WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

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

[Translator – Aren]

◈ Chapter 319 If Only I Could (5)

Meister glanced at the Archmage’s dark expression, then turned his gaze toward Daniel.

"Is it really that dangerous?”

The subject was omitted from the casually asked question, but its meaning was obvious enough. Daniel blinked a couple of times, as though he hadn’t expected the question to be directed at him.

"...How could I presume to judge that for myself? But I don’t believe hesitating until we miss something would be wise.”

The answer seemed to be slightly taken aback at first but ultimately ended as a warning. Meister, who couldn’t possibly have missed the implication, narrowed his eyes.

"Well, yeah. You’re right.”

Well, it wasn’t really something he needed to be confused about. Hadn’t the Demon Knight himself said something just this afternoon?

"Even if people’s lives were at stake, someone who seriously tried to kill himself can’t exactly be in a normal state of mind.”

"...Pardon?"

"...What did you just say?”

It was even presumed that he'd only learned he would return home upon death after recovering all his memories. Meaning that before then, he’d believed dying here meant actually dying.

And yet the bastard hadn’t merely devised a last resort ahead of time, he’d gone so far as to wear it on his body. Worse, thinking back on what he’d said, there was a chance he’d try it again if it became necessary. After all, saying he had no intention of doing it now wasn’t the same as saying he’d never do it, right?

Even Meister, who wasn’t exactly well versed in the psychology of ordinary people, knew this wasn’t normal behavior. In other words, that bastard wasn’t in a normal state of mind right now.

"...S-s-suicide?”

While Meister continued his train of thought, the Archmage was struck by the terrifying words she could barely bring herself to say.

The Demon Knight had always treated his own life lightly, but she’d never imagined he’d gone so far as to try taking it himself. Her fur bristled straight up, then drooped like the bowed head of someone crushed by despair.

"...I should try talking to him tomorrow.”

But her despair didn’t last long.

"I’ll be going ahead."

Whatever change had come over her, light returned to her eyes, and they sharpened with resolve. As the Archmage abruptly departed, the two young men left behind scratched the backs of their necks.

"What are you going to do?”

"...Me?”

“You brought it up because you want to help, didn’t you?”

"Well…true, but…”

At Meister's observation, Daniel’s eyes rolled aside. Not for long. Under Meister’s stare, he sighed as if surrendering.

"We only make each other uncomfortable. That’s the nature of our relationship. Under those circumstances, how could we possibly exchange our most intimate feelings?”

“So you’re going to stay out of it?”

"...I did tell him that if there was anything he wanted to be angry with me about, he was free to express it whenever he wished. But whether he’ll actually take me up on that is another matter. Some people prefer enduring things to expressing them, and he quite clearly seems to be the latter.”

Meister immediately agreed with Daniel. A man willing to shoulder blame that wasn’t even his own and die with it could hardly be the expressive type. Of course it made sense. The Demon Knight was undoubtedly the type to endure everything.

"Then that’s even more reason not to wait."

But given the Demon Knight’s personality, that only meant they had to act all the more.

"Because there’s no way he’ll ever make the first move.”

Someone who found it easier to endure things would never approach people he wasn’t even close to first, not even if heaven and earth turned upside down.

"...Probably not. But forcing ourselves on him would only backfire.”

"Hey, I know that much. Guys like that don’t like people crossing the lines they’ve drawn.”

"...That’s surprising. I thought you wouldn’t know."

"......?"

...This bastard?

For a moment, Meister considered whether to punch Daniel in the throat. The only reason he didn’t was because Daniel asked another question just before impulse could overpower his reason.

“Meister, why do you look out for him?”

"...What do you mean?"

"I mean…It was obvious from the start that the Hero and that impulsive kid were his followers, but you weren’t like that.”

"So you’re surprised I’m getting this involved for someone I don’t even seem close to?”

"...If that’s how you want to take it, I have nothing to say.”

It rubbed him the wrong way, but from Daniel’s perspective, it wasn't an unreasonable question. After some thought, Meister refined his thoughts and put them into words.

"Just because we haven’t been that close until now doesn’t mean I want us to stay that way forever.”

"...Pardon?"

"In a world full of dumbasses, how many people are there who can actually hold a conversation with me like that guy?”

"That’s your reason……?"

"Ah, and there’s stuff I need to hear from him too."

Even by Meister's standards, there weren’t many people who possessed knowledge he found interesting. Fewer still were people he could actually talk to without finding their company irritating.

And if he added the condition that they wouldn’t mock his dream and would actually recognize it for what it was, then that guy was the only one.

"So, yeah. That’s about it.”

That was why. That was why he was stepping in now. Meister felt strangely refreshed after putting the reason behind his actions into words.

"I see……"

"You looking for a fight? Is that why you look at me like that?"

"...No."

After hearing all that, Daniel’s expression turned slightly awkward.

"Anyway, you still haven’t thought of anything?"

"No, unfortunately."

"Ah…what a pain……Why does that bastard have to be the type who keeps everything bottled up?"

Why couldn’t he just live like Meister did? Knock back some booze, punch his enemies in the face, and enjoy life? Meister grumbled with all his dissatisfaction on full display, then suddenly froze. A surprisingly plausible idea had occurred to him.

"...Booze."

"......?"

"Can’t we just get him drunk?"

"Pardon??"

That was it. Meister’s eyes lit up.

* * *

Caw, caaaw!

"......!”

The birds that had gathered in search of corpses cried out, and my eyes snapped open. Rustle. When I turned my head, all I saw were thick curtains blocking out every trace of sunlight and a room left dark without a single light on.

[Oh, Gretchen. Finally awake?]

I flailed around a few times, trying to escape the ridiculously soft king-sized bed. I would’ve liked to get up in a cool way, but the bedding sank so deeply beneath me that I practically had to roll my way out.

It wasn’t uncomfortable or anything. Just a little hard to escape.

'How long did I sleep……?'

I’ve never felt so light I could practically fly before. I staggered out of bed and made my way toward the wall where a faint bit of light was seeping in. The light filtering through the gaps between the curtains had an oddly harsh glare to it.

[Let me think. 14 hours?]

Swoosh!

Wrath’s indifferent reply coincided with the curtain being pulled aside, light stabbing straight into my eyes. The sunlight was so strong it nearly erased every shadow. Even without a clock, it was bright enough to tell that it was noon. My mind went blank for a moment.

'Seriously?'

[Seriously.]

Wow. I never slept this long in the Great Forest.

Marveling at how long I’d slept, I opened the window. Clunk, clunk. The precious glass pane slid along its wooden frame, letting the outside air into the room. The lukewarm breeze carried the smell of something burning, which jolted me fully awake.

"Throw it over here!”

"We burn it on my count! One, two!”

...Ah. Right. Even when the incident’s over, there’s still cleanup to do.

My nose twitched at the burnt smell mixed into the air. I didn’t need to think hard to know the smoke rising from all over the city was the source.

"...They’re burning a whole lot.”

[Behemoth governed gluttony, but it was also a carrier that spread plague wherever it went.]

Plague. That one word was enough for me to understand why everyone was burning things so diligently. The acrid smoke was the survivors’ desperate struggle to keep living.

[Poor things… Having to burn everything while breathing in this smell every time.]

Yeah, I don’t really want to keep smelling this either. I took half a step back from the window and rested my fingers on the frame. Creak. The window closed again beneath my hands.

Ironically, the air inside seemed better than the air outside.

'More importantly, Faust. Did the conversation go okay?'

Even if I couldn't air the room out, I should at least let the daylight in. I left the window shut but pulled back all the curtains that had been keeping the room dark. Swish, swish. Even as several curtains opened, no answer came to my question.

‘Faust?’

[The conversation wrapped up well enough, and that brat is asleep right now. He probably won’t be waking up for a while.]

Maybe I’d sounded a little taken aback. Wrath kindly whispered an explanation into my ear.

‘Why?'

Naturally, that didn’t answer all my questions.

'Did you pull some weird shit while I—'

[Damn it, why is everything always my fault? Do you really distrust me that much, Gretchen?]

'Would you trust yourself if you were me?’

[...I didn’t do anything, seriously.]

As I continued harboring my entirely justified suspicions, Wrath was the first to back down. It wasn’t like she was a puppy or anything, so I didn’t feel particularly bad for her. I crossed my arms as though glaring at the bastard even though she hadn’t materialized.

'Then why the hell is the kid suddenly asleep?'

[Because his soul is damaged.]

'...His soul is damaged?'

But even without knowing the details, that sentence alone sounded ominous. I uncrossed the arms I’d just folded. Hmph. The Demon audibly snorted.

[It’s nothing serious. It’s just… We were a little short on offerings when we summoned you, so we cut off a bit at the edges. Then when you were struggling with lack of Arcane Power, we needed something to borrow more from, so we cut off a little more. Things like that. All that happened is that part of his soul was lost.]

'What the hell did you just say?’

So his soul was used as an offering? Fine, I could understand that happening when they brought me here, but when I was struggling because I didn’t have enough Arcane Power?

'When you say I was short on Arcane Power……’

[Why, it’s right there in your skill window. Life Force Conversion. That skill.]

‘...Wasn’t that supposed to convert live force into Arcane Power?’

[Oh, Gretchen, think realistically. Do you really believe life force is some numerical value that actually exists? Your condition changes from day to day. Your overall health determines how well you resist illness. Your body has its own innate capabilities. None of those things can ever be reduced to a number. Especially not under some vague term like life force.]

'No, then why the hell did it display it like……’

[Because we had to pretend like this was all a game. Obviously.]

I rubbed my forehead, suppressing this sense of disbelief threatening to overwhelm me. No wonder the HP I could see and the way it actually worked had always felt slightly off. Even accounting for Indomitable Spirit activating, there had been plenty of times when I’d wondered why my HP wasn’t dropping the way it should.

'...I thought all of that was your doing.’

I won’t say I had nothing to do with it.]

'Whatever. Life Force Conversion is sealed. Sealed, I say. Don’t even think about using it again.'

[If it’s necessary in a dangerous situation, of course you should use it.]

'Fuck off. Offer up your own soul then, asshole.'

I flipped off the piece of shit talking so casually because it wasn’t her soul being used, then let out a weak sigh.

I was glad I found out now, at least, but this was so far outside anything I’d expected that it was giving me a headache for no reason. I pressed my fingers against my throbbing temples.

'Anway, if his damaged soul is the problem, how was he able to talk normally until now? Or did something happen last night that damaged his soul even more?'

There was still more I needed to hear. After burning the problem with Life Force Conversion into my memory, I steered the conversation back to the original topic. Wrath, who had merely whistled when I told her to offer up her own soul, immediately jumped back into the conversation.

[Hmm, that’s not it… How should I put it? The damaged soul isn’t directly why the brat is asleep. In human terms, lifespan? His natural allotment of life? Something along those lines leaked out through the cracks. That’s the real reason.]

'...What?'

[Oh, I’m telling you this before you misunderstand. It doesn’t normally happen. Only when he takes control of the body.]

'No, why the hell……?’

[This is a bit complicated to explain as well… Roughly speaking, having three souls inside one body creates something like pressure, so it leaked out. It’s fine while you’re inside the mental realm because there’s less pressure there, but controlling the body is different. It’s similar when a soulform is sent outside.]

Damn it, not a single thing I heard was good news.

I rubbed the back of my neck again as my blood pressure rose with every word. Seriously, where the hell had that happy feeling from when I woke up gone?

'When you say sending a soul form outside…you mean that, right? Like when you pop out.'

[Yeah.]

'Damn it, why didn’t that little brat tell me—’

What made it even more frustrating was that I could guess why Faust hadn’t told me. Probably because he thought he’d done something wrong. The kid refused to cut himself any damn slack. I was going to die of frustration at this rate.

'Fuck, seriously, fuck……'

I finally lost patience and repeated the same curse twice, maybe four or five times. I’d rather live without swearing if I could, but there was just fucking no way. This was just too damn awful.

'...So how long is he going to sleep?'

[Who knows? But he probably won't wake up today, at least. He lost about a month’s worth of lifespan yesterday.]

'...How long did those two even talk?'

[Not that long. Maybe 2 hours? Or perhaps 3?]

'He lost that much of his lifespan just from that?'

[That’s why the brat’s still out cold, right?]

Seriously, this was so damn awful.

My mood plunged straight into a deep swamp.

Step, step.

"...Haah."

But life wasn’t something that would just unfold according to my mood. I bit my lip at the presence that had been pacing back and forth in the hallway, then finally squeezed my eyes shut.

"If you have business with me, come in. Just stop pacing back and forth before the door.”

“...May I, Demon Knight?”

"...Yeah.”

The visitor was the Archmage.

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