WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 451: One for All

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The Elder rebellion was brief, but its impact was devastating. Erjebeut's brief rampage alone had killed or injured dozens. At least Lir had turned those destined to die into merely wounded survivors. Thanks to that miraculous feat, as though God had made an error in the register of death, they had the chance to live on and tell the tale.

People who had been bleeding from all over now lay with their wounds sealed, groaning from anemia. Hilde swiftly looked over the area and muttered,

"As long as they don't die, she can keep them alive... That's quite an enviable ability, isn't it? I'd like the military state to have one too, like a standard medicine~."

"What do you think an Elder is?"

"Maybe another Elder couldn't, but she might! She saves people, right? Then wouldn't the military state, where far more humans are dying, be a better fit than the Duchy?"

"You're bragging about having more people die."

"I am! More people dying means more people are alive! We don't get worked up over a few dozen people!"

Hilde glanced at the injured. Those who had nearly died after offering their blood to Elder Erjebeut were terrified. Having barely escaped with their lives, they babbled about what had just happened.

"It was Madam Erjebeut! The Elder tried to kill us all!"

"What? Why would an Elder do that?"

"S-She said she'd take our blood and use it as power...!"

"Even so, there was no need to kill anyone..."

The Duchy's order was the order of livestock. The humans here were especially peaceful and docile because of the vampires. Vampires managed everyone as humanity's predators, rulers, and even protectors, so humans lived peaceful lives as livestock.

Sadly, humans were not livestock. They would never accept that they were livestock.

'We were food from the beginning.'

'We barely survived, but if another fight breaks out later, we'll be consumed as food.'

'We can't rely on vampires too much. Humans need to band together.'

They were looking livelier already. Nice to see. Well, unless they wanted to be livestock, living as livestock while refusing to accept that they were livestock was nothing but self-deception.

Hilde's eyes sparkled like a child who had spotted a toy.

"Father, 'I' want Lir Nightingale! Won't you negotiate with Tyrkanzyaka?"

"Get rid of that habit of relying on me whenever something happens. Isn't it about time you stood on your own?"

"Huh? You're saying that after you'd have been dead long ago without 'me'?"

"Who asked you for help? You helped me of your own accord, didn't you? It's not like I issued you a promissory note. Learn to get paid in advance next time."

"Wow! Trash!"

That was life. Why would someone who had lived so long act like that?

Hilde had brought it up with me, but where the Healer Sage would go was not something we could settle by talking here. Perhaps Hilde had relaxed a little too, because she let out a long yawn.

"Ahh~. I'm tired. I want to rest for a while first~."

"Your stamina is weak. I'm not that tired."

"You were comfortably eating and lounging around in the Progenitor's room until recently! 'I' couldn't even sleep properly while investigating!"

"Why did you do that? It was going to work itself out like this anyway, so you could have taken it slow."

"How was 'I' supposed to know that? I couldn't rest! I was worried sick you might die if something went wrong!"

That was a little touching.

Honestly, I hadn't expected Hilde to help me this much. I thought she only wanted to sell me for a high price and use me. In fact, she still wanted exactly that.

Still, somewhere in Hilde's heart, she expected something from me, or rather, from the King of Humanity. Me seeing through her identity was probably one reason for that expectation, though whether I could live up to it was another question entirely... Well, it wasn't bad for me, so that was enough.

"Oh, well~. I did contribute, so my position must have risen a lot, right? Tyrkanzyaka, the Duchy's god, is in a more desperate position after this incident. Negotiations will be much easier from now on!"

"I'd really like that to be true too."

"What else is there? If you know something, tell me quickly. 'I' don't want to go through any more hell than this."

"It's not something I know. I just can't stop thinking about what the Duke of Crimson Blood said."

It wasn't betrayal until I betrayed her. He hadn't said that because he believed I would betray Tyr and wanted to warn me. Valdamir would never say something like that.

It was a declaration that even if I betrayed Tyr's trust, he would take no action.

Seriously. Why was he talking as if I would betray her? Like Hilde said, I had helped Tyr. Thanks to that, not only my position but my value had risen. I had earned the right to become part of this power structure, not just her favored consort. Why would I give that up?

Just wait. I would sink deep roots into this power vacuum and enjoy myself to the fullest. I might hate order and all that, but if I was the one leading that order, what reason would I have to reject it?

Before long, things grew noisy over there. A group of people was walking straight toward me. Once they came close enough to make out, a familiar voice rang out from among them.

[Hyu!]

See? Tyr came looking for me on her own. Now I could live a life enjoying power...

...

Huh.

Tyr approached. Naturally, she didn't have a single injury. Any wounds would have regenerated, but from reading her thoughts, it seemed she had barely been hurt in the first place. Tyr had gone through her own conflict and learned how to use her authority fully for herself.

Right. She had finally learned how to live as a human rather than a god. I had intended that, but it didn't seem like it would be entirely good.

[Hyu...! Are you hurt anywhere? Are you all right?]

Tyr ran straight toward me and threw herself into my arms. Her body seemed slightly warmer than before as it slipped snugly against mine. Valdamir followed slowly behind her, but she paid no attention to him, nor did she care about the countless humans watching. Her eyes held only me as she gently touched my face.

"Ah, yes. I'm fine."

[That is a relief. If you had died... I...]

Tyr murmured with eyes so full she looked ready to cry, then suddenly rose onto her toes and kissed me. The sudden attack left me bewildered, but it wasn't my first kiss, so I accepted it naturally. Lips that felt softer and somehow warmer than before covered mine.

"You're being shameless~."

Hilde, watching beside us, spoke with carefree ease, completely unaware of what was going on. Seriously, completely unaware.

The long kiss ended. Tyr held me around the back of my neck and let out a breath with a warm smile.

[Hyu...]

A long shadow rippled beyond Tyr as she looked at me. Strange. In the Duchy, where the sunlight was dimmed by fog, shadows didn't form that clearly. What was that...?

As I wondered, Tyr gripped my face with both hands as if demanding my attention and asked,

[Are you satisfied now?]

"What? Satisfied?"

[The Elder rebellion you orchestrated. Was this enough entertainment to satisfy the King of Humanity?]

As if I had plotted all of this, Tyr caressed my face as she asked.

Who made Tyr like this?

"Entertainment? A tragedy like this happened, so I also..."

[Hush.]

When my explanation began to grow long, Tyr came closer again and lightly bit my lip. The sting told me it had torn a little. As the metallic scent rose, Tyr licked my blood from the wound and smiled pitifully.

[Hyu, I am looking only at you. I am thinking only of you. I know that you enjoy watching the sparks that arise when humans clash.]

"Ah, it isn't necessarily like that."

[Giving the hesitant a push as well... I know that. And I know you do not discriminate among humans.]

Tyr was a vampire who had lived for a thousand years. What she had learned through those endless years was how to watch the world and let it pass by. If she had felt pain and loneliness through all that time, she couldn't have remained sane. Fortunately, a vampire's lack of emotion had helped. Not that Tyr had wanted it.

And now that all of Tyr's emotions and senses had returned to life.

[That is why you gave everyone a push. Luscinia's Ain, Erjebeut, and... Finlay as well.]

She let not even the smallest thing pass by. She carefully examined even the tiniest suspicion. If it involved me, she looked even deeper.

[The trial was only an opportunity as well. You knew the answer, but you did not reveal it. You believed something would happen because of that trial.]

"No, the procedure..."

The moment I tried to say anything, her lips sealed mine again. As though punishing me for lying, she took a little blood from the small wound.

Even while saying my blood tasted bad, Tyr savored it little by little and whispered close to me.

[Is this not like that time, Hyu? When you gave me that electric shock in the Abyss. Why did you whisper hope to me when I had given up, and let me taste its sweetness?]

"Because it seemed like you wanted it."

[Because of that, I remembered an old wish and entrusted myself to a move as risky as a gamble. At that time, it was the only move I could make.]

Ordering the thrall she ruled to take control of her. It was quite an effective method. If Finlay, a mere Yeiling, hadn't been so damn weak, perhaps he would have succeeded like Luscinia. I thought the attempt itself had been good.

[...Even though you already had a way to save me.]

That was true. It wasn't like I was obligated to save her, but I certainly had possessed that method.

As though she had read my thoughts, Tyr said,

[Salvation is not an obligation, so I did not question you. Even if I had no shame, I could not ask why you had not saved me sooner. But there is one thing... This alone, I want to hear your answer.]

"What is it?"

[For whom was it?]

Beyond the crown of Tyr's head, I saw a shadow formed on ground untouched by sunlight. I didn't know why Tyr's shadow clung to the ground while she was in my arms. It looked almost alive... Well, it wasn't strange for a shadow to be odd if it resembled Tyr, but...

Then my eyes met the shadow's.

Red eyes looked at me from pitch-black darkness, then curved like crescents in a smile.

Goosebumps rose over my body in an instant. Cold sweat ran down my back. I couldn't read the shadow's thoughts. It was surely something created by Tyr's authority and moved according to her will, yet...

Tyr.

What exactly had you "made"?

[Finlay? Erjebeut? The other Elders?]

Was it something like Rallion? But Rallion had been made from the pack mule buried beside her. That, though... was practically human.

It contained the components of a human. Blood flowed within it just as it did in Tyr. More than that, it was like a personification of a vampire, holding every kind of vampire authority within a single body.

Yet Tyr had created that thing, but... she had not given any command just now. That shadow moved on its own!

[Or did it not matter which human it was?]

Tyr did nothing but ask. Yet a force so intense that I could barely breathe bound me in place. It was neither an intimidating presence nor arcane power. It was will alone, a force I felt indirectly from reading Tyr's heart.

Still... that heart could take physical form at any time.

[Am I someone special to you?]

This was the greatest crisis of my life. I needed to answer carefully.

Tyr knew too. She knew she couldn't know everything in my heart. She wasn't asking because she believed the words from my mouth were true.

She meant that she would accept them as truth, or make them true.

Who had taught her that? Certainly, it would be difficult for a human trying to deceive someone. What kind of way of speaking was that? It didn't matter whether the other person was a mind reader or not.

Well, I wasn't trying to deceive her anyway.

"You're special."

Footnotes:

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