WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 49: You Can't Be Happy

──────

"Well said. Since I have the chance, I'll say something too. You asked me to teach you. I was swept up in the moment and accepted you as my disciple, and I've been teaching you, but..."

Cold fire truly existed. Otherwise, the vampire's flame-red eyes could not have been so chilling.

The vampire stepped closer to me and scolded the regressor.

"You show me no respect at all."

"Respect?"

"Or reverence, a symbol, a token, an expression of feeling. Anything."

The black parasol rested lightly on her shoulder. The vampire sighed softly and glanced at the regressor.

"Even a small gift would have been fine. A single word of thanks, or simply saying that you appreciated it, would have been enough. Yet, Shei, you gave me nothing."

"That's..."

"In contrast."

This time, she looked at me. I quickly raised a hand and waved, and the vampire gave a faint smile. She was playing along to make a point to the regressor.

The difference in warmth was obvious. Even if the expression was only for show, it was more than enough to shock the regressor.

"This brat may be arrogant, but he at least speaks to me respectfully. He is rude, but he gives me what I need. When I ask, he tells me stories. When I want something, he teaches me what he knows. What have you done for me?"

She had learned bloodcraft. That was all.

From the regressor's perspective, the vampire was a harbinger of the end. Whenever the world was destroyed, the vampire was always named as the cause.

Yet in the previous iteration, after every effort, the regressor had succeeded in freeing the vampire from her restraints and making her an ally. They had fought shoulder to shoulder as comrades and trusted companions. Both were castaways adrift through time, so they had found common ground and quickly grown close.

That was why the regressor had come down here, both to obtain bloodcraft and to "protect" Tyrkanzyaka.

For her sake.

But...

"If it's payment... then perhaps a treasure..."

"Treasure? Does it look as though I am demanding treasure just because my gold has become useless?"

At this point in time, the vampire was not a fragment of the end the regressor knew. She truly existed as Tyrkanzyaka, the Progenitor.

"I, too, was once at the head of the world. I adorned my hair with every precious thing, wore beautiful things upon my body, and laid soft things beneath my feet. I was a creature of darkness, yet I possessed everything that glittered. Everything but the sun. Do you think someone like me would desire power? Would I covet wealth? Or would I seek some trifling honor? A little sincerity would have been enough."

In truth, the vampire did not dislike the regressor that much. This was only a complaint tinged with disappointment.

Still, the regressor had built all her relationships through regression. She apparently had little experience with a situation like this and did not know what to do.

"Ty, Tyr..."

"Enough. All you wanted from me was bloodcraft anyway. You've taken what you wanted, so leave."

At the vampire's cold declaration, the regressor trembled before lowering her head. The vampire placed the parasol on her shoulder and turned around. The black parasol divided the vampire from the regressor.

As if driving in the final nail, the vampire looked at me and spoke gently.

"Come."

"Just a moment. I have one thing to say to Trainee Shei."

"Make it brief."

At my words, the regressor slowly raised her head. Doubt lingered in her eyes.

'What is he going to say now?'

I cleared my throat, then looked at her with a vile smile. Standing with my legs apart and my chin raised, I laughed like some third-rate villain.

"Well, that's how it turned out. Heh heh heh. Don't worry, Trainee Shei. I'll take excellent care of your teacher."

'...Is he making fun of me right now?'

You only just noticed? You really had no sense at all. That was why even someone as easy to deal with as the vampire had to scold you.

Oh, while I was at it.

I took a Diamond 1 Card from my pocket. An indescribably strange light gleamed within its bright red diamond-shaped pattern.

The regressor recognized the true nature of that color and cried out.

"You, that's...! True blood!"

"Kahahaha. You see it now? I only asked for one drop, and she gave it to me right away. Your teacher has already given me her heart, her blood, everything! You're finished now...!"

"You brat."

A bright red fist suddenly grazed the back of my head. As I groaned in pain, the vampire frowned and scolded me.

"You need to learn when to keep your mouth shut. How can you make my anger seem so pointless?"

"Why? I've been holding a lot in too, so I was just teasing Shei."

"When an elder is angry, stay quiet. If someone beneath them keeps adding this and that, the original meaning loses its force."

"Huh? What's this? Do you seriously want me to treat you according to your age? Should I?"

'Up until now... he wasn't being serious? He can do worse than this?'

Frightened by my words, the vampire quickly shook her head.

"...No, never mind. Whatever you do is your freedom, so how could I blame you? Do as you wish."

Having subdued the vampire in an instant, I smirked at the regressor from one corner of my mouth. I could make the vampire back down with a single word. You couldn't.

"You saw that, right? I'll be going now. And sorry, but from now on, I'd appreciate it if you didn't make things 'troublesome' over the affairs of 'unrelated' 'strangers.' Don't cling to me... Kekikakkyakyakyakya!"

'That bastard...! Just wait! I'll tear off that mask and expose his ugly face completely!'

Leaving the fiercely burning regressor behind, I walked away with the vampire. I considered provoking the regressor a little more by putting an arm around the vampire's shoulders, but when I tried to reach out, the vampire's parasol bloomed into a cloudy mass, firmly caught me, and pushed me away. Its touch was polite but powerful enough that I could not get close.

What was this? Why was the parasol stronger than me? And why could it move on its own? Was I weaker than a parasol?

The vampire walked slowly, lost in deep thought.

'Shei. He is an exceptionally capable child, but something is lacking. It has nothing to do with strength or talent. Something that makes up who he is is missing... Yet what could it be? I cannot put my finger on it at all.'

We had decided to call that social skills. The regressor, who would destroy the world whenever things went wrong and flee into the next iteration, seemed so lacking that even the vampire worried about her.

Of all people to criticize her... Tsk tsk. A blood-sucking vampire worrying about someone's character. What a joke.

'How did I come to accept that child as my disciple? His diligence in training even when no one is watching is admirable, but that is only what I have seen as his teacher. He is not naturally warm. Normally, I would not even look at a child like that... Why did I?'

Following that train of thought, the vampire's gaze gradually turned toward me. Pure white doubt filled her red eyes.

'It was this brat then too. This brat meddled with me and led me to take Shei as my disciple. Whenever something happens, it is always this brat who muddies the waters and creates a situation... Could it be?'

Active thinking was nice, but settling accounts came first. They said even Diamond Mountain should be visited after a meal, but you should settle the bill beforehand. I held out my hand to the vampire.

"So, where are the artworks?"

My question pulled the vampire out of her thoughts. She lifted her parasol slightly and gestured.

"...Ah, right. I promised to give you sculptures."

The vampire's coffin stopped before me, and its lid opened with a clunk. One sculpture after another emerged from the darkness still swirling inside. Black currents carefully held the sculptures and arranged them in front of me.

A jade-carved totem. A marble statue of a person, so finely made that even the folds of their clothes had been sculpted. A statue of a horse rearing on its hind legs, with a warrior riding atop it.

Every single one was a sculpture of great value.

"These are the sculptures I have. I didn't know what you would like, so I picked out a few and brought them..."

The vampire spoke carefully, but she also had a tiny bit of pride in them, as though they were a collection she cherished. She had not lied about picking them out. Even their materials looked precious, and every sculpture was exquisitely detailed.

Jackpot. The inside of the vampire's coffin was not just a treasure chest. It was a treasure vault!

Even the tombs of mighty emperors were stripped clean by treasure hunters in this era. These sculptures, which had crossed a thousand years with the vampire, had astronomical value.

Their techniques were classical but not outdated. There was not even the smallest scratch on them. They seemed to have retained their original state from the moment they were made, perhaps influenced by the vampire's aura.

If their historical value was recognized, they would be a true land of gold where I could make a fortune.

"Wow...!"

Still.

This required some thought.

When dealing with a sucker, you could not immediately clean them out of everything they brought to the table. If you did, they would leave the game with nothing but an unpleasant memory and empty pockets.

The foundation of fishing was teasing the bait. Scatter bait, coax them along, let them go a little at a time, then yank them in the instant they bite.

The vampire had offered me artwork she cherished, along with a drop of true blood, because she felt indebted to me. I had told her interesting stories and given her heart massages. In contrast, the crown she had given me last time was fake gold, and she was burdened by the inferiority she felt because her knowledge and possessions were so far behind the times.

I could tell her the truth and take them right away.

But a true gambler lets go a little now for a greater profit later.

I darkened my expression and released the sculpture from my hand.

"These are idols of heresy..."

"What? Heresy?"

"Things like local beliefs. Druidism, totemism, worship of the Beast King, and so on. Remnants from that era. All of them are treated as idols of heresy and are often destroyed the moment they're found."

When I spoke regretfully, the vampire's mood soured.

"What? Who, exactly who, dares to treat relics of the past as heresy?"

"Who else decides what is heresy? The Sanctum."

"Messengers of the Celestial God... Those bastards! They're good for nothing!"

That was not wrong. I had only mixed in a little exaggeration.

Not everyone in the world followed the Celestial God, so it was not as though they could not be sold. The military state, in particular, was the only country that levied taxes on temples. With my mind-reading, getting the proper price would be easy.

But what if I acted as though I were troubled and turned down this treasure?

"Just in case, you don't have any paintings or statues of deities that resemble illustrations from a holy book, do you?"

The vampire curled her fingers as she answered.

"...There are still some stained with my blood."

"Oh dear. The instant those are revealed to the world, an extermination order will be issued."

I put on an awkward expression, as though the payment she had brought was unsuitable for me. Then the vampire, who had lost the ability to pay, or at least believed she had, felt sorry for me.

"I was unable to help you again."

"Not at all. I'm grateful for the thought alone."

I hid my disappointment and pretended to decline. I wanted to accept them, but I acted as though the payment she had offered did not suit me. By drawing out my words little by little, I increased the burden in the vampire's heart.

'In the end, nothing I possess was of help to him.'

Hearing that small guilt pass through the vampire's heart, I smiled inwardly.

"I told you it's fine. Don't be discouraged. I didn't do it expecting a reward in the first place. Well, I'll keep giving you electric massages!"

Even at my reassurance, the shadow in the vampire's heart did not lift.

"I feel sorry. I never thought I placed any importance on wealth, but looking back, time is simply merciless. Even if I remain unchanged, everything I possess fades away with time."

"I already received true blood. I've received enough, so please don't worry about it."

"But..."

"Come on. I said it's fine."

Good. I had burdened her enough. Now it was time to ease off a little.

I smiled brightly and raised my index finger.

"Now, enough gloomy talk. Let me give you a massage. Open up your chest. If you hold it with both hands and pull it apart, I can put my finger deep inside and fill you with my magic."

It was such an obvious joke that even an idiot would understand it. The vampire, who had been deeply depressed by her guilt toward me, immediately scowled as if none of that had happened.

"Could you not choose your words more carefully? It makes me uncomfortable, as though we are committing some indecency."

"Should I describe it seriously, then? Let's see. Your ribs and fascia are firmly protecting your heart... but I need to turn over the lungs, and the angle is wrong, so move them aside just a little, urgh. Wait. My stomach. Blegh."

"...Ha. I cannot possibly defeat you with words. Enough. Do as you please."

The mood had lightened enough. With a dry laugh, the vampire promptly opened her chest.

Not long after, the vampire, her face flushed red, closed her chest and stepped away from me. She asked me to do it again next time.

After the vampire left, I let out a long sigh. The finger that had fired electricity trembled faintly.

...Heart massages that easily raised the vampire's affection. Everything about them was good.

Except they were terrible for my mental health. It still felt like that soft sensation lingered on my finger.

I could look into people's hearts all I wanted, but I had never wanted to look inside the natural sciences.

I had made a meat dish today, but every time I saw red flesh, my stomach turned. I could not bring myself to eat it and gave it to Azzy instead.

Azzy let out a happy cry without knowing why.

Footnotes:

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