glasses are on the nightstand to your right.”

“……!”

His mother had lived her whole life wearing glasses, so he recognized this action of immediately reaching for one’s spectacles the moment one woke up. As such, Gunther kindly offered him the information he seemed to need.

The man immediately turned toward the nightstand on his right.

“Thank you… I thought I had lost them for a moment.”

Finally, after slipping them on, he greeted him, wearing a faint smile. Through the lenses, his eyes appeared green.

Though Gunther could have sworn they’d looked lighter before. Even though he had this slight sense of dissonance, he dismissed it quickly. It was just a vague unease, not even worthy to be put into words, incomparable to the nostalgia stirred by those green eyes and wheat-colored hair.

“You really do look so similar to him, it’s driving me mad.”

“Pardon?”

“But you’re not him.”

If it truly were Atya, he wouldn't have just stared at him so blankly at that. He would have smirked, saying something like, ‘As if. This handsome face couldn’t possibly exist twice in the same world.’

“…Of course. There’s no way he would come back now.”

And yet.

Even though he had already known the answer…

Gunther felt slightly sorrowful. Even though he knew full well that Atya’s hair wasn’t this curly, was a darker shade, had never worn glasses, and couldn’t use the slightest bit of magic, he had still held on to some hope against all reason.

“You there.”

That was how deep his longing for the four children of Sir Amber, who were practically like his own siblings, was.

“Ah, yes?”

“Do you have any proof of your identity?”

“…No.”

“I thought as much.”

But he couldn’t afford to let his personal sentiment push aside his duty completely.

If he let private feelings sway public matters, then he could never be a proper Lord. However, there was a huge difference between doing something and not doing it.

So Gunther forcibly pressed down his gloom and focused on his work.

“Going by our law, you have no right to enter this city as you are. Normally, that is.”

The young man, still pale as if still unwell, listened intently.

“But you helped a soldier of Munmund, and we have some testimony that you are a wizard. Taking these extraordinary circumstances into account, I will grant you temporary permission to stay within Munmund.”

Something about his strangely youthful tone—despite being a lot taller than him—somehow made Gunter soften his voice quite a bit despite himself. This change was entirely unconscious.

“However, it’s only temporary. This doesn’t mean you are free to do as you please. You are a wizard, and Munmund is currently under wartime conditions. This is nothing more than due process. I trust you have no objections.”

Now that he looked closer… He seemed to resemble Fasha more than Atya.

That thought came to Gunther almost reflexively. Even he found it absurd.

“Therefore, you are given two options. First, remain in the guard’s prison until the war is over. Second, be employed by the city, and serve Munmund in your capacity as a wizard.”

After all, unlike Atya, who had inherited Sir Amber’s brown hair, his younger brother Fasha’s hair had been a calm gray. Even his eyes matched that muted shade, lacking any resemblance to this young man’s green.

“Of course, being locked up in the guard’s prison doesn’t mean you’ll be treated like a criminal. You’ll be given three meals a day, a bed the same as the soldiers use, and some degree of freedom at the guard captain’s discretion. The important part is that you’ll remain under supervision.”

Naturally, the young man’s features bore a great resemblance to him as well. Since Atya and Fasha were brothers, and this young man looked similar to Atya, that was only to be expected.

“But if you were to accept employment……”

Even so, strangely enough, it was Fasha who kept coming to Gunther’s mind. At first, he could only think of Atya, but the moment Fasha popped into mind, he was the clear victor when it came to who resembled this man more.

“If you were to do that……”

For example, if little Fasha, that round-cheeked boy who had once tried to stiffen his face in a childish attempt to be like his father, had grown into an adult. If only his hair and eye color had changed. If this young man had gray hair instead, like that person Gunther had caught a fleeting glimpse of in Hudelen.

Then perhaps he might have looked just like this.

“I’ll make sure that you’re treated as comfortably as possible.”

It was nothing more than an idle thought.

Gunther bit the inside of his cheek as memories of the boy, who had practically been like his own younger brother to him, surfaced.

Damn it, now he found himself longing to see Fasha, Atya, and Rinya, too. Even Alya, the second daughter. And along with them, Sir Amber’s wife, who always waited patiently at home. And of course Sir Amber himself, who would open the door, always welcoming him. All of them.

“…Treated comfortably?”

But it seemed his yearning had somewhat seeped into his voice. Gunther cursed himself for his mutterings.

“With the city under siege by Demons, every man capable of fighting is valuable. And if you could cut through that encirclement while carrying a soldier, then you can’t be just an ordinary wizard. What comfort couldn't we provide to someone like you? In the end, it's a mutually beneficial deal.”

“Well… that’s true, I suppose.”

At least he had managed to somehow cover up his slip of the tongue. Gunther watched the young man’s thoughtful expression, waiting for his decision.

Either way, this guy did not strike him as someone who would bring harm to Munmund. If his old man heard this, though, he’d probably scowl and say something like, “I told you not to make rash judgments!”

“I… I’d like to choose the latter.”

“But?”

The young man gave him a gentle, almost embarrassed, smile, showing how troubled he was.

“But the backlash from overusing my Arcane Power left me unable to properly control it right now……”

“Ah.”

That much was understandable. The physical strain from Arcane Power overuse was known to have lasting effects. He had heard that this young man managed to barely escape death.

So Gunther simply nodded.

“That much can be taken into consideration. I never actually expected you to support us as a wizard immediately anyway.”

“You didn’t?”

“Of course not. You aren’t from a Magic Tower, nor do you have any form of certification. What fool would entrust important work to someone without some verification first?”

“…Oh.”

“Even if I were to trust you, we’d still need to know exactly what kind of magic you can use before assigning you anywhere. If you were willing to be hired by us, I’d have brought in a wizard from a Tower. Even if you can’t cast any spells right now, they can still measure the depth of your knowledge at least.”

After all, some wizards specialized in offensive spells, others in defense, and so on. For that reason verification was absolutely needed. Hearing those words, the young man seemed to grow a little paler than he already was.

Perhaps as a wandering wizard, he truly had no experience with that sort of procedure.

Well, his reaction seemed only natural considering the treatment he had received so far. But that was pretty much unavoidable. The damage a Demon-worshipping Wizard could do to the city was far too great to ignore.

He wasn’t doing this out of malice. They simply had to do this to prevent any disasters from happening.

“I’ll give you until evening to decide.”

This boy still seemed so young, and he clearly hadn’t been through anything like this before. It was probably for the best to leave him be for now. Pressing him harder wasn’t likely to yield any positive results.

“You outside, come in.”

“Yes.”

“Wizard, this man will be your guard. Be aware that if I receive so much as a report of suspicious actions on your part, you may be executed immediately. I ask for your cooperation to prevent such a tragedy from happening.”

“…Ah, yes.”

“…Though in your condition I doubt you’ll be going anywhere. Still, just in case. Do not leave this room, and do not act suspiciously. As long as you follow these rules, you’ll be treated decently enough.”

“Yes.”

Guther rolled his eyes at the sight of that wizard, who looked far too gentle for his size.

He really did look like he couldn’t hurt a fly. If his old man could hear what he was thinking right now, no doubt he’d shout, “How many times have I told you not to judge someone by appearance!” That scolding echoed in his ear for a bit.

Well, there was no way for him to read his mind, so it hardly mattered in the end.

* * *

[As expected, the mortals are concentrating their forces.]

Sloth, or Duke, the Lord of Dreams and Indolence, murmured softly from atop his donkey. The one who heard him was seated upright in a palanquin carried on the back of a chimera.

[Well, what did you expect with that blatant show of force? It’s like we’re screaming, ‘We’ll strike, we’ll strike!’]

That palanquin was pretty enviable. Duke felt a hint of envy but quickly dismissed it. Obtaining the palanquin itself would be easy enough, but crafting a chimera strong enough to carry it, one that never needed to sleep, eat, or drink, was far too tedious and complicated.

So, he thought it better to just stick to what he already had. If need be, he could always attach a cart to it or something.

[So, what’s the plan?]

Duke completely slumped over his donkey’s back, thinking like that. Splish. Each time the animal set a hoof on the ground, something layered atop the earth seemed to splatter everywhere.

[Even if you sacrificed all these, it still wouldn’t be enough, right?]

It was blood. Enough blood to form rivers pooling into an ocean.

[Then we’ll simply have to make up for what’s lacking.]

[With what? Oh, don’t tell me you mean to offer me up as a sacrifice. While I do admit that I’m weaker than you, I have no intention of just dying quietly.]

Crunch. The donkey’s hoof came down again, crushing something. It was the remnants of bone and flesh belonging to the filthy creatures who had failed to fulfill the command to conquer this place.

[Rest easy, slothful one. Your existence is worth far more alive, tormenting mortals, than as a mere offering.]

[…Well, that’s a relief.]

Pitiful? They hardly were.

Even Duke himself had used lesser Demons as nothing more than expendable pawns.

[Then what will you use?]

As long as he himself wasn’t the sacrifice, Duke didn’t really care. Standing atop millions of corpses, his languid eyes grew even heavier.

[If you could unleash your full power, toppling this place would be nothing at all… But we're outside the Demonic Realm. The price will be higher, won’t it?

[If one wants to create a variable, one must be prepared to pay the price.]

[……?]

So he asked what price that would be.

Duke, silently working his brain, pondered over this question before suddenly realizing.

[Wait, you don’t mean?]

There was nothing else that could serve as a worthy offering. Not unless they offered themselves.

Yes, unless they sacrificed themselves, there was no alternative.

[Is that really… necessary?]

But, why?

[Belphegor, how long have we been waging this war here?]

[Uhm… It’s been a while, I guess?]

[Yes… So in all that time, have we ever once had the upper hand?]

[…Nothing that could overturn the balance, I suppose. But we’ve been steadily encroaching on them, right? At this rate, we would eventually win, don’t you think?]

[Perhaps if Wrath hadn’t slain Envy and Greed.]

Belphegor shuddered slightly at that. That wasn't completely wrong. With one Great Demon betraying them and two more snuffed out, the balance of power had shifted toward the other world.

The binding of the other world’s God grew stronger. Strong enough that they could impart direct revelations to their representative.

[I've waited too long. Far, far too long.]

But to go this far? Couldn’t they simply surrender? Abandon everything and retreat back to their own world……?.

[Satan made me a promise. That once we succeed in conquering the world, my homeland will be mine to rule.]

[…Oh.]

[I won’t wait any longer.]

And Satan would never give up on this world. Which meant Pride would never give up on it either.

Belphegor felt like crying.

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