WETRIED TRANSLATIONS
Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?
[Translator – Aren]
◈ Chapter 342 With These Hands of Mine (6)
"He put in a request for a designated hire with the Guild.”
Gunther glanced out the window as he worked through his paperwork.
"Yes."
"The fee must have been pretty steep. Why didn’t you pay it for him?”
"We tried, but the Guild was refused first.”
"...Really?"
There wasn’t much to see outside the window. A few trails of smoke from burning corpses, lights purifying the city, soldiers keeping the crowds under control.
"That’s surprising. I thought they’d just give him a discount and leave it at that.”
"The branch manager’s child survived thanks to him.”
"Aha."
"More importantly…the request itself was structured in a way that made it difficult to set a fee.”
"Really…….?”
A small group preparing to leave.
"That does make me a bit curious.”
Gunther signed the last document and stood up.
It was time to see them off.
* * *
"So you’re really leaving.”
Given the urgency of the situation, preparations for departure went smoothly. Unlike when they had arrived, they also didn’t need to lead dozens of soldiers with them, which sped things up quite a bit. The troops the Inquisitor had brought would remain in Munmund, which would receive no further reinforcements.
"Will this really be enough?”
Still, one of the Knights who had come to see them off asked with concern, looking at how drastically their numbers had shrunk. He was the man commanding the reinforcements from Mannafeld.
"It’s enough.”
But his concern was unnecessary. They were most accustomed to traveling in groups of around five to begin with.
"Perhaps you could ask the Lord of Munmund for a carriage, at least……”
"That would only slow us down.”
The Inquisitor looked over the members of the party.
There was the Inquisitor herself, the Archmage, Meister, and the heretic inquisitor Daniel. And though he wasn’t here at the moment, there was also the Deathbringer, who had decided to stay with them.
None of them could drive a carriage anyway, and none were the sort to recoil at the thought of sleeping outdoors. She turned down the final offer.
"Besides, the horses are good enough.”
Instead, she lightly patted the horse standing beside her. Larger than most warhorses, it carried the blood of unicorns, primordial beasts said to have gone extinct long ago.
"I never expected you to lend us three of these……”
Of course, being descendants of unicorns didn’t mean they possessed any extraordinary abilities. Most of the unicorns’ powers had been lost over the generations.
For example, these horses had no horns. They naturally couldn’t use the power of purification associated with unicorns, summon thunder, or perform the miracle of running through the sky either.
All they had was resistance to curses and physical abilities far beyond those of ordinary horses.
Well, that alone was already more than enough for anyone who handled horses to be grateful for.
"Hmm? You’re not taking that horse with you?”
"......? What horse……?”
"The one you used to ride, Hero. It looked just as impressive in size and ability as a unicorn-blooded horse……”
"Aah…That one has returned to its original owner.”
"......?"
"It was originally a horse someone else received as a gift. I merely ended up riding it for certain reasons. Now that I’ve met its owner again, of course I had to return it.”
The Inquisitor gave an awkward smile at the Knight’s words. She was reminded again of the person who had awkwardly asked whether Frederick was here before requesting to be shown where he was and of the horse throwing the biggest fit imaginable the moment it reunited with its original owner.
Though in the end, they had reconciled over several pieces of fruit and an endless amount of brushing.
"Ah, so that’s how it was.”
In any case, that explained the horse’s absence. The Knight accepted the answer and stepped back.
"More importantly, that troublemaker’s late……”
Had he changed his mind about wanting to come along? Or was he somehow still in the middle of that conversation?
"Wait a moment.”
Leaving the Knight behind, the Inquisitor went to find the Archmage. She thought the Archmage might know where that troublemaker had gone.
"Madam Archmage, he still hasn’t come……”
"I’m here."
"Ah, finally.”
Speak of the devil. Before they could even start looking for him, Deathbringer appeared. His face looked dark and haggard, and no matter how one looked at it, he really didn’t look well.
"...Did you manage to apologize?"
"......"
It seemed like he didn’t. The Inquisitor immediately read the answer from that troublemaker’s silence. No matter how oblivious or socially inexperienced she was, even she couldn’t miss something so obvious.
"...I couldn’t find him.”
"...Ah."
"Hmm, he wasn’t in his room……?”
"No."
She had been wondering how he had managed to fail to apologize, but if they had never even met to begin with, that explained it.
"Looks like you were…unlucky, huh?”
"...I don’t know."
Even the reassurance she offered him only received a lukewarm response. It wasn’t exactly strange, considering he had spent yesterday and today searching for the Adventurer only to keep missing him.
And given this guy’s pessimistic nature, that idiot was probably convinced the Adventurer was avoiding him.
"We can delay our departure a little. Why don’t you go look for him again?”
"......"
The problem was that this possibility wasn’t entirely unthinkable.
The Adventurer she knew didn’t seem like the sort of person who would do that…but that ultimately was only her judgement, not the truth. The Inquisitor had decided she would no longer act certain about the thoughts and characters of other people.
"...No. If he really is avoiding me, then that means he doesn’t even want to hear my apology, right? So…It’s fine.”
"If that’s what you want, I won’t try to change your mind, but……”
"Still, wouldn't it be better to say it? Otherwise, it’ll keep bothering you forever……”
"I don’t want to make the Mister uncomfortable just so I can feel better.”
But was that really the right thing to do? The Inquisitor honestly had no idea.
"Meister, do you know anything?”
"What?"
"You said you met him yesterday.”
"Ah…I did.”
Meanwhile, heretic inquisitor Daniel nudged Meister. Whether by coincidence or on purpose, Meister had met with the Adventurer while Deathbringer had been searching for him in vain, making him the most obvious person to ask.
He was the only person here who could even begin to guess how the Adventurer felt. He was the last person to have seen him after all.
"But he didn't seem particularly bothered about anything. Didn’t you just miss him because your luck is damn awful?”
"...But…”
Of course, Meister was hardly the type of person to kindly cooperate. As he spoke while idly picking at his ear, the other four could only look on with pained expressions.
Seriously, what the hell had made that man decide to stay with them?
"Ah!"
"......?"
Just then, some of the people who had come to see them off began murmuring and stepped aside. Emerging from the crowd were the Young Lord, soon to become Lord of the city, and the hooded Adventurer. Prrrrr. Frederick, standing beside him, let out a long snort.
"Young Lord.”
"God’s Representative, may boundless glory be with you.”
The Young Lord saw them off with an unfamiliar sword at his hip. The words were a formal farewell as well as a blessing, but somehow they didn’t sound lighthearted or perfunctory.
It wasn’t so much that the Young Lord had put any special sincerity into the words as it was everything he had already done. Giving them their unicorn-blooded horses, rare even in Munmund, and basically raiding the castle’s treasure to grant them equipment were acts of kindness few cities would ever show.
"Are you finished saying your goodbyes?”
Anyway, the moment the brief but weighty farewell was over, the Adventurer stepped forward.
The Inquisitor’s brow twitched slightly. 『The journey to hunt down Satan ends here.』 She had told herself she would humbly accept his decision, but it still hurt, remaining painfully vivid in her mind.
"...Adventurer."
He had accepted her apology, wished her well in the future, and formally declared that he was leaving the journey they had begun to hunt down Satan.
So hoping that Frederick’s presence meant he planned to join them would be far too much to ask.
The Inquisitor used that thought to suppress her pounding hope.
"Is there something else you want to tell us?”
And yet some of that hope still slipped through. Though she had grown, some of her youthful innocence still remained, and without realizing it, she looked at him with shining eyes.
The cheek muscle barely visible beneath his hood twitched.
"Inquisitor, do you still have your Adventurer’s badge?”
"Huh? Ah, yes. I still have it, but……”
"Then would you be willing to accept a designated hire?”
"Huh?"
Rustle. He pulled a sheet of paper from inside his clothes. It was densely filled with elegant handwriting.
"I’m heading north to find Berserk. Along the way, I’ll need people who can guide me and provide assistance.
The Inquisitor accepted it in a daze.
The objective of the request was to either find a specific person named Berserk or obtain enough information to make it possible to track that person down. Whether the information was sufficient would be determined by the client.
There was no specific deadline. However, if the route taken by those accepting the request deviated severely from the normal course, or if an incident occurred that made it impossible to continue carrying out the request, the contract could be terminated midway.
Compensation would consist of combat support and cooperation for the duration of their joint travels.
There were various smaller clauses attached to each item, but to summarize it, that was more or less what the request said. The Archmage and Daniel, who had leaned in from beside her, practically had question marks floating over their heads.
"Why……?”
"I just told you. I need to head north to find Berserk, and I need people to cooperate with me along the way.”
"Cooperate with you……”
"You all know I’m no good at camping, right?”
That one sentence from the Adventurer shut them all up. It was true that the Adventurer really was terrible at camping… … Even if it was closer to him simply not doing it than being unable to, anyway.
"...If that’s all, there are other adventurers.”
"Building trust with strangers is tedious and troublesome. I’m only offering this to you because our routes happen to overlap. At the very least, I know I can trust you. Of course, if you want to refuse, you can.”
"I-I’m not trying to refuse!”
It had already been decided that they couldn’t borrow his strength for the hunt for Satan. But did that make his strength worthless? Absolutely not. The same was true even if this arrangement had a limited duration.
The Inquisitor’s voice cracked.
"I-I just thought you might be, um, uncomfortable……”
"I made this decision after taking that into consideration.”
"...Are you really sure about this?”
After everything they, and she herself, had done to him, was he really fine with this? The Inquisitor asked timidly, to which the Adventurer silently held out a pen.
"Decide. If you refuse, I’ll have to go find someone else.”
"...Thank you."
It was a contract she had no choice but to sign. Shameless as it might have felt, the Inquisitor still signed it. The Guild’s seal was already stamped on the document, so her signature was the only thing missing.
"The contract is now in effect. I look forward to working with you.”
With that, they were no longer awkward traveling companions held together by feelings and verbal promises.
They were now temporary companions bound by clear terms and agreements. A relationship formed through negotiation, making them completely equal, and not companions kept together any longer by one side’s generosity.
"Yes......!"
The Inquisitor’s eyes sparkled with tears.
* * *
"...You don’t seem very surprised.”
Now that negotiations were complete, there was no need to act awkwardly about it. I brought Frederick over and lined him up with the other horses, then gave the Young Lord a short bow. Bernstein in hand, he returned it with a somewhat complicated expression.
"Ah, he was writing that request when I met him yesterday. I even advised him on a few of the clauses. So I already knew.”
"...Why are you only telling us that now?! I was……!”
"I had no reason to tell you, right?”
“Y-you damn bastard……”
Still, I’d be coming back here after meeting Berserk. I’d have to pass through here anyway if I wanted to visit the Great Forest.
"I keep my promises.”
More importantly, apologizing to Berserk wasn’t the only reason I was leaving now.
"So make sure you keep yours too.”
If I stayed here, the people of the city would remain constantly aware of me. That wouldn’t be good for me, since I was hiding the secret of my disguise, or for the boy who would someday have to return to this city as 'Faust.'
Anyway, I couldn’t exactly spend my time here as the hero who saved the city, then suddenly go ‘Surprise! The hero was actually Faust all along!’ and switch identities out of nowhere.
So even if I eventually lived in this city, the hero of Munmund had to disappear. So that when Faust returned, he would never have to pretend to be that hero. No matter what.
"...Don’t worry.”
I was sure the Young Lord would handle it well. From what I’d seen, he was more than capable.
"We’re leaving!”
Anyway, it really was time to go now. At the Inquisitor’s signal, I mounted my horse. “May God’s blessing be with you.” One by one, the people around us called out their farewells.
"...Wait, why is that person here?”
But among the people seeing us off was a face I recognized.
Why the hell was Sir Walter, who was supposed to be in Mannafeld, here?
"...Is something wrong?”
Daniel, who was beside me in the formation, asked, but I didn't answer. I didn’t have the luxury to.
"Hyah!”
Wow. Thank God I was wearing a hood. Seriously, thank God. Grateful that Sir Walter hadn’t noticed me, I gave Frederick the signal to move.
It was time to quickly get out of there before he caught on.
* * *
"Are the repairs still not finished?”
White Crow narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked over the ruined section of the Magic Tower. These traces had been left sitting there like an eyesore for nearly a month, and it was starting to bother him.
"I-I’m sorry. Building materials have become quite difficult to obtain.”
"Tsk."
With Munmund in trouble in the southeast and all of the west completely wrecked, there wasn’t much they could do. The distribution network was already in shambles after the Grindana Merchant Company collapsed……
White Crow looked away from the wizard making excuses and turned his gaze toward the person still hanging on the cross. After having countless rocks thrown at them and thoroughly pecked apart by crows, the corpse was little more than bones by now.
“We should probably get rid of that soon.”
"Yes."
The real one was already steeping in solution and being used for various experiments anyway. The fake they had put on display so people could vent their anger had probably served its purpose by now.
"How idiotic……”
If they were going to conduct unauthorized experiments, the least they could do was not get caught. And if they were going to kidnap people for research, they should at least know their place and choose their subjects wisely. They couldn't even manage that, and this was the result.
White Crow looked over the section of the Magic Tower the kidnapping victim had smashed apart, then touched the beak mask he wore. The moment his hand pressed the hidden button, the substance stored inside the beak flowed into his nose and mouth. “Haah.” Smoke slipped through the gaps in the beak.
"When was the second inspection again?”
"Tomorrow.”
"Good. As I always say, I won’t cover for anyone who gets caught.”
He had no expectations whatsoever that the wizards living in this tower had been conducting all their research cleanly and by the rules. And because of that, he had no intention of protecting the incompetent bastards who couldn’t even hide what they were doing properly and got caught.
After reminding those below him in a voice that had grown incredibly languid, he set off to take care of the reason he’d come out in the first place. It had been a long time since he had gone anywhere without bringing even a single subordinate, so the wizards’ eyes kept drifting toward him as he went.
“So…someone was looking for me?”
But a few spells were more than enough to shake even them. Savoring the smoke inside his beak, White Crow entered a secluded tavern in a back alley.
"My apologies. Someone appeared who knew the Tower Master’s contact number……”
"My contact number?”
"Yes."
"That’s strange…None of the people who know my contact number should be looking for me at a time like this.”
Well, he called it a tavern, but in reality, it was a place used for illegal dealings. Someone who recognized the Magic Tower Master guided him farther inside.
"They’re in here.”
And when the door to the innermost room opened, White Crow’s eyes widened before he even realized it.
"So it was you who came looking for me.”
Interest, delight, and the thrill of finding something entertaining flashed wildly through his eyes.
"Hello, Number 73.”
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