WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 419: Elder, Ain, Yeiling, and Human - 6

──────

The night was short because it was empty. It was short for humans seeking hollow sleep in the darkness and for vampires who did nothing out of boredom.

But once you began filling a dark, quiet night with something, so much could fit inside it. Like pouring something into a bottomless vessel, you found yourself wondering whether the nights that always came had truly been this long.

A long night had passed. The lord of the Castle of the Full Moon. The Shadow Queen. Tyrkanzyaka, Progenitor of vampires, lay blankly recalling the previous night. She had spent nearly a thousand years as a vampire and stayed awake through countless nights, but none had ever left as strong an impression as last night.

'It was for treatment. It was only a method to restore sensation to my body. I know that. But...'

No matter how often she repeated it to herself, Tyrkanzyaka's heart kept pounding as it pleased. She found the sensation burdensome, yet part of her enjoyed it.

'...But was it truly only for treatment?'

The more she thought about it, the redder her face became.

In the past, it would have stopped the moment she wanted it to. Now, even if she begged it to stop out of embarrassment, it ignored her and kept beating. She could forcibly restrain it with bloodcraft, but that would make her heart burst. Tyrkanzyaka gave up on controlling her emotions and buried her face in the bed.

'Of course it wasn't! We spent the entire night kissing. We kissed while sitting in a chair, while lying on the desk, even while holding each other. And then, his tongue, his tongue, his tongue... inside my mouth...!'

".........!!!"

Thud, thud. Tyrkanzyaka repeatedly punched the bed. Each blow tore it apart, sending feathers scattering in every direction. The antique bed, valuable enough to be of historical significance, was being reduced to junk, but Tyrkanzyaka was too busy recalling last night to care.

'I was too flustered, and too embarrassed... so I couldn't ask. But Hyu must have felt it too.'

Quite some time had already passed, yet Tyrkanzyaka was still rolling around on the bed. With this one happy memory and the pounding in her heart it brought, she felt she would not grow bored even if days passed like this.

Still, she could not roll around for days on end. He had promised to come again tonight. Yesterday, it had been her mouth, but tonight, somewhere else...

".........!!!"

Thud, thud. The bed now looked as miserable as a bird pierced through with arrows. Tyrkanzyaka continued rolling around on it as feathers spilled out...

Then she felt a strange sensation in her mouth.

A feather. A dry feather was tickling the inside of Tyrkanzyaka's mouth. At first, she did not even know what was strange. She paused for a moment, trying to identify the unfamiliar sensation.

After nearly thirty minutes of dwelling on the feeling, Tyrkanzyaka realized.

'It tickles.'

The inside of her mouth tickled.

She had never felt anything like this since becoming a vampire. After his tongue had swept through every corner of her mouth last night... sensation had returned to it.

"I can... taste now."

She would be able to taste. Whether she could digest food was another matter, but Tyrkanzyaka's tongue had at least earned the right to enjoy fine cuisine. She touched her lips, considering what that meant.

A newly gained ability had to be used at once. Tyrkanzyaka raised her head and called for her handmaiden.

"Katalina."

"My Progenitor. Did you call for me?"

The handmaiden standing outside the door answered. Tyrkanzyaka rose and gave her command.

"I'm going to see Cabilah. Make the preparations."

"It shall be done."

Cabilah was the finest cook the Progenitor knew. She was also the Elder Tyrkanzyaka could speak with most openly. Unlike the other Elders, Cabilah had become a vampire while still young, so Tyrkanzyaka had kept her close as though raising her herself.

Until now, Cabilah had used her culinary skills only to provide for humans, but today she would have the chance to serve the Tyrkanzyaka she adored.

* * *

Sunlight veiled by fog, broad grasslands hidden from view, and a damp wind blowing in from the sea.

In fog that made even the good weather that came once every few months feel lackluster, I yawned lazily, exhausted.

"Yaaawn."

As I paused while walking across the grassland and yawned, Lungken stopped and asked, "Yawning? Are you tired?"

"Yes. I slept poorly because I was in a different bed last night."

Could I even call it sleeping poorly? I had spent the night with Tyr, restored her senses, then caught a little sleep before heading out. Of course I was tired.

Choosing a kiss as the method had been the right answer. Tyr had been very conscious of it too, so her sensory response had been excellent, and I enjoyed myself quite a bit. If I had tried to restore her senses by holding her tongue, it would have taken more than a week.

"Humans are so troublesome! It's strange enough that you sleep every few hours, but you become tired if you don't even sleep properly! How do you live with such inconvenience?"

Lungken, unaware of the circumstances, laughed heartily. What sort of reaction would Lungken have if I said I was tired because I had spent all night kissing the Progenitor?

Hmm. Lungken might accept it easily enough. I had no intention of finding out.

"From a human's perspective, vampires who don't sleep normally and then sleep for months at a time are stranger."

"Every day, you sleep and wake again and again during that short time when the sun rises and sets? How tiresome! Sleep is a habit. Reduce it!"

"It's not a habit. It's a biological need. How am I supposed to reduce it? Don't you even remember being human?"

"It was too long ago. I forgot!"

"You say that proudly."

After grumbling, I returned to the point.

"So, Lungken, you oversee the grassland herders and ranches?"

"Of course. All the little matters are handled by my lackeys! I don't get involved unless I'm bored and need to drive off wolves or tigers!"

"Tigers too?"

"Hmph. They don't come down often, but the ones that have just reached adulthood haven't learned their lesson and start swiping with their forepaws. I don't trust leaving them to my subordinates, but if I take a group of humans up the mountain and turn the place upside down looking for them, a few will get carried off in their jaws. Wouldn't it be better for me to run over and beat them to death myself?"

An Ain could probably contend with a tiger. Still, wandering a mountain in search of one was foolish even for an Ain, which was likely why the Elder handled it personally. What? Wasn't that foolish even for an Elder? It was normal behavior for a foolish Elder, so it did not matter.

Lungken was reckless and powerful. They were not skilled in bloodcraft, but no one could smell blood better than they could. Their ability to sense the blood of beasts also surpassed that of any other Elder. It was surely because beast blood was mixed with their own. The grasslands and ranches, where beasts were managed across a wide territory, suited them well.

In other words, each Elder had a slightly different area of expertise. They suited different kinds of people.

"Lady Cabilah and her Ain protect the humans along the coast. From what I understand, each Elder is mainly responsible for somewhat different groups of humans. Is that right?"

"There are clear differences in disposition!"

"Then what kind of humans did the late Elder Luscinia mainly oversee?"

Lungken answered without much thought.

"The sick!"

"Patients? Sick people?"

"That's right! That bat bastard used to play around with bodies! Vampires might endure it, but humans died in droves. Even when that bat went looking for humans, they all went under other Elders! Only patients on the verge of death would entrust their bodies to him, prepared to die! They might die if things went wrong, but if things went well, they could preserve their lives!"

Healthy people avoided Luscinia, but the injured sought Luscinia as their last hope. It had produced the unusual result of pitiful people gathering beneath the cruelest Elder. There was a reason the Healer Sage had come from under Luscinia.

"Was that helpful, concubine?"

"Yes. It was certainly useful. There were desperate patients in Luscinia's territory, and most of them were likely modified, so they have more than enough reason to resent an Elder. I can understand why suspicion falls on Lir, who became a Yeiling."

"I don't know who killed him, but I want to fight them at least once! They must be quite strong!"

Lungken shouted boldly, then suddenly smacked their lips and looked at me.

"On that note, shall we fight once?"

"I can't fight. I'm weak."

"When will you become strong?"

"It's not like strength and weakness happen just because I decide they will, but wait a little. When I awaken, I'll become strong enough to bring about the destruction of this world."

Even though I had told the truth, Lungken's reaction was unimpressive.

"That's quite the boast. People who talk like that are usually nothing special."

"They boast because they're nothing special."

"Hmph! That's true! All puff and no substance, then!"

Leaving Lungken to nod in satisfaction, I sank into thought.

I had not expected anything, but as expected, Lungken knew nothing. The information I got was about the same as what I could learn by grabbing anyone I met and reading their thoughts.

I had examined Lungken's memories with mind reading, but not only had Lungken not killed Luscinia, they had held no particular interest in Luscinia at all. Even after Luscinia died, Lungken had simply accepted it.

Hmm. Who was it? No matter how much I read, the culprit did not appear. An Elder died, so it could not have been an accident or a fatal fall, could it? Even if it had happened ten years ago, a vampire would not have died of old age in the meantime...

Ah, then. Could the culprit be an Elder who existed ten years ago but was gone now?

As I considered the possibility that had just occurred to me, Lungken stood.

"Are you going back? I'll take you there! Follow me!"

"What brought on this kindness?"

"That much must be done for the Progenitor's concubine! What face could I show the Progenitor if you were hurt?"

What sort of being was the Progenitor's concubine that a boar beastkin had learned consideration? I was about to gratefully accept the gesture when Lungken suddenly looked into the distance and sniffed. The tusks that marked a boar beastkin twitched as though they felt cramped.

"Besides, I smell something foul. Nothing dangerous will happen to the concubine, but it doesn't hurt to be careful. Humans die far too easily."

"You can't smell things, though."

"Hmph! I can smell blood better than anyone! And I can feel this thrill that comes before bloodshed arrives! Something is coming! I know it!"

I read Lungken's thoughts, but found no relevant memory. The excitement was purely animal instinct. Lungken exhaled sharply through their nose, stared up at some point in the sky, and muttered.

"Bats are flying about. Be careful, King of Humanity. Thralls who lose their master are bound to run wild."

Footnotes:

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