WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?

[Translator – Aren]

◈ Chapter 310 Make it Stronger (4)

Gunther suppressed his gaze, which kept drifting back toward the Demonic zone. He knew that no matter how hard he stared in that direction, he still wouldn’t be able to properly see the person he wanted to see.

"What’s the situation in the residential district?”

Instead, he focused on what he needed to do. After all, the chaos hadn’t been limited to the walls.

"A little over 50 people were caught eating human flesh, and 11 raided food warehouses or wells.”

As expected, the report came back that more than 50 people had gone berserk from hunger and thirst.

It wasn't unexpected. Even trained soldiers had gone mad from the curse, biting into their comrades or tearing flesh from their own bodies. Why would civilians have been any different?

"The numbers don't matter. Tell me the status of the quarantine."

Whether they had eaten other people, themselves, or anything else, that couldn’t become the central issue in this crisis. There were far too many other problems to worry about for him to start digging into each individual’s sins.

"As ordered, everyone we discovered was subdued and gathered in the Clock Tower square. Five resisted during the process, and three were killed.”

"What about those infected with the plague?”

"We are burning corpses as soon as they are discovered, and the residents are also being quarantined. However, some soldiers are hesitant because they fear becoming infected themselves, and the residents are reluctant to admit that they may be infected, so…We’re having difficulty with the operation.”

"Tell them not to be afraid and to keep working. Any soldier infected during the operation will receive treatment as the highest priority. And any resident who resists or attempts to conceal their illness is to be quarantined by any means necessary. If they refuse to cooperate, I authorize lethal force even in mild cases.

Around then, however, Gunther was overcome by a strange sensation. It felt as though he were not himself, as though he had become some third person watching himself from the outside.

"Even mild cases, sir?”

"If an infected person enters a purified district, that place becomes an infected zone all over again. Even those we barely managed to treat could become infected again. Rather than see that happen, it’s better to kill one and make a hundred take it as a warning.”

Of course, saying he was watching himself might have been an exaggeration. Everything he saw and heard was still unfolding through his own body.

But every time another sentence left his mouth, the world would blur and turn sepia-colored. He could no longer tell whether he was doing well or whether any of these judgments were even right.

"...Understood. However, some of the residents who went berserk from hunger and thirst but cooperated peacefully with quarantine once the curse was lifted have begged to be separated from the plague patients. Those with mild symptoms have also requested that their section be separated from the severe cases. How should we handle that?”

"Refuse them."

The silence preceding the reporting officer’s words grated on him. Even so, Gunther barely managed to ignore it and recited his reasoning. ‘A leader must always be certain. If those above waver, those below will collapse as well.’ A lesson that had once made him want to raise nothing but his middle finger was now supporting him.

"The purpose of the quarantine we’re carrying out isn’t to divide people into four categories: severe cases, mild cases, madmen, and healthy residents. It’s to separate those who are sound from those who aren’t, so we can determine priorities for protection and treatment.”

No, was it supporting him? Or was it controlling him?

Before the fading world, he clutched his knee. His ruined leg made it impossible for him to remain standing, so he had been forced to sit atop a pile of collapsed stones.

The leg, numbed by an injection of precious painkillers, felt as though lye were endlessly flowing through it. Lye that was slowly making him something no longer human.

"What about the skilled personnel such as engineers, scholars, and wizards?”

"As soon as they’re secured, they’re being transferred to the Temple Ward."

"...I see."

If that filled him all the way to the top of his head, would he become someone like the former city lord? Gunther finally let his gaze drift beyond the Demonic zone.

"What about the animals?”

“Rats are being burned as soon as they’re found, and if a cat’s eyes look red, we’re killing it for the time being as well. A few soldiers nearly got bitten in the process, but no one has been injured yet.”

"...The livestock."

"As ordered, livestock still inside their pens are being kept alive, while those that escaped are either killed after checking for aggression or guided into nearby empty pens.”

"Have the horses and cattle suffered heavy losses?”

"There seems to be some damage among privately owned horses and cattle…but as for the military, aside from one that injured itself thrashing around alone inside its pen, there hasn’t been much damage. The unicorn-blooded stock is in even better condition, since the curse doesn’t affect them.”

Naturally, the person he wanted to see was barely visible as little more than a black silhouette because of the distance. He couldn’t even distinguish the color, but if they had been any farther away, they would have looked like nothing more than a dot, so he couldn’t exactly complain.

"Right……"

Still, it would have been nice if they were just a little closer. If that person let their brown hair loose and raised a flame, it would probably help raise the morale of the soldiers who knew nothing.

"Once more than half the quarantine is complete, we'll expand the purified zone. Inform the soldiers of that, and have them report immediately if anything unusual happens.”

"Yes."

Even for someone who knew more of the truth, the mere sight of them would surely bring comfort to those who desperately wanted to believe that Sir Amber had returned.

“...Before you go, one last thing. Pass a message to Sir Sapphire.”

Gunther thought of the wizard who had carried an air as soft as a wheat field in fall.

He also remembered the swordsman who had blocked the teal-colored traitor and raised an amber torch toward the Great Demon.

And he remembered the unidentified person who seemed somehow connected to the Hero, whose hair color may have changed, though with the chaos and blood everywhere, he couldn’t be certain.

“Have a fast messenger bring a blanket and water, then send them to me.”

Which side was the truth? Of the different versions he had seen, which one came closest to that person’s true nature?

"Ah, if you'd like some water, I can……”

"They aren’t for me.”

"Then......?"

Gunther turned it over in his mind a couple of times before reaching a conclusion.

"They’re for the hero who not only eliminated the greatest threat but is still remaining outside even now in case some other danger appears.”

Whichever one was the truth, it didn’t really matter. Whatever thoughts had led that person to show such contradictory sides, none of that would erase the kindness he had shown.

* * *

[Someone’s coming.]

"......?"

Was I contemplating the futility of life with my head planted in the dirt? Wrath, who was sitting astride the motorcycle, nudged me repeatedly with her foot.

"Don’t kick me."

Seriously, what principle even made this possible? Filing that away as something to ask later, I raised my head. Sure enough, someone was approaching from the direction of the wall.

They were wearing a cape, so I couldn't make out their face, and they were carrying an armful of things.

"Hmm."

But whatever the other person’s identity was, I couldn’t exactly greet them while I was still lying there with my face planted in the dirt. I got up and dusted myself off.

"Get lost."

[How cold.]

Then I naturally chased Wrath off the motorcycle and sat down on it in her place. Buzzzz. It wasn't as though I was trying to look cool at this point, but the oblivious bugs kept swarming around me and finding new ways to be irritating.

In the end, I fired tiny Arcane Spears at every single one that entered my field of vision and skewered a lot of them like kebabs. Rustle. The approaching person gradually came into clear view.

"...Deb?”

But the person who appeared was a little unexpected. Well, not so unexpected that it was shocking, but he still wasn’t someone I’d been thinking would show up.

The closer he came, the more complicated my feelings became. Just thinking about our tangled relationship and how we might possibly untangle it was enough to do that.

Just like the relationship between Faust and me, ours had begun with lies and misunderstandings and become twisted tighter and tighter until merely looking at it felt suffocating.

"...Mister."

Could a relationship like this get better as well? Could a relationship that had repeatedly gone wrong because each of us was too consumed by our own convictions and circumstances ever be set back on course?

"Erm, they were looking for someone to bring you water and a blanket, Mister.”

I watched him stop eight steps away, his lips moving uncertainly, and then shaped my own words into something definite.

"It’s not like there’s much I can do anyw—"

"I’m sorry.”

I wasn’t even hoping to return our relationship to the way it should have been. That would surely be asking for too much.

"I know this apology is far too late. But still, I’m sorry.”

But…even if we ended up parting ways like this, I hoped that at least the knot between us could be loosened.

People have a hard time moving forward when they’re left carrying a lump like that inside them.

"...What do you even have to be sorry for?!”

Eight steps. The person who had stopped at a distance close enough to feel near, yet too far to touch, suddenly had tears welling in his eyes.

"We’re the ones who did something wrong, so why are you apologizing……?”

Every time white light shimmered across his dark green eyes, a few drops of rain fell onto the desert. Ah. My legs almost moved on reflex, but instead my toes only curled inside my boots.

"Are your injuries okay, Mister?”

"...Yes."

"Really?”

"I’ve recovered.”

I debated whether I should lift my clothes and show him I was fine or whether I should restrain myself.

Considering the explanation I intended to give starting with Meister, it wasn’t something I absolutely couldn’t do, but I had no idea whether Deathbringer had already heard about any of that.

If he hadn’t, I could just end up creating another misunderstanding all by myself.

"Then your memories too…Did you get them back, Mister?”

Ah, if he was asking about my memories, then I guess he had heard something after all.

I lightly bit my lip beneath a mixture of slight relief and a rather powerful blow to my conscience.

"About the memory of your family…being killed by the Demon…that isn’t the only thing you remember anymore, right?”

N-no. My memory was actually fine all along……It’s fine, I just made up that excuse because I didn’t want anyone finding out about the roleplaying…… My memory is seriously fine……

My conscience was stabbed so brutally that I think I even started feeling like crying. That innocent concern made me suffer all over again. It was even worse when I thought about Faust, who was listening to this whole conversation.

There was admittedly an element of Faust reaping what he sowed in the fact that I’d made that kind of excuse…but even so, wasn’t it far too cruel for his family’s deaths to keep getting brought up over and over again?

"Yeah."

I gave a heavy nod, resolving that later…if I ended up continuing to travel with these people, I would ask them to please keep mentions of that particular subject to a minimum.

Sniff. For some reason, Deathbringer’s eyes reddened again. The tears falling from them grew even larger.

"...Why are you crying?”

I mean, sure, if you got emotionally invested, it was the sort of story you could cry over, but I hadn’t expected him to actually cry. Had I really meant that much to him as well? Had I made the same mistake I’d made with the Inquisitor and underestimated Deathbringer’s feelings as well?

“You’re seriously asking me that……?”

"...Well that’s…”

Even as tears dripped down his face, Deathbringer shot me a sharp glare. I had nothing to say. The person who had very obviously screwed up here was me.

"....I just didn’t think you’d believe me.”

No, but still. If I had to defend myself, I really hadn’t expected them to believe me immediately, okay? Like I said before, I didn’t have any concrete proof, and even from my perspective there was plenty of room for it to look like another one of the Demon’s deceptions.

And considering how sincerely these guys had bought into my whole persona, honestly, the odds of the latter seemed way too high. There was a reason I’d deliberately gone for Meister first.

Meister, who had been the most emotionally distant from me, actually had more room to be persuaded. The ones who had followed me emotionally were harder to convince precisely because of that.

They knew the Demon Knight persona too well, so they tended to condemn anything that fell outside it as heresy.

That was the biggest weakness of a hardcore character interpretation purist, especially one who blindly worshiped only their initial read of the character.

"There’s plenty of reason to doubt……”

"Are you kidding me?!”

The instant I said that, Deathbringer let out a shriek. Ah. I said the wrong thing. I immediately realized my own mistake. The only unfortunate part was that I couldn’t take the words back.

"We’ve known there was something wrong with your memories for ages……!”

"...For ages?”

But there was something about what Deathbringer had said that seemed off to me. I blinked at the way he spoke as though he’d already known.

Did he know something I didn’t? Was that it?

An emotion walking the tight rope between anxiety and anticipation brushed against my mind.

"...You already knew?”

But what exactly did he know? Surely he didn't know I’d been roleplaying the whole time too? That absolutely couldn’t happen.

"...I only guessed. Someone whose memories were perfectly fine wouldn’t buy a document summarizing their own past.”

At what came next, the anxiety that had been dominating my feelings suddenly released with a snap.

Ah, that.

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