WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 367: Dividing an Inheritance Has Always Been a Grave Matter

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The Lesser States had lost the Lord of Gold, its greatest mystery. No one knew what kind of butterfly effect that would cause, but one thing was certain: the Lesser States had grown weaker.

The Lord of Gold had also been the Lesser States' spiritual and economic ruler. With his disappearance, the central force holding the nation together was gone as well. Even if they reached a ceasefire agreement, as Hilde said, it would be difficult to gain acceptance either at home or abroad.

"...Wait."

Perru reacted then. Standing beside the regressor, Perru coughed dryly several times, wiped her mouth, and spoke to Hilde.

"...I'll agree to a ceasefire."

"Perru? In what capacity?"

"...As the Golden Lord."

Hilde looked surprised by the unexpected answer.

The Golden Lord oversaw the Golden Palace's Guardians. We had never expected to negotiate directly with the Lord of Gold, so we had come intending to negotiate with the Golden Palace's Guardians from the start. Elik had been able to voice her opinions directly to the Lord of Gold, so if Perru was the Golden Lord, she was more than qualified.

The problem was whether Perru's claim held any weight.

"Perru is the Verdigris Lord, isn't she? From Verdigris to Gold? How romantic~."

Hilde smiled, then lowered her voice.

"Or unrealistic, to put it another way. How can I believe that? Why is Perru, who traveled with 'us,' the Golden Lord?"

"...It's still true."

"Even if it is, the Lord of Gold who could verify it is gone. And if there is no Lord of Gold to begin with, what meaning does the Golden Lord even..."

Ding.

The golden bell rang, as if affirming Perru's words. The ringing alone proved nothing, of course, but the Demon God's keepsake did more than make a sound.

Rumble.

The Golden Ark rose from the wreckage of blocks.

It was certainly the Golden Ark that had been "eaten" and dismantled by the Golden Palace. Its hull had been turned into alchemical material and made part of the Golden Palace, so Perru had detached only the Verdigris Furnace and carried it inside.

That should have been the case.

Yet the Golden Ark now burst out in exactly the form it had before being consumed, standing proudly on the ground.

Hilde stared as though the Golden Ark had been spat back out whole.

"Oh? Perru, did you become the Lord of Gold instead of the Golden Lord? You should have told me sooner if that was the case!"

"...It's not my power. The power belongs to the keepsake."

"So you're using the Lord of Gold's power? Then that makes you the Lord of Gold, doesn't it?"

"...With this power, I can only repair what is broken. Because I'm using it, not the Lord of Gold."

Even if a tool contained limitless power, the one wielding it had limits. Perru could not compare to the Lord of Gold, who had held Demo and Elik's lingering wills.

Just like me.

Even the Lord of Gold, for all that he could create anything in the world, could not make a city look nice because his imagination was limited. Everyone had something they lacked.

"Thank you for explaining it so kindly~. Hmm, what should we do about this?"

Hilde looked troubled.

Even without clear evidence, there was little reason to doubt Perru, considering the Golden Palace had collapsed after Perru approached the Lord of Gold. That was even more true now that Perru could wield the Lord of Gold's power.

Still, Hilde could believe it because she had witnessed the event firsthand. For a nation, it was a different matter entirely.

"Perru. To represent a nation, it is more important that many people acknowledge and follow you as their representative than for you to claim the role yourself. The military state has no king, but everyone follows the will of the High Command. No matter how much Perru calls herself the Golden Lord, who will believe it?"

"...The Suppression Lord is there."

"That person is dead. I watched it with my own eyes. They got far too close to the Lord of Gold while trying to draw his attention. There was no need to go that far~."

Perru was visibly shaken by the unexpected news. The golden bell gave a high, trembling chime as if responding to her emotions. After hesitating for a while, Perru murmured weakly.

"...I see. Hecto..."

"It was a noble sacrifice. I don't know whether it was thanks to that or not, but we achieved our goal at least! So, what do we do now?"

Hilde was not pressing Perru simply because she enjoyed being mean.

Hilde still represented the military state's interests and acted in any situation to bring about the best result for the military state. She needed to extract as much as possible from the ceasefire agreement. Pointing out Perru's weaknesses was a way to gain the upper hand.

"Self-proclaimed Golden Lord. Someone who may even have personally destroyed the Lord of Gold! Who would follow you? And even if they did, could they truly trust you?"

...That did not mean Hilde was not being mean, though.

As Hilde pressed Perru from every angle, countless presences approached from behind us. I turned around and found the jackals who had followed Hecto finally arriving, looking around cautiously.

One of them, dressed far more neatly than the others, stepped forward as everyone's attention settled on them.

"Verdigris Lord. I am Deka, secretary to the Suppression Lord."

They were one of Hecto's subordinates whom I had seen several times in the city. Perru recognized them and replied heavily.

"...The Suppression Lord, they..."

"I know. I saw it myself."

Deka briefly closed their eyes as if mourning the Lord they respected, then continued.

"I would like to mourn my lord's death, but these jackals do not even give me the time. The moment Hecto died, they shamelessly came to me and demanded that I hand over Hecto's property."

Though they stood some distance away, Deka's voice was loud enough for the jackals behind them to hear every word. They immediately cried out in protest.

"The Suppression Lord said they would divide their property among us if we followed them!"

"We followed them after hearing that, so of course we deserve our share!"

Having drawn out enough uproar, Deka shouted for all to hear.

"Do you see? They did nothing. They did not help any of you stop the Lord of Gold! Yet simply because they followed Hecto, they demand a share! What kind of behavior is this? And when my lord died, not one of them was by their side!"

"Who in their right mind would go that far? You'd die if you did!"

"Who would smash their head into a wall knowing they'd get killed?!"

Jeers and curses poured down on Deka.

Strictly speaking, the jackals were right. Still, now that Hecto was dead, the jackals demanding their share made them look like heartless demons. Deka used their shouting to establish the moral high ground, then appealed to Perru.

"Verdigris Lord. You were the one who stepped forward to stop the Lord of Gold. You saved us and fulfilled the Suppression Lord's will. The only person who can divide the Suppression Lord's property and company is the Verdigris Lord."

"...I..."

"Verdigris Lord. Though the Suppression Lord has passed, our Drum Company is responsible for the Lesser States' food supply. If it falls apart like this, the Lesser States will starve. We cannot allow that, can we?"

"...Hmm."

Deka seemed sincerely worried about the nation's future, so Perru could not easily answer. As Perru appeared to consider it, Deka quietly added one more thing.

"And doesn't the Verdigris Lord need influence as well? The Drum Company can be of use to you."

They were subtly suggesting that Perru become the Lord of the Drum Company if necessary. Curious about Deka's true intentions, I read their thoughts.

'If we obediently dissolve the company and divide the property here, we'll become nothing! We're the ones keeping the Lesser States running. Even if Hecto is dead, we still have to remain the Drum Company! Without us, no one can keep the Lesser States going!'

Deka was sincere. They did have some desire to show off and a sense of superiority over the other jackals, but their wish to preserve this system, even if that meant installing Perru as the new Lord, was genuine.

Perru already looked overwhelmed. One side was pressuring her to make a ceasefire agreement the moment she became ruler of the Lesser States, while the other was arguing over inheritance. On top of all that, her body was in terrible condition.

Perru looked at me with difficulty and asked.

"...What should I do?"

"Me? Why are you asking me that?"

"...There's no one else I can ask."

Perru looked around and answered gloomily.

That was true. Hilde was on the military state's side. The regressor was in charge of fighting. Hecto, the one person who might have been helpful, was dead.

"I don't have an answer either. Wouldn't it be better to ask someone else for help?"

"...Someone else?"

"First, we need to know the details. Where is the Suppression Lord's property? Even with a Juggernaut, they couldn't have carried all of it around with them."

"...When the property is extensive, it is entrusted to Claudia. It is the only city, and... the Thunder Lord is trustworthy."

"Then it's decided."

We could not do anything out here anyway. There was only one path left.

"Let's go to Claudia. Once we meet the Thunder Lord there, we can leave most of these problems in her hands."

Problems you could not solve were best handed to someone capable. How could you carry a log alone? You shared the load.

The responses to my suggestion were sharply divided.

"Wait. Property? Are you truly going to divide the Suppression Lord's property?"

"Aw. We had the perfect chance to fleece someone who doesn't know a thing~. Whose side are you on, Father?"

Deka and Hilde did not welcome a larger power with greater influence, even if it was not on the level of the Lord of Gold. The others felt differently.

The jackals cheered, and Perru accepted the proposal. Even Tyr welcomed the decision.

"Cloud Village... It would be good to go and see how much it has changed."

'If the opportunity arises, I can show Hyu the Fog Duchy beyond it.'

The regressor, who had been thinking it over, also voiced her support.

"Good. It's decided. Claudia is our next destination. We had to stop there eventually."

'I have Skywarbler, and I have Jizan as well. If I go to Claudia with both, I can enshrine the Thunder God within it. Things were already becoming difficult even with Skywarbler and Jizan, but if I enshrine the Thunder God, things should improve.'

...Her thoughts were a little different from mine, though. What was this Thunder God supposed to be? How was she going to enshrine it? Could she become even stronger than this?

Some people could contain three Demon Gods and still be nothing more than a slightly stranger human!

"...Let's go to Claudia. We can handle whatever business remains there."

The conclusion was reached. Perru tried to board the Golden Ark, but Deka excitedly blocked her path. If the regressor had not glared at them so sharply, they might have even laid hands on Perru.

"Of course you may go. But do you truly intend to take them with you? They will suck the company dry!"

"...If that is what the contract says."

"They did not fulfill the contract!"

"...I intend to settle that in Claudia as well."

"How can you delay something so obvious?!"

Perru might have struggled if she had been alone. But she now had the regressor by her side, an expert at cutting things down. When Deka remained persistent, the regressor cut them off in clear irritation.

"Quiet. We don't have time right now. If you intend to get in our way, stay here, gather whatever you can, and leave."

At least Deka's survival instinct remained. They clamped their mouth shut and turned away.

'This can't be happening. I did not spend all this time following the Lord of Gold around and cleaning up after him for this! I can't let our company disappear like this!'

It seemed we would have plenty to deal with before our business in Claudia was finished.

Reading Deka's retreating thoughts, I nodded.

The Golden Ark sounded its horn, and the group bound for Claudia set out together.

Footnotes:

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