WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Ilafy

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Pulled Out Excalibur

Chapter 185

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Who Am I? (1)

A free knight was beholden to no one.

Najin had managed to receive the title of “Free Knight,” the sort once held only by the knights who served alongside Arthur a thousand years prior. Wherever he went, he could introduce himself not as a squire or trainee knight, but proudly, head held high, as a free knight.

‘Who am I?’ Tending to his sword, Najin posed the question to himself. Seeing his face reflected in the meticulously polished blade, he flashed a grin and thought, ‘The youngest free knight.’

It’d be unbearably embarrassing to boast about to anyone else, but so what? Who would overhear the little words whispered in his mind? Unless there was some inner constellation living in his head, no one could possibly hear that little mutter.

- Kkyaaaaaaah!

Of course, Najin happened to have an inner constellation.

Merlin, having made a home within him, shrieked as she grabbed him by the collar and shook him. That was already the tenth time today that she’d had to witness him asking his reflection, “Who am I?” as though he were enthralled by his own image, and she was dying of embarrassment on his behalf.

- Stop! Stop it already!

‘Who am I?’

- You’re doing this on purpose! You’re definitely doing it on purpose, aren’t you?!

‘The youngest Sword Seeker, the youngest 1-star, 2-star, 3-star, and 4-star holder. Now, the youngest free—’

Merlin flushed bright red from secondhand embarrassment. Truth be told, Najin had started repeating his little speech halfway through just to tease her.

‘Why? It’s true, isn’t it?’

- …

Merlin’s glare practically cursed him out. Najin just shrugged and got to his feet. Argo had returned to the continent long ago, so he traveled the Outland alone. At least he had one companion sighing incessantly and fanning herself in exasperation, but still, he was more or less on his own.

‘Who am I?’

- Cut it out… please…

When Merlin’s eyes blazed a fierce blue, Najin pointed at a certain stone marker in front of him. ‘It’s written right there, isn’t it?’

A headstone-like marker bore an inscription. He read its words out loud.

“Who am I?”

Najin looked around the ruin overgrown with weeds and shrubs. All around, random trees sprouted in chaotic tangles, and charred or crumbled remains of buildings lay half-smothered by foliage.

The ruin had clearly been abandoned for centuries, at least. The Outland had no shortage of fallen nations or collapsed cities, so stumbling upon ruins like that wasn’t exactly rare. He had found similar places while traveling with Helmet Knight. Najin stopped there because of a single headstone standing at the center of the ruin that looked like a grave marker, with a brief epitaph describing the deceased.

Viola Oldina, Hero of the Kassel Kingdom.

Defended her country from an Evil Dragon.

Fought valiantly until the very end.

The three lines were inscribed in a fancy, elegant script, but what truly caught Najin’s eye was the text that followed…

“Who am I?”

No refinement or flourish there. A single, clumsy line. There was no answer beneath it—only that question.

- It’s a grave.

“I can see that much.”

- Oh, sorry, let me be more specific: it’s a Star Tomb.

Najin cocked his head. “A Star Tomb? It feels different from where I dueled the Hornblower.”

- That was a Star Tomb as well, but this is a bit more literal in meaning.

Merlin pointed to the headstone.

- Remember how I mentioned that, even after a star dies, its sanctum sometimes remains?

“You did, yeah.”

- Not always, but in some cases, that sanctum becomes a Star Tomb. There can be various reasons, but most often it’s because that star chose it. Instead of hanging one’s star up in the sky, you bury it in your own sanctum, and then you dream forever, in the paradise you created for yourself.

“You mean… they dream?”

- Mm-hm. Essentially, it’s like being dead. A little better than being a Fallen Star, but, well…

Merlin trailed off. She glanced sideways at Najin.

- Curious?

“A bit.”

- Then go in and see.

“Huh?” Najin blinked. “Go in how?” For all the feats he’d acquired, stepping into someone else’s dream was not on the list. When he looked at Merlin in puzzlement, she simply pointed at the headstone.

- It’s the same principle as entering someone’s sanctum. That headstone is the entrance. If you want to try, give it a go. Each Star Tomb is different, but this one doesn’t seem like it’s trying to keep visitors out.

“It seems… really dangerous.”

- Sure, it could be. From the looks of it, they probably had around six stars. Anyway, your next destination is also a Star Tomb. Might not be bad to get some practice first, right?

Najin hesitated a moment. His gaze fell on the space under the question carved into the headstone: Who am I? That blank space beneath the question caught his attention for some reason.

“How about you, Merlin? What do you think?”

- Me? I figure it’s not a bad idea to experience it at least once. Plus, the star buried here doesn’t seem all that hostile.

When Najin asked how she could be so sure, Merlin answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

- Really dangerous stars don’t just leave themselves lying around like this. They’d forcibly drag in anyone who so much as stepped nearby, lock everything out so nobody can enter at all, or they’d trap you inside, that kind of thing. Leaving it like this means…

Merlin waved her fingers carelessly.

- They don’t mind if someone wanders in. Doesn’t matter who. The conditions for entering or leaving are too simple. You just place your hand on that headstone, and that’s that.

A dream with no elaborate traps, free to come and go?

- So… want to give it a try?

Merlin subtly egged him on.

Najin was suspicious, but he reasoned that she would never steer him toward something truly harmful. In the end, he reached out toward the stone. As Merlin had pointed out, it might not be a bad idea to give it a shot.

Tap.

At the very moment his fingertip touched the marker… time began to rewind.

The overgrown forest around him slid backward in time; branches that had once risen high into the sky shrank; thick trunks thinned; tall, broad trees withered back down into tiny sprouts and then vanished into the ground.

Rumble…

As the brush and trees receded, white marble tiles emerged beneath. Shattered pillars returned to their original places, and collapsed structures rose and mended themselves. While time swirled in reverse, Najin calmly opened and closed his eyes.

Blink.

When he opened his eyes again…

“Have you seen the new fish that arrived at the market today?”

“It’s huge, and so is the price. I can’t afford it for a single meal.”

“Freshly baked bread! Warm and straight from the oven! One piece for a copper coin!”

“Hey, that was two pieces for one coin yesterday.”

“Cost of flour’s gone up, hasn’t it? Can’t be helped.”

“Heh, guess your shop’s flour costs are twice everyone else’s, eh?”

He found himself standing in the middle of a bustling street full of passersby.

Najin blinked vacantly.

‘What in the world?’ When he looked around, Ordinary civilians were walking about—people who didn’t seem like they’d ever held a sword, let alone become Sword Seekers. He was thoroughly perplexed.

‘Wasn’t this supposed to be deep in the Outland?’ That thought vanished almost immediately, thanks to the bright sunlight. Raising his head, he saw not a starry night sky but a clear, blue midday sky with the sun hanging overhead.

‘Merlin, what is going—?’ He tried calling out in his mind but got no response. His brow furrowed—he couldn’t sense Merlin’s presence inside him at all.

“…Merlin?”

“Huh? Why’re you calling me?” The voice came from close by. Unlike before, where her voice echoed directly, pure and unfiltered into his head, her words sounded natural, blending in among the chatter of people passing by.

Najin turned toward the voice, and there stood Merlin. She was a bit shorter than him, gazing up at him and blinking.

“Merlin?”

“Why’re you calling me?” Merlin gave him a mischievous grin and grabbed his hand as if to prove she was no illusion.

Najin’s eyes went wide at the warmth he felt. “How? Merlin, did you descend here, or…?”

“Descend? If I did that, I’d wreck this dream in no time.”

“Then…?”

“Entering someone else’s dream is sort of like stepping into a constellation’s inner realm. Does that ring a bell?”

It did. A very familiar one. “Isn’t that how I ended up with you inside my mind?”

“Here, in this dream, I can walk around with you, with an actual body, at that!” She seemed excited—no, positively giddy. She inhaled deeply and exhaled, repeating the process, then lifted her feet and stomped the ground as if to confirm it was real. “Whew… it’s been so long since I’ve moved around in a body. This is what it feels like to stand on actual ground, huh? The air’s so fresh too.”

After a long breath, she gave Najin a sidelong glance. Her blue eyes sparkled. “Well? This puts your mind at ease, doesn’t it? Doesn’t feel dangerous at all, right?”

“So that’s why you were encouraging me to come. With you here in person, it seems like nothing could go wrong.”

“Well, it’s not entirely that. I’m still bound to you, so I can’t use more power than you can handle.” Even so, Merlin shrugged confidently. “The knowledge of the Great Archmage doesn’t disappear, right? For this little journey, you can rely on me.” She gave a few proud thumps to her chest, though it hardly exuded the dignity one would expect of a celestial being.

Najin couldn’t help but laugh.

“What? Why’re you laughing? You think I’m some pushover?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Hmph. Since I’m in a good mood, I’ll let it slide this once. All right, let’s start by gathering information!” Still brimming with enthusiasm, Merlin tugged on Najin’s arm and led him along through the crowd, and at one point, Najin glanced upward toward the city’s highest spot. He felt a presence watching him.

In a temple built upon a cliff, a woman sat perched on the balustrade. Long, jet-black hair cascaded down, and in stark contrast, her skin was so pale it almost looked bloodless. Her eyes were as dark as her hair, and she was gazing directly at Najin.

‘What a gloomy-looking woman.’

After staring at Najin for a while, she turned away, as though she deemed him unimportant.

Najin felt an instant certainty in his gut… ‘She’s the owner of this dream.’

Turning her gaze away from him, she slowly rose. As she moved, her inky-black hair rippled, yet it wasn’t just her hair that stirred. The moment she moved, a bell in the temple rang out.

Dong, dooooong, dong—

The chime reverberated across the city, and all eyes turned to the woman standing at the edge of the cliffside temple. Some citizens prayed to her, some bowed their heads, others praised her.

“Honor to the hero!”

“Glory to Oldina!”

Cheers, salutes, and praise rained down, but the woman receiving all that adoration wore an expression as grim as ever—she didn’t so much as glance at the people before vanishing into the temple.

It was like she couldn’t stand to look at any of it.

As if it all made her sick to her stomach.