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

Chapter 87: I Want to Talk (3)

People tended to underestimate things they didnt experience themselves.

Even if told of certain dangers, should they be outweighed by their usefulness, people would choose to accept them after rationalizing their decision.

Just like what was happening now.

I have been well aware of your movements. Although you were treated rather unpleasantly you still helped us greatly.

I looked at the archbishop freshly dispatched by the Temple. His attitude seemed extremely friendly.

Was it because the island restoration speed more than doubled with my help? Or was it because I stepped onto the battlefield to create a path, giving the Inquisitor a chance to rest? Or was it because I minimized the damage done to the people of the Temple, no matter whether they were against me?

Thank you for your help in restoring this island.

Well, this was a good thing. Whatever the reason, the archbishop seemed to have judged me a useful tool and decided to merely observe me.

Sir Archbishop!

Of course, the bishop whod directly witnessed my outburst was furious at the archbishops decision. Even after seeing the results of my efforts, he still claimed I was dangerous and insisted I be put to death, so it was only natural for him to act that way.

You shouldnt take him so lightly! He can go berserk again at any moment!

The Hero vouched for him, and hasnt he proven himself over the past few days?

Sir Archbishop!

Personally, I couldnt empathize with the latters point of view. Given that my life was at stake here, I really hoped the former would win this argument.

I dont know why youre being so sensitive.

However, that didnt necessarily mean I liked the former.

There was nothing more frustrating than a superior unable to understand the hardships of those working on the field, and secondly

Wah, I completely lost my appetite

As Deb said, if someone like that just came to someone in the middle of eating and started talking to them, the food would only taste worse.

I simply continued to eat, not caring whether the bishop arguedunder the guise of persuasionwith the archbishop. After recapturing the last city, I couldnt eat anything, as I had to wait for additional manpower to arrive, so I was famished.

The Inquisitor, likely exhausted from all the accumulated fatiguedespite my handling of the worstimmediately fell asleep before she could eat, but whatever.

Mister.

And right as I was almost done eating, Deb, who had finished before me, moved his eyes slightly while holding some food in his hand. He was signaling that we should leave quietly.

Lets go.

The Archmage, whod aided us using his pen rather than his force not too long ago, also came along to provide rear support with his magic. It seemed hed noticed people were uncomfortable with me since that day.

Maybe he felt uncomfortable himself, considering hed been acting strangely from that day on He wouldnt leave me alone whenever I went out or had places to go.

Even if that was the cause, I didnt refuse his consideration. I also didnt want to interact with the Temples people, considering I already had a record of running wild.

Talking to the higher-ranking members of the Temple? That was even worse. The kimchi dumpling was enough of a connection to the Temple for me.

Wow, seriously. Look at how all those peoples attitudes changed.

Under Debs guidance, I secretlyif one could even call this secretly, considering only the bishop and archbishop didnt noticeleft the restaurant. We could finally feel comfortable, considering the people around us, despite staring, remained silent.

After setting sail tomorrow at dawn, we wont have to see those bastards again. Urgh.

I was of the same mind. After tonight, we could finally leave this island.

I heard theyll be holding a victory celebration over at Jacrati In just one day, this is all over.

Thinking about it a bit, the work here wasnt much different from what wed done in the other regions, but I felt strangely sick of this place.

Was it because the scale of this matter was too great? What wed gone through up until now had been at a city level, but it had now jumped all the way to a region level. As such, the time wed spent here had been overwhelmingly long

Rather, now its finally time for our payment, right? Wow, ten million Gals.

Hmm, yeah. Wed spent almost a month in the Yabad region. That was enough to make one feel sick of a place.

Ah, you also asked for a new sword, right? I cant even fathom what a blade made of dragon scales and teeth would be like.

As Deb had said, all that was left now were the rewards.

I slowly returned to our assigned abode, leaving behind a certain someone even more excited about the rewards than me.

Corpses of people and Demons yet to be disposed of greeted us everywhere we passed. The smell of ash wafting over from the ruined buildings added to the atmosphere.

Hey, you came back?

Or was the real addition Windhand, who had hidden in our sleeping quarters?

Why are you looking at me like that?

Im guessing you came along with the archbishop?

I was the one who got him here to begin with. Im also the one whos supposed to give you a ride tomorrow.

Ah.

I sat on the bed set up in this place that resembled a guest room.

For reference, the Inquisitor was also sleeping in this room, rolled up under a blanket. Only a few rooms were left intact, after all, so it ended up like this.

But why did you come here?

Deb placed the food hed brought along on the bed beside the Inquisitor and went to his place next.

As such, Deb and I were occupying one side of the room, sitting pretty much next to each other, the Inquisitor was sleeping on the other side, and Windhand was sitting in the middle.

Well, I dont really have any official business or anything

Then, Windhands eyes rolled to immediately look in my direction.

I know you rejected me last time, but I still have no one else to turn to but you.

Soon after, he closed his eyes and bowed his head.

Please. Please allow me to pay those ten million Gals youre supposed to receive from the Lord of Jacrati.

His request was just too heavy and serious for me to strike it down as sharply as I did before. With how things were, even my character would probably listen to his reasons, at least.

Of course, I know already Im in no position to convince you like this, but youre the only one I even have a chance of convincing.

It doesnt seem much easier to convince Mister than the Lord, though.

No, its a lot more likely.

After some hesitation, Windhand added some more words.

That way we can pay back what we owe.

We?

I mean me and my brothers.

At that moment, an overwhelming curiosity overcame me regarding the various clues Id received so far.

No, seriously now. What kind of relationship did he have with the Lord that he would willingly pay off such a huge debt for her? From how he spoke, it even sounded like it wasnt just Windhand who would come forward to help, but his brothers as well.

Why?

?

I understand that you desire to repay us. I can accept that much. But I dont understand why you stepped up to reward us in the Lords stead.

Fortunately, Deb asked the question burning on my tongue in my place. He seemed quite curious about this point, as well.

Rather than suddenly telling us about some debt you need to repay, why dont you openly tell us whats behind this? That would make persuading us easier, at least.

At Debs words, Windhands expression changed subtly. He seemed torn about whether or not he should tell us.

After some time, he appeared to have made up his mind, though he still looked quite uncomfortable.

Its because shes my mother.

He dropped that bombshell of a remark on us, creating flood-like waves.

What?

Not my biological mother. I lost her forty years ago. She took me in after that.

The Lord?

Yes.

Once a dam broke, it wasnt so easily repaired. As Windhand wiped over his face, he confessed to us his secret circumstances hed kept hidden until now.

Its not just me. Outlaw Chima, Blue Moon Watia, Guileless Tony, Lion Kampen Many other pirates also grew up under her. There are even more if you include the kids who didnt grow up to become pirates.

No, but why?

Otherwise, we all would have followed our parents.

Seeing how Deb perked up his ears and tail, it seemed he didnt expect that answer, either.

I felt similarly. If not for the fact I was trying hard to pretend I wasnt interested in any of this with my eyes closed, I would have found it hard to manage my facial expressions.

To explain this, well have to go back forty years After the Zombie Outbreak was resolved forty years ago, the Yabad region was flooded with orphans, right? Parents evacuated their children first, after all, so a quarter of all survivors were children. Jacratis situation wasnt any different.

Ah, so?

Right. You might have guessed it already, but Pion was the one who took the initiative to solve this problem. She couldn't bear letting all these children die, so she took them all in.

However, he wasnt done with his story yet. Windhand leaned back.

Because of her actions, she was deprived of her position as successor Ah, she wasnt yet the Lord at that time. The former Lord was greatly opposed to Pions charity work.

So, he deprived her of her status.

Correct. Not only that, but he also cut all his support and kicked her out of the castle.

Wait. Then how did she manage to feed and clothe the kids?

Pion got those things through her own efforts, of course.

What? How is that possible?

How many kids were there?

He waved his hands at those words. Had there been any alcohol around, he probably would have opened a bottle right around this time.

Thats why my brothers and I became pirates. We watched our benefactor work herself ragged, doing all kinds of dirty work, growing thinner by the day, yet the money was never enough. To make matters worse, the number of orphans kept increasing rather than decreasing So, what could we, who only knew the sea, do?

Did the Lord approve of your actions?

Are you crazy? She was absolutely against it.

Sadly, there were no cigarettes in this place. It had been a long while since I had the urge to smoke one, but listening to these things with a sober mind was incredibly frustrating.

The day my eldest sister returned with money earned through piracy, Pion kicked her out, saying she shouldnt even dream about showing her face again until the day she died. That day was the first time she emptied a whole bottle of alcohol in front of us. Usually, she wouldnt even drink cold water before us.

What about your older sister?

Pion is a woman who rarely goes back on her word. She really didnt look at her again until the day she died. My brothers who later became pirates were treated the same. Ah, of course, she personally held their funerals, though. As is common with us sea dwellers, most didnt even leave a corpse behind.

Then why did you still decide to become pirates?

I told you. We couldnt do anything other than that because we hadnt learned to do anything else. Well, the Lord did try to teach us, but honestly? It was just faster and a lot easier to grab a sword and go out on sea than learn how to write in a stuffy room.

I was even tempted to drink some alcohol, which I didnt even like that much. Usually, I would rather crack my head with a bottle than pour alcohol into my stomach.

Of course, Im not saying what we did was good. But, you know, I grew up watching my brothers with blood on their hands secretly coming to us in the dead of night to leave behind some meat, vegetables, and other daily necessities for us to eat. And when I became old enough to go to sea, there were still so many kids younger than me around. So, what was I supposed to do? If that dirty money could protect my family, I felt I had no choice but to take it, even if it meant getting criticized by that very family.

Thats also why the Lord doesnt take our favor. Shes no idiot. It wasnt like she didnt know it was us, who had become pirates, leaving all these things behind for them. However, even though she knew, she had no choice but to take the supplies. If she didnt, the children would die. Although she felt miserable about this, she tolerated it.

I guess she considered this a debt.

Yes. Thats why when she became Lord, she allowed privateering, which was very much out of character. She said she couldnt bear to stop the children whod grown up to become like this due to her generations failures. Of course, most of todays generation of pirates grew up receiving welfare

Windhand laughed slightly at that moment. Thanks to that, we dont even have to pay taxes to Jacrati, he said. It wasnt even particularly funny.

That was pretty long, huh? Anyway, thats why Im trying to pay her back. She still seems to think she owes us However, it is we who owe her.

Ah, I was about to go crazy.

I could barely resist wildly scratching my head in frustration. Anyway, this story really, really, really stimulated my conscience.

I had to somehow think about how my character would react, but before that, I had to get my body back under control.

So please, I cant we just give you those ten million Gal instead? It doesnt matter where the money comes from, right? She has so much more use for that money. Unlike us.

I-I know, but the character break, the character break!

So, erm, Mister?

Please.

My desire not to break character overcame my conscience!

So.

As for that money, I was okay with not getting it. I was never a money-hungry person to begin with, so why did they expect me to collect a reward from people whom a horrible disaster had just struck?

However, the only reason I couldnt just tell him, Yeah, whatever, you can just give it to me, was because it was a serious character break.

I definitely recall telling you quite clearly that your devotion has nothing to do with me. Dont involve me in your affairs.

I had no idea if there was any way to help them without breaking character, but I couldnt risk it by fulfilling his request. After all, dams tended to collapse because of small cracks, not big holes.

Rustle.

Was it just me, or did that bundle of blankets behind Windhand start shaking?

* * *

* * *

We have arrived.

I stood on the boat, listening to the shouts of Windhand, who was acting rather awkwardlymore business-likeever since yesterday.

As we got closer, Jacrati looked much better than when wed left. There was no more smoke rising from flames, and most of the burnt-down buildings had been demolished or were under repair.

People will probably cheer when you get off, so dont be too surprised.

Furthermore, the port was full of people holding flags and handkerchiefs.

If one didnt think of the words overcame crisis when looking at them, one would be too much of a realist.

Its not over yet, but the people seem to think it is.

Or maybe too principled, like the Inquisitor.

Youre not wrong, but havent they already overcome the greatest hardship? Thats what this event signifies. It gives them hope that since theyve now overcome the greatest hurdle, they can easily overcome the rest. Its to boost their morale.

Ah, I understand. Then the reason they asked us to march through the city?

Of course, its because of that.

Still, I was glad the Archmage was back. Someone who could explain all these things was finally with us, though hed left out a lot to fit the Inquisitors perspective better.

I wonder if I can even be included in that, though.

Id been traveling on land for a while now, so the motion sickness I had right now was no joke.

I barely held back my upset stomach and listened to what Deb had to say. Anyway, that guy also tended to undervalue himself.

How could you be left out? You were the one to save the Hero.

Urgh, thats

And I almost killed that Hero.

At that moment, I stepped away from the ships railing. I went down to the ships lower level, crunching sounds coming from under my feet.

My goal was my assigned room.

Where are you going? Youll have to come back up again soon.

The Archmage voiced his doubts. It wasnt such a strange question to ask since disembarking the ship required me to remain on the deck.

Demon Knight?

However, I wouldnt be participating in the victory celebrations. I didnt want to because it was too burdensome and also didnt fit my character settings.

So, the others could just eat their heart out. I would wait and get off when the people in the port were gone and quickly move along the street.

Surely youre not thinking of skipping out on this, right?

Im not some circus clown.

Its not like I didnt want to march through the city because I felt like I was about to barf out my insides.

Thats.

The Archmage hurriedly followed behind me. He seemed to be planning to persuade me or something, but unfortunately, I wouldnt change my mind.

Moreover, I had an invincible cheat key.

Do you know how famous you are in Jacrati? If you skip out on this, the people will certainly be disappointed

Before the Archmage could talk any further, I grabbed my right arm and gritted my teeth.

I didnt know whether he would interpret my actions as the Demon acting up again or me thinking I didnt deserve to stand among them. Well, it didnt really matter.

I understand. Ill inform the Lord.

Anyway, I successfully managed to get the Archmage off my back using this invincible guard technique. Hahaha.

I easily sent back the Archmage and locked the door behind him. However, before I could even feel any kind of joy from getting out of participating in something really bothersome, my motion sickness popped up again as if to remind me of its existence.

It had been a long time since I was put in this state. I felt like dying.

Knock, knock.

Who was it now? I heard some knocking from the door.

Id already defeated the boss mob Archmage, the only one with a feasible chance of persuading me, so who?!

What?

I tried to check who my visitor was while lying in the hammock. I sure as hell wouldnt open that door. If they were bothered by that, they could just go!

Demon Knight.

However, the voice coming from behind the door was unexpected. I blinked. I thought hed never talk to me again, so why had Windhand come to see me?

The request reward has been prepared.

For a moment, I didnt understand what Id just heard.

Why would I receive any reward from him Ah! The matter with Vipurit and rescuing Jacrati were two separate requests.

The down payment had been so large that I didnt even think about the full reward. Things had just changed so much from his initial request.

I managed to raise seven million Gal, collecting some from here and there would that be enough?

Although he was speaking to me, it seemed Windhand was still upset, considering his tone was rather business-like.

It didnt bother me too much, though.

Well, the money might be a bit lacking compared to the content of the request, but this sure wasnt an amount a single individual, much less a pirate, would be willing to pay.

And that was even considering the penalty for not providing the archmage.

If its not enough, Ill get more, but itll take some time

Its enough.

Crucially, this guy would run around helping his country in the future, so I didnt want to extort money from someone like him needlessly. So, I just accepted the amount without question.

Also, my motion sickness worsened if I talked too much, so I definitely didnt just take it because of a whim. Seriously.

As the victory celebrations started, I could hear loud cheers from outside.

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