WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 463: Father Is Not Singular

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Villages are built in places suited for people to live. People gather and villages form wherever there is water nearby, grass to feed livestock, or flat land suitable for farming.

True to its name, Black Valley village stood beside a valley. Of course, what mattered more than the valley was the water flowing through it, and more important than the water itself were the blessings it brought to the village. Lush grass, clean well water, and so on. Still, since the valley was the most noticeable feature, people settled on the name Black Valley village.

Name aside, the valley was not somewhere people went out of their way to visit. Water-slick rocks were dangerous enough on their own, and thirsty wild animals came by every day. Unless you were a woman with laundry piled up or a butcher who had finished work, there was no reason to approach.

"Come on, Father!"

Taking advantage of that, Hilde and I paid the place a surprise visit.

Mountain water was cold. It was even colder early in the morning before the sun rose. The instant I put my hand in the icy water, a chill ran through my whole body.

Coming to my senses, I hurriedly got to my feet.

"...Will this work? Shouldn't we heat the water first, then let it cool?"

"How would we make a fire, what would we put the water in, and even if we heated it, how long were you planning to wait?"

"No, if I use standardized magic, I can probably manage somehow."

I was about to say more, but shook my head. Using magic here was a foolish choice.

Hilde could use magic too. If she could even use divine power through acting, why would she be unable to use standardized magic, which only required learning? Still, it was more efficient for Hilde, one of the Six Generals, to get in the water and warm it with her body temperature than to pay the cost of dark magic. Overwhelming strength ignored efficiency.

"Standardized... magic?"

"Never mind. Sigh. I can't exactly skip washing...."

Hygiene and cleanliness were directly tied to survival. Muttering gloomily, I touched my bio terminal for the first time in a while.

Clothing packet. A masterpiece of the military state. The invention Yuel, who had gathered every good thing in the world for the military state, had coveted most. I had worn ordinary clothes a few times in the duchy, but while fleeing, my hand naturally went to the clothing packet. Every clothing packet made by the military state was military issue, so they were sturdy and practical.

When I released the clothing packet, fibers of alchemical thread rewound into a bundle. The threads coiled along my arms and legs, then wound around once more and gathered on my left arm. After a brief alchemical process, the packet popped out of the terminal on my wrist. Perhaps even a military state packet could not withstand such a long journey, because it had become old and filthy.

"Ugh, it's cold...."

Wearing only a shirt and underwear, I made up my mind and jumped into the water. I regretted it before the water had even reached my ankles. Screaming at the skin-cutting cold, I forced myself to wash my body and packet.

It was cold, but I could not get out now. I had already committed to it. Getting out would only make me colder, so since I was already in here, I had to get the most out of it. I rubbed my slick skin and scrubbed the grime away.

While I thrashed around like a drenched puppy, Hilde took off her clothes, folded them neatly, and placed them on a rock.

I had wondered why she was fussing around so much. Taking off and folding clothes took time. Clothing packets were good in that regard... Wait.

"Hilde."

"Yes?"

"Where did you throw your clothing packet, and why are you taking off and folding your clothes?"

"Huh? 'I' am not from the military state.... I don't have a bio terminal like you do, Father."

She was not from the military state, true. But she did have one, did she not? A custom-made one designed for shapeshifting, at that!

I started to say something, then gave up when I saw Hilde's "acting." Right. Who cared how she took off her clothes?

"A-and... please don't look too much. It's embarrassing...."

"This is getting more absurd by the second."

She still had underwear on. Hilde was a woman, so I could understand that much, but she had acted so brazenly throughout the journey. Seeing her suddenly behave like this was ridiculous.

No. More importantly! This was acting! If she suddenly started playing the proper young lady, how was I supposed to keep up? I said I would watch from the audience, not that I would play the other role!

"Uuuu...."

Hilde covered her body bashfully, then jumped into the water. Though she shivered from the cold, she crouched down and hid beneath the surface.

...Without using any energy techniques, trembling from the cold alone.

"So this is what it means to act properly."

I could not use energy techniques, so that was one thing, but Hilde had erased even the naturally circulating energy inside her body from her awareness. Unless absolutely necessary, she probably would not use energy techniques while acting.

Sigh, whatever. She would use them herself if we ran into vampires. If she wanted to be cold, that was her problem.

"Fine, do whatever you want. I'll turn around and wash."

I felt like I would catch a cold if I stayed in the water any longer. Turning around, I washed the filth away in the flowing valley water. When I stubbornly kept washing, Hilde finally stood and washed too. For a while, the only sound was water lapping.

After roughly finishing washing myself, I scrubbed every bit of grime from the clothing packet as well. Ready to get out, I turned to look at Hilde.

"I'm done washing. How much longer will Hilde..."

"Eek, ah!"

Hilde covered her body and dropped down with a splash. White bare skin showed through the scattering droplets. Naturally, she still had underwear on.

What? Why on earth? While I was lost in confusion, Hilde spoke shyly, her face flushed.

"Y-you said you wouldn't look...!"

"Give me a break. Are you really going to make a fuss over something like that while we're fleeing for our lives?"

"Something like that? Maybe you're used to it because you seduce women every day, Father, but 'I' am not!"

"Neither am I! What kind of slander is that?!"

Where had I supposedly gone around seducing women? I had never properly dated anyone in my whole life!

...Well, I had been on good terms with a few women and received their support, but still!

"Why are you taking so long to wash?"

"D-don't ask a woman something like that directly! Women need time! You've had so much experience with women, yet you don't even know that?"

"No, I do know, but...."

I almost said that using energy techniques would make it quick, but stopped. Putting aside the fact that Hilde was acting right now, there was no need to use energy techniques just to wash and move as quickly as roasting beans over lightning. Even Historia took a long time to come out after entering the dormitory to wash.

Normally, Hilde could shapeshift, apply makeup, and change clothes in under a minute, so I wondered why this was suddenly different. But washing was different, I supposed.

"Sigh. Fine. Take your time. I'll wash Hilde's clothes."

"Ah, 'my' clothes, 'I' will...."

'No. It's cold, and we can't waste any more time. I may need to rely on Father a little.'

Hilde was about to reach out, then drew back and nodded.

"Yes. Then... please."

I think she had truly lost it.

The acting I had seen from Hilde so far had been thoroughly calculated. What reaction would the other person have? What attitude would feel most natural here? She studied and copied other people, then wore the roles she had created and performed accordingly.

But now, Hilde had erased everything else. She had locked away everything she had built up in one corner of her mind and become someone else. She was not even aware she was acting. Even I, a mind reader, no, perhaps because I was a mind reader, found it confusing.

"I wonder if Hilde might end up unable to use energy techniques later.... Probably not."

It would be fine, right? There was no immediate problem with not using energy techniques. Thinking that, I rubbed someone else's clothes in the water and washed them. One good thing was that the sheer absurdity made me forget the cold for a moment.

Ah, remembering it made me cold again. Shivering, I somehow finished the laundry....

"Fine my ass!"

It had been fine until we finished washing and returned to the tunnel with a bucket of water. After that, though, Hilde sat under a blanket, her lips turning blue as she shook violently. Anyone could see she looked like she was suffering from hypothermia.

Hilde trembled pitifully and muttered,

"S-sorry.... I was b-being stubborn."

"Yeah! Stop being stubborn and use an energy technique! You can shake off a chill like this!"

"If only 'I' had a little more... talent for energy techniques...."

"You have more than enough! You have talent. You've awakened it all already!"

"D-don't... abandon 'me'...."

"Who's abandoning whom? Please don't abandon me and go off somewhere strange by yourself! I still need you!"

'He speaks so warmly.... It just makes me want to act spoiled....'

No, do not make such a warm face while freezing! That is not what I meant! We had not even escaped yet, so what if she ruined her body by acting?

"We can't make a fire in this tunnel. Ha, this is a problem."

Would it be fine to leave Hilde like this? She was a master of energy techniques. If death threatened her, her energy techniques would naturally protect her body to keep it alive....

That would be nice, but even I was not sure.

If I had sensed even the slightest intention to test me, or to toy with me, I would have scoffed and left her alone. But I had no idea now! A woman crazy about acting like this seemed capable of refusing to use an energy technique until she was nearly dead!

"It can't be helped. We decided to rest here for a few days, so I'll indulge you for now. But don't think I'll keep indulging you forever."

"Thank... you."

Watching Hilde shiver under the blanket, I fell into thought. To raise her body temperature, we needed fire, but we could not light a smoky fire in such a small tunnel. At least we could heat water, so I took out Spade 7, Lightning Coil, and placed it in the water bucket.

Still, it would take some time for the water to warm up.

"Hilde."

"Yes...?"

"Take your clothes off."

Before Hilde could react again, I quickly added,

"They're wet. If you keep wearing them, nothing you do will bring your temperature back up."

I was wearing a clothing packet and had washed it while it was still a packet. As befitted the military state's greatest invention, it was a little damp, but there was almost no water inside it. Hilde, in contrast, had properly taken off and washed her clothes, so every weave was saturated with cold river water. Right now, Hilde was practically wearing clothes woven from river water.

Honestly, it took priority even over making a fire.

"B-but."

"Hilde was the one being stubborn. If you don't like it, use an energy technique."

I meant it sincerely, but from the perspective of Hilde, who "couldn't use energy techniques," it sounded like a cold taunt. Hilde fidgeted as she shivered.

"Yes.... It's because 'I' did something wrong...."

"If you know it was wrong, then use an energy technique."

"Here...."

After shifting around beneath the blanket for a while, Hilde finally held out only her hand with the wet clothes. I snatched them up at once and hung them on a twig hanger. Then I lifted Hilde's blanket without hesitation.

"Huh?"

"If you won't use energy techniques, this is the only way. You're holding your own body hostage for the sake of a concept."

We had to warm each other with body heat. There was no other way.

I climbed beneath Hilde's blanket and released my clothing packet. Now naked as well, I pulled the shivering Hilde into my arms. Our ice-cold bodies pressed together.

It was truly irritating, but Hilde became flustered by the sudden contact and trailed off.

"F-Father...."

"Look at how cold you are. This acting is admirable at this point!"

It was true. This person was not using any energy techniques right now.

Someone trained to this degree would normally control their body unconsciously even without using energy techniques. Those who had mastered the Water Qi Art especially could completely ignore subtle hand tremors or flinches from pain. As long as they used energy techniques, they could always fight in optimal condition.

That made Hilde, who was deliberately ignoring her energy techniques, even more impressive. Another realm of the Water Qi Art. Completely useless, but still!

Hilde could not meet my gaze and hesitated. Still, feeling the warmth between us, she loosened the arms wrapped around herself and slowly placed them around my back. Before long, Hilde pressed her upper body completely against mine and embraced me. Flint was cold, but striking it produced sparks. As our cold bodies overlapped, a small warmth bloomed.

Hilde muttered,

"Warm...."

"You're colder than you need to be. You should regulate your temperature. There's no reason to be this cold."

"I'm sorry. I'm still... unfamiliar with Father...."

"No. I was talking about your body, not your attitude."

Had acting gone so far that she had put a filter on her brain? Hilde was interpreting all my words and actions to fit her concept. Unbothered by my cold attitude, Hilde rested her head against me and spoke.

"Being held in Father's arms like this reminds me of old times...."

"Old times? This is the first time I've held Hilde."

I did not know what concept she had chosen, but that was her business. I would not forcibly tear off her mask, but she should not expect me to play along.

At my cold reply, Hilde flinched and shrank back.

"I'm sorry. I confused you with my previous father.... Ah!"

Hilde's expression suddenly wavered. Regardless, I replied with an unpleasant look.

"You confused me with someone else?"

"I'm sorry! I was wrong!"

"You were wrong. I'm not your father, so don't confuse me. Why ruin someone else's future?"

"No, that's not what I meant! P-please don't abandon me!"

"Abandon you? I never picked you up in the first place, so why would I get angry?"

It was not regression to childhood... or was it? Hilde's current acting seemed to have erased everything except the facts she remembered. The memories were clearly inside Hilde's mindscape, but she was not using them. She had perfectly separated the role from herself.

Hilde's acting now began in the distant past, before she was either Shadow Casket or part of the Holy Sword Corps.

"Then let me ask. Which number father am I?"

"Can I... tell you?"

"I'm not someone who decides the answer I want and asks around it, so just tell me."

Hilde hesitated, then answered with a face that showed she had made up her mind.

"...Excluding the father I don't remember, you're the tenth."

"What kind of people were those fathers?"

I had asked to find out what Hilde's fathers had in common, but the answer that came from Hilde's mouth was quite unexpected.

"They were honored guests of Yeongwaru who had long-term contracts with Mother...."

Footnotes:

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