WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 405: The Shepherd Doesn't Know the Sheep's Heart

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The street suddenly grew dark. Visibility had not been great to begin with, but the fog that rolled in was so thick that even things ten meters ahead looked hazy.

Yet the people in the market went about their daily lives as if they were used to it. The fog was not their enemy, and they trusted that those hiding within it would not harm them.

Then something appeared amid that peaceful routine.

Crimson Duke Valdamir, who had brought the fog with him, approached after bowing deeply.

"Progenitor. Please forgive the interruption."

"What is it, Valdamir?"

'I told him not to disturb us because I would be going out with Hyu.'

Tyr replied with a hint of displeasure. It lasted only a moment. Valdamir held out a pouch heavy with coins and a red pen.

"A few things have changed while you were asleep. I will explain the details later, but please use these in place of gold coins."

"What are these?"

"They are red gold coins, a currency introduced recently. They are Lesser States alchemical coins forged together with blood."

Though the coins remained inside the pouch, Tyr could tell their number and type through bloodcraft. She instinctively understood their value as well.

They were coins made for vampires alone, coins only vampires could create. To a vampire capable of bloodcraft, the blood mixed into each coin would feel like part of their own body.

Tch. So I couldn't even pickpocket vampires here.

While I clicked my tongue at the advance of technology, Valdamir presented another item.

"This is a blood-ink pen issued only to Ain and those above them. Should you become thirsty or require anything, please write with this. Whether human or vampire, anyone will do their utmost to carry out what is written in that ink."

Valdamir seemed accustomed to Tyr, who had awakened after a long sleep with little knowledge of the current world. The support was too useful for her to be displeased with it.

As she accepted the coins and pen, Tyr said, "You have done well."

"It is only my duty. Then please enjoy your first outing in a long while."

With a brief farewell, Valdamir melted into the darkness and vanished in an instant.

Tyr looked in the direction Valdamir had disappeared, looking displeased.

'My control over blood has weakened, so I did not notice Valdamir approaching. Recovering my heart is inconvenient in moments like this. I warned him firmly, so Valdamir should not be watching me, but...'

Before recovering her heart, Tyr had encompassed the entire Abyss. Now, all she could sense was the blood near her body. She had only just learned that the coins used here contained blood.

She had gained control over her own body but lost her control over what lay outside it. Gain one thing, lose another. Like any ordinary human, Tyr briefly regretted the power she had lost.

That was not what mattered right now.

I took Tyr's hand.

She flinched at the sudden contact. I felt blood moving through our joined hands. So did Tyr.

Tyr felt her blood flow more clearly. It was all the more precious because it was limited.

"Now that our pockets are full, shall we go? Time to indulge ourselves with someone else's money."

Tyr asked, "...Am I someone else to you?"

"Everything in the world is either me or someone else. What kind of someone else matters."

"What kind?"

She had lost things, but she had gained things too. Things more precious to Tyr than anything else.

Emotions. For Tyr, who had wanted a fluctuation she could not control even within herself, this had granted part of that wish.

"Someone I shared my heart with."

"...That is true."

"Then shall we go? Let's teach that shopkeeper not to judge people by their money."

"I do not know if that can be called a lesson."

The fog had already thinned. Still holding Tyr's hand, I headed back to the food stall.

With the fog gone, the shopkeeper had resumed calling for customers. I threw away my earlier humble manner and held my head high.

Recognizing me, the shopkeeper scowled.

"That beggar from earlier? What, did you exchange some mon... Gasp! This is... a red-gold coin...!"

What a materialistic person. The moment they saw money, their attitude changed completely.

His body growing heavy, I answered coldly, "Forget that. Food."

"Of course! How many servings would you like?"

"Two."

"Uh, wait. Then your change..."

"Keep what's left and pin it to your chest. Don't ever look down on someone just because they seem poor."

Overwhelmed by the sight of me tossing out a red-gold coin with such a changed demeanor, the shopkeeper collapsed onto the ground with a splat.

With dignity but without arrogance, I took the plates and turned away, leaving one red-gold coin behind.

I could almost hear an eagle soaring somewhere.

Returning to Tyr, I held out a plate.

"Here. Have one too, Tyr."

"Carry them both. I have no need to eat."

"No, I'm asking you to hold them. I'm eating both."

When I thrust it at her as though passing off a burden, Tyr accepted it with a sullen expression. With my free hand, I hurriedly ate the food from my plate.

The sauce soaked into the hot meat spread throughout my mouth. The urge to savor this flavor clashed with the urge to swallow it at once and make it part of my body. I wanted to gulp it down, but considering my condition, I chewed it as thoroughly as I could.

A tremendous satisfaction washed over me, as if proving that humans had originally been carnivores. It felt as if the holes in my body were being filled with the same flesh. Even the salty sauce gave me a sense of fulfillment.

The sensation of filling my body with another living creature's blood and flesh. Nothing could compare to that pleasure.

There was enough meat like this to feed everyone. Maybe the Duchy was a good country after all?

As I ate in silence with far too much enjoyment, Tyr complained.

"Have some dignity. Who walks through a market street stuffing their face so greedily?"

"Ordinary people all eat like this. If we're traveling incognito, we should act ordinary."

"Must you imitate the filthy ones? With such a lack of dignity, how could I boast anywhere that you are my honored guest? One who receives precious treatment ought to act accordingly..."

For some reason, her complaints kept growing longer.

After emptying one plate, I considered throwing it away. It felt wrong to do that, so I turned it into a card and shoved it into my pocket.

Unable to bear the sight, Tyr scolded me again.

"You're putting something smeared with food in your pocket? Your trousers will be covered in grease when we return."

"I handled it well enough. Where am I supposed to throw it away around here?"

"You should have simply discarded it by the roadside. Someone would have cleaned it up."

Grumbling, Tyr held out the remaining plate to me.

But they say putting food in your mouth and trying to eat more after you've already eaten are two different things. Having finished one plate, I suddenly could not bring myself to touch the second. My empty stomach even hurt a little after eating.

Ugh, what should I do? It felt wrong to throw it away. If Azzy were here, she could at least take care of the leftovers... Ah, this would do.

"It feels awkward eating alone. Would you like some too, Tyr?"

"...Are you passing it off to me because you can't eat any more?"

"Oh, come on. You eat things that are moderately tasty by yourself, but when something is truly delicious, you want to share it. I want to share this joy with you too."

"Joy or not, I cannot taste anything."

'Still, they say family are the people who share meals. Though I have this body, perhaps I should at least go through the motions.'

It was said that vampires could not eat food, but that was not entirely true. Vampires had teeth and throats, so they could mechanically chew food and swallow it. The food simply did not assimilate into their bodies and only dirtied their blood, which was why they avoided putting it in their mouths whenever possible.

That did not mean they could not force themselves to eat.

Tyr said, "They say even the taste of liquor changes depending on who pours it. Let us see whether what you give me is any different."

"Wait. It would be strange to give it to you with my bare hand, so I'll use a card to pick it up."

"Forget that. Give it to me directly with your hand."

As I stopped while taking out a card and looked at her, Tyr hurriedly added, "Do you not need insurance as well? If it tastes bad, I will bite your finger instead and drink your blood."

"I thought you said my blood tasted bad."

"Even if it does, it would be better than this."

I didn't want to lose any more blood. Still, I had no choice. Should I make it delicious for her?

Tyr opened her mouth slightly. It was funny that she only parted her lips a little, trying to preserve her dignity even now.

As ordered, I carefully rolled up a strip of meat and placed it in Tyr's mouth.

She could not taste it. All Tyr felt was the dull sensation against her tongue. It was only a sensation she could perceive because something was there.

That was the only sensation Tyr was allowed...

Until now.

"There. Become delicious. Become delicious."

"?!"

Thin threads of lightning ran along my fingers. The power was so weak it was embarrassing to describe. Its only virtue was that it was fine and precise, and it could do no more than tickle Tyr's body.

So I tickled her. I forced sensation into a body where every sense had died, using the Demon God's power.

"Ugh...!"

'It tickles... It tickles? Me?'

This worked. Then again, it had been possible ever since I made her heart beat.

The difference was that now, after encountering the Demon God, I had gone beyond simply making it beat.

Threads of lightning forcibly traveled through her dead nerves. This current, finer than the smallest insect, was too weak to hurt her body. Instead, it spread like a spiderweb, then converged on one point.

It drove a sensation she had been unable to feel until now, taste, directly into her brain.

Tyr tasted it.

She recovered one of the senses she had lost centuries ago.

"How does it taste? You should be able to feel it right now."

"Hyu, Hyu...!"

Tyr twisted her body as she felt the tickling sensation. The most luxurious of the senses she had discarded after using it for only a short time had returned and tormented her.

It was not real, only a fleeting spark I had given her, but that human part of her was enough to test Tyr.

She could taste.

Not the question of whether her body accepted blood, but the pure flavor her tongue craved. Though the sensation shaking her body made Tyr uneasy, she could not pull away easily. The sensation she had recovered after so long was like a memory from early childhood, a little embarrassing yet wistful, and she did not want to lose it again.

Feeling the taste, Tyr instinctively tried to chew what was in her mouth. But I had no intention of losing any more of my already insufficient blood, so I quickly withdrew my finger.

The threads of lightning that had stimulated Tyr's senses slipped away. The taste lingering on her tongue lost its color.

Tyr hurriedly covered her mouth. Looking up at me with an incredulous expression, she seemed as flustered as someone whose lips had been stolen.

"Hyu... What was that...?"

"It is the Demon God's power I obtained in Claudia. I did not expect it to work so well."

"You... What exactly are you...?"

Still confused, Tyr belatedly looked around.

Passersby had stopped walking and were staring at Tyr and me. Some were simply curious, but a sharp-eyed few glanced our way with uncertain looks.

Whether they liked it or not, vampires gave off a distinctive air. There were not many of them, making them easy to identify. There was no other vampire as beautiful and distinctive as Tyr, so she could not help drawing attention.

"Let us leave for now."

"What? I haven't finished eating yet."

"We will eat elsewhere, so hurry!"

There was no real reason to run, but Tyr wrapped us in darkness and pulled me away all on her own.

Footnotes:

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