WeTried Translations
Translator: Joy
Editor: Joy
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Damned Transmigration ◈
Chapter 65: Mm, orange juice
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Haryeong fearlessly poured an unknown reagent that had been lying on the floor into her mouth. It had been personally made by the Withered Crone, a deserter from the Rudella Mage Tower who toyed with corpses, yet she did not so much as furrow her brow.
Like a critic tasting and judging food, Haryeong smacked her lips for a moment as she fell into thought. Then she crouched down, laid the sprawled Sword Dragon flat on his back, and checked his condition.
“Maybe he isn't the Sword Dragon, but the Sword Dumbass.”
After confirming that the Sword Dragon had lost consciousness, Haryeong muttered to herself. She swallowed the unknown reagent she had been mulling in her mouth, rose, and examined the reagents on the display shelf.
“He's not going to die, is he?”
Yuri could not help asking out of concern. If the Sword Dragon died here, it would not be Yuri and Haryeong’s fault. It would be a tragic accident brought about by the Sword Dragon’s carelessness in picking up and drinking an unknown reagent on his own.
But the Orsia Family would not see it that way. Various misunderstandings might arise, and Yuri and Haryeong could end up falsely accused.
“An ordinary person would die, but this dumbass will not.”
The few drops she had swallowed tasted foul. Haryeong turned her head to the side and spat, then selected several reagents from the shelf and stood before the workbench in the corner.
“He is in excellent health, has an outstanding constitution, and possesses deep internal energy. Thanks to this dumbass doing something so idiotic, we gained valuable information.”
“What information?”
“It will not be easy to kill the Sword Dragon with poison.”
Not easy did not mean impossible. The Dang Family’s most potent poisons could kill even the Sword Dragon.
Yuri approached Haryeong as she combined reagents at the workbench. She dropped several drops of each selected reagent into a clean flask and mixed in powdered medicine taken from her bag. Seeing Haryeong’s serious expression as she carefully prepared the medicine, Yuri also grew serious.
Yuri did not know Haryeong’s exact seniority within the Dang Family, but she was a member of it.
He did not know what circumstances had led her to transfer from Salmun, ruled by the Dang Family, to Salhomun, but Haryeong seemed skilled not only as an assassin, but with poison as well.
It was somewhat unexpected. The Dang Family’s poison arts were renowned in both reality and the game, yet Yuri had rarely seen Haryeong deliberately use poison.
Coating daggers with deadly poison or using truth serum, perhaps? That was more than enough to count as using poison, but it lacked the profoundness one would expect of the Dang Family’s poison arts.
‘Not that poison needs to be profound.’
There was more than one thing Yuri wanted to know about Haryeong, but he did not ask directly. If he started prying, it was obvious Haryeong would use that as an excuse to ask difficult questions in return.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
Haryeong glanced at Yuri while gently swirling the flask in one hand.
“Do you find my intellectual appearance unexpectedly charming?”
“I'm only watching because it is interesting.”
“Are you curious about me?”
Haryeong abruptly asked. Her expressions and inner thoughts were difficult to read, and she often said nonsense, but sometimes she asked sharp questions like that.
“It'd be a lie to say I'm not. But I won't ask first.”
“Why?”
“Because I think Haryeong-nim would demand one of my secrets in exchange for telling me one of yours.”
At Yuri’s honest answer, Haryeong’s lips twitched slightly. The restrained expression was probably a smile.
“Do you still have many secrets?”
“Yes.”
[That letter from earlier. What was it you said you would tell me about later?]
The question came through voice transmission rather than being spoken aloud.
[It said the Sect of Chaos is searching for a certain transmigrator.]
[The transmigrator The Pointing Flame mentioned, the one called the Sect’s Saint? Is that transmigrator Yuri-nim?]
[No.]
[It sounds like a lie. Transmigrators have truly strange and obscene names, do they not, Cat Panties-nim?]
[Well, to be precise, that is not a name. It is more like an alias...]
[What on earth did you do to acquire an alias like Cat Panties? Yuri-nim, did you go around showing people cat panties on Earth?]
[Don't say crazy things.]
[Calling it an alias only makes it more confusing. That Myou-hee. Rabbit Princess, Usa... I find all of it difficult to understand. UrMumSpammer? What is mum-spamming?]
[I don't know.]
Yuri had maintained an unwavering poker face even in the face of the Moonlit Reveller’s ceremony. He answered while keeping an even stronger poker face than Haryeong’s.
[Yuri-nim.]
The corner of Haryeong’s mouth lifted slightly.
[I will never tell anyone else that Yuri-nim is a transmigrator. Whether Yuri-nim is Cat Panties, Usausa... mi? Rabbit Princess? Something like that, or UrMumSpammer.]
[...]
[My connection and loyalty to Yuri-nim and Lady Elena are reasons as well, but the greatest reason is my own selfish desire.]
[What selfish desire are you talking about?]
[That I share a deadly secret with Yuri-nim.]
Yuri did not immediately understand what she meant. When he tilted his head, Haryeong chuckled softly and set down the flask.
[I find that fact quite enjoyable. It is no boast, but my life has been rather unhappy, inconvenient, unpleasant, and boring. Thanks to Yuri-nim, though, it is now quite enjoyable and exciting.]
[Is... that so?]
[Yes. Had I not known Yuri-nim’s secret, I would never have felt this way. I want to enjoy days like these for a long time, and I also want to enjoy the special feeling of being the only one who knows Yuri-nim’s deadly secret.]
Only then did Yuri understand what Haryeong meant by her selfish desire. He had never imagined that would be the reason, so all Yuri could do was blink blankly.
“Hmm.”
After observing Yuri’s expression for a moment, Haryeong wiped the faint smile from her lips and turned around.
“It is finished.”
Looking at the still-unconscious Sword Dragon with an exasperated gaze, Haryeong opened his mouth and slowly poured the medicine from the flask inside. Then she swiftly pressed several of his acupoints with her fingers.
“Cough!”
After a while, the Sword Dragon regained consciousness. Clutching his chest, he rose while coughing harshly, then abruptly raised his head.
“Are you alright?”
Though he had regained consciousness, his mind was not working properly yet. The Sword Dragon blinked blankly, then raised a trembling hand to touch his cheek.
“...”
He slowly understood the situation. His face reddened as he continued haltingly.
“I, I did something foolish.”
“As long as you know. Why'd you drink something when you didn't even know what it was?”
“In my judgment, it was a potion. It seemed suspicious, but I thought I'd be fine.”
“Why would you be fine? And even if it was a potion, why'd you drink it out of nowhere?”
The Sword Dragon hesitated for a moment at Yuri’s rebuke.
“...The color... was interesting. I was curious what it would taste like...”
Yuri was left speechless by the answer.
The reagent the Sword Dragon had drunk was orange.
“What, did you think it'd taste like orange?”
“It wasn't very tasty. I thought it'd be sweet, but it was only bitter.”
“Though an ordinary poison would be unable to poison Sword Dragon-nim, you were far too overconfident.”
Haryeong clicked her tongue.
“If you truly desire a body impervious to poison, you must train in stages and build your immunity.”
“I was too complacent.”
The Sword Dragon let out a long sigh and bowed deeply.
“If Haryeong-nim and Thunder Cloud had not been here, I would have died as the price for my complacent and foolish actions. You two are the benefactors who saved my life.”
“I didn't do much, so repay Haryeong-nim.”
“If Yuri-nim had not been here, I would not be here either. Repay Yuri-nim.”
Hearing them pass the credit to each other, the Sword Dragon gave a short laugh.
“I will simply repay both of you. If there is anything you want, speak freely. You dispersed the heretics’ gathering, killed their bishop, and are also the benefactors who saved my life. I must reward you, even if I have to open the Orsia Family’s treasury.”
The Art of Corpse Dissolution, which contained Eternal Thirst’s formula, was already an enormous stroke of fortune. Now he was offering to open the Orsia Family’s treasury and give them something more.
“An elixir will be enough for me.”
Having already demurred once out of politeness, Haryeong spoke.
“Is there anything else Yuri-nim desires?”
“Hmm...”
There were many items one could farm from the Orsia Family in the game. The most valuable was Sword Saint Formula, an epic skill dropped by the Sword Emperor. Its lengthy startup and recovery were drawbacks, but its power was the strongest among the swordsmanship skills in Seronis.
Aside from Sword Saint Formula, there were equipment items. The Orsia knights’ armor, the Sword Emperor’s sword, and more. The Orsia Family was overflowing with items that could be called endgame equipment for a sword-focused build.
Unfortunately, Yuri was not a swordsman. He did not feel much need for armor such as a suit of plate. He considered whether there was another epic item worth requesting, but nothing came to mind that he wanted badly enough to demand.
‘A martial arts manual?’
The Orsia Family was a martial family. Though its swordsmanship was most famous, it would possess a variety of other martial arts manuals as well. Even manuals not developed by the Orsia Family, whether collected or stored away, would surely be at least unique-grade skills because they belonged to such a family.
“An elixir will be enough for me too.”
After considering it, Yuri ultimately chose an elixir as well. Sword Shadow, who had left with the Young Cult Leader, had pointed out his lack of internal energy.
It was because of the Veil of Deception. To induce his opponents’ carelessness, and to serve as proof that he had only studied martial arts for a little over two years, Yuri always concealed more than half of his internal energy with the Veil of Deception.
In truth, thanks to his high mana affinity and the effects of the Heavenly Art of Annihilating Evil, far from lacking internal energy, Yuri was not greatly inferior even to others of the same tier.
‘Take elixirs whenever I can.’
He had long since passed the stage of advancing tiers through internal energy, and at higher tiers, internal energy alone did not determine victory or defeat.
Still, to avoid later suspicion over how deep his internal energy was, it would be better to consume as many elixirs as possible.
“Elixirs. Very well.”
The Sword Dragon nodded firmly.
“By the way, Thunder Cloud, what exactly are you holding?”
When Yuri handed over the crystal ball and the directive, explaining what they were, the Sword Dragon’s pupils trembled.
* * *
Two days had passed since they left the Foul Village in District 4.
After crossing the outer district, which was roughly the size of an ordinary city, they arrived before the gates of the “real” Panteleon.
Before the gates swarmed outsiders awaiting permission to enter: citizens from Districts 1 and 2, tourists from other cities, and foreign merchant groups without trade permits.
It was not as large a metropolis as Rutlan, but a city’s stature was not determined by size alone. With the Orsia Family, the Selvis Mage Tower, and several other prestigious families, it was one of the most prosperous cities on the continent.
Outsiders without citizenship had to undergo inspection before entering the city and pay an entry fee. If their stay exceeded one month, they had to pay the entry fee again.
That was Panteleon’s law, but it was not absolute. Those who had the proper qualifications could skip the inspection and receive a waiver for the entry fee.
For Yuri and Haryeong, their friendship with the Sword Dragon was qualification enough.
“Young Master Estor!”
Ignoring the bustling crowd and approaching the gates as though it were only natural, they saw several people leap down from atop the city walls.
A sharp blade-shaped star was embroidered on the chests of their matching uniforms. They were knights of the Orsia Family. With worried expressions, the knights stood in Estor’s way.
“Where have you been for over a week without leaving a single word?”
“Do you have any idea how furious the family head has been? Had you been one day later, half the knights would have left to search for you!”
The weakest-looking knight appeared to be fourth-tier.
The others were clearly fourth-tier or higher. That was what it meant to be an Orsia Family knight.
“I went to District 4.”
The Sword Dragon’s expression was calm as he faced the worried knights.
“District 4... You mean you went to the Foul Village?”
“Why did you go to that filthy place?”
“I will explain directly to the family head.”
After dismissing the knights’ commotion, the Sword Dragon turned to Yuri and Haryeong.
“These two are my friends and benefactors. Treat them as you would treat me.”
Curious, wary gazes turned toward them. Yuri did not bother introducing himself and simply met those gazes blankly.
“Understood.”
The knight who appeared oldest bowed deeply.
“Will you go straight to the family?”
“Don't ask when you intend to drag me there anyway, Sir Dreist.”
“Drag you? How could we possibly do such a thing? Still, it is true that the family head is furious, so I advise you to return at once.”
“Ugh.”
At the word furious, the Sword Dragon’s calm expression could not help crumpling.
“That was an embarrassing sight.”
Once inside the carriage, the Sword Dragon let out a heavy sigh and muttered.
“I didn't expect them to be waiting at the gates.”
“You are someone the family cherishes.”
Sitting opposite him, Yuri answered while glancing out the window. The carriage, which had started without the slightest jolt, was traveling through the sky rather than along the ground.
“Cherishes, huh. I think it is overprotection.”
The Sword Dragon muttered with a bitter smile.
“I do understand the family head’s feelings, but I am no longer a child.”
Twenty-five years ago, the Sword Emperor passed the position of family head to his son, the Sword Lord. Having overcome the frailties of old age through rejuvenation, he had relinquished the position to usher in a new generation for the family and further refine his own sword.
The Sword Lord’s sword was not comparable to his father’s, but it was still excellent. He was already seventh-tier at the time, and people believed that, given time, he could reach his father’s realm.
But he did not.
Twenty years ago, the Sword Lord and his wife suddenly disappeared, leaving behind only a letter declaring that they were severing ties.
Rumors abounded about why they had not merely stepped down from leading the Orsia Family, a martial family that could be called the Cartel’s finest, but declared severance as well. Why they had disappeared after leaving even their two-year-old biological son behind was unknown.
Because of his son and daughter-in-law’s incomprehensible severance and seclusion, the Sword Emperor, who had retired from the front lines, had no choice but to become the head of the Orsia Family again.
Sword Dragon Estor could not remember his parents’ faces. He had been only two years old when his parents left the family after leaving behind a single letter.
It was the Sword Emperor, his grandfather, who raised Estor and taught him swordsmanship.
“The family head will surely take great interest in you.”
The Sword Dragon, who had been watching the rapidly passing scenery outside, spoke.
“There is something the family head always said. He always said that I was the most outstanding of this generation’s rising talents. Until now, I had never doubted those words. I thought so too. But now I know those words were wrong.”
“I wouldn't go so far as to call them wrong. Who knows which of us is more outstanding?”
“That is why I want to find out today.”
The Sword Dragon grinned as he looked at Yuri.
“Thunder Cloud. Will you spar with me?”
“At the Orsia Family?”
“I want to ask the family head to act as witness.”
“You're putting me in an awkward position. You want me to beat up his grandson in front of the Sword Emperor?”
The Sword Dragon blinked.
“Hahaha!”
Soon, he burst into laughter.
“You said we did not know, but it seems you have already reached a conclusion in your head.”
“Not quite a conclusion.”
“You will not be put in an awkward position, so do not worry unnecessarily. It is true that the family head cherishes me, but he is a martial artist through and through. If I lose, he will scold me and lavish you with praise.”
The Sword Dragon continued in a confident voice.
“There is another reason I want the family head to witness it. Thunder Cloud, I think you are a man worthy of the alias Dragon. No, you must be called a Dragon.”
“Why?”
“Because I am the Sword Dragon.”
The Sword Dragon grinned.
“But an alias, especially Dragon, cannot be self-proclaimed. The world must see you that way. Thunder Cloud, you are still unknown now, but... once word of what happened in the Foul Village spreads, you will gain renown at once.”
Renown. Yuri felt conflicted.
If one lived in this world with strength, renown naturally followed. For a transmigrator like Yuri, it was also a double-edged sword.
“Like most masters of high seniority, the family head is interested in outstanding rising talents. Perhaps he will be the first to give you the alias Dragon.”
“That would be an honor, but you also want to receive the Sword Emperor’s advice based on the sparring match, don't you?”
“That is right.”
That answer also meant the Sword Dragon had already expected the outcome of the sparring match. Though he had been the one to request the match, he thought his chance of winning was no better than half.
The Sword Dragon was a man who had never lost to someone his own age. But that did not mean he feared defeat. Since childhood, he had repeatedly lost while receiving instruction from the Sword Emperor and the family knights, and he had improved his shortcomings through those defeats.
“It would be better to ask him to witness the sparring match than explaining in person how I lost.”
The flying carriage began slowly descending.
They had arrived at the Orsia Family.
Footnotes:
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