WETRIED TRANSLATIONS
Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?
[Translator – Aren]
◈ Chapter 353 The Left Eye That Remained Shut (1)
"People actually live in a place like this……?”
It had been two days since we properly entered the Norda region.
Deathbringer, his body completely covered by a fur cloak, shivered. He’d layered up so much that his arms and legs looked two to three times thicker than usual, but apparently he was still freezing.
"Hey, gimme a blessing.”
"...I believe you’re the only person who asks for blessings like you’re asking for a glass of water.”
"I’m about to die here. You think I care?”
Meister was having just as hard a time as Deathbringer.
If Aerotelk hadn’t wrapped him in warming magic and Daniled and the Inquisitor hadn’t taken turns blessing him, he would’ve collapsed over his horse a long time ago.
"How could the weather be so bad that even horses can’t travel through it……?”
"Horses couldn’t travel through the desert either.”
"But we had camels there!”
"I hear they use reindeer or dog sleds in this region instead. The unicorn-blooded horses are getting around just fine as well.”
"Aagh, seriously, you know what I mean.”
Still, I could understand their suffering. Even I, protected by a blessing, often thought stuff like, ‘Huh? Is it just me, or is the temperature dropping like a stock chart?’ So how much worse must it be for those without one?
"There are a lot of rocks beneath the snow. Watch your footing.”
"Ahm understood!”
"I’ll keep that in mind.”
And this land wasn’t just insanely cold. It also had enough snow falling that it was currently piled up all the way up to our shins.
When it came to marching, snow didn’t just show how cold it was. When it was shallow, it made the ground really slippery. When it piled up, it just became another obstacle that resisted every step you tried to move forward.
"Sir, if you’re tired, we can switch.”
"I’m fine. Worry about the rear instead. I’m afraid one of them might end up falling over.”
In that sense, taking the lead required quite a bit of stamina. Pushing through snow piled up all the way to your knees took quite a bit more leg strength than walking normally.
Well, all I really had going for me was this stupidly sturdy body, so I couldn’t say that I found this especially difficult or something.
"If it’s already this cold near the border of Norda, I can’t even begin to imagine how cold the end of the world must be……”
"...Think the water in our containers will be frozen by the time we pull it out to drink over there?”
"Even boiling the water first probably wouldn’t help.”
I used my sword to sweep the snow aside. “Boiling it would make it freeze faster.” As I said that, a video played through my mind of someone throwing hot water into the air in weather around -30°C.
"What?"
"I don’t know the exact principle myself, but I know that hot water will freeze faster. So I’d give up on the idea of heating your drinking water before we go.”
The water had frozen almost at the same time it was thrown into the air, if I remember right. I couldn’t remember the name, but it had ‘Effect’ attached to its end, so I was pretty sure it was a scientifically established phenomenon as well.
"Seriously?”
"Yes."
Of course, if the end of the world was anything like the North Pole, that phenomenon wouldn’t mean much. No matter if it's warm or cold, once you get below -40°C or -50°C, everything freezes to equal degrees.
"Was it like that in your homeland?”
"...That sounds rather strange when you put it that way. But, yeah, it’s a bit of wisdom that had been passed down since ancient times. I doubt things would work differently here. The principles of thermodynamics seem to apply here as well after all.”
"Really? That’s actually pretty interesting……”
-Crack.
I stopped walking, wondering if the whole party was going to turn into frozen fish. A bit of muddy soil clung to the toe of the boot I’d been using to push through the snow.
"Let’s talk about it when we stand watch later.”
"You and I are assigned different watch shifts, though.”
"You can just wake up when it’s my turn.”
"Ridiculous. Did you leave your conscience in the south?”
At that, I snapped my fingers. Whoosh. Flames sprang up at my feet and blazed dozens of meters ahead. They burned away the piled snow and exposed the ground hidden beneath it.
"Adventurer?”
"Sir?”
The two who noticed the movement of Demonic Energy first titled their heads like meerkats.
Instead of answering, I slightly stepped aside. The ground stretching out before us was a swamp covered in a thin sheet of ice.
"...We’ll have to go around.”
"I’ll find the edge. Wait here.”
This was why I couldn’t waste my flames. I gauged my Arcane Power reserves as I went around melting all the snow nearby. The swamp was extremely wide, so finding a way around it took quite some time.
"If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve brought a guide.”
"I’m sorry…I thought it would be better to hire one after we entered Norda.”
"Don’t apologize to me. We all agreed to that, right?”
Instead of patting the dejected Inquisitor on the head, I popped a candy into her mouth. It couldn’t be helped that she ended up losing her baby fat, but I refused to let the extra calories burned from the cold make her cheeks any thinner.
"Huh, thank you.”
"Sure. The rest of you, take one too.”
The way the Inquisitor stiffly thanked me every single time was so cute.
Feeling pleased, I handed candy out to the others as well. Favoritism was bad not only when raising kids but also when dealing with companions and colleagues.
"Thank you.”
"How much candy did you buy?”
"Th-thank you, Mister.”
"......."
After offering one to Aerotelk as well, I took hold of the reins. They belonged to Frederick, the temperamental horse who refused to tolerate any human beside me and the Inquisitor touching him.
Prrr.
"...Wait.”
And he was smart enough to make a fuss because only the people had gotten a little snack.
After glancing over the horses in the rear, I discreetly held my hand out near Frederick’s mouth. I’d placed a few black berries on my palm.
"That’s enough."
What the hell was I supposed to do if this bastard tried to eat my hand too? I shook off the saliva hanging from my leather glove, then burned away what remained with fire. The glove was dry again in no time.
"How far is it to the city?”
"Ah, one moment.”
It was really hard to find our way when everything around us was nothing but snow. Then again, since there was no road and we came all the way here by steadfastly following the compass, there was nothing much we could say.
“According to the map, we should be seeing a village soon……”
“The fact that there’s not a single trace of smoke is a little worrying.”
“Exactly…Aaachoo!”
Unlike Meister, Deathbringer wasn’t shameless enough to keep asking for blessings and had endured the cold without one, which often led him to sneeze loudly. Sniff.
Anyone could tell that the next sound was him sniffling.
“Sniff, let’s keep going that way for now. According to the map, there should be a village just over that hill.”
At this rate, he was going to catch a cold. I rolled the orb from inside my clothes around in my hand a couple of times, then tossed it behind me.
“Woah.”
“Give it back in 10 minutes.”
Dman, look at the cold rush in the second I let go of the orb.
Now I understood why everyone had been looking at me like I was insane ever since we entered Norda. Compared to this cold, I really had been dressed far too lightly.
Learning firsthand just how ridiculously powerful the blessing was, I pulled my cloak tightly together. Those 10 minutes I couldn’t take back without sacrificing my pride felt like they were going to last a thousand years.
"Oh, there’s a village over there.”
Still every hardship eventually came to an end. Or at least, that was what we thought when we first found traces of a village.
"Huh……”
"...Ruins.”
"Did the people…leave?”
Unfortunately, the village we’d finally managed to find wasn’t in a normal state. The snow piled thick over the yards and roads, along with the cold, empty houses, proved it.
This was no longer a village, but merely the traces left behind after its people had left.
"I don’t know what happened here… but first, we should make sure it’s safe and find another place to stay.”
"Understood."
"To save time, let us split into pairs and search. I think Aerotelk should go with me, Adventurer with the troublemaker, and Inquisitor Daniel with the Great Master. If you encounter a threat you can’t handle during the search, fire the signal flare you're carrying. We’ll search for 20 minutes, then regroup here and decide where to stay. Any objections?”
"H-huh?”
"Seems fine to me.”
"Good. Then our group will take this direction. Adventurer, your group will search this street, and Inquisitor Daniel, your group will take the street on the opposite side.”
"Yes."
But as the Inquisitor's instructions made clear, what we needed most right now was somewhere to shelter us from the wind and snow. Following our leader’s orders, the divided groups headed for their assigned search areas.
There wasn’t much room for any complaints about how the teams were divided, so no one put up any resistance.
“How bleak.”
“Yeah....…”
Once the noise made by six people and four horses abruptly dropped to a third of what it had been, the world became much quieter. The fact that snow absorbed sound probably made it feel even more so. Crunch. It was as if the only sounds in this world were the footsteps of two men and a single horse.
“Are there really no signs of anyone?”
“I’m not sure. This is my first time dealing with an environment covered in snow as well…….”
“I see.”
“S-stil, I really do think no one’s here, Mister. There aren’t any footprints, and I can't see any paths that look like they’ve been used at all.”
So that’s how it is……
Listening to Deathbringer’s reasoning, I examined each house one after the other. Built from logs, stone, and packed snow, they had low ceilings and small windows.
“There’s nowhere for the horses to stay.”
“They don’t use horses around here, so it can't be helped. We’ll have to convert one of the houses.”
“Hmm.”
Now that all the residents were gone, modifying a horse would be easy enough. The only question was whether we could find a house large enough for six people to rest comfortably standing right beside one wide enough to fit four horses.
Thud.
"......?"
At that moment, a faint noise came from somewhere nearby. It sounded a lot like a piece of wooden furniture toppling over.
"Mister."
The moment he heard it, Deathbringer’s ears perked up and he lowered his body slightly. The question of whether it was a person or an animal who made that noise was left unsaid but was implied by the way he called out to me.
"A person."
And my senses gave him exactly the answer he was hoping for.
An animal wouldn’t give off this distinctive heavy yet light presence unique to something walking on two legs. It was an answer I reached referencing my long experience, so it was probably right.
"I’ll get behind them.”
"Go."
I took Frederick’s reins so Deathbringer could move freely and walked straight down the middle of the street. I was trying to draw the attention of whoever was inside so that they wouldn’t notice the one who had just melted into the shadows.
"Come out.”
Of course, there was a bit of confidence behind that act as well. No matter who came out, was I really going to lose? Whoever came after me would probably be the one who'd end up dying.
"Come out now, and I won’t hurt you.”
Instead of the Zweihänder I’d gotten rid of because it was far too cumbersome with the cloak, I drew the longsword at my waist. The blade jutting out through the cloak split the light reflected off the snow, scattering thousands of rays.
It shone whiter than pure silver.
"I won’t ask twice.”
Alright, so when were they coming out? Honestly, I seriously doubted that they actually would.
After thinking a bit, I let go of the reins. "If anyone tries to attack you, kick them.” Frederick snorted at the warning I gave just in case. He seemed to say something like ‘Why are you telling me something so obvious?’
Pat, pat.
Seriously, that horse was ridiculously smart. I gave Frederick’s neck a light pat, then approached the cabin where I could sense someone. The door was locked, but that wasn’t much of a problem.
Craaack!
The moment I put a bit of strength into my arm, I somehow tore the entire door off.
"Heeeek!”
At the same time, a shrill cry came from inside. Claaaatter! Followed by the sound of someone shattering things as they fled.
Creak!
Anyway, my second footstep overlapped with the sound of the back door opening.
And when I took my fourth step, a loud tumbling sound ran out along with Deathbringer’s voice. “Got you!” His joy at successfully subduing the target was made pretty obvious by the tone of his voice.
"Did you get them?”
"Yep."
I slowly crossed the room and headed for the back door. Except a wooden panel closer in size to a window than a door blocked my way. It was the kind of exit that seriously needed to be expanded.
"Hm."
My old roleplaying character never would’ve let me do this since it wouldn’t be cool, but I should be fine now.
Even if I looked a little pathetic, I folded up and squeezed through the opening. I had to bend completely at the waist in the process, but still, it wasn’t like I couldn’t fit through.
"Wait, p-please spare m—”
"Ah, don’t freak out, don’t freak out. I’m not planning to kill you yet.”
Anyway, while I was busy awkwardly squeezing my way through the door, Deathbringer was busy securely typing up the person he’d captured. He must have ambushed them by jumping down from the roof, because they were firmly pinned beneath him.
"But if you don’t cooperate, I might have to get a little rough, okay?”
"P-Please, just spare me……”
"Jeez, you really want to live, huh, buddy? Then answer me. Are you here alone?”
"Th-that’s……”
"I can hear the gears in your head rattling from here, you know?”
Once he had the person’s hands completely bound, Deathbringer suddenly drew his blade. He didn’t just pull it from its sheath but even pressed the point right against the person’s throat.
“……!”
The sound of their sharp gasping reached my ears.
“W-wait.”
“I’m not going to wait. Talk. Are you alone, or are there more of you?”
With their life hanging by a thread, the captive desperately called for a time-out, but Deathbringer didn’t allow it. He ignored them completely and instead pressed the blade even harder forward. Not enough to draw blood yet, but enough that going any further would.
“Th-there are! There are others beside me!”
“Alright. Where are they?”
“That’s……”
“Hesitating again?”
“Somewhere else! They’re somewhere else!!”
Still, casually threatening to kill someone really was an effective negotiation tactic. I found myself realizing that fact once more as I stood two steps away. Close enough to intervene immediately no matter what that captive tried to pull.
“Location.”
“N-Not far from here.”
“Direction.”
“Th-this way, this way!”
Wait, where were they poignant? Wasn’t that the direction Meister and Daniel had gone?
“...Mister.”
“I’ll go. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“P-please, have mercy. I swear I won’t try anything strange. Please, just spare me……”
If it had been the direction the Inquisitor and Aerotelk had come, I would’ve felt a bit more at ease. I couldn’t really say much about Aerotelk, but the Inquisitor was absolutely far too skilled to get ambushed by these kinds of people.
But Daniel and Meister were a bit different. Daniel was certainly capable, but…whether he had the strength to deal with absolutely any situation that might crop up was another matter.
And on top of that, he had Meister, who was practically a complete civilian when it came to proper fights, right beside him. Seriously.
“Who said anything about killing you? Just stay still. I’m just tying you up some more.”
Honestly, I would’ve worried less if Daniel had been alone. Could he really fight while protecting Meiser at the same time? With that question in mind, I wrapped Arcane Power around my legs.
“Please take care of Frederick too.”
“Yes.”
My body instantly shot into the air.
"H-he flew?!”
"Yeeah. So don’t get any funny ideas. You’ll seriously die, okay?”
"I thought only Great Warriors could do something like that……”
My target was the group of four presences gathered close together.
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