WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 475: A Story from Afar. The Temple of the Demon God

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Hilde crossed the duchy disguised as Hughes. As the King of Humanity and the Progenitor's favored consort, it would not have been strange for someone to come looking for him.

But Hilde had never imagined someone from the military state would come.

Hilde already knew that Hughes, Historia, and Lankart had studied together in Hamelin. Hilde had only learned later that Hughes was the King of Humanity, but that did not mean the events in Hamelin had been taken lightly.

They involved Lankart and Historia, two talented people expected to become new stars. The military state investigated to determine whether a neighboring country had been responsible, but when the director's rampage came to light, they concluded it had been a failure of stress management and closed the case.

Still...

Hilde recalled a question deliberately ignored at the time.

Colonel Lankart. Major General Historia. Both had been exceptionally talented, and both had grown at an extraordinary rate.

Then there was one person, less impressive than either of them... yet trusted by both for some unknown reason.

Hilde knew why now. The King of Humanity found it easy to earn humanity's goodwill, just like the other Beast Kings.

But was that all?

Could simple goodwill have earned Historia's obsession and drawn Lankart here, even after he had betrayed the military state?

"Lankart. A first-class dangerous individual who betrayed the military state and joined hands with dangerous people. How did you get here?"

"Danger is relative. Right-handers can't hurt me, and there's no reason for me to fight left-handers. More importantly."

Lankart looked at Hilde askance.

"If you disguised yourself as Hui to lure in pursuers, you must be his subordinate. Why are you wary of me? Didn't he tell you anything about me?"

"Nothing at all. What is your relationship with him?"

"We're friends."

Even as Hilde racked her brains for a way to extract information, Lankart answered readily.

"I'm also his disciple and his sponsor. And his companion in pursuing the Demon God."

The Demon God.

At that unexpected word, Hilde recalled the information gathered on Lankart in the past.

Everyone in the military state had thought Lankart's betrayal was a whim. In truth, it had been carried out according to a meticulous plan.

The Abyss, Tantalus. The place where Mother Earth had been sealed. Holy Maiden Yuel had turned her back on the Sanctum and decided to make use of that place for the military state. She sold the information to Jiseon and gained the full support of Earth Mother's followers.

These facts were treated as top secret and kept under tight security in the military state's intelligence archives. Only communications officers or figures such as the Shadow Casket could even access the scattered fragments of information.

But some of that information had been disclosed to Lankart, the military state's comet, its youngest prospective general and its hope. Knowledge and imagination were means for a mage to grow stronger. No one had dreamed Lankart would betray them.

'But that was a terrible move. After obtaining that information, Lankart betrayed the military state as if to flaunt it. Later investigations found that a considerable amount of the classified material he had viewed was related to Earth Mother.'

Even being arrested and imprisoned in Tantalus had been part of the plan. The moment Hilde realized that and moved to transfer Lankart, he escaped as if mocking her, taking every prisoner inside with him.

'He wasn't looking for Earth Mother. He was pursuing the Demon God. Father entered the Abyss in search of the Demon God too... Wait.'

What if Lankart had remained in contact with Hughes all along?

"If you were looking for the Demon God... was it all planned between you two? The fact that he entered the Abyss after you escaped?"

"Oh, you know that?"

Thinking Hilde was Hughes's companion, Lankart willingly revealed the secret.

"That's right. We planned the operation beforehand. The military state had its eye on me, so I needed to investigate just enough, then get out at the right time."

To fulfill the contract with Jiseon, the seal on the Abyss had to be broken. To do that, humans needed to remain in Tantalus. So they hurriedly sent a petty criminal who had just been arrested to Tantalus.

That criminal happened to be Hughes, the King of Humanity, and that was how everything began...

"If I used my escape as bait and took every prisoner with me, Hui, who was being held in detention at the time, would be transferred there. Tsk. I wanted to find the Demon God myself before Hui got in, but it wasn't so easy."

Lankart muttered self-mockingly, then his eyes lit up. Unlike before, when he had dismissed everything with a mage's arrogance, his eyes were filled with admiration and longing.

"But Hui succeeded! The Abyss vanished, and the sealed enlightenment was released, allowing humanity to use earth magic! And even the Progenitor... I never even considered touching the Progenitor! That's Hui for you! He always goes one step beyond what I expect! I hate to admit it, but if there's one human in this world better than me, it's Hui!"

Lankart's praise for the absent King of Humanity made him look less like a friend and more like a believer. Hilde was so dumbfounded that she instead grew curious.

Why was the King of Humanity searching for Demon Gods?

And if he found every Demon God, what would happen to humanity?

A great change would come to the human race. And that change would never be reversible. Hilde did not know what the King of Humanity was planning or where he was headed, but even imagining it seemed to make her heart race with excitement.

"An interesting story, Lankart of the Demon God's Temple."

"Huh? What? You knew about me?"

"It wasn't Father who told me. It was information I obtained on my own. I didn't know you were still in contact with him, though."

The term Father was unfamiliar, but it was a minor issue. Guessing that it referred to Hughes, Lankart asked with mild curiosity.

"Are you an information broker? I don't know where Hui picked up someone like you, but... where is Hui?"

"I don't know his exact location. He has probably crossed the mountain range that forms the border with the Lesser States."

"Well, if you lured me all the way here, Hui must be at the opposite border. Tsk. I came to see him as soon as I figured out where he was."

At that obvious deduction, Lankart scratched his head. Hilde covered her face with one hand and shook her head. With every sharp turn, the short hair colored like Hughes's gradually grew longer. As though air were leaking from a balloon, Hughes's body slowly shrank and changed back into Hilde.

"Could you be a changeling? I've seen all sorts of strange abilities, but this is new."

Even Lankart looked fascinated. Hilde roughly tousled her long hair.

"I don't have good feelings toward someone who betrayed the military state... But given the situation, I think we can join hands."

Lankart deliberately frowned.

"I don't know what you are, but would you stop treating me like your companion? There's only one reason I looked kindly on you: you're Hui's subordinate."

"Likewise. If you weren't Father's friend, I wouldn't have shown you my true form. Father is the only connection between you and me."

Hilde's cold answer unexpectedly pleased Lankart. He seemed more glad to find someone interested in Hughes than in himself.

"Hmm. I like that. We can understand each other. I needed information about Hui anyway..."

"The price will be high. You aren't the only ones looking for Father right now."

"Other than us? Who else is there?"

Hilde first thought of the Sanctum. If they wished to uphold order, they would want to stop the King of Humanity.

But Hilde did not know whether Lankart was aware of Hughes's true identity. Such important information had to be hidden for now. Hilde mentioned the closest threat instead.

"Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka is after Father too."

"Ah. The Progenitor? That won't be a problem."

"You can't say that so simply. Sending Elders won't be all she does. The Progenitor will probably try to find Father herself."

"It's already over. A Demon God has gone to her."

Hilde froze at the words Lankart casually let slip. There were only a few Demon Gods in the world, and most had died, leaving behind only traces. Yet a Demon God had gone to the Progenitor.

"...A Demon God? Surely not?"

* * *

For a single tree to grow, many things are needed. Soil where it can take root, fresh air, water to nourish its veins, and sunlight to settle over it. When such common yet precious things care for a tiny seed, it becomes a lush, towering tree.

Put another way, nothing except the seed matters.

Soil is everywhere, wind always blows, and unless one deliberately searches for places where they are scarce, water and sunlight are harder not to find. The great tree that moves humans is mostly made up of common, worthless materials. Only the seed that first sprouted it is the key that determines what it will become.

A seed.

That tiny, fragile speck decides whether it will become a towering tree or a weed.

Having reached that point of thought, a human encounters another question.

Where did this seed come from?

"A flowing stream may be held back for a moment, but it can never be turned around."

A tree grew before the Progenitor. It grew at a visible speed, spreading thick branches and unfurling leaves.

"Just as enlightenment will inevitably come even if the eyes of one who has approached knowledge are covered, the Demon God's seed has finally sprouted."

Then, a serene woman wearing a scholar's robe slowly stepped out from within the tree.

Horns like tree branches. A calm bearing that called to mind a plant rather than an animal. Hair indistinguishable from leaves, and a smile as kind yet firm as an ancient tree.

The living Demon God, the Druid of One, the Ancient Druid Nevida.

She welcomed the newly born Demon God.

"So that is the body that was made. I see. So that is how it is."

With a voice tinged with awe, Nevida stared at the Progenitor's shadow.

The shadow stood with both arms hanging at its sides, silently watching Nevida. It twitched as if ready to leap out at any moment, yet its body was curled up as though frightened. The shadow remained still, but it was moving busily at the same time. In step with Nevida's smallest movements, it broke apart and reassembled itself.

"Humans can now create even their own bodies, without leaving it to time as I did..."

It was not human. It was the result of dismantling and reassembling every component of a human. Muscle, nerves, blood. It had been made far more powerful than any human could be.

Yet it was human at the same time. Its form, function, and movements all followed the logic of a human. If someone wore that shell, they could control it without feeling any sense of wrongness.

Tyrkanzyaka had created it, and it was bound to her, but apart from that...

The shadow was a species superior to humans in every way.

"But, Demon God. The current world is bound by fate. Your power can never change the world, nor humanity."

At the words that it could not change humanity, the Progenitor reacted slightly. It was as though she could hear the word King after the word humanity. She recalled the one person who had never changed, no matter what she did.

"That detestable Holy Maiden bound humanity's fate. The enlightenment humans discover and obtain belongs to all people. That is the Demon God. Yet until it is revealed, the Demon God's power remains a monopoly, because of the lie that humans are absolute and more noble than anything else."

Nevida reached out toward Tyrkanzyaka and the shadow. The tree that had brought her here stretched out its branches too, as though offering a handshake.

"Demon God. We who have attained enlightenment must bring liberation to humanity, and to your beloved. You must hold a grudge against the Sanctum. I will share wisdom with you, so why not join me in defiling the gods?"

It did not take long for the shadow to grasp the branch and shake it.

Footnotes:

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