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

The captain, who’d fired five flares to signal the state of emergency, chose to return without even looking back.

As I lacked the confidence to deal with such overwhelming force, I quietly urged Frederick forward.

Only Frederick was thrilled, given that it had been a while since he could run at full speed.

“Madam Dietra is coming!”

“Open the gate!”

Should I call it fortunate? It seemed the Merfolk horde had yet to reach the city.

Thanks to that, the soldiers could open the gates without hesitation. Had enemies been nearby, doing so would have been more difficult.

Creeeeak.

It seemed they’d prepared to open the city gates in advance. The sentries quickly opened them with perfect timing.

“Captain! The lord is on the city wall!”

“Thank you!”

They had also lit torches to illuminate the streets so we could ride our horses through them.

People heading to the castle easily spotted us and got out of our way. With a clear line of sight, we could dash straight to the city wall without stopping.

Creak.

However, the residents, who were opening their windows to see what was happening, looked like stone statues cloaked in the night.

I hated to say it out loud, but this somehow felt like something right out of a horror game.

Clip-clop.

“Just hold on a little longer!”

But there were too many torches around for me to get scared. Besides, the torches weren’t flickering, which obviously meant there weren’t any ghosts around, haha!

I simply focused on Frederick’s rhythmic breathing, showing off my mental strength honed through countless jump scares from various horror games. I was a bit concerned about his stamina, though, since we constantly alternated between a canter and a trot.

We had no choice if we wanted to deliver the news as quickly as possible, but… I was worried it might be too much for him.

Watching Frederick drool and foam at the mouth, I silently told him to hold on for just a little longer. Our goal was now in sight.

“Dame Dietra! You returned?”

A soldier standing on the wall spotted us and shouted down.

“Where’s the lord?”

“Sector 4!”

“Adventurer, to the left!”

Wow. Bemurchen was really big. I followed the captain’s signal while calculating how long it had taken us to get here.

Plenty of soldiers and adventurers were coming and going below the city walls, so our galloping horses instinctively slowed down.

“Demon Knight?”

Oh. I didn’t know where Sector 4 was, but I’d found the Inquisitor somehow. She wasn’t alone; Deathbringer and the Archmage were beside her, along with people I had never seen before.

“My lord!”

“Dietra!”

Ah, so that was the lord. Well, there was no way someone who stood so casually next to the members of the Hero’s party would be someone ordinary. It made sense now why there were so many soldiers around them.

“My knight!”

I hurriedly dismounted as I watched the lord leap down from the wall—not figuratively, he literally jumped down.

The horses breathed heavily, finally able to rest after galloping relentlessly.

The captain’s horse looked ready to collapse, while Frederick still seemed to have some energy left, but anyway.

“Are you injured? No, thank you for returning safe and sound. God must have protected you.”

The lord, a burly man with a thick beard, grabbed the captain’s arms. This made the captain, who’d been about to kneel as a show of loyalty, laugh awkwardly. She seemed familiar with this treatment.

“Knight Dietra has returned for the sake of the city.”

Then, her expression slowly shifted to one filled with pride. The captain saluted in her own way.

“My lord, more importantly, the Merfolk at the shore…”

“Is it very dire?”

“Yes. The shoreline is packed with Merfolk.”

“Those damn rotten fish. Anything else notable? Were you able to estimate their numbers?”

“There were too many, so we couldn’t properly observe them for any unusual behavior or get a clear count. My apologies.”

“Alright… If that’s the case, there’s nothing you could have done. It’s okay.”

The lord lightly patted the captain on her shoulder and told her to rest after all that hard work. The captain seemed a little touched for a moment but quickly declared that she could still keep going.

The relationship between the lord and this captain seemed ideal, but watching as an outsider was a tad awkward.

Snort.

“Wait here.”

Well, if I just considered this a chance to give Frederick some drinking water, I couldn’t really complain.

I poured some of the water I had stored into my hand and sprinkled in some salt so Frederick could drink it. I’d poured it into my hand because I figured letting him gulp down large amounts of water after sprinting at full speed wouldn’t be the best idea.

Slurp, slurp, slurp. My recently purchased leather gloves were now completely covered in Frederick’s saliva.

“Erm. Demon Knight…”

At that moment, the Inquisitor, who’d just come down from the wall, cautiously approached and tried talking to me. Deathbringer was no different.

He timidly stood behind the Inquisitor, glancing at me with a somewhat sullen expression. In his arms, he was carrying a long wooden box.

“How did you end up with that knight…”

Hmm. Considering a big fight against some Demons was on the horizon, perhaps now was the right time to talk.

But did I really need to disclose all my activities to them?

“Take this one along as well.”

“Ah, yes.”

I handed Frederick’s reins to a soldier retrieving the captain’s horse. However, perhaps because the soldier was a stranger to him, Frederick shook his head and resisted.

“…When you reach the stable, give him this.”

“Understood.”

I had a special contingency plan for these kinds of situations. I handed the soldier the pouch of blueberries I had prepared earlier.

Frederick, recognizing the bag, immediately calmed down. Clever as ever.

“Let us continue our discussion, Great Sage.”

What was with the impeccable timing today?

As soon as I sent off Frederick, the lord finished his conversation with the captain. He was just about to ascend the stairs leading to the top of the wall.

“Very well. And you… Demon Knight, will you join us…?”

The Archmage hesitantly called out to me. I had no reason to refuse. Knowing where people would be deployed was a privilege few could enjoy.

Once you stripped away my title as a member of the Hero’s party, I was just an ordinary adventurer with no other way to access this information without their help.

“Your Lordship, would you permit him to join the discussion?”

“How could I oppose the participation of someone the Hero has acknowledged as her Companion?”

Fortunately, the lord agreed to my involvement. Judging by how he viewed me somewhat favorably, the captain must have spoken well of me.

“Additional information has come in, but it doesn’t seem significant enough to change much.”

However, instead of speaking to me, he just ascended the wall. The other two, who’d grown sullen after being ignored by me, and I followed the lord to stand next to him.

* * *

“Hero, please remain at the center and be prepared to move to the area with the most enemies.”

“Yes…!”

“The Archmage will stay with the wizards, and as for you…”

“I’ll assist the iron—I mean, the Hero. During another siege defense we participated in, there was a sneak attack targeting the weak point of {Sanctuary}, which is that the caster is left completely immobile.”

“I’ll leave that decision to your discretion. However, do not stray recklessly from the Hero’s side. Soldiers or knights who don’t recognize you might mistake you for an enemy and attack.”

But wasn’t someone missing here?

I couldn’t shake this strange feeling as I thought about someone who should’ve been with us on the wall but wasn’t.

“If we’d had more time, we would have ensured everyone recognized you without fail. Unfortunately, since you aren’t as conspicuous as the Hero, and the enemy is on the verge of invading… Hmm. Perhaps you could try wearing a shiny ribbon so we can differentiate you from the enemy?”

“I absolutely refuse.”

“Then I’ll have to ask for your understanding on this matter.”

“Understood.”

“That said, you’re free to act within your discretion. As long as it doesn’t cause harm to the city, I will protect you with my authority as the lord.”

It couldn’t be that she was absent because of our spar earlier… right?

“And you…”

Thinking that uncovering the truth of this matter would be too complicated since the nature of my relationship with everyone meant I couldn’t ask questions, I focused on the lord as he spoke to me.

“Strictly speaking, knights hold little tactical value here. We rely on the walls to shoot arrows, thrust spears, and launch unilateral attacks.”

As he spoke, the lord gestured to the area below the wall we stood on—the section facing the sea. There was another wall built at a distance, and I could see a space full of thorns beyond it. Sporadically placed Arcane lamps illuminated the dark expanse.

Beyond it lay many tangled embankments and turrets.

“The only times knights act directly are during reconnaissance, dealing with Merfolk that breach the walls, and, after the battle, walking on the exposed embankments to eliminate any stragglers left behind after the water’s receded.”

Yeah, opportunities for me to come forward were pretty limited. In fact, most naval battles tended to be like this.

“So if there’s a specific location you’d prefer, I can assign you there…”

Should I go to the protrusion on the outer wall? As I thought about it, I glanced at the bridge connecting the first row of turrets—it didn’t seem sturdy enough to be called a machicolation, serving little purpose beyond linking the wall to the turrets rising from the sea—and the soldiers standing on it.

If I went there, I could unleash [Slash] and [Arcane Spear] without restraint. Being in the middle of the sea meant I didn’t have to worry about friendly fire or collateral damage.

“You want to go there? That’s where adventurers are usually assigned, so I have no objections, but…”

The lord’s expression turned complicated at my words, but he didn’t object. Instead, he issued a warning: that location saw the highest number of deaths, and it would be easier to fight if I knew how to use a bow.

Even if I fell into the sea, I was confident I would survive, and since I could just spam [Arcane Spear] instead of firing arrows, his warning was rather unnecessary.

“Best of luck to you.”

With that, the lord gestured to one of the soldiers and told him to make the necessary arrangements. A few others who had been waiting scrambled to fetch someone quickly.

“I know I don’t have the authority to stop you, nor do I have the right to interfere…”

The Archmage, who’d been observing all of this, finally opened her mouth.

“But please come back in one piece.”

“…Right, Demon Knight! Don’t overdo it!”

“Please don’t pass out for two whole weeks again…”

They were words even mere acquaintances could have said, but for some reason, they left my mouth feeling dry.

“And…”

Maybe it was because of the wooden box Deathbringer was holding, which had been bothering me since earlier.

“Just in case, could you please take this… I beg of you, mister.”

Click. A white sword was visible within the open wooden box. It was a stunningly beautiful and pure sword.

“It’s a far better sword than this one.”

…Deathbringer still had that sword he’d offered me before. I had no idea why. Maybe he still had some hope that I would accept it one day.

“You break your swords a lot while fighting, right? Having a spare isn’t a bad idea. So…”

No, it’s just… the color didn’t match me. Yeah, the color palette mattered, okay?

I averted my gaze, forcing my thoughts to be as light as possible. The person who’d just finished talking to the soldier was waiting at a distance out of respect, having seemingly noticed the serious atmosphere.

“Can I go?”

“You can, I guess…”

That should be it. I approached the soldier who appeared to be in charge of that area. He had a strange look in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything to me.

“This way.”

The soldier led the way and told me a few things to keep in mind.

Unless the wall collapsed, I shouldn’t stray too far from my assigned position.

If there was no room to stand because of corpses, I was allowed to push them outside or move them away, but I needed to continue attacking.

Unless explicitly ordered to, I should never go to the bridge.

If I was standing on the bridge and noticed signs of collapsing, I should evacuate to the nearest place—either the turret or the wall.

“Don’t force yourself to cross over to the wall just because you don’t want to end up isolated on the turret. More people die that way.”

The soldier, whose body was mostly covered in armor but had some visible scars here and there, advised me in a dry tone.

“The speed at which the bridge collapses is incredibly fast.”

The soldier continued that because it frequently collapsed, it wasn’t built very sturdy—though it seemed more likely that it simply couldn’t withstand bombardments than that it was poorly constructed.

“And don’t waste time chatting with those around you just because you don’t see any enemies around. By that, I don’t just mean that you shouldn’t let your guard down.”

He advised me that Merfolk often tried to bring down turrets by gnawing at their base, so it was better to stay quiet and listen for any indications they were doing that. This was definitely something I needed to remember.

“Also, keep an eye on the lights illuminating the sea. They’ll turn off to obscure the view, and that’s essentially when the battle starts.”

Fortunately or unfortunately, there wasn’t much else to remember. It was just about when to eat meals, where the toilets were, and shift changes.

“Adventurer, you should just stand over there for now…”

At that moment, the soldier paused and slapped the back of a man trembling terribly.

“Relax! If you don’t get your head on straight, you’ll miss your chance to survive!”

The soldier’s voice was filled with an air of experience.

“Wahaha, it’s just because he’s a newbie. Leave him be. Even a priest couldn’t fix that!”

“Tsk. Why’s a newbie even here?”

“They do pay well here. This is the only place that pays you even if you die!”

“You need to live to use the money, though… Tsk.”

It seemed what the lord had said about this place being full of adventurers wasn’t wrong. With a quick glance around, I saw that there were only a few soldiers; the rest were all adventurers.

“Is this your first time here?”

“You don’t look nervous… but just in case, let me give you some advice. Don’t worry too much. There are fewer casualties here than the rumors let on.”

“Of course, if the turret falls, we’re all dead without a doubt!”

“Eek!”

“Hahaha! The newbie’s scared!”

But despite being adventurers, they all seemed pretty familiar with this place. Their clothes might have been casual, but their movements weren’t much different from those of the soldiers assigned here.

And that showed they’d been stationed here countless times.

“Stop chatting and keep your eyes on the sea! If you see any lights go out, report it immediately!”

“Got it.”

“Hah, you sounded just like a soldier just now.”

In the lord’s eyes, it made sense not to waste regular soldiers in a place with such a low survival rate. After all, soldiers didn’t just pop out from nowhere. They cost both money and time.

On the other hand, adventurers brought their own equipment, and even if they weren’t that skilled, their deaths wouldn’t be much of a loss to the city. Plus, even if some died, more would always come to replace them as long as they got paid.

To put it nicely, it was efficient; to put it bluntly, they were sacrificial pawns. Since they were getting paid appropriately and had volunteered for this, the city couldn’t be criticized for it.

“Front! One light has gone out!”

At that moment, one of the few soldiers shouted. The voice from the top of the turret echoed across the nightly sea.

“Forget about returning to the wall! Everyone, arm yourselves!”

The lights, which had been glowing brightly so that they could see into the sea even at night, began to disappear one by one.

“Remember! The more we kill, the less pressure there will be on the city walls!”

From the rising sea waves, tails appeared one after the other, splashing around in the water.

“Attack!”

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