WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

Chapter 010

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A Matter of Pride

Since the meal was finished, the dishes were my responsibility. This was genuinely unfair. Half the food I had prepared was stolen by that so-called King of Dogs, so why did I have to handle the full cleanup? Was this what the world had come to? Was this what passed for a country?

Oh, right. The military state was barely a proper country to begin with, more of a pseudo-state.

While the well-fed Azzy sprawled on the ground and yawned, I grumbled my way through the cleanup. Azzy did not so much as acknowledge my labor.

The one silver lining was that Azzy's bowl was spotless and gleaming, as if it were brand new.

'This guy, he does eat at least. He seems to be human after all.'

Just then, a thought drifted in from the corridor outside the canteen. The regressor was pressed flat against the outer wall, peering inside. Having read the stray thought that filtered in, I screwed my face into a deep scowl.

Who was she calling not human.

Look. Humans could emit sword energy if they trained hard enough. They could use magic too. Their bodies could become as tough as steel.

Some people could observe another person's expressions, gaze, and breathing with such precision that they could guess exactly what that person was thinking. Not as well as me, mind you.

But no matter how hard a person tried, they could not turn back time. And here was the single most inhuman person around, having the nerve to question my humanity.

'...More than that, why does Azzy follow such a frivolous man? Seeing how they even shared a meal together, it looks like she has already warmed up to him. Maybe I could too...?'

"Ahem!"

Having finished her train of thought, the regressor cleared her throat for no particular reason and stepped into the canteen. She locked eyes with Azzy and greeted her in a tone slightly higher than usual. It was an awkward display if there ever was one.

"Oh, hey. Azzy? Did you enjoy your food?"

"Woof..."

But they said the most blessed creature in the world was a dog with a full belly. The sprawled-out Azzy showed no real reaction, only wagging her tail lazily. The regressor lowered the hand she had raised, just slightly crestfallen.

'The response is lukewarm. Is it because I am dressed as a man...? No, that guy gets along with her just fine. Tch, what on earth did he do...'

Fetch, that accursed game of fetch!

You saw it yourself!

I dearly wished she would throw the ball a few times before going on about whether Azzy followed me or not. People who claimed to love dogs always wanted the perks without putting in the work. If you wanted to be close, you had to play with the dog properly and see the responsibility through to the end.

Sigh. Well, she had made her presence known, so I ought to at least acknowledge her. I turned from the sink and looked at the regressor.

"Good morning, Trainee Shei. Have you had breakfast?"

After offering the routine greeting, I noticed a pot of bean stew still sitting there. If the regressor had not eaten yet, common courtesy demanded I offer her at least that much stew. Otherwise it would just be a petty taunt along the lines of, 'Oh, you haven't eaten? What a shame. I have, though~.'

One compressed tin of beans, properly cooked, yielded enough food to keep a family of four full for an entire day. But a certain pig of a creature had just devoured half of it, leaving barely anything behind. And now I had to share what remained.

Still, it was better than getting on her bad side and being cleanly erased from existence. With the feeling of carving off a piece of my own flesh, I made the offer.

"If you haven't eaten, may I prepare some of my homemade military state special canned bean cuisine for you?"

"Don't worry about it. I manage fine on my own."

"Pardon? The canteen is right here, so what exactly are you managing on your own? Have you been pilfering rations or something?"

"I have my own emergency food supply."

The regressor answered curtly and cast a thoroughly nauseated look at the bean stew in the pot.

'Canned beans... I never want to eat that miserable food outside the early stages of a cycle. Finding that treasure, the Manhan Quanxi[1], where a full spread appears every single day, was truly a stroke of genius. It is only a single serving, but at least my own meals are guaranteed.'

I had been casually reading her thoughts and ended up being duped in reverse.

Here I was competing with a dog over scraps, living hand to mouth day by day, and someone else had a treasure that laid out a full spread for her every single day. Was this really a country? Honestly?

I might have been a mind reader, but the human heart was truly a strange thing. Rationally speaking, the regressor, who took care of her own share, was far better than a dog that ate my food. But seeing her live so comfortably on her own made my insides twist with envy. I genuinely hoped she would lose that Manhan Quanxi and go hungry. Was this what they called human selfishness?

The bowl I was scrubbing looked especially pitiful today. All I had for a meal was whatever fit in this tiny bowl. When it was brimming full, I had felt like I owned the world, but now both the bowl and my heart were completely empty. So this was what relative deprivation felt like.

"Are you done with the dishes yet? Hurry up and get ready."

I had been staring into space when the regressor prodded me along.

"Ready for what?"

"What do you think. We need to go see Tyrkanzyaka. I have to learn bloodcraft."

"Why on earth do I need to learn that?"

To my irritated retort, the regressor shrugged her shoulders and answered.

"Because Tyrkanzyaka decided so?"

"Good grief. Age really is everything around here."

I tossed the half-washed bowl aside and dried my hands off with a shake before getting ready to leave. The regressor seemed puzzled by my displeasure.

"It is a chance to gain her power without becoming a vampire. It shouldn't be a bad deal for you either, should it?"

"And what good would that do? It is going to take forever to learn. And after all that effort, the best you end up with is the ability to control blood. What even is that? No matter how you look at it, it is just a worse version of being a vampire."

It was a technique the Progenitor, as she was called, had only perfected long after she had already become an undying being. On top of that, what you manipulated was your own blood. One wrong step and your life was forfeit. It was a skill only someone with time and lives to spare could afford to learn.

Someone like the regressor, for instance.

My goal had always been to survive, not to grow stronger. And growing stronger did not necessarily mean a better life anyway.

And…

"I don't particularly want to become stronger either."

A stray piece of my true feelings slipped out without thinking. I realized my mistake the moment the words left my mouth, but the regressor, with her sharp senses, had already caught it.

'...That doesn't sound like a lie. He really does seem to place no value on getting stronger. But a soldier of the military state, where strength reigns supreme, saying something like that?'

I wondered if I should not have said it, but words once spoken could not be taken back. Keeping my expression as neutral as I could, I walked past the regressor. She watched me head calmly for the door and fell deep into thought.

'I said I couldn't figure out his identity, but the truth is I don't know a single thing about this man... He has a detached, easygoing attitude that doesn't match the power he holds, and there's something about him that subtly rejects authoritarianism... He doesn't treat Azzy as human, yet he's genuinely kind to her. If that finicky Azzy follows him to this degree...'

Having reached a quick judgment, the regressor arrived at her own conclusion.

'Could he possibly be a soldier who was demoted after resisting orders from the military state's upper command? At minimum, an officer-class rank. Otherwise, none of it makes sense. Not the power he has, nor the way he acts around Azzy and Tyrkanzyaka!'

Occasionally, though it had hardly been long enough to call it that, I found myself revisiting the same thought I had been having since the beginning.

That woman, it was a good thing she could regress.

'I left the military state alone after destroying it once in the eighth cycle, but maybe I could use this man as a key to dig even deeper!'

No, scratch that. There was nothing fortunate about someone who could casually destroy an entire nation.

More importantly, the military state was destroyed? If I ever managed to figure out how, could I do something similar? I was dying to wreck this country at least once myself.

Just as I was trying to focus on the regressor's thoughts.

'Nnngh...'

I flinched.

I spun around and stared toward the far interior. The regressor looked at me curiously at my sudden movement, but I could not tear my gaze away.

That voice of the mind I had just heard. It was neither the regressor's nor Azzy's. A consciousness so faint and blurred that it seemed as though it could snap at any second, its identity utterly indiscernible.

Was it my imagination? No, that could not be. It clearly meant that somewhere deeper inside, there was something, someone, alive.

"What are you doing? Why did you stop?"

"No, it's just... I thought there was someone there."

"Where?"

The faint thread of thought broke off. Dead? Asleep? I clicked my tongue. It nagged at me, but if mind reading had been cut off, there was no way for me to locate the source.

The vampire business came first. I set the matter aside and stepped out into the yard with the regressor.

Tantalus was dark. Even the light of the sun, flying in from far, far away, could only scratch its head sheepishly and fade before the solemn wrath of Mother Earth. The Abyss, the bottomless hole, had no bottom, and therefore had no height either. Even sunlight, which would squeeze through the tiniest crack, could not overcome the barrier of an infinite space.

And so Tantalus had to produce its own light. Remarkably enough, humanity had reached the point of generating light through mana. The grace of the gods could be replaced by human effort.

Even if its quality was infinitely inferior.

In the yard of Tantalus, there was a boundary line. The L-shaped prison building and the yard that fit neatly within its perimeter. Up to there, the searchlights did not pursue people. Broad daytime lamps illuminated the interior evenly, and the fruits of human endeavor against the darkness scattered their light generously.

But beyond that, the slightly outer patch of ground where I had first fallen. If you set foot past the sharp-edged square the military state had designated, stepping into the severed section beyond. From that point, the searchlights pursued you relentlessly.

Tantalus had neither the manpower to chase runaways nor anywhere for them to flee to. Yet the military state policed them with stubborn persistence. As if to drive home the point: you are prisoners, and you must not leave this place.

"Where is Tyrkanzyaka... Ah."

On the ground where the searchlights should have reached. That was where Tyrkanzyaka lay.

Whether she was actually lying down was hard to say for certain. All that was visible so far was a vivid red cross, glowing ominously even in the darkness.

The light-loathing vampire was in a place the lamps could not reach. Normally, the searchlights should have tracked her for straying beyond the designated area, but apparently intimidated by the ominous crimson aura blazing off her, they simply looked the other way and pretended not to notice.

"...We have to go over there, don't we?"

"Obviously."

"Aah. It's so blindingly bright over there, I'd rather not..."

"What, shall I cut the light for you?"

I did not even want to ask how that was possible. With reluctant steps, I trudged toward the coffin waiting for us in the distance.

We walked, and walked, and the moment I set foot in the searchlight's domain, I braced myself for the blinding light that would chase down my back and squeezed my eyes shut.

But the light never came after me. The searchlights, pretending not to see me as well, were shining at completely irrelevant spots. Hm? What?

[I have covered their eyes.]

A dark voice was heard. There was no need to ask whose it was. The vampire, lying silently inside her coffin, used the darkness as her medium and spoke in a calm tone.

[Bright things are already unpleasant to me, but that light is even more aggravating. It is sharper than sunlight. I expect it is the same for you two.]

I nodded eagerly.

"How could it be otherwise. Please do as you see fit. We can see well enough with just a little light. At times like these, we should be the ones adjusting to you."

[...]

'How strangely unpleasant... Why does it feel as though he is treating me like some dim-eyed old woman?'

Hearing the vampire's thoughts, I felt like I could collapse on the spot.

Why was she like this? Did she have some kind of persecution complex? It was true that I was treating her like an elder and it was also true that I thought her eyesight was poor, but I had not shown any of that yet!

The vampire glared at me with terrifying intensity for a moment, then slowly spoke.

[In any case, this training will be extremely harsh. To learn to wield blood, you will inevitably have to shed blood. There will be danger for both of you along the way.]

The vampire inside her coffin spoke in an eerie voice. Through the slightly parted gap, crimson blood dripped in slow, heavy drops. As though illustrating the fate that awaited us.

[Will you still proceed? Will you prove you can overcome the ordeal?]

It was the kind of proposition you would find in the fairy tales mischievous elders told, or in the legends that descended upon dark forests. A trial the Progenitor of all vampires posed to clueless humans.

It was enough to inspire fear, yet the regressor nodded without a trace of hesitation.

"I am prepared for it. I am ready."

For a human who had died and been reborn thirteen times, even the terror of the Progenitor was merely another wall to overcome. The surging aura and the writhing blood did not change the regressor's expression one bit. The vampire was pleased with the regressor's resolve.

'A boy with quite the spirit. Hmm. He will at least be satisfying to teach. Just about that much.'

Now the vampire's attention turned to me.

[And what about you?]

Hmm. I was a bit…

The expression of the vampire inside the coffin was invisible. The darkness she had drawn in was so dense that even though she was barely five paces away, the coffin appeared hazy and indistinct.

With neither her expression nor her face visible, an ordinary person would not dare guess what the vampire behind that veil of darkness might be thinking.

But I could read her thoughts.

'A disciple, by rights, obeys the commands of their master. No order, whatever it may be, may be refused.'

The vampire was brimming with the intention to torment me.

'Such is the nature of the master-disciple bond. I shall instill in that impudent creature something called respect. He treated me like an old woman, so I shall discipline him in an old woman's way.'

How was it possible for someone to think in such old-fashioned terms? A master-disciple bond? What era was she living in?

So her insistence on teaching me was just a way to torment me legally. Should I call that petty? Or should I call it mature, in that even now she refrained from wielding her power indiscriminately?

I had never intended to learn in the first place, and after reading the vampire's thoughts, that resolve only hardened. I shook my head without hesitation.

"I have no intention of learning."

[...What?]

The vampire was visibly shocked. She apparently had not imagined I would refuse her offer, because even her voice was trembling.

[You will not learn? Even though I, myself, have offered to teach you personally?]

"Ah, yes."

[In all my years of living, I have bestowed my teachings on scarcely a handful. You are being given the opportunity to form a master-disciple bond with me, and you would decline?]

She truly could not believe it and kept trying to confirm. No, I was telling her, I really did not need it. I scratched my head and replied.

"The thing is, the master-disciple system was something even the Kingdom era abolished before the military state existed. Its abuses were too severe."

[Why?]

"Why, you ask. Because there were too many con artists. They would use the pretense of a master-disciple bond to be waited on hand and foot, work someone like a slave for years, and then condescendingly teach them garbage martial arts or magic. It was so common that it became an epidemic. Half the court cases that came through were disputes between masters and apprentices, and the state itself got sick of hearing them. So they banned it outright. You keep bringing up a relic that only survives in traces in places like the Mien Empire, a nation over a thousand years old."

The vampire let out a scoff of sheer disbelief. With a voice tinged faintly with anger, she issued a warning.

[It is bloodcraft. The very power that made me an immortal being. And you dare treat it as some trivial folk art?]

"No, no. When did I say bloodcraft was an outdated technique? I said the master-disciple system was an outdated custom. And..."

This was an unpleasant thing to say, but I had no choice. I could not afford to ingratiate myself and end up chained to a leash for the rest of my life.

If the leash were a magnificent golden collar, I might grit my teeth and accept it. But if it were an old, fraying rope made over a thousand years ago, wearing it would only be a loss.

I decided to be honest.

"Bloodcraft is, well, not a scam per se. But it is a bit of an outdated technique, isn't it?"

Rumble.

It was not just my imagination that Tantalus shook. The blood was boiling. It was the physical manifestation of the vampire's displeasure. Within the swelling darkness, the vampire radiated her irritation.

I wanted to drop to my knees right then and there. Please... take me as your disciple! I wanted to beg. Just so I could escape this crushing pressure.

But the future that scenario painted was training that continued until the brink of death. A life no different from a slave's, with no time for anything else, spent attending to the vampire's every need.

In truth, that kind of life was not so different from what I had now. The problem was the "tests" that would come with the teaching.

If I trained under the Progenitor and eventually hit my limit, exposing the rock bottom of my abilities... the inflated reputation I had built would have its froth stripped away. The image held together by nothing but bluster would crumble.

The fact that I was an unremarkable, ordinary person would be exposed.

That was the truth, but it was a truth that must never come to light. The death I had glimpsed in the regressor's vision of the future. To prevent it, I needed to preserve at least a minimum level of influence.

Even if it meant staking my life on it.

[Oh ho.]

The vampire was, like it or not, a person from an older era. Old people said they hated being treated like elders, but if you actually treated them like a friend, they would get furious and call it disrespectful.

I trusted there was nobody foolish enough to actually act casual just because an elder told them to feel at ease.

The one consolation was that she had as much composure as she had years, so even if she was a little angry, a sword was not going to come flying at me the way a certain someone's would.

I quickly added,

"Someone like Trainee Tyrkanzyaka, who has spent a thousand years accumulating power and mastering the art, can certainly make it work. But purely in terms of the technique itself, it is already a thousand-year-old skill."

[Oh...? You, until the very end...]

"No, I am not criticizing it as such. It is just that the power itself has certain aspects that do not quite fit the current era."

[Are you saying, right now, that bloodcraft is rubbish?]

Crunch. Something tore into the empty space beside me. Wondering what it was, I slowly turned my head.

A blood-red horse was glaring at me while chewing its cud. I was not entirely sure what it was chewing on. But what it wanted to chew was abundantly clear, given that the blood horse's eyes were boring straight through me. It spat, and the concrete floor dissolved where the saliva landed.

Ah, I had suspected as much, and sure enough. The thrall's thoughts were unreadable...

[Leave him be, Rallion.]

Neiiiiigh.

The earth lurched with the force of its stamping. Like an ink-dipped seal, the red hoofprints were seared vividly into the concrete.

Mm. It was far too powerful around here. Maybe I had made the wrong choice after all.

[Very well. Then you shall merely watch. If you come to regret it later, there will be no going back.]

If I said I did not even want to watch, would she actually kill me? Fine. This one, I would nod to.

When I maintained my resolute stance, the vampire, now thoroughly peeved, withdrew her gaze from me and turned to the regressor. The great coffin slid across the ground and came to a stop right beside the regressor.

[Boy. What is your name?]

"Call me Shei."

[Very well. Shei. Will you follow my teachings? The process may be painful. It may be dangerous. But its conclusion shall surely be glorious. I will teach you with all my heart, so will you study under me without doubting my resolve?]

The regressor did not even hesitate. She simply brushed it off with the thought that if she died, she would just regress, shrugged her shoulders, and spoke.

"Of course. I swear it. But…"

The regressor added a few words.

"I have learned from many places, so I won't be able to carry on your legacy in full."

[That matters not. Only promise me one thing.]

"If it is something I can do. What is it?"

Blood gathered in midair. The crimson mass swelled like a red balloon, took the shape of a finger, and pointed at me.

[That you will break that insolent wretch!]

The regressor grinned broadly and received the proposition.

"That's exactly what I was hoping for."

Huh? Me? Why, all of a sudden?

Having been turned into a common enemy out of nowhere, all I could do was blink as I watched the two women forge their alliance.

[1] Manhan Quanxi (滿漢全席): This refers to the Manchu Han Imperial Feast, historically one of the grandest banquets in Chinese culinary tradition, featuring over a hundred courses from both Manchu and Han Chinese cuisine. It was served to the Qing dynasty court. Here it is used as the name of a magical treasure that conjures a full daily meal, playing on the extravagance the name implies.

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