WeTried Translations
Translator: Aren
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer? ◈
Chapter 348: I Shall Convey it to God (6)
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"Has the Glacier Trial really begun?”
One of the warriors who followed her asked. His gaze was fixed on the mountain, turned completely white by the passing blizzard.
"I don’t know."
"...Didn’t you say it was definitely the Glacier Trial?”
"Did the cold freeze your ears shut? I never said the Glacier Trial had begun. I only said there was a possibility, so we should prepare for it.”
Berserk’s gaze was similarly fixed on the mountain. If there was one decisive difference between what she and the warrior were looking for, it was probably what each of them hoped to find.
Bwooo—Bwoooooo.
"...They found another trace."
"Give the signal."
Then the signal they had been waiting for came.
Berserk narrowed her eyes, and the seasoned hunter leading the warriors made a gesture. The girl trailing behind the hunter raised the horn she was carrying to her lips.
Bwoo—Bwooooo—
The signal rang long into the air, announcing their group was alive but had found nothing. Even with the snow swallowing the sound again and again, it was loud enough to carry beyond the mountain.
Bwoo—Bwobwo—Oooh
"Great Warrior, the group over there says they’re heading back. What will you do?”
"I’m not going down.”
"...It’s been four days.”
"So?”
Even after the echo faded, Berserk rubbed her ears a couple of times as though they were still ringing, then shook out her hands. Her gloves, damp from melted snow, had begun freezing over again, leaving them incredibly clammy.
"It’s been more than 20 years since I turned my back on my homeland, and not a single thing has improved since then.”
But even more unpleasant than the gloves was this place itself. Berserk felt sick because of the deep disgust rising from deep inside her chest.
"Instead, you’ve only grown weaker and more feeble. You’re not even worthy of being called warriors anymore.”
"...Great Warrior! You may be the legendary Great Warrior, but that’s going too far—"
"You think my judgment is unfair? Then raise your weapon.”
She aimed her axe and snapped at the warrior that had just spoken up. She hadn’t even taken a proper stance and was quite literally only pointing it at him, and yet that single motion made everyone stiffen up.
She might have turned her back on the tribe 20 years ago, but the records she had set back then were more than enough to make them freeze in place.
"Raise your weapon. Why are you just standing there? Wasn’t it a warrior’s virtue to make someone pay the proper price when they ran their mouth however they pleased?”
The Glacier Trial. The dividing line between warriors and Great Warriors, a life-or-death battle that had devoured thousands upon thousands of warriors over the past several centuries.
Even Great Warriors who had overcome it once could never be certain they would survive another attempt. Yet Berserk had set the unprecedented record of clearing it 20 times. It was a trial difficult enough that even 20 warriors charging in together might fail, and she had conquered it alone 20 separate times.
"Is there really no one here willing to raise their weapon?”
So who would dare act insolently before a legend like her?
No matter what Berserk said, the warriors just pressed their lips shut and lowered their heads, never realizing that this only irritated Berserk even more.
"Hah. So you have enough pride to get angry over an insult, but not a shred of the skill or guts to back that pride up. Nothing but idiots. Even arguing with you any more would be a waste of time. Get lost.”
Anyway, with frustration filling her every vein, Berserk put her axe away. And these were supposed to be warriors. The anger boiling inside of her only surged up more, though even she couldn’t tell what exactly it was directed at.
Her golden eyes darkened, and her grip made the axe handle creak.
"Wait, Great Warrior. Where are you going?”
"I’m sure I already told you.”
She strode forward through the snow that reached all the way to her knees.
"I won't leave this mountain until I find my sister.”
The words she spat out carried a resolve that would never bend to any hardship or adversity.
* * *
Thanks to the Vermillion Bird taxi, we’d skipped about a month and a half of our journey, but the end of the world was still a long way off.
“Is this Kleve?”
“...Dammit. Never thought I’d have to come back here.”
“Uugh, it’s cold……”
“...I think we should switch to thicker gear.”
So we checked the map and stopped at the nearest city. Kleve. The city with the most famous Magic Tower in the north.
“...Have you been here before?”
“I’m from here.”
“.......”
But Meister’s expression darkened considerably the moment he saw Kleve. It didn’t seem like it was simply because of exhaustion.
His face was deathly pale, and his hands had been trembling faintly for a while now.
“Are you alright?”
“...You okay?”
“No. I feel damn awful.”
”...Should we just resupply and leave right away?”
"No need. This city being damn awful aside, I really want to sleep in a bed tonight. The moment we head farther north. It’ll be hard to get a comfortable night’s sleep anyway.”
"Yes."
I slightly frowned at Meister’s answer. Even so, he was already reacting like this before we’d even entered the city. Was it really okay for us to stay here?
Of course, once we went farther north than Kleve, it would become, in the Archmage’s words, "the kind of place where your snot freezes the moment it comes out…” Still, magic could do something against the cold. Unlike mental problems that magic couldn't fix.
"Are you really sure you’ll be okay?”
Taking that into account, wouldn’t it be better to push on to the next town and rest there, even if we’d end up a little tired? At least, that's what I would’ve done.
"I’m fine."
But it would be ridiculous for me to insist when the person himself said he was fine. I shrugged and simply accepted his decision.
"Anything we need to be especially careful about?"
"If you were ordinary people, maybe, but for you guys, not really……”
Meister had been shaking his head indifferently when he suddenly went, “Ah.” His gaze landed on none other than Deathbringer.
"You should be a little careful.”
"...I know I’m the weakest one in this party.”
"What are you talking about? I’m the weakest."
"......."
The moment Meister finished speaking, everyone in the group looked like they couldn’t believe their own ears. Like people who had just learned that foxes were canids.
"What? Why are you all pulling those faces?”
"...No, it’s just. You being w-weak……”
"Th-The Great Master, w-weak……”
"Well, am I strong?”
"No, but…isn’t it kind of weird for someone who knocked out a Heretic Inquisitor with one punch to call himself weak?”
Deathbringer stammered out those words. This was something I’d been told before.
Though instead of thinking ‘Wait, that’s possible?’ My first reaction was more, ‘Well, if it’s Meister, I can see that happening.’ Even the part about him knocking out a Heretic Inquisitor made me think, ‘Yeah, he probably could.’
"What the hell are you talking about? Do strength and combat ability mean the same thing to you?”
Meister gave us all a sidelong glare.
"N-no, not exactly, but……”
"A Heretic Inquisitor is still just a human, and I’m a blacksmith as well. Under normal conditions, if I sucker-punched one and still couldn’t knock them out, wouldn’t that be weirder?”
...That was also true. I found myself nodding along as though hypnotized by Meister’s logic.
After all, even a slender ballerina could crack someone’s ribs if they kicked them with all their might. They didn’t train specifically to build brute strength or learn how to hurt people, but the core strength they’d developed was still enough to break bones.
So why would a blacksmith be any different? If anything, it was lucky the poor guy’s bones hadn’t broken. I offered a silent prayer for the nameless Heretic Inquisitor.
Daniel, standing beside me, was suddenly soaked in sweat.
"And just because I’m strong enough to knock somebody out, you think I can take a Knight one-on-one? You think I can take a Demon one-on-one?”
"Well…No……”
"Same goes even if they’re not a Knight or Demon, but just some ordinary criminal. The most I could handle would be street punks or drunks. I’m not taking on criminals who seriously know how to kill or beat people, okay?”
"Is…that so?”
"What the hell do you think I am?”
...Someone who could get thrown into a pack of Demons and survive by talking his way out?
I swallowed the thought, knowing Meister would definitely get pissed if he heard that, and finally accepted that Meister really was weak.
It was still hard to believe…but objectively speaking, he really did count as the weakest one, so there wasn’t much I could do about it.
"Anyway…The reason you need to be careful isn’t because you're a weak little shit. It’s because you're always wandering around the back alleys. You might be fine in other cities, but here you’ll be in genuine danger if you do that.”
"Y-yessir."
"Well, that’s based on what the place was like more than 10 years ago, so things might have changed…but just in case, just stay put in the inn. Don’t get yourself dragged off and turned into a test subject.”
Then Meister casually dropped a bombshell of a remark. Test subject. The Archmage’s expression went cold, while the Inquisitor’s cheeks flushed with anger.
"Experimenting on people is—!”
"Why are you getting mad all of a sudden? You didn’t get angry back when we experimented on the brain.”
"...Th-that was different.”
Brain experiments? I tried to imagine what they had been talking about while I was away, frowning slightly as I uncrossed my arms.
"Let’s stop here. It’s our turn soon.”
If anything, badmouthing Kleve in front of Kleve’s soldiers didn’t seem like the smartest thing to do. Putting basic courtesy aside, it could put us at a disadvantage or give someone an excuse to cause bigger problems for us later.
After I pointed that out, those who had been getting the most worked up hurriedly shut their mouths.
"...Do people really get abducted like that?”
"I don’t know about now. But back in my day, they sure did.”
Of course, there were still people who tried to subtly continue the conversation. Deathbringer asked without moving his lips, and Meister answered with a slight tilt of his head, his expression completely blank.
"Just asking to make sure…The Magic Tower isn’t doing this as an organization, right?”
"Of course not?”
"Ah, I knew i—”
"It’s individual wizards from the Magic Tower causing trouble on their own.”
"What the hell?”
While the Inquisitor, Daniel, and the Archmage at the front were proving their identities, Deathbringer practically jumped up. “What is it?” Naturally, the soldiers’ attention was drawn toward him.
"N-nothing.”
See? That’s what you get for jumping around like that. I pulled out my adventurer’s badge and poked Deathbringer in the back.
“Move forward."
"Ah, yes."
Deathbringer paused the conversation and pulled out his own identification. Thanks to the three who had been checked ahead of us, our check didn’t take that long.
"It really is Demonic Energy……”
Though in the process, I did feel a bit…like a monkey in a zoo. But that always happened, so whatever.
"...Does the city lord and Temple just sit around doing nothing?”
"Of course not. They’re properly doing their jobs.”
"Then why……?”
"Because it’s all done that secretly.”
"If it’s done that secretly, shouldn’t they regulate it even more heavily and keep an even closer watch?”
Anyway, the moment the inspection was over, the Inquisitor and Daniel joined their conversation. The Archmage didn’t say anything, but she was clearly listening closely as well.
"...You think that’s possible?”
The Inquisitor had learned quite a bit about the everyday common sense of society by now, but she still hadn’t lost all of her naivete. Meister gave her an incredulous look.
"White Crow’s Magic Tower is excellent at researching Demons’ weaknesses while also being at the forefront of life magic. It’s not like White Crow supports human trafficking or human experimentation, but politically, it’s too costly to search his Magic Tower without justification.”
Being at the forefront of life magic also meant being a master of healing magic. That was why even the city lord, despite holding political power, had to be mindful of White Crow.
"Well, the Temple doesn’t really have any reason to worry about that…but even they can’t just barge in without justification, right? The Magic Tower contributes quite a lot to the Northern Front.”
"Still, people’s lives are at stake……”
"More than anything, there are plenty of people willing to look the other way if a few vermin from the back alleys die and, in exchange, healing magic improves enough to save soldiers who would die otherwise.”
"......!"
"...Disgusting."
"That’s just how the world works.”
I’d figured as much, but having someone confirm that it was reality was still horrifying.
I frowned and urged everyone to hurry up and find an inn. It was true that I was in better shape than the others, but I also wanted to lie in a bed.
"...But what happened to that?”
"......?"
"No, one side of the Magic Tower is smashed to pieces.”
"......??"
* * *
"God’s representative has entered the city.”
Following a rule unique to the Kleve branch of the Magic Tower, a messenger stepped only a single step inside and delivered the news without so much as greeting or introduction. “God’s representative?” White Crow’s eyes narrowed at one particular word.
"Have I received any requests concerning them?”
"Not at all.”
"I see. Then get out.”
But if that person had no business with him, he didn’t care. White Crow waved the messenger away as the aroma of noodles seeped into his beak.
"So…did you hear?”
His voice grew more relaxed as he snapped his fingers. With the faint sound of scales brushing against scales, something that had been disguised returned to its original color and form. It was a slime that looked like black tar.
Sliiither.
It moved up to the ceiling like a drop of water. It was almost like watching water clinging to a ceiling fall to the floor in reverse. The slime spread widely across the ceiling and perfectly copied its color.
"Right, Number 73?”
"...Shut up."
In the place where the slime had been, something new appeared instead. A long, vertical cylindrical glass tube.
"Just hurry up and start.”
"Hehe, impatient, aren’t you?”
A glass tube with a person inside.
"Fine. Shall we continue the enhancement?”
White Crow smiled faintly.
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