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

“No…!”

I could see the faces of those on the other side quite clearly. But…

Tak!

As long as there was something to step on, there was no reason for me to keep falling, right?

Thud!

I leaped off the crumbling bridge. The distance wasn’t that far, so one good jump was enough to ensure I landed safely on the battlements.

The people who’d been calling out to me in their own way froze, their mouths hanging wide open. I wondered whether they were actually happy that I made it back safely.

“The Merfolk are climbing up!”

“Focus. This is a battlefield.”

I glanced at the walls, which were safer than the turrets but much more intense.

Beyond the sea, the gigantic unidentified thing continued to approach, and the Merfolk’s assault was only growing fiercer.

“Damn it!”

The more Merfolk the soldiers killed, the worse it became. The corpses of the fallen Merfolk were either impaled on spikes or wedged in the gaps between, forming a pathway for the next wave of Merfolk.

And, needless to say, the “next wave of Merfolk” were elite warriors even stronger than the ones who initially attacked the walls.

Using the corpse pathway and the rising waves, the Merfolk continued clinging to the fortress wall.

If not for the wizards constantly casting spells when things seemed dangerous, or for me killing thirty of them every ten seconds with [Arcane Spear] up front, or for the Inquisitor fortifying the walls, we would have been breached long ago.

Ah, and that included the Inquisitor occasionally pushing them back with her golden barrier, like a car wiper cleaning a windshield. While it wasn’t really reducing their numbers, that knockback skill gave us much-needed breathing room.

“They’re breaking through!”

Then, disaster struck in a single instant. Perhaps to conserve her strength in preparation for that huge thing looming in the distance, she withdrew her fortification after consulting with the lord, and that was when a section of the wall was breached.

The acidic bile the Merfolk were spewing had finally caused this to happen.

“Knight! Knight!!”

However, it wasn’t the section I was in. The area around me was actually fairly calm, almost serene, because I’d slaughtered so many Merfolk.

I glanced around to see if I was safe to go and support the others.

“Go over there! I’ll cover for you if anyone asks why you left your assigned post!”

It was the soldier from earlier who, due to recent events, was now shouting at me informally. While they were just words, it was the most perfect assist there was.

Tak!

It took me one leap to reach the breached section of the wall.

“Formation!”

“A commander…! Maintain formation!”

Kyargh!

Among the newcomers pouring in through the hole, one in particular caught my eye. Although the legged Merfolk were typically stronger than the legless ones, this one was especially large and even had a different color.

“Step aside.”

“Wait, don’t get in the way!”

It had to be some kind of Elite Mob.

Noticing how that thing couldn’t move very well due to spears pressing in on him from all sides, I drew my sword. Kyark! It bared its teeth at me, who’d suddenly intruded on the scene.

Slash!

But what good would baring its teeth do? It wasn’t even a dog or a cat, or even a pet turtle or snake. It was a destructive Demon that ruined the entire ecosystem, so was there any reason for me to tolerate this?

Ignoring the severed head rolling across the ground, I aimed my sword at another one that had just entered. As I smoothly moved the tip of my sword, an [Arcane Spear] formed and flew forward.

Kyark!

Nice, a clean shot! With this, I had two kills in the bag.

“How damn reassuring…”

“More are coming!”

“Get ready to seal the hole!”

I kept kicking and slashing the ones crawling through the hole.

The soldiers then brought something over hurriedly and scattered it around the hole, hammering in a few iron bars. It wasn’t perfect, but it seemed to work well enough as a temporary blockade.

Well, if push really came to shove, we could always just abandon this wall and retreat to the inner wall.

“Demon Knight, do you need help?!”

Then, the Inquisitor came running toward me, suddenly shouting as loud as she could.

“Get lost.”

“Okay! I’ll head elsewhere to help!”

At my curt reply, the Queen of Positivity hurried off to support another area.

Fwoosh! Pop!

At that moment, a signal flare rose from within the city behind me. Everyone, except those too preoccupied with the threat before them to pay attention to that sound, instinctively turned their heads.

“A Demon has appeared…?!”

The lord, who had been personally stabbing the Merfolk with his spear and rallying his soldiers, nearly screamed. “That unknown entity is already enough of a variable, but this is just utter chaos!” Despite trying to conceal his inner feelings behind a mask of bravado on his face, he was probably reeling.

“Demonic Energy…”

The Inquisitor immediately reacted as well. Considering the scary expression overtaking her face, it seemed whatever had appeared in the city was no ordinary enemy.

“We have to go support them right away. That thing is on par with a Great Demon…!”

“What the hell? Damn it, how did that thing get past the checkpoints?!”

For the first time in a while, Deathbringer voiced precisely what I was thinking. Seriously, how did it get past the inspections carried out at the gate?

Well, the idea of a Great Demon getting stopped at some random checkpoint was pretty laughable if you thought about it.

“The thing approaching from the sea isn’t a Demon, so it might be better for me to go there…!”

Boom!

“Requesting reinforcements!”

“Damn it!”

Meanwhile, the situation here wasn’t exactly one where we could just up and leave—even if the threat wasn’t a Demon, as I’d just discovered. The Inquisitor, who’d been about to suggest that to the lord, reluctantly poured her Divine Power into the area requesting backup.

I was also hesitant to leave because of the enemies flooding toward the second breach.

“My lord, what should we do?!”

“Damn it! Dietra! Max! Franz! Head into the city as reinforcements…!”

But… pulling out three knights from here? Didn’t that kind of seem like a bad move?

In that case, it might be better for those three knights to stay and for me to go alone. The way things were going, there would soon be many more holes in the wall, certainly not fewer.

Of course, they could also deal with the elite Merfolk. Even if they were a bit slower at it than me, they could at least cover one hole each. With three knights here, they could block three holes simultaneously.

Which meant it might be better for me to go alone. No matter how strong I was, I couldn’t cover three holes at the same time.

“Send me.”

“You…”

I stared at the lord after taking down another orange Merfolk. He looked at me with a “What’s with that now?” kind of expression at my sudden appearance.

It felt a bit weird to say this, but it seemed he hadn’t yet seen me fight. If he knew my kill count, he wouldn’t be reacting like that.

“I know you’re confident in your abilities, but…”

“No, my lord. If it’s that adventurer, he alone should be enough!”

Dietra, standing nearby, spoke up on my behalf. How fortunate.

“I’m confident sending him alone would be far better than sending three knights. Please trust my judgment!”

“…Dietra?”

She kicked the head of a Merfolk that had just come up, slammed her sword into its crown, and then looked at the lord with determination.

“Lord, I… also believe that judgment is correct. I’m not certain about the identity of the Demon that just appeared in the city, but… if it’s the Demon Knight, I’m sure he’ll definitely bring us the best results. He’s someone who nearly hunted down a Great Demon on his own.”

The Inquisitor, looking somewhat guilty, also stepped forward to support that statement.

“Furthermore… I recommend issuing an evacuation order, just in case. The Demonic Energy I can feel coming from behind us is incredibly potent.”

“…Damn it. Is it really that bad?”

“It could even be a Great Demon. And if that’s the case… no matter how powerful the Demon Knight is, it’d be impossible to fully contain the damage that may occur during the fight.”

She even suggested an evacuation warning. For someone like me, moving the civilians away from the battlefield was the best support I could ask for.

The lord hesitated for a moment, his expression conflicted, but as screams came in from several directions, he finally shouted.

“Is it possible? Even without our support?!””

There was only one thing I could say to that.

“Don’t ask the obvious.”

After all, my character would never back down from a Demon.

“Alright! Then, I’ll evacuate the people through the west or south gates, so please keep the battle as close to the north gate as possible! Just make sure you don’t stray too far from where the flare came up!”

The lord laughed as he tossed something toward me: a signal flare that would shoot straight up if struck from below.

“You know how to use this, right? The Adventurers’ Guild or the Magic Tower might also send some reinforcements, but… if by any chance you need help from our side as well—”

Why would he give me this? It was probably some form of insurance, just in case. As expected of a city’s lord, he was thorough.

“I won’t need support. That goes for the Adventurers’ Guild and the Magic Tower as well. Anyone who shows up will only get themselves killed. Don’t get in my way. Don’t even come near the fight.”

Honestly, though, this flare wasn’t something I really needed. The Magic Tower might be able to help, but usually, people from the Adventurers’ Guild were exclusively melee fighters. And unless they could use Arcane Power as well as I did, they wouldn’t be of any use.

Even if they came to support me, they would either end up standing around like spectators or get themselves killed.

As for the Magic Tower’s wizards… Well, they were too slow to be effective. It wasn’t like I had some sort of taunt skill that could keep the Demon’s attention off of them, either. And if the Demon used an AOE skill even once, the wizards would get completely wiped out.

Rather than fighting while constantly worrying about others, it was far easier just to handle it alone.

“But…”

“Let them know. If they really want to help, focus on evacuation. That’ll help me the most.”

“…I’ll pass along the message. But don’t refuse this flare. The lives of those evacuating depend on you.”

Well, it wouldn’t hurt to take it along as insurance. I was a bit uneasy about going into a Solo Raid without any backup, anyway, so this much was fine.

With that, I took the flare I probably wouldn’t use and left the fortress wall.

“Demon Knight! Please be careful!”

“Mister, you absolutely have to be careful, okay?!”

Two people’s worried voices echoed two or three times at my back.

* * *

Surging Azure Lake calmly wiped the blood from his wounded forehead.

Blood was dripping down his body, but he didn’t feel any particular way about it. The only thought to cross his mind was, “I guess I should see a priest later.”

“Are you still alive?”

“…Still breathing.”

What terrible luck.

Depending on which Demon they’d contracted with or how many sacrifices they’d offered, a Demon Contractor’s strength could vary greatly… And yet, they had ended up facing one of the strongest.

“Good thing I wrote my will in advance.”

“Stop talking like the date of your death is already set. You’re making me feel like I’m going to die too.”

Surging Azure Lake summed up his regret in a single remark, to which the escort instantly retorted.

“Let’s be realistic. What are our chances of surviving this?”

“You’re a great sage, so you surely won’t give up on your life so easily, right?”

“This might be quite unfortunate news to you, but among all the great sages alive, I’m the least capable in combat.”

He made this joke that didn’t feel like a joke, saying it wouldn’t be strange for him to die this pathetically. Crash! The secretary’s massive hand slammed down on them.

“Please dodge!”

“If I could dodge that, I would have become a swordsman, not a wizard, you know?”

“Then at least shut that mouth of yours! You’re pissing me off!”

“You’re speaking rather rudely to your employer. When we get back, I’m cutting your pay.”

“Cut it all you want, so please just let us get back alive.”

At the last second, the escort dragged him back. Boom! Surging Azure Lake helped by hurling an explosive at the secretary.

Although they clashed from time to time, they were certainly a good combination.

“My, it sure was worth pouring all this money into it. Wouldn’t you say, Great Sage?”

The other party just so happened to be one of Surging Azure Lake’s main customers, so she was wearing extremely durable clothing… which didn’t let any of their attacks through.

“I made it, after all, so that much is obvious.”

“Is now really the time to be proud of your work…?”

“Credit where credit’s due, as they say.”

The elegant frilled shirt and the long skirt perfectly tailored to the contours of the legs were among his masterpieces. Even though they were currently in their enemy’s possession, Surging Azure Lake didn’t doubt the perfection of his work.

Granted, it was so well-made that it was now causing him all sorts of trouble.

“Unless we bombard her with a large-scale spell, the clothes will never tear.”

“…Can’t you please be more selective about who you sell these to?”

“Then our Magic Tower would go bankrupt. I wouldn’t be able to pay your salary either, you know?”

“Hah. Guess there’s nothing we can do about it then.”

While their weak attempts at humor to lighten this grim situation continued for some time, the secretary rushed toward them, destroying a building in the process.

This wasn’t a residential area, and the people who had come here for business or similar had already evacuated after hearing this commotion, so there were no casualties.

Boom!

Of course, there would be some if they died.

“…!”

The item Surging Azure Lake had just thrown bound their opponent’s feet, and the spell he’d been preparing for some time was about ready to be unleashed.

An ice storm hit the streets.

“Could’ve used that sooner, you know?!”

“Urgh.”

“Uwaargh!”

Since he’d skipped a few steps in the spellcasting process, the Arcane Power violently shook his insides.

Hadn’t he read somewhere that skipping that particular part would only decrease the spell’s power, causing no further harm to the caster? Surging Azure Lake wiped the blood from his mouth.

“I’m not sure whether I can stop that ritual.”

It was nearly complete… Just as Surging Azure Lake was about to say that, the ice from the storm shattered brilliantly.

Their enemy came charging at them like a beast that had been hiding in the bushes, waiting for its prey to approach.

“Great Sage!”

This was something he couldn’t dodge.

Surging Azure Lake’s calm mind came to a conclusion. It seemed his life would end here. He didn’t have any particular regrets.

“I’ll start with your blood and bring this entire city to ruin…!”

No, maybe he did have some regrets regarding his research and his grandson.

“I would have liked to see that child finish his research…”

Before the giant hand could hit him, his consciousness faded. It was the backlash from the ice storm.

Boom!

But before he completely fainted, he caught a glimpse of a pair of jet-black leather pants in the corner of his dimming vision.

____

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