WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 281: The Blessed Nation, the Cursed Human - 4

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The blessed land ruled by the Grandiomor royal family, the Kingdom, was a nation of kings and knights.

In that country, steeped in a thousand years of glory, there was a man known as the war hero.

He was the common people's hope. Though born a commoner, he earned great military merit and was appointed a free knight. He was handsome and good-natured, formed close friendships with all manner of influential people, defeated twenty rival suitors, and married a beautiful young lady.

The common people cheered for his rise as if it were their own. There was no other way to put it. A dragon had risen from a humble stream.

Lofty honor. Luxurious balls. Wealth and power. Everything commoners could not even dream of was his. The common people looked at him and felt a vicarious satisfaction steeped in unquenched thirst. It might have been a little twisted, but they loved him.

Then, when the war hero gave up all that glory to work for insignificant soldiers, he became everyone's idol. The common people felt as though they had become one with him...

Exactly as the royal family had planned.

The war hero was a figurehead meant to ease the people's discontent. Their resentment grew greater by the day, so the royal family decided to create a representative who could draw the public's attention.

The war hero, strong enough and handsome enough, was chosen for that miserable yet glorious position.

In exchange for obeying the orders of the royal family and knightly nobles, he was given everything. Great fame, the woman he loved, even a comfortable estate.

Yet everything he had been given weighed on him. The feeling of wearing clothes that did not fit clung to him. No matter how much he washed, changed clothes, or waved to the cheering citizens, he could not shake that stifling feeling.

The person watching him was himself from those impoverished, hard-fought days. He could not feel at ease anywhere.

Tormented by guilt, he decided he would at least remain faithful to the duty entrusted to him.

On a battlefield where knights were the protagonists, soldiers ranked below even menial laborers.

They were porters, carpenters, and workers. They were bait, or a few lines of text decorating an epic.

When a bored knight went hunting, soldiers carried pots and blankets as they chased the beast. Even if the cornered beast tore them apart, they were not allowed to fight back. The glory of driving a spear into the beast's neck belonged to the knight alone.

Once the knight impaled the beast with a spear, the dead soldiers would appear only in songs praising the knights' feats.

Pitying the soldiers trapped in such circumstances, the war hero did everything he could. He found food for starving soldiers, abolished cruel customs, organized units, and supplied provisions.

Instead of trailing after knights, he maintained bases, built roads, and dug waterways. He also regularly went out to assist civilians, all to earn the people's support.

He trained them too, so soldiers would not become a meaningless institution. If they possessed at least a minimum degree of military strength, they would not be so easily used up.

The knightly nobles, who had lost their versatile unpaid servants who could work all day to the common people, voiced their dissatisfaction. The war hero barely placated them by mobilizing every connection he had. Above all, he owed much to his close friend, Absolute Spear Partlaxion. The war hero's martial strength was exceptional, but he was not the strongest. Without Absolute Spear, he would surely have been challenged to duels.

In any case, the war hero was faithful to those who trusted him. To the royal family and the soldiers alike. He was simply diligent.

Contrary to later assessments, he did not bear blind hatred toward the royal family. He felt only responsibility.

Then one day.

He was so devoted to the soldiers who followed him that he could not refuse their plan for rebellion.

In the end, the war hero destroyed the royal family.

Everyone cheered in the royal castle reduced to ash. Injured and abandoned fallen knights, knights who followed Partlaxion, oppressed crowds and soldiers. They rejoiced as they envisioned a hopeful future.

Hearing their cheers, the war hero sank into dark thoughts.

He had committed the deed in a blur, but he lacked the ability to lead a nation.

In truth, no one in the world possessed the ability to lead a nation. The one thing the war hero had over the king was that he realized this himself.

The war hero quickly grasped his own limits and reached a conclusion. If he did not have the ability to lead a country, he would borrow it for a while.

Fortunately, there were people in the world who reigned without taking much interest in worldly power. If he asked them for help, he might find a way forward.

After settling the bare minimum of the chaos, the war hero assigned duties to his subordinates and set out.

A place that reigned without ruling, guiding everyone in the name of faith.

Toward the Sanctum.

"...He's coming."

And Farsighted Holy Maiden Yuel 'watched' all of it.

The deepest part of the Sanctum. A secret, sacred space where only Holy Maidens could set foot. Light seeped through cracks in the gray bricks, and statues honoring the First Holy Maiden blessed the ground.

The Farsighted Holy Maiden withdrew her gaze from the war hero.

After the First Holy Maiden, the true prophet, died upon the cross, Holy Maidens appeared in the Church of the Celestial God. They differed in origin, age, appearance, and ability, but shared exactly two things.

One was that they were women.

The other was that their abilities were related to foresight.

"Judging from the letter he is sending to the Sanctum now, it seems he wishes to ask for help and reach out to us."

Among them, Farsighted Holy Maiden Yuel possessed a simple yet powerful ability.

Farsight.

The power to see everything in the world while sitting in one place. Eyes that saw futures not yet arrived.

Such authority could shake nations and overturn heaven and earth if revealed to the secular world, yet it dwelled in that small body. Though she was still a young Holy Maiden.

Yuel waited for an answer, but when the silence continued, she turned her gaze here in confusion. Instead of a place a thousand li away, she saw a beautiful garden.

Water flowing from the statues graciously soaked the earth, while wildflowers and vines danced beautifully. It was a hidden realm that was sacred, holy, and reverent.

There, a girl with hair like ebony sat in a rocking chair, dozing off.

No painter in the world could capture this scenery. Any picture they painted would lack the holiness that could not be explained in human language.

She seemed to prove the existence of God through her very being. Even someone who did not believe in the Celestial God would feel compelled to kneel. The reverence beyond beauty, the mysterious air surrounding her graceful figure, felt ancient.

It was a sight where faith and belief had taken form. Yuel stared at her for a moment, entranced, then came to her senses and called out.

"Holy Maiden of Heaven?"

When Yuel asked again, the girl with her eyes closed slowly opened her mouth.

"I refused him, Yuel."

Holy Maiden of Heaven, Maiél.

The one who had become such a thing.

The sleeping prophet.

The highest figure in the Sanctum answered in a gentle voice.

"I showed Yuel such harsh sights for too long, didn't I? I'm sorry for making you worry. It was a historically important moment, so I borrowed Yuel's power. The matter is over now, so stop concerning yourself with him. It's the season when the aurora will be beautiful, so rest while looking over the frozen sea of the Northern Sea..."

Unable to follow what she meant, Yuel asked again.

"Yes? The Northern Sea? Rest?"

"Ah, wasn't 'now' the season for auroras?"

Her tone sounded detached from reality, as though she were dreaming. Anyone with ordinary common sense might smile and think she had not fully awakened yet.

But when the other person was an existence beyond common sense like the Holy Maiden of Heaven, the standard of judgment changed. You had to doubt your own common sense and believe in her without question.

Because what she saw was not a scene in a dream, but a future ordinary humans did not yet know.

"It's all right, Yuel. After a few months, Yuel became accustomed to my way of speaking. So accustomed that you even scolded me. For now, just let it pass."

"Y-Yes..."

Still young, Yuel answered Maiél despite her confusion.

"Then... what about him?"

When Yuel hesitantly asked about the war hero, Maiél smiled faintly. Her voice was soft and tender, as though comforting Yuel.

"I handled him myself. There is nothing to worry about. Everything is proceeding as the First Holy Maiden ordained."

She was not stating her own will, but repeating exactly what she had seen in the future. Therefore, there was no problem in using the past tense. From Maiél's perspective, it was the past.

In other words, the war hero's request had already been 'refused.' He would arrive a week from now, but the Sanctum's answer had already been decided.

"All right, Yuel? Now watch whatever beautiful sights you can and cleanse your body and mind. I did it because it was necessary, but I regret it deeply. I confused Yuel's age and made you watch the Kingdom's fall and the king's death. It may have been too stimulating for someone as young as you."

"Um, Holy Maiden of Heaven..."

"A week? It takes disgustingly long to get here from there. Making me spend an entire week of my precious lifespan. What a waste. So Yuel, go to sleep too. Thank you for waking me... Ah, that was a greeting in advance!"

Maiél gave her a kind smile, then began to doze off again. It was a gentle, considerate dismissal. Since Yuel could not disturb the sleep of the Holy Maiden of Heaven, she bowed her head and withdrew.

Yuel crossed the garden and returned to her room. Her cozy, warm, abundant room.

It had three sections. The largest was full of all sorts of odds and ends whose uses were difficult to guess. Toys most people would not even imagine existed, along with things Yuel had discovered through Farsight. Filled with curiosity, Yuel had begged for those items, and the Sanctum faithfully fulfilled the Holy Maiden's requests.

The second room was a sitting room with a desk and chairs. Naturally, it was also full of old vases, strangely shaped plants, and precious books from every corner of the world. Even those were Yuel's carefully chosen selections because the room was too cramped. The rest were safely stored in the Lakhion Grand Library.

The third room was where Yuel spent the most time.

Her bedroom. A cozy room with a bed so enormous it filled the entire space. As always, Yuel lay down on it.

That bed was a small world to Yuel. Possessing Farsight, she lay in bed and contemplated all creation. With the authority of Farsight, Yuel turned her gaze away from here and toward another place.

Yuel did not look at the Northern Sea.

What she saw were people singing of hope in the collapsed Kingdom... and the war hero hurrying toward this place. Without realizing it, Yuel smiled.

'I refused him.'

The Holy Maiden of Heaven's words suddenly came to Yuel's mind, and the smile on her lips faded.

"Sir?"

Ripples spread. It was Captain AB's voice. I came to my senses with a feeling much like waking from sleep.

"You did not respond no matter how many times I called. Are you all right?"

"Ah. I guess I fell asleep for a moment. Have we arrived?"

"Affirmative. However, you did not respond even after landing, so I was concerned. Was the impact of landing severe?"

"I suppose it was."

"Severe enough to knock you unconscious? Perhaps this unit is too heavy...?"

"Yes. That's why you should exercise regularly. You stay shut in your room and do nothing but peep on people, so of course you've gained weight."

For Captain AB's health, I gave her stern advice that would do her good without putting on weight. Leaving the dejected Captain AB behind, I looked around.

I couldn't see a thing. I needed light.

"Set, Re, Lux."

A faint light emerged from my fingertips and illuminated the passage. At the end of the dark, narrow corridor stood a stone door.

"That place?"

"...Affirmative. This unit found this sight in the memories of communications officer Yuel. This is certainly the place."

"Hmm. I don't see any traps."

Then again, if someone had invaded Headquarters and searched this far, half-hearted traps would be meaningless. A trap underground would put the people who set it in danger too.

Either way, checkmate. This deep underground, there was nowhere left to run. For me or for the military state.

I tapped on the stone door and spoke.

"All right. I know you're in there, so open the door."

There was no response. I could read the person's mind with mind-reading, but her will was not here. She was concentrating on controlling the angel.

To use mind-reading properly, I had to draw the other person's attention toward me. Historia was in danger if I left the controller alone, so I should barge in and at least slap her across the face.

"I'm using force. Captain AB, please step aside for a moment."

Underground, with a stone door. Perfect conditions for earth arts. I spread both hands and placed them near the corners, then used earth arts. It was a technique that could sink or raise anything belonging to the earth. My power was too weak for it to be of much use in battle since it was so slow, but there was nothing better for moving heavy objects.

Rumble.

A dull vibration ran through the ground, and the stone door slowly opened.

Footnotes:

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