WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

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◈ Omniscient First-Person's Viewpoint

Chapter 538

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The Sheep and the Dog

Environment shapes people. And people are animals. Which means, in a sense, that environment shapes animals too.

With that in mind, calling wild animals violent is not a hasty generalization but a logical conclusion. Raw, unprocessed wilderness is full of pain and disease, insects and predators, competition and starvation. In so harsh a place, gentleness is a weakness, a shortcut to death. The only thing holding a species together was the dim solidarity animals feel toward their own kind.

In that light, grass-grazing buffalo carrying us on their backs was a remarkable thing. Animals that graze on grass are inevitably prey to animals that graze on flesh. Strong bodies and sharp horns change nothing. By nature they lean toward wariness over curiosity, and yet.

Somehow, the buffalo Azzy had brought along ran calmly among the herd with us on its back. The others barely even glanced at us as they swept past.

Not fast enough to satisfy the regressor, but considerably faster than walking.

Not lifting a finger, riding along in comfort, and still the regressor looked put out.

"Why do I have to share a buffalo with you?!"

"I don't have the stamina for it! If my strength gives out halfway, I'll fall off and get trampled into chunks!"

"You're a vampire now. That won't kill you!"

"So Shei-ssi is going to scrape up my chunks after they've been stomped on a thousand times and piece me back together?"

I could read people's thoughts and match their movements, but I couldn't read the movements of animals. That went double for buffalo, which were neither horses nor donkeys. The regressor, possessing some broken energy technique called Heavenly Mirror, could hold perfect balance atop a galloping buffalo. I, on the other hand, would be swept away the moment my strength faltered, so some kind of safety measure was necessary.

"...Hold on tight. No, don't hold on tight!"

"So just figure it out myself? Got it."

That's not up to me. The buffalo decides.

Right on cue, the buffalo leaped over a boulder and lurched hard. The regressor stayed fixed in place with her energy, but my body went airborne and I nearly flew right off.

"What are you grabbing?!"

"Your stomach! I'm holding your stomach perfectly normally, stop acting like I'm attacking you!"

True to the wild, the ride was rough. It leaped over jutting rocks, and every time it turned to look around, those enormous horns swung threateningly close. I'd grabbed on half-jokingly at first, but before long I was clinging on for my life.

'Ugh! Even my teacher never put his hands on my body like that!'

Either way, I survived dozens of near-falls thanks to the regressor. She didn't seem pleased about it.

"Just stop grabbing and use your energy!"

"Ah. Right."

"Kyah! Are you serious? What are you using that energy for?!"

"I was about to fall off, so I used it to grab tighter."

"Are you an idiot?! You tried to use energy on another energy practitioner's body? Energy is a form of dominion. Even a teacher or family member shouldn't use their energy on someone else's body without permission. It's far ruder than breaking into someone's house! The only reason you're not eating a counterattack right now is because I deliberately held Heavenly Mirror back. If I hadn't, you'd have been struck down on the spot!"

"It was an emergency. Bear with it for a bit. All Shei-ssi has to do is hold on."

"Why should I have to hold on?!"

'Should I just grab them by the scruff and carry them? Getting choked a little won't kill them. Or I could tie them to Jizan and drag them along. That would honestly be more convenient.'

She was serious. This was bad. If I kept this up, the regressor might actually spit-roast me on Jizan and haul me along that way.

But I couldn't let go of her either. Instead, I tossed her something to chew on mentally so she wouldn't follow through on the idea.

"Speaking of Azzy, does anything come to mind?"

"Like what?"

"Her talking to other animals, sure, that's one thing. But beyond just communicating, the buffalo aren't scared of her at all. They're running right alongside her."

Azzy was galloping alongside the herd with her tongue lolling out, clearly in heaven. She'd sprint ahead to overtake a distant buffalo and then circle back, covering several times the distance we were traveling. Every walk we'd ever taken clearly hadn't come close to satisfying her.

And through all of it, the buffalo only glanced at Azzy and picked up their pace.

"You're right, the buffalo aren't particularly wary of Azzy. But dogs tend to get along well with other animals. Maybe that's all it is?"

"Azzy can be friendly, sure, but it'd be harder for the buffalo to be friendly back. Especially in a herd this large, there should be at least one that bolts in a panic at the sight of her. But not one of these buffalo has tried to charge her or run away."

"Now that you mention it. To a buffalo, Azzy is just some strange animal with no connection to them."

"Right. Which leaves only one possibility. Azzy has developed the ability to avoid hostility. Even from other animals."

The regressor couldn't think two things at once. She forgot entirely that I was still holding her stomach and sank into her own thoughts.

"The Grandiomor royal family?"

"Exactly. Among the powers the five lords gained after driving out the King of Humanity, it resembles the Grandiomor royal family's ability to deflect hostility. Azzy is also a Beast King changed for some reason. It wouldn't be strange for her to have an ability like that."

"But why would she need that ability? Out this far, the will of the beasts doesn't seem that important."

"We won't know their thinking until we hear it. And they're not about to just tell us."

"If we ask properly, they'll talk. The Sanctum will want to stop the King of Sin too."

'There's no way the Sanctum created the King of Sin. But they were clearly trying to do something. The reason... I'm not sure it'll lead anywhere, but it might be a clue.'

There we go. Distraction successful.

The regressor's brooding made for good company on a dull journey, right up until she suddenly snapped back to herself, flung me off, and jumped down.

"Woof! See you later!"

Azzy waved as the herd thundered on without us.

Travel through the harsh wildlands proved easy enough. We asked directions from a passing zebra and turned away a leopard that had been creeping toward us low to the ground. Even creatures that could threaten our lives behaved like docile sheep with Azzy around.

When force was necessary, Azzy used it. Once, a pride of hungry lions kept following us no matter how far we went, so Azzy shot forward, grabbed the male by the scruff of his neck, and dragged him off. Even the king of the savanna, lord of the open plains, did nothing but drift away with a distant look in his eyes when faced with the Beast King.

No bared teeth, no blood shed. We crossed the empty wildlands in peace.

"Beasts don't particularly scare me, but not having to kill them is nice. A whole pride of lions would've been a hassle even for me."

"It's almost like becoming a druid."

"Much better than a druid. They can commune with animals but still get attacked. Same vulnerability, less range."

Riding cloud steps up high, and asking beasts for directions when we rested, we pressed on across the Enger Plain wherever the regressor led.

It felt like there was no distance to close. No matter how fast we flew, I couldn't tell how far we'd come. They say land has a face, but to an outsider like me it all looked like the same rolling hills, the same endless slopes. If life was a journey that repeated without end, the Enger Plain was life itself, always the same face, a plain with no visible end to walk.

And I was, as always, thoroughly dissatisfied with life.

Stepping on cloud steps with energy was hard enough without also having to keep my balance so I didn't fall. My back and legs were aching like something was slowly killing me. I'd been excited when they said we were riding clouds, but at this point walking would honestly have been easier.

"Ugh, this is rough. I'm dying here."

"Woof! Woof woof! This is fun!"

That dog is running on all fours with her tongue hanging out and somehow having the time of her life.

"Phew. I think I've done a whole year's worth of walking in one go. No more walks after this."

"Woof? This isn't a walk! This is work! Walks are a right!"

"When did walks become a right... Haah. I want to rest so badly. Shei-ssi, how much longer?"

The regressor surveyed the terrain briefly and answered.

"We're almost there."

"Almost there? You said that yesterday. Do you actually not know the way?"

"I know the way. I just can't gauge the distance!"

"That's the same thing. How can you know the way but not the distance?"

"The reason it's taking so long is because I'm carrying you on cloud steps! If we weren't stopping constantly so you could recharge your stamina, we'd already be there!"

"Oh, then don't bother with my stamina, just carry me on your back. The world is on the verge of collapse and we're crawling along at this pace."

"No."

'If I carry them on my back they'll be touching me again. It makes me self-conscious. What if they figure out I'm a woman.'

Honestly, I don't think you'd notice even if you did. When I grabbed you earlier, your stomach was pretty solid. I thought I'd grabbed a stone pillar.

"Use this time to train your energy! It's the perfect opportunity and you're just being lazy. If you keep relying on shortcuts, you'll hit your ceiling fast!"

"You want to know why I hit my ceiling fast? Because I've already mastered everything below it. If not for the limit of my stamina, I'd be showing off and giving unsolicited advice just like Shei-ssi."

"When have I ever shown off?!"

"Like right now. Acting like you're better than everyone just because you have elixirs and inherited relics. If I'd had the same opportunities, I'd be far stronger."

"You don't know anything!"

'You think I got this strong for free, without any effort? My strength came from everything I endured across all my regressions!'

That regression ability was handed to you for free. I do know that, which is exactly why I said it.

"And by that logic, you were different from birth! King of Humanity, wasn't it?!"

"A dethroned king. Chased by the Sanctum, rejected by the Holy Maiden. Can't even reveal my identity openly, have to stay hidden. Ah, what a cruel fate. What sin did I commit to deserve this."

"Woof! Should've been nicer before!"

"I've always been nice. I was sincere with every person I met. They're the ones who decided to expect things and then get disappointed."

I was in the middle of that complaint when the regressor's eyes briefly shifted to indigo. The sixth of the Seven-Colored Eyes, the Indigo Eye, which sees vast distances through the dark. She gazed at a hill far enough away that I couldn't see it even squinting, and murmured.

"The Blood Monastery. We're here."

"Really? This isn't another lie?"

"No. I promise. We're actually here. I can see it right in front of me."

"Perfect. No more resting, let's move!"

It was, of course, another lie.

The Blood Monastery as seen through the Seven-Colored Eyes was still the better part of a day's travel away.

"Meeh. Meeeh."

A girl was grazing among a flock of sheep.

Compared to other animals, the human animal has very little fur. But the girl in front of me looked like she had more than most beasts put together. Her hair was cloud-white and fluffy, the kind that would probably yield a whole padded coat if you ran a comb through it once. So thick and dense, it had tangled into a matted mass that fell all the way to her waist. If she tumbled down a hillside, her own hair would probably cushion her all the way to the bottom.

She was among the sheep, and neither the sheep nor the girl herself seemed to mind. For animals as timid as sheep, that was unusual.

One look at the rounded, curled horns on top of her head, though, and the reason wasn't hard to guess.

"Oh?"

"It's the Lamb's Envoy! Sister! The Lamb's Envoy is here again!"

Children who had come out to milk the sheep came running and crowded around the horned girl. Just as the curious stares were starting to feel uncomfortable, a nun with a black veil over her face stepped forward and spoke softly.

"Lemme. You've come again. Do you need a grooming?"

Lemme, King of Sheep. Timid, wayward King of the little lost sheep.

Sheep that live on low-grassed plains instinctively follow a herd. It doesn't have to be their own kind. A human with a staff leading them to a grassy field a few times is enough, and the sheep will follow that furless, clever creature as their leader.

"Meeh. Hurry up and groom me."

"One moment."

That is why sheep carry religious symbolism, and in monasteries that keep sheep, the appearance of the Sheep King is a point of great pride. It means the monastery is so peaceful and content that even the timid Sheep King comes to visit.

But for the past few decades, no other monastery had so much as glimpsed the Sheep King. Only the Blood Monastery had been sending a steady stream of sightings.

Some argued that the declining number of animals in the civilized north was to blame, but given the millions of shepherds still tending flocks, that explanation didn't hold up particularly well. The civilized lands were, after all, where the most livestock sheep were kept.

So why did the Sheep King not appear elsewhere? A few people, willing to invite religious suspicion in the name of reason, put forward a plausible hypothesis.

The Sheep King appeared nowhere else because the Blood Monastery was simply far more peaceful and content.

A fairly reasonable explanation, setting aside the fact that the Blood Monastery was considered heretical and anyone who defended it faced having their faith questioned.

Someone would pay for the truth in blood one day, but the Blood Monastery itself was failing to live up to its name, and peaceful it remained. The nun looked around at the children and said.

"Now then. Who would like to groom the Lamb's Envoy?"

"Me! Me!"

"I want to!"

"You shaved the wool off last time!"

The lively children shouted over each other. Watching them all raise their hands at once, the nun smiled with gentle warmth.

"Don't quarrel, little lambs. A rushed and clumsy grooming disturbs the sheep's peace. Empathize with the sheep, be mindful of the soft wool, recall the feeling of grooming, and settle your heart."

The words were like a lullaby, and the children's chatter went quiet.

"If you approach with a heart made hasty by quarreling, the other will draw away. Approach with gratitude for what you've been given."

The nun stepped forward first and ran her hands through Lemme's fur.

"Share and share, and it multiplies without end. Give and give, and all are made happy. All things in the world belong to the Celestial God by nature. We must live each life with joy and gratitude. Now, let us offer thanks to the beautiful, gentle Lamb's Envoy."

"Thank you, Lamb's Envoy!"

"Thank you, fluffy one!"

Lemme, lying there receiving the grooming in perfect comfort, was not grateful in the slightest.

"Meeh? Just hurry up and groom me. I'll be sleeping, so have it done when I wake."

There was no chance a grooming from children would hurt the Sheep King. Lemme accepted their service with a placid smile.

Peaceful, pastoral days. A stretch of moments that felt like they might go on forever, as long as nothing came to disturb them.

"Woof!"

Lemme's ears shot up and she scrambled to her feet. Combs tangled all through her hair, she trembled and cried out in fear.

"Meeh! That sound!"

"Woof! Woof woof!"

"Wolf-kin! Wolf-kin are here!"

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