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

Chapter 13: I Didn't Know (6)

Let me say again: both Deep Sea Pearl and Legend of Heroes were divine.

“Either my one remaining eye is hallucinating, or your two ears don't work properly. It has to be one of the two."

I just wandered around after what happened before and spent the rest of the night looking for another inn. After taking a shower, I came to one conclusion: that first inn was a lot better. This place didn't even have a full bathroom. That was when I ordered a full meal to raise my low satiety.

Someone sat down at the table where I was eating my meal alone. Of course, it was the Archmage and the Inquisitor.

Bang!

“Will you really only understand after I cut off your tongue?"

I roughly put down the glass of water I was drinking from as the Inquisitor became flustered. The red-faced NPC seemed to know she was behaving rather shamelessly.

One part of me felt deep admiration toward Deep Sea Pearl, who programmed these NPCs to have such diverse emotions, and another part of me was speculating whether these two joining me really was part of the plot.

They certainly wouldn't be so clingy if not for that.

“Don't be so angry. I won't be rude toward you anymore. I won't make any more mistakes… I won't try to hurt you any more than I already did. I swear."

Even if she said that… I couldn't not get angry because of the character I was acting as. It hadn't been once or twice that I went against the plot all for the sake of my roleplaying

Oh, of course, this was the first time I managed to get so far while doing this. Other games I had played before forced me to progress because the NPCs wouldn't accept any answer but the right one. Other times, my roleplaying completely shut me out of the story, forcing me to restart the game.

“Are you kidding me right now?"

However, this game gave me a proper response no matter what I said, allowing me to roleplay without worry. That was what made all of this so fun.

“I…"

That was when the Inquisitor started to mumble about something. As my eyes turned to her, I saw that her face was as red as a ripe tomato. With this, her face was now the same color as her hair. She looked insanely cute.

“I'm here to learn about tolerance!"

What did she mean by that?

“…What?”

This wasn't some kind of glitch, right? My ears weren't playing tricks on me, right? Was that girl actually aiming to trigger my roleplaying?

“Show mercy and consideration toward others and never succumb to arrogance or hubris. That's what I've been taught all my life, but I couldn't follow any of that until now. However… you are different. Not only did you tolerate my insults toward you multiple times, but you even forgave me at the last moment."

I tightly gripped the glass that nearly slipped from my hand. I also managed to keep my lips from twitching.

“I-I saw something in you that I want to be…! That's why I dared to stand before you right now. I know I've caused you so much trouble and was very disrespectful toward you, but I…!"

There was this saying passed around the circles of enthusiasts since forever: ‘You didn’t choose whom you liked best. Instead, it was the one that suddenly appeared before you one day, grabbed you by the collar, and slapped you across your face who would definitely become your favorite.’

You might be wondering what I was trying to convey with that quote?

That girl was the one who grabbed me and slapped me across my face.

“…If you were planning to worsen my mood, you succeeded."

As I was barely holding onto my character setting, I was holding my head and screaming on the inside.

She was cute. I thought she was acting really cute right now. I had gotten a bit nervous when she dropped to her knees and showed me that honest, straightforward attitude of hers last night because she was right up my alley.

Now she hit me with that?! Aiming for a homerun with that shameless apology of hers?!

Was she crazy? Was she actually crazy?! I mean, I really preferred the Priest class and their personal setting in the original game, but wasn’t this just too much?!

“Y-you couldn’t just keep your… mouth shut, huh? Ah, excuse me again…”

“…”

She also couldn’t hide her feelings because she was just that straightforward. Ah, this was driving me mad. How did she know I was a sucker for these kinds of clumsy characters?!

She looked like a little kimchi dumpling as she arranged her hair to look like a bob cut…

“Now I understand. How amusing. It’s my first time seeing someone trying to kill themselves like that.”

I couldn’t break character, so I barely forced myself to speak up, my lips trembling.

Perhaps mistaking that reaction as the pinnacle of my anger, the Archmage seemed nervous.

“That’s not what we intended. You have to listen to us.”

Fortunately, I hadn’t broken character. However, I wasn’t all too happy about that sudden cuteness attack.

“No, I don’t need to.”

But she was really cute. The way she rushed straight ahead into apologizing with no rhyme or reason, exactly like someone without common sense. So, it was rather obvious that things would turn out this way, right?

“The only thing I have to exchange with you is blows.”

Clatter.

I roughly stood up as I swallowed my tears. My hand was, of course, on the hilt of my Zweih?nder strapped to my back.

Of course, I couldn’t give up on roleplaying just for the plot or that kimchi dumpling. With my temper and all that nonsense they were spouting, how could I stay still?

“Even if I told you that we know how to kill the King of all Demons, Satan?”

However, as soon as I tried to pull out my sword, the Archmage quickly spat out these words.

The hall, filled with a moderate amount of people, went completely silent, and my hand froze in place.

“Would you really pull out your sword now if it meant losing the chance to drive the Demon King Satan and all the other Demons out of this land?”

A sage was still a sage. Although we hadn’t talked much, he had effectively managed to ascertain this character’s weakness.

“…That.”

If there was one thing I was certain of as I was improvising, it was that this talk was something my character would never pass up on.

“What do you mean?"

I drew my sword and held it before me as my eyes filled with irritation.

I wanted to show the Archmage that I would immediately wield my sword if he was spouting nonsense.

“Before that, let me moisten my throat. It'll be a long story."

“How about drinking your own blood?"

It seemed he was trying to evoke a specific atmosphere, but how could I allow that when my character would love nothing better than to rip apart all Demons as fast as possible?

I tightly grasped my Zweih?nder. The Archmage then cleared his throat.

“…You must have heard that the Inquisitor freshly left the Temple, right?"

He was indeed a wise one. The sage immediately sensed my intentions and did what I wanted right away.

“There's a reason she left the Temple even though she's very young for an inquisitor. It's because of a revelation."

He slightly looked toward the Inquisitor, who, having been listening to the conversation, quickly opened her mouth.

“Even though I'm unworthy… I was told that I am destined to defeat Satan."

That… That baffled me quite a bit. Had she already received a revelation? And a Priest was destined to defeat Satan?

“However, I was also told I wouldn't be enough to defeat him, so I must gather Companions."

The revelation was definitely meant to be heard by a player character, not just those of the Priest class.

“So I first went to visit Sir Archmage… Next, we planned to travel around the country to gather more people and convince them to join us."

Could it be Deep Sea Pearl changed the plot to be completely Priest-centric?

“That was why we came back, even though we knew you would react like this."

“…? Sir Archmage, didn't you say it'll be fine, though…?"

“Cough, cough."

The Archmage hurriedly declared something, seemingly to cover his embarrassment, which made his face look slightly red.

“So, would you like to join us on our journey to defeat Satan?"

「※One Step Toward Defeating the Demon King※」

Those words seemed to be the beginning of a Quest.

I could tell that this Quest surrounded by special marks was definitely the Main Quest, which made my heart beat faster.

* * * * * *

“We found out that you're quite the famous mercenary. Someone who doesn't back down from killing Demons no matter how difficult it may be. If you kill Satan, all the Demons will leave this land."

…Well, I had expected that joining these two was relevant to the plot, so I should just move on.

And the fact that I almost killed the plot's main character… It was a bit weird that the game didn't give me a warning or some sort of information, but, well, even if I had killed her, I could just reload an earlier save file.

Although I didn't do that, things would have turned out fine. That just meant I could change the story however I wanted.

I had just been shocked because Legend of Heroes hadn't been advertised as a game with so much freedom of action, enabling one to form the story however they saw fit. But as it wasn't anything unprecedented, I quickly accepted it.

Still, how many aliens did they have to grind to get this level of freedom and graphics? It wasn't like I didn't have any doubts, but… didn't they release it because it was possible?

I had been shocked because they didn't announce this setting, but it wasn't anything unwelcome from a gamer’s perspective. I could even roleplay freely. How could I be mad about that?!

“How ridiculous. Isn't that something a Hero should be doing?"

So I completely focused on roleplaying and thought about how to react to that offer.

It would be kind of weird if I just moved on, right? My character only felt contempt toward those two, let alone trust.

“She certainly received this revelation. If you want proof, you can follow us to any Temple. All of them acknowledge her as a Hero."

But if the Archmage argued like that, I had no reason to refuse.

Why? Because this character still held more hatred for Demons than for these two.

Plus, he was given a chance to defeat Satan, the origin of all Demons, you know? He couldn't miss that opportunity to root out all Demons. In the character setting I’d created, I wrote down that the flames of his hatred for Demons burned so hot that even he might end up burned.

“…As expected, I…"

“Those words.”

So if he could eradicate all Demons in exchange for tolerating these annoying guys, he’d do it without question.

“They had better be true.”

I was deeply moved by these NPCs who always knew when to say the right line as I gripped my sword even tighter.

“Because if they aren’t, I will immediately cut you limb from limb and dedicate your corpses to my hometown.”

I acted like I was about to swing my blade but ultimately didn’t.

“You are free to do so. With this, we welcome you to our expedition.”

「???(Inquisitor) has joined you.」

「???(Archmage) has joined you.」

「※One Step Toward Defeating the Demon King※

? Join the Subjugation Forces

? Talk to the Archmage」

The Quest information updated.

* * *

“There is no need for that. I have only allowed you to accompany me because it serves my purposes. I have no intention of forgiving your arrogance and selfishness.”

The Inquisitor listened to the man’s words one by one. The way he spoke was harsh and cold, but it didn’t bother her much because she was the one in the wrong here.

“Banish any thought of treating me as your Companion or the like from your mind. If it weren’t for the sake of killing Satan, I wouldn’t even dream of sharing a single space with you lot.”

He really was amazing, suppressing his anger and keeping his cool to reach his goal.

She wondered if the Bishop had this image in mind when he said one should always maintain their reason.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

She thought it a pity that he didn’t want to treat her like a Companion, but she was already grateful enough that he would accompany them.

If she traveled with him long enough, she would definitely get a chance to properly apologize to him for her rudeness and learn his mannerisms.

“…”

The Inquisitor’s eyes lit up when she heard the Demon Knight’s thunderous roar, not caring whether or not he was frowning.

At first, she denied his existence and doubted him because her experience and knowledge were too shallow and because his case was rather unprecedented, but… it was different now.

『When you said he could take your life, you knew what that meant, right?! Inquisitor! Your mission is far too great to do something like that! Had he not been merciful…!』

『I know my actions were rash and impulsive, Sir Archmage. You are right to scold me.』

She didn't hate the Demon Knight anymore. Rather, every time she touched her short hair, her respect for him grew.

『But, Sir Archmage, my narrow-mindedness has caused so much harm already. Fortunately, we could solve it with money this time, but what if someone died? Would we still have been able to resolve it? 』

『So you wanted to give away your life for that?』

『Justice signifies justified violence, which makes it even heavier and requires it be wielded with care. God even said that one shouldn't be too convinced of one's own justice. However, did I follow this rule during either of those times?』

『…The 9th commandment.』

『Tell me, how can I save the world when I can’t even properly follow God’s word? I don't think I'm able to do that. I don’t even have the right to call myself a Hero…』

She thought back on the conversation she’d had with the Archmage yesterday and looked at the man standing before her.

『I was forgiven. I even received an opportunity to atone for my sins.』

『Inquisitor…』

『If I had been him, I wouldn’t have forgiven me. If I had been him, I would have cut out my tongue. In his shoes, I wouldn’t have acted the same way at all.』

Behind those ferocious eyes, he held the mental strength to let go of his malice and murderous intentions despite being a Demon host. Behind his vicious words lay tolerance, and behind his shallow unpleasantness was mercy.

It was his other side that she wasn’t able to see before.

『Isn’t he actually more like a representative of God than I am?』

She had prayed all night and thought about the Demon Knight. She had thought about why he was host to a Demon, what he must have gone through, and what he had been thinking thus far. She had been blinded by prejudice and aimed her sword at him without even knowing him properly.

The more she thought about him, the greater her regret and respect toward him grew. And after investigating him a bit with the Archmage, she felt that way even more. They had learned he had been helping people by eradicating Demons.

『I want to get to know him better. And I want to learn from him. Not about his ability to stay sane even after merging with a Demon, not even his mental fortitude to overcome anger, but the generosity to forgive those who criticize and insult him.』

Although his words were harsh and his behavior vulgar… The Archmage said that if one’s learning was short, one’s vocabulary would be even smaller. Education wasn’t available to everyone.

So it was understandable. On the contrary, in spite of being uneducated, he was still a better person than her.

As she had thought, she really wanted to get to know that man better and become someone like him.

She was barely twenty when this young woman’s longing had just begun.

However, it would be a very long time before she realized this all had been a delusion.