WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

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

[Translator – Aren]

◈ Chapter 340 With These Hands of Mine (4)

After the meeting ended, everyone in the room rushed out into the hall. The Hero’s party and Meister were no exception.

"Inquisitor, are you serious? About heading north……”

"That’s the best course of action. You know that as well, right, Archmage?”

"...But, Inquisitor.”

"...Munmund’s situation has stabilized considerably. If we continue making steady progress like this, everything should be resolved without the quarantine breaking down. In other words, the city no longer needs me. Going north is the right choice.”

Since they were all leaving together, the Young Lord must have heard her as well. But even when he heard the news that a major asset like the Hero was leaving, he just glanced over with his usual neutral expression, not saying anything.

He probably figured there was nothing he could use to persuade the Hero to stay, and that trivial reasons wouldn’t do anything in that regard, so he just gave up. And if his judgment was correct, then their current situation didn’t force them to keep the Hero here to begin with.

"If not now. We don’t know when we’ll get another chance to attack the Demon King’s Castle.”

But there was one thing about this whole conversation that really bothered Meister.

"I have to go."

"Looking miserable and steeling yourself for it doesn't make the whole thing solemn and noble or whatever.”

It was the Inquisitor’s expression.

"Hah, I need a smoke.”

The Young Lord was already leaving, but smoking in a place filled with servants still seemed like a bad idea. So Meister settled for just chewing irritably on the end of an unlit cigarette.

Well…The green-eared bastard looked at him like he was insane for it, though, but who cared? Before glaring at Meister like that, the bastard should go deal with his own damn baggage first.

As for the Archmage… Well, old people all got cautious with age, so he could let that slide. Given her position, it was also true that she couldn’t exactly tell the Inquisitor to just quit her job and give up on saving the world.

"Hey, Miss Hero.”

So Meister decided to speak up himself.

It would probably hit harder coming from that guy. A better option briefly crossed his mind, but that was as far as it went. Meister just chose to say it himself.

"If it’s too much, just quit.”

"......!"

He’d always wanted to tell her that anyway. He’d just never done it because they weren’t even that close, so why should he be the one to say it?

"If it’s really that miserable for you, I’m saying you should quit being the Hero and put your own life first.”

To be honest, Meister still had no real problem with the Hero herself. But it had only been yesterday that he’d gotten pissed off at the Adventurer for sacrificing himself alone and blaming himself for everything. And now the Inquisitor was doing something similar, no, pretty much the same thing actually.

"If you fail, or decide to put yourself first for once, is the world really going to end? Another Hero will show up eventually as always.”

How could he possibly just stand there and say nothing? He’d already thought the Inquisitor’s situation was pretty damn miserable from start to finish.

"So if you really can’t take it anymore, quit.”

And so he decided to say exactly what he thought. Maybe someone would point a finger at him, calling him irresponsible for saying that when he had neither the intention nor the strength to take her place afterward, but he couldn’t have cared less.

It wasn’t like he didn’t know that. His personality was just rotten enough that he couldn’t be bothered to soften his words somehow.

"...If I don’t do it, a lot of people will die.”

"Well, probably? But that’s not your fault. Right? It’s this messed up world that’s the problem.”

"But........"

"’But’ nothing. That’s how it is. That bastard, that brat, you too…Why the hell do all of you cling to things that aren’t even your fault and whine about them?”

Even while fully aware of that fact, he felt not the slightest bit of shame about himself. If saying something like this made him irresponsible, then what right did the people standing by and watching one person sacrifice themselves have to act all righteous? That was his mindset.

"Just say, ‘This world is screwed-up,’ and walk away. Honestly, if the world dumped a group project on one person, that’s the damn world’s fault. How is it the fault of the person who decides to quit?”

Therefore, what he was doing was absolutely right. Whatever Meister’s words meant to the young Hero, whatever effect they might have on her…it was still undoubtedly better than everyone else refusing to give her even a single choice.

"And don’t go asking that guy for help either. He’s suffered just as much as you have.”

With that, Meister left.

* * *

The one who called himself Adventurer called him.

"Young Lord."

As soon as Gunther heard about it from a servant, he hurried to the office. This was the last person he wanted to keep waiting.

"I told Faust’s maternal uncle that the boy is alive. I hid the fact that this body belongs to Faust, but told him that I’m someone helping the boy.”

"I see. Is there anything I can help with?”

"...Would you summon him sometime soon and speak with him? I also mentioned that you know I’m the same person as the brown-haired wizard, and that seemed to ease his mind a bit…but nothing would reassure him quite as much as hearing it directly from you.”

"Understood. Just tell me who he is.”

"He’s a soldier in the reconnaissance unit. A gray-haired Curety who goes by the nickname Richa… I forgot to ask for any more detailed information.”

"That’s fine. That should be enough to find him quickly.”

"Ah, he was the soldier who was with me when I first entered this city.”

That was enough for Gunther to immediately think of someone.

The soldier who had brought the disguised Adventurer into the city and then protected him. When Gunther had summoned him to keep him quiet, he had subtly probed how much the man knew, only for the soldier to keep quietly defending the wizard while seeming completely unable to imagine that the wizard and the warrior were the same person.

At the time, Gunther had thought pressing the matter too hard would only cause trouble, so he had simply fed him the fabricated story of the wizard’s death and left it at that…but it seemed he would have to summon him again.

"I think I know who you mean.”

Still, Gunther had never imagined the man was somehow related to Faust. Gray hair was extremely common in this city, and he had never had any contact with the boy’s relatives on either side of the family, so there had been no way for him to recognize the connection.

For some reason, the thought that he now had someone with whom he could share memories of his younger brother made Gunther feel a little better.

"Also…I wanted to ask about the people who know I was pretending to be the wizard……”

"Go ahead."

"...Is the secret perfectly secure?”

"I can’t promise perfection, since there may be people who noticed but chose not to put their suspicions into words. But I can promise that it will never come to the surface. Nor will it ever become a widespread opinion.”

The two Knights weren’t the type to break their silence even at the cost of displeasing him. The two soldiers assigned to the Adventurer had both died as well. And the people who had been on the walls still weren’t sure whether what they had seen was actually correct.

As for those who had only seen the wizard, the moment the fabricated story of his death spread, they merely mourned him. No one directly suggested any connection between him and the warrior. Given the state the city had been in, the wizard’s death itself had drawn almost no suspicion.

So even if someone did harbor some doubts, his secret would never be openly discussed. Not far as long as Gunther remained in this position.

"...Alright. Please make sure it absolutely doesn’t reach the Temple or the Hero.”

"Yes.”

Of course, Gunther was only human. He was quite curious about why the man was so obsessively determined to hide the truth, as well as the considerable difference between his personality now and when he had been posing as the wizard.

But he was enduring all of this for Faust’s sake. With that one fact as reason enough, Gunther chose not to question any of it. Faust’s well-being mattered far more than his curiosity, so it wasn’t that difficult.

"More importantly…have you made your decision?”

This was the truly difficult matter.

"...Now that we know Pride may enter the front lines, the danger there has risen dramatically. We still haven’t fully recovered from what happened not too long ago, and with support probably being pulled away toward the west, everyone recognizes that we’re in an even more dangerous position.”

He didn’t even need the man to truly be Faust. Just knowing Faust was somewhere inside him was enough to make Gunther want to keep him here. Even if he had to appeal to his emotions and cling to him, he wanted him to stay.

"Of course, the chances of this city truly falling into danger are low. In other words, even if you stay, you’ll probably have very few chances to fight.”

"...You sound awfully confident.”

“Because attacking this place while there’s a possibility of the Northern Army moving south would be foolish."

"The Northern Army might move south?”

"The Northern Front is the closest front to the Demon King’s Castle. The only reason they haven’t been able to advance on it is because two Great Demons were guarding the front. But now that you’ve killed one of them, things are a bit different.”

But if he didn’t approach this rationally, Faust would get angry. And the man himself would probably feel uncomfortable and be even more likely to refuse.

"Since the west has been breached, they’ll have to send troops there as well, so I doubt they’ll go as far as attempting to attack the Demon King’s Castle. But they’ll definitely begin a campaign to seize territory. There won’t be a better opportunity than now, with one of the obstacles blocking them gone."

So Gunther would make his case with the logic that staying here was the best possible choice. He finally voiced the assumptions he had spent the entire day putting together.

"A campaign to seize territory?"

"The front between Demons and mankind became fixed not only because their military strength is roughly equal, but also because of whether the land has been demonized. Mankind can’t live on demonized land, while Demons can’t use their full strength on land that hasn’t been demonized.”

"Hmm......."

"Anyway, for that reason, the north will never let this opportunity pass…and the Demons will try to defend the Northern Front at all costs to protect the Demon King’s Castle. They’ll have no choice but to send the small elite forces that struck the west up north. Someone has to fill Gluttony’s place after all.”

"...You said earlier that troops would have to be sent west because the Western Front was breached. What if they attack the east too and try to spread the Northern Army even thinner?”

“Well. It’s not impossible, but I’d say the chances of that happening are pretty low.”

Of course, there was no way his theory would be 100% correct. But as long as he could convince the person before him that staying here was the best option, it didn’t matter whether he was right or wrong. He continued with a neutral tone.

"After all, you’re the one who killed Gluttony. As long as the Demons have any brains, they won’t recklessly send the elites who attacked the west here. There’s a chance they’d end up dead like Gluttony after all.”

"...I don’t mean to insult you, but I doubt you could handle them with your forces alone.”

"That’s true. Killing Gluttony was entirely your accomplishment. But we don’t even know where you plan to go next. Why would the demons know?”

".......”

"Attacking the east without knowing where you are would mean accepting the risk of losing troops. But as I said earlier, now that the north has more forces to spare, there’s a higher chance they’ll move south. In that situation, do you really think the Demons would take such a gamble?”

"...I don’t think so.”

"Exactly. This city may look vulnerable, but in reality, there’s a better chance of it being safe than anywhere else. Even if you settle here because of some ‘what if’ scenarios, no one would question it. But in practice, you’d be able to live comfortably without having to fight much at all.”

Precisely because the city looked so precarious, even if they gave him excessive preferential treatment, people would simply think, ‘Ah, they’re trying to convince him to stay.’ No one would see it as special treatment.

Gunther made that point clear because, after watching him for some time, it seemed the thing holding him back most was none other than whether his presence here might be a burden to others or not. That was quite surprising.

"You also don’t need to worry that this city would only lose out by having you here… If you stay, the Demons will be even less willing to touch this city, so your very presence would help secure its safety. Your absence would never put this city in danger, but your remaining here certainly wouldn’t hurt either.”

With that, Gunther had played every card he had. Feeling as though his heart had jumped all the way into his throat, he waited for the answer.

"I......."

From his perspective, the person before him was practically a god. At last, he opened his mouth.

* * *

"Do as you wish."

"M-Madame Archmage.”

"He’s right. What kind of world could possibly be considered normal if everything ends the moment one person collapses?”

The Inquisitor parted her lips at these completely unexpected words. The Archmage gently embraced her. “I’m sorry, Inquisitor.” Her body trembled.

"Ma-Madam Archmage, you have nothing to apologize for……”

"I was one of the people who made you keep moving solely based on a sense of duty. How could I possibly not be guilty?”

"......"

"I’m sorry that I'm only saying this now. But inquisitor…Please don’t think my words are wrong simply because I didn’t find the courage to say them to you earlier. You have accomplished so much as the Hero, and you’ve endured so much pain in the process. No one has the right to condemn you for taking care of yourself.”

"B-But, if I don’t……”

"You're allowed to grieve as much as you need. If you're tired, you’re allowed to stop and rest. If the world would end because you were one day late, it would’ve ended already.”

Every word that followed only shook and broke apart the shackles that had bound her for so long. The Inquisitor was so overwhelmed by it all that she didn’t know what to do.

"...You suffered because the Demon Knight, the Adventurer, kept sacrificing himself without end, right? But Inquisitor, if the Adventurer is allowed to rest after sacrificing so much, then the same applies to you.”

What was certain, however, was that even though all this was so very confusing to her, it didn’t distress her.

The Inquisitor hugged the Archmage back and burst into tears. They were tears that poured everything out of her. The grief of losing the home she had known her entire life, the guilt she had built up toward the Adventurer, and the guilt she felt for still wanting to ask him for help despite everything that happened.

"...Even so, I’m going north.”

And when the tears finally subsided, the young Hero declared as such with reddened eyes.

"Not because it’s my duty, but because bringing all of this fighting to an end is what I truly want. It’s my own wish and my own will.”

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