WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

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

[Translator – Aren]

◈ Chapter 323 If Only I Could (9)

"...I’m sorry too. For failing to understand your situation, and for not stepping forward to defend you……"

In the meantime, the Archmage, having regained her composure, began awkwardly listing her apologies. Some made me wonder, ‘Do you really need to apologize for that?’ Some were clearly her fault, and others were things that had hurt me at that time, though I'd never been able to say so.

"...I’m truly sorry as well that I hesitated because of the oracle and failed to firmly stand up for you. I know this isn’t something an apology alone can settle, but still……”

But there was something slightly strange about that last one. More than whether it was something she needed to apologize for, one particular word buried in the middle of all that kept poking at me.

I didn’t hold back and asked.

"I’ve actually been wanting to ask about that. What exactly was that oracle?”

"...You don’t know?”

"When the Inquisitor tried to kill me, she did mention something about an oracle. But I wasn’t exactly in a position to ask about it at the time……"

After that, one thing led to another, and once the Inquisitor stepped back, I’d figured maybe it wasn’t all that important anymore. So I’d shoved it somewhere into the back of my mind.

But now that the Archmage had brought it up and I’d remembered it clearly, I wanted to know.

"So did God really issue an oracle about me?”

Was it really true that the god who’d done nothing but watch, no matter how much I went through, had suddenly decided to issue an oracle telling them to kill me? At my question, the Archmage’s pupils trembled slightly.

"Well, the truth is……"

No matter how casually I tried to act, there must have been something faintly showing in my voice.

Watching my expression, the Archmage carefully explained. It wasn’t anything long. The oracle itself was only three sentences, and even including the possible interpretations, it was only about five.

"...Haah."

But even faced with such a short oracle, I sank into deep thought. Kill. Save. Send back. Yet no matter how I turned it over in my head, I reached only one conclusion.

"How in the world is God even handling—”

No, shit, whether you look at the oracle being split into three parts or what those parts meant, this was obviously aimed directly at me. It wasn’t that God didn’t know what was going on over here. He knew. He knew everything!

And despite that, he just watched until now? Worse, he watched until he saw an opening, then dropped an oracle that could force everything to a conclusion? Without taking my wishes into account at all?

"This son of a……"

The curse burst out on reflex as my disbelief vanished, only to cut off midway. My brain desperately screamed, ‘This is a world where religion has enormous influence,' which was what saved me.

"Ahem."

The Archmage’s awkward cough also contributed to my restraint. Using her discomfort as a weight to pin myself down, I somehow managed to suppress my frustration.

"I understand how you feel, but…”

Meanwhile, the Archmage swallowed a couple of times, apparently trying to figure out what she wanted to say to me. “Um.” The words didn’t come to her easily, though. Given my situation, perhaps she found it difficult to scold me for insulting God.

"...It’s fine when it’s just me, but please don’t do that in front of the Temple people. I’m not trying to lecture you, it’s just…well, you know? They’re a bit……"

"...Don’t worry. I have at least that much self-control.”

In the end, rather than rebuking me, she only offered a small warning. I couldn’t say I didn’t understand. Religion tended to breed zealots, and this one certainly had no shortage of priests who lived up to that expectation.

Considering my situation on top of everything else, I couldn’t really blame her for saying that. Instead or arguing, I just accepted it.

"...Hmm."

But perhaps because I agreed so obediently, the Archmage started looking a bit uneasy instead. Maybe her conscience was pricked.

"...I don’t understand God’s choice either. I’m not even sure whether it was truly the right one.”

After a long while, the Archmage spoke to me in a whisper.

"So I’ll support you. No matter what you choose or decide to do.”

In a way, they weren’t particularly special words.

But when I thought about the power religion held in this world, their weight changed greatly. She was choosing to turn away from the religion that had influenced her entire life and stand on my side instead.

"...Thank you."

"I’m just sorry I haven’t been able to do this until now.”

Looking back, the Inquisitor’s decision to spare me must have carried the same weight. No, perhaps her decision had been even weightier. The Archmage wasn’t part of the Temple, but the Inquisitor had been chosen by God to be something like his direct vessel. 

...Well, even if she’d given up on killing me in the end, I still couldn’t exactly look favorably on everything she’d done before reaching that point.

Feeling a small bit of happiness and a much larger amount of hurt over that, I leaned back against the sofa. Step, step. My senses, which I’d briefly shut away, caught the sound of approaching footsteps.

Rustle. My hand lifted the edge of my hood.

"......? What is it?”

The Archmage tilted her head at my sudden movement. I carefully pulled my hood down so that one wouldn’t be able to see my hair color, then answered her.

"I think the food is coming.”

"Ah."

My sense hadn’t been wrong. Not long after, a knock came from the door.

"Come in."

"Excuse us.”

The well-oiled door opened without a sound, and several servants entered. However much food they’d brought, there were as many as three trolleys.

"Oh......."

I was left speechless at the sheer extravagance of the sight before me. Clack, clack, clack. That feeling only grew as dish after dish was taken from the trolleys.

Smoked fish steak, sweet-and-sour fish, steamed fish, fish stew… It was a menu that made it look as though every scrap of meat in Munmund had vanished from the city.

"...Munmund sure treats its guests splendidly well.”

"Y-yes, it certainly seems so."

"We’re honored that you find this display splendid.”

Usually, when places like this served guests, there were a few vegetable dishes or none at all, but this place even had plenty of these kinds of dishes. I really liked it, but the fact that everything suited my taste this perfectly actually made me feel a bit uneasy. Did they somehow know about my tastes?

"If you find anything lacking or need anything at all, please ring the bell at any time.”

While I was busy worrying about that, the butler continued. I didn’t even need to ask which bell he meant. Clink. A bell barely the size of my palm was placed on the table. It had a handle, so I could pick it up and ring it whenever I wanted.

"...There must be many residents suffering after the attack. I’m not sure I should be enjoying this kind of luxury.”

I stared blankly at the bell for a moment, then suddenly realized something. The situation must be pretty bad right now, so wasn’t this a bit much? Everyone else had to be struggling. Was it really okay for me to be the only one enjoying all this?

"We’re merely repaying the hero who saved our city as he deserves. Please, don’t hold back and eat.”

Still, I wasn’t the only one who helped save the city. I won’t deny that I played a big role, but without the Inquisitor and the other soldiers, the city would’ve fallen long ago.

"I didn’t do everything myself.”

I thought of the soldiers who had desperately held out while I fought the boss and the Inquisitor who had stopped Behemoth’s charge. Even if I’d killed the Great Demon, the city still would have been destroyed without them.

In other words, even setting my personal feelings aside, they were undoubtedly among the main players who saved the city. If saving the city was the reason why I received this treatment, then it wasn’t right for me to be the only one receiving it.

"Don’t worry. The Young Lord may be unable to guarantee them rest because there's so much left to do, but he’s making sure they have plenty to eat. Every soldier who fought, that is.”

But the Archmage understood what I meant and hurriedly explained the situation.

"And no one in this city could deny your contribution, so who would complain even if you received the finest treatment of all? This isn't favoritism. You’ve earned it.”

Only then did I feel a bit more at ease.

"...I understand.”

Honestly, once all the dishes were already sitting there, accepting them was more or less a forgone matter anyway.

I mean, just because I couldn’t accept the reasoning didn’t mean I could throw away all this food.

Besides, I’d skipped breakfast, so I was incredibly hungry.

And with food like this tempting both my eyes and nose, how long was I supposed to hold out? In the end, I turned my attention away from those trivial matters.

"If you need anything else, please call us anytime.”

"I will."

The servants who had brought in the food rushed out, and I finally started to eat properly. The chef had already removed all the bones, so I could eat it without a problem.

The fish held together even when I touched it with my fork, yet melted the moment it entered my mouth, delighting my senses.

"...It’s delicious.”

"Is that so?”

It felt like I was eating every fish dish I’d ever encountered in my life all in one day.

I ate more or less according to proper etiquette. I couldn’t say I exactly mastered the manners of this place, but I managed well enough with what I’d picked up from experience. I doubted I was doing anything drastically wrong.

"Yes, yes. Have some of this too.”

More importantly, even if I made a mistake, it probably wouldn’t matter much.

What were they going to do about it, anyway? Call me ignorant to my face? Pick a fight?

Thinking that would at least be quite the experience if it happened, I carefully chewed and swallowed the fish the Archmage kept putting on my plate. If I ignored it, she would create mountains on my plate.

"Madam Archmage, you should eat too.”

Still, I was eating faster than she could put food on my plate, so the moment I got an opening, I picked the flesh from a piece of fish and offered it to her. The chef had already removed all the small bones, so all I did was separate the meat from the main skeleton.

"Oh......."

But even that was enough to greatly move the Archmage. I wondered why she was so happy over something as small and trivial as deboning a piece of fish.

"Thank you.”

Then again, thinking about it more carefully, it did make sense. Looming at the whole situation, this wasn’t just me showing her a bit of kindness. It was more like a complete dog-like bastard had gotten his memories back and returned as an actual human being.

This made me feel oddly embarrassed, so I poured the Archmage some water and gave her a little more fish as well.

The Archmage looked at me with even greater satisfaction.

* * *

"What’s the status of the purified district?”

"At present, 10% of the residents have returned to their homes.”

Gunther received the report with eyes that had only barely gotten some sleep. One piece of news after another reached his ears, none of it good, but none of it likely to suddenly worsen either.

"How is the soldiers’ morale?”

"Not bad. In fact, it’s actually fairly high.”

"...Really? That’s a relief.”

Considering they’d faced the threat of complete annihilation, and during this whole process they were faced with plenty of incidents that could crush morale, being forced to kill comrades, cannibalism, and so on, and that plague still remained while their families might still be in danger, this was quite the unexpected piece of news.

Gunther idly twirled his pen at this unexpected stroke of luck.

"What do you think caused morale to rise? The generous food rations? The priests prioritizing their treatment?”

“Those certainly had an effect, but I believe the strongest factors were…that the Great Demon’s enormous body disappeared from sight, making their victory feel real, that the Knight who killed that Demon remains in the city, and that the priest who helped bring it down is personally saving and treating people.”

"The Knight and the Hero, then.”

Gunther quickly accepted the commander’s analysis.

The bravery of the Knight who had stood alone against a Demon to protect the city and the awe-inspiring sight of that immense golden figure stopping the charging Great Demon. Both of them were more than enough to leave a deep impression on the soldiers.

"Good. Make sure morale doesn’t fall. Hand out meat and alcohol generously as well. As long as the soldiers don’t get drunk and cause trouble, give them as much as they want.”

But these were just exceptional cases that happened out of pure luck.

Keeping that in mind, Gunther carefully reviewed their food supplies. He judged that letting the soldiers eat and drink as much as the situation allowed it would help reduce their dissatisfaction.

"Also, guarantee them as much rest as possible, so long as it doesn’t interfere with anything. Even if they can’t rest for long, make sure they can relax without worrying about anyone watching them.”

"Yes."

They had strictly controlled food during the battle and requisitioned plenty of it anyway. With things in this state, no one would be whining, asking them to return it.

So they could afford to use it a bit more freely. Gunther finished by ordering them to give the soldiers somewhere comfortable to rest, even if they had to break into houses whose owners couldn’t be located. They could compensate the homeowners at a later point, so he didn’t feel guilty about it.

He pressed his fingers against his temples and worked through the remaining issues one by one. Every last one was a headache, but at least they were problems that still had solutions.

"...Did we somehow make it through?”

Yes. There were things they would have to give up, but in the end, these were all problems they could overcome. Only then did Gunther realize that this city had overcome this grueling ordeal.

"We really did make it through somehow……”

Strangely, he didn’t feel happy about it.

"Did you need something, my Lord?"

"...I called because I wanted to ask how our guest is doing.”

While sending a soldier to summon two Knights, he rang the bell and called for the butler. It was the butler he trusted most, enough to have entrusted all matters involving their guest to him.

"Did he eat?”

"Yes. At first, he seemed somewhat uncomfortable about being the only one receiving special treatment, but thanks to Madam Archmage’s persuasion, he ate properly.”

"Did the food suit his tastes?”

"They seemed to be having an important conversation, so I wasn’t able to personally watch him eat, but most of the dishes were emptied. It seems the food was not to his dislike.”

"...That’s a relief."

Guntehr felt strangely conflicted at the news that Faust…or rather the person using Faust’s body, had eaten well.

"Keep serving his meals like that from now on. He’ll get tired of it if you serve the same things every time, so add some variation to it.”

"Rest assured.”

"Good. I trust you.”

Still, it was better than him not eating. Gunther once again instructed the butler to see to whatever their guest needed so he could rest comfortably, then sent him away.

"You summoned us, my Lord?”

Then, as though passing a baton, less than a minute after the butler left, two Knights entered the room.

"Dame Topaz. Sir Sapphire.”

"Yes."

"Command us.”

There was a reason he’d called these two specifically out of all the Knights who survived.

"You both must have questions about that Knight.”

They had both dealt with Faust…or rather, that Knight, at relatively close range and face-to-face.

"Bury them. If anyone asks you about him from this point on, say you don’t know or that you didn’t get a good look at him. And don’t try investigating him yourselves.”

Ah, come to think of it, there were also the soldiers he’d assigned to watch him and the soldier who had personally brought Faust into the city.

Gunther made a mental note to make sure they stayed quiet as well, then looked at the two Knights one by one. Their initial confusion completely vanished the moment they saw his expression, their bodies stiffening.

“Is there perhaps a reason……?”

"That question is included in what I’m telling you not to ask.”

"...Is that an order?”

"Yes. It’s an order. From now on, there is exactly one thing you are to remember about that person. He helped us. That and nothing else. Forget everything beyond that. Whatever he said, whatever he looked like. All of it.”

What would this order mean to them? Would it look as though he were trying to protect a Demon?

『You’re the only person I can ask, Brother.』

But they were the ones who had brought him here despite his refusal.

“Do you understand?”

Gunther acted for the sake of his only family, intending to shoulder that responsibility himself. It would be the greatest abuse of authority he committed in this position and the last.

"We shall obey.”

Ah, Faust, is this enough?

His eyes filled with sorrow.

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