WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 322: Medicine That's Good for the Body

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People usually treated strangers with caution in unfamiliar lands. Yet in the Lesser States, where everyone wandered, everything was unfamiliar, and everyone but oneself was a stranger. See something unfamiliar often enough, though, and it becomes familiar.

Even as we approached, they were not more wary than necessary. They simply watched from atop their mounts, ready to flee at any moment.

"Excuse me. Could I ask you something..."

The moment the Cataphract fully emerged into the firelight, they bolted without looking back.

About ten mounts scattered in every direction. Their movements were surprisingly coordinated, each using the others as bait. Watching them flee like a pack of rats, the regressor clicked her tongue.

"Tch. I only wanted to ask for directions. Did they get nervous because we're riding a Cataphract?"

"The Cataphract has nothing to do with it. Strange-looking mounts are common in the Lesser States."

In other words, nothing was special unless it was Juggernaut-class.

My muscles still ached, and I wanted to take the elixir and rest as soon as possible, so I gave instructions.

"Mr. Shei, take out some junk. Use the least valuable things you have. The type doesn't matter, as long as it's bulky. Tyr, cover it with darkness so it looks like there's a lot more of it. Azzy, you... Right. Just climb to the top and sit there."

"Huh? Why?"

"They ran because our carriage looked empty. We need to make ourselves look as wealthy as possible."

"Wouldn't that make them want to rob us?"

"At least they won't think we're here to rob them. A full beast tends to be generous."

Following my directions, the regressor took alchemical steel from her pocket and piled it up. Tyr covered it with darkness, and Azzy leaped onto the heap to sit on top.

With Azzy sitting in the campfire's glow atop a mountain of junk, our Cataphract looked like a mountain of treasure. The regressor did not seem pleased by the sight.

"She looks like a jackal that came back from a successful raid."

"That's the point. What people in the Lesser States fear most is a hungry neighbor, and what they like most is a full one. Especially a neighbor so full they can't eat another bite."

"A hungry neighbor is frightening because you don't know what they might do, but why a full one?"

"Because if their stomach is full, they won't be thinking about cutting open someone else's. I might, though."

Just as I said, the jackals that had fled circled us from a distance. Once they saw that the Cataphract, though covered in darkness, seemed packed with goods, they slowly returned.

"They really are coming back?"

"Doesn't it look like we have no room left in the cargo hold? Thinking rationally, they'll assume we won't covet their things. They have nothing, and we have nowhere to put anything."

Just as I said, one man who had come noticeably closer leaned out and shouted.

"Hey! Did you just make a haul in the military state?"

I was better suited for this than the regressor. I stepped forward in her place and waved.

"That's right. Are you leaving now?"

"Of course! The looting guarantee was issued the day before yesterday, I think!"

"A looting guarantee?"

The man looked at me suspiciously.

"You don't know about looting guarantee certificates?"

'It guarantees that everything I loot will be bought in one lot. The Golden Palace backs the guarantee. It is a chance to make a fortune without worrying about being robbed, and because many people travel together, it is safer too. But they crossed the border and made a haul without one?'

A certificate that guaranteed your loot because you were worried someone would steal what you had stolen. What a strange thing. It was even more surprising that it could actually move people.

Well, I had read his mind, so I answered.

"Of course I know. It's insurance that guarantees the things you loot, isn't it?"

"If you know, then why..."

"But why would you need it? How little confidence did you have to worry about something like that whenever you went looting?"

At my signal, Hilde understood what I meant. She smiled threateningly and released killing intent. The basics of the Heaven Qi Art, qi spreading through space, pricked sharply at the man's skin.

The man shrank under Hilde's presence and trembled.

'What overwhelming pressure...! These aren't ordinary jackals! They're predators! I should give up on trying to steal from them!'

The man had been considering how to swindle us, but he changed his mind and made a great show of admiration.

"You're very brave! Incredible!"

"Good. I told you so neither side has to deal with anything troublesome."

'That must mean we shouldn't even dream of stealing their goods. Well, we're heading toward the military state too. As long as we don't provoke them, there's no reason to kick a hornet's nest...'

The man waved to show that it was safe. At his signal, the jackals who had fled began drifting back to the camp. Numerous mounts once again formed a circle around the campfire.

The Lesser States' trees produced a great deal of heat, so even a small campfire was enough to warm everyone. Their method of camping was to gather in a circle to block the wind, then use their mounts as pillars to pitch tents.

The sun had not yet fully set, but there was no reason to push onward. In the Lesser States, where everything changed, the only thing one could trust was one's own eyes. Once it got even slightly dark, the chances of an accident rose exponentially.

Even if your body was fine from learning qi arts, a broken mount was no different from death.

The sun was ordering everything beneath it to prepare for sleep because it was about to clock out. I might as well listen. The day was ending, so I should take the elixir and rest.

"All right. Go handle your business."

As I turned to go inside, the man hesitated before gathering his courage to speak to me.

"Um, excuse me. May I ask one question?"

"What is it?"

"Is it true that steel rolls around on the ground in the military state? Steel refined with mana?"

That was the question he had worked up the courage to ask?

I looked into the man's eyes and read his thoughts.

'I've heard the rumors and I'm heading for the military state, but it'll be a problem if there's nothing to steal there. I might be able to run away, but if I travel that far and return empty-handed, it would be no different from dying!'

It was my first time hearing someone show such fierce resolve over going out to loot.

Let's see. He was a person of the Lesser States. What he liked was steel that could be easily transformed, or materials suited to alchemy. He would probably like alchemical coins too, though not as much as people in the military state did. Heavy and useful was best.

What answer would suit him?

"It's a little different. Rather than rolling around, it grows throughout the military state like plants."

"P-plants? Like trees?"

"Streetlamps and fences suddenly sprout up everywhere. I hear they even use alchemical steel for building supports. So go with the heart of a lumberjack rather than a warrior. You'll make far more that way."

"O-oh! Thank you! I will remember this valuable information!"

"Well, I didn't give you that information for nothing. We have something to ask too."

"Ask anything you like!"

I had given him the answer he wanted and set the stage. I crooked a finger at the regressor.

"Mr. Shei, go take care of it. I'll put up the tent."

"All right."

'...Hm. He really is useful. He isn't even threatening them with force, yet how can he draw information out of strangers so naturally? Especially jackals of the Lesser States, who try to stab you in the back whenever they see an opening?'

Wouldn't it work if you did the opposite of what you usually do?

And honestly, I envied her. Wasn't threatening people with strength easier than reading their minds, figuring out the answers they wanted, and shaping a conversation around them?

When I returned to the Cataphract after leaving the regressor behind, Hilde had already finished pitching the tent. She was not just skilled, but quick. They said generals were bad at construction, but perhaps things were different for one of the Six Generals.

The moment I pulled back the tent flap and entered, Hilde greeted me with her hands neatly folded.

"You worked hard, Father! Welcome back!"

"I'm back. Whew. That was exhausting."

Tyr's coffin was parked on one side, while Azzy stretched her back in another corner. I dropped onto the spot where two blankets had been laid out. Hilde set a cup of water and a lantern before me, then sighed.

"I can't believe an order came down from the Golden Palace. Things near the border will become chaotic. I feel sorry for the military state's people."

Curious, Tyr asked, "What is a looting guarantee certificate?"

I washed my hands and feet with the water Hilde had poured and answered.

"Hmm, it's complicated to explain. Simply put, it is an order saying, 'Go rob this one.' Then jackals scattered throughout the Lesser States hear the rumor and rush over to tear them apart."

"Why do something so troublesome? Would it not be easier to gather soldiers and invade?"

"Unlike the military state or other nations, the Lesser States does not have such a clear chain of command. Everything in the Lesser States wanders around the Golden Palace. News spreads quickly because of that, but force cannot. Everyone is scattered in every direction, so you cannot compel the jackals."

'So it means they lack a center around which to gather. What a curious nation, to have no attachment to land.'

Tyr was quick to understand. No, perhaps I should say she was quick to accept things.

She did not question why the Lesser States wandered or why they had no attachment to land. She simply accepted what I told her as fact, which made her easy to explain things to. I should explain that part gradually.

"That is why the Golden Palace uses financial incentives to move the wanderers. It encourages looting from the military state and guarantees that it will purchase all the loot that comes from it. Then the wanderers move toward it like beasts drawn by a delicious scent. Whether they loot, loot the jackals who have looted, or protect people from that looting."

"I see. They do not gather soldiers, yet they create a similar effect."

"That's right. You understand well."

Hilde, who was making and pouring water with magic, grumbled unhappily.

"At the cost of communications officers and military state civilians dying, though. Ah, this is irritating. Should I assassinate them all in the middle of the night?"

That sounded terrifying, but the person before me was the Shadow Casket, one of the Six Generals and the military state's terror. Assassinations were something she could do whenever she wanted, and something she had done before.

I tried to dissuade Hilde halfheartedly.

"That isn't something an envoy going to propose a truce should do."

"What's the problem? If no one knows, then it never happened!"

"But we already know."

At my point, Hilde gave a sly smile and put a finger to her lips. Her voice was cheerful despite the frightening smile.

"Hehe. You'll keep quiet, right?"

"I have a feeling you'd make it impossible for me to open my mouth again if I didn't..."

Well, as long as she did not kill me, I would let her handle it.

I wiped my hands and feet with a damp cloth and, relatively clean, let out a deep breath. My arms and legs were a little sore, but otherwise my body was fine. This should be enough.

Once I had finished preparing, I took the elixir from the wooden box. An elixir. I was not expecting too much from it, but I would think of it as a restorative meal.

"All right. I'm taking it now."

"Drumroll! Drumroll! I look forward to Father being reborn after taking the elixir!"

"If I regain my strength, I will not forget the efforts of everyone who has followed and trusted me. You all know what to do while I take the elixir, right? Do not disturb me or speak to me unless you really have to."

It probably would not matter much if they did, but just in case. That elixir might agree with my body better than expected.

Tyr asked curiously, "We must not disturb you, nor speak to you?"

"You do not need to go that far. If something urgent happens, such as the tent catching fire, run away immediately. Still, it is best to leave me alone so I do not waste qi."

"Hm. How curious. Very well."

Tyr moved her coffin beside me. She sat atop it and began quietly watching me. It looked like she intended to watch until I had finished digesting it.

It was a little burdensome, but if she was only watching, then whatever.

"All right. I'm taking it."

I raised the elixir. A sharp scent drifted from it. It did not look appetizing, but I squeezed my eyes shut and poured the elixir into my mouth.

Footnotes:

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