WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 428: The Top-Ranked Heroine and the Ordinary Hero

──────

The night ebb was the Fog Duchy's greatest event. When the waterways shifted and sea-beasts swam upstream, the Fog Duchy's seas became drained marshland. Under the full moon, the ocean that no human dared approach bared its innards. Then the Duchy's residents gathered at the Castle of the Full Moon to make their fortunes, and vampires followed the scent of their blood.

It was the same even for the thralls of Elders who were asleep or away. One group after another came to the Castle of the Full Moon, knelt before the Progenitor, and offered their greetings.

"The bloodline of Du Lahan worships the Progenitor's return in place of our sleeping Elder. Please forgive our liege for being unable to attend you on such an auspicious day."

The Fog Duchy held vast territory with little capacity to support a population. Where humans did not live, beasts inevitably flourished. Wild horses full of spirit ran across the southwestern highlands, where humans never set foot.

An ordinary human had no way of taming a wild horse. One kick would send them straight to the afterlife. Vampires, who neither tired nor suffered injury, could surprisingly easily mount them and force bits into their mouths. Unlike those in the southern primordial lands, the wild horses here had bred with escaped domestic horses for centuries and grown gentler, making them easier to domesticate.

For that reason, horses from the southern Duchy had long been considered fine steeds and sold at high prices, especially to the neighboring kingdom.

Knights needed horses.

Humans and vampires had grown strong by handling spirited horses. The ruler of that territory was the Black Knight, Du Lahan. Known more commonly as the headless knight, Du Lahan appeared to be asleep somewhere at the moment.

"I do not mind. I, too, slept for a long time before returning in this age. How could I rebuke Du Lahan? Since you have offered greetings in their place, I shall consider it sufficient."

"Your grace is boundless... But, Progenitor, who is the human standing beside you?"

"Ah. This one?"

Tyr shot me a glare. A strange hostility came my way. As I shrank back, Tyr muttered in displeasure.

"What else would he be? My concubine, who does nothing but wander about outside. He is little different from an idler, so do not pay him too much attention."

The sudden insult made me protest.

"No, Tyr. An idler? It's true that I'm living comfortably right now, but I came here as a guest in the first place."

"Even if you came as a guest, what sort of guest goes out every day and never shows his face?"

Tyr answered with a pout.

She had been like this since last time. After I told Tyr that her procedure to regain her senses was complete, we spent some peaceful time together... but after I went out a few times, Tyr gradually became fiercer.

The reason was obvious. Tyr was unhappy that I never made time for her. Taking it a step further, it might even have been a very basic sort of jealousy. She had not realized it herself, so I could not be certain.

I had thought she was surprisingly girlish for someone who had lived twelve centuries, but I never expected it to be this bad. Should I be glad that she had become more human, or troubled that I was the target?

"Then give me work! If you give me a job, I'll take it and do it properly!"

"Hmph. Forget it."

"No, you said I don't work! Isn't it unfair to refuse me work when I'm asking for a chance to redeem myself?"

"They say there is no cure for failure after the third time. You have already been entrusted with two tasks and proved lacking. What would I trust in you enough to give you another?"

"Two? When have I ever been entrusted with two tasks, and what did I fail at? One ended successfully, and I haven't even started the other one!"

It was true that I tried to slack off whenever possible, but I still met the minimum requirements for getting things done. I worked enough to smooth things over with wordplay, at least!

When I argued, Tyr snorted.

"Successfully? Do you mean that half-baked horse?"

"Half-baked? Just this morning, you smelled the flower's fragrance, got all excited, and even tore off a petal to eat like a horse. You were enjoying it more than anyone, and you're calling it half-baked?"

"W-Why would you bring that up here? I am the one who received it, and I say it was half-baked! Besides, that flower did not even taste good. It was even astringent, making me want to spit it out!"

"Of course it did! The flower probably didn't want us to eat it either!"

It looked like we were fighting, and we actually were fighting. The vampires before Tyr understood the scene somewhat differently.

'So the rumor that the Progenitor has taken a concubine was true.'

'She treats her concubine so casually. She was always cold as ice and unfathomable as the sea. Now, she almost seems... human.'

Do not misunderstand. We really were fighting!

I had granted her wish while doing her plenty of favors and taking risks, and now her demands were only increasing. How long was I supposed to keep giving in, huh?

Of course, I was still living comfortably while riding Tyr's influence and wielding absolute power! But surely I was allowed that much!

"Enough. Let us speak of this later."

"Later? I have to keep standing here like a sack of barley, then get treated like an idler when curious vampires can't hold back and ask questions? What are you doing, trying to tame a shrew?"

"If you were a shrew, that would be an improvement. You are worse than that."

'She looks displeased, but she never showed even that in public. Is it because of this rumored concubine? There is nothing much to look at except that lazy-looking face.'

'A man should possess a sturdy body and a magnificent beard. Just how did that concubine win over the Progenitor...?'

'He dares answer the Progenitor back at every turn. He has not learned his lesson. If he keeps acting so arrogant because he trusts in her favor, disaster will soon befall him...'

Wait, did calling myself a concubine make me look like some spoiled, immature concubine? I was capable in my own way! Did the title King of Humanity look like the title of some third-rate novel?!

...Hold on. This somehow felt like a scene from a third-rate romance novel.

The male lead was the absolute ruler of a nation. He had looks carved from marble, but showed only an icy expression. First in the battle rankings, he was an iron-blooded ruler who governed the masses through fear.

In contrast, the female lead came from an ordinary background and had an unremarkable face. She lived humbly and diligently with nothing to boast of, as though she were modeled after the word ordinary itself, but she possessed one special ability: understanding others.

Even the male lead, who had never feared anything in the world, was no exception. The ordinary female lead understood the extraordinary male lead, and one day, without realizing it, he began to feel as though his heart was beating...

...If you switched the genders, that was me, wasn't it? I had wondered why the vampires looking at me felt strange. They were looking at a thoughtless human with contempt. There was so little emotion in it that I noticed late!

'The Progenitor keeps a concubine at a time like this. They say a nation declines when attention gathers around a concubine. I never thought the Duchy would end up like this.'

'Still, there is no need to point it out. I do not wish to offend the Progenitor.'

'This, too, shall pass. More importantly.'

The vampires were not emotional. Even as they watched the Progenitor and her concubine banter, they silently buried their true thoughts deep inside and brought up another matter.

"If it would not offend you, may we serve Blood Steed Rallion?"

"You care for Rallion as though Rallion were your own Elder. Very well. Do as you wish."

"Your grace is boundless, Progenitor."

The bloodline that had finished offering greetings slowly withdrew. It was true that they particularly liked Rallion. But there was more to it.

'I do not feel the pressure of my blood being drawn away. Has the Progenitor truly lost her power?'

'With our Elder asleep, there is nothing we can decide...'

'If the rumors are true, then even at the risk of offense, we must awaken Lord Lahan.'

'No. Would it not be truer loyalty to let them sleep and watch how matters unfold? There is no chance of rebellion breaking out already, and nothing dishonorable will happen to noble Lord Lahan.'

The rumors had already spread everywhere. Were vampires whose Elders had not awakened choosing to wait and see for now? If so, that would be a relief.

Things seemed to be moving quickly, but Tyr's humanization was progressing much faster. Today, she had told me to stand beside her for no particular reason, then flaunted her authority a little. She introduced me to the vampires who came to greet her. While introducing me, she occasionally insulted me as if she were trying to tame me.

...Looking at it this way, she really did resemble the male lead in a novel, showing off her authority.

So what was I supposed to do at times like this?

"There were this many vampires? It really makes me realize that Tyr is the ruler of this country. Just receiving greetings feels like it could take all day."

"It appears you did not realize that until now. Remember it from this point on."

"Yes. That was the last group, right? It seems the Ains of absent Elders have mostly come already."

As I spoke while counting, Tyr, seated on her coffin, slowly raised her head.

There was no throne in the hall of the Castle of the Full Moon. Instead, Tyr's black coffin supported her. Tyr leaned back against the throne of power where darkness and blood energy endlessly surged forth.

"Do you know who the Elders are?"

"Of course. They're written about in history books."

The Elders I had met so far had lived alongside history itself. They were so famous that it was harder not to know them. Excluding the five I had met directly, the one who had died, and the beast.

"Meurie of the Dark Moon. Lord Du Lahan, the Black Knight. Rahu Khan, the Watcher. Sister Yegcheriya, the Fallen Nun. Elder Bakuta, the Blood Leech. They're all popular because every one of them has such famous and impressive titles."

"Popular? The Sanctum's influence must have been considerable when history was recorded."

"I guess they didn't understand much either. No matter how wickedly they portray someone or emphasize their evil deeds, they look cool to people who are learning about them. People are naturally drawn to interesting bad people rather than boring good people."

There was nothing better than badmouthing someone together to improve a person's mood. Even my childish trick worked well on Tyr. Tyr smiled faintly and murmured.

"That is true. I, too, have come to be drawn to someone so scatterbrained."

"Sorry?"

"...It is nothing."

Pretending I had not heard Tyr, I changed the subject.

"Only the bloodlines of those Elders have come so far. The other Elders aren't coming this time, right?"

"Correct. Most of them will be asleep somewhere."

"That's a shame. I wanted to see them once."

It would have been interesting if I could read the thoughts of such ancient Elders. Their techniques might even help Tyr. I let the words slip out with a little regret, and Tyr nodded before rising from her seat.

"Katalina. I shall summon the Elders. Awaken every Elder and bring them before me."

What? An order to summon the Elders? I doubted my ears, but the handmaiden calmly accepted Tyr's command.

"By when should they arrive?"

"As soon as they hear it. With all haste."

"I shall obey, Progenitor."

"Wait, wait, wait!"

When I hurriedly interrupted, Tyr's eyes turned toward me. I stopped her before things became even more irreversible.

"Wait a moment, Tyr! What are you doing?"

"What is wrong? I was going to summon all the Elders to the castle as you requested."

"The Elders who are sleeping? Why all of a sudden?"

"Did you not say you wished to see them?"

Tyr answered as though waking every sleeping Elder and summoning them were no big matter.

"I only left them be because there was no reason to call them. If a reason has arisen, there is no reason to refuse."

"And that reason to summon them is...?"

To a vampire, their thralls were no different from their limbs. Even after Tyr regained her heart, that awareness had not changed. An ordinary human like me regarded the Elders as extraordinary beings, but to Tyr, the Progenitor, they were limbs she could use whenever she wished.

"Did you not say you wished to see them?"

All because her concubine wanted it.

Wow. She would gather all of them because her concubine said one thing? The country might survive, but I would be ruined. People would make a fuss that I was trying to handle the thirteen Elders ruling the nation however I pleased! I firmly rejected Tyr's offer.

"I appreciate the thought, but it's fine! Isn't it unpleasant to wake someone when they're sleeping? Let's leave people who are sleeping well alone!"

"There would not be much difference if they were awakened. To vampires, eternal sleep is only a way to pass those long years. Ah, there is also Luscinia's important matter, so there may be a use for calling them."

"No, it's fine. The castle is small too. I'll let you know later."

"The castle has room left over even if every vampire is gathered within it."

"Let's not! This is the house where Tyr and I stay together, so it would be unpleasant if it became noisy. We need some privacy!"

The house where we stayed together. Tyr reacted to those words. Until now, thralls had been limbs. Just as no one asked their own hands and feet to respect their privacy, Tyr had not cared much about them either... but after losing her control and regaining her senses of the outside world, Tyr imagined the Elders staying here and felt a slight resistance.

"H-Hmm. Shall we? The night ebb will arrive soon, and it would be burdensome if the Elders came as well."

"Right?"

"I understand your wishes, so I shall cancel it.... Wait."

Tyr, who had been about to call the handmaiden and correct her order, tilted her head and asked again.

"But do you have any privacy to protect? What would you even do?"

"Then we'll make some privacy."

What was so difficult about that?

"How?"

"There aren't any more people to meet, right?"

"That is true, but."

"Good. The more time we have, the better."

It was neither difficult nor something we should not do. I had only held back because I valued Tyr's wish. I had taken a step back to let her experience sensation and change.

Given how long she had lived, I thought I might watch a little longer... but this was enough.

I walked toward Tyr. Already used to me, Tyr did not react much even when I came close enough to touch her. She only watched quietly to see what I would do.

Tyr was stubborn, and in matters like this, she wanted to be led. In that case, I would give her what she wanted. Even if it was a little forceful.

I put one arm beneath Tyr's back and the other under her legs, then lifted her up. Tyr, who had simply watched without resisting, realized that she was now in my arms.

Like a princess.

Even the greatest vampire would be flustered. Tyr, who had regained her heart, was even more so. Tyr held both hands together and opened her eyes wide. Her red eyes trembled.

"Huh? Hyu?"

She was lighter than I expected. Even an ordinary human could lift a girl about her weight. Holding Tyr in my arms, I spoke.

"Miss Katalina. The schedule is finished, right? Tell everyone not to look for us for a while."

Though her inner thoughts were screaming in shock, the other party was a vampire. The handmaiden named Katalina did not show her confusion or astonishment outwardly as she bowed.

"I shall do so."

"Thank you. Cancel the order to summon the Elders. It's fine now."

After leaving only those words behind, I headed out of the hall. Katalina was already struggling with how to explain this sight and whether she could report it to anyone, but that was not my concern.

"Hyu, this is... Um."

"Come on, Tyr. Let's go."

It seemed Tyr was not satisfied with having only half her senses restored.

That was how the human body worked. The whole body was connected, so no matter how well I had done, she still felt an instinctive lack. Tyr kept acting needy because her emotions had returned... that was part of it, but there was a good chance she was feeling discomfort she had not even recognized herself.

Looking down at Tyr, who lay awkwardly in my arms with both hands tightly clasped, I said,

"To make ourselves some privacy."

Footnotes:

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