WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 415: Elder, Ain, Yeiling, and Human - 2

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Cabilah only stopped after raising all kinds of hell. She sent away the humans who had nearly died, then ordered her Dragon Tooth Soldiers to gather the seafood scattered across the mudflat. The bone soldiers wielding rakes were less dexterous than humans, but they had enough sense to tell which fish were unconscious and pick them up.

Sea-beasts were a crisis, but they were also an opportunity. Humans were clever enough to snatch up the scraps left behind by the great changes caused by the giants of the sea. Sea creatures struck by the cloud ray's fins had been swept in with the tsunami, unconscious. All humans had to do to claim them was bend down and pick them up. Fish they had never seen before, hermit crabs, and lobsters. The day's harvest from the mudflat was immense.

Watching from higher ground, I let out an involuntary whistle.

"Wow. Elders can even fight tsunamis and win."

"They'd have to be capable of at least that much. They were once a force that rivaled the Sanctum, after all~."

"Hilde. Who would win in a fight between the Six Generals and an Elder?"

It was the kind of versus match men supposedly loved. Hilde narrowed her eyes and asked in return.

"Father, are you a child?"

"I am one of the few young people left in this land."

"Who'd be crazy enough to fight an Elder with the intention of winning? You can't kill them no matter how hard you hit them."

She dismissed it as a childish question, but Hilde belonged to the military state's Public Safety Bureau. There was no way she had not compared the nation's military strength, especially when a neighboring country used human blood as a resource. Hilde answered with a grumble.

"The Six Generals have reached the absolute limit of human talent. With the military state's full support, if they burn every last bit of their talent with death in mind... they might surpass an Elder for a single instant."

They were living humans, capable of change within a short time. If they concentrated all that strength and change into a single point, a strike at the pinnacle could reach even an Elder. Hilde was certain of it.

"But the Elder still wouldn't die."

That was Hilde's weakness, and the military state's as well. Even then, they could not win.

The power of vampires was close to the mystical. No matter how exceptional one's talent was or how much one honed one's arts, killing them required power of a similar caliber.

Unfortunately, the military state possessed no such thing. The closest it had was Heavenly Link Eimeder, the sacred blade forged by the Holy Maiden. Even that was burdened with countless restrictions, requiring the power of the communications corps within military state territory.

"Fortunately, Elders don't leave the Fog Duchy~. There is no darkness outside the Fog Duchy, so they can't hide from either sunlight or the Sanctum's foresight. To vampires, the world beyond the fog is pitch-black darkness. So if the Fog Duchy wants to project its power, it needs connections outside."

"And the military state intends to do that with me as the connection."

"It's a grand operation, but don't misunderstand, okay? Even without your connection to Tyrkanzyaka, Father, you're more than valuable enough on your own!"

"Thanks. That was oddly comforting."

So the thing I had to investigate from now on was a monster like that. Everyone knew I was Tyr's concubine, so they would not attack me... but things could turn dangerous if things went wrong. I should be careful.

"If an Elder tries to kill me, please burn through your entire life to stop them, even if only for an instant."

"Was that why you brought 'me' along as a bodyguard?!"

"That too."

I approached Cabilah.

She was distributing the seafood brought by the Dragon Tooth Soldiers. Humans holding baskets accepted their shares with repeated words of thanks. Cabilah answered absentmindedly as she handed out fish, without any particular feeling.

She was not doing it to feel rewarded or superior. Vampires could not move themselves over such trivial emotions. It was simply... a habit Cabilah had formed.

Even while grumbling, Cabilah worked with her own hands.

"Big Sister has returned, and what am I doing here.... Next."

When it was my turn, I stepped forward and held out my basket. Cabilah's face brightened for a moment... then cooled as she spoke.

"Sister!... What? Sister didn't come with you?"

"No. I'm alone for now."

"I thought you came together. What a waste. Why is a concubine like you wandering around instead of staying by Sister's side? Go fulfill your duty of comforting her."

I lowered my voice and whispered to the grumbling Cabilah.

"I have something urgent to say about the late Luscinia."

"What right do you have?"

"As Tyr's concubine."

From beside me, I heard a voice say, "You're calling yourself that naturally now~," but I ignored it. Cabilah's frown deepened as she looked around. The fishermen were watching us with openly curious eyes.

"Let's change locations."

East of the Castle of the Full Moon lay the Bloodweaving Workshop, Cabilah's territory.

At first glance, it was no different from an ordinary textile workshop. Clack, clack. Spinning wheels turned in a steady rhythm, and red thread was densely woven into red cloth. Up to that point, it was an ordinary sight one could find anywhere.

...If Dragon Tooth Soldiers had not been turning the spinning wheels.

Bones turned the wheels. Bones wound thread. Bones wove cloth. The sight of things that needed skin before clothes weaving fabric was not just grotesque, but ridiculous.

Farther inside, the scene became even stranger. Every kind of bone and skin was displayed neatly along the walls. Quite a few appeared to be human. Countless bones and skins had been threaded or bound with red strands, making them look as though they had been caught in a spiderweb.

Those red strands were blood thread, woven from blood. They were Cabilah's power, and why she was called the Blood Weaver.

She controlled Dragon Tooth Soldiers by winding blood thread around bones or planting it inside them. The massive spine Cabilah had controlled earlier had likewise been moved with bloodcraft after blood thread was driven through it.

After leading me deeper inside, Cabilah turned and spoke to her thrall.

"Cheisi. Wait outside. Don't let anyone in."

"Yes, Lady Cabilah."

Cheisi obeyed Cabilah's command without the slightest doubt or curiosity. Then Cabilah pointed at Hilde.

"You leave too."

"Me? 'I' am Father's bodyguard, though?"

"Do you think I'd harm the concubine Sister took in? You're the one in the most danger here. Go protect yourself."

She meant that she could not harm me, but might attack Hilde if things went wrong. Hilde grumbled as she walked outside. Soon, only Cabilah and I remained.

Cabilah placed a doll on the table, climbed onto a chair herself, and spoke with a sulky expression.

"Did Sister order you to do this?"

"No. Tyr didn't ask me to."

"Tch, how enviable. You're the only one who gets to call Sister by a pet name...."

Still grumbling, Cabilah used blood thread to move a teddy bear. The bear abruptly stood on the table and pointed at me.

"Luscinia's death is none of your business! This is the Duchy's affair, so just take good care of the blood you're going to offer Sister. Don't smoke things like mana herbs, and don't drink alcohol. Eat rich food in moderation too!"

"You're even concerned about the little things. How kind."

"Whaaat? Don't be ridiculous. I don't have even a drop of reason to care about you! I did it for Sister! This isn't advice, it's a warning. It's necessary to preserve the taste of your blood! You should make an effort while your blood still tastes good. It'll be too late to regret it after you're discarded!"

That too was her pure inner thought, without a trace of embarrassment.

Cabilah was not worried about me. She was worried about Tyr, who would drink me. She was sincerely advising me because she feared my blood might lose its flavor.

It did not matter to me, since my blood had already been declared tasteless.

"Well, let's say that's true."

"Don't just say that's true! This is important! Sister has never taken a human concubine before. You need to do your best so Sister can enjoy you from head to toe!"

"I decided to make that effort tonight, when I visit Tyr's room."

"Uh, huh? Sister's room...?"

'I have never even set foot in there myself... What is he going to do in there? Could Sister even bite his neck...?'

Startled, Cabilah hugged the doll tightly and began imagining the most shameless thing she could. In her imagination, Tyr embraced me and gently wrapped her arms around my neck....

...Well, for a vampire without senses, that was probably the most shameless thing imaginable.

"A concubine does not necessarily have to offer blood. I became Tyr's concubine because I granted Tyr's wish."

"You, of all people, granted her wish?"

"Have you already forgotten what I am?"

Cabilah glared at me over the doll.

"The King of Humanity? But aren't you washed up?"

"Ghk. Right where it hurts."

"You don't have strength like the Beast King. I can't feel any presence from you even after seeing you in person."

"Unfortunately, that's true. But Tyr is human too. I vaguely understood what Tyr wanted, and that let me secure the position of concubine. Something no Elder has ever accomplished."

"Urgh... I'm jealous, no, you're underhanded...."

Cabilah liked Tyr. No, every Elder could not help but revere and worship Tyr. The only being capable of making a vampire feel something was a superior vampire. The same was true for Elders. To feel the pull of blood, they needed the Progenitor.

But now that Tyr had lost her dominance....

"And now, I have vaguely realized what Tyr is worried about."

I might be in danger if things went wrong. I should make my backing sound more reliable. I mixed in a little fabrication as I spoke.

"There may be an Elder behind Luscinia's murder."

Cabilah's expression turned cold.

Footnotes:

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