WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 517: Side Story, About Gold Coins (Part 1)
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Gold coins, round discs glittering gold.
A certain sage once said,
“Gold coins are the most beautiful things in the world.”
Even a peerless beauty, a beauty who could topple a nation, was bound to pale before a pile of gold coins. It was only natural. Beauty was not practical, but gold coins were both beautiful and practical.
They were made of gold.
They glittered.
And they had solid value as currency.
If gold coins took human form, they would surely be the most beautiful woman in the world, one who had never lost her beauty since the dawn of human history. So the sage spread both arms and cried out,
“How could one not love such a woman?”
Ah, gold coins, the most beautiful woman of all.
“...That is what the sage Aristo said.”
As she mulled over those words,
Ting.
She flicked a gold coin. She rolled it between slender fingers, tossed it into the air, and caught it again and again. She had developed quite a knack for working her fingers by rolling coins whenever she had something to worry about. Handling the coin as skillfully as any magician, she murmured,
“If gold coins are women.”
Words left by a famous sage and philosopher.
“They would make flawless partners to promise a lifetime of love to.”
With those words on her lips, she looked at the gold coin in her hand. More precisely, she looked at her own eyes reflected in its polished surface. Yellow eyes gleamed as they stared back at her.
...Gold coins were currency, in the end.
Those who possessed gold coins naturally thought about how to spend them, what to do with them, what to buy and what to consume. What played the greatest role in those considerations?
Desire.
And she knew desire well.
After all, her profession was to weigh people's desires and make money from them. Selling weapons to mercenaries to protect their lives, alcohol to weary workers to make them forget their suffering, and power to those in power. That was the virtue of a merchant. She was a first-rate merchant.
Which was why...
She had no trouble reading the desire of the woman reflected in that gold coin. Fiddling with her lips, she murmured quietly,
“...Why won't he touch me?”
Three months into dating.
Dieta had a few complaints.
No, a great many.
2.
There was a woman named Dieta Arbenia.
Duke Hwaan.
A pillar of the Empire, the owner of a colossal trading company that had gone beyond being the Empire's greatest merchant house to span both the Continent and the Outland, a giant with a firm grip over the distribution of every sort of goods. Because she was said to have gathered all the wealth in the world, some called her this.
The Snake That Swallows Gold Coins.
Some asked whether she was no longer a snake but a dragon, but Duke Hwaan preferred the expression snake. So she remained a snake.
“Hmm.”
So what was this great duke, pillar, and head of the Empire's foremost merchant house doing?
“...”
With clothes of every kind strewn around her, she stood in front of a mirror in nothing but her underwear, rubbing her chin.
Then she said something terribly embarrassing to the mirror.
“Who am I?”
Had her guard knight witnessed this scene, they would have been unable to bear the pity and tearfully smashed their head against a wall to erase the memory of their master's disgrace. Fortunately, her guard knight was not present.
Then what was unfortunate?
There was no one but Dieta herself to answer her question, “Who am I?”
Dieta's lips slowly parted. And, astonishingly, she began to list every title that described her.
“Duke Hwaan, the Empire's greatest merchant lord, the Snake That Swallows Gold Coins, a giant spanning the Continent and the Outland, queen of logistics, mistress of gold coins, the one who bought even a Star with gold coins, the woman who captured the heart of the Dawning Star...”
She went on for roughly ten minutes.
“Hehe.”
She smiled at the mirror. So this was why Najin sometimes asked, “Who am I?” It actually felt better than expected when you shamelessly listed them one by one.
That was right. She was this great a person.
And it was not as though she had accumulated only money and power. Dieta nodded deeply as she looked at her reflection. To her, she herself was also a product, and she was not such a foolish merchant that she would damage her own merchandise.
Thorough self-care.
Constant self-improvement, along with proper exercise.
Having gained a Star, her appearance was always maintained in perfect condition. Even in her own eyes, it was deeply satisfying. Had she not recently taken first place in a poll of Imperial citizens for “the Empire's most beautiful woman”?
Of course, Yuel and Merlin had been excluded because they were not human, but still. Dieta was certain she would have won even if they had been candidates.
“...What am I even doing?”
After a short sigh, she sat on the edge of the bed, then lay down. Her hair spread out like a curtain with a Swish as it spilled across the bed.
Staring at the ceiling, Dieta suddenly reflected on her life.
She had achieved much.
Truly, so much.
What would her fifteen-year-old self say if she saw her now? The girl who had fled the ducal house in a mask, swearing she would never become as miserable as her mother.
She would surely snap at her not to lie.
‘Well, it hardly sounds believable.’
It had only been ten years.
In ten years, she had become a pillar of the Empire, gained a Star, and become the owner of a great merchant house spanning the Continent and the Outland. No one on this land could look down on her now. Unless it was the Emperor of the Empire, even kings of other nations bowed first before her in courtesy.
Dieta Arbenia...
Had climbed to the highest place a human could reach.
Her present was more splendid than the future she had dreamed of as a child.
So much so that there was nothing more she could want.
“...”
So much so that there was nothing more she could want.
She pressed a hand firmly against her chest.
She could hear her heart beating. Listening to it, Dieta worked her lips.
...It was a lie.
There was no end to human desire. Once one attained what they wanted, they began to want something new.
What was it that she wanted?
It was too embarrassing to tell anyone.
“Why won't he touch me?”
Put another way, it was something she could say only in this empty room.
Dieta sprang from the bed and glared at the full-length mirror. Her eyes looking back at her from the other side of the mirror held a touch of grievance.
‘No, honestly, at my level...’
Three months into dating.
‘Shouldn't we, you know?’
No physical relationship whatsoever.
“Uuuuuuuugh!”
Dieta messed up her hair and buried her face in the bed.
It was good that she had somehow managed to officially start dating Najin. It was wonderful, truly beyond anything she could ask for. Even now, her heart raced when she thought of Najin's sudden confession that day, and the night fireworks had decorated the sky.
Of course, she could not have Najin all to herself. Somehow, it had come to the point where three people shared him!
Still, she had no complaints about that itself.
Well, she had, but after seeing what Najin did afterward, she no longer did. That foolish man was still sincere with everyone. He was consistent, for better or worse.
‘I don't have complaints, but...’
The problem lay elsewhere.
The love Najin gave her was, how should she put it...
Platonic.
A spiritual connection and pure, snow-white love. Of course, that was wonderful too. Talking with Najin made her happy, and when they held hands on dates, Dieta felt as though she had everything.
‘Platonic. Excluding physical relations.’
That last part was the problem.
“Why exclude that...!”
Wouldn't it be better to have it all, while they were at it? She had already made up her mind. Whenever she went on a date with Najin, Dieta fully armed herself, prepared to spend their first night together. But whenever she came to her senses, she was heading home with a silly grin on her face.
“Ghhhh!”
Dieta stomped her feet.
Honestly, it was not a problem with Najin alone.
The problem was this damned mind of hers, which could not think normally whenever she met him. She could ask for more, or even push him down herself, but merely holding Najin's hand made her face burn. Then she would grin foolishly and head home.
Dieta could not deny that she was part of the problem too.
Whenever she read about a frustrating female lead in a romance novel, she would pound her chest and cry, “Just kiss him already!” But now that she found herself in a similar situation, she was acting even more frustratingly than those heroines.
Whenever Najin saw her like that...
He simply smiled and walked her home.
She appreciated his consideration, and it was so very like Najin that she loved it, but still.
‘Just, you know, just...’
She wished Najin would simply take the initiative.
I am not going to refuse, you know?
It would be awkward for me to push you down first, so could you make the first move, Najin?
“Fwooooo...”
Dieta let out a long sigh.
She turned her head slightly and checked the clock.
It was almost time to meet Najin.
After making up her mind once again, Dieta stood and began to arm herself. Today, she would do it. Even if she had to grab him by the collar and knock him down, she was going to make something happen today. They had been dating for three months. Wasn't it about time to pick up the pace?
And so...
“Dieta?”
She had come out full of resolve, but...
‘This is driving me crazy.’
The moment she met the eyes of Najin, who had been waiting for her at their meeting place, her mind went completely blank. As the little girl within her screamed, the Duke Hwaan within pressed a hand firmly against her forehead.
It seemed today would be a bust too.
3.
It should have been a bust.
“...”
“...”
Hic, Dieta hiccupped.
Dieta fought off the waves of intoxication and reassessed the situation.
A swaying lantern. Her ears hot from drink. Najin's shoulder beneath her palm.
Najin blinked up at her, and there was a hint of flustered surprise in his eyes.
Ah, so this was the expression he made when he was flustered?
Of course, the expression reflected in his eyes probably did not look much different. Dieta was pressing firmly on Najin's shoulders with both hands, casting her shadow over him.
To put it more bluntly...
Hic.
Dieta was sitting down.
On top of Najin, no less.
Sitting on Najin, she was pressing both hands against his shoulders to keep him from getting up. Of course, Najin could have easily thrown off this much weight if he had wanted to, but he did not.
An ordinary human had accomplished what countless Transcendents could not. Could that not be an achievement in itself?
For a moment, Dieta entertained the absurd thought that perhaps she would gain a new Star for it, then burst into laughter.
...How had this happened?
How had things ended up like this?
She did not remember exactly, but that did not seem important. What mattered was that she was truly only one step away now. No matter how much of a coward she was, she was not enough of a coward to hesitate after coming this far.
Hic.
Her hiccups had not stopped.
“Najin.”
She tilted her head.
Borrowing the courage of alcohol, though she was not actually that drunk. Still, she was embarrassed, so she borrowed that courage as she whispered to Najin,
“Let's drop the formalities now. No, I will.”
Dieta grinned mischievously.
“I'm older, after all.”
For a moment, something terribly concerned with the facts nearly escaped Najin's mouth.
“Ah, by Imperial age standards, you are older than I am, but if we count the actual time I spent in the sanctuary, I am more than twice your...”
Fortunately, he did not get to finish.
Dieta's lips stopped his words.
Author's Note
I moved in safely! Things have been a little hectic lately with unpacking and all sorts of other matters, but everything is sorted out now, so I thought I would drop by. It turns out today is exactly two months since I finished the story.
I cannot say the side stories will update five times a week as the main serialization did, but I think there will be at least one every two days. Please look forward to them!
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