WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 552: Civilization vs. Savagery

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Mugul had taken control of an entire tribe and used them as slaves. Some had acted as his lackeys without even knowing they were sacrifices. Including those locked in the underground prison, their number came to a staggering six hundred.

After sending back those who could look after themselves and still had homes to return to, three hundred remained.

Three hundred refugees with nowhere to turn for help and no ties left to rely on.

In a jungle where people lived in tribes, three hundred was an enormous number. Only a handful of people could even count that high. In this harsh, dangerous land, there was only one place that could shelter so many people at once.

Mortal Village.

"Ooh! You really did it!"

After a journey lasting two full days, the regressor and I led the three hundred people to Mortal Village. Having received word in advance, Rashy came to greet the refugees with several immortals.

"Two hundred sacrifices? What kind of terrible ritual were they planning to perform? Sir, young man, thank you so much for helping this land as though it were your own despite being outsiders!"

Rashy openly expressed his gratitude simply because we had saved the mortals' lives. A few immortals who had come with him, though, looked troubled when they saw the refugees we had brought.

"Three hundred? One, two... ten. No, I don't have enough fingers. Hey, how many is three hundred?"

"How should I know? It's a damn lot! How many people are there now? Mortal Village will be bursting at the seams!"

"They all look half-dead. Can we even find enough food? Don't tell me we're supposed to provide it?"

Mortal Village had been established through the immortals' consideration for mortals who had lost their homes for one reason or another. Yet even if immortals could not die, that did not mean they could endure starvation. Those who could not die still needed to eat to move.

Faced with the food shortage that came with three hundred extra mouths, the immortals seriously considered the matter. Left Leg stepped forward to voice all their concerns.

"Right Arm. Your guests have done something truly great. That cruel sorcerer would surely have reached for our village someday as well, so your guests have helped our village too."

Rashy answered happily.

"See? Even people from beyond the steppe know honor! Then shouldn't we repay their honorable deed in a way that does not shame us?"

"Ah, of course, Right Arm. We naturally intend to recognize people from beyond the steppe as Warriors and treat them accordingly. But..."

Left Leg shook his head again as he looked over the three hundred refugees.

"I'm sorry to your guests, but we cannot take them in."

"Do you mean that, Left Leg?"

"Mortal Village is a refuge we prepared in one corner of our land. The moment they enter this village, they become our mortals, and we must care for and protect them. It is the way immortals have lived alongside those who die easily, passed down since the time of the Queen."

"You know that, so why are you trying to abandon tradition?"

"That is exactly why, Right Arm. We need to eat too."

Left Leg explained his refusal in practical terms.

"We have allowed Mortal Village's population to grow until now. We only needed to hunt a little harder and gather a little more fruit. But if we add another three hundred people... we will have to go hunting every single day without exception."

"So what? We do not tire. We can hunt as far as the distant steppe and bring back three water buffalo! If not us, who will do it?"

"Right Arm. Not every member of the tribe is like you."

"What do you mean?"

"We cannot leave to hunt for days on end just to feed the mortals. We have homes to care for, offerings to make, and children to raise."

Even surviving in this harsh jungle was difficult. The immortals might not die, but all their other responsibilities remained.

Food was the most pressing of those responsibilities. Hunting sounded simple enough, but competing with powerful, dangerous beasts and securing meat was arduous work even for immortals.

"If we feed all of them, the beasts will die out. Mortals will leave us someday. We cannot throw this land's balance into disorder for their sake."

"Mm..."

Rashy, suddenly caught between the two, looked uncomfortable. The regressor and I had defeated the black mage and brought the refugees here. He could not simply cast them out in front of us without losing face.

Still, as someone who lived in this village, Rashy could not ignore the practical problems Left Leg had pointed out.

The silence stretched on. The regressor, who had waited patiently, eventually lost patience and asked.

"Why? Are you going to throw them out?"

"Please wait a moment. There must be a way."

"No, do as you like. It's your village. If you won't accept them, I can't tell you otherwise. I've done what I could, and you're doing what you can."

'Is killing that black mage really all there was? The mission is over, and all that's left is this annoying cleanup. Isn't there some other revelation or something?'

Despite the regressor's cold tone, she seemed quite displeased. Even hearty Rashy was watching his words around her.

There was no immediate answer to a practical problem. Reality was cold like that. Left Leg spoke.

"The conclusion has been reached. We will share some food with them, then they can return to where they originally..."

"Wait. It isn't over."

At that moment, Callis appeared from the other side of Mortal Village with the village militia. After ordering the Mortal Village people to care for the refugees, she stepped alone between Rashy and Left Leg.

"Left Leg. If there is a way to solve the food problem, may I take them in?"

Callis stood with her arms crossed and chin raised as she spoke to Left Leg. He answered with obvious reluctance and unease.

"...Right Arm's partner."

Huh. That was an unusual reaction. Left Leg, who had always been as relaxed and straightforward as an immortal should be, was somehow tense around Callis.

"The method you mentioned last time?"

"That explanation was unclear. It is slash-and-burn farming. We burn down part of the forest and turn it into fields."

"You mean to set the devil's fire upon land ruled by the Offering God?"

"It is neither the devil's fire nor the Offering God's land. This officer... No, I will only burn forests that can be burned, under firm control."

Oh, it had been a while since I had seen military state thinking. If there was not enough capacity to support the population, then expand the farmland. It was a distinctly military state answer, devoted solely to accomplishing its goal, clear but difficult to accept.

Was this civilization's response to barbarism? Callis explained crisply.

"Separate a section of forest and set it ablaze. Till the soil mixed with ash and small branches. Scatter seeds over it and grow crops. It takes time when done properly, but if combined with standardized magic, every stage can be accelerated to produce results quickly."

"This land where the Offering God dwells is wet every day. It will not catch fire so easily."

"We can use alchemy to produce fuel."

"Alche... what?"

"Think of it as a witch's secret technique. It is less mysterious and more systematic than that."

"What nonsense..."

"No, Mr. Left Leg. It's possible!"

Wasn't this getting more interesting? I immediately jumped in to support Callis's claim.

"If the trees are cut down, I can perform simple alchemy. Look. Separating water from wood to make both fuel and drinking water is easy!"

While I was at it, I snapped a log in half and used simple alchemy to separate out its moisture. Left Leg frowned as he watched droplets fall from the wood.

"Mm. And when will you finish transforming this vast forest that way?"

"Ah, don't worry about that. Callis was a magic officer in the military state, so she has quite a lot of mana. I can help too if necessary."

When I vouched for her, Left Leg looked twice as troubled. I smiled brightly and brushed off his irritated glare.

It was not as though I particularly wanted to help Callis. Still, it would be a waste to let them reject the military state's rough but rational spread of civilization simply because they could not believe it. All I needed to do was give them confidence. Nothing more.

"Beans sprout where beans are planted, and red beans where red beans are planted. Even if we make fields, what are we supposed to plant in them?"

"The military state gives chimera bean seeds to field-grade officers conducting independent operations so they can be self-sufficient. I have some as well."

"You carry seeds around? Hm..."

"Wow. I had heard that, but you really do carry them around! It's true. These are chimera bean seeds!"

Sounds made up, doesn't it? The military state really does it. I stepped in to guarantee it in case they did not believe her. Left Leg and the other immortals hesitated as they looked at the seeds Callis held out.

"There are not even many of them. How long will it take to grow enough to eat?"

"Do not worry. Chimera beans absorb vitality from other plants as well. Once they grow beyond a certain size, they can be grafted to multiply them. It will take some time, but..."

"Multiply them? If that were so easy..."

"Ah, and I have a druid's power. If there are fields, I can help the crops grow to a degree."

While I was at it, I made leaves sprout from a dry branch. The immortals reacted even more strongly.

The people of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand might not know magic or alchemy, but they knew druidism. No one could doubt a druid when it came to grass and trees.

Their reasoning against it was growing weaker by the moment. Left Leg was now only picking at flaws like a fussy old man.

"What if the fire spreads?"

"Ah, I'll stop it. If I isolate the air with Skywarbler and divide the ground with Jizan, there's no way the fire can spread."

Perhaps the regressor thought they might not believe her, so she demonstrated it herself. When she swung Skywarbler at a bonfire some distance away, the flames flickered unnaturally, as though an invisible wall had stopped them.

Every concern the immortals had, every argument they could have made against it, had lost its force. Since the regressor and I were supporting Callis, they could not simply ignore it either. All that remained for the immortals was to decide.

Drive the refugees away, or take them in.

What would they choose?

After considering it for a long time, Left Leg finally forced out an answer.

"...This is not a matter that can be decided easily. We must speak with the Offering God's priestesses. Eye, Nose, Mouth, and Ear."

He would postpone his answer. It was the choice humanity had made most often throughout history, and the one that had produced the greatest results. Trite, but effective.

Time was not on the immortals' side, though. Postponing it meant maintaining the current situation for now. They could not send three hundred refugees away before reaching a conclusion.

Callis smiled like a victor.

"Then we should care for them until we have spoken with the priestesses."

Left Leg clicked his tongue loudly. Anyone could see who had won and lost.

That was why it was interesting.

The Callis I had seen in the military state had been a cold-blooded woman willing to commit any filthy act for power. Rashy, on the other hand, had been a kind and generous immortal.

Yet now, Callis was trying to protect the refugees, while the generous immortals were reluctant.

I grinned and read her thoughts.

'The more Mortal Village's population grows, the higher my standing becomes. I came here following Rashy, but that doesn't mean I can live without doing anything. This place is too backward and barbaric. I need to raise Mortal Village's civilization to at least the level of a frontier village in the military state.'

Callis had not abandoned her desire for power. Only the direction of that desire had changed.

'I've introduced military drills. Education is progressing well too. Barbarians who lost their place to go and settled in Mortal Village admire my movements and clothing, and they're actively learning. Now all Mortal Village needs is strength and the ability to be self-sufficient. Nothing more.'

A changed environment did not erase one's former life. Callis, who drew a clear blueprint and carried it out like an operation, still possessed the military state's way of thinking.

'And then, someday, my child... won't have to live like a barbarian.'

It was not solely for the sake of power.

The immortals, including Left Leg, did not see it as clearly as I did, but they vaguely sensed Callis's intentions.

Callis's ambition was not the whole reason they had rejected the refugees, but it was certainly part of it.

"Right Arm's partner."

Left Leg, who had read that current better than anyone, quietly called to Callis. Not by name or title. Only as Rashy's companion.

"Do not overstep yourself. You may be Right Arm's partner, but you are still a mortal. A friend who dies easily, under our protection..."

Regardless of whether she was Rashy's partner, Mortal Village's chief, or anything else, Callis was only a mortal. Left Leg pointed to the red armband tied around her arm as he warned her.

Rashy shouted.

"Left Leg!"

"Right Arm. If you are one of our kind, take better care of your partner. What we gave the mortals was a refuge where they could live without fear for their lives, not the right to give us orders. Not everyone who comes from beyond the steppe can become a Queen."

Oh? So that was how he wanted to play it? Well, the right to give newcomers a hard time was still a right. It was a rather petty response for someone who acted so proud of being an immortal.

I watched as though it were someone else's problem when Left Leg suddenly looked at the armband around my arm and spoke.

"And you. One who came from beyond the steppe."

"Yes? Me?"

"Yes. If you are also a mortal, remember my words."

Why me all of a sudden? I was not even going to live in Mortal Village. I was a traveler who would leave someday.

"Left Leg. That is enough."

"Right Arm. We also..."

"No. Not for my sake, but for yours. You are free to challenge him, but you must not disregard him. Sir is..."

I appreciated Rashy's concern, but I understood Left Leg's words too. I interrupted Rashy and said, "It's fine, Rashy. I was the one who overstepped a little."

"Sir. I'm sorry. You helped us, but..."

"No, no, no. I'm not upset or anything. I mean it literally. An outsider who will leave someday had no place weighing in on this. I only hinted that I could help. I believe the decision is entirely yours."

That was right. I was only someone who put choices in front of people so they could not look away.

If they closed their eyes, I grabbed their eyelids and forced them open. If they shut their ears, I grabbed their earlobes and hammered it in. If they refused to think, I touched the deepest part of their hearts and forced them to confront it.

If that was the choice they made, I respected it all the same.

"All right, shall we leave it there? We need to rest too, and you immortals need to have your discussion now."

As I clapped my hands to wrap things up, the meeting ended as though everyone had been waiting for it. Left Leg went to the priestesses with the other immortals, while Callis led the Mortal Village militia toward the refugees.

Footnotes:

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