WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 328: Should I Be a Nuisance Tonight?

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After taking her time, she spoke quietly.

"...You don't need to pay."

"Aha. No take-backs. But why?"

"...I don't particularly need money."

"I heard alchemists always put equal weight on both sides of the scale. Wouldn't accepting no payment go against your principles?"

"...I'm fine."

‘...Those chosen by the Lord of Gold, whose innate arcane and alchemy have become one, obscure the marks on the scale.’

What was that supposed to mean? Don't obscure them. Scale markings exist for people to see.

More importantly, something else interested me more than the markings. She was a Lord of the Lesser States, yet she was subtly cooperative with me. She didn't seem to be planning a war, either.

Hmm. Should I probe her once more? I was just considering it when someone pulled aside the tent flap and entered.

It was somewhat against business etiquette to barge in when there was already a customer inside, but the person didn't care as they shoved their huge frame inside.

"Excuse me, Lord Perru. Do you have a moment?"

You were already inside, so what was the excuse for? As they pushed me into a corner, Perru calmly asked,

"...Camp Commander? Why?"

Ignoring me, the burly camp commander immediately addressed Perru.

"I came because of an incident at the camp."

"...Me?"

Perru asked with a puzzled look. They were the camp commander. They had founded this camp and was responsible for running it.

What could I compare a camp commander to? It wasn't quite fitting for people of the Lesser States, who could leave whenever they wished, but a feudal lord was probably closest. They maintained the camp and guaranteed peace and order within it while collecting a small entrance fee from visitors. Like a kind of tax.

Naturally, guaranteeing peace required the power to settle disputes. Befitting the leader of a large camp, the camp commander was one of the strongest figures in the Lesser States. Compared to the military state, they were roughly the equivalent of a general.

What problem had arisen that someone like them couldn't solve themself? Perru and I both waited curiously for them to continue.

"There's some young brat outside grabbing anyone he sees and demanding to know the Golden Palace's location. He's making such a racket that the inner camp is in disarray."

"..."

Perru stared steadily at me.

What? Why?

Right. That was probably the regressor. Her behavior was suspicious enough to draw attention. What could she do? She was born that way.

After glaring at me long enough to make my skin sting, Perru leisurely spoke.

"...Did he cause trouble?"

"No. Not yet, at least. He hasn't caused any particular problems. But the amount of money he's been scattering as payment for information is enormous. So much alchemical currency has flooded the camp that we're nearly running out of actual goods. I hoped the camp would be sitting on a mountain of money, but at this rate, we'll have to shut it down just to spend all of it."

Overwhelming wealth became violence. The camp seemed so confused by the regressor's quantitative easing that it was on the verge of collapse.

No, Regressor! If you have that much money, give it to me! I could read everyone's thoughts here and mark the Golden Palace's approximate location on a map for half the price!

"..."

Perru was still glaring at me.

What? Why! I think it's a waste too. I'm so jealous I could die! A large portion of it must be alchemical currency or actual goods, so how much was all that worth? Why did the regressor have endless wealth?!

"Isn't it suspicious? Once raiding guarantees are issued, jackals naturally head for the military state. Yet this one is going against the flow to seek the Golden Palace. A youngster with suspiciously large amounts of money, no less... Normally, I would've let it pass, but with the times being what they are, I thought I should ask for your opinion first, Lord Perru."

Right. Honestly, it was suspicious. Even I, who could read minds, was watching her because she was suspicious. It had to seem worse to them.

‘...He's openly suspicious, but if he's an envoy from the military state, he may be in a hurry.’

As I nodded, Perru sighed and spoke quietly.

"...Leave him. It's fine."

"Do you know something?"

"...More or less."

"Understood. Then I won't take action and will leave him alone. Tch..."

‘I was considering accusing him of being a spy and confiscating his assets, but Lord Perru doesn't seem to intend to help. He might be an important figure. I should tell the others not to touch him.’

They had been harboring some shameless greed on the side. Was that typical of the Lesser States, or was it proof of the camp commander's character that they hadn't acted rashly?

Perru looked up at them and said,

"...Is that all?"

"Ah, there's one more thing. It's something the boy was scattering around besides money."

The camp commander took a metal object from their clothes. It was an icosahedron made from various metals, with every face a different color. It looked too heavy to be used as a die, so I couldn't easily guess its purpose.

The camp commander said,

"It's embarrassing to admit, but even my alchemy couldn't break it down. I wondered if perhaps you could, Lord Perru."

"...This."

Perru's eyes widened as she snatched the object away. She usually looked as languid as a sloth, but now she moved like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

The camp commander, who had lost the metal right before their eyes, awkwardly scratched their head.

"Well, I thought you might know something about it."

"...Gold of Understanding."

"Pardon?"

"...Elik's legacy. Where did you get this?"

"I told you earlier. Some strange young brat..."

Startled by Perru's unusual reaction, the camp commander belatedly realized that her gaze was directed at me.

Tch. No wonder she had such absurd amounts of money. Had she found the secret treasury of the old Golden Kingdom? Was she using it as a "pocket" and connecting it to a subspace? What an easy life. She must have never worried about money once in her life.

More importantly, if she had that now, she acquired it during this cycle. Why hadn't my mind reading picked it up? If it was a memory from this cycle, shouldn't I be able to read it?

Was it a routine repeated every cycle, or was there another reason I didn't know? She really was suspicious.

"...How did you get it?"

I'll be honest. I had no idea either. Still, I couldn't easily reveal that fact. If I admitted I didn't know, that would be the end of it. But if I pretended to know, it became a weapon to move the other side.

I opened my eyes slightly and said casually,

"Who knows?"

"...He's your companion."

"That's right. But you're not my companion, are you? Who should I think of first, my companion or someone who isn't?"

"...You."

"You bastard! How dare you speak to a Lord that way!"

The camp commander immediately reached for my collar. It was fast and powerful, but obvious. Even if I weren't a mind reader, I could've dodged it.

Besides, I was a mind reader. Before their hand reached me, I snatched up a card from the table and turned it into a wire. By the time their hand arrived, the wire had already wrapped once around their wrist.

"You too. Who do you think I am, reaching for me first? You should know when to keep your hands to yourself."

Trying such a typical collar grab on the world's greatest magician and a pickpocket who had defined an era. It wouldn't work. How many collar grabs did they think I had overcome?

‘A wire made with alchemy? Steel...! In that short time!’

Of course, it would be troublesome if they forced their way through with strength. I could imbue the thread with qi and scatter blade force, but with this weak qi, it would only leave a scratch at best.

‘Damn it. I never expected this! I should've been on guard when he was alone with Lord Perru...!’

Still, if I made them think I could do it, they would see me that way. Now, calm down. I'll loosen it slightly as if I'm letting you off, so pull your hand back while you can...

That was when it happened.

"...In front of me."

Sliiide.

The strength left my hands. My two hands, which had been pulling the wire taut, slowly moved farther apart.

At the same time, a voice that seemed to drift away reached my ears.

"...Don't use my work as a weapon."

Steel crumbled. The newly made wire from moments ago instantly turned to dust and vanished. Fortunately, only the part I had alchemically transformed disappeared...

If she wanted, every card in my clothes would lose its form and vanish.

Damn it. I had forgotten about that.

The camp commander, now triumphant, raised their freed arm again.

"Idiot! Relying on steel in front of Verdigris's Lord! You're finished!"

"...Stop."

"Right! I'll make him stop at once!"

The camp commander tried to swing a fist at me. At that instant, though, the table stretched long and shot past right in front of their nose. Its elongated corner sharpened, tore halfway through the tent, and protruded outside.

As the startled camp commander swallowed, Perru continued after a long pause.

"...Both of you."

She spoke so slowly that the words came after her actions. If possible, I'd prefer a warning before the show of force.

Either way, her intention succeeded. The camp commander and I froze, unable to move. Perru sighed deeply and looked at me.

"...What are you planning to use it for?"

Hmm. The regressor probably hadn't thought much about it. It was valuable metal, so she likely scattered it around thinking people would like it.

But I couldn't let them know the regressor was that thoughtless. Let's deceive them, as if she had an intention.

"Well. It means we didn't come empty-handed, either. Look. All of you reacted to this metal, didn't you? We thought that if we had something like this, we might be able to meet the Lord of Gold."

"...Don't do anything foolish."

‘...King Elik's relic can... awaken the Lord of Gold.’

Oh? That was new information. She wasn't certain herself, but it could awaken the Lord of Gold? What kind of metal was this?

...Regressor. What in the world had you been casually scattering around? It was starting to scare me.

"Seriously. If you just tell me not to do it without explaining what's foolish, do you think I'll listen? Am I your son? Is it enough to tell me not to do something when I don't know anything? If you don't want the scale to tip, shouldn't you put something on the other side?"

"..."

"I don't know what scam you're running, but even if you can deceive the scale, you can't deceive me. Go ahead. Make your offer."

"...................."

No, stop testing me and talk. Just say you'll come along, or tell me a little more. Ugh, this was frustrating. Why did she have to weigh so many things?

"Lord Perru!"

The camp commander shouted urgently. They weren't trying to press her for an answer, nor did they intend to interrupt the conversation again.

Something was reflected in their eyes. A mysterious flying object with a flaming tail was coming toward us.

Huh? What was that?

"Take cover!"

Fwoooooosh.

With their shout, a long sound tore through the air and split the sky. The burning light cut across the heavens as if someone were slicing the night sky with scissors. A flaming arrow, no, a long rocket, fell onto a tent in the distance.

Then,

KABOOM.

The roar came a beat later. A short-lived sun rose over the camp. Shadows fell across the tents, and a hot blast of wind grabbed and shook them.

Then came screams. Fear and confusion spread with the people. Those fleeing in terror desperately ran through the camp. People of the Lesser States were always prepared to flee. Their talent was fully displayed now.

Squinting at the flames, Perru asked,

"...What's happening?"

"I don't know! We're under attack. Could it be the military state?"

‘...Incoming shells? No. If the goal were a tactical strike, loud shells would be inefficient. Creating chaos scatters the jackals. This isn't a soldier's method. It's a hunter's.’

"...No. This method..."

Before Perru, who had thought of someone, could say the name, the explosions formed a voice and announced their owner.

『Lord Rowkett speaks to you.』

It was a strange voice. Each individual part was a loud, ear-splitting explosion, yet they connected in an odd way to form one person's voice.

Auditory pointillism. What kind of technique had been mixed into it? Without reading thoughts, it was hard to guess.

The camp commander recognized the name and muttered,

"Rowkett? The Heatblast Lord?"

『The great Lord of Gold commands you. Attack the military state.』

A lord of heat and explosions. Each sounded terrifying alone, but together they sounded like an inferiority complex blowing up. If I ever met them face-to-face, I should ask whether the name was intentional. If they lost their temper, I would have my answer.

The Heatblast Lord's voice continued.

『Yet you pig bastards have set up camps and huddled together, licking each other's assholes. You're concerned only with filling your own bellies! Why haven't you left? Why don't you obey the command?!』

Their irritated voice scolded an unspecified crowd. Someone offered a weak excuse, saying, "We were going to..." but there was no way their voice would reach them.

And they probably didn't want to hear it anyway.

『Everything you eat. Everything you wear. Everything you ride. The Lord of Gold made it all. Everything that makes you what you are was bestowed by the Lord of Gold! Our god is the Lord of Gold! Yet you! You heard your god's command and ignored it!』

They even added a dash of blasphemy.

『Then I shall make you obey! I, Lord Rowkett, the Lord of Gold's faithful servant, shall begin hunting apostates now!』

At the end of their shout, dozens of sounds split the air. Time, which had briefly stopped, began moving again. People who had stood listening to the voice started running. Lord Rowkett's cries scattered behind those fleeing.

『If you want to live, leave! Raid! As the Lord of Gold commanded... The only gold you can have is the military state's gold, where raiding is guaranteed!』

Good grief. What kind of mess was this? Were they raiding this place now? Their fellow people of the Lesser States?

I was beginning to understand why the Lesser States had lost to the military state in seven days.

At that moment, a terrible tragedy unfolded in front of the tent tavern.

A girl with silvery-white hair appeared, beautiful in a way that seemed unreal, as if she had stepped from a fairy tale. Wearing a dress and carrying a black parasol over her shoulder, she walked calmly through the unfamiliar place.

She spoke only of unreal things. That she had met the king of the Golden Kingdom, that she would reward anyone who knew the Golden Palace's location. Yet nobody questioned her further because the speaker herself seemed less real than the words. She looked like a fairy from a storybook, an illusion that might vanish at any moment...

But no one expected her to vanish by taking a direct hit from a rocket flying across the sky.

Her arm broke, and her body was pierced. Dark red blood bloomed beside bright-red flames. As someone murmured that the human body resembled a flower, those who finally realized what had happened screamed.

"Aaaaaah!"

"A person! A person died!"

"Was that even a person?"

"Whatever it was!"

Just as people who had grasped the situation a beat late tried to flee in panic,

"I'm not dead."

The girl, who had seemed to lose her limbs to the rocket, spoke. Thick darkness rose from the body that had appeared pierced, swallowing the rocket. Half-submerged in darkness, the rocket only feebly licked out its dying flames.

The girl looked at the rocket with red eyes. The only emotion in them was... displeasure.

"But an arrow carrying flame... How deeply unpleasant. I was going to obtain information by my own methods for once."

Nobody heard her voice. They had fled from a terror greater than the rocket.

At that time, Azzy was running across the ground.

It would be difficult to express in human language, but if one dared to infer her thoughts, it was joy. Until now, Azzy had caught flying things in her mouth, and the result had usually been enjoyable. Through inductive reasoning, she concluded that repeating the same action would bring the same result.

The sparkling light also somehow stirred her hunting instinct. Where else would there be such a clearly burning tail?

So Azzy ran. Straight toward where the rocket would fall.

Thankfully, she caught the smell before the explosion. Azzy instinctively changed direction and leaped upward.

"Yelp!"

Flames engulfed Azzy. She let out a mournful cry. She wasn't badly hurt, but the blast, smoke, and fire were stressful on their own. Azzy desperately fled from the area.

Startled beyond measure, Azzy ran to someone she could at least trust.

To a human, a dog's most precious friend.

At that time, someone opened her eyes. Hearing the explosions, she rose as though she had been waiting and muttered,

"They've finally appeared. I waited a long time. I thought they would show up soon after I scattered the Gold of Understanding around..."

Yet after hearing the following voice and seeing rockets embroider the sky, she frowned.

"...Ugh. But why is a Juggernaut coming? From outside the camp, too? That's far too fast. Still."

A rocket happened to fly toward her. It no longer stirred any feeling in her. The regressor flicked her wrist, and the rocket split in half along its path and exploded.

It had surely been threatening. A thick piece of metal flying at high speed, with the danger of exploding. It was a weapon and a means capable of threatening her life.

Now, though, it was only one of the minor problems her body had learned how to answer.

Even its owner was no exception.

"I can dig them out and ask."

The regressor, Shei, muttered flatly.

Footnotes:

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