WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 418: Elder, Ain, Yeiling, and Human - 5

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No matter where you looked in the world, if you dug deep enough, something ugly would reveal itself.

All I had to do was lower my head and look at my own body. Beneath the smooth layer of skin covering it lay fetid blood and grotesque chunks of flesh.

A country was no different. Darkness clearly existed there too, hidden from sight.

"Ah, that?"

Tyr seemed to think I was criticizing her and looked a little troubled.

"...It is the duchy's method of execution."

"Like hanging or beheading?"

"Yes. Humans who commit crimes worthy of death are placed in a press. Much like a fruit press, a human is placed below a massive suspended boulder, which is rolled over them to squeeze out their blood. Every drop of blood is precious to vampires, so we adopted that method."

To vampires, blood was food, wealth, and power. That was why they valued humans, who produced blood. Put another way, though, humans were merely property.

"Putting people in a press to execute them. Interesting."

"Hyu, do not think of it as cruel. This has its own..."

"I thought you'd keep them imprisoned for life and suck their blood dry. You're just killing them? Isn't that a loss?"

"Was that what you were curious about?"

I asked innocently.

"Why? Did you think I was going to condemn you for killing people cruelly? Me?"

"Was that not how you asked?"

"You still don't know me very well. I'm from the military state, after all. Compared to that place, this isn't very different."

"That is true. The military state also forced people into harsh labor."

'Thank goodness. At least my country treats humans better than the military state. I nearly ended up unable to say anything in front of Hyu.'

Compared to the military state, what country would not seem better? Remembering the military state's recent state of affairs, Tyr spoke with great relief.

"There is something similar. Those who steal or injure others are confined and punished by having their blood taken more often."

"You don't make them work?"

"Why would we need to? We can use the blood we take from them to create thralls, then make those thralls work. Would it not be putting the cart before the horse if they were injured while laboring?"

"That's the complete opposite of the military state. There, labor means getting hurt."

To the military state, humans were labor. They used humans for forced work or extracted their mana to obtain resources.

In the duchy, humans were not labor. They were resources themselves. Perhaps the vampire nation was the one that valued humans for what they were.

"Well, you wouldn't put someone in a press just for a little theft. To be put in the press, they'd have to kill someone."

"Not so. Those who kill others, or cause others to die, are made into Twits."

"Twits?"

"Thralls made by yeilings. The moment someone kills a human, they have already taken one of the duchy's assets. Even if they spent the rest of their lives repaying it, they could not make up for it."

Murder was a grave crime here as well, but because it took away one of the duchy's precious resources. The duchy's way of dealing with murderers was...

"Therefore, we prolong the time until they die indefinitely and put them to work. As vampires, they are strong, but their sense of self fades, leaving them dolls that obey only commands."

"That's harsh."

"Would it not be stranger to show mercy to murderers?"

Well, that was true. Unless it was wartime, murder was shunned everywhere.

Wait. Humans were such valuable resources that even murderers were turned into thralls and used. Then...

"Who do you use the press on?"

Who was this execution method of crushing living humans and draining their blood meant for?

"Naturally, it is a punishment prepared for those who try to flee this country."

Tyr answered as if it were obvious.

"Their blood was filled with this country's water. Their flesh was woven from this country's meat. In that case, should those leaving this country not return everything the country gave them?"

Leaving behind all their blood and flesh meant dying. Well, that was clearly what Tyr meant.

Rather than ask the obvious, I swallowed and asked,

"Do people try to run away?"

"Long ago, when we were still inexperienced, there were many such people. We were at war then and had no room to spare, so we tried to rule and suppress everyone through force. But... we realized spreading fear only aided the Sanctum, so we changed our policy. Once we treated them differently, the number of escapees greatly decreased."

"So there are still some, even though you treat them this well."

"When people gather, every kind of person appears. That is also why we make examples of them with harsh punishments, so no one dares even consider fleeing."

So that was why word never spread about how livable the Fog Duchy was. Even the Sanctum's prophets could not see through the mist, and once someone set foot inside, they could not escape. The stories within were trapped in eternal darkness.

Darkness became fear. People feared the unknown country and invented every kind of horror story about it. Even I had thought of it that way.

Still, now that I knew the country's foundation, it was easy to understand.

A vampire nation where humans were resources themselves. They were precious in and of themselves, so there was no particular need to change or strive. Perhaps this country was a true paradise.

"Have I answered many of your questions?"

"Yes. The different background makes it fascinating. And having the person who built this country explain it directly makes it easy to understand."

"Hehe. Did you not explain the military state to me in the Abyss? That was quite enjoyable. We know different things, so should we not teach one another?"

They treated humans like livestock? Was anywhere else different? The military state openly regarded humans as labor. The Arcane Federation saw them as unscratched lottery tickets. The Empire called them common folk and treated them like weeds growing as they pleased. At least vampires valued their blood. That was fairer, if anything.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day Tyr explained something to me."

"I may have left hundreds of years ago, but it is still my country. I can answer at least that much of your curiosity."

"Right. So you've been studying everything that changed over the past three hundred years?"

"I have heard nearly all of it. Not much has changed. Once I receive reports through tomorrow, I will have fulfilled my duty. And you've helped me understand new systems such as red gold coins more than you realize."

"My help? Ah. Because I taught you about alchemy and alchemical coins?"

"Yes. Among the knowledge you explained, Valdamir had already introduced some of it. He was so flustered when I explained it fluently."

"Flustered? A vampire?"

"Yes. He rested his chin on his hand and thought for a while, then set aside nearly half the materials he had brought. Would he have done that if he were not flustered?"

Was that really being flustered? Had he not simply revised his judgment because the Progenitor's growth was unexpected?

Wait, the Duke of Crimson Blood came personally? Wasn't that vampire busy? For someone of his standing, he was quite diligent in serving the Progenitor. Cabilah too. No matter how I looked at it, she was a loyal subject of the Progenitor...

No, was it strange for someone of the Duke of Crimson Blood's rank to act as a servant at all?

I should meet the Duke of Crimson Blood sometime. I had read enough of his thoughts so far, but... if he noticed Tyr's condition as Cabilah had, his thinking might change.

"It's an interesting country. I haven't traveled through many countries myself, but this is the first time I've seen one as unusual as the duchy. It's even more surprising that its unusual nature led somewhere positive."

"It is my country, but I take pride in having run it well enough. Otherwise, how could I dare think of hosting the King of Humanity?"

"What's wrong with the King of Humanity? The King of Humanity is, in essence, also the Beast King. Beasts do not lecture other countries on how to run themselves."

"I know that much. I know you do not love all people simply because you are the King of Humanity. I know you are not bound by the Sanctum's empty claims of good and evil."

Knowing that, Tyr smiled proudly.

"It is a matter of how I feel. Hyu, I wished to repay you and brought you here. If I showed you something shameful, how could I lift my head and face you?"

Vampires were kind to humans. Tyr, despite having ruled over the Abyss, had almost no history of actively harming humans. It was less kindness than a desire to cherish humans because they were valuable resources...

...But even I, who could read minds, did not know what kindness was. Could I even distinguish it? Did I need to?

"In return for showing me something nice, I should do my part as well."

During the day, I had gone out to play... no, investigate, and at night, I was supposed to restore her senses. It was time to do what I had promised.

Without even looking, I drew a Spade card. The deck had become as familiar as my own body, so it naturally drew the card I wanted without any special trickery.

Tyr saw my card and asked,

"You always take out cards whenever you use your power. Is that deck of cards a treasure containing your power?"

"No. It contains meaning."

"Meaning?"

"Otherwise, how would I know what power I'm using?"

I rolled Seven of Spades, the Lightning Skein, into a ball and lightly scratched it with my fingernail. Like a massive cocoon, the card unraveled streams of lightning.

Tens of thousands, hundreds of millions of strands dangled from my fingers.

Tyr watched with curious eyes, then pointed at the threads of lightning.

"What a strange ability. What are those threads?"

"Lightning."

"Lightning? Those threads? Do not tell me those are the lightning we saw in Cloud Village. The Demon God's power?"

"Even if it comes from the same Demon God, the scale changes depending on who uses it. Even if I gathered hundreds of millions of these threads, they wouldn't amount to lightning. They'd be weaker than a single bolt of standard magic. Here, take one."

I snapped off a thread of lightning and sent it to Tyr. She reached for it, but it fizzled out as static electricity at that instant.

The tiny spark was too faint for even the most sensitive person to notice. Tyr, who had no senses, certainly could not feel it.

"Ah... It feels strange."

Feels strange, my ass. Don't nod along as though you understand when you have no senses. I was fully aware that my power was lacking too.

"But I have other powers. This thread of lightning will restore your senses."

"How can something I cannot even feel do that?"

"It would take too long to explain, so let's begin. We'll start somewhere close to your head. Tyr, could you stick out your tongue?"

"Stick out my tongue?"

Tyr obediently followed my instruction. She opened her small mouth and shyly extended her tongue.

Even the clams I had seen on the mudflat today had stuck their tongues out farther than Tyr. Looking at the tongue that barely extended far enough to grasp, I felt troubled.

"It's obvious you've never stuck your tongue out at someone before. Is that really as far as you can stick it out?"

"Mmph."

'There has never been any reason to stick it out. What could I possibly lack that would make me stick out my tongue?'

Well, someone who ruled a country probably had no need to tease people they disliked. She could just point a finger and order them to die. Before recovering her heart, Tyrkanzyaka did not even need to give orders. Merely thinking of killing vampires was enough to kill them.

"We can go deeper later. I'll give you a taste of it with the tip for now. Focus your senses on the tip of your tongue."

Human language was only noise produced by shaping vibrations from the throat with the tongue. Unable to speak properly with her tongue out, Tyr nodded to express her agreement.

I grabbed the Lightning Skein in one hand, then pinched Tyr's tongue between my thumb and forefinger. A small, soft piece of flesh rested between my fingers.

"It no longer functions, but it should remain in Tyr's body. Your body stopped exactly as it was when you died. If I awaken that path again with lightning..."

Once you knew, you could see.

The Demon God's knowledge was a tool for understanding the world. Humans, too, were part of that world. If I accepted the Demon God's knowledge, I could understand humans anew from a different perspective.

Then I could immediately make use of that new understanding.

Threads of lightning burrowed into Tyr's tongue. Through my mind reading, I peered into Tyr's senses.

Buried in cold earth, Tyr had cast away every sensation except sight that read darkness instead of light, along with the faintest trace of hearing. For Tyr, who had discarded everything else to remain, other senses were like pitch-black darkness.

But she could not have lacked senses from the beginning. She had only lost them.

I had neither the knowledge to recognize what she had lost nor the means to restore it...

At least, not before I obtained the Demon God.

Good. It was possible. If I did it this way, Tyr could...

"Ah, mmph?"

'Do you have to grip my tongue so tightly?'

...She was not reacting well?

It seemed that having her tongue out and held was putting her in a bad mood. Human speech was formed through the vocal cords and tongue. Unless Tyr had trained herself to produce sound with energy techniques, she could not speak right now. All she could do was sit still and let me hold her tongue.

Could she really be uncomfortable over something so minor? I could have blamed her lack of vampire patience, but there were other psychological factors as well.

'How long has it been since Hyu and I had time alone together? Yet we cannot even talk, and I have to sit here with my tongue held. I know it is necessary, but being alone together in a room while he pulls on my tongue... How could I not feel dissatisfied?'

Resistance began to billow through Tyr's mind. Because of that, my Lightning Skein could not find a path and disappeared inside her body.

At this rate, I might end up doing nothing but fiddling with her tongue rather than restoring her senses. I hurriedly said,

"Just a moment. Focus."

"Mmph."

'Focus? What am I supposed to focus on? My tongue? Or this ridiculous state?'

I was trying to restore Tyr's senses. The Lightning Skein might be able to interfere with her body's movements to some degree, but if I wanted to change Tyr, she needed to respond too.

This was more than simply reading a book. It was the process of writing one anew. If the original creator did not help, this was no different from rambling my wishes into Tyr's ear.

Damn it. I should have encouraged her cooperation first. That was not very magician-like of me.

"I can't hear what you're saying, but you do seem dissatisfied."

"Mmph, mmph."

'Wouldn't anyone be dissatisfied in this state? I am enduring it because you said you would restore my senses.'

Tyr's body had been perfectly separated from my influence by restoring her heart. If she had remained dead, I could have altered her as freely as I had when I restored her heart. I could not do that now.

To change Tyr, I needed Tyr herself to move.

Strange. It worked when we shared food at the Twilight Fortress. The difference between then and now was...

I had no choice.

I let go of her tongue. The soft sensation slipped away, and a faint look of displeasure appeared on Tyr's face before disappearing.

"This isn't getting a response. Tyr, I think we need to change methods."

"If there was another method, why did you not do it from the start?"

"Because it might make you uncomfortable. I chose the gentlest method possible."

"Grabbing a woman's tongue with your fingers and toying with it is gentle? Ha. I wonder what sort of sight your violent method will show me."

"It's hard to explain. Would you like to try it?"

You might regret it. Tyr would, not me.

My warning meant nothing to Tyr. She raised her chin as if daring me to proceed.

"Do it."

"All right. No taking it back."

I would show her a little magic.

I took out Seven of Spades again and pulled out a handful of lightning. Then I put it in my mouth.

This time, I had pulled out more lightning, so the crackling static was fairly loud. Tyr snorted at the sight.

"Eating lightning certainly does not look gentle..."

As Tyr spoke, I grabbed the back of her head.

Tyr lifted her head in confusion. From close enough to touch with an outstretched arm, I pulled her toward me as I lowered my head.

It was violent. Violent enough that even Tyrkanzyaka, the Progenitor herself, could not resist in time.

Before she could react, Tyr's eyes widened as she took the lightning from my mouth into hers.

The vampire's heart began to pound wildly.

Footnotes:

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