WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 403: Elders Die Too

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Fortunately, the dagger had been a holy sword created by Hilde. Lir hadn't left it in my stomach. It had simply disappeared once its time limit expired. The culprit behind the missing dagger case was time itself!

Well, it wasn't some tiny razor blade. No one could have failed to notice a dagger lodged in my stomach. Good. Very good.

...There were pieces of the anesthetic ampule embedded in my skin, but let's ignore that. Surely they weren't inside my body? Even if they were, I didn't have the nerve to cut myself open again and take them out, so I'd have to live as though they didn't exist.

"How do you feel, Father?"

"It hurts more, but... strangely enough, I feel refreshed."

That meant the quack wasn't entirely incompetent, despite the sloppy finish.

Either way, it was certainly easier to move around now. I didn't think I'd be able to sleep, so I decided to do the little task I'd planned earlier.

A table happened to catch my eye, poor thing. I placed the Eight of Spades on it, curled my hand into a fist, and slammed it down like a stamp.

The table was alchemized into a deck of cards as thick as it had been. The cards, suddenly no longer a table, scattered across the floor.

Then I tilted the next card at an angle.

Seven of Spades, Lightning Skein. I drew out the Demon God of the Lightning Thief and released the lightning.

Threads of lightning stretched out from the skein. Like the countless webs running through my body, the scattered lightning shot out in every direction and snatched up the cards. When I gripped the lightning skein and pulled, the cards that had been about to scatter flew into my hand all at once.

Hilde watched the cards move on their own and asked, "You've learned a new trick~? Is that the Demon God's power?"

"More or less. It's nothing all that impressive, though."

I answered indifferently as I shuffled the cards.

The Lord of Gold had built a moving fortress with alchemy, and the Lightning Thief could hurl bolts around however it pleased. All I could do was make a few cards or move them with a tiny amount of power. Why did everything become inferior the moment it came into my hands?

Well, this was more than enough for playing around.

"Why are you collecting Demon Gods, Father? What are you going to do once you gather them all?"

"I'm not collecting them for any particular purpose. It's instinctive."

"Instinctive?"

"Yes."

The Sanctum had hidden knowledge that might make humanity dangerous from humanity itself. They called knowledge that transcended the ages Demon Gods, concealed the Prophet's relics in the gaps, and let that knowledge be forgotten.

Still, to hide something, you had to know what it was. The fact that the Sanctum had hidden the Demon Gods meant they had already become humanity's possession. Even if you saw the future, you couldn't know it if you didn't understand it. And if they did understand it, then, as humans, it would become humanity's possession.

Even so, was there any point in hiding them only from my sight? They'd leak out eventually, just as they had in the Lesser States and Claudia. Someone would use alchemy and lightning, even if they didn't fully understand them.

In the end, they'd be found. Of course they would.

And once I found every Demon God, once the King of Humanity, who had stagnated before Year One, caught up with humanity... Then I could finally put an end to this tiresome business and become the Beast King...

"Father?"

"Yes?"

"What are you doing right now?"

I had been shuffling cards without a thought in my head, but Hilde's question made me look up.

Dozens of cards were moving through the air. When I swept my hand in a circle, the cards slid through the air as though my hand had been extended. I snapped my fingers and waved them from side to side, and the cards crossed in zigzags, shuffling one by one.

Humans had two hands, with five fingers on each. Because of that structural limit, there were only so many ways I could shuffle a deck. The power I had acquired this time was strange, though. I could control objects connected by threads of lightning as if they were my own body.

Come to think of it, that wasn't strange at all. My body moved through threads of lightning too. Then it was perfectly ordinary.

"I'm just shuffling cards."

"So fast that even 'I' can barely see them?"

"If you could see every movement, would that even count as shuffling?"

It had become more complicated than before, but the method was similar. After flicking my fingers a few times, I folded them and brought both hands together. The cards formed a ring and were drawn into my hands. I tapped the deck into place, then checked its thickness.

That made fifty-two cards. The number was right. I couldn't restore the contents, but it was inconvenient if the number didn't match.

"Is that Father's idea of normal?"

"Dexterity is an ordinary power humans possess. This much is possible. From my perspective, moving your body with qi and transforming is far stranger."

"What if Father had the Water Qi Art? Could Father transform like 'me' then?"

There was no reason to tell the truth. But there was no reason to lie either, so I answered honestly.

"Well, I've never tried it, so I don't know. If I gained enough ability, I suppose I could do it like Hilde."

"Whatever 'I' can do, Father can do too. Because Father is the King of Humanity."

Hilde muttered as though possessed.

"I understand now. 'My' acting was nothing. 'I' was a fake. The King of Humanity was the one who could truly become anything. Because he was the King of Humanity. He was the king of beggars, ministers, and emperors too."

"Just because I'm their king doesn't mean I've ever tried to become them."

"You don't need to become them. What matters is that you can."

Wouldn't it be more important to ask whether I had any desire to do so first?

I had no idea what Hilde expected. Actually, I did, but I pretended not to. Hilde asked cautiously, "Father, perhaps..."

"Hyu?"

At that moment, Tyr opened the door and appeared without a sound or warning. She glanced disapprovingly at Hilde, who was in the room with me.

"I gave you a separate room, yet you came to bother injured Hyu."

"What's wrong with that~? We traveled together for a long time anyway~. Besides, Father must have been lonely, so I was just keeping him company!"

"Know the time and place. Now that you have come to the Duchy, you too must follow the Duchy's customs."

At Tyr's words, Hilde twisted a lock of hair and made a token show of remorse.

"Yes, yes~. But I have one question~. Is it acceptable in the Duchy to throw open a door without knocking? This is a room where a guest is staying, after all."

It was clearly aimed at Tyr. Tyr felt a little guilty, but she had an excuse prepared and answered confidently.

"I sensed an unfamiliar presence inside, so for Hyu's safety, I had no choice but to act."

"Oh, please. Who would attack the Progenitor's guest in the Fog Duchy? Un, less! Does Tyrkanzyaka mean something different by an attack?"

"The Holy Sword Corps might come looking. Just as they did in Cloud Village."

That was clearly aimed at Hilde as well. After Claudia and everything that had happened there, Tyr instinctively sensed that Hilde belonged to the Holy Sword Corps. Hilde's actions had been far removed from those of the Corps, so Tyr was still overlooking it, but she was much warier than before.

"You cannot possibly be Holy Sword Corps when you saved Hyu and summoned Valdamir to Cloud Village.... Still, who can say? Perhaps a Holy Sword Corps member hiding their identity and acting a part is concealed even in this Fog Duchy."

The Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka hated the Sanctum. The Holy Sword Corps was no exception. Vampires spared no effort to deny the Sanctum and the Holy Sword Corps their past, destroy their present, and erase their future. Even a former member of the Holy Sword Corps could not escape that anger.

Hilde had not been confirmed as Holy Sword Corps, and I was here as well. That was the only reason Tyr was watching and waiting.

"If you are an outsider, a human who is not a vampire, you have no grounds to complain about being suspected. Be careful."

That was all she meant. Tyr gave Hilde a subtle warning. Hilde noticed both Tyr's concern and wariness, then let out a sigh.

"Goodness~. I can't even give Father a proper filial sightseeing trip~."

"Do not worry. Once Hyu has fully recovered, I will guide you myself."

Having finished with Hilde, Tyr spoke to me.

"More importantly, Hyu. Did someone visit a little while ago?"

"Yes. A physician sent by the Duke of Crimson Blood came by."

"Already?"

Tyr asked urgently.

"Nothing happened?"

"She treated me without a word and left. I'm not sure whether that was treatment or an exhibition of my organs, but I do feel lighter."

"I see...."

'If Valdamir sent her, that means he judged her not to be dangerous.... But this is a little different from what I heard.'

Huh? Reading Tyr's thoughts, I noticed our impressions were slightly at odds.

The vampire named Lir whom I had read was not dangerous at all. I hadn't even sensed danger while she was cutting open my stomach with a knife.

Yet Tyr was on guard.

"What's going on? Was that an assassin trying to make my death look like an accident by putting a blade in my stomach? If so, I'd have fallen for it without being able to do a thing."

"No. If she treated you, then she has fulfilled her duty. I must look for that child elsewhere."

"Then you're already too late. She said she was heading toward Claudia."

"Cloud Village?"

"Yes. She said there might be someone there who needed treatment."

It was probably too late by now. Lir lacked experience, but she was practically an Elder. If she wanted to, she could move in an instant.

Tyr muttered as if troubled. "Hm. What unfortunate timing."

"What's going on?"

"It is a Duchy secret... but I suppose I can tell you, Hyu."

If it didn't concern me, she didn't need to tell me. I had only asked out of politeness, but Tyr happily accepted my interest and explained softly.

"Luscinia's death was top secret. Only Elders of the same rank and Luscinia's thralls, who were directly affected by the death, knew. Only I can handle matters concerning an Elder. Therefore, by that duty, I must uncover how Luscinia died and avenge him."

"Being the Progenitor doesn't seem easy either."

"It is the responsibility of one who stands above others. Thank you for understanding."

Tyr smiled faintly, then covered her mouth and spoke quietly.

"...But according to the story that reached me."

What kind of story could make her hesitate like this? As I considered reading her thoughts one step ahead, Tyr gave me a startling piece of information.

"The culprit who killed Luscinia, an Elder of higher rank, was said to be... Lir Nightingale."

Footnotes:

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