REAPER SCANS
Is It Bad That the Main Character’s a Roleplayer
[Translator – KonnoAren]
[Proofreader – Loopin]
Chapter 231 | Full of Suffering (4)
Kwak.
The Archmage furrowed her brow slightly at the sound of the turtle that Berserk had left behind.
“Is it crying because it’s hungry…?”
It had been making strange noises nonstop for a while now, but she had no idea what they meant. It was understandable, though, seeing as she’d never raised any animals besides those used for her experiments.
In other words, she had zero knowledge of what an animal’s cries were supposed to mean. And especially not those of a turtle she’d never even used for experiments.
Kwek.
In the meantime, the turtle was slowly crawling out of the infirmary ward. It was heading in the same direction Berserk had gone after volunteering to help upon hearing everyone complain about the lack of manpower.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Kwak.
Its determination was admirable, but she couldn’t let it go.
She picked it up and placed it back on her lap. She had no choice but to do so, as it might get trampled in the chaos or, worse, end up on someone’s plate.
“If you don’t want to end up as turtle soup, you’d better stay still.”
Oh, with so many problems piling up, the food shortage issue had become critical, to the point where people were even considering eating expensive warhorses—of course, that wouldn’t actually happen. It was far more useful to keep them alive for transportation.
But in such a dire situation, how could a tiny turtle avoid being seen as food? If people were even considering eating warhorses, there was a high probability that the turtle would end up in the cooking pot first.
She needed to be careful.
Kweeek…
Was it just a coincidence, or did the turtle actually understand what she said? After that, the turtle stopped trying to escape her lap and just kept crying nonstop.
“Madam Archmage, here’s your meal.”
“Ah, thanks.”
She was finally able to breathe a bit in the midst of all this. No matter how urgent things were, the healers were still people and so had to make time for meals.
“I see we still had enough to cook with.”
“Half the city is still standing, after all.”
The person who’d distributed the food shrugged. That was just another way of saying they’d taken stuff from the abandoned houses.
Well, with half the city wiped out and everyone evacuated, no one would complain about them raiding homes.
“But we don’t have much left…”
Even gathering supplies from abandoned homes had its limits. The distance between the city and the refugee camp was too great, and not every home had food stockpiled.
Plus, transporting those supplies required manpower. Given that most of their current problems stemmed from a lack of workers, this was nothing short of a nightmare.
“There’s nothing we can do.”
However, even the wizards couldn’t conjure workers out of thin air. The Archmage sighed at that frustrating reality and sipped her soup.
Did the young man still guarding the Demon Knight receive his food?
…And could the Demon Knight ever return to them? These thoughts she couldn’t afford to think about while busy finally crept in.
『I’ve failed to repay her trust, so she should prepare a proper execution.』
The hand holding the spoon to scoop up soup slowed. Her stomach felt hollow and her chest heavy, as if a stone had settled inside it. Something also clogged her throat.
Kwek.
“What’s that?”
Meanwhile, the turtle flapping on her lap had caught the attention of an errand boy. Only then did she snap out of her thoughts.
“…Ah, it’s a turtle. Someone asked me to look after it for a while.”
“Taking care of an animal in times like this…?”
It was clear from his expression that he was thinking this one turtle could feed at least one more person, but the Archmage pointedly ignored him.
While she agreed, this turtle was something Berserk had entrusted her with. She had no right to treat someone else’s possession carelessly.
Kwik.
Still, the turtle kept crying. Maybe it really was hungry. She looked for something to feed it.
Briefly considering what turtles might eat, she fished a soft chunk of vegetable from her soup.
It was a slightly mushy, well-cooked carrot, something even a young turtle would have no trouble eating, right?
Kwek.
However, the turtle turned its head away and refused the carrot. It actually refused any vegetable in the soup and even the bread.
The Archmage, wondering if she should catch some fish for the turtle instead, put the food it had rejected into her own mouth
Kweeek.
The turtle’s cries were starting to feel like the persistent chirping of a cricket.
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – KonnoAren]
[Proofreader – Loopin]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
“The relief forces have arrived!”
After a week of barely scraping by, reinforcements from other cities finally reached them.
“They’re finally here.”
“Ah, medicine at last…”
“Hah, does this mean we can finally rest…?”
Those who were going to die had already died, but the ones still alive were still suffering.
So the healers and priests, who had been working nonstop the entire week, felt this news was nothing short of divine salvation.
Even the Archmage felt that way. No matter how strong their sense of duty was, they were still just people, so they desperately needed to rest.
“Hold on, I’m going to check the scale of the reinforcements.”
“Yes.”
Her Arcane Power had run dry, and since she couldn’t even heal herself, she decided she might as well assess the scale of the rescue forces.
While manpower and medicine were important, they needed to know how much had been brought before forming any plans.
The turtle, still under the Archmage’s care—since Berserk was too busy hunting, gathering, and escorting refugees—cried out inside her robe.
“P-please help us move the supplies!”
“Clothes, where should I put the clothes?”
“Food, where should we store the food?!”
On her way, she witnessed the supply distribution that had already begun.
Normally, their first step should have been reporting the quantity and type of supplies to the lord, but it seemed the relief forces had judged the situation of Bemurchen’s citizens was simply too bad to wait. The officer in charge clicked his tongue and quickly gestured for the distribution to start.
Even people from the Temple, adventurers, and ordinary civilians—at least, those likely affiliated with merchant guilds or other organizations. They wouldn’t have brought some random, untrained people here, right?—were now carrying what seemed to be medical supplies toward the relief shelters. At first glance, the amount of supplies and manpower seemed quite considerable, which was a relief.
“Stop! Stop right there! The food will be distributed fairly, so don’t rush forward! Stay where you are!”
However… as supplies started being moved to various places, some desperate civilians lost control and rushed toward them, eyes wild. The soldiers moved to block them, but they weren’t so easily reasoned with.
“My child is starving!”
“You’ve all eaten your fill, but we haven’t!”
“Is it going to be like before, where only the soldiers get to eat?!”
However, it wasn’t like their feelings were incomprehensible. It was true that the lord had prioritized feeding those who could still work, meaning skilled workers like soldiers.
With limited resources, it had been a necessary decision for the lord to make… but its necessity wouldn’t soothe the hearts of those who’d been starving for a week.
It was much easier for them to complain that “the higher-ups were hoarding food for themselves” than to be understanding.
“More supplies are on the way! Please calm down—!”
“And when will that be?! We need it now!”
“I refuse to starve any longer—”
“Move, soldier.”
“Wait, Sir Knight…”
“If you don’t want to die, stand down! Those who resist will be executed!”
“…!!”
It was much easier to resent than understand, which was just as true for soldiers and knights. While they’d been prioritized with receiving food, they also hadn’t been eating well.
Additionally, they’d spent the past week fighting to protect the civilians, even putting off sleeping and working themselves ragged. It was easy to understand why they were on edge.
It was to the point where some even interpreted the hungry civilians’ complaints as “We’re starving, and it’s your fault!” which irked them extremely.
“I’ll say it again, stand down!”
Eventually, the knight leading the forces snapped, and the moment he drew his weapon, the soldiers followed suit. No one knew whether the lord had approved this, but it definitely had an effect. The civilians retreated.
The riot was finally starting to die down.
“…Damn noble bastards!”
“If the nobles and the Temple hadn’t conspired to kill Lord Skyflow Tiger…”
But had it really died down?
Just because something wasn’t visible didn’t mean it was gone. You could tell just by listening to the whispers of the people slowly scattering.
The people’s resentment was festering. Even in Bemurchen, a city known to often wage war against the Merfolk, where civilians respected soldiers more than most…
Now that they’d lost everything, the people didn’t have much leisure to care for others.
“I heard the lord is protecting a Demon…”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Maybe the nobles and the Temple really have sided with the Demons…?”
Lately, quite a few rumors had been spreading as well.
The Archmage overheard their whispers and couldn’t help frowning.
The biggest problem was that it wasn’t entirely wrong but rather an exaggeration based on a kernel of truth.
Sometimes, a distorted truth was far more dangerous than a plausible lie. Far too many fools in this world would assume all of a statement was true if even a part was confirmed to be accurate.
“I just hope nothing bad happens…”
She wanted to believe that now that reinforcements had arrived, they could avoid the worst, but… she knew better than to be too optimistic.
And then there was still the Demon Knight. The only reason people weren’t talking about him was because he’d been unconscious for over a week, but not everyone had forgotten.
Especially not the Temple. It was about time she came to a decision.
“Yes, as long as I think about it…”
But could she even decide on this?
“…”
She’d only supported the Demon Knight’s survival following his first rampage because she’d hoped he could control the Demon.
But now, she knew the truth.
That Demon. It was something too dangerous, something that couldn’t be controlled. Damn it, it was so powerful that the risk far outweighed its usefulness.
“…Young people these days.”
At the same time, the man who carried that monster inside him had risked everything to save them and had even succeeded, yet sincerely said, “I’m sorry,” after doing so. How could she possibly abandon someone like that?
How could she possibly tell the Hero, who so clearly revered the Demon Knight, that she needed to prepare to kill him?
After everything these young people had sacrificed, was it really right to ask for even more?
“They’re really making the elderly suffer too much.”
And so, she was back to square one.
She just couldn’t choose.
“It’s too much…”
She couldn’t dare to. She just couldn’t.
Neeeigh.
“Archmage, what’s going on?”
Like ink seeping into paper, her grief soaked through her.
Right then, someone stopped close to her along with a horse. It was Berserk, carrying a lot of freshly hunted game on her shoulders.
“…Reinforcements are here.”
“Ah.”
Berserk had already heard about the reinforcements, so she didn’t ask further. Instead, she reached out and tapped the side of the Demon Knight’s horse. The citizens had returned it a few days ago.
And given how Frederick didn’t lash out, it seemed the two had gotten quite close.
“Call me if you need anything. I’ll be at the ration distribution station for about an hour.”
“Alright. Erm, what about the turtle?”
“Hmm… I’ll take it.”
“You will?”
Just as Berserk had grown closer to Frederick, the Archmage had grown quite attached to this little turtle… but its owner had returned, so she had no reason to object. She obediently handed it over.
The turtle had been chirping since Berserk appeared, flapping its limbs in greeting.
Now that it was gone, the space it had left empty felt strangely hollow.
The moment Berserk left, she found herself sadly fiddling with her pocket where the turtle had been.
“What are you doing over there?”
“…Surging Azure Lake.”
“You look exhausted.”
“Not as much as you.”
Fortunately, there was still a lot of work to do. With that, the Archmage managed to pull herself out of those depressing thoughts and stared at the new arrival.
Surging Azure Lake, who hadn’t yet been cleared to move, was still being carried around by his personal escort. She’d seen this escort often over the past week—he’d been acting as a messenger. He gave her a light nod.
“Why are you here?”
“Seeing if they have any catalysts.”
She lifted a hand in acknowledgment before speaking to Surging Azure Lake.
As expected, he was here to scavenge, wondering if there was anything useful among the supplies.
“And you?”
“I wanted to check the size of the reinforcements. Fortunately, they’re more than enough to let us breathe a bit for now.”
However, had they brought any catalysts? They’d definitely brought materials for communication spells to keep in touch with the other cities, but it was questionable whether they’d brought anything beyond.
Surging Azure Lake knew better than to ask directly. He was probably waiting until the lord received the report before bringing it up.
“There are a lot of merchant caravans here.”
“Well. Aren’t they probably donations? Merchants usually have the most supplies.”
“Hah. Donations? You really think merchants are the type for that?”
“Merchants do chase profit, but they’re still people. Not every last one of them would prioritize money in the face of a disaster like this.”
That guy’s disdain for people truly ran deep.
The Archmage scratched her head as she watched Surging Azure Lake, his expectations for people as low as ever.
Perhaps it was even worse now after Grindana’s betrayal. Not that anyone hadn’t been shocked by that.
“Well… maybe some see it as an investment for the future. They know it’s not every day they can do others a favor.”
“It’s not ‘maybe some’; that’s the reason for most of them.”
“Yeah… fine, it probably is. But even if it’s hypocritical, isn’t it better than nothing?”
Still, Surging Azure Lake seemed even more disgusted with people today than usual.
The Archmage looked at him, her brows knitted.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you the one who always says people aren’t worth expecting anything from?”
“After all that happened, I figured I’d at least stick to dealing with the cleaner ones, but I guess that’s tougher than I thought… Hmm?”
So it was because of Grindana. Feeling certain now, the Archmage, noticing that Surging Azure Lake’s eyes had widened, followed his gaze.
Nothing particularly stood out to her. At most… she noticed the merchant group that had taken care of Akata had joined the relief efforts. The fact that they’d come here and Akata wasn’t around meant they were from another branch.
“What is it?”
“…It looks like there really are exceptions in this world.”
“…?”
“I thought the world of commerce was full of only filthy souls.”
The Archmage blinked at his words, then just decided to accept them. Whatever it was, he must have spotted someone with a good nature.
“Good luck to you, then.”
If she was right, this was something to be happy about. She wished him luck without overthinking it too much, and Surging Azure Lake accepted it without complaint.
“Madam Archmage! Sir Great Sage!!”
If no one had interrupted them, she might have even gotten an answer, but someone urgently called out to them.
“He woke up, he woke up!”
“…!”
A deathly pale Deathbringer came running toward them from a distance.
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