WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 416: Elder, Ain, Yeiling, and Human - 3

──────

She did not look particularly shocked. Still, my words clearly reached her. Cabilah was a vampire with a cold heart, so rather than be shaken, she assessed the matter calmly.

"...Big Sister suspects me?"

"More precisely, the Elders. What Yeiling could possibly kill an Elder alone? Another Elder may have helped, or perhaps killed Luscinia and framed someone else. Tyr, as the ruler, would find it difficult to overlook those possibilities."

"The suspicion itself is reasonable. But did Big Sister really say that?"

Pretty sharp. A vampire really was a vampire. It would be hard to lead her into a misunderstanding.

"No. Tyr doesn't want to suspect the Elders, her loyal retainers and treasured companions. But it's better to clear up any doubts, isn't it? So I stepped in to resolve that concern for her."

"Aren't you afraid of dying? How presumptuous...."

Once Cabilah confirmed that I was acting on my own, she seemed to like me more.

"I wondered where Big Sister had picked up such an appealing blood bag, but you're surprisingly worthy of being her concubine. That's right. Big Sister can't bring herself to suspect us easily."

"Exactly. I thought vampires would coldly track down the culprit."

"We aren't ruled by emotion. That's different from being suspicious. More than anything, we Elders were Big Sister's hands and feet. Hands and feet aren't something one suspects. To hands and feet, the body is more precious than anything...."

After murmuring briefly, Cabilah answered more seriously.

"Fine, you insolent concubine. What do you want to know?"

"The late Luscinia's enemies."

"It's as I said before. We Elders are vampires. We aren't ruled by emotion. Impulsive murder is an excuse humans scrape together. No Elder would devise an uncertain, dangerous, profitless murder scheme just because they held a grudge."

Cabilah spoke with certainty. She genuinely believed it, and as she said, Cabilah was not the culprit behind Luscinia's murder.

Well, I already knew that through mind-reading. I had come here to find clues in the first place.

"Tyr probably thinks the same way. But I came to consider even the worst-case scenario, didn't I? Let's look at it differently."

"Differently? How?"

"Suppose there is a culprit among the Elders. Then who would it be?"

Once you assumed there was a culprit, things became visible. Change the premise, and the perspective changed. Then Cabilah would offer new clues. Even if she did not know the answer, a conclusion based on nearly eleven centuries of knowing them was a clue in itself.

I had barely begun waiting for an answer when Cabilah shook her head.

"I really don't know. It's so stupid that only Lungken comes to mind, but Lungken isn't smart enough to hide evidence. No, Lungken probably wouldn't even think to hide it. So I really don't know."

"I heard the late Luscinia treated humans harshly."

"Hmph. Right. That bat bastard must've thought humans popped out whenever he dug into the ground. He mistreated his own humans until they died, then went looking for more. He kept telling me to sell him humans, hand them over.... He acted like a bat for so long that he must have really gone blind. Do you think I should give them away just because he asks so shamelessly, after all the centuries I've spent feeding them, housing them, and caring for them?"

Cabilah spoke like a rancher who had amassed a great deal of livestock, and in truth, it was not much different.

Blood Weaver Cabilah was kind to humans. That was part of Cabilah's nature, but also wisdom shaped by nearly eleven centuries of experience.

Humans were not a threat. Cabilah did not struggle to manage them just because their numbers increased a little. As the one responsible for the coast, Cabilah could obtain resources easily. Cabilah's thralls handled blood and bones, and simply increasing the traps they set along the shore could feed several hundred people.

Do not misunderstand. Cabilah did not see humans as equals. Her kindness was the result of a delicate nature and cold calculation.

...But did that make it any less kind? At that point, couldn't it simply be called love?

"Anyway, I understand."

"You don't suspect me?"

"I came to you first because you're the least suspicious."

"Based on what?"

I couldn't say it was because Cabilah had seemed weakest in a one-on-one fight when I saw her in Claudia. I made up a reasonable explanation instead.

"Because you're devoted to Tyr. Lady Cabilah wouldn't create something for Tyr to worry about."

Cabilah snorted.

"Hmph. You're good at flattering people."

"That's how I secured the position of the Progenitor's concubine."

"The real reason must be something else. In any case, I have nothing more to say about the culprit...."

Hmm. I had already read those thoughts, but Cabilah was not the culprit. That did not mean I had gained nothing.

It seemed the late Luscinia had earned quite a bit of resentment in various places. If even another Elder treated Luscinia like that, how must Luscinia have treated humans?

There was a reason nobody had questioned Lir Nightingale's motive. Luscinia himself was the motive.

Hmm. Then who was it really.... As I scratched my chin, Cabilah stood and asked,

"Humans get hungry at all hours, don't they? Want something to eat?"

"Yes. Please."

I couldn't resist that.

Cabilah prepared freshly caught seafood. A teddy bear directly controlled by Cabilah stood on the cutting board, removed scales with a sharp bone knife, and sliced sashimi. Meanwhile, Dragon Tooth Soldiers in aprons placed huge crabs into pots and steamed them.

The cooking was simple and quick. Within minutes, a full seafood meal had been set out. Cabilah dismissed the Dragon Tooth Soldiers and said,

"Eat. I prepared food that won't alter the flavor of your blood much, so it doesn't matter if you eat a lot."

"Thank you for taking such good care of my health. I'll accept your goodwill and become healthier."

"I keep telling you, it's for Big Sister, not you!"

The sashimi drizzled with fruit juice tasted extravagantly good. People said fresh fish could be eaten raw, but that only mattered when one actually had the chance. The firm flesh stimulated my tongue with a savory flavor unlike meat.

The steamed crab that followed boasted a truly violent flavor. The warm flesh crumbled on my tongue, creating an explosion of taste.

This was living. I had spent all this time beside a chef like this without my sense of taste? I decided it. Today, I would restore Tyr's sense of taste first.

As Cabilah watched me eat, she asked casually,

"Did something happen to Big Sister?"

She had been curious the whole time, yet it took this long for her to ask. I pretended not to know at first.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't feel Big Sister's dominance. From the moment we met, the tremor I should have felt... was gone. Big Sister hasn't deliberately let it go. I can tell.... Don't you know anything?"

Hmm. What should I do? Should I play ignorant? Ask how an ordinary human like me could know vampire physiology?

'There's no way he simply became Big Sister's concubine. There must be something. No, there has to be. I need to know what happened to Big Sister... how she changed.'

Still, that would only postpone her doubts. I should tell her. I had already revealed that I was the King of Humanity, after all.

As I put food into my mouth, I spoke as casually as possible.

"It's nothing much. Tyr recovered her heart."

"Her heart...?"

"Yes. After an incredible adventure, Tyr remembered the heartbeat she had forgotten long ago. She even succeeded in making it beat again."

A dead heart beating again was an unprecedented event, so it took Cabilah time to accept it. To help her understand, I explained in greater detail.

"Life distinguishes the self from the world and preserves that difference. Death, on the other hand, is becoming one with the world. Once Tyr's heart came back to life, her bloodcraft, which follows her heart, began distinguishing Tyr from the world as well. Her dominance has weakened somewhat because of that, but Tyr herself hasn't changed much, so don't worry."

"...You helped with that. That's why you're her concubine...."

Vampires were subtly quick-witted. Perhaps it was due to experience, or because they did not let their emotions blur things and move on. It was hard to determine now. Left with no choice, I nodded.

"Yes, well. It's nothing special."

"...That's good."

"Please tell Tyr that. Tyr will be happy too."

That was that, and food was food. Having cleared every plate, I stood with satisfaction.

"Thank you for the meal. I'll be going now. I'll investigate the culprit as carefully as possible, so don't worry too much."

Just as I was about to say goodbye and leave, Cabilah moved the teddy bear. Its mouth opened and closed, and a voice came from it as though it were performing ventriloquism.

As if insisting that Cabilah herself was not the one speaking.

"Be careful of Valdamir."

"Valdamir? The Duke of Crimson Blood? Do you find the Duke of Crimson Blood suspicious?"

"Whether Valdamir is suspicious isn't the issue."

A vampire was a vampire, no matter what anyone said. Monsters with cold blood and unmoving hearts that drank human blood.

Possessing cold reason, their emotional fluctuations were extremely small. Callous, perhaps. They did not hope for the best possibility, nor did they reject the worst.

"No one can say for certain who the culprit is. But if Valdamir has another scheme in mind."

Just as I had come to Cabilah first because Cabilah seemed the least dangerous.

Cabilah was thinking along the same lines and remaining wary.

It would be fine if everyone else betrayed Tyr. They were not dangerous.

But there was one exception. The strongest Elder and the undisputed ruler of this land, Crimson Duke Valdamir.

If Valdamir intended to cast off the restraints that had bound him.

"...Now that Big Sister has cast off her restraints, even Big Sister could be in danger."

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried