WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 4: I Lifted the Veil to Peek at the Future, but There Was Only

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"Everyone, rest assured! Tantalus is safe. I am your ally!"

I shouted with fierce conviction, the kind of line that would make anyone listening feel reassured enough to return to their livelihoods.

Yet even after hearing my speech, the regressor scoffed.

'Our ally? Ridiculous. Does the military state even have allies?'

Huh. She didn't believe me.

Should I try showing a friendlier attitude? They say there isn't a woman alive who dislikes cute animals, right?

In that case, I smiled brightly at the King of Dogs.

I nudged the broken golem with my foot. The crystal ball lodged in its eye came loose and rolled across the ground. I scooped it up with my foot, then tossed and caught it in the air a few times.

"Woof! Woof!"

The King of Dogs came over, wagging her tail enthusiastically.

The King of Dogs might have taken human form, but she was a dog at heart. She couldn't resist a game of fetch when it stirred her hunting instincts.

Her gaze remained fixed on the crystal ball, and every time I tossed it, her body bobbed up and down. Her upright ears and sparkling eyes brimmed with excitement. Once I sensed that I had drawn enough attention, I threw the crystal ball with all my strength.

"Fetch!"

"Woof!"

The crystal ball traced an arc through the air and flew far into the distance. At once, the King of Dogs kicked off the ground and chased after it, disappearing in an instant.

There was nothing better than playing fetch with a dog. With a gentle smile, I spoke to the regressor.

"What a cute doggy. Do you keep her here?"

That should have eased her guard enough. I watched her from the corner of my eye and read her thoughts.

Let's see.

'Doggy? He's treating the King of Dogs... like an ordinary dog?'

Strange. I had meant to lower her guard, but she seemed even warier of me. Why? Ordinary people usually relaxed when someone showed affection toward animals.

One more try.

"Dogs are truly wonderful creatures. They're loyal to humans, helpful, and above all, adorable. There aren't many animals this useful despite not providing quality meat."

'...And he's treating a dog beastman as completely beneath humans. He even brought up livestock and meat? Is he some kind of speciesist?'

Huh. I hadn't expected another misunderstanding.

More importantly, I wasn't treating a dog beastman like a dog. The King of Dogs looked like a beastman, but she was actually a dog in human form. What was wrong with treating a dog like a dog?

You wouldn't send an envoy to negotiate with a queen ant either. Even if she was called the King of Dogs, she couldn't exactly sit at the same table as people.

"You see, I came here to establish a friendly relationship with all of you. I..."

The first step in dealing with someone was finding common ground.

It would be safe to say I had been captured just like them. They wouldn't be particularly wary of me then.

Just as I was about to say it.

'In one year, Tantalus will collapse. The Abyss will sink, and countless lives will fade away. Only a handful will survive.'

Huh?

Wait a moment.

Tantalus? This place would collapse?

'Azzy, the King of Dogs. Tyrkanzyaka, the Progenitor. They survive even as Tantalus collapses... but for some reason, they become corrupted within the Abyss.'

The Progenitor of vampires, who had once shaken the world.

And the King of Dogs, who represented the collective will of all dogs...

They would become corrupted? Corrupted?

'The corrupted seeds of the end will bring forward the end due in ten years. They will massacre people indiscriminately and plunge the world into chaos. And then...'

No later than ten years from now. When that day promised by inevitability came.

The true "end" would arrive.

The world would be destroyed.

By the time I had read that much, I was dumbfounded.

When the military state captured me, when I was dragged to Tantalus, I had felt despair. Still, I had been confident I could somehow get through it. I planned to use mind reading to flatter the instructors and prisoners, build a reputation, uncover increasingly secret information, then either threaten or negotiate my way out.

But what I had just read shattered that entire plan.

A predetermined future was tragedy and despair in itself. There was a reason so many prophets had either gone mad or taken their own lives.

And if it foretold an inevitable end...

...What was I supposed to do?

'And in every future I know, this man never appears.'

Of course I didn't appear. I was a petty criminal. Why would someone like me ever join a fight to save the world? What a ridiculous thing to think...

I grumbled inwardly, but the next thought made my face stiffen.

'Even in the previous round, when I came here immediately after Tantalus collapsed, this man wasn't there. There were only corpses below.'

The regressor stared at me and thought.

'A man who came to Tantalus late at a time like this. He could be a seed of corruption. Or perhaps an unfortunate victim... One thing is certain. He doesn't exist in the future I know.'

So, to sum it up.

The world would end in ten years.

And I would die in the Abyss before that end even arrived?

"Ha, haha."

I laughed because it was so absurd.

My life had been spoiled for me.

And the ending was a tragedy. Given what Tantalus was, a horrific death too dreadful to voice aloud was probably waiting for me.

I read the thoughts of a regressor who had seen the future, and I, too, had read the future.

Just like countless other prophets.

But.

I was different from them.

This round had a regressor, and I had read her thoughts. A regressor was someone who crossed time, changed the past, and sought futures that should not exist. Since I had read her thoughts, the future in which I died could change as well. A prophecy could change once it was observed.

Don't tense up. Relax. Use a smile as a mask and step forward confidently.

Nothing had changed. When had I ever survived because I was strong? I made the strong into allies, and if they became enemies, I avoided them. What I needed to survive was not strength, but knowledge.

It was the same with a massive enemy called fate. I didn't need to fight it. I only needed to make fate choose not to kill me.

Fortunately, the pieces were already in place.

The Progenitor of vampires.

The King of Dogs.

And the regressor.

I would win their favor. Build friendly relationships. Become close enough to them that they could not kill me. No, I would make them protect me instead.

I would survive. By any means necessary.

Good. I had made up my mind.

In the previous round, I probably would have told them the truth. I was a laborer, captured by the military state just like them, and we were absolutely not enemies. After persuading them, I would have lived quietly while avoiding becoming entangled with these dangerous races as much as possible. That would have been the best way to survive.

But now that I had read the future, it would be foolish to cling to my original plan like an idiot. To seize a different future, I had to avoid the choice I would inevitably make.

I would con fate. I would become someone different from both my former self and the me from the previous round.

I held my head high and shouted.

"I am an instructor of the military state, sent here to guide you trainees!"

"An instructor?"

The regressor asked, her eyes sharp.

Impersonating a soldier in the military state was a serious crime. But so what? Being arrested as an impersonator was better than dying in a year.

I had decided to intervene actively. If I wanted to stick my face into everything, it would be useful to have some sort of title. I shamelessly continued.

"That's right, trainees! You possess extremely dangerous abilities and violent temperaments. Because you lack social skills, you were scheduled to receive socialization training in Tantalus, where you would be completely isolated from the world! But an unfortunate incident occurred in Tantalus!"

Repeating what the golem had said, I continued.

"Following the recent mass escape, the military authorities determined that urgent resocialization training was necessary for these vicious trainees and dispatched me personally! I will live here and manage and supervise all of you!"

I had changed the first button.

It was a tiny change, just one small step. Yet this alone would greatly alter the future. The circumstances and position I would face from now on would change dramatically as well...

Wait a second.

If I was a variable... I frowned at the regressor.

Wasn't she also a variable who hadn't been in Tantalus during the previous round? A variable had already appeared. Did I even need to step forward?

Just as vague regret began to creep in.

"An instructor... I see. That's what you're saying."

Cold killing intent pierced through me.

Before I could even think, Huh?, she had already drawn Skywarbler. Her sharp hostility toward the military state was so fierce it could have been called a seizure. That hostility took clear shape and targeted me.

I had made a mistake.

Knowing she was a regressor with the absurd power to return to the past upon death, I had let my guard down. I had rated her too highly based on her power. I mistook the look in her eyes as she calmly watched me for unshakable composure.

It had only been the watchful gaze unique to a regressor.

Growing stronger over thirteen regressions meant she had died thirteen times.

In other words, that woman was a walking mass of PTSD!

Seven of those deaths had been caused directly or indirectly by the military state. She carried the resentment of seven lives!

'I'll kill him.'

Her killing intent swelled without warning. Her emotions shifted so violently that I wondered if she had schizophrenia. Well, dying thirteen times would make a mental illness or two understandable, but I hadn't expected her to swing a sword immediately.

And its path included my right arm.

'I'll start by cutting off one arm. Then I'll interrogate him. Why did he come to a prison where every prisoner escaped, and what was he after?'

Had I triggered some self-destruct switch? Or was this fate forcing its hand?

Whatever it was, the reality before me was this.

A weightless sword was swinging for my right shoulder.

Skywarbler was a sword without weight or thickness. Compared to Skywarbler's speed, my body was agonizingly slow. All the regressor had to do was twist her wrist, and the transparent blade stretched forward.

I saw the future. Skywarbler would brush over my shoulder, and my right arm would fall with a thud. If I had been an ordinary person, I would have lost my arm without being able to react.

But I could read thoughts.

Just before the regressor swung, I sensed her killing intent and frantically thought.

Block it? Impossible. She was a regressor who had honed her abilities over thirteen regressions. If I took a defensive stance, I would be cut along with it.

Dodge? Too fast. Even though I had read her thoughts and moved first, Skywarbler was too fast. At best, I would only change the wound from losing my shoulder to losing my upper arm.

What was left?

Nothing.

Huh? Was I dying? Was I going to die in one minute, not one year?

That couldn't happen.

I had to survive. No matter what it took, I had to keep this miserable life going.

How hard had I fought to survive until now? How pitifully and miserably had I survived in those back alleys?

I hadn't survived all that just to lose my life in this damned Abyss!

"Argh!"

I flailed my arms and legs convulsively. It was a desperate struggle, nothing more than a desperate attempt to raise my chances of survival by even 0.1 percent.

But heaven helped those who helped themselves.

'What?!'

A clear ting rang out. Ripples spread across the transparent blade. Its path bent slightly and passed a hair above my shoulder.

Sparks flashed along the sword's path. Skywarbler was a sword that cut even the air. The air caught by its blade shattered, tracing lightning that looked as though its upper and lower branches had been pruned away. A beat later, thunder crashed and tormented my eardrums.

Every hair on my body stood on end. I couldn't tell whether it was from static electricity or terror.

'He deflected Skywarbler?!'

Huh? Had I survived?

Arm, intact. Physical condition, fine. Pain, none.

I survived. Skywarbler had missed.

No, wait.

Had Skywarbler struck my flailing hand and bounced away?

What? How did that happen?

'He didn't even block it... He deflected it with his finger? That's impossible. He doesn't look that strong... Was he hiding his power?'

I read the regressor's thoughts and roughly understood what had happened.

I could read thoughts. Whoever my opponent was, I could read their intent to attack and how they planned to attack in advance. It was one of the few advantages of my useless mind reading.

The moment I read her intent to cut off my right arm, I sensed death and flailed wildly. Naturally, my right hand had been part of that motion.

The problem was that the regressor's sword was as fast as my thoughts.

The timing overlapped, and the regressor's blade collided directly with my twitching finger.

Normally, it would have been impossible. But the regressor's sword was Skywarbler, a weightless blade. The blade bent from merely touching my finger, and I avoided having my arm cut off by the narrowest possible margin!

I actually pulled that off. Wow. I had just achieved one of the few great accomplishments of my life.

No, that wasn't the important part.

The stunned regressor sprang backward and raised her sword. If her earlier attitude had been that of someone doing a job, this was the stance of someone facing a powerful enemy.

Crazy bitch. Why were you the one on guard? Shouldn't I be on guard after you suddenly attacked me?

"...I made a mistake."

That's right. A huge mistake. I almost died.

The regressor stared at me like a cornered cat, every muscle in her body tense.

"If you're an instructor dispatched to Tantalus, you must possess at least that much martial strength... I apologize for underestimating you."

"No. Aren't you apologizing for the wrong thing?"

I was grateful that her carelessness had arbitrarily elevated my reputation, but this wasn't the time. If the regressor branded me as an enemy, not only my future but even the me in the next round would be in danger.

Seriously. I was wronged and furious about being attacked out of nowhere, but whether I lived or died, we were trapped together in Tantalus. We would be seeing each other for months.

No matter how irritating she was, I had to speak in a friendly manner for now.

So.

"You shouldn't apologize for underestimating me. You should apologize for suddenly attacking someone! Do you have no manners?"

The regressor frowned at my unexpected scolding. Pretending to be frustrated, I ran a hand through my hair and looked around.

"I understand why you're acting so anxiously. Something so terrible happened here a few days ago... They started a riot, killed people, looted equipment, and even escaped from prison. It is only natural that you have lost faith in the military state that was supposed to protect you. Even if you distrust the military state, that is a burden I, who live off the military state's pay, must accept."

'I never trusted the military state to begin with. Why would anyone trust a country like this?'

"But!"

I didn't trust it either! Just go along with it!

Interrupting her thoughts, I shouted.

"Even so, such aggressive behavior is wrong! You have already committed crimes and been confined here. If you, who lack social skills, act this way, what will happen to me when I have come to help you?"

"Come to... help us?"

"That's right!"

Just then, the King of Dogs returned with the crystal ball in her mouth and placed it at my feet. As though telling me to stop talking nonsense and throw the ball, she tapped my shin with her nose.

Tch. Interrupting me while I was speaking.

I threw the crystal ball directly toward the prison.

"Fetch!"

"Woof!"

The King of Dogs excitedly chased after the ball flying into the distance. I turned back to the regressor.

"Even in the midst of that chaos, you followed orders and remained here rather than escaping from the Re-education Facility. Light always emerges from darkness. The higher-ups of the military state have taken great interest in you, who steadfastly obeyed the law even in the heart of fear and confusion."

'No. The King of Dogs had no intention of escaping until her "promise" was fulfilled, the Progenitor of vampires was asleep, and I stayed because I had something to do here.'

Every time I said something, she had to nitpick it! Why was she so negative? Just go along with it!

Her attitude was terrible. She was the sort of person who would use even a brief moment to construct logic for refuting someone. Without giving her a chance to think, I pressed on.

"That is why I was personally dispatched! The higher-ups of the military state dispatched me directly to support you!"

It wasn't a lie. I had been dispatched here to perform labor. It was also true that the military state's higher-ups had sent me. They only needed a menial worker whose death wouldn't matter, though.

But as the saying went, it was all in how you put it. If I emphasized not "support," but "me"...

"So please take care of me from now on! Trust me and follow me, trainees!"

I could make them mistakenly believe I was someone impressive.

And if everyone believed it.

'He's impossible to figure out.'

Then I would become someone impressive for real.

"Woof!"

The King of Dogs returned with the crystal ball again. No matter how far I threw it, she unerringly found it and brought it back. I kicked the ball as hard as I could. My instep throbbed after striking the hard crystal ball, but it flew farther than ever before, making the pain worth it. The King of Dogs panted as she chased after the ball again.

'That composure he displays even while dealing with the King of Dogs... That relaxed, unhurried movement when he deflected Skywarbler... I can't see the bottom of him. I have no idea how strong he is. As I am now...'

Of course you had no idea how strong I was. In terms of martial power, I was a bug by the roadside. You, who had crossed paths with monsters beyond all standards like the Sword Saint and the Holy Maiden, couldn't even imagine the life of a worm like me. The absolute could never understand a worm's heart.

But I understood yours.

Either way, success. I clenched my fist.

Humans were animals by nature. When they faced someone they didn't understand, they sensed danger and became wary. Ignorance was danger, and keeping your distance from danger was the basic principle of survival.

So she wouldn't dare touch me carelessly.

Still, we couldn't keep living in this cramped Abyss while constantly guarding against each other. We needed to maintain at least a neutral relationship. With a kind smile, I extended my hand toward the regressor.

The regressor flinched and aimed Skywarbler at my arm. Had she put force behind it, my arm would have been cut through like tofu.

But if I got scared and pulled back now, I would be showing her somewhere to bite. Feigning calm, I offered her a handshake without letting even my fingertips tremble.

"Then, shall we shake hands as a sign that we'll get along from now on?"

The regressor looked between my outstretched hand and my face, then abruptly withdrew Skywarbler and turned away.

"...Hmph. Who knows what you might do?"

"Huh? Wasn't I the one who was attacked just now? The person who swung a sword is acting like the victim."

Thanks to reading the regressor's thoughts, I had glimpsed a future that should never have been available to me. Only a single layer. A man who could only dig into the person before his eyes had learned of the future like a prophet who saw the flow of the world.

I might have suffered when I didn't know. But things were different now.

They said the future was shy, and once glimpsed, it hid itself. Since it had hidden anyway, I hoped it would disappear forever. I had no need for a sharp-tempered future that ran around trying to kill me.

"Then let's at least introduce ourselves. You may call me Instructor, with respect and admiration."

I tapped my chest and made a vow.

I would survive somehow.

If the future announced my death, I would deceive that future if I had to.

The regressor, who had been glaring at me with guarded eyes, eventually tossed Skywarbler above her head and answered briefly.

"...Shei."

At the same time, I heard the resolve in her heart.

'For now, I'll watch him. If it doesn't work out, I can abandon this round and move on to the next one.'

Fortunately, the regressor seemed to have decided to watch for now. People who had died a few times really were different. Even though she considered me dangerous, she wanted to see what would happen first. It was curiosity, or the regressor's complacent willingness to wait and see even for the smallest clue.

The regressor lifted her gaze to me.

'...Living with such a frivolous man makes me uneasy, but the others won't be easy targets.'

What kind of person did she think I was? The things over there were a dog wearing human skin and a corpse that had been dead for a thousand years. What sort of inappropriate thought was she having about a dog and a corpse? I wasn't a pervert. I had perfectly normal tastes befitting an average human being.

'I'm perfectly disguised as a man too, so it'll be fine!'

Ah...

So that was what she thought.

Living with a regressor who firmly believed her disguise as a man was perfect for several months wouldn't be easy.

Muttering inwardly, I gave the regressor an awkward smile.

Footnotes:

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