WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 5: There Are No Bad Dogs in This World

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The Great Prison Tantalus was where criminals too heinous to speak of, as well as powerful beings no ordinary facility could ever hold, were imprisoned and isolated. People entered without end, but it was said that not a single one had ever come back out. In effect, it was considered a grave.

Since no one had ever returned from Tantalus alive and well, rumors about it had spread from mouth to mouth, growing like a snowball rolling downhill.

That the military state was conducting human experiments on prisoners to create the ultimate weapon.

That mythical monsters roamed the depths below.

That it was called a Re-education Facility, but was really just a place where people were shoved in to die.

Today, as I wandered through Tantalus alone, I was able to confirm whether those rumors were true. Tantalus was certainly an impressive place, worthy of its reputation.

The Abyss. A bottomless pit cursed by Mother Earth. Tantalus was built down below, in depths no one could escape by their own power.

Inside lived mythical, historical, transcendent beings like the King of Dogs, the Progenitor of vampires, and a regressor.

According to the golem, there had been an escape incident, but that only raised more questions. What method could possibly let someone escape this contradictory abyss?

Still, the claim that something terrible had happened seemed true. Most of the prison facilities had been grotesquely wrecked. Iron bars were bent like taffy, and stone partitions had shattered here and there, exposing the building's steel frame. The evidence of large-scale violence was unmistakable.

There wasn't a single drop of blood, though. I could easily guess why.

Tyrkanzyaka, Progenitor of vampires.

The oldest vampire sleeping beneath Tantalus possessed dominion over blood. Even if bloodshed had occurred, she would have collected every drop spilled there. Blood probably flowed toward her on its own, even without her consciously intending it. As naturally as apples were drawn by gravity.

With the blood gone, only the disturbance remained in the prison.

Having thought that far, I muttered blankly.

"...Maybe the ones who stayed behind are even scarier?"

It was a little frightening. If this had been an ordinary prison, I would've snorted at the fools too cowardly to attempt an escape... But the people left here were monsters of an entirely different kind.

Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka was a historical monster who had fought the mighty Sanctum, while the King of Dogs stood among the strongest of the Beast Kings.

Thank goodness neither of them was hostile toward humans. Otherwise, I would've been killed the moment I set foot here.

Though I didn't know how long that would last in this situation...

"Either way, there's only one thing I need to do."

They hadn't escaped or killed me because they weren't hostile to humans.

That meant there was only one thing for me to do.

I had to earn their favor.

So that if something unpleasant happened later, or I found myself in danger... they would take my side.

After making up my mind, I started walking in a certain direction.

The three prisoners remaining in Tantalus.

The King of Dogs, Azzy.

The Progenitor of vampires, Tyrkanzyaka.

The regressor, Shei.

Which of these three was safest and easiest to win over?

There was no need to ask. Naturally, it was Azzy, the King of Dogs.

In the age before history, stretching back to the beginning of time, dogs and humans had been friends.

Dogs were born loyal to humans. As the representative of that species, Azzy was loyal to every living human. That was probably why the military state had been able to lock a free Beast King inside Tantalus in the first place. If a human told her to, Azzy was the sort of dog who would quietly wait even inside a cage.

If it had been another Beast King, the King of Wolves or the King of Lions, they would've torn the cage apart. Not because they were stronger than Azzy. Unlike her, they had wildness in them. They couldn't accept that kind of restraint.

I wouldn't know why the military state imprisoned Azzy unless I read the minds of its leadership. Still, I could make a rough guess.

The King of Dogs was loyal to all humans.

Not only to the military state, but to its enemies as well.

The military state had many enemies. They must have thought it would be troublesome if she fell into the hands of the Resistance, their enemy within, or the neighboring Federation. So they locked her in Tantalus, where they could take her out whenever they needed her.

"Heh heh. Idiots."

I couldn't help sighing at the absurdity. They were so afraid their enemies would use her that they shoved her deep into storage and left her there.

Let me tell you something.

A weapon everyone could use wasn't something you kept hidden away.

Holding a lamp, I kicked open the storeroom door. Thick dust scattered like snow, and an old, stale smell wafted out from within. After casually moving aside a few remaining skeletons, I gathered several long poles, an iron net, and a pile of firewood.

Once outside, I saw that the wires along the edge of the net had snapped one by one, as if it had failed to catch some enormous beast. Sharp, polished hooks were attached to the other side, with bits of flesh and fur stuck thickly to them. As for how it had been used before it broke... Hmm. Let's just say I didn't know.

The wooden poles were custom-made, with sharp hooks hanging from their ends. What in the world had they been doing here for weapons this vicious to be so commonplace?

Anyway, I gathered the equipment and headed out to the yard. I wiped away the flesh and fur with an oilcloth, balanced the net just right using the hooks, and laid the net over the firewood like a grill. Once I was ready, I leaned the lamp against the firewood, pointed at its wick, and snapped my fingers.

"Bolt."

The military state's standard spell, built solely for practicality, sparked a flame. Electricity crackled from my fingers, and the lamp, soaked full of mana, began burning fiercely.

As I watched the fire spread to the pile of wood, I opened a can. When I removed the lid, there was a solid black mass inside. I took it out and submerged it in water. Moisture seeped into the gaps, and it soon transformed into a huge chunk of meat, perhaps ten times its original size. Even cotton soaking up water wouldn't have been this dramatic.

One of the military state's seven great inventions, military compressed canned food. A cutting-edge preserved ration that completely removed moisture, increasing food storage capacity by more than twenty times. It had been processed with preservation magic, so all you had to do was add water and it instantly returned to its original volume, with its taste and aroma perfectly intact! Or so they claimed.

Of course, like all exaggerated advertising, it couldn't compare to fresh meat in texture or scent. Still, it was more than good enough for dog food. I placed the restored chunk of meat on the grill.

Meat this thick would take a long time to cook, but I wasn't the one eating it, so I didn't care. The one who would eat it probably wouldn't care either. What mattered was the smell while it cooked.

Leaving the meat on the grill, I took out the bell I had brought and shook it.

Jingle, jingle.

After ringing it hard once, I put it away again and stoked the fire. The red meat began to dull, as though the flames burning even redder were stealing away its color. Juices dripped onto the firewood, rising as smoke and soot. The scent of roasting meat spread in every direction.

It was about time. I picked up the bell and shook it once more. A sound came from far away immediately afterward.

"That smells delicious! Food! Food!"

The words were clearly spoken in sequence, but each syllable came from a different location. She was running at a speed comparable to sound itself. I calculated how long it would take Azzy to arrive, tensed my arms, roughly read her thoughts, and pulled the net at just the right moment.

The pile of firewood exploded.

Ash, smoke, and unburned splinters scattered in every direction. Then the lingering heat sucked in the air and flared up all at once. Flames spread as they swallowed the wreckage. Azzy, who had leapt onto the firewood to get at the meat, flailed inside the blaze.

"Woof! Hot! It's hot!"

Without a word, I lifted my cloak and smacked Azzy with it. Once I had knocked away every spark, Azzy, her fur singed, rose with tears welling in her eyes. The pain only lasted a moment. She soon spotted the chunk of meat in my hand, and her eyes lit up.

Not a chance. I held out my palm and shouted.

"Wait!"

Flinch.

Azzy lowered herself while staring at my hand. Her tail moved frantically, and though her body had gone still, her eyes kept darting around. She twitched as if she wanted to pounce on the meat right away, but whenever she tried to move, I held out my palm at exactly the right time. With her breathing laid bare to me, Azzy couldn't act rashly and only whined as she stared at my hand.

"Wait? How long?"

Instead of answering, I took out the bell and slowly moved it from side to side without making a sound. As the strange object moved, Azzy forgot about the meat for a moment and watched my hand. I kept slowly swaying it from side to side until just before Azzy lost interest, then rang the bell the instant her attention returned to the meat.

Jingle, jingle.

The moment Azzy fully recognized the bell's sound, I roughly cut up the undercooked meat and threw it. Even while startled, Azzy caught the flying meat in her mouth. As she chewed, her gaze never left my bell.

Through stimulus control, Azzy had firmly imprinted the bell's presence in her mind. Now all I had to do was give her a reward.

"Good! You waited so well! Good girl! I knew you could do it!"

Azzy's eyes widened in confusion at the sudden praise. I didn't care. In an excited voice, I started praising her.

"You're such an amazing dog! You can tell the bell sound apart! You listened when I told you to wait! You're really incredible!"

"Huh? Did I do well?"

"Yeah! You're the very best dog! I like you so much! You're adorable!"

I kept praising her, pouring in nothing but emotion without any real substance. An ordinary person would've become wary first, but Azzy's emotional defenses were incredibly low, and she grew more excited each time I praised her. At some point, Azzy gulped down the meat, shook her head from side to side, and ran around.

"Woof! Woof!"

"Good, Azzy! Want to play ball?"

"Awooooo!"

At that very moment, the King of Dogs looked happier than any dog in the world.

Inside, I gave a wicked laugh as I applauded Azzy enthusiastically.

Look, military state.

A tool everyone could use wasn't something you kept hidden away.

You only had to use it a little better than everyone else.

I put the bell in my pocket. It wasn't enough yet. One meal of canned meat wouldn't be nearly enough to achieve my goal.

But after a day, a week, a month...

If I patiently let her hear the bell and connect its sound with pleasant sensations all that time...

This bell would become a controller capable of controlling the King of Dogs.

Heh heh heh. Just wait. You locked me up, but you also gave me time.

Time to train the King of Dogs!

"Khahahaha!"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Azzy didn't notice the ominousness hidden in my laughter. She only circled around me, barking fiercely in delight. Her whole body seemed ready to burst with anticipation for the game of ball that was about to begin.

All right. I'd play ball with her. If I put in a little effort to raise my affinity with the King of Dogs, it would serve me well for a long time to come!

I was just about to lead the King of Dogs to a wider open space.

'I wondered what he would do on his first day, and he was with Azzy? I can't figure out this man's intentions at all.'

Ah, you scared me.

A thought suddenly entered my head. The regressor was following close behind me. Just as I was about to turn around and greet her.

'This works out perfectly. I'll hide myself with a stealth technique, secretly follow him, and observe. If he's trying to corrupt Azzy, I'll be ready to cut him down at once.'

When I turned my head, there was no one there. I couldn't sense anyone either.

Yet the thoughts came through clearly. From roughly three meters behind and to my right, the thoughts of a woman disguised as a man, cautiously following me with her arms held close.

I swept my gaze through the empty air as if I hadn't seen anything, then slowly turned forward again.

Uh, so...

You're using a stealth technique.

I should pretend I didn't see you...

Footnotes:

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