WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 370: God and Human

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Deka, Hecto the Suppression Lord's adjutant, did not follow the Golden Ark. The Suppression Lord's subordinates had scattered during the chase, strung out like drying water trails, and Deka, who was always left to clean up afterward, had to gather them up.

Naturally, Deka complained the entire time.

"Damn it, damn it...! After everything we've done for the Lesser States!"

A company shared its fate with its Lord.

Beneath the Lord of Gold's enormous shadow, a company in the Lesser States needed more than superior skill to compete with other alchemists. No matter how exceptional one's craft, there was a limit to the influence a single artisan could have on the world.

That was why they needed a Lord. Only with a chosen alchemist capable of creating value where none existed could they become a force spanning the Lesser States.

"Damn it, Hecto. Is that it? You die, and that's the end? Are you going to abandon everyone who followed you because they believed in your ideals?"

Some processed the food they had stockpiled, while others transported it. Once the company members scattered throughout the cornfields and cities had all been gathered, they numbered a full five hundred.

That might not have sounded like much, but in the Lesser States, where individual bonds were weak, a group of more than five hundred was uncommon. Considering every one of them owned a vehicle as large as a house, an organized company was practically a moving city.

The sight had once filled Deka with pride.

Now that they thought it would soon disappear, they could not smile at all.

Deka bit their finger, their eyes wide. Blood seeped through the broken skin.

"No. We can't scatter like this. If we divide all of Hecto's assets, the company will lose even its last remaining center! Damn it, but which Lord should I go to...?"

Words no one would heed fell with drops of blood. Unless a miracle occurred, Deka's lament would remain nothing more than a lament.

"I have heard your will."

Then, as if by miracle, someone appeared before Deka.

She was a woman with her robe pulled low over her face. Nothing but her slender jawline was visible. Judging by the bandaged fist peeking out from her sleeve, she looked like a martial artist trained in internal energy.

Deka had no idea when she had approached. Irritation welled up in them, but at the lowest point of their life, her sudden appearance felt like fate. They fell silent and focused on her.

"Order is always necessary. Values that everyone believes in must be protected for the sake of that belief itself. The Suppression Lord's Drum Company is the dining table of the Lesser States. It must endure so that the people of the Lesser States do not starve."

She was right. Deka agreed fervently. Why did people only know how to cause trouble, without ever preparing for what came afterward? If the Drum Company vanished at once, half the jackals of the Lesser States might starve to death.

"You are part of the system that makes up the Lesser States. Though this nation was once warped by the Demon God, who could deny the merit of preserving some order even within it? You have made a contribution."

It felt refreshing, like scratching an itch and casting away the black grime scraped off. Overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling, Deka could only nod fervently.

Deka had contributed. The Lesser States had filled their bellies through Deka's and the Drum Company's contributions.

Deka had worked hard. Working through the night had been routine, and there had even been days when they risked their life.

Deka had been loyal. They had always worked sincerely, caught Hecto's eye, and eventually risen to the position of adjutant.

Then should they not receive a fitting reward? That was the way of the world.

"...W-who are you?"

"One who knows you, one who recognizes you, and one who will reward you."

Peruel removed her hood and revealed her face. The shining halo above her ash-gray hair subtly revealed who she was.

"Ah, at last!"

...Of course, order and discipline were not what Deka truly wanted. Grand things like the peace and prosperity of the Lesser States were merely the result of working under Hecto, not their goal.

They were an ordinary petty person, a common coward who leaned on greater authority, found pleasure in wielding it as though it were their own, and relished the sense of belonging it gave them. Under someone other than Hecto, they could easily have caused great harm.

Yet now that the Holy Maiden had called upon him, Deka was a true patriot who had worked for the Lesser States.

"This humble servant will personally see that you receive the treatment you deserve."

"Ah... Ahh..."

There was neither heaven nor hell in this world. Only lonely graves remained to honor the dead.

Yet the gods deceived those who were dying.

Humans were not beasts, they said, and lived for a greater purpose. The present was only fertilizer, and lofty ideals remained to bloom from it. If people could contribute to that even in death, they would be happy in heaven.

That was not Deka's true wish, but what did it matter? Human faith was that shallow.

Peruel, the Steel Maiden, gave her follower a solemn command.

"Escort this humble servant to Claudia. That is your mission."

"...Yes! I will obey!"

Deka was still a petty person who wished to lean on greater authority.

They knelt before Peruel and resolved to devote their life to her, filled with incomparable elation.

* * *

The Thunder Lord was speechless for a moment at the regressor's declaration that she would kill a god.

'You'll kill the Thunder God? A wandering stranger I don't even know will fulfill Claudia's greatest wish?'

If it were that easy, Claudia would not have hidden indoors in terror whenever thunderclouds rolled in. The regressor's claim that she would kill the Thunder God was too absurd to believe, yet too sweet to dismiss as nonsense.

'More than anything, that boy has... a strange certainty about him. If he's that confident, he must have some kind of method, right? There'd be no harm in accepting the offer.'

Wasn't she trusting too easily for the ruler of a city? Then again, she was dealing with a regressor.

The Thunder Lord paused before speaking.

"...Whether that is the truth or a bluff, we'll only know once we arrive in Claudia."

Muttering to herself, the Thunder Lord abruptly turned and walked out of the cabin. Earlier, it had felt as though thunder roared with every step she took. Now that she had restrained her presence, her footsteps were utterly silent.

So she no longer needed to test our resolve? Maybe the Thunder Lord's power made her emotions show directly through her actions. There was no point in using mind-reading.

"I will first invite all of you to Claudia. As honored guests."

The Thunder Lord invited us with a much more courteous manner.

Like any major city, Claudia had people who wished to live there clinging to it like excess flesh. Before reaching Claudia, the Golden Ark passed dozens of shantytowns. Those who had not even become jackals, people who could not survive without leaning on a city, had set up modest camps around the mountain and barely sustained themselves.

But that was not Claudia.

Claudia's boundary was clearer than any national border. It took the form of a two-meter-tall electrified barbed-wire fence.

Everything beyond the fence was outside Claudia. True Claudia began within it.

Standing before the fence, the Thunder Lord stretched out a hand. An invisible force extended from her and pulled at the steel gate. With a loud creak, the two-meter-tall iron gate swung open.

The Thunder Lord strode ahead with confidence.

"Welcome. This is Cloud Village, Claudia."

My first impression of Claudia was hazy. There was no particular reason. The fog was simply thick. Once we pushed through it and moved farther in, though, a startling sight appeared before us.

The first thing to greet us was a towering iron building. It looked at least thirty stories tall, standing upright and looking down at us. Its width narrowed as it rose, and iron branches stretched out from the rooftop in every direction. It looked like a gigantic tree made of steel.

Beneath those steel branches stood densely packed buildings, smaller but still tall, as though sheltering from rain beneath a tree.

The Thunder Lord explained when she saw us looking.

"That's a lightning rod tower. It's a steel structure built to avoid the Thunder God's wrath. If the weather grows dark and lightning suddenly strikes, don't panic. Hide in the shadow of a lightning rod tower... Ah."

She covered her mouth and continued.

"People like you would be fine even if lightning struck you. That was unnecessary advice."

"No, it wasn't. Please tell us everything you can. We need it."

"Woof! Woof!"

The two Beast Kings barked desperately. The regressor looked puzzled by Azzy and me, who both seemed quietly frightened.

"You usually act as if nothing scares you. What's with you now?"

"What do you mean, what's with us? Being afraid of lightning is instinctive. If it hits you out of nowhere, it could kill you."

"Woof!"

Azzy barked in agreement.

Lightning brought sudden thunder and light that inspired fear, sometimes even bringing death. To beasts, lightning was the most common and familiar natural disaster. These days, accumulated know-how meant beasts rarely got struck, but there was no escaping the fear etched into their species.

With a human opponent, I could read them beforehand and avoid them, or curry favor with them to ensure my safety. Lightning, though, was as unpredictable as humans and just as powerful. A direct hit killed you, and even if you barely survived, terrible pain awaited.

No wonder it was the first thing worshipped.

The Thunder Lord answered as though she understood.

"That's normal. Beastfolk especially dislike Claudia. It's because..."

The regressor answered like an eager student.

"Either their fur gets wet from the fog, or lightning makes it stand on end?"

"That's right. How did you know? It's difficult for outsiders to know that."

The Thunder Lord was surprised by the regressor's answer.

"I thought that would be the case."

'I heard this in the previous cycle, too.'

Showing off her knowledge from the previous cycle again. I understood wanting to show off what she knew, but was that really all right? Every one of those small actions exposed the fact that she was a regressor.

Ah, whatever. It wasn't as if I could advise her, 'You know, people might get suspicious if you mention previous-cycle knowledge too much?' I'd leave her alone.

There had to be well over a thousand people living beneath a single lightning rod tower. And there was more than one or two of them. With the Cloud Waterfall in the distance, I could see more than ten lightning rod towers.

The grandeur of the largest city in the Lesser States was overwhelming. The Thunder Lord continued her explanation.

"The outskirts, where the fog is thinner, are mostly residential areas. The inner district near the waterfall is where production takes place. Seventy percent of the jackals roaming the Lesser States were born and raised in Claudia. There was a brief disturbance when we heard the Lord of Gold was coming, but... fortunately, thanks to all of you stopping it, we were able to save the city. Verdigris, no, Golden Lord."

Perru, whose name had suddenly been called, answered belatedly.

"...Yes."

"Take a good look. This place operates independently, but it is still part of the Lesser States. This city's fate depends on the choice you make."

Perru's already pale complexion grew even darker. Feeling the weight of it, she answered weakly.

"...I wanted to ask the Thunder Lord to take that on."

"No. You must do it."

"...I lack the experience to take on such an important duty. Someone as outstanding as the Thunder Lord should..."

"The Lord of Gold also lacked the experience to bear the immense responsibility of ruling a nation. Yet he became the king of the Lesser States, no, a ruler close to a god. That was because of the Lord of Gold's power."

The Thunder Lord spoke sharply, making it impossible to tell whether she was pressuring Perru or encouraging her.

"I am certainly an outstanding human. Compared to me, you fall short."

"...Then."

"Even so, you are the one the Lord of Gold recognized, Verdigris Lord. You possess unparalleled destructive power in the Lesser States, and now that you have that bell, you can create or destroy the Lesser States as you wish. No matter how exceptional I may be, I am still only human. Taking responsibility for one city and serving a god is all I can do."

I could not tell whether she was boasting or belittling herself. One thing was certain. The Thunder Lord clearly distinguished her place.

Elkid, the Thunder Lord, was wrapped in the power of lightning and could wield nearly limitless power within Claudia. Yet it was still the power of a human. No matter how much she despised the Lord of Gold, she acknowledged that he had created the enormous system known as the Lesser States.

...To me, the Thunder Lord and Perru both looked like people wielding godlike power, but still.

"The Lord of Gold was a terrible god. I will help you, so become a god worth serving."

That was the greatest encouragement the Thunder Lord could offer.

'...A god. I don't have the ability to become one.'

The person in question looked ready to die from the pressure.

And so, we headed for the deepest lightning rod tower.

Footnotes:

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