WETRIED TRANSLATIONS
Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?
[Translator – Aren]
◈ Chapter 346 I Shall Convey it to God (4)
"I pay my respects to God’s Representative."
After more than 2 weeks on the road, we finally reached the meeting point designated by the Vermillion Bird. But the one waiting for us there wasn’t the Vermillion Bird themselves.
Just the Lord who had been entrusted with delivering their message was there.
"You mean…we have to take this to the end of the world?”
The moment the Lord finished relaying the request, though, every one of us was left feeling reluctant. Even the Inquisitor, who would normally accept something like this without any questions asked, couldn’t help but ask again, unable to believe her own ears.
"Not just anything…but a corpse?”
Honestly, though, her reaction was understandable. Having to transport some specific object all the way to the Norda region was one thing, but the fact that the cargo was a person’s corpse was definitely strange.
"...Could you at least tell us whose body this is?”
While even the Archmage stammered in confusion, I looked at the corpse wrapped up tightly like a mummy.
There was no mistaking the silhouette. This was clearly a person’s body.
"I wasn’t told the details either, so I have little to tell you. But what I do know for certain is that these must be returned to the Nobel Dragon, and that if they are damaged before then, the world will be placed in grave danger.”
"The world will be in grave danger?”
"That’s what the Ancient One said. I don’t know anything beyond that.”
"Ah… Understood.”
But seriously, what the hell was this thing? The world will be in grave danger if it wasn’t returned? Was this another Skyflow Tiger kind of situation? Is some dragon driven mad by love going, ‘Give me back the corpse, or I’ll destroy the world, Raaaaaargh—’ or something?
"More importantly…you mentioned other things just now, right? So the corpse isn’t the only thing we have to deliver?”
While I was busy imagining all kinds of nonsense, Meister calmly cut in. His gaze had been fixed on the cloth wrapped around the corpse for a while now.
"The corpse isn’t the only thing the Ancient One entrusted to us.”
Whether he noticed what Meister did or not, the Lord pointed his short staff toward the corpse’s chest. There was a subtle bulge there, too weird to be explained by crossed arms or the chest itself. It almost looked as though the body had been wrapped in cloth while holding something.
"The Ancient One also entrusted us with several fragments. To make it easier to store, they were placed in a pouch, tucked against the corpse’s chest, and wrapped together with it in the cloth, so it’ll be difficult for you to inspect them directly.”
"Ah......"
"For reference, this cloth isn't anything ordinary either. Wizards placed preservation magic and spells to prevent damage upon it.”
"I see."
"Of course, if someone powerful was deliberately trying to destroy it, there’s little that could stop them. But at the very least, it shouldn’t be damaged by any impact during transportation.”
"Thank you for your consideration.”
"It was something that had to be done anyway.”
At the Inquisitor’s thanks, the Lord gave a slight bow, then held out a ring.
"As a precaution, a protective spell will activate if anyone other than the holder of the key attempts to unwrap the cloth. So if you ever need to remove it, make sure to put this ring on first.”
"Ah, understood.”
Listening from the side, I couldn’t help thinking this person had been remarkably thorough.
"I’ll say it one more time. If you ever unwrap it, you have to put on the ring—”
"Wow, what the hell? How did they manage to inscribe lightning magic into cloth? And the output’s far beyond average as well! It could even burn a Knight to a crisp. How much material did they dump into…Wait, this mark… Looks like the maker was one of Gramps’s direct disciples.”
"...It was made by Master Timayuk."
"Timanyuk? Ah, if it was that guy, then yeah……”
Meister, who had been almost glaring at the cloth this whole time, raised his voice, which was quite unusual. He sounded as if he was very familiar with that name, so he probably knew the maker.
The Lord’s expression turned complicated.
"But just one note, it’d be better not to unwrap the bandages unless you absolutely have to. Unless the maker himself is here, the effect will weaken if you take them off and tie them again.”
"...By what principle does it work?”
"Probably the placement of the inscribed characters. It was made with Arcane circles that would line up beside each other once it was wrapped in mind, so even tying it slightly differently would probably cut the effect in half.”
"...That’s possible?”
"It’s just a matter of getting the calculations right.”
"It’s tedious, but not that difficult.”
While the two wizards were completely absorbed in those bandages, the two from the Temple were just listening with their eyes moving back and forth, and given our backgrounds, neither Deathbringer nor I particularly wanted to speak directly with the Lord.
Having even the explanation he was supposed to give taken away from him, the Lord maintained that complicated expression to the very end.
"Ahem, it seems there’s no need for further explanation. In that case, how will you transport it? Shall I lend you a carriage?”
"Ah, right. We can’t exactly carry this on our backs just because it has magic to prevent damage…But taking a carriage would make the journey take far too long.”
"W-we can put it in my subspace.”
"Is that possible, Madam Archmage?”
"It isn't a living thing. If I take some of the luggage out of my subspace, I should be able to fit one body inside.”
“Then I think that would be best."
The next problem, transportation, was solved so easily it almost felt anticlimactic. Magic really was god.
“Doesn’t that make the enchanted cloth kind of pointless?”
"Not really. Who knows what the conditions will be when we take it out, or whether something might force us to remove it from the subspace along the way?”
"Hmm…It still kind of feels like a waste of money though.”
"If the safety of the world is at stake, who cares about the money?”
Of course, the idea of putting a corpse into a subspace felt a bit creepy…but it wasn’t my subspace, and it was undoubtedly quite convenient, so I kept my mouth shut. I was just grateful to the Archmage for taking care of this matter.
"...But if this really is important enough that the safety of the world depends on it, why hasn’t the one who asked us to do this even shown their face?”
Anyway, while the Archmage played inventory Tetris, Deathbringer voiced a rather reasonable question. Perhaps conscious of the Lord, he kept his voice extremely low, just loud enough for Meister and me, who were standing beside him, to hear.
"Who knows?"
Meister seemed curious about it as well, his expression turning thoughtful.
"Where did the Vermilion Bird go?”
Though that expression quickly changed into one that practically said, ‘Why waste time thinking when we can just ask?’ Faced with Meister’s bold question, the corners of the Lord’s eyes twitched slightly.
"...They went to the front.”
Still, the Lord was a professional. He erased his displeasure in an instant and answered calmly.
"The front? Then couldn’t we just wait a bit……?”
"And they have been unable to return here for 2 weeks now.”
"...Is the front in such a dangerous state?”
While we were traveling, we hadn’t had a chance to hear any news, and after entering the city, we had come straight here.
Because of that, this was the first we’d heard that the Vermilion Bird had been stuck on the battlefield for 2 weeks. Was the front really in such a bad state? Naturally, my anxiety shot through the roof.
"It’s not…the worst-case scenario. But I was told the Ancient One isn’t in a position to withdraw carelessly.”
Perhaps finally understanding our circumstances, the Lord gave us a more detailed explanation.
The Great Demon of Lust had begun acting with great force, and a servant of Pride, who had been suspected of having destroyed the cities in the west, had appeared on the battlefield. It was nothing but bad news.
"Perhaps the theory that they exhausted their strength in the west is correct, because they aren’t launching a full-scale offensive. However, a new Demon with great mobility and the power of corruption has appeared on their side as well, and the situation has reached the point where it would become troublesome if the Ancient One didn’t personally intervene.”
"Huh…So that’s why.”
"That appeared to be why they had no choice but to ask you to go on ahead. Given that they mentioned the safety of the world, this matter seems no less important than the front itself. And since they specifically said the Hero must go, it seems the Hero’s power will be essential during the return process as well.”
"I see."
It was, however, a relief to hear things weren’t at their absolute worst. But with no way of knowing when the battle might end or when the situation might turn for the worse, simply waiting around for the Vermilion Bird was no longer an option.
"Understood for now. We’ll escort this safely to the end of the world.”
Anyway, we now fully understood why the Vermilion Bird had asked us to go on ahead.
We still didn’t know what this was, why it had to be returned, or who the Noble Dragon was, but what could we do? Those were probably things only the Vermilion Bird knew.
So we left the city, carrying questions that could only be answered once the Vermilion Bird returned.
"Goddammit… Why is your travel schedule always this brutal?”
"You’d pass out if I told you I’ve been living like this all the time for the last year.”
"...Are you sure you're all right? Even Heretic Inquisitors would struggle with a grueling march like this.”
"Huhuhuhu.”
There was a little complaining mixed in, but we still managed to depart without issue.
* * *
Berserk searched for branches and anything else she could use to start a fire.
But how much vegetation could possibly exist in a dying land? After searching for a long while, she barely managed to gather a few shriveled leaves and several crumbling pieces of wood. It was enough to start a fire but nowhere near enough for a popper campfire.
"So even the Great Warrior can’t create something from nothing, huh?”
The hunter watching her snickered. The village had assigned him to her as a guide.
I hope that laugh of yours is backed by the right foundation.”
"Oh…unfortunately, hunters can’t create something from nothing either.”
The hunter who had been laughing at her raised his hands. He had easily gathered up twice as much as Berserk, but even that was nowhere near enough to build a campfire.
It seemed less like he lacked the skill as a hunter and more like there simply hadn’t been anything there for him to bring back.
"Tsk."
Instead of trying to make a campfire out of what they had, it would be better to just use weapons made for the cold she had brought from the Magic Tower.
She set the axe she had extorted as compensation for damages down on the ground. It had heating magic built into it.
“What the hell are you planning to do?"
Of course, the hunter, who knew nothing about Arcane tools, didn’t recognize what it was. Naturally, he didn't understand why she pulled out a tin mug and scooped up some snow either.
"You’re just going to eat the snow?”
"No."
Clack. She set the mug on the flat of the axe. The axe, slowly turning red as it heated up, began radiating heat into the mug as well, leading to the snow to melt.
"...You’ve got something pretty interesting there. Is it from the south?”
"Do you want one?”
"If possible.”
"You’d be better off giving up on that.”
She drank half of the melted snow water. The rest would go to the hunter.
"If I hadn’t had a justification, even I wouldn’t have been able to bring this back.”
So it was dangerous enough that even the Great Warrior had to back down…
The hunter sighed. “If only we had a few more of those, we wouldn’t have to worry so much about firewood.” It was the sigh of someone worried about his tribe.
But no matter how desperate or earnest you were, some things simply couldn’t be done. Berserk didn’t change her answer.
『Warrior of the Glacier, Raider of the North, Northern Barbarian, Master of the Frozen Land…and one cursed by the dragon. Hehe. Be grateful that my research on your people is already complete. Otherwise you would never have left here alive.』
That white wizard, couched within his own domain, was someone even she couldn’t confidently say she could defeat.
"Just drink up. The search isn’t over yet."
"...Right."
Even if she had to tear through every inch of snow on this mountain, she would find her sister’s corpse. If it wasn’t on this mountain, then she would search the next. If it wasn’t there, then she would comb the mountains even beyond that. No matter what.
"But Great Warrior, there isn't much of the food you brought left. And there are hardly any edible animals on this mountain……”
"So?"
Berserk turned off the heating magic and stood. The moment she stepped out of the cave that had at least kept out the wind, even if it didn’t provide any sort of warmth, the cold rushed over her. It was a familiar chill.
"If there’s nothing to eat, then don’t eat.”
"G-Great Warrior, that’s only possible because you’re……”
"If you can't endure being hungry, go back down. I never intended to bring you to begin with.”
The villagers had forced him on her because they were hoping to get something out of it. She had never asked for a hunter to come with her.
Making that perfectly clear, she breathed out a cloud of white air. Only once her lungs were filled with the freezing air did she feel her own life again. It was a sorrowful life.
"...I’m still fine, so let’s keep going.”
The hunter, having gained nothing, followed with a timid expression.
"While I was looking for wood earlier, I saw some strange tracks, Great Warrior. They were on the other side of a crevasse, so I couldn’t check them properly…but I don’t think they’re not worth investigating.”
They were unlikely to be traces of a corpse, but if they belonged to a beast, they could hunt it for food. And even if it wasn’t from a beast, there was still more than enough reason to investigate it just in case.
That gave her every reason she needed to go. Berserk readily followed the hunter’s proposal.
"...What is this?”
"What’s wrong?”
"The snow… It looks like it melted and then froze again. And the ground here’s been overturned too…What happened here? Did something dig up tree roots or something?”
But when they actually reached the spot, the hunter’s expression turned serious as he looked at the tracks the falling snow had yet to completely cover.
"Judging by how much snow has piled up, these tracks are fairly old. And yet the ground still has these indents, deep enough to stand out this clearly……”
"... Did a monster come out of the Glacier Trial?”
"I can't say for sure. But it doesn't seem impossible either. Hmm… Great Warrior, I think this is something we should tell the people back at the tribe. I know you’re busy, but you can understand why this matters, right?”
"...Yeah.”
If the Glacier Trial had truly begun, it wasn’t something they could put off. Berserk’s face hardened like someone who had stumbled upon something troublesome and difficult to deal with.
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