WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 33: A Few Reflections
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“Haah... What a grueling night.”
Creeeak, click.
The moment I entered my room, I collapsed onto one end of the sofa.
I was exhausted enough to melt away.
I sank into the cushions, washed over by a languid sense of elation and relief.
‘Since possessing this body, I think today was the roughest day yet.’
Maybe it was the soreness, but my whole body ached.
Lying there, I drifted into pointless thoughts.
‘Things at the ranch... worked out okay, right?’
My mouth felt bitter for no reason.
There had been well over two hundred survivors.
Even though I had just achieved something the original work had never managed...
‘Still, I couldn't save everyone.’
The thought came to me anyway.
No matter how absurdly I acted, saving everyone had been impossible.
There were those who were already corpses, as well as Ghouls too badly damaged to survive.
Even Status Effect-Parrying would have been useless on them.
By the time I reached the ranch, it had already been too late to do anything for them.
“Phew...”
I let out a troubled breath.
Maybe it was because I'd spent all night seeing so much red, but my body and mind weren't exactly at peace.
I couldn't stop thinking about the people I hadn't been able to save, wondering whether I could have done better.
‘It couldn't be helped.’
I wasn't some superhuman.
Much less the saint the people at the ranch had looked up to.
Believing I could overturn every tragedy was arrogance. Despairing because I couldn't save everyone was presumptuous.
But humans were creatures who could be arrogant at times, and presumptuous at others.
I was human too, so I couldn't help dwelling on it.
“...”
The silence deepened.
As I lay there, someone suddenly came into view.
A girl peeking out from behind the sofa. Silver hair. Red eyes.
Carmilla glanced my way as if gauging my mood.
“Princess?”
“Viktor.”
After calling my name, she quietly sat down beside me.
Did she have something she wanted to say?
“You worked hard today.”
“I don't know how many times I've heard that now. You worked hard too, Princess.”
“I can offer you no more than these words. I don't know how I could ever express my gratitude...”
“How can you say that? I forced you to come out with me today.”
“No... I learned a great deal today, and experienced a great deal firsthand as well.”
Her gaze was solemn.
Under that solemn gaze, I couldn't muster a trace of mischief.
She was the last heir of a fallen dynasty, and the master who had witnessed her ruined kin.
“Only today did I realize it. We have walked far too long down the wrong path.”
“Princess.”
“The New Kingdom... I knew it was a faction led by anti-human forces, so I expected it to be hostile toward humans. But I never imagined it had fallen this far. Its dignity has been cast to the ground, and not a trace of composure remains. And then there were the cries of so many people suffering because of them...”
“This isn't your fault, Your Highness.”
“No... It is the kingdom I must bear. How could it not be my fault? This happened because I lacked strength, because I was powerless when my kingdom was stolen from me. I failed to carry on the peace my ancestors protected for hundreds of years.”
Each word was spoken clearly, as though she were reprimanding herself.
Her words were bitter, yet her delivery held dignity.
“I must set everything right, before something truly irreversible happens.”
“...”
“Viktor.”
“Yes, Princess.”
“If... if you hadn't saved me in the sewers that day, I wouldn't have had this chance either. The chance to set everything right. I would've been executed after losing my kingdom, remembered as the most powerless princess in history.”
Her smile was bitter, but not entirely so.
The corners of her lips curved with tender sorrow.
“Thank you. For giving me a chance to rise again. For giving me a chance to become noble once more.”
“I only did what was proper as your loyal servant.”
“And... you'll keep staying by my side from now on, won't you? I'm grateful for that too.”
“Of course. I will remain with you always.”
“Mm, mm...”
My answer came without hesitation, and the princess seemed pleased.
She shifted awkwardly, then leaned closer and held out her arms.
Hug.
She wrapped me in a tight embrace, then quickly pulled away.
For someone who had hesitated so long, it was a rather bold gesture.
I could even feel her curves through her thin shirt.
I had thought vampires were a conservative race, so expressions like this would be difficult for her...
‘...No, they are difficult for her.’
Sure enough, her ears had turned bright red.
Heat was slowly spreading across her cheeks as well.
Unable to meet my eyes, Carmilla merely stammered out her thanks.
“Th-this is... as a sign of my gratitude...”
“Is that so?”
I didn't feel the need to point it out.
Teasing her when she was trying so hard would be poor manners.
Instead, I reached out and stroked her head.
“Viktor...?”
She was such a good girl.
Last night must have been difficult for her too.
She had opposed her own kind and witnessed every ugly thing they had done.
For Carmilla, who took such pride in her race, it must have been quite stressful.
Yet rather than sulking alone, she had come over to thank her servant...
“Hehe.”
As expected, my princess was worth serving.
I quietly stroked her silver hair.
Soft silk seemed to melt beneath my fingertips.
We shared a faint warmth with each other.
“Urgh... You always touch me like this... You truly are an insolent servant...”
A small complaint came in return.
Perhaps the tension was finally leaving her, and sleepiness was beginning to take hold.
Carmilla had practically melted, sliding down against the sofa.
“You should sleep in your bedroom.”
“Mmh...”
I gently picked her up.
After carrying her to the bed, I covered her with a soft blanket.
When I switched off the magic lamp beside her, the bedroom darkened.
Only her red eyes glowed faintly within it.
They seemed to lend a touch of mystery to her dreams, though they blinked sleepily.
“Sweet dreams.”
“Yes, Viktor, you too...”
Perhaps her stamina had been completely drained, because the princess fell asleep as soon as she lay down.
I smiled quietly and left the bedroom.
“I should pull myself together.”
My thoughts had been troubled in many ways, but thanks to the princess, some of my gloom had lifted.
I sat on the edge of the living room table.
My hand naturally rummaged through my inventory.
I took out several notebooks I had stored inside.
“Hmm...”
They were items I had taken from the ranch.
More precisely, from that bastard overseer's room.
Turning the pages one by one, I looked for information that might be useful.
‘Most of this is information I already know.’
The notebooks contained broad outlines of future events and plans.
As expected, Crimson Night formed the central framework of it all.
The calamity that would shoot down the sun and dye the sky scarlet.
In the original work, it was the event responsible for the fourth destruction.
‘I should start taking these bastards down one at a time too.’
I checked the final page of the notebook.
One sentence had been written in code.
[This plan was recorded by Jersian.]
Jersian.
He was one of the New Kingdom's key executives.
One of the people who had pushed forward this Ranch Project.
Since he had so much information, I needed to wring it out of him.
‘My next target, then.’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, a quest appeared as usual.
Ding!
[Main Quest]
-Title: The Water Will Make Him Talk!
-Details: Secure Jersian, a vampire affiliated with the New Kingdom. Make him submit through various methods of persuasion.
-Penalty upon Failure: The progress of the fourth destruction, ‘Crimson Night,’ will accelerate.
-Reward upon Success: ???
[Time Limit: 150 Days]
Would this count as a quest too?
Looking at the remaining time, there was no need to rush.
I could tie it in with an upcoming event and handle everything at once.
I finished my lengthy train of thought.
“Is it morning already?”
I closed the thick notebook.
Dawn was beginning to break beyond the horizon.
Leaning back against the sofa, I let myself sink into the languid feeling.
Just as I was savoring that brief moment of leisure...
“...Ah, come to think of it.”
Something I'd forgotten suddenly crossed my mind.
My schedule had been so packed that there was something I'd only set aside for the time being...
“My exclusive weapon!”
It was an item I had obtained after clearing the seventieth floor of Purgatory, but couldn't use because its contamination level was too high.
I had left it soaking in the inner bathroom with holy water, letting it steep thoroughly.
With everything that had happened, I'd left it there for several days already.
Ding!
[The refining of the exclusive weapon ‘Dragon's Scale’ has been completed.]
-Result obtained: ???
I confirmed through my status window that the refining was complete.
Then I immediately headed for the second bathroom.
My breath quickened slightly with excitement.
It had been the weapon I used most often in my previous life.
On top of that, it worked perfectly with the Mask of the Evil God.
“Let's see, then...”
The bathroom.
The bathtub was covered by the lid I had placed over it.
I slowly reached out and lifted the cover.
The moment its interior was revealed...
“...!”
Fwaaaash!
A blinding beam of light filled the bathroom.
Footnotes:
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