WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 400: Return of the Progenitor

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How often did one get to see an Elder in a lifetime?

For an ordinary human living outside the Duchy, once would usually be enough. After encountering an Elder, they would have already lost their life, whether they became a thrall or a meal.

In that sense, how fortunate was I to still be alive despite attracting the attention of three Elders?

"Sniff, sniff. What an unreliable male. He looks weak. Is this really the King of Humanity?"

"Hmph. Why did Sister bring home something so suspicious?"

"Can he fight? Want to have a match?"

"If he breaks, give him to me. I'll fix him up and put him to use."

No, perhaps I was incredibly unlucky.

The boar beastkin rolled his eyes and sniffed at me. A small witch with stitches running across her body circled me. Caught between them, I felt as though I could be crushed to death at any moment. If they wanted human blood, I could have given them some and been done with it, but their interest was not that simple, so I had no way to shake them off.

Tyr had left for a moment, and this was what happened. Was there no one who could save me?

"That's enough."

Had my prayer reached the heavens? Valdamir arrived at just the right moment and stopped them in a low voice. At the words of the Elder with unmatched power and status, the two reluctantly stepped away from me.

Crimson Duke Valdamir spoke without even looking in my direction, as though I held no interest for him.

"Whether he is the King of Humanity is of no importance. Only one fact matters to us. The Progenitor brought him here."

"Tch. That's exactly what I don't like!"

At his cold remark, Cabilah pouted and sharply turned her head away. Lungken still could not let it go.

"Valdamir, aren't you curious? They said he's the King of Humanity! I've seen the Beast King countless times, but this is my first time seeing the King of Humanity! Is it real? What power does he possess? Why did he appear alongside the Progenitor?"

"We are vampires, Lungken."

If Lungken was a flame, Valdamir was like a cold, sunken sea. Even faced with such plausible questions, Valdamir answered with endless calm and composure.

"Our king and god is the Progenitor alone. The King of Humanity has nothing to do with us."

A flame could snuff out a drop of water. Yet even the greatest blaze would die if thrown into a lake. Before Valdamir, Lungken's spirit quickly faded.

"Hmph. Fine, fine!"

Lungken stomped away. Watching the two move off, I tried to let out a sigh of relief.

Instead, I gave a hollow laugh at the tiny droplets of blood shimmering around me.

Not interested, my ass. The most dangerous person here was paying attention to me!

'There have been humans the Progenitor took an interest in before, but until now, it was only passing curiosity. This time is different. I must find out what is different.'

The blood droplets watched my every movement. I was not about to be dissected alive, but Valdamir was observing and evaluating me while pretending otherwise.

Not interested? Sure, that was not entirely wrong. He was not interested in me as the King of Humanity! But he was intensely curious about me as a guest brought by the Progenitor!

At least he had no intention of harming me. He only intended to observe me as long as he did not interfere with me. The reason was naturally his loyalty to the Progenitor, but...

Could that really be explained by loyalty alone? Even for a vampire?

I could read people's minds, but that did not mean I knew everything. Did reading a book once mean you understood every implication and principle within it? Mind reading only let me read people like written records. That was why I needed time to watch them. Sometimes, I even satisfied my curiosity that way.

Ah, I could not resist. I stepped forward and asked with a smile.

"Mr. Duke of Crimson Blood. Where did Tyr go?"

It was a simple question, but there were many things beneath it. The strongest emotion was provocation. I was casually emphasizing that I was close enough to call their god and king Tyr by a nickname.

At first, the Elders did not notice. Even Tyrkanzyaka's name was not something they could say carelessly, so they did not associate it with Tyr. Cabilah caught on a beat later and rolled her eyes.

"Whaaat? Tyr? I'm asking just in case, but... you weren't calling Sister that, were you?"

"That's right. Tyr. I mean your Progenitor, Tyrkanzyaka."

"Do you want to die?"

She was a monster who had devoured humans for hundreds of years. An intimidating presence radiated from her, but she could not truly kill me, no matter what she said. I was Tyr's guest. Rather than be frightened, I answered calmly.

"No, we agreed to speak casually with each other, so what's the problem? You call her Sister too."

"Of course I call the Progenitor Sister, because she is my sister! But a brat like you calling Sister by her name, and even by a nickname..."

Cabilah grew even angrier and shouted.

"I can't stand it because I'm jealous!"

"You're jealous? Then why don't you do it too?"

"How could I dare call Sister by her name...! Anyway, don't do it! You don't have the right!"

"What right does someone need to call another person by name?"

"Age, for one! Sister is 1,208 years old, while I'm 1,108! We're exactly a century apart! If anyone gets to call Sister by a nickname, it should be me before some wet-behind-the-ears brat like you!"

...That wet-behind-the-ears part probably had a literal meaning. Only a vampire with congealed blood could say something like that.

"Is age really that important? Should I call you Grandma, then?"

"Still nowhere near enough! Sister is much older than even your great-great-great-grandmother! Do you understand the gap between you and Sister? So don't call her so familiarly from now on!"

She was the complete opposite of Tyr. She actually emphasized age. Anyway, that was Cabilah's response. Lungken probably thought I was disrespectful, but he was not delicate enough to make an issue of it like Cabilah did.

Then... what about Valdamir's reaction, the one I had been waiting for?

"As the Progenitor said earlier, she has gone to the Dark Lighthouse."

Huh? He was calm?

It was strange even as I read his mind. Valdamir was curious about me, but it did not go beyond curiosity. It was neither Cabilah's jealousy nor Lungken's indifference. It was curiosity in the purest sense.

He was an unusual man. Reading him would be worthwhile. I met his gaze as an equal and spoke.

"I heard she was going to the Dark Lighthouse. But I've never heard that name before, and I don't know where it is. Naturally, I'm curious when no one explains it."

"You need not be curious. It is difficult to understand, and even if you do understand it, it will be of no use to you."

"What if I ask you to tell me out of simple curiosity?"

I expected some kind of reaction, but Valdamir answered kindly, to my disappointment.

"It is made of darkness humans cannot comprehend, so I will not explain its appearance or structure. I can tell you its purpose with certainty. The Dark Lighthouse is a beacon that announces the Progenitor's return."

"A beacon?"

A beacon was supposed to be lit, was it not? How could darkness make a beacon? It was already so dark here that even if one lit a fire, neither smoke nor light would escape...

Just as I tilted my head in confusion, darkness exploded from the pitch-black tower.

If light could flash, then darkness, the absence of light, could do the same. Vampires were harmed by sunlight. In other words, they were more sensitive to light than anyone else.

What looked like the same darkness to human eyes was visible to vampires. They could tell where that darkness came from and whose it was.

When Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka set out to find a place for vampires to live, she passed Cloud Waterfall and discovered a fog-covered land. She decided to build a nation there, but mere water fog could not completely block the sunlight rising above the horizon.

So Tyr shared her darkness. She dyed the fog with darkness and scattered it throughout the Duchy. Thanks to that, vampires could live in the Fog Duchy day and night.

Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka was the racial god of vampires and the eternal king of the Fog Duchy. That was why the Duke of Crimson Blood, who was effectively the ruler, insisted on the title of duke. To honor their great Progenitor, vampires had built lighthouses of darkness throughout the Duchy.

Only one vampire wielded darkness: the Progenitor herself. They were meant to ensure everyone knew when she returned, so they could prepare to welcome her.

Tyr dimmed the lighthouse of darkness.

With the pulsating darkness behind her, Tyr emerged through the darkness vaguely shaped like a tower. First came her bright red eyes, then her pale white skin, and finally the parasol floating as though it had blended into the darkness. Together with the Duchy's darkness, Tyr looked more powerful and mysterious than ever.

The opposite of light. It lit the land with darkness, so it was a Dark Lighthouse. Vampires really did things this way. As expected, it was hard to understand by reading thoughts alone.

"Now that I have announced my return to everyone in this land, the entire Duchy will welcome us. Come, Hyu."

Tyr spoke softly to me. The god of the Duchy was smiling at me.

Honestly, was an unseen and untouchable Celestial God really a god? A true god was someone who could move an entire country with a tilt of their chin. I had picked the right person to back. I held out my hand as I spoke.

"Then I'll accept your hospitality. I'm allowed to do that much, right?"

Offering my hand first meant I wanted her to escort me. It was an act of entrusting my safety to the person whose territory I had entered. It was a somewhat old-fashioned custom, but Tyr liked this kind of thing.

Sure enough, Tyr answered my request with a pleased smile.

"As much as you wish."

She took my hand without hesitation. I followed behind Tyr as though I had no choice, then glanced back.

Lungken and Cabilah were staring at me in utter shock.

'Sister... smiled? I haven't seen anything remotely like that smile in hundreds of years!'

'The Progenitor did not invite that man here for no reason. Sniff, sniff. Something smells strange.'

Well? See that? I went to prison with your Progenitor and even played with her heart. There was a gap that mere time could not bridge, you know?

I smiled smugly at the two Elders. Ha, this was what connections were all about. If you were going to attach yourself to someone, you had to aim as high as possible. Who could say anything to me when I had won the Progenitor's heart? The Duke of Crimson Blood? Hah, could a Duke of Crimson Blood loyal to the Progenitor really say anything to me...?

'King of Humanity. What did the Progenitor see in him? What changed the Progenitor's dominion?'

Valdamir was still observing me, not swayed by my words or actions, looking only with the red, dark eyes of a vampire.

...Ugh. He looked difficult.

Thus, guided by Tyr, I set foot in the Duchy.

The Fog Duchy, a vampire nation where humans were treated as livestock.

Footnotes:

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