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

Chapter 46: Pray and Pray Again (4)

The corners of Windhand’s lips were quivering. The silence, accompanied by a salty smell, was soon interrupted by a laugh.

“…Hey, hey. Do you really think you can slay a dragon?”

That was a meaningless question.

If I couldn’t kill that dragon, we were doomed. So why should I ever think I would fail?

Moreover, strictly speaking, we were a Party aiming to kill Satan.

Could a mere dragon be more powerful than Satan? If we couldn’t even do that, we should just disband. One wouldn’t dare challenge the Final Boss if their specs weren’t even enough to kill the first Raid Boss.

But could I give up like in normal games because ‘it just doesn’t work’? No, I couldn’t.

I had no choice but to continue both as a player and roleplayer. I couldn’t quit the Quest as the former, and there was no way I would back down as the latter.

“If you guide us.”

In other words, there was only one answer. I had to push ahead no matter what. Wahaha.

“…I see. Maybe. But you see, I’m the only one who’d suffer losses in this deal.”

Of course, who wouldn’t know that?

Windhand wasn't an idiot. Why should he listen? It was only then that logic and appeals in the name of people’s lives being at stake no longer worked.

"How could I gamble my life and take losses on top of that?"

Rather, I was amazed at how calmly Windhand reacted. If one just looked at what I had said, wasn't my statement highly unreasonable?

It was hard to stay rational in the face of such nonsense. However, Windhand was a surprisingly level-headed person.

“You're wrong about something."

But I didn't stop.

“If you can hire a dragonslayer in exchange for a day of your time, isn't that already quite profitable?"

I repeat, my character wasn't one to back off that easily…

“…You're driving me crazy."

“There won't be any further compromises. I have wasted enough time on you."

However, he wasn't too pushy, either.

As such, I decided to stop there.

“…Captain.”

“I know. Don’t worry.”

Windhand was whispering to his companion, but I didn’t pay them any more attention.

The Raid? It would turn out well somehow. I hadn’t lied about the deal, but I was pretty sure how he would answer.

Even if this failed, the Archmage wouldn’t be able to scold me in any way.

“Phew, you’re quite confident. Any other time, I would believe you, but… I would also be gambling with my brothers’ lives—”

Ring, ring.

However, just as Windhand was about to reject my offer as I’d expected, the bell inside the reception room started to ring.

Three seconds later, the door opened with a squeak.

Windhand quickly donned his robe.

“Erm, someone’s looking for the client.”

“Captain!”

“We’re in big trouble!”

A guild clerk stuck his head through the gap. A series of voices behind him continued calling out to Windhand.

“You guys!?” It seemed Windhand knew them. Both he and his companion looked startled.

The area outside the reception room had grown noisy for a moment, but it soon quieted down as one of them entered the room as their representative. It didn’t seem he could afford a proper robe, simply wearing a tattered cloth strung up with rope over his upper body.

Beneath it, I could see bandages soaked in blood.

“Captain, I’m sorry.”

“Ikam?”

Was it because the clerk had left as soon as the representative entered? The man named Ikam removed his robe without a hint of hesitation and knelt.

He had short black hair weaved into dozens of braids, and his body was covered in a multitude of injuries…

“We lost the ship.”

“What?!”

Windhand, who hurriedly moved to care for Ikam, was shocked by his following words.

“Beasts we have never seen before appeared in the sea. They looked exactly like saltwater crocodiles, and they broke through the bottom of our ship…”

“Saltwater crocodiles?”

“Wait, could you tell us about that in more detail?”

Saltwater crocodiles…? Wait, could they have been Spartoi?

“…?”

“Could it be… that those beasts had a bone-like texture?”

“H-how did you…?”

Ikam’s eyes grew wide at the Archmage’s question. It seemed the Spartoi really had sunk their ship. The only question was just where it had happened.

“Did you go near the Dragon’s Gate? Did something happen there?”

“That’s…”

Ikam looked toward Windhand as if asking for permission to speak, and Windhand was also watching him with a fiery look in his eyes.

“Hey, I guess you lot know what those things are.”

He had become very pale. His face almost seemed to be made of paper.

“Didn’t we tell you? The Sea Dragon has been corrupted.”

“What? Th-the Sea Dragon has become corrupted?”

“What does that have to do with the beasts that sank my ship?”

“They are the transformed teeth and scales of the Sea Dragon. Usually, the Sea Dragon creates these things to protect itself… However, as it has become corrupted, their purpose has also changed. We, too, were attacked while searching for clues.”

At that moment, I briefly thought about a different matter. If the Inquisitor hadn’t made a shield in time, the ship we were on would have had a hole in it.

Although it had happened some time ago, I still felt relieved.

“What…?”

“Now, answer me. Where did you come across them? I’m asking because if they’ve widened their range of activity, that would mean the situation has gotten much more serious.”

“…Just around the Gamak Bay.”

Windhand barely managed to answer Archmage’s stubborn question as he placed his hand on his forehead, his face crumpled. He spoke in a calm tone.

“We docked our ship at Gamak Bay in case Vipurit’s men were waiting for us in the city.”

Gamak Bay was where we planned to lure the dragon. It was also around the halfway point between the Dragon’s Gate and Grü Teltz.

* * *

* * *

“…It seems things have become far more dire.”

The Inquisitor, quiet all this time, opened her mouth and practically spat out these words before closing it again. I had been a little concerned about her attitude, but I agreed with her words, at least.

If this continued, the Spartoi would soon appear in the waters right outside the port.

“…Captain.”

“…Get up first. This isn’t your fault. I would have never expected something like this to happen, either. Even if I had been there, it wouldn’t have made much difference.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize. Were any of the kids hurt?”

“Wayan died… Teman and Ketut are injured. The rest are fine, thankfully.”

“Alright…”

After hearing news of someone’s death, I prayed for his soul to rest in peace inside my heart. At the same time, I also calculated how that would change things. Although you might call me cold-hearted, there was nothing I could do about it. There were many more lives at stake here.

“Are they seriously injured? If you’re fine with it, I can help with the treatment.”

“…”

“Don’t worry. You won’t be in our debt or anything. I’m just trying to do my duty as a fellow person.”

“…Then please.”

This meant their most urgent problem was now getting back rather than saving others. Even if they tried to buy another boat, how much would that cost? They couldn’t get one so easily.

And if they did manage to get their hands on a boat, they wouldn’t have enough money to hire someone to help them. From their perspective, this was the worst thing that could have happened.

“I’m…”

“Please wait a moment.”

Around that time, the injured were moved into the reception room, and the Archmage stopped the Inquisitor from following. I wasn’t sure whether it was because of their previous display of hostility toward the Temple, though.

“I will do it.”

“Please do.”

Instead, Deb stepped forward. I wondered whether he could treat them despite not being a doctor, but surprisingly, Deb’s treatment skills were very good.

Alongside the Archmage’s magic, he treated the two people’s wounds quickly. It was slower than healing performed through Divine Power, but they at least didn’t seem any worse off.

“…”

Windhand’s face darkened as he looked at his subordinates getting treatment.

“I really didn’t want to gamble with my brothers’ lives, but…”

And when the treatment was over, he stood before me.

“Hey. I’ll ask you one more time. In all honesty… can you really slay that dragon?”

That was rather sudden. Was this also a plot correction done to advance the story?

“If I cooperate, will you be able to kill the Sea Dragon and come help Jacrati?”

If that were truly the case, it would be rather cruel. It was playing with a person’s weaknesses to force a situation in which they had to act a certain way.

“I should have told you as much.”

However, I couldn’t not answer.

“One day is enough.”

I calmly spat out these words.

“Yes, you did say that. Haha.”

Windhand held his forehead and let out a laugh. It was an empty sound, tinged with a sorrow that would make anyone who heard it feel sorry for him.

The Archmage, after healing everyone, just stood there and looked at us.

“You won’t just go back on our deal after this is over, right…?”

“Don’t insult me.”

“Did you take that as an insult? Fine. Then… could you please show me one more thing so I can be sure? I want you to prove that you can slay that dragon.”

That was quite a reasonable request. When you ask someone to invest, you usually show some plausible graphs and forecasts, at least.

It was just that I didn’t have any means to prove it right now. Would he believe me if I split a building in half or something?

“If I told you that he single-handedly killed hundreds of demons and slaughtered dozens of Demon contractors, would that make it somewhat believable?”

Suddenly, Deb piped up. Windhand narrowed his eyes at that.

“That… certainly is amazing. Still, it’s a bit vague.”

“By the way, that isn’t his whole track record; it’s something he did in one day.”

“What? Who in the world can do something like that?”

“He’s right here in front of you.”

I felt a little shaken. That was a bit… Wasn’t that a little different?

“He even killed a dragon the size of a house with just two hits.”

When did I ever… Oh, the Knucker. I killed it so easily that it didn’t even feel like a dragon to me, though.

“He even received the Guild’s Medal of Honor for that. Just take it out of the bag and show him.”

I looked through my inventory with a bitter face, similar to when the clerk asked me to do the same before. The Medal of Honor, which I’d considered a waste of inventory space, seemed to be surprisingly useful in a lot of ways.

“It’s true…”

Windhand rolled the medal in his hand for a moment before immediately giving it back to me. He seemed to half-believe me now; that was the sort of vague expression he wore.

“If you still doubt us, you can ask someone else. If you ask after what happened in Tatara, there will be one or two people who will tell you about it.”

“Hah, so you’re that confident… Good. Then I’ll try believing you here.”

However, he didn’t have much of a choice. It seemed he had come to a decision.

“Captain…”

Even his companion, who had been with him from the start and was fully aware of the situation, didn’t try to stop him. He just watched on with sad eyes.

“Hah, I never thought I would have to put my and my men’s lives at stake for such a ridiculous gamble. Even the safety of Jacrati…”

Windhand seemed to be glaring at me as he said that. I didn’t bother avoiding it. There was no shame or reason to be nervous about overspending blank checks.

“You definitely have to keep your word.”

Well, it wasn’t like I actually felt nothing, but we had no other choice but to use each other. If I made it obvious, though, wouldn’t their morale only decline further?

The future me will have it really hard, considering he has so many things to take care of… However, it had already been decided that I would endure many hardships ever since I was forced to continue my roleplaying.

So, I had to walk ahead! Always straight ahead! Never behind! Because there wasn’t any other way!

“Hey, sage!”

“What is it?”

“You mentioned earlier that you would pay us in advance, right? I want to add a condition to that! You said it yourself, after all, that you would do your best to send support to Jacrati right away. Even if you can’t get a lot, you must send at least one archmage there. That’s my first condition.”

“Of course, that’s reasonable.”

“And leave the Temple out of this. We don’t need any help from them.”

“…I figured as much.”

“Secondly, our protection. I’m not telling you not to report us. I’m asking you to protect us from Vipurit. I’ve managed to break through the siege and come here, but if I participate in such a big matter, don’t you think they will figure out where I am?”

“I understand.”

“Thirdly, supply us with a boat and food until we return to Jacrati.”

“Anything more?”

“Lastly… if I die, you must take my men to Jacrati.”

“Don’t worry. I shall definitely keep this promise. If you want, we can have it written down in a contract by the Adventurers’ Guild.”

It was different from before; they were in a more disadvantageous position… Except for the first condition, the others weren’t that hard to fulfill. Plus, the first part was up to the Archmage.

We wouldn’t suffer any losses. Ah, it wasn’t like there wasn’t anything at all. I would be forced to go to the Yabad region after this was over.

…Would they follow me? Hm. No, wouldn’t it be better if they didn’t? Then, I could stop thinking so hard about my character setting.

Well, there was no way in hell that they wouldn’t come along, though.

“Okay, it’s decided. Tell me how you plan on hunting the Sea Dragon. Ah, but before that, I’d like to explain the situation to my group.”

“Take as long as you need. Let’s move for now. Don’t they need to rest, as well?”

“Thank you for that.”

Anyway, I managed to secure a captain. It was the end of this fierce recruitment war.

「? Fangs Aimed at Jacrati

? Go to Jacrati」

Well, I also received a new quest in return.

“Then, to save time, please explain the situation while we walk. Don’t you have a plan in mind?”

…However, what was the point of receiving a new one? The crisis wasn’t over yet.

We had yet to make any proper plans, so we might be ruined. Hehe.

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