WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 480: How Do You Even Supply This, the Country Will Collapse!

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Piggys and Orcma. A secret organization of pig beastkin trying to stop people from eating pork. Beastkin and meat. The many conflicts surrounding Ende.

It was all very interesting, but there was something more important.

My diet.

Now that I knew I could get stabbed even over food delivery, I was too anxious to order anything. Yet the thought of not eating meat made me depressed. More than anything, with the regressor keeping such a close eye on my money, I couldn't exactly go around buying beef whenever I wanted.

Wasn't there a restaurant just for me, one that was delicious, safe, and served something different every time?

After entertaining that pointless thought, I shook my head.

That would be like hiring a personal chef. Only royalty or someone with the regressor's level of wealth could manage that. It was impossible for someone like me, who lived off the allowance the regressor gave me.

Huh? Wait a second. Come to think of it, wasn't that how the regressor ate? With that Manhan Quanxi thing.

She had something that good all to herself? I couldn't let that stand. Now that we were companions, we should share it. I sidled up to the regressor.

"Shei."

"What? If you're asking for money again, tell me what you're spending it on and bring me the receipt afterward."

The regressor, who had been writing something at her desk, answered irritably. How cold.

"Do I look like some beast that opens its mouth only to ask for allowance? It's something else."

"Something else? Do you have a plan for dealing with the King of Wolves?"

"No. Something else."

"Then it's pointless. We don't have time for this right now."

The regressor tapped her letter paper with her pen.

"Do you know what the King of Wolves is looking for?"

"Of course I do. Azzy, right?"

"That's right. The King of Wolves searches for the King of Dogs. So the King of Dogs wanders the world, looking for people to stand against the wolves with her. Azzy, the current King of Dogs, went to the military state, and the military state deceived her and threw her into the Abyss. Do you know why?"

Who did she think she was asking? I was the King of Humanity. Even if she knew the future through regression, could she know better than someone directly involved in the promise?

"Because they were afraid the King of Wolves would come looking."

"...You know a lot. The Abyss is a complete otherworld under the Earth Mother's curse. When Azzy vanished, the King of Wolves lost her trail and began wandering around. That's why the King of Wolves lingered in the southern Enger Plain for so long."

"And?"

"You still don't get it? It's only a matter of time before the King of Wolves attacks here!"

The King of Wolves instinctively sought the King of Dogs. The King of Dogs did not avoid the King of Wolves either. She merely searched for humans who would help her fight. Even without intending to, the two Kings would naturally meet, fight, and kill each other.

The King of Wolves coming here was inevitable after Azzy entered Ende. Still... everyone already knew that much, didn't they?

"So what? This is what you intended, Shei. To use Ende's strength."

Ende was the city that had been in conflict with the King of Wolves the longest. It had fences to stop wolves, powerful traps, and plenty of sturdy beastkin. Since it was closest to the threat, it was always ready to fight.

Honestly, that was why I hadn't gone out of my way to work. Ende itself had developed to fight wolves in an emergency. There was no reason for me to interfere.

'Sigh. This would be hard to explain without regression or foresight. Should I say it's to make Hughes feel a sense of urgency...?'

Was she still hiding something? Well, judging by her expression, she probably hadn't hidden it on purpose. She had simply forgotten.

The regressor cautiously began.

"This is confidential, but Ende has a hidden problem."

"Wow. Shei, you're amazing. You were trapped in the Abyss for over half a year, and before that, you got your hands on all kinds of treasures and even learned qi techniques. Yet you know the secrets of a city on the edge of the Enger Plain?"

With nothing to say, the regressor snapped at me instead.

"...Fine! I heard it from the Sanctum. Is that enough?"

"You finally admitted it yourself. You've decided to stop pretending now?"

"You were the one who suspected me first! Just listen already!"

Tch. This never happened when Tyr was around. With no way to scold her right away, I sat obediently in front of the regressor and listened.

"That's right. This city was already full of beastkin because it was on the frontier, but humans gradually began leaving after the wolf threat appeared. Plenty of humans remain, but now it would be fair to call it an autonomous beastkin territory."

It did seem that way. Beastkin were what I saw most often after arriving, and they were active in commerce. Beastkin in other nations couldn't engage in economic activity this freely.

In the military state, beastkin were exploited just like everyone else. The Lesser States' entire economy was ruined, and the duchies treated beastkin and humans alike as livestock.

...Come to think of it, the countries I had experienced so far barely even mentioned racial discrimination. Then again, what was the point of discriminating against each other when everyone lived in the same gutter?

"But beastkin aren't fools. It's an open secret that humans use them as a breakwater. Many beastkin believe they should be treated better after spilling so much blood. They act to secure more rights."

More rights? Ah, was that why the Piggys formed Orcma?

Wanting to show off what I had learned, I spoke up.

"Like Orcma?"

"Orcs? Pig beastkin? They do make up a considerable number, but pig beastkin aren't really the main group."

The regressor didn't seem to know about Orcma. I lowered the shoulder I had slightly raised.

What? It wasn't in the regressor's memories either. Was Orcma really just a group of petty criminals terrorizing people who ate pork?

"Anyway, some of them... would rather side with the King of Wolves and drive out the humans."

"Is that possible? The King of Wolves would tear apart any human on sight."

"Ordinary humans, yes. Beastkin are different. In particular, wolf beastkin called werewolves lead powerful packs under the King of Wolves."

No matter how powerful the King of Wolves was, beasts had limits to the size of their packs. The Beast King would keep them united, but that would not fill their empty stomachs. The stronger an army became, the more frightening an enemy supply lines became.

Things changed if there were werewolves beneath the King of Wolves. With human intelligence and knowledge, even a pack of beasts could expand its power.

"That's why I said this was urgent. Now that the King of Wolves has moved, we don't know what kind of interference they'll cause."

...Then Orcma really did deserve to be treated as petty criminals. Ah, it had been an interesting issue. What a shame.

"Do you understand now? I told you to build up your own force so you could prepare for interference. It would be good to have people we could move freely in an emergency."

"So there was such a deep reason behind it. All right. I'll try building one."

"Hmph. Only now?"

"A few days will be enough. More importantly, Shei, there's something I'm curious about."

"What now?"

The sudden talk about Ende had made me miss my chance to bring it up. Only now did I get to the point.

"How do you eat?"

"Eat? Unless something special happens, I eat with Manhan Quanxi."

"Exactly. What is that?"

'Ah, come to think of it, have I never shown Hughes Manhan Quanxi? I didn't show it to him in the Abyss, and after that we were always moving, so I just made do for meals.'

"Fine. I'll show you."

Without much thought, the regressor opened her pocket. A crack appeared in midair, and beyond it shimmered a space that only the regressor could access. After rummaging around inside for a moment, she pulled out a covered plate.

"I have Manhan Quanxi. It's a treasure that automatically cooks for me as long as I supply the ingredients."

When she opened the lid, the plate was empty. The regressor closed it again and lightly pressed the knob on top.

Ding.

A small bell rang. The lid trembled, then began to release steam.

Before long, the shaking subsided. The regressor opened the lid again. Inside was meat grilled in layers of soy sauce marinade.

"Huh? What is this? Did you use magic?"

"Manhan Quanxi. It's only a single plate, but it's a treasure that produces ten thousand dishes when ingredients are placed inside. Long ago, an imperial court chef who had mastered innate arcane made it as a relic so they could continue serving meals to the Emperor even after death."

What kind of extravagant relic was that? Wait. Did that mean the reason I had never seen her eat in the Abyss was...

"Have you been shutting yourself in your room and secretly eating delicious food alone this whole time?!"

"What do you mean, secretly? Manhan Quanxi can only make one dish at a time. It doesn't cook well while I'm moving, and once it makes something, I have to wait for the lid to cool."

"We could wait a little! Some of us barely managed to fill our empty stomachs by opening a can! You filled yourself with delicious food alone, and then scolded us for ordering delivery?!"

"W-Why are you getting like this? It's not as if I refused to give you money to buy food. I didn't mean you shouldn't eat. I meant you should work while you eat."

I almost died buying that food! What a selfish person. If she had such a stable source of food, she should have shared it. She hadn't even thought of sharing it with others!

Azzy, who had come over at some point, blinked at the plate too.

"I'm starting to wonder whether you really consider us companions, Shei."

"Woof! Monopoly! Bad! Sharing! Good!"

"Food is such an important issue. You kept it to yourself because you didn't want to share."

"Woof woof woof! Delicious smell! Awoo! Hungry!"

"All right! I'll give you a bowl, okay?!"

'There are mountains of ingredients in my pocket anyway, so it doesn't matter if I give them some. I just didn't tell them because I was afraid they'd keep bothering me to make food.'

If it didn't matter, she should have given it to us sooner! It's stingy people like her who make the world run inefficiently!

The regressor took ingredients from her pocket, placed them on the plate, and used Manhan Quanxi again. The ingredients did not seem especially remarkable, but after passing through the treasure, they became a court dish of lightly blanched, thinly sliced meat rolled with vegetables.

"Here."

"Woof!"

"Azzy. Who said you could eat at the same table as me? Can't you see this was given for a human to eat?"

I pushed back Azzy, who lunged straight for the food, but two meat rolls had already vanished into her mouth. I covered Azzy's mouth to stop her from eating more and took a bite of a meat roll.

It was delicious.

It looked simple, but the lightly sprinkled spices and fresh vegetables brought out the ingredients' flavors to the fullest. From the texture to the aroma, the skill behind it was exceptional. It was on a completely different level from restaurants that just tossed meat and bones together and boiled them by force. Was this the power of a treasure?

My fingers, searching for another meat roll as if enchanted, soon felt around an empty plate. Had Azzy eaten them already? No, there hadn't been much to begin with. What was the point of serving such a tiny portion while acting expensive because it was a chef's dish?

Now I was even hungrier. I fiddled with the plate in disappointment when the regressor spoke as if she had expected this.

"See? It's not enough."

...So what was I supposed to do about that? Dumbfounded, I asked back.

"Why are you acting proud of that? Are you saying that since sharing leaves us wanting more, you won't give us any next time and will eat alone? Seriously. Do you have even the bare minimum of social skills? Should I just turn evil?"

"Woof woof! Didn't fill me up at all! More!"

"No, Azzy. You can't have any. It has vegetables and seasoning, so it'll upset a dog's stomach."

"Woof! Me, omnivore!"

"You usually don't even look at vegetables, and now you're trying to claim you're an omnivore?"

Sharing really did leave me wanting more. Next time, I should shake Azzy off and eat alone. While Azzy and I were locked in a battle of nerves until the next dish came out, the regressor stopped what she had been doing and looked at us as if we were pathetic.

"You're making such a fuss over nothing."

'Food is eaten to replenish nutrients anyway, so I don't see why this has to be such a big deal.'

Then give me Manhan Quanxi and go buy your own food! Not only was she full, she was practically mocking us!

Regardless of my inner thoughts, the regressor's mind was utterly at ease. Watching Azzy and me bicker, she gave the faintest smile, so small it was almost impossible to see.

'...Eating together isn't so bad.'

Footnotes:

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