WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 543: Marriage Is the Grave of Life

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Rashy the immortal. He was the earthfolk I met when I first fell into Tantalus. At first, only his right arm had been found and used for all sorts of things, but he eventually revived and spent several months with us. We had lived together in prison for quite a while, and he tagged along when we escaped Tantalus.

The land inhabited by those called barbarians was the Kingdom of Ten Thousand. That was why we parted ways when we left for the military state...

I never expected to meet him here.

No, wait. This was too convenient. Was this the Holy Maiden's blessing? At this rate, even I'd start believing in the Holy Maiden!

The regressor welcomed Rashy more warmly than I expected.

"What a strange connection. I never thought we'd meet here like this."

"Oh, boy! You seem to have changed quite a bit! Are you still growing?"

"You're mistaken. I've already passed that stage."

"Boy. A man can keep growing even after twenty! Eat plenty and build up your body. How long are you going to live with such a frail, delicate body?"

"I already eat plenty. Stop giving me useless advice."

"You're still as prickly as ever!"

Of course, that was only from the regressor's perspective. Rashy nodded at her thorny reply, then greeted me in his usual hearty manner.

"Teach, it's been a long time for you too! Hmm. Judging by your bearing, it seems much has changed!"

"Even a teacher can learn something. But you haven't changed at all, Rashy."

"Well, I'm already fully grown! And I was born with nothing much to change!"

He still spoke so freely. Nothing about him had changed at all. As an immortal who couldn't die, he probably never felt any need to change.

"More importantly, a marriage sacrament... Rashy, are you getting married?"

Rashy laughed loudly at my question.

"Ha ha! How embarrassing! That's how it turned out!"

"To Callis?"

"Ha ha ha! It was the greatest thing I gained from studying in the military state! I had many good encounters, like meeting you and the boy, Teach, but bringing home a bride is truly the greatest blessing!"

I had a feeling it might be so. She had succeeded after all. Good for you, Callis. She might have fled the military state, but being Rashy's wife could be a better life than being a lieutenant colonel there. At least she wouldn't need to worry about being used up and killed.

The regressor, who had completely forgotten about Callis, tilted her head.

"Callis?"

"The lieutenant colonel. Lieutenant General Ebon's lackey."

"Ah, her? I was wondering where she'd gone."

"We spent a few days together in the Abyss. Please try to remember her..."

"Do I need to?"

'What a pain. She was a nobody who wasn't even seen in previous cycles. If I remembered her face and name, and I had to kill her in the next cycle... That'd feel unpleasant for no reason.'

She had no intention of remembering Callis at all.

Well, I couldn't blame the regressor. Her memory wasn't limitless either. She probably had no desire to fill her head with an ordinary human like Callis. It was already running out of space.

"Honestly, the two of you are so different that I wondered whether you could grow close. I'm glad things worked out."

"Ha ha. My dear is a far better person than I am. She's smart, knows a lot, kind, and gentle."

"What? Kind and gentle?"

I could understand smart and knowledgeable. She had risen through connections, but Callis had been an arcane officer in the military state. She had been taught magic and drilled in how to use knowledge.

But what? Kind and gentle? A woman who hadn't hesitated to join a secret organization for her own advancement?

Hmm... Was he blinded by love? Or had Callis been wearing a mask?

Rashy brushed off my doubtful look and continued bragging.

"When would a barbarian like me ever meet a woman so virtuous and devoted? Ha ha ha! A woman who can count and write, what more could I ask for? Plenty of men in my tribe envy me!"

"When you put it that way, I can see the appeal."

A tribe where being able to count and read was an advantage. Maybe that tribe was truly happier than the bleak military state.

"Callis said she had nowhere else to go and would follow me, but I am no great man either. If I can devote my life to making her happy, nothing could be better. That is why I made up my mind and came all the way here!"

"That's a fine resolve. Congratulations. But..."

A thought came to me.

"Are you going to receive a marriage sacrament from the Fallen Nun Yegcheriya at the Blood Monastery?"

"That is so! We do not believe in the Celestial God, but we believe in her power and authority. And isn't she especially close to the Great Witch? If the nun vouches for us, Callis will feel at ease!"

"Why? Callis is from the military state. She wouldn't need a sacrament to get married."

Of course, even in the military state, some people went to a cathedral to receive a priest's blessing or even held a wedding there. A country changing did not mean its people changed, and many believers still felt they could not enter a marriage without a religious ceremony.

As long as the marriage was properly registered, the military state did not particularly care whether they went to a cathedral or had someone officiate. Not many knew this, but the military state was not an anti-religious nation. It was a nation that preached extreme efficiency. It did not accept the inefficient labor of forcibly changing and correcting every custom passed down from the days of the Kingdom.

The cathedrals left the military state in protest at its taxation of religion, while common people lost their leisure amid harsh lives, so grand weddings naturally faded away. If that had been intentional, then perhaps it had been intentional.

In any case, Callis was an arcane officer of the military state to the bone. She would never have come all the way to this secluded monastery in the vast Wildlands for something as inefficient as a wedding ceremony.

"Ah, hmm. You're as sharp as ever, Teach. You're right. My dear told me there was no need and tried to stop me. But I insisted. I stopped Callis and came here alone."

Rashy smiled bitterly after I hit the mark, then confessed the truth.

"To avoid holding a tribal wedding ceremony, we must hold one according to the bride's customs. I thought it would be best to invoke the name of that powerful and fearsome nun."

"What's wrong with your tribe's wedding ceremony?"

"I won't explain in detail. It would not be right to speak ill of my tribe to an outsider. But remember that I am an immortal."

Rashy was an immortal. Even if he was stabbed, burned, or cut apart, he could revive so long as he had the vitality of the earth.

They were generally generous because they rarely died, but perhaps because of that, they were generous about harming others too. Rashy, who tore people apart over minor provocation, counted as polite and mild-tempered among them.

The wedding customs of such immortals...

'We must lie together and be buried underground, where not a sliver of light reaches, until the moon wanes. Immortals like us are fine, but Callis would grow weak and die. I cannot let that happen.'

That was far too different a genre. To earthfolk, Mother Earth's embrace might be as warm as a bed, but to an ordinary person, it was live burial. They said marriage was the grave of life, but how could they actually bury someone?

"Even the most stubborn tribesman will accept it if the wedding is held at the Blood Monastery. The nun's name is widely known. The greatest problem is whether they will believe my words..."

As Rashy muttered, he spotted Azzy and Lemme in the distance. Recognizing the Beast King, he seemed to have an idea.

"Teach. Could you help me?"

"How?"

"If the Beast King is with us, it will be easier to persuade the elders of my tribe. We have ties with beasts as well. And if someone like you or the boy speaks of life beyond the grasslands, my tribesmen won't be able to keep stubbornly refusing."

"If we're heading in the same direction, we could help, but..."

I wasn't sure the regressor would agree. When I glanced at her, she shrugged and answered readily.

"Sure. I'll help."

"What? Shei, are you sure? Didn't you say you needed to defeat some ancient evil?"

"That ancient evil might be related to the immortals. Maybe this is part of the flow too. Let's try it first."

'The immortal also fused with a pile of corpses beneath the Abyss and became a monster. That horrible thing instilled fear greater than the actual damage it caused. Maybe the ancient evil is connected to that clue.'

You weren't such a kind person.

It felt natural and artificial at the same time. I sensed something unpleasant, but the regressor knew that and still intended to ride the flow.

She meant to follow the Holy Maiden's blessing. Hmm. It couldn't be helped. We had no other leads right now, and it had been a long time since we had seen Rashy. I was curious about the immortal tribe too.

"All right. Shei has given permission. I only interfere with other people's romances when I'm stealing someone away, but I'll make a special exception and help you properly this time."

"Thank you!"

Above all, we had to go and see whether this was the power of the blessing or not.

Our next destination was decided.

The immortal tribe.

Footnotes:

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