WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 122: Mother Earth Is by Everyone's Side

──────

The Church of the Earth Mother, which worshipped Mother Earth, had no temples to speak of. They stood upon her divine body, so kneeling and prostrating themselves was communion with their god, while kissing the ground was baptism.

There was a grand temple halfway up the highest mountain, along with rocks claimed to bear Mother Earth's likeness. Still, those were only symbols.

Mother Earth had only believers.

That was why the Church of the Earth Mother had flourished, and why it had declined.

Anyone could become a believer, so the faith spread in every direction like weeds. Yet the unworthy tarnished its reputation like poisonous weeds.

Still.

The faith endured despite the foolishness of the unworthy because those truly worthy worked several times harder.

Some followers of the Church of the Earth Mother, unwilling to be revered, silently carried out their duties even as the world pointed fingers at them. They saved countless people within their reach.

Moved by them, people called the most respected followers of the Church of the Earth Mother Immortal Sages.

And if one were to name the most famous Immortal Sage of this generation...

"Jiseon! Jiseon?!"

The instant I recognized her, I rushed out to greet her.

"I'm really looking at the real Jiseon, right? Jiseon! You're Jiseon, aren't you?"

As though she was used to such cheers, Jiseon answered with a confident smile.

"Some venerable people have been overly generous in calling this humble one that."

"Wow! I never thought I'd get to see Jiseon while I was alive! Um, it's an honor. Could we shake hands...?"

"Of course."

Jiseon readily held out her hand, and I took it reverently.

It was a hand brimming with strength in every finger, like an old tree holding its breath. I clasped that deeply wrinkled hand, as sturdy as the growth rings of civil engineering history itself, and shook it up and down.

Azzy, standing beside me, tilted her head at my friendly attitude.

"Woof? Someone you know?"

"Of course I know her, you little brat. Well, I only know of her!"

How could I not know the legendary Immortal Sage of the Church of the Earth Mother?

Twenty-five years ago, when the military state toppled the kingdom and seized power, many people lost their lives. There were ten times as many who should have lost them.

Key figures of the old regime, merchants steeped in corruption, knights and retainers who colluded with them, and corrupt officials who covered for them in exchange for scraps.

The military state, struggling after the war, had to put them all to use efficiently.

It also had to create jobs for the lower classes who had suffered under their exploitation.

The military state succeeded.

An unprecedentedly massive public works project. The undertaking that built the military state from the ground up solved its many mounting problems.

The earth mages stood out during that project.

The apostles of Mother Earth, long accustomed to handling soil and sand, succeeded through tremendous effort and sacrifice.

Until then, faith in Mother Earth had been treated as folk belief or a heretical cult. From that day onward, it stepped into the light, and the citizens revered the apostles of the Earth Mother.

And the most famous among them was...

"The goddess of the engineering battalion, guardian of digging, Reverse Undertaker, Flowing Earth, The Unfallen! The holder of all those titles, Jiseon herself!"

'Wait. Even The Unfallen had spread among the public?'

Jiseon's eye twitched slightly, but I paid it no mind and shouted.

Azzy got excited too and started hopping around.

"Woof! Someone I know!"

"You don't even know what Jiseon is. Why are you excited? Do you know the history of military state civil engineering?"

"Woof! Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you!"

Tsk. It was my fault for asking a dog.

Jiseon walked into the light with firm, assured steps. While she approached, Tyr sat atop her coffin, waiting after sensing that this newcomer was no ordinary person.

Tyr made no attempt to hide her wariness.

"...Hyu, is she someone you know?"

Before I could introduce her, Jiseon pressed her palms together toward Tyr.

"It is good to meet you, Progenitor. I have long heard of the Progenitor, who has always remained close to the earth. As one who follows Mother Earth, I offer greetings to the one who has been buried the longest."

"Are you an apostle of the Earth Mother?"

That alone eased Tyr's guard.

Unlike the Sanctum, which would wage war rather than shake hands when they met, the tolerant Church of the Earth Mother did not reject vampires.

That did not make them allies of vampires, but to those surrounded by darkness, even gray seemed bright.

"I formed ties with many practitioners in the past. They were upright people who knew proper courtesy, worthy of being called practitioners."

Tyr lowered her voice and declared, "I fought some of them as well, but that only happened because they attacked first. If you do not treat me as an enemy, I will not attack you either."

"Then there will be no conflict between us."

Jiseon bowed at the waist, and Tyr smiled in satisfaction.

"You are quite reasonable. It seems this visitor will not cause any trouble."

Ha ha. Well, you never knew.

Just as I swallowed that thought...

"No! What is this? Such an honored guest has come!"

Rashy and Callis, who had just hurried down, made a tremendous fuss when they saw Jiseon. Callis reacted especially strongly. She had even changed into the officer's uniform she had not worn since taking it off.

Callis, her cap pulled low, hurriedly saluted.

"Loyalty! Lieutenant Colonel Callis Kritz...! What brings you here, Brigadier General?"

"Brigadier General?"

The military state's ranks were straightforward. If they rose from major general to lieutenant general to general, then a brigadier general stood below all the other generals.

Remembering that, Rashy asked with pure curiosity.

"Brigadier General? Then Jiseon ranks lower than a lieutenant general?"

"Be quiet, Rashy! Brigadier general is an honorary rank. It isn't part of the normal chain of command. It's a gray star awarded only to those whose strength and accomplishments have been recognized!"

Callis hurriedly scolded Rashy, having forgotten she was supposed to be pretending to be injured. Rashy scratched his head awkwardly after being corrected.

"I know without being told that she's an extraordinary person. I was only curious. I wondered if the military state was such an impressive nation that it had recruited even Jiseon!"

Jiseon gave the answer herself.

"How could those who follow Mother Earth's will step forward to make corpses? This humble one wears such a hat only to work more efficiently."

"Ha ha! So you're a general who doesn't fight! That makes you even more extraordinary! It is good to meet you, honored guest!"

Instead of offering his hand, Rashy curled it into a fist. Then he proposed eagerly.

"Jiseon! This too is fate. Would you touch fists with me?"

Touching fists did not mean lightly tapping the tips of their knuckles together.

It was a barbaric greeting in which both parties threw a punch at the same time, testing each other's faith and strength. It strained the body, making it an old custom even followers of the Church of the Earth Mother hesitated to perform when actually asked.

Jiseon seemed reluctant as well.

"Earthfolk. You who seek to become like Mother Earth. Mother Earth herself has arranged this meeting, but this land's veins are disconnected. This humble one does not wish to weaken your vigor in such a manner."

Her reason for hesitating was different, though.

Even if Rashy was an immortal, she did not wish to injure him.

With overwhelming confidence in her own power and ingrained arrogance, Jiseon said so.

"Ha ha! What a shame! I had hoped to witness your strength!"

Rashy showed no displeasure at being treated like an inferior. Jiseon smiled at him as he accepted it readily, then looked at Callis.

"And you said you were a lieutenant colonel."

"Lieutenant Colonel Callis Kritz. Yes."

"The military state has given this humble one a title, but I have not come today as a brigadier general. I came solely as an apostle following Mother Earth's will, so there is no need for military formalities."

"Yes, understood...!"

Perhaps military habits had not yet left her body, because Callis gave another crisp salute. Jiseon chuckled, then turned to find the person she had yet to greet.

And then.

"..."

When her eyes met the regressor's, Jiseon's gentle expression turned hard. The regressor faced Jiseon as well, with complex hostility in her eyes.

They stood apart like people who could never mix.

Water and oil was too mild a comparison. They simply did not mix, yet floated together more peacefully than anyone else.

This was like two fierce beasts meeting within the same territory.

They both knew that if they clashed even once, they would have to fight to the death. Neither could bring themselves to approach the other.

Jiseon, the elder of the two, spoke first. Politely, but without taking her eyes off the regressor, she said, "...I have heard there is an exceptional swordsman within the Abyss."

"I've heard of you too. They say there's an agent of the Earth Mother stronger than anyone else."

Formal words passed between them, and the atmosphere steadily darkened.

As everyone present sensed the ominous air and began sharpening their senses, like feeling the signs of a storm beneath clear skies...

"We've kept our guest standing too long! Jiseon, please come inside first! You must be tired after such a long journey, so let's eat and talk!"

I tore through the curtain of silence and stepped into Jiseon's view. With a bright smile and a reverent gaze, I angled my shoulders to show her the way.

Jiseon soon looked away and nodded.

"I would appreciate it. Even for this humble one, the Abyss is not welcoming land. I seem to be twice as tired."

"What? That's a problem. I have so much I wanted to ask about the great things you've accomplished, but if you're tired, what should I do...? Should I let you rest?"

Jiseon chuckled at my teasing reply.

"You are gilding me with praise. Talking will be no trouble. These days, is even boasting about myself considered work?"

"Wow! In that case, let's get to work right away! I should warn you, it'll take quite a while to finish!"

"Woof? Are we going to eat? Fooood!"

"You little brat. Learn when to jump in and when to stay out! You barge in like an awl!"

Jiseon followed my lead toward the building. Azzy immediately darted ahead of me, and Tyr rode her coffin down to my side. Rashy and Callis followed as well, looking up at Jiseon in admiration.

"Oh? But Callis, are you fully recovered? You look perfectly fine!"

Callis flinched.

"...I pushed myself a little because the brigadier general had come."

"Ha ha! An honored guest like this is worth pushing yourself for!"

The bustling Abyss felt less like a prison and more like an inn. As I led everyone into the prison building, I happened to look back and saw that the regressor had no intention of following. She only watched Jiseon's retreating back in silence.

"Meowww."

Nabi crept over to the regressor, who stood there alone. Licking one of her front paws, Nabi stood nearby and glanced toward where the others had disappeared, her tail puffed up.

They remained that way for a while.

Before long, both vanished from my sight.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried