Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer?

“Is this really okay?”

“Didn’t you also agree to this yesterday?”

“Well, true. Mister Knight seems a bit peeved, though.”

“…Well, that’s…”

No, I was fine. I knew she would end up joining the party either way. I knew this was fate, but still…

“I’m counting on you! Wahaha!”

My ears might not be safe from this point on…

Just kidding, the one who didn’t like her was my character. I didn’t really mind her myself, so it would be great if those guys didn’t misunderstand too much.

I had been begging and praying that I wouldn’t get involved with her until now, but I didn’t dislike Berserk herself.

It was like an introvert befriending an extrovert or suddenly becoming a dog owner, even though you didn’t ask for it. That was how it felt, at least.

Although having her around was a bit tiring, I didn’t actually dislike it. It was a subtle feeling that people without friends wouldn’t understand.

Anyway, for those reasons, I didn’t actually hate Berserk.

No, to be honest, I just got flustered because I ended up in a party with her. I mean, people with such personalities often appeared in shōnen manga, right? So, there was something familiar about her, as well.

I mean, I had enough affection for her to call her by the nickname ‘Bers’ like I did with Deb. It totally wasn’t because Berserk was too long. Really.

So, I quietly leaned back in my seat, watching Bers laughing heartily.

I was wondering why I couldn’t see Weapon Master anywhere, but I guessed she could herself just fine.

Actually, my main concern right now was where we were headed next. We just had a new party member join us, so I hoped the next area wouldn’t be as intense.

I mean, I’d gotten a lot of rest while traveling and also after we solved a case, but… I still hoped we could take it easy for a bit more.

* * *

We spent two more days in the city monitoring the situation, but thankfully, there were no further attacks.

Considering the number of Demons we’d fought, that was somewhat understandable. Still, until we knew the full extent of that Great Demon’s power, we couldn’t let our guard down.

“I think it's best if we leave now.”

However, that didn’t mean we could stay here forever. In that respect, the Archmage’s remarks were more than welcome news.

“Already?”

“Hmm. That’s a shame. I wanted to have a proper fight with the Demon Knight!”

The spare seal was delivered to us this morning, but over the past couple of days, Bers would request a duel whenever she had the chance, saying she was bored.

I was just glad she didn’t go out looking for other fighters after the battle ended. So, there weren’t any further accidents.

“Aren’t you tired yet?”

Separately, Deb, who’d found out that Bers was actually pretty easy to talk to after observing her for the past two days, spoke up next to her. Bers’ eyes widened for a moment before she burst into laughter again.

“There’s nothing that can tire Berserk out!”

‘No, please be tired. Give me a break.’

“Don’t trouble the Demon Knight too much.”

“Huh? When have I been troubling him?”

“You’re being unreasonable.”

“Being unreasonable? Berserk is??”

Still, I felt relieved that both the Inquisitor and Deb were helping to calm Bers down.

Bers was so brazen and rowdy that the Inquisitor surprisingly looked like the master of socializing to me.

“It seems everyone’s getting along well.”

Surprisingly, the Archmage felt no stress from trying to control Bers.

Perhaps it was because she was talking about nothing but fighting, and since I was perfectly pulling Bers’ aggro, the Archmage couldn’t help but feel comfortable….

In fact, if I included the increasingly incessant questions of whether I was okay or if there were any problems with the seal. I’d say I was the most stressed and troubled here. Neither of them showed me even a shred of mercy, seriously.

“However, let’s not delay our journey too much. Could you please listen to what I have to say?”

“Did a rescue request come from another city? Seeing you speak with such urgency makes me think something bad happened…”

“Oh, no, that’s not it. I just happened to find a request matching the destination I was trying to suggest.”

The Archmage decided to set aside the discussion about the request and brought up which destination he wanted to suggest first.

“Firstly, I planned to suggest Hudelen as our next destination.”

“Hudelen?”

“Yes. To head east, we’ll almost certainly need to pass through that city.”

He pulled out a map and marked our current location before moving his finger eastward. A mountain range stretched out almost vertically close to that spot.

“The ways to cross the Karil Mountains are minimal. Of course, the ruggedness of the mountains shouldn’t be a problem for our party, but there’s no need to choose the more difficult path if we don’t have to.”

Next, the Archmage moved his finger slightly to the south. His finger covered a city in the middle of the mountain range, Hudelen.

“For that reason, we’re headed for Hudelen. It’s at the narrowest part of the mountain range, originally known as the city connecting the east and west.”

It was such a reasonable choice that we couldn’t accuse him of just deciding things on his own or trying to force his opinion on us.

There was no need for him to say anything else. I’d rather turn back before I was forced to go over the treacherous mountains.

“I understand why we are heading toward Hudelen, but what about that request…”

“It’s an escort mission.”

“Ah.”

There was even an escort quest to the same destination? That seemed too good to pass up. Despite feeling a bit uneasy about it, taking it seemed pretty obvious. If we could earn some money while heading to our destination, why refuse?

“It seems the Grindana merchant group plans to move to another city. Although we aren’t particularly worried about further attacks anymore, it’s different from that merchant group’s perspective.”

He left the decision about taking the merchant group’s request to us, saying it didn’t really matter either way.

While he appeared to direct this question to us all, it was actually meant for the Inquisitor.

Bers and I were fine so long as we had Demons or something else to fight, and Deb seemed uninterested in getting involved in the discussion about our destination or method of getting there.

“I wonder whether we should really leave already…”

However, the Inquisitor seemed somewhat uneasy. After all, although the battle was over, there was still a real possibility of another attack happening. With the repairs to the walls and city still incomplete, there was always a chance that the Great Demon could pull off another of their tricks.

That was completely different from agreeing to leave the people of the city to clean up the city’s corruption.

“Hmm.”

The Archmage also seemed to understand that sentiment. His expression slightly hardened.

“Actually, Inquisitor, the reason I want to leave now isn’t because of that request. With the Magic Tower’s and Church’s support, we aren’t exactly short on money. I simply recommended it for the experience.”

“Yes, I know.”

“I want us to leave now because I feel anxious.”

He spoke while looking toward me. Was I the cause of his anxiety? I remembered the broken seal. Was it because of that and the Great Demon?

“Is it because of the Great Demon’s appearance?”

“So ultimately, Mister didn’t defeat it, huh?”

“A Great Demon appeared?”

The Archmage shook his head slightly at each person’s reaction.

“I indeed included the Great Demon’s appearance as part of it, but the reason is slightly different. What concerns me most is how the Great Demon ‘knew’ we would be here.”

“Didn’t they… just predict that we’d be here?”

“That is a possibility. Considering our progress route, our intentions should be pretty clear. However, it’s strange that its timing was so precise.”

As he said that, the Archmage pointed to various other cities on the map. They were cities in the same general region as Pa Enoch.

“Us heading east was somewhat predictable, but isn’t it strange how they precisely predicted which of all these cities we were going to? Especially since we didn’t inform the Church or the Magic Tower of our next destination.”

“Indeed…”

Deb, as sharp as he was regarding information, nodded.

“However, we should consider that they only vaguely knew of our next destination but could pin us down by gathering various related rumors. We should keep the Magic Tower, the Church, and the Adventurers’ Guild in mind, and… we shouldn’t forget about the Information Guild.”

“You’re right. However, what’s most important is that the Demons knew we were here.”

“…Are you worried about more attacks?”

“Not per se. It’s something more than that.”

The Archmage didn’t elaborate further, so I could only guess what that “something more” he was more concerned about than further attacks was… I quickly determined what it was by process of elimination, considering everything that could make the Archmage this anxious.

I was pretty sure the final boss wouldn’t appear due to some meta element, but from the perspective of the Archmage, who wasn’t so sure of that, even Satan’s emergence was a real possibility to him.

“Erm, well. I can't quite follow your reasoning, Sir Archmage. What’s the connection between the existence of informants and the necessity to leave the city?”

“…It could be some kind of trap. If they knew we were coming here and prepared this assault, wouldn’t they have also prepared for its possible failure?”

“Then shouldn't we stay here longer? If their target is me, then additional attacks…”

“That’s not an option.”

That might be why he didn’t say it out loud.

If he mentioned that he was considering Satan possibly coming here, meaning there was a high chance of this city ultimately getting destroyed, the Inquisitor, knowing that, would never leave.

“Inquisitor, you fainted from excessive use of Divine Power again this time, right? It would be incredibly dangerous if the enemy took advantage of that knowledge by dividing their forces and attacking in several waves.”

“I-It was better than before. I wasn’t unconscious for the whole day this time. I slept less than when we were in Montata.”

“I know, but could you still handle it if the Great Demon kept attacking over and over?”

“That’s…”

“The more time we give the enemies, the more dangerous they become. For all we know, the Demons attacking the Northern Front might move south.”

The Archmage stroked his staff while gently nudging the slumped-over Inquisitor.

“However, if the Hero leaves this place early, they’d have no reason to move, either. Once their target disappears, there’s no more reason for them to act recklessly.”

But in that case… Why didn’t we just leave two days ago? Was it because we needed to restore our stamina? Well, leaving the city in the state we had been in would have been quite risky if we were ambushed or something.

“Erm, uhm. Berserk doesn’t really get what you’re talking about…”

Meanwhile, Bers was utterly lost and lying on the desk before her. It reminded me of how I would slump over the table when giving up on solving some math problem as a student.

Well, it wasn’t that hard to understand how Bers was feeling. Since she joined us not too long ago, she probably didn’t know much about our situation. I mean, even if she had joined us earlier, she still would have had difficulty understanding.

“Now that we’ve achieved our original goal behind coming to this city, it’s best for us to leave. Plus, we must find a way to deal with the Great Demon of Sloth. Fortunately, they retreated this time, but we still don’t know how to harm that Great Demon.”

The Archmage was gently persuading the Inquisitor without rest. Even those excuses were likely just the tip of the iceberg, but the Inquisitor gave in eventually.

“In that case… It seems I have no choice but to agree. Understood. I will… follow your decision, Sir Archmage. What about the others?”

“Berserk doesn’t like complicated things. If you’re going, I’ll go with you. If you’re not, then I’ll stay.”

“I don’t care.”

“In that case, let us leave tomorrow morning. Please keep that in mind, everyone.”

Were the Inquisitor a little more experienced, she might have picked up on the possibility of the Archmage deliberately leaving something unsaid… As of now, that might be a bit difficult for her, though.

However, I couldn't really say anything about it. Even if I were in a position to talk about it, I still would have stayed quiet.

“Demon Knight, you're coming with me. We need to pay the Guild a visit.”

Following the Archmage's call, I stood up from where I was sitting.

Unlike the Archmage and the Inquisitor, who were registered as a party, I was registered at the Guild as a solo adventurer, which required me to sign a separate contract for requests.

Having to always come along to the Guild whenever we chose to undertake a quest was a bit of a hassle, but I had to bear with it since getting added to the party would be rather problematic for me. Because I took on the quest as a separate entity, I would also receive a separate reward, so it wasn't really a loss for me, and there were quite a few opportunities for me to avoid these kinds of situations.

* * *

* * *

“Wait a sec!”

At that moment, someone came in. Since the door to our accommodation had been opened so grandly, we’d all become aware of our visitor.

“I have something to say, but is now a good time or…?”

It was Kankan, who had lost an arm.

“What is it?”

“First of all, I apologize for barging in here so late at night. Erm, also, I wasn't eavesdropping or anything! I just happened to hear you talk about the merchant group and their request, so… I thought we might not be able to see each other anymore tomorrow, so I wanted to say goodbye to you before then.”

He scratched his mane-like hair, a sheepish look on his face.

“Thank you, everyone. Especially you… I'm very grateful to you. Thanks to you, I managed to stop my friend.”

Then, he finally bowed his head. He seemed unfamiliar with expressing things like gratitude—because he was roughly my age, I could understand how the older one got, the harder it became to say thanks. However, after getting past that hurdle once, overcoming it again would be much easier—his ears were beet red.

“I mean… I didn't do that much.”

“No, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to stop him. Isn't my missing arm proof enough of that? Proof that I couldn't defeat him. On the other hand, you… managed to slit his throat beautifully.”

If Kankan was talking about his friend, wouldn't that have been the Martial King? Was it Kankan and Deb who killed the Martial King? Without any help from Berserk?

This was the first I had heard of that!

“I was only able to do that because you distracted him.”

“Wahaha, the young hunter is quite modest. Be proud, young hunter! He may have been disqualified as a warrior, but he wasn't weak. You were able to break through that guy's guard and successfully attack him!”

“Berserk is right. It's never easy pulling off another sneak attack on someone so soon after the first one.”

I felt betrayed. You, you… They told me Berserk had done everything. What was going on?! Why would they lie and marginalize what had happened like that?!

“Anyway, thank you. Not just to this friend here, but to all of you.”

Whether it was the Inquisitor, who’d humbly said she only did what she had to after putting a blessing on the entire city wall, or Deb, who’d unexpectedly managed to kill a guy I expected to be a mid-boss or boss, they both did their jobs so excellently that I couldn't help but feel proud of our dumplings. When I reminded myself of just how young these two were, tears started to well up in my eyes, sniffle.

“This is a token of my gratitude.”

At that moment, Kankan handed us something that appeared to be a bracelet made of bone fragments.

Technically, this wasn't something he’d requested of us. We simply got rid of traitors during a battle… However, it seemed he wanted to repay his personal emotional debt.

“It's nothing special, but where I'm from, it's customary to give this sort of thing to one’s benefactors. So, this is a kind of…”

“A token. A token that a Norda Warrior has recognized you. As long as Berserk is with you, there shouldn't be a single Norda Warrior who would show you any hostility, but with this, even the tiniest shred of hostility they might have will disappear!”

“Berserk is right.”

Berserk chuckled as she nudged Deb to accept it. Of course, Kankan had brought one for all of us, so it wasn't just Deb who got something.

He just got the most.

“Wh-Why so much?”

“Thanks to you, many were spared a grim end at the Martial King's hand. They were all eager to repay you but couldn’t find you anywhere… So I decided to deliver it to you on their behalf.”

“But still, this is just too much.”

“Take it.”

Just as I had received a gift package in Tatara, Deb also received something similar.

Despite taking it, he still seemed quite uncomfortable, saying things like ‘Is it really okay for me to take this?’ or ‘There are people who had it a lot harder than me.’ He seemed really unfamiliar with these kinds of situations.

Once he finally got himself to accept it, there was obviously no one who wanted to stop him.

“Now, Demon Knight. You should take this as well.”

“I don't need it.”

“You especially should accept this… So that Norda Warriors don't mistake you as an enemy and end up dying.”

“…”

Well, just this much wouldn’t cause any harm.

Fortunately, it was just a bracelet and not a whole gift package, but I still wasn't happy about it. It wasn't like I was going around to gather trinkets like medals and so on.

It would be way better if they just bestowed honorary titles on me. Giving me these useless items only filled up my inventory space.

“Well then, may the future of you great warriors hold great struggles.”

Still, I accepted it. I’d already received what I had been supposed to; this was just one additional thing.

* * *

“Urgh, it's hot.”

We’d properly said goodbye to Kankan, and there probably wasn't anything for us to do in the city anymore.

There were many reasons for us to leave, too, so we left the city without hesitation, along with those we were supposed to escort.

“Haha, the heat around here can be rather intense.”

However, even though we were supposed to be on an escort mission, there wasn’t actually much to do to protect the luggage. The reason was that there were no Demons or beasts in the desert to begin with.

Of course, there were sometimes robbers in the desert, but one wouldn’t encounter them so frequently, so we could just put them aside.

The biggest enemy here was nature itself, such as the sunlight and heat beating down on our skin and the occasional sandstorm.

“Would you like some water?”

“Ah, thank you.”

Well, I managed to withstand the heat relatively well. Deb, on the other hand, who felt the heat more intensely than the others, was the problem.

The Archmage could create some ice for him to help, but he’d already enjoyed that privilege ten minutes ago.

He needed to reserve his Arcane Power in case of an emergency, which was probably why he wasn’t asked to make one again. As I’d mentioned before, making ice in the desert consumed quite a bit of Arcane Power.

“Uurgh.”

Because of that, Deb had to endure the heat while sitting on a camel, slumped over and relying on the occasional sip of water to cool him down. I wished I could take some of the heat he was feeling away from him, but that wasn’t possible.

“Weakling.”

“Says the one who’s only getting by because of that armor…”

“Th-That’s not the case!”

Hmm, ah. Speaking of the armor, it reminded me that I still had one item that the Sea Dragon had given me, didn’t I?

If that bead somehow contained the power of water… But considering how fragile it was, I wasn’t sure if this would work out. Besides, even if it would, giving it to him would feel too out of character for me. It would also seem pretty odd if I handed it over to him now that we were almost through the desert.

Sorry, Deb. Hang in there. This is the path you chose.

“Haha… We’ll reach the Karil Mountains in about two more days, so the heat should ease up a bit. Hold on for just a little more.”

“Yeah.”

Fortunately, we spent far fewer days in the desert than when we traveled from Canaves to Pa Enoch. Deb also brightened up when he heard that.

“Yaaawn. This is so boring. The desert is only barren, nothing else.”

Meanwhile, Bers was slumped over for a completely different reason. She was feeling the heat almost as intensely as Deb, but what bothered her more was actually the boredom she was feeling.

“There’s nothing to hunt, either.”

If she had something to hunt around here, Bers might have been really happy, but the caravan people might scream in terror if that were the case.

I saw some of the people around her smiling awkwardly, unable to share her enthusiasm. Anyway, everyone was going through their own hardship.

“Is there anything interesting happening in Hudelen?”

“Nothing, as far as I know. Do you know anything?”

“Not really…”

Deb shook his head weakly, pointing toward the caravan members. He seemed to be suggesting that we should ask them since they were more likely to know the latest news of this place.

However, they didn’t have any useful information, either. It made sense, as they wouldn’t be heading there if they knew they’d run into significant trouble there. They weren’t hunters seeking adventure, and traveling to a city suffering from some incident would only put their goods at risk, just like this journey did.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, Bers lifted her head. Her previously slumped-over body straightened like an arrow, her view now as high as the Archmage’s.

Her amber eyes began to scan the horizon intently.

“…I can smell a fight.”

Following her actions, I also started staring ahead. When I noticed a dust cloud on the horizon, Bers immediately spoke up. Her previously bored expression was now incredibly lively.

“Wait, you…”

“Bandits ahead! They’re coming this way!”

The moment Bers began to move, someone with a kind of telescope confirmed her sighting and shouted in warning. The Archmage quickly took back his hand, which he had extended to restrain Bers.

The Inquisitor’s eyes seemed to convey something like ‘How did she know?’ Even I had to admit it. While her eyesight didn’t seem especially good, her intuition was truly beast-like.

“Wahahaha! A battle!”

“…Please, calm down.”

Regardless, there was no way that I would skip out on a potential quest.

The camel carrying Bers and myself broke away from the group and began galloping ahead.