WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 544: No Wonder My Luck Was So Good

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"Woof! Let's herd again!"

"Baa! I never want to see you again!"

Lemme fled all the way to the top of the monastery and wailed. Azzy paid her no mind. Apparently satisfied with the toy she had played with for the first time in a while, she stretched contentedly.

"Goodbye!"

"May the Celestial God's blessing be with you, brothers!"

Escorted by the Fallen Nun and her happy children, we left the Blood Monastery with nothing but the Holy Maiden's and the nun's blessings in our hearts.

As we walked down the slope leading from the monastery, I spoke to Rashy.

"Mr. Rashy. Could you show us the way..."

I was about to ask him to lead us when I fell silent at the sight before me.

The wind blew in the direction we needed to go, as if it were pushing us forward. Gentle yet certain, it stirred the wild grass and pointed the way ahead.

The fluttering blades of grass seemed to form an arrow. It was as though the whole world were telling us to go this way.

"This way!"

Rashy, who had been about to guide us, felt the wind and muttered.

"A tailwind. A good sign. It seems I did well to ask sir for help!"

"Why are you only talking about Hughes? I'm here too."

"Ha ha! Forgive me for leaving you out. Yes, boy! You're here too!"

No one had any complaints about riding this flow. Then again, why would it matter if the prophet made me uneasy? She was offering to help me right away.

We followed where the wind led. Rashy possessed inexhaustible stamina as long as his feet touched the ground, while the regressor and I rode clouds and the tailwind, flying even faster. Azzy still had plenty of leisure, racing far into the distance before slowly returning.

As the scenery changed and the mountains shifted, native villages began appearing in the distance. We had passed through the wildlands and entered the land of barbarians, where beasts and humans lived together.

The natives who spotted us flying overhead either screamed and ran away or chased after us, trying to hunt us. Naturally, most could not even catch our shadows before slipping behind us, but their attempts did add a little tension to our journey.

"From here on, this is the land of the old Kingdom of Ten Thousand. Sir, do you know about the Kingdom?"

"Sure. About as much as anyone else."

The Kingdom of Ten Thousand. A barbarian nation built in a land overflowing with life.

The Five Lords, who had driven out the King of Humanity and seized power, spread across the continent and founded kingdoms of their own.

Among them, Agartha, beloved by all, came all the way to this distant southeastern land. She united barbarian tribes that should never have been able to mingle and founded a nation.

"Queen Agartha. A descendant of a lord who possessed the power to be loved by all. She captivated other tribes with her beauty and charm, formed an alliance of countless tribes, and ruled over them until the day the World Tree burned and fell."

"You are knowledgeable. As expected of you, sir."

Rashy nodded as though he had expected no less when I recited what was written in the history books.

"But there is one difference. That is how it was known in the military state, but that was not the Queen's true power. Her true power was..."

"I know. Language. More precisely, the power of expression."

Every beast had its own traits, and those traits were reflected in the Beast King. Azzy, as a dog, was friendly and fond of humans, while Lemme, as a sheep, had thick wool.

The King of Humanity was no different, but the Five Lords had used some method to steal her powers.

The one who took humanity's strength was the Tyrant. He was powerful enough to pull up mountains and throw them with his bare hands, could wield any weapon freely, and could fight for seven days and nights without rest.

The one who took humanity's skill was Elik, King of the Golden Kingdom. She could recreate any tool after seeing it once, master every technique, understand its principles, and produce masterpieces.

The one who took humanity's sociability was Grandiomor of the Kingdom. No human could be hostile toward him, and he possessed the ability to make even strong and cunning people his allies and control them.

Those were certainly human traits, but they were not exclusive to humans. Bears and tigers had greater raw strength, birds and beavers built nests, and one only had to look around to find creatures living in groups.

Agartha was the same. What she took was language, or more precisely, expression.

Even before language existed, back when humans used their tongues only to taste, they had ways to reveal their feelings. Gestures, voices, cries, expressions, movements, and more. There were endless ways to warn enemies and show goodwill to allies.

And Agartha was perfect at all of them.

"A beautiful face. Gestures that revealed her feelings. A gentle voice that won the favor of humans and beasts alike. Even in this barbarian land, where they spoke languages different from the civilized world and worshipped over a hundred thousand gods, Agartha made everyone submit through that power alone."

"Hmm. You're far more knowledgeable than I expected, sir. Even as someone born in this land, I couldn't explain it more fluently than you!"

"Being good with words is one of my strengths."

The Kingdom of Ten Thousand was the country Agartha had gathered and led. It had always stood at the edge of civilization and was not widely known, but it had always been a powerful and threatening nation.

In particular, the Kingdom of Ten Thousand was quietly regarded with caution because, despite being descended from a lord, it distanced itself from the Celestial God and embraced indigenous faiths.

"Records are scarce and there was little exchange, so it tends to be underestimated. Still, they say the Kingdom of Ten Thousand once possessed a civilization almost equal to the Empire in strength and splendor. You can tell from the ruins, treasures, and elixirs it left behind. Even now, centuries later, adventurers come seeking hidden treasure."

"Now it is nothing but the legacy of a fallen kingdom! If you know that much, there is no need for me to warn you!"

"I understand why you wanted us to be careful, anyway."

The Kingdom of Ten Thousand could not be dismissed as barbarian land. If anything, it was more frightening because it was freer and less restrained than civilization.

Hardship would always come in unexpected ways...

Or it should have.

Even in the barbarian land that troubled experienced adventurers, our journey could not have been easier.

"It's getting dark. We should find somewhere to sleep... What's that?"

"An adventurer camp. Adventurers searching for elixirs set up camps like those here and there so they can stay briefly depending on the weather and terrain. They hide them well to keep others from looting them. We are fortunate."

Whenever it seemed trouble might arise, a suitable answer appeared beside us. When we needed a place to sleep, we found a camp or shelter. When we were hungry, a beast we could hunt immediately passed right before us. The road was level and covered in grass, with none of the mud or pits one would normally expect.

I could not tell whether I was crossing the wildlands or strolling down a well-maintained military state highway. In the camp we happened to find, I ate food that happened to be left over, heated over firewood that also happened to be left behind, and tilted my head.

"I don't want the journey to be exhausting, but this is a little dull. Was this place always so empty?"

"It was not. When I set out for the monastery, I was attacked more than five times. Three times by beasts, twice by outlaws. Though from their perspective, I was likely the attacker!"

Even Rashy, who had initially been glad there were no accidents, found the strangely peaceful surroundings unfamiliar. The regressor, on the other hand, accepted it as natural.

"It is because the Holy Maiden of Heaven blessed our entire journey."

"How exactly does that work?"

"How? Blessings do not need a mechanism. They simply happen. From what I heard, it forces the future to converge toward a goal, but it is hard for those of us who cannot see the future to understand it."

"My head already hurts just hearing that."

"Anyway, it means only good things will happen to us. Unless something is completely impossible to begin with."

Did it erase other futures, make tiny adjustments, or read our route in advance and prepare everything? I could not begin to guess. Maybe it was nothing I could imagine at all.

"If everything goes well, mosquitoes won't even come out at night. We can sleep with our legs stretched out."

"Huh? I had already been keeping them away by setting up a barrier with Skywarbler."

"Oh, really? I did think I had been sleeping more soundly."

Even if the Holy Maiden's blessing seemed impressive, it was not that impressive if we could do all of this with our own abilities, was it? Then what was the point of the blessing itself?

"Let's sleep for today. We have the blessing, so there shouldn't be any danger, but I'll still put up a barrier."

"Sir and boy, rest. I will stand watch outside."

"You?"

"Sir and boy are people who die. You need to sleep at night. But as long as my feet touch the ground, I neither die nor need sleep. Since you're helping me, sir, I should offer at least this much convenience."

"Really? Then sure."

'I can sleep comfortably without having to divide my attention by maintaining a barrier too.'

After seeing Rashy off, the regressor and I divided up our places. We first made a spot near the entrance for Azzy, then chose our beds in the hammock bunk bed.

"I'll sleep on top. I don't like feeling boxed in."

"That works out perfectly. I wanted the bottom. It's easier to escape from down there."

Without another word, we each took the place we wanted. Surprisingly, people with opposite preferences did not clash much. We did not want the same things.

"Let's sleep well, eat breakfast, and set out in the morning."

"Whew. Right. We should rest like this once every few days. Good night."

"Mr. Shei. Before that, there's something I wanted to ask..."

"...."

Only quiet breathing answered me.

Had she fallen asleep already? Hmm. Her thoughts had stopped, so she really was asleep. I had been planning to get some information from her through small talk before bed.

She looked as though she were sleeping peacefully without a care in the world, but if anything approached, she would react at once. She could only sleep with me nearby because we had grown somewhat close.

The more I thought back on it, the more I questioned this blessing from the Holy Maiden. It definitely seemed to exist, yet it also did not quite seem to exist.

If one believed there would not be a single obstacle in one's path, could that person do anything, or would they be able to do nothing?

Did a blessing help those who helped themselves, or did it force fate?

Tch. It would have been nice if I could read the Holy Maiden's thoughts, but that would not be easy. Perhaps she was blocked by some method like the regressor. Peruel's thoughts had felt off when I read them too.

After tossing and turning, I finally sank into my hammock. Since obtaining the Demon God, this body did not tire easily even after walking for days, but mental fatigue and the lingering inertia of exhaustion remained, demanding rest.

For now, sleep. I only needed to maintain a suitable relationship with the regressor. She was closest to the Holy Maiden and the Demon God, so I would cling to her like a parasite if I had to and find some clues.

...Well, it would not matter if she regressed.

What could I do? It was easier not to worry about things I could not resist. I looked at the hammock where the regressor lay, then soon closed my eyes as drowsiness washed over me.

With the pressure of darkness with substance pressing down on me.

I did not usually dream, but my sleep felt unsettled today. It was as though an unwelcome guest had come, seized me by the collar, and was looking down at me.

What kind of ridiculous nightmare was this?

Yet my mind was strangely clear, as though this were not a dream.

It was not an illusion. I realized something with a tangible presence was pressing down on me. I hurriedly activated mind-reading.

A human? No. I could not read any thoughts.

A beast? Impossible. Rashy aside, Azzy would not stay quiet.

Then what was it? What was pinning me down? Why was Azzy not barking, and what was the regressor doing that she was still in dreamland?

This was no time for that. Whether it was a beast, a human, or some strange phenomenon, I had to escape from this thing that had entered my hammock without a sound.

Fortunately, the pressure was not that strong. I could move if I resisted.

Then I would assess the situation and escape in one motion before it could react. Still pretending to sleep, I kept my breathing steady and carefully opened my eyes a sliver. Through the tiny gap formed by moving my eyelids with energy, I glanced sideways at whatever had fallen on top of me...

"...Mmph."

And when I discovered the regressor sleeping soundly on top of me, I felt even greater bewilderment and fear than before.

Footnotes:

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