WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Haruto
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Even in a Dark Fantasy, You Still Have to Eat ◈
Chapter 18: First Encounter # 1
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Estelle was a frightening person.
Yet somehow, Estelle had been released.
It felt as though all the blood in my body had drained to the soles of my feet.
‘Don’t provoke Estelle. Ever!’
I was worried about Hermit.
Tremble, tremble.
She was so tense that even the staff in her hand shook.
‘There’s a field called victimology.’
It studies what kind of people become victims of crime.
For example, people who leave their doors open in slums crawling with thieves.
Or women who travel alone to another region filled with creepy men.
Victimology is the study of people like Hermit, trembling before a crazy mage like Estelle!
“...E-Estelle, the Mage Who Defies Heaven.... Estelle doesn’t seem to have a staff.... If I ambush Estelle first, I might be able to do something....”
You idiot! I told you not to provoke Estelle!
I had no choice.
“...Master!”
“Hm? Disciple, why are you calling me?”
“When I last saw you, you were tied up tightly, so this disciple is very curious how you came to be free. Hehehe.... I get imprisoned and restrained quite often myself, you see...!”
“It’s a simple story-. After I met you, some people came by, you see-? A huge axe, a hunter, and a white-bearded elder, was it...?”
A huge axe.
A hunter.
A white-bearded elder.
Wasn’t that Hendrix’s party, the group we had encountered at this university before?
“They seemed to want to make a big score at this university-. So I told them that if they freed me, I would tell them about a place with an enormous reward-.”
So that was the deal!
Who knew Hendrix’s party would bring about an unexpected variable like this?
“Then, it’s my turn to ask questions now.”
Estelle crossed their arms.
Then Estelle began circling Hermit.
Estelle sniffed Hermit, then poked her in the side.
“Eek!”
Hermit’s reactions were so entertaining that even I found them funny!
...No, that was wrong!
She was doing everything victimology said not to do.
“Judging by that pointed hat, you seem to be a Mage Tower graduate-. Isn’t it fairly rare for someone from the Mage Tower to come to the Wall-? Not that I should be saying that-.”
Estelle’s blood-red eyes slowly opened through the layers of bandages wrapped around them.
The atmosphere created by those bloodshot eyes was rather sinister.
Estelle raised a hand.
Then Estelle smacked Hermit on the head.
Bonk.
“Ah!”
“You little raccoon-. You talked my disciple into coming here, didn’t you-? Curious witches have always been a problem, no matter the era-.”
“Ugh...!?”
Hermit clutched her head, apparently hurt by the knock.
Estelle continued in a stern voice.
“The two of you cannot explore the ‘night’ alone-. You only made it this far because the Twin Moons rose today and you got lucky-. Just go back-. I’ll open the exit for you-.”
Estelle held out a palm.
As Estelle began muttering an incantation, a magic circle on the floor began to glow.
Good!
Let’s get out of here quickly!
I should never come back!
That was what I was thinking, but Hermit was the problem.
“...We burned an 「Ether Torch」. We can’t just go back! The ‘Academic Conference’ is coming soon.”
Determination and resolve shone in Hermit’s eyes, though she had been trembling just moments ago.
“Senior Estelle, you’re from the Mage Tower, right? Then you know what I mean.”
“Academic Conference? I don’t know anything about that-. It’s been too long since I was at the Mage Tower, so I’ve forgotten it all-. That’s what the bewitching nature of this night does-. It makes you forget many things-.”
Estelle’s eyes slowly closed behind the bandages.
“And I hate the sort called mages-. Still, for my cute disciple’s sake, I’ll help you just this once-. You gave my book to my disciple, didn’t you? I’m repaying that debt-.”
Estelle was a mage.
Yet Estelle said they hated mages.
“So-. What could a brave junior possibly want from me after coming all the way to this cursed land? I’ll answer anything-. Anything. Just one thing.”
“...A Familiar!”
Hermit shouted as if she had been waiting for this.
“Could there be a Familiar egg at this university?”
“Hm, is that really what you want to know? It isn’t, is it-? Even with Estelle, the Mage Who Defies Heaven, right before you, are you truly curious only about a Familiar?”
“...A Familiar!”
Hermit shouted again, as though she had made up her mind.
Estelle soon smiled with satisfaction.
“I thought you were only a reckless child, but you’re wiser than expected. Writing big letters on a small sheet only dirties the paper. Some things are better left unknown....”
Estelle waved a hand as though fanning themself.
A quill and parchment appeared out of thin air.
Scratch, scratch.
“Here-. The location of the secret research building.”
“Then, Master! This disciple will be going now! Have a peaceful night! I’ll bring some tasty snacks next time!”
“Hehehe, alright-. This master still has business at this university, so I cannot leave yet-. Everything here is good, but the food is terribly lacking-.”
# # #
“I-I’m alive....”
Hermit let out a deep sigh once we had left the underground area.
It was as though she had finally released the breath she had been holding all this time.
“I can’t believe I made it out alive after meeting Estelle.... It’s a miracle.”
“Is Estelle really that bad?”
“Yes! Do you know why Estelle was expelled from the Mage Tower? They say Estelle killed mages and ate their brains. My brain almost got eaten too....”
“Brains?”
What did those even taste like?
Just thinking about it made me feel like I was going to throw up.
“There was a rumor that if you ate a mage’s brain, you could steal the ‘blessing’ inherent in their body. You need that blessing to become a mage, and a mage’s rank rises according to their constitution.”
“Then if I eat your brain, can I use magic too?”
“No way! It’s just a rumor.”
Even if it was not just a rumor, I had no desire to eat brains.
I had heard somewhere that the human body was full of heavy metals.
If I ate something like that, I would die of heart disease again.
Anyway, I realized once more just how utterly deranged my master Estelle was.
Still, perhaps Estelle really did cherish me as a disciple. The map was real, and we were able to reach the research building on the first floor of the university.
I did not really know whether it was a research building or not, but Hermit translated the ancient writing and said, “It says laboratory,” so it was probably right.
That meant Estelle had not lied to us.
“But how are we supposed to find an egg in such a wide, ruined place... Ack!”
Something caught my foot, and I fell flat on my face.
Man, my luck was terrible.
As I brushed off my butt, something strange caught my eye.
“Electrical wire?”
A thick electrical cable stretched beneath my feet.
If I cut it off and sold it to a junk shop, I could probably get a decent price for the scrap metal.
As I followed it to see where it led, I noticed something.
Blink, blink.
There was a tank, or perhaps some sort of fishbowl-like device, with lights blinking on and off.
Bubble, bubble.
It was full of bubbling water, and my eyes were drawn to the round object floating in the center.
It was the size of an ostrich egg.
Its smooth surface was covered in colorful golden patterns.
“A-A Familiar egg!”
Hermit was overjoyed.
We hurried over to the tank.
“It looks like we need to solve some strange puzzle to open it.”
Hermit looked nervous as she examined something like a keyboard’s number pad.
She groaned.
“Can’t we unlock it with magic? It must be a magical device.”
Without a keyhole, it was not a lock I could open.
But I had always been good with machines like this.
“Move.”
Bang!
I struck the keypad with my bracer-clad hand.
Crackle!
Electricity burst out with a loud sound.
At the same time, the tank’s lights went out with a hum, and cracks spread across the glass.
“That did the trick.”
Crash!
Whoooosh!
The glass shattered, sending a small wave surging out.
The egg was swept out with it.
“Let’s go, quickly! Those damn octopuses have sensitive ears. They’ll come swarming here after hearing that noise.”
I put the egg into the 「Black Bundle」 and looked around.
Just as I expected, I began to hear disgusting, slimy tentacles wriggling through corridors that had been completely empty moments ago.
“Hermit, get on my back! Don’t make a sound!”
I immediately carried Hermit on my back.
She must have been extremely nervous, because she hugged me tightly. Beneath the smell of soap, I caught a faint scent of sweat.
That surprised me in many ways.
Even neat girls like Hermit sweated like I did.
And the soft things pressing against my back felt quite nice.
“Ooooh.”
“W-What...!?”
“Shh.”
Phew.
I steadied my breathing.
Then I walked slowly, very carefully, in the direction Hermit pointed with the 「Ether Torch」 while she rode on my back.
Fwoosh, fwoosh....
The problem was that the Ether Torch’s light was gradually fading.
‘We spent too much time meeting Estelle and finding the secret research building.’
Two hours.
The limit of the time we could spend in the Land of Night was approaching.
What would happen when the torch went out?
I was curious, but I did not want to find out at all.
So where was the exit?
Was it even close enough to find in around ten minutes?
As we wandered around like that...
“Newbie, the exit.”
Hermit spoke very, very quietly as she looked at a magic circle drawn on the wall.
There really was a round magic circle on the wall.
But its light was flickering.
“The magic circle is unstable. Is it because of the Twin Moons? At this rate, it looks like only one person can leave.... What should we do? There are two of us...”
Phew.
Hermit sighed.
“Newbie, you go. I was the one who suggested coming here in the first place. So you should leave first, and I’ll look for the next exit.”
What?
She was giving way here?
I added another line to my evaluation of Hermit.
‘She’s a nicer person than her prickly first impression suggested.’
The kind of person who would be easy to take advantage of.
Still, her suggestion was no good.
“Hermit, if I go back alone without you, there was no point in coming here. You said you would enhance my tools with spirit gold. What happens to that debt if you suddenly keel over?”
“...I-I guess that’s true?”
“We need to find a way for both of us to get out.”
Should I put Hermit in the 「Black Bundle」?
Maybe she would count as an item, and I could carry her out.
Of course, maybe not.
As I was thinking of every possible option...
“...Actually, it’s not like I have no idea at all.”
Rustle.
Hermit held the map Estelle had drawn in front of my face.
Then she said something surprising.
“According to the map, there’s a boss room nearby. If you defeat a boss, there’s a small chance it will drop a return scroll. Newbie, if your blessed ‘luck’ works again this time...”
“Then we can both get out? But... can the two of us kill a Boss Monster?”
“I didn’t come here without a plan. Do you think Estelle is the only mage who has peeked at forbidden knowledge?”
Hermit gripped my shoulders tightly.
“If it’s a matter of being ready to live or die, I steel myself every day!”
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