WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

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

[Translator – Aren]

◈ Chapter 339 With These Hands of Mine (3)

"...Why do you ask?"

Daniel knew the moment he heard his hoarse voice. He wasn’t going to stay with them anymore. To be exact, it seemed he no longer intended to remain as one of the Hero’s companions.

"I was just…curious, that’s all. I apologize if it bothered you.”

"It’s nothing you need to apologize for.”

The Adventurer shook his head, his tone calm, but Daniel didn’t take those words entirely at face value. After all, saying it wasn’t something to apologize for didn’t exactly mean it was a question he’d been happy to hear.

Perhaps being with them, no, the very act of devoting himself to some greater cause, had simply become unbearably exhausting for him.

"For now…I’m still thinking about it.”

"I see."

But Daniel had no right to say anything more. Just as the Adventurer hadn’t carelessly interfered in the matter between the boy and him.

"...Whatever you choose, I hope it brings you peace and happiness.”

And so, in the end, he swallowed his words. He worried about the Hero, who would have to shoulder everything on her own, but…just because it was a burden he couldn’t lighten didn't mean that he had the right to dump it on other people.

As for that immature brat…well, he’d have to figure things out himself. Daniel had already done everything he possibly could.

"...I hope so too.”

"I’m sure it’ll happen.”

In any case, that was everything he’d wanted to ask. Thinking he’d rested long enough, Daniel picked up his shovel again.

There were still plenty of remains left to bury.

"Wait, please move aside.”

But after they'd dug several more graves, another spectator joined the crowd. A Curety soldier with gray hair and triangular ears.

"Good grief… Now even the soldiers are coming to see you.”

People poking their heads in around here wasn’t anything new.

Perhaps this wouldn’t have drawn much attention when it had simply been a place for handling remains, but now that the hero who had saved the city was volunteering here, it was only natural that people would pay attention to this place.

Well, if one were to be more precise, it was less that people were interested in the burial site itself and more that they’d gathered here to see the hero who had finally come outside after five days.

"...That man.”

Anyway, there was nothing unusual about people coming here for that reason. Since soldiers weren’t somehow immune to wanting to see a hero, there was nothing strange about one of the onlookers being a soldier either.

"Do you know him?”

If there was anything unusual about it, it was simply that the Adventurer seemed to recognize that particular onlooker.

"Yeah."

The Adventurer, whose expression was somewhat solemn, lightly drove his shovel into the ground. Thud. He didn’t seem to put much force into it, and yet most of the flat part of the shovel sank straight into the earth. Truly terrifying strength.

"I’ll be back in a moment.”

"Be careful.”

With civilian access being restricted so they wouldn’t interfere with their work, he wondered what would happen if the hero himself walked over there, but……

After seeing the Adventurer’s expression, Daniel chose not to say anything about it.

The Adventurer wasn’t a fool, and with that kind of strength, what could possibly happen to him? Daniel’s decision to simply let him go was based on absolute trust.

"Don’t forget to call me if anything happens!”

...Still, just in case, Daniel gave him some insurance. The Adventurer was great in many aspects, but he was far too kind. That was the whole problem.

* * *

"I won’t go to the Western Front.”

Meister watched the red-haired young woman force the words out through her hoarse throat.

"Inquisitor……?”

"Ironwall.”

The two people standing nearby were taken aback, as though they hadn’t heard anything about this before. Meister couldn’t understand why they were so surprised when just a bit of thought made this conclusion obvious.

"You’ll have to speak louder if you want them to hear you.”

Besides, unless the Inquisitor intended to tell only the people by her side, she needed to raise her voice.

Since she was standing outside the boundary of the spell, the people attending the meeting wouldn’t be able to hear her if she only spoke so quietly.

"I won’t go to the Western Front.”

Perhaps taking that advice to heart, the Inquisitor repeated herself, her voice clearer and louder. Her green eyes, which had seemed to regain some life these past few days, seemed to have dried up again.

-Hmm?

-I thought I heard someone just now……?

-Did someone just say something?

But even that wasn’t enough for her voice to reach them. In the end, the Inquisitor raised a hand and asked the wizard maintaining the spell for permission. In a way, it was also a signal to the Young Lord.

"Please enter."

Understanding the signal, the Young Lord tactfully stepped to one side. He didn’t seem to care that half his body moved outside the circle drawn around the chair.

Well, why would he care if his projected image appeared cut in half on the other side? He wasn’t the one looking at it after all.

-Th-the Hero.

-God’s Representative……

"Regardless of whether you choose to support us, I will not go to the Western Front. Going west at this point would only waste time.”

The Inquisitor apparently felt the same way. No, it might just be that she had no room for such thoughts to begin with.

Meister crossed his arms as he watched the Hero, who had a surprisingly good instinct when it came to making sound decisions.

-Why would you say that?

"The collapse of the Western Front is a massive disaster, and one I can't resolve through my strength alone. The west is also extremely far from here. By the time I reached it, the situation would either already be over or have grown completely beyond any control.”

-Hmm. That’s true.

Of course, the presence of someone nearby who kept grinning as though he found the whole thing fascinating was damn irritating. The only thing the man had ever done wrong to Meister was fail to keep that bastard subordinate of his under control, but what could he do about simply finding the man annoying and unlikable?

They’d just have to ignore each other.

Well, right now Meister was the only one who’d even really noticed the other man’s presence, so he was the only one doing the ignoring.

"So, rather than head to the Western Front, I intend to join the Northern Front instead.”

-Why to our place?

"...Tower Master, you said it earlier, right? That with Gluttony’s death, the strength the north can bring up has changed.”

-That’s right.

"Then wouldn’t it be worth considering an attack on the Demon King’s Castle once I join you?”

In any case, the statements continued to pursue maximum efficiency, maximum rationality, and maximum benefit. Had the speaker been anyone but the Inquisitor, the more strategically minded lords might have spoken up.

-... The circumstances would have to permit it, but it wouldn’t be impossible.

"Then please relay this to the discussion among the northern lords.”

No, actually, maybe they couldn’t have spoken up even if the speaker weren’t the Inquisitor. One wrong word, and it could have sounded like they were demanding that the Hero abandon the Grand Temple.

"I will join the north.”

Thus, it was fortunate for everyone that the one saying this was the Inquisitor herself.

"The north, not the west."

For everyone except the Inquisitor.

* * *

"...Let’s talk."

I got permission from the soldier keeping people from approaching and pulled one person away. Since he was wearing a soldier’ uniform as well, no one around us found it too suspicious.

They all seemed to assume I’d simply taken the soldier away to give him some sort of work.

"This should do."

This should be far enough. I stopped once I’d found a secluded place. It was perfect. I couldn’t sense a single other person around us.

"Uhm......."

Only then did the man who had said nothing the entire time I’d dragged him around finally speak.

"Could it be……”

But he couldn't easily continue. Of course he couldn’t. The deeds of the ‘wizard’ he knew and ‘mine’ were far too different to easily recognize that I was the same person.

"Mr. Richa."

However, I decided to bridge that gap for him myself. Normally, I would’ve left him alone to ponder, but I knew the title that went with his name, and I couldn’t bring myself to do that.

"I’d like to return what I borrowed from you.”

Richa was Faust’s maternal uncle.

"...What’s this?”

I selected something from my inventory and took it out. All the various junk Meister had returned to me briefly filled my vision, but even with the strange feeling welling up inside of me, finding what I wanted wasn’t all too difficult.

I handed the lucky pouch back to Mr. Richa.

"...So you really were the wizard.”

"I should have returned it to you sooner. I’m sorry.”

"...I’m just grateful you remembered.”

I see… After debating whether to take off my hood, I decided against it. Instead, I finally put the one thing I’d been agonizing over ever since I saw him into words.

"Faust is alive."

"......!?"

"The others were killed by the Demon…but Faust survived.”

"F-Fasha did?”

"Because of the curse, it’s impossible for you to meet him right now. But someday…you’ll be able to see each other again.”

Would this man keep my secret? Still, I didn’t want to stay silent and leave him unaware that his nephew was still alive. Death was painful, but so was endless longing for someone without knowing you’d ever see them again.

Some kinds of hope were worse than having none at all.

“H-How do you know tha—.”

"I apologize for only telling you now. I needed to be certain that you really were related to Faust.”

So I gave up on trying to somehow keep my secret no matter what and decided to entrust it to one man’s conscience instead. It was a gamble, staking everything on how much he loved his family.

"Mr. Richa, I know you might find this a bit hard to believe. But I swear to God that none of my words were lies.”

Even so, I probably wouldn't lose this gamble. I trusted the Mr. Richa I had seen.

"Then……”

"However…the fact that I’m the same person as the wizard must remain a secret. Faust became entangled in an extremely complicated situation after being cursed by a Demon, and while helping him, my own position became very…… ambiguous. That’s also why I look different from when I was the wizard, and why the way I act in public has changed.”

"...So."

"...If that fact comes out, it’ll cause trouble for me. And for Faust as well.”

"...Is that a threat?”

"It’s not a threat. I’m asking for your cooperation. If you decide to go around telling people the truth about me, there’s nothing I can do to stop you.”

"......"

But even though I’d chosen to take this risk, it was only natural that he couldn’t immediately believe someone he barely even knew.

I understood Mr. Richa’s hesitation. That was why I didn't rush him. Right now, patience was the best thing I could offer.

"...Why did you tell me all this even though it could put you in trouble if anyone found out?”

After a long while, Mr. Richa finally sorted out his confused mind and asked me. It wasn’t a difficult question to answer.

"Because you missed your nephew enough to see him in someone else at a single glance.”

If Mr. Richa hadn’t missed his nephew so much to begin with, I never would’ve told him the truth just because they were blood relatives. Someone like that wouldn’t have been worth taking this risk for.

"Just for that reason……?”

Mr. Richa's expression twisted.

"I don’t think you could call it 'just.'"

"......"

Waiting would be so much easier for my parents too if they knew for certain that I’d wake up someday. Why would this man be any different?

I avoided his gaze slightly so he wouldn’t feel embarrassed, then asked him a question just in case.

"Or, um, have you already told anyone about me?”

"...No, I haven’t. I reported what happened after I met you as the wizard and on the way here…but I never told anyone about the suspicions I had regarding the wizard and the Hero.”

Reported? Ah, right. He was a soldier. Back when I was supposedly an unidentified wizard—though that itself had been a big misunderstanding—there wouldn’t have been any other way for him to help me except by giving a detailed report of what I’d achieved.

That much should be fine. The Young Lord had already said he’d take care of things so that the wizard’s existence would be treated as having ended in death when the incident occurred. What mattered was hiding the fact that the wizard and I…the Demon Knight, were the same person.

"It’s the truth. No one would believe a mere suspicion without any evidence anyway, and I wasn’t certain of it myself, so I never brought it up carelessly.”

"Yes, I believe you. So there’s no need to explain yourself.”

"But I don’t know about the soldiers who were watching you……”

"Ah, don’t worry about them. The Young Lord promised he’d make sure they kept quiet.”

"The Young Lord……?”

"Yes. He knows about me too.”

If he had to keep quiet while thinking he was the only one who knew, all sorts of anxieties would probably eat at him. But knowing that the city’s (soon-to-be) highest authority was helping cover things up as well should somewhat put him at ease. It would also make it easier to trust me.

I used that to make it clear to Mr. Richa that I wasn’t some suspicious person. I was just trying to help Faust and had gotten dragged into the troublesome situation he was in in the process.

"...So that’s why you asked me that back then.”

"......?"

"It’s nothing. I just suddenly felt like I could trust what you’re saying.”

Apparently, it worked a little too well. Mr. Richa’s expression brightened considerably. The distrust had completely vanished, leaving only the realization that Faust was still alive.

"...Will I really be able to see Fasha again?”

"I’ll do everything I can to make that happen.”

I wished Faust could have seen this. Thinking of the boy who was still asleep, I fiddled with the edge of my hood.

"I’ll say this one more time. The wizard you met and I are different people.”

"...Yes."

"Thank you.”

Now I could just go back and finish up my work. Feeling as though I’d finally gotten one of my postponed tasks out of the way, I turned to leave with a lighter heart. “Ah, wait……!” Mr. Richa’s voice stopped me at that moment, though.

"Is something wrong?"

"...Will I be able to see you again?”

"...Why do you want to see me again?”

"You’re helping my nephew, and you’re also the benefactor who saved my life. How could I call myself a man if I simply let such kindness go unrewarded?”

"...That’s…”

"Please, tell me I’ll have the chance someday.”

This one was a bit harder to answer. He’d phrased it indirectly, but in the end, he was asking the same thing as everyone else. What was I planning to do from here on out?

And I still couldn’t make a choice. Even though I knew staying here would probably be the safest, most peaceful choice for me.

『Thank you.』

The thread bracelet still sitting in my inventory somehow felt incredibly heavy.

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