WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ I Pulled Out Excalibur

Chapter 236

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On Those Curious Companions (4)

Can a human fly?

The Star Incarnation had been chosen as humanity's first test subject in answering that timeless question, and she was moved to tears. Whether they were tears of genuine emotion or tears born from the misery of her predicament was, admittedly, a matter open to some debate.

"Damn you all! I'll curse every last one of you!"

She cried out, voice cracking.

That outburst didn't last long. The howling of hundreds of thousands of whales swallowed it whole. The Star Incarnation's shoulders jerked.

Wh, what...

Whales. Surging upward all at once, hundreds of thousands of them, great mouths stretched impossibly wide, bearing down on her. Even one who had achieved Transcendence couldn't keep a clear head in the face of a sight like that.

"Uh... uuugh..."

She opened her mouth.

"GYAAAAAAAH!"

A scream. Then a retching, choking gasp.

Whoooosh!

Yuel yanked the rope at exactly the right moment, and the Star Incarnation barely managed to dodge. But the whales hunting her still numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and one tug wasn't the end of it.

Her vision lurched wildly. Up to down, down to sideways, sideways back to up...

The Star Incarnation's eyes spun. As the idol of a religious order, she could hardly afford to scatter vomit across the open sky, so she fought down the nausea with everything she had.

"Bleeegh."

She didn't hold out long.

The one mercy: the sky was high and the ground was far below, and no one down there could see what happened next.

"Remarkable." Yuel said it as she ran, hauling on the rope. "Truly remarkable. That a Breakthrough against the Heaven-Wandering Star's territory could happen this way, of all ways. I never would have imagined it."

She meant it. Yuel gave Najin a thumbs up.

"Brilliant."

"You're not being sarcastic, are you?"

"I do no such underhanded thing. I speak only truth, for truth is a virtue."

"Didn't you lie before? Something about how I'd promised a duel to the death..."

"I did no such thing."

Not even a flicker of guilt. The lies just rolled right off her tongue.

Whatever the case, the two of them ran hard. Every so often, screams seemed to drift down from somewhere above, but that was surely their imagination. Phantom sounds, conjured by the cries of the whales.

"Oh, her altitude has dropped."

Horn Charge.

"If you could move just a touch sharply to the side, that would be ideal. Can you manage, Najin?"

"Would this angle work?"

"Perfect. Yes, fire her just like that."

Horn Charge.

"No screaming up there. She must have fainted."

"Should we wake her?"

"If things stay as they are, her light will start to dim. She can't serve as bait if that happens. Yes, let's wake her."

"Hmm, at that distance..."

"Oh, allow me."

SCREEEEEECH!

The moment Yuel's skin-crawling Sword Cry rang out, the Star Incarnation jolted awake with a full-body shudder. She blinked like someone surfacing from a long nightmare, then exhaled slowly.

'Oh. It was just a dream.'

"Oh."

Then she saw the whale charging straight at her, and with a flash of 'God damn it, it wasn't a dream,' she screamed again.

The whole thing repeated itself.

"Najin. Have you ever heard of the canary in the coal mine?"

"No. What's that?"

"Briefly put, it refers to the one who screams and dies first when danger arrives."

"Ah. So the Star Incarnation is the canary?"

"More or less. Even more so, given the screaming."

Najin glanced up. Up there, the Star Incarnation was still screaming away. Silently, he offered her his gratitude. Thanks to your sacrifice, we can press forward. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten...

"The end is in sight. One final boost in altitude and we should make it through. Najin?"

"Already on it."

Horn Charge. The gale battered the Star Incarnation's body as Najin and Yuel cleared the Heaven-Wandering Star's territory.

"I'm not doing it."

"Pardon?"

"I said no. I'm going back. After being treated like this, you expect me to keep traveling with you? I'm sorry, but I'm not that easygoing."

The Star Incarnation had dug her heels in completely. She shoved her disheveled hair back and snapped her head away, like she couldn't stand to even look at them. She was already stomping off when Najin pulled Yuel aside.

"Najin, it seems the whipping was a touch excessive. We'll need a carrot."

"Agreed. Do you have one in mind?"

"Hmm. I know a whip that wraps nicely, but..."

They crouched together and whispered.

"Oh, now that I think of it, there are rumors that the Star Incarnation is fond of jewels and fine food. The Starbody Society's finances aren't exactly healthy, so it doesn't happen often, only occasionally, once a quarter or so, that she treats herself in the imperial capital..."

Jewels and fine food. Luxury, in short.

"Ah," Najin said.

"Star Incarnation?"

"What? Don't try to stop me. If that crazy killer forces me, I'll have no choice but to come along, but don't expect my cooperation. You may bend this body to your will, but my spirit, lofty as the heavens themselves, is not something you can ever..."

"Do you happen to know of the Dieta Trading Company?"

A flinch.

The arms she had been holding tightly crossed loosened just a fraction. She slid Najin a sideways look.

"I know it. The massive trading house with a stranglehold on the Empire's supply chains. What about it?"

"I'm on fairly close terms with their chairwoman."

"...That Dieta chairwoman?"

Najin reached into his coat and produced a badge. The kind reserved only for the Dieta Trading Company's most distinguished guests. The Star Incarnation's eyes went wide.

"How do you have that?"

"I'm their promotional model, as it happens. Anyway, if you're interested, I could introduce you to the chairwoman."

"......"

Her arms fell to her sides.

Najin leaned in and spoke quietly, laying out exactly what she stood to gain from his introduction, and just what kind of extraordinary treatment awaited her.

'I never thought I'd end up using the negotiation skills Dieta taught me in a situation like this.'

After finishing his pitch, Najin watched her expression carefully. Whatever she said, she'd never had any real intention of actually turning back. This cooperation had been personally requested by the First Horn of the Empire herself. Walking away from it wouldn't be easy to deal with afterward.

A signal that said: stop me. A signal that said: respect me, and compensate me fairly.

She was sending those signals as plainly as she could. How could anyone miss them? Najin was no great merchant, but reading people was something he had always been good at.

"...Really?"

"Yes, really."

Her expression softened. She bit her lip for a moment, then reached out and offered him her hand. Deal struck. Najin took it and gave it a light shake.

"But promise me one thing."

She fixed both Najin and Yuel with a hard look.

"Respect me. This body of mine. I have the right to maintain a basic level of dignity, and that is your obligation. I will not allow you to drag the Starbody Society's idol through the mud any further. Understood?"

She didn't wait for an answer. She issued her ultimatum and marched forward, still fuming. Najin and Yuel exchanged a quiet look.

I didn't answer, Najin.

What a coincidence. Neither did I.

Both nodded quietly and fell in step behind her.

La Mancha. The road to paradise.

Far more treacherous than Najin had imagined. The Heaven-Wandering Star had only been the beginning. All manner of irritating traps lay ahead, and the territories of Starplaces notorious for their vile tempers overlapped one after another.

Each time, Najin and Yuel came up with something.

"Star Incarnation?"

"What? Those eyes."

"Let's go."

"What?"

Sometimes a plan that was downright absurd.

"You made a promise! You said we wouldn't do things like this!"

"I never agreed to that."

"Neither did I."

"What? No, earlier you clearly said..."

"They're coming. We can argue after we deal with them."

Other times, a real fight.

"What on earth is that thing shaped like a windmill?"

"How about we try throwing the Star Incarnation at it?"

"Should we?"

"What exactly do you two think I am?"

"A joke. A probing attack first, for now..."

And other times, battles against enemies that were just plain strange.

"Hey, executioner. One request. Can you do something about that sound?"

"Pardon? Which sound?"

"Every time you draw your sword, that scream-like noise! I shudder every time I hear it!"

"Is that so."

SCREEEEEECH!

"GYAAAAAAAH! I said do something about it!"

"There's nothing to be done. My Sword Cry has been this way since I first drew my sword over two hundred years ago. It was like this long before you were born. Asking me to change it now is rather unreasonable."

"The sword tip! Why is it pointing at me! Move it to the side before you speak!"

"Oh. Pardon me."

And through it all, cooperation with companions just as strange as the enemies they faced.

"Star Incarnation."

"...Again?"

"Yes. Let's go."

"At this point I'm not sure if I'm the Star Incarnation or just the bait. Why does it always have to be me? Are you planning to throw me at those Forgotten Ones?"

"What is this talk of bait? You are a magnificent hero sacrificing yourself for your allies. Be proud. I, Yuel Razian, great warrior of the Starblood Sect, will remember your final moments."

With a variety of plans, quick thinking, and inventive solutions, the three pressed on toward La Mancha.

Crackle. Crackle-crackle.

Too many nights to count had passed when, one evening by the campfire, Najin found himself staring into the flames. Something felt off. The journey was going smoothly, but that smoothness itself felt strange.

"Something's not right," he said, half to himself.

Yuel and the Star Incarnation both turned. Both tilted their heads.

"What is?"

"What do you mean?"

How to put it into words. Najin rubbed his chin, gaze drifting. There, as always, was his Guide, showing him the way.

'Merlin. You already know, don't you?'

'I do.'

She nodded, calm as ever. She had known from the start and kept quiet. If Merlin was reacting this way, it wasn't a bad sign. If things had been truly dangerous, or if they had been going the wrong way, she would have told him. That's not the right path. What you're walking is the wrong road. Her silence meant what they were doing was correct.

'But she didn't deny the unease, either.'

Something was off. His feeling wasn't wrong. Something was here. But what?

Najin's gaze moved from himself to Yuel, then settled on the Star Incarnation. The moment he took in her bedraggled, worn-down face, something crackled through his mind.

"Oh."

He breathed it out.

"Isn't something strange, when you think about it?"

"What? That killer's mental state?"

"That was already strange, so there's nothing new there. Not that." He pointed at the Star Incarnation. "From the Heaven-Wandering Star's territory all the way here, we've used you as bait. About seven times."

"So you were keeping count. And?"

"And every single one of those plans played out in a ridiculous, comical way. Think about it. The first time, when you were thrown as bait to the whales, you vomited mid-air, thrashed around, made a whole scene. Didn't you?"

Her face twisted with mortification, but this wasn't the moment to spare her feelings. Najin kept going, laying out exactly how many times she had been put through the wringer and how one absurd situation after another had unfolded along the way.

"Are you trying to mock me? Say so if you are. I'll formally file a complaint."

"That's not it." Najin's face was serious. "Have you ever heard of a Transcendence-holder vomiting?"

"...What?"

"Oh."

Only then did the Star Incarnation and Yuel let out the same slow, dawning breath.

They were beginning to see it.

"There may have been better approaches. But throughout this entire journey, we kept naturally reaching for the ridiculous and the comical as our first instinct. And every one of those plans worked beautifully."

That was the source of Najin's unease.

"You act like a performer on a stage. You rage, you fall apart, you scream." His finger pointed at the Star Incarnation. "Whether that's just how you've always been, I'm not sure, but..."

"Oh, the Star Incarnation has always been like that."

"...There's an exaggerated quality to it, regardless."

Yuel nodded. Yes, exaggerated, she agreed.

"It's all of us. Whether we've always had these tendencies, I can't say, but throughout this journey I can't shake the feeling that those traits keep getting amplified."

Najin frowned.

"Like clowns."

If this story had a genre.

If some kind of form existed to it all.

The sense that it had shifted, in the span of a single moment, into a comedy.

That was the true nature of the unease Najin had felt.

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