WETRIED TRANSLATIONS
Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?
[Translator – Aren]
◈ Chapter 344 I Shall Convey it to God (2)
"I don’t know who named it…but they really did pick the perfect name.”
Daniel spoke as he caught one of the drifting spores in his palm. A cloth he had prepared beforehand was wrapped carefully around his mouth.
"It really is a silent invasion.”
"It’s not like spores make much noise when they drift through the air.”
The others did the same. Meister, the Archmage, the Inquisitor, Deathbringer, and even the horses had cloth masks covering their mouths. It was all to keep them from inhaling the spores.
「Even if you do breathe some in, you can just burn them away from the inside. So don’t worry too much.」
Apparently guessing what I was thinking, the boy who had been quiet for some time whispered into my ear. The Archmage’s repeated warnings must have been bothering him, almost enough to make me wonder if she was just trying to scare us. He repeated what he said multiple times that I didn’t have to worry too much, but not that I shouldn’t worry about it.
'Have you done that before?'
The way he said it sounded weirdly like he was talking from personal experience, so I asked the moment he finished. That was when the boy fell silent for a moment.
「...It’s useful for shaking off pursuers.」
'...Pursuers?'
「Early on after I made that contract, there were a lot of times when I couldn’t control the Demonic Energy properly, so……」
'So that’s why you came here?”
「The reason this forest is so frightening is that even Demons can’t make it out alive. If the compatibility is bad enough, even a Great Demon would be in danger.」
'I see.......'
As we followed the outer edge, I looked at the mushroom forest that was always positioned to our left. Even with a clearly defined boundary, one we always kept about 50 meters away from, the spores still drifted all the way over here. It made me wonder if we should put even more distance between us and the forest.
"But won’t the mushroom forest just keep getting bigger if this keeps up?”
"Hmm?”
"Won’t new mushrooms grow wherever the spores land?”
"Ah, that’s fine. These trees bordering the mushrooms were personally altered by a Primordial Beast to keep the forest from spreading.”
"Is that even possible……?”
The Archmage lightly scratched at the fabric of her veil, hearing Daniel’s question.
"It would be easier to show you directly.”
Then she tapped one of the trees with her staff. Thump, thump, thump. It sounded very solid. Only then did she insert the tip of her staff into a gap in the bark. Apparently, she was trying to peel off a piece.
"Let me do it."
I didn’t know what this was about, but I just had to peel off some bark, right? I briefly let go of Frederick’s reins and stepped next to the Archmages. By the way, the only reason I could do that was because everyone had dismounted to ease the burden on the horses, since the mask made breathing more difficult.
Perhaps she still wasn’t used to hearing me speak politely, seeing that the Archmage’s ears and tail both straightened up immediately.
Craaack.
In the meantime, I tore off a piece of bark using only my grip strength. Some of it broke in the process, but I still managed to get a piece about the size of my palm.
"...This tree’s famous for barely getting scratched even if you hit it with a steel axe, and he just broke some of it off?”
"Y-yeah, it seems so……”
"Huh?"
"Steel?”
This is harder than steel? I touched the piece of bark I had torn off a bit more. It was certainly hard, but since it had a grain, it was easy enough to crush.
Breaking it vertically against the grain was pretty much similar. It took a lot more strength, but it still wasn’t that difficult.
"Anyway, it’s extremely hard, which makes it difficult for the spores to burrow inside. That’s why the trees can withstand them.”
“It really is hard……”
"Fascinating…"
I handed the piece of bark I’d torn across the grain to the Inquisitor and Daniel. They were the only two who had come over to take it from me, so I didn’t exactly have a choice.
The two who could roughly be classified as the muscle of this group began fiddling with the bark just as I had. Tearing it along the grain was easy, so they seemed to be trying to tear it against the grain.
Crack.
"It broke.”
"...You’re strong too, Hero.”
Not long after, the Inquisitor snapped the bark she was holding in two. Daniel, who had been groaning, exerting his strength beside her, gave her a strange look. His trembling forearms showed how desperately this man was trying to split his own piece one way or another.
Crack. His persistence finally defeated the wood.
"This thing’s really tough.”
Crack. Meister also managed to break the bark into pieces somehow. It seemed to take him about as long as Daniel, but there was nothing really surprising about that.
One swung a sword all day, while the other had to fold metal for work. It would have been stranger if either of them had weak grip strength.
"Damn monsters……”
"......"
On the other hand, the wizard and the thief hadn’t even tried from the start. They knew their limits well enough to realize they would fail no matter what.
"With this kind of durability, it seems like it could work as a weapon……”
"Ah, not really. It’s durable, but its elasticity is worse than steel’s. And unlike steel, it breaks easily if you apply force along the grain. That’s another disadvantage. So these trees are best used as a barrier against these mushrooms.”
"Ah......."
Anyway, setting that aside, we all set off again. Apparently irritated by the spores clinging to their coats, the horses kept swishing their tails.
"Um, Madam Archmage.”
"What is it?”
"Earlier…you said a Primordial Beast had used its power to stop the mushrooms from spreading.”
"Yes, I did.”
"Could that Primordial Beast perhaps be……?”
"Ah, yes. I didn’t mention it, did I?”
The Archmage brushed spores out of her fur as she led her horse by the reins.
"The Northern Front is the only front where a Primordial Beast is fighting alongside people.”
* * *
[Sacred Power has suddenly increased.]
Two weeks had passed since they heard of the tragedy of the Grand Temple. A certain being’s face trembled at the words told by every priest in the city. It had no fixed form, consisting only of densely concentrated energy, so it seemed almost like a flame.
[I have no knowledge of its cause. Yet no effect exists in this world without a cause, so it is only right that we seek the reason for this sudden change.]
Its hands were the same. Its undefined body drifted freely, confined only by the clothes wrapped around it, which gave it shape.
A passionate artist brought from the south, a tailor said to create not clothing but art from thread worth more than its weight in gold, and a wizard who was a direct disciple of Surging Azure Lake and excelled at imbuing objects with Arcane Power. The silk garments created by all of them together shone brilliantly as well.
"That even you aren’t able to fathom it. That truly is troubling.”
[Living through countless ages is not the same as attaining all truth. Still, it has been a very long time since even I was unable to grasp so much as a part of something. It feels much like when those unholy things first set foot upon this land.]
"...Do you believe this is the work of Demons?”
[The concepts beyond my understanding have usually been those that lay beyond the horizon of this world.]
The flame-like being lowered its feet from the couch. Click. One black shoe and one red shoe finally touched the ground.
The five-colored fabric flowed down from its waist, studded with platinum, gold, and jewels smaller than beads, making it look as though the sparkling Milky Way was captured in it.
[Prepare yourselves. If this fluctuation was truly brought about with intent, then it was certainly not done for your sake.]
Yet that splendor, extravagant enough that even most lords would never dare dream of it, could never truly be called luxury.
"...We will investigate more thoroughly, O Ancient One.”
Since the being wearing it was one of the Primordial Beasts said to have existed since the creation of the world. Such things could never be considered extravagance before such a being.
The Vermillion Bird. They were the guardian of the north, the pair of wings that had kept two Great Demons from advancing northward on their own.
[I trust you.]
"...Are you heading out?”
[I shall inspect the front and see whether some calamity has occurred.]
The Vermillion Bird walked toward the terrace connected to the room. Krrrk. A single gesture from them made the beaded curtain of coral and amber slide aside, revealing the open sky. The city was far below them.
[And do not wait for me. I shall spend this night in another city.]
"As you command."
After taking one look at the view, the Vermillion Bird stepped onto the terrace railing. Click. The moment their shoe met it with a clear sound, their body was completely engulfed in flame.
"Look!”
"Lord Vermillion Bird is leaving!”
"Ah… I wish they could have stayed a bit longer……”
The garments that had held their form together vanished into a different space. Freed from their restraint, the Vermillion Bird’s body instantly swelled to an enormous size. Flap. Their two pairs of unfurled wings were large enough to cover an entire fortress.
Fwoooosh!
With their wings spread wide, the Vermillion Bird hurried into the sky before their expanding body would shatter the tower. Their tail, shining in crimson, gold, violet, jade, white, and countless other colors, left a trail across the air. It looked like an aurora.
[Hmm.]
But whether the mortals cheered or lamented their departure, the Vermillion Bird’s attention was drawn to another place.
[...I do not like this.]
As they surveyed the front, their gaze turned toward the mountain range to the north with displeasure. The dragon dwelling there had sent no word for nearly 500 years, and the increasing frequency with which mortals of the north pushed south to raid and pillage only deepened their unease.
There was one more threat in that frozen land that mankind knew nothing of.
[Tsk.]
Until now, there had been no opportunity to leave their post, so they had just taken no news as good news. But now that Gluttony was dead and they had some breathing room, it didn’t seem right to keep assuming that.
As planned, the Vermillion Bird spent two days making a sweep of the front before descending upon a conveniently located city. Every city along the Northern Front had a nest prepared for them, so there was no need to arrange for a separate room.
"O Ancient One, what can I—”
Nor was there any need to announce their visit to the lord. Anyone with working eyes could see a gigantic bird covered in flame slipping into the tallest tower in the city.
[For the next week, none along the front shall see me.]
And so, after waiting in the room for a short while, the Vermillion Bird made the declaration as soon as the lord arrived.
"Where will you be going?”
[To see the Noble Dragon.]
* * *
"We can finally take these masks off.”
Even though they had been necessary, it was amazing how uncomfortable a single piece of cloth could be. Daniel took a long deep breath. The air, no longer filtered through cloth, felt incredibly refreshing.
"Are you sure it’s safe? There are still a lot of mushrooms around here……”
"There’s no need to worry, Inquisitor. Even the spores spread by the Silent Invader turn back into ordinary mushroom spores once they get far enough away from the forest.”
"Is that so?”
"Yes. Otherwise, the Primordial Beast would have had to alter these trees as well.”
I also lowered my own mask following Daniel’s example. The cloth I’d pulled all the way up over my nose, like some assassin, slid down, making way for the cool air to brush against my cheeks. It was the sort of temperature you wouldn’t normally experience in Korea until the beginning of winter.
"The air’s gotten a lot colder.”
"We crossed the boundary. Now the harsh winter is really going to start brandishing its sword.”
"I see."
I only half-listened as Meister mentioned that we needed to prepare winter clothes. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to listen to him. I was more concerned about Deathbringer, who had seemed quite dejected, trailing behind us.
"Will you help me?”
"......?"
"Do you not want to?”
"Huh? M-me, Mister??”
At first, I had left him alone because he looked like he had a lot on his mind. The moment I realized he looked like he wanted to say something to me, I waited for him to work up the courage to speak to me first.
But after watching him go all the way around that forest without saying a single word, I got the feeling that if I left him like this, he might never say anything at all. That wasn’t a very good sign.
"...Does it look like I was talking to someone else?”
We had hurt each other a lot. But I didn’t think our relationship was so shallow that we would immediately cut ties because of it.
"...Erm, wouldn’t Meister be more helpful than me, Mister?”
At the very least, I didn’t think our bond was so fragile that we would simply drift apart like this. Even if we’d started on the wrong foot, I thought we could skip a few steps and somehow still land on the right foot.
At least, that was how I saw it.
So what was up with him all of a sudden?
"When it comes to judging equipment, perhaps. But you’re the one who knows best how it actually feels when used in the field, right?”
"That’s… true, but……”
"If it makes you uncomfortable, you can decline.”
I couldn’t think of anything else that might have made him avoid me… Or had what happened over the past few days affected him that much? No, it hadn’t really seemed that way……
"Inquisitor, do you have any experience spending the winter up north?”
"No… I’ve mostly worked between the south and the east.”
"I see… Then I guess I have to leave most of it up to you, Meister.”
I considered whether I should keep pressing him about it, but in the end, I decided not to. I didn’t have the energy nor a reason to try breaking down the wall between us through some deep conversation and improving our relationship.
I mean, we would be parting ways soon anyway. I also wasn’t really planning to see him after this either. There was no need to go out of my way to fix things.
"But honestly, you don’t really need to prepare any equipment, right?”
"......?"
"That sword you have can change however you want, right?”
"...That’s true.”
That aside, Meister’s question was worth thinking about. I fiddled with the hilt at my waist. Meister didn’t know this, but the same was true for my clothes. I could change their form however I wanted. I could even alter their material.
"But I can only transform them into things whose structure I understand. Even if I don’t buy anything, I’ll need to see the equipment for myself.”
"If that’s all, you can just look around while we’re buying ours.”
"Uh, well. I think I’ll probably ask the Temple rather than buy mine separately.”
"Ah, inquisitors get their weapons from the Temple, huh?”
"Yeah, well.”
"Then I guess the Hero will get hers there too?”
"Huh? I-I…probably will, yes. The Sea Dragon’s armor protected me from heat, but it doesn’t really do much against the cold……”
"Then what about you, Madam Archmage?”
"I have separate clothing for winter. No need to worry about me.”
"What? Then he and I are the only ones who actually have to buy anything?”
This is why it sucks having no one backing you. The man with a Magic Tower Master for a grandfather and plenty of talent of his own clicked his tongue. If someone who truly had nothing had heard him, their eyes probably would have rolled back into their heads.
"You’ve got some nerve saying that.”
"I don't have anyone backing me right now, right?”
"Instead, you’re strong enough to stand on your own without anyone’s backing. Keep the shameless whining to yourself.”
"......"
I clicked my tongue and urged Frederick onward toward the castle in the distance. Leaving the shameless Meister behind me, I needed to get ready to set foot in my first northern city.
_________________________________________________________________________
Join our Discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/wetried
