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

Chapter 44: Pray and Pray Again (2)

The ship returned to Grü Teltz after sailing around for just three days due to storms and lack of food. The port we returned to wasn’t much different from before we left.

“It takes a while to count all the heads, so please wait a moment.”

We captured eight pirate ships over those three days. Each vessel held approximately 20 to 40 pirates, and I was the one to initiate the battles on all eight.

Later, I eliminated about half of them before the warships could even attach to the pirate ships, so I would probably be paid a decent amount.

The soldiers and adventurers even begged me to take it easy, complaining that they had nothing to do.

“Looking at it this way, won’t you get almost all the reward, Mister Knight?”

Deb, standing next to me, spoke about how jealous he was. There was also a lot of talk about how I only picked out the famous ones, like the captains, vice-captains, and first mates, to receive their separate bounties.

“They said I’m not an official adventurer, so they took half of my money.”

“Isn’t it: even though you aren’t an adventurer, they still gave you half?”

“Hah, what’s the last place loser saying now?”

“…! I’m just not that greedy for money…!”

Ignoring their argument, I sat at a table in the tavern run by the Guild. It was time for dinner.

“So what? Does that change the fact that you are in last place?”

“Hah, but I actually caught a lot more.”

“Aren’t all of them just small fish, though? I only went after high-ranking guys, you know?”

“Are you bragging right now? All you did was hide and wait for an opportunity to attack them from behind!”

I dipped some bread into the tomato stew. The squishy consistency and red color reminded me of the sack I had handed over to the Guild clerk earlier – it contained the severed heads of the pirates — but that thought was soon overpowered by hunger.

I was really hungry, having not eaten much over the past three days because of my motion sickness.

“So what if I’m proud of it?! Do you think it’s easy to wait for such opportunities in chaotic situations like that and kill the target you have your eyes on?”

“Hah, you’re just a thief who doesn’t even know the meaning of fair and square!”

“Then what, pray tell, is fair and square in a damn fight?!”

“Here’s your salad.”

Clatter.

I finally lifted my fork toward the salad and saw the utensil’s tip tremble slightly. Bang. At that moment, the Inquisitor struck the table.

“As expected from some despicable—”

“You two, either shut up or get out of my face before I pull out your tongues.”

What were these kids doing, arguing at the dining table like that? Even if they argued, they should never hit the table. What if the food spilled?

“I-I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t really do anything, though.”

“You!”

“Wasn’t it you who got angry for no reason?”

I sighed inwardly as they started the second round of their match.

I had to feed those kids somehow. An extremely Korean thought filled my brain for a moment, but my roleplaying took precedence.

Bang.

“Uwark!”

“Aah!”

“Do you think I’m a joke or something?”

I kicked their chairs under the table. Deb was first, and the Inquisitor, who was slow to grasp the situation, was second. Their chairs fell backward, dropping their owners to the floor.

“That’s too much, Mister!”

“Yes, because of you, even I…!”

Why were they doing that when they knew my character’s personality?

I sighed inwardly once more but quietly made my face look vicious and put my hand on the hilt of my sword without saying a word.

Finally, those two calmed down while grumbling quietly.

“Let’s strike a truce during mealtimes.”

“Fine.”

…Aren’t those two actually getting along quite well?

“Didn’t I already tell you to piss off?”

However, that ceasefire came too late. Just go to a different table, you bastards.

“You were eating… but why are you eating separately?”

“Ah, Sir Archmage.”

Did he just spend his mealtime somewhere quiet? The Archmage came over and asked with a somewhat shocked expression. It was clearly because we were eating separately at three different tables and were seated far away from each other.

“Why, you ask? It’s because of that stubborn mule over there.”

“You didn’t act any better, either!”

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The Inquisitor started the arguments more frequently, but it was largely Deb’s fault that those fights lasted longer than they should have, so they both were to blame. Either way, it was quite headache-inducing for the Archmage.

“…Well, it looks like you’re almost finished eating, so please gather at one table when you’re done.”

The Archmage sat down at my table as he said that.

I wouldn’t have moved if he had sat anywhere else. It seemed he saw through that. As expected, this mage sure understood my character well. Well, except for where he overinterpreted my actions and misunderstood things on his own!

“While you were away, we were able to make quite some progress.”

Regardless, he calmly explained what had happened.

The Lord, who deeply believed in the Sea Dragon, was only half-convinced and hesitant. The Magic Tower announced that they would step forward, albeit reluctantly. He also heard that only the Temple was doing its job properly.

The way things were going seemed extremely realistic, to the point where it reminded me of the nightmare that is university group projects.

“Don’t worry too much, though. Once the Dragon subjugation plan is more clearly established, they will no longer be able to back out.”

Was it because my expression looked somewhat annoyed? The Archmage quickly added to his words.

“I see. Is the planning going well?”

At the Inquisitor’s innocent question, he was lost for words momentarily. Rather than being caught off guard, it was more like he didn’t know what to say. I was hit by reality at that moment.

Thanks to her question, I managed to grasp the situation in an instant. Just from looking at the Archmage, I realized he had taken on the role of the group project leader.

“…Aren’t the conditions rather poor? Everyone is still looking at ways to make this plan as safe and effective as possible.”

Which meant nothing had been decided yet.

“That being said… I would like to hear your opinions on this matter. We are the ones who will have to fight the Dragon on the front lines, after all.”

That meant they either didn’t really contribute much, or they just said whatever they wanted to. Hence, the Archmage was more or less asking us for help.

Maybe if our opinions were good, he would take them to those guys and shove them down the throats of those who didn’t do their job.

“For now, I only have two things in mind.”

“…Wow, Sir Archmage, are you the only one working?”

“Hmm. I have been given quite a few things to consider.”

“You took on quite the load, didn’t you?”

Deb, who immediately understood the Archmage’s situation like me, looked at him with pitying eyes, and the Inquisitor, the only one to take his words at face value, only tilted her head.

She probably didn’t even know what the word ‘load’ meant in this context.

“What plans have you considered?”

“Ah, one involves fighting at sea, and the other would have us lure it to land.”

Still, thanks to her, the conversation didn’t change direction.

The Archmage took out a scroll from his chest and unfurled it. It was a map only depicting this region.

“If we want to lure it to land, this place, the Gamak Bay, is the only place that would qualify. It has coastal cliffs on both sides and a sandy beach in the middle.”

“Certainly… It would be quite effective if we attacked it from both sides.”

“But how will we lure it?”

“That's what I was worried about, as well. Although there are many eyewitness accounts, there are no records of anyone actually encountering the Sea Dragon. There’s no guarantee we’ll be able to bait it.”

In other words, the only information we had about the Sea Dragon was its appearance. We know nothing about its attacks, patterns, or characteristics, right?

Wow, this was a total shot in the dark. On top of that, we would have to split our team, which was a certain road to doom.

“Moreover, luring it would mostly involve incurring its anger… There isn’t any ship faster than a sea dragon at sea, right?”

“Hmm.”

“But if you put it that way, wouldn’t that also apply to fighting it at sea? If the Sea Dragon just turns the sea upside down, we’ll just end up buried in all the water.”

“That’s the problem.”

He shrugged his shoulders and said that if we were to fight at sea, then we would have to attack it continuously. Dozens of ships would have to surround it and engage.

That was a reasonable concern, as a single flick of a dragon’s tail could sink a sip. The city and the Magic Tower supplying the manpower would certainly dislike that idea.

“Either way, getting a ship that can withstand the Dragon is of utmost importance.”

“Yes… which is why I emphasized that part a lot, and fortunately, the Magic Tower arranged for a fitting ship. It’s a warship designed by the Magic Tower on the order of the Lord of Canaves. Although it wasn’t built to fight dragons, I have been told that its functions are similar.”

And where was Canaves again? My head was pounding as new location names seemed to pop up more frequently these days. I couldn’t even remember all of Korea’s cities.

“…Do you want to do it?”

“It’s not common for ships like that to be built.”

“That’s true…”

“But still, it’s better than nothing. I don’t know how and why such a warship was constructed when it wasn’t meant to slay dragons.”

“Canaves is the most troubled by the Yabad pirates. It was probably built to capture pirates and privateers.”

While I knew nothing else about it, I learned it was a coastal city troubled by pirates. That was enough.

They’d mention it again if it was necessary. Seeing how pirates kept popping up, it seemed we might get involved with them again soon.

“Is Canaves willing to give it to us? They probably paid for its production themselves, right?”

“They must, as this issue involves the entire West Sea… is what I’d like to say, but that’s not the truth. Either the Lord or the Magic Tower might have to give them something. I mean, why should they care about our problem without anything in return?”

“Fair enough.”

As Deb said, it was understandable. Why should one help without any proper reward? Yes, yes.

* * *

* * *

“Is Sir Archmage here?!”

At that moment, someone forcefully opened the door to the Guild’s tavern and came in. As he was wearing something similar to the Archmage, he probably was a mage.

“Are you looking for me?”

“Ah! There you are!”

The young wizard hurriedly approached us and held something out. They were a bunch of papers.

I didn’t have to look at them to know it was about an urgent and important issue.

“This…”

And as if to confirm my speculations, the Archmage frowned deeply. His white lion’s mane moved softly.

“Is there a problem?”

“It looks like the Dragon is inside the Dragon’s Gate.”

I didn’t even have to ask the Archmage further as the young wizard’s voice reached my ears.

“What?”

“Considering it was last seen there, I told them to prioritize searching that area… It appears it really was there. Although they couldn’t enter the Dragon’s Gate, the corruption was clearly coming from within that place.”

“Wait a second, weren’t we told that no sailor in their right mind would try to enter that place?”

“...Yes, you’re right.”

“Then…?”

“We need to find a skilled captain.”

At that moment, I realized one of my premonitions seemed to be correct.

“A captain able to lead a ship in and out of the Dragon’s Gate.”

Just the name ‘Dragon’s Gate’ alone showed that it was a very special place. No matter how I thought about it, it looked like we really had to get that descendant of the first explorer of the sea or whatever.

“Fighting a Sea Dragon is already considered suicide, so how do we find someone who can enter a place not even sailors who have spent their whole life at sea want to go to…?”

“It’s not certain yet, so don’t worry too much.”

“It’s highly likely, though.”

“That’s true.”

“Hah, are you scared?”

“Aren’t you? I don’t have any special powers like you, you know?”

“…Coward.”

There was no way the game would create a character for no reason. As I held my head high, reveling in my victory, Deb held his head, his face pale.

It seemed this wasn’t just a matter of staying on land or not. It looked like he was struggling, as well.

“You can stay on land. I don’t mean to belittle you, but your specialty lies in dealing with people, not fighting beings like sea dragons.”

“…You’re… right.”

“Instead, there is something I would like to entrust you with.”

“…?”

“You’re a step above us all when it comes to tracking and trailing people, right? I’m already doing my best, but if you help me find a certain someone, it will work out a lot better.”

The corners of Deb’s mouth raised a little at the Archmage’s words.

“That’s my specialty, but is that really fine?”

“It’s fine, really. If we don’t find a proper captain, we won’t even be able to start our battle.”

“…Alright. It’s something I should have done to begin with.”

“Make sure to tell them that we’ll pay them whatever they want and that our ship will be able to endure the reef thanks to thee protection spells cast on it.”

“That makes things a bit easier. Don’t worry.”

With these words, Deb stood up. His green coat fluttered a bit as he did.

“Is there anything else they need to know?”

“Ah, you should also add that we have the means to deal with the Sea Dragon.”

“Naturally. Is there anything else besides that?”

“For now, that’s it.”

“In that case, I’ll leave first.”

It was already almost night, though.

Well, I wasn’t one to talk. How often did I move about regardless of the time of day? From his perspective, it might be more comfortable to move at night.

Deb soon disappeared from the Guild tavern.

“What should we do, then?”

“Miss Inquisitor, you… should just wait a little. The Temple is supporting us sufficiently. You could help me find a captain, or you can do something else if you want.”

“Is that so…?”

The Inquisitor looked disappointed that she couldn’t really help with the preparations. I, on the other hand, was pretty happy about that.

Honestly, my character wasn’t suitable for diplomatic matters such as transactions or tasks like looking for people. My character setting aside, I wasn’t confident I would be of help.

“Is that all?”

“Ah, there’s one more thing.”

Oh? There was more?

“If the Magic Tower contacts you regarding anything but this matter, never listen to or accept anything they say. If they try to use force on you, you can just attack them. This applies to any future encounters with them on our journey. Never enter any of the Magic Towers unless I have suggested it first.”

…I didn’t know why he thought they would use force on me, but I would listen to him for now. But seriously, why, though? Have I become the enemy of the Magic Tower without knowing?

“That’s all.”

I had no idea why the Archmage was talking like that about the faction he himself belonged to. However, it didn’t seem like he would provide further details on this matter.

Well, what could I do? All I could do was keep his words in mind and just move on, I guess.

Anyway, I should start considering how to spend my remaining free time… Deb said he would find us a captain, the ship had already been prepared, and the Lord, Magic Tower, and Temple were also cooperating for now.

Then it seemed I would have to do some grinding and hunting. There was nothing else to do except maybe receive the payment I hadn’t gotten yet due to having dinner first.

I took my legs off the table and stood up.

Tak.

I grabbed my Zweihänder, which had been leaning against the table since I couldn’t sit down while it was strapped to me.

“Where are you going?”

Ah, I had to shake off the Inquisitor first, though.

Now that Deb and the Archmage would be gone to deal with their own matters, this was a golden opportunity to have some alone time. It wasn’t like taking individual actions was completely impossible, and I had no reason to give up on that, knowing it was very much possible.

“I’ll come along…”

“You’d better start using that brain of yours and stop relying on people to spoon-feed you the answers.”

“…!”

Was I a bit too harsh? However, that was an appropriate reaction based on my character settings.

Sometimes, I also had some difficulty interpreting my character properly. I’d prefer to prepare my lines at my pace when inspiration struck, but my day-to-day interactions changed drastically depending on how I interpreted the situation and my character’s role.

Anyway, I didn’t see a mace flying toward me, nor did the Inquisitor follow me, so all was well. I left the Guild tavern with light steps.

This was the first time in a while I could spend some time alone, meaning I was safe, so I had to make the most of this opportunity.

* * *

“Captain, is this really okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

The man straightened his back as he spoke. It was a dark night, with even the moon obscured by clouds, and the sea didn’t seem too friendly. However, his superb navigation skills had cleverly led the ship into the bay of a coastal cliff.

Gamak Bay. Everyone around knew of its existence, but they didn’t really make use of it.

“Don’t you trust me?”

“I would never doubt the captain’s navigational skills. I was asking after a different matter.”

“Kid, drop the anchor.”

He chuckled and took off his tricorn hat and bandana for a moment. He wanted to let some fresh air on his head, which was pounding from the long journey.

Meanwhile, they managed to perfectly anchor the ship in place.

“Alright. Everyone worked hard, so let’s cheer up a little. Aren’t your brothers waiting for you?”

Darkness liked to whisper, so he lowered his voice to support his crew a little. While he didn’t get a response, the sailors definitely reacted.

“You guys, guard the ship as we planned. You come with me.”

“Yes.”

He lowered a small boat into the water and secretly moved to land. Was it because he was almost at his goal, which had cost him so much loss and sacrifice? Or maybe it was because he’d worked through the night to escape the Vipurit’s pursuit not too long ago.

The hand he used to row became slippery with sweat.

“I really hope that mercenary stays in that city…”

“Hm? Are you talking about that guy?”

“Yes…”

The man recalled the warship they encountered that started battling the Vipurit a few days ago. To be exact, the warrior who moved from the warship to the pirate ship and went on a rampage.

“One person won’t change anything.”

“I know, but I’m sure he’d be quite a bit of help, though. I’d rather have someone like that on our side than a bunch of little squirts. Most of all, I think we can hire him with some money, as well!”

He wasn’t too sure because he’d only caught a glimpse of him while escaping. However, since he was on a navy ship but not wearing a military uniform, he was probably an adventurer or mercenary.

The warship’s crest belonged to the city of Grü Teltz, so if they returned to the port, he would likely be staying there. If he didn’t go elsewhere after returning to port, that is.

“We have enough money, so I just have to meet him… I wonder if the Sea Dragon will grant us his protection.”

“I’m sure it will.”

“Yeah, I hope so…”

The man stood up, feeling his boat meet the sand.

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the courage to face our brothers.”

It was time to go to Grü Teltz.

* * *

“…? Vice-Captain!”

Meanwhile, on the ship the man had left, a sailor in the crow’s nest above the mast called out to the person left in charge in their captain’s absence.

“What?”

“Over there on the water… there’s something like a shark…?”

“What?”

“No, is it a saltwater crocodile…? Wait a second, it’s approaching us!”

For some reason, the vice-captain felt deeply uneasy at that report. He wasn’t frightened by the mention of a saltwater crocodile or something. It was simply experience from a long life of sailing and struggling for survival that sent alarm bells ringing in his head.

“…Everyone, get the harpoons!”

Bang!

The unidentified beast began slamming against the ship’s lower deck.