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

Chapter 56: I’m Angry, but… (4)

Windhand’s and Deb’s mouths twitched the entire time we rode horseback. Just from looking at them, I could tell they probably wanted to say something about the pearl I had given away.

Of course, they stopped after watching me split a tree that had fallen on the road with my bare hands.

Hmm. Not only that, after seeing me throw the pieces with ease, a task which would have taken three fully grown adults otherwise, they didn’t dare complain to me anymore.

As a side effect, the leader of the Gamak Bay forces and his guards kept their mouths shut like clams. The adventurers and pirates also kept ‘even more’ distance between us.

I already felt like people avoided me after I killed that dragon, but this only solidified the feeling further.

But considering my character setting, that was the right thing to do.

I felt a little lonely, but it wasn’t all bad.

Putting that aside, the moment we arrived in Grü Teltz, we visited the Lord to receive what he’d promised.

Even after being shown the head of the dragon, the Lord expressed a deep disbelief, repeatedly asking whether it was truly a dragon’s head…

“If you continue belittling our sacrifices, the Temple won’t stand by, Lord.”

“If you don’t think this is a dragon’s head, that’s fine, right? Can we just take it, then?!”

After hearing the remarks of the stubborn priest who followed us and seeing the shining eyes of the wizard trying to steal from me right there, he had no choice but to believe it.

Windhand had appeared rather displeased by the Temple’s and Magic Tower’s meddling, but now he seemed slightly grateful for their actions.

“Ah, right. One mustn’t forget to pay fair compensation to those who contributed to this matter’s solution.”

Ah, the Temple’s priest, in my stead, brought up the topic of compensation I had been concerned about.

As the Temple had suffered significant damage, it seemed they were just using us to get their share. However, I wasn’t opposed to their approach since they also requested my share be paid.

“It’s only right that half of the dragon’s parts go to the one who contributed the most to slaying it, yes? We should guarantee the one who faced the dragon nearly alone should be properly compensated.”

Especially because they were taking care of it so thoroughly.

“What?! Half? The ones who maintained the ship’s shield were the Magic Tower!”

“Hmm, but we were the ones who protected the ship in the end…”

However, as the discussion moved to contribution, things became quite complicated. As long as either side was driven by greed and unwilling to take any losses, they would never reach a simple conclusion. Even though I wasn’t participating, it was obvious that they would continue arguing for a few days before coming to an agreement.

“I don’t think this will be easy.”

Was that the reason? Windhand looked at me while slightly biting his lip. It was especially frustrating for him due to the value of what was at stake. However, if I just left, it would look like I had given up on the reward.

“Let’s leave.”

“Wait, you don’t want a reward?”

“Do you really have enough spare time to concern yourself with me?”

But what could I do? A contract was a contract.

Plus, I didn’t even care all that much because I was prepared since yesterday for something like this to happen… No, it was still a shame, but I had to give up on it.

While I was quite greedy for some unique equipment, the store-bought stuff was sufficient. Although the things stores had to offer were rather lacking, the Longsword I had was just a beginner item, so the options shouldn’t be too bad.

“…If that’s how you’re going to act, I won’t be able to accept any reward either, Mister. Sigh, damn it.”

I felt a bit sorry for Deb, but… if he wanted a reward, he should just stay here. I couldn’t wait for him.

“…That’s.”

“Don’t apologize. I know it can’t be helped. And I never expected to get anything here to begin with. You have something important to do, right? I didn’t say this because I wanted to get something.”

“…In return, I’ll be sure to take care of your share, as well.”

“I won’t say no to that.”

“Thanks.”

“You should thank Mister Knight instead of me.”

Windhand managed to reach a compromise with Deb, too. Fortunately, Deb didn’t seem as obsessed with riches as he looked. He had also taken many losses behind the scenes, to be honest.

…I predicted I wouldn’t receive anything except what I took as my reward, so I pocketed some of the dragon’s scales and teeth. Should I just give those to him later as a gift? There wouldn’t be many opportunities to give them to him, though, considering my character.

“Hey, deal with the dragon corpse distribution or whatever later. I need to get what you promised me.”

Seeing that I had apparently given up on the dragon’s corpse, and with Windhand saying he’d be leaving the city with me in tow, the guy from the Magic Tower and the Lord nodded, promising they would provide what he’d asked for.

It was clear they thought that if they obtained part of the dragon, giving out a boat would be more than profitable.

“Then let’s postpone this a little. I want to see them off.”

Thanks to our decision, what seemed like it would take a while was resolved quickly.

The priest stepped out with us for a moment to see us off.

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

“I won’t thank you.”

“You don’t have to.”

The priest, with a wound on his head, answered him dryly.

“I already know I’m not worthy of it.”

At that comment, I seriously began to wonder what had happened between the Temple and the Yabad region. Because of some incident, they one-sidedly despised the Temple, and the Temple simply accepted that silently.

Seriously, it was worse than with those guys in Somon. Even though it had been revealed that corrupt priests had used citizens as sacrifices, they didn’t criticize those uninvolved in the matter.

Could something even worse have happened over there?

“Please, persevere.”

“Hmph.”

Windhand and the pirates didn’t even pretend to be listening to him.

“Come on, let’s leave!”

I just boarded the ship the Lord provided us. Since I didn’t know much about boats, I couldn’t really tell whether it was good or bad. However, I understood he also provided us with plenty of supplies.

“Everyone, this truly will be the last time. I know we have all gone through a lot up until now… Let’s hold on for a bit longer.”

“The one who suffered the most is you, Captain.”

“Don’t mind us!”

“Hahaha. I’m already fine, you guys. I rested plenty yesterday.”

Windhand and his men shared their thoughts once more. The adventurers from our dragon hunt, Deb, and I all watched the scene, as well.

“Well, I’ve been doing this for over twenty years now, but I gotta say, I’ve never taken on requests in a row before.”

“Is that such a big deal? No one will ever get these kinds of requests ever again, I bet.

The adventurer sipping on some alcohol next to the other—the whip user— laughed out loud.

“First, hunting a dragon, followed by hunting the Pirate King. This’ll definitely earn us a Medal of Honor.”

As someone who’d already received a Medal of Honor, I couldn’t really empathize. Deb moved his eyes around.

“So why did you guys take on this request? If you’re just after a Medal of Honor, you should have done enough for that already.”

I was also curious about that. While I was initially told they would join us, I’d never heard their reasons. Under these circumstances, I couldn’t even ask them directly.

I didn’t absolutely need to find out, but there was no reason to turn down an opportunity to sate my curiosity.

“If you leave with us now, you won’t be able to get your reward for the dragon hunt.”

“Wahaha. The guild will handle our compensation, so there’s no rush! Getting it when we come back should be enough!”

“Moreover, regarding the hunt… We didn’t even do that much, honestly.”

One of the adventurers glanced at me as he spoke. My cheek started to sting.

“Of course, just having been present should be my life’s greatest achievement. No matter what requests I might take in the future, nothing will top this, right?”

“That would be impossible, right? I’m 100% sure I’ll be talking about that request for the rest of my life, even after I quit being an adventurer. I helped create a legend, after all.”

“Same goes for me. Just because I didn’t do much doesn’t mean I wasn’t part of the legend.”

After saying his piece, the adventurer shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s just… You know. Now that I fought together with a living legend, I kind of want to see this to the end, you know? I can make money any time, but this is my only chance to accompany an adventurer who actually hunted a dragon.”

Their eyes were still on me. My cheeks started to burn.

Even if they weren’t looking at me so fervently, I would still feel hot. It was normal for main characters in games and the like to gather such achievements for which they get praised and admired, but not to this extent, right?

Usually, they wouldn’t treat the main character so well to the point of embarrassment.

“…That’s true.”

“I’m honestly a lot more curious about you. How did you end up going around with him? I don’t think the story behind it is anything simple.”

“That’s a bit difficult to answer. How did we end up like this…?”

Ah, that! I absolutely had to hear that! I pretended not to listen and focused. Then, ‘Raise the sails!’, the announcement of our departure, echoed in my ears.

“I think it’s similar to what you guys said.”

However, the given answer was vague. I clicked my tongue in frustration. The boat started to move along with the waves.

* * *

* * *

“Hey, I need to talk to you about what we must do before we reach Jacrati.”

With all the supplies loaded on the ship, we got to have a full dinner.

Windhand quietly called out to me at the time when I would usually go to sleep.

“Although I told you the general situation, I left out some details due to time constraints. Mainly about the plan.”

I didn’t know why he chose to tell me these things now, but… We had almost reached Jacrati already, so it was impossible to say anything about that anymore. It was actually far too late for me to complain.

I left the private room Windhand had provided me. The motion sickness I could ignore by sleeping hit me again immediately.

“Now that the last person has arrived, let me clue you in.”

However, now I could see I wasn't the only one he had called for. That should have been obvious; I wasn’t the only one participating in this request, after all.

“Everyone, gather up.”

Windhand called out to those scattered throughout the captain’s cabin. There was a round table in the center that the people gathered around.

Flap.

Windhand placed a map and a lamp on the table.

I stepped back, leaned against a wall, and watched the scene unfold before me. The cabin wasn’t very spacious, and everyone had a good enough view of the table, so I had no trouble seeing what was going on.

“This map shows the entire Yabad region.”

As Windhand began his explanation, I carefully looked at the map.

To compare it to a place on Earth, the map filled with various islands of many different sizes seemed reminiscent of a map of the Philippines. Overall, its shape resembled the letter Z.

“This here is Jacrati.”

He pointed at a single spot.

If one drew a line from the middle of the diagonal to the lower line of the Z, the place they met was where Windhand was currently pointing.

“And the territory occupied by Vipurit is the Montata Islands, which almost completely surround Jacrati.”

Windhand then moved his finger to the cluster of islands around Jacrati. If all that was Vipurit’s territory, it would mean he had Jacrati nearly encircled.

I now understood how difficult it was to get help from other cities.

“Originally, I planned to burn down Vipurit’s base here with some skilled people. If we opened this path, people from other cities could enter and support us.”

“Originally? So, it’s different now?”

In response to one of the adventurer’s questions, Windhand shrugged.

“That will depend on you.”

“First, tell us what you have in mind.”

“The second plan isn’t much different. It’s just a change in the region we would target.”

Windhand pointed to a different spot with his finger. It was somewhere in the middle of the Montata Islands, the bottom vertex of the Z.

“What’ll change if we hit that place?”

“We can stop Vipurit’s reign.”

…So basically, he wanted to attack the main base right away?

“Of course, this depends on all your opinions. Whichever we choose, it'll open a path to Jacrati.”

I thought briefly while leaning against one of the cabin’s walls. At least, I would have if everyone else in the room wasn’t staring at me.

I had no idea why even the adventurers looked at me like that. They did confess wanting to act together with me, but shouldn’t they still worry a little about their own lives?

If I told them to jump, would they jump?

“Make yourself clear.”

Damn it. I didn’t know anymore. The others weren’t saying anything.

“Do you wish for the salvation of Jacrati or the death of Vipurit and his men?”

“…Isn’t that question meaningless? To save Jacrati, we must kill Vipurit.”

“Wrong.”

Ah, I heard that Vikings had a high degree of literary knowledge—they even wrote poems—but Windhand was a pirate, so maybe that was why he couldn’t understand the difference in nuance.

Grumbling to myself, I relaxed my posture and approached the table. Of course, my expression remained icy, as usual.

Stab!

And I stabbed the map with a dagger, lodging it into the table.

The place it pierced through was where Windhand first suggested we attack.

“If you wish for Jacrati’s salvation…”

I gently moved the dagger. After charging it with some Arcane Power, it became much easier to cut through the table. I smoothly sliced through the map as if it were a radish.

The dagger’s eventual destination was, of course, Vipurit’s headquarters.

“...then you will move like this.”

Pull.

I pulled out the dagger.

“If you just wish for Vipurit’s death, you will have to move in the opposite direction.”

That was it. We would still kill them all, but the difference was whether we first cleared the path for the reinforcements to get through to Jacrati or we first killed Vipurit.

Although they both seemed the same, they differed slightly. In the former, there was a good chance that Vipurit would flee while we advanced toward him. We wouldn’t be able to catch him if he decided to do so.

However, if we chose the latter… Jacrati would have to endure a little longer while we dealt with Vipurit and advanced from there.

Either way, the choice was up to Windhand.

“…Wait a second.”

As if finally understanding what I meant, Windhand answered, his lips quivering. It wasn’t like he expected me to handle everything, but he didn’t seem to think I would give him such an answer.

“There are hundreds of pirates.”

“So?”

“I even made this map.”

“Amusing.”

“Is it really fine?”

I showed my displeasure at being asked again. My character would perceive this as an insult, like, ‘How could you ask me again?’

My twitching eyebrows furrowed fiercely.

“Do worms stop being worms when they crowd together? It's not me who won’t be fine.”

I threw my dagger as I said that. It bounced off the table slightly, letting out a tingling sound, and spun before resting right before Windhand’s hand.

“Choose.”

At my urging, Windhand slowly reached for the dagger. His five fingers closed around the hilt. And he soon shut his eyes tight.

Stab!

The dagger pierced the map.

“I really want to skin that bastard Vipurit and use it as a flag, but…”

The point the blade stabbed was the area that had to be opened for reinforcements to arrive.

“I think I can achieve that another day without any help.”

He had come to a decision.

「? Fangs Aimed at Jacrati

? Go to Jacrati

? Destroy the base of Vipurit’s gang」

“I have received your request.”

I took back my dagger from where it was stuck in the table. I noticed the map had become a little tattered… Well, I should just move on. If I ended up saving a city because of that, they would surely forgive me for damaging a map a little.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“Yes, for now…”

“Then I’ll leave.”

Truthfully, the motion sickness I had been enduring throughout this whole map-tattering spiel had returned with a vengeance. I didn’t know how much longer I could last just to save face, but I was pretty sure it wasn’t long.

I had to get back to bed.

* * *

Windhand was somewhat dumbfounded, still staring at where the Demon Knight had vacated. He had thought the man would have suggested attacking both places out of pride, but this was far beyond what he’d imagined.

Thanks to that, he even forgot what he intended to talk about today. While there wasn’t much time left, they still had a few days, so he could just talk more later… Even so, he couldn’t help feeling completely dazed right now.

“By the way, why did you call all of us?”

At that moment, the young man wearing a hood over his head slowly opened his mouth. It didn’t sound like a complaint, but probably just a joke to alleviate the awkward atmosphere. Windhand could feel the playfulness in his voice, after all.

“Then how about you come up with a different approach? If your way is better than the Demon Knight’s, I might consider it.”

He was grateful for it. Although he had been overwhelmed by the Demon Knight and agreed with his logic, what he’d said to the adventurers earlier wasn’t a lie.

Since they would be carrying out this operation, he wanted to hear their opinions and intentions as much as possible. Of course, if any of them said they’d prefer to give up or bide their time, he would kick them out.

“We don’t really have a choice, do we?”

“What are you talking about? I just gave you the choice, didn’t I?”

He looked back at the other adventurers, encouraging them to say something if they had something to say.

“I’m not opposed to it.”

“I also like the idea.”

One by one, the adventurers expressed that they had no objections.

“It seems none of you have any complaints. How interesting.”

“Wahaha. What complaints? How do you usually do these things if you’re surprised by this? If you don’t like something, you should just beat up that adventurer.”

“When getting requests from important people, I usually can’t even attend these events, so this is already a lot better.”

“Right, right. More often than not, we’re just supposed to wait outside until the strategy meeting ends and receive unilateral instructions. Even though we’re the ones risking our lives for their missions.”

“I mean, his decision was also pretty unilateral, but I don’t really mind.”

“There’s a huge difference between receiving orders from someone who won’t even step a foot on the battlefield and receiving them from someone who’ll fight alongside us on the front lines.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“Given your reaction, you haven’t done that many requests yet, huh?”

Windhand certainly understood why the Demon Knight tolerated that young man. His ability to subtly influence public opinion with jokes was rather unusual. Even those who might have been slightly dissatisfied with this knew why they had to give up on their complaints.

“Moreover, I don’t think I’ll die if I go along with a plan made by that guy.”

Well… There’s no denying that this man had enough force to leave them without work.

“Of course. Let’s just agree on that plan, then. It’s late, so let’s break up the meeting for now. I’ll call you again if I have more to say.”

Anyway, now that the Demon Knight had left, there wasn’t anything more to discuss. He opened the door to the cabin.

“Hey.”

Windhand suddenly stopped the hooded young man before he headed out.

“If I come up with a plan, will he follow it?”

He immediately received an answer.

“From what I know about him, he isn’t one to just listen obediently.”

Windhand laughed at that.

“Am I too lacking?”

“If there is someone among our enemies who could stop him, any plan we make would be useless. No matter whether you think you’re lacking or not.”

What a great answer.

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