WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 572: The Parrot Speaks

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After tremendous effort, I succeeded in reattaching the regressor's arms. I decided not to think too hard about how I had managed it. It wasn't a pleasant sight.

I bound the torn muscles together, connected the severed blood vessels, and forced the bones back into place. The techniques, authority, and energy circulation I used were too advanced to describe easily. I reconnected the nerves with thunder threads, controlled the blood flow with bloodcraft, and used energy circulation to keep the arms from coming loose. It consumed an enormous amount of medicine and energy.

"Hah. Hah. Hah."

Completely exhausted, the regressor was soaked in sweat and barely conscious. I opened a bottle of medicine and poured it into her mouth. Drinking it this way cut its effectiveness in half, but the regressor overcame that problem by drinking twice as much.

"Hngh... Hngh."

'My throat feels like it's burning...'

After swallowing the medicine, the regressor panted with burning thirst. Even without mind reading, anyone could tell she needed water. I opened the bamboo faucet, filled a cup, and brought it to her. Like a baby bird, she opened her mouth and accepted the water.

'Haah. Ugh. Even after drinking water, my body is still hot. It feels like I'm being torn apart. I can't do anything except hold myself together.'

She still couldn't move a finger. The regressor was an expert in energy circulation, and the treatment was flawless, so her senses would return after about a week of recovery. In a month, she would be able to hold a weapon. For now, though, she was as weak as she could possibly be.

'I've never been this helpless after regressing.... If my arm was cut off, I usually died. Right now, I can't resist anything Hughes does....'

As that thought crossed her mind, the regressor flinched and looked at me with frightened eyes.

'It couldn't be, could it? He's rude, but he does keep his boundaries.... But if he takes advantage of me being unable to resist and does something.... W-what should I do? How far would Hughes go....'

What was I supposed to do about that? How was I supposed to reassure you? Seriously. If I wanted to seduce you, I would've approached you properly from the start. I wasn't pushy enough to force myself on someone who didn't want me.

'No, no! I'm only thinking this way because I'm weak. Don't think about relying on him! This relationship will disappear once I regress anyway. Next cycle, I'll have to meet him again when he knows nothing about any of this! If I form a deeper relationship, I'll be the only one who gets hurt! It's always been that way. My first love was the same....'

Well, look at that. She had even dated during her regressions.

After playing out an entire drama in her own head, the regressor searched through her hazy memories.

'Wait. First love...? When did I have a first love...?'

She had regressed for so long that her memories were... It was a little pitiful. As I quietly read her thoughts, a red fountain suddenly spurted from her shoulder. Blood was leaking through the stitches. I noticed too late and shouted in alarm.

"Huh? Shei, blood! Your shoulder's bleeding!"

"Uh, what?"

"What are you doing? Focus! You're losing blood!"

Her shoulder had become a bloody faucet! Realizing her condition, the regressor barely stabilized her blood flow. With no room to think about anything else, she gritted her teeth.

'...My head is spinning, so I guess I can't remember. Focus for now. Think about it after I'm healed.'

As I concentrated on treating the regressor...

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door. I tried to read their thoughts first, then froze when I couldn't hear any from outside. There had definitely been a knock, but was it not a person? Staying alert, I carefully approached the door.

"Who is it?"

There was no answer, though I could sense a presence. I cautiously opened the door, and a parrot appeared before me. The parrot, with red feathers and a blue tail, sat on its perch and bobbed its head.

"What is this?"

[What is this?]

"A parrot? Did it fly all the way up here? Or is it... a familiar?"

[Correct! Correct!]

The parrot cried out excitedly, spread its wings, and flew into the room. It looked around for somewhere to perch, found a familiar spot, and landed.

On the regressor's shoulder.

"Hey! Get down from there! I barely got that attached. What if it comes off?"

[Squawk? Then how about here?]

"Yeah. Her head would be better."

'How is that better? Get down! You'll mess up my hair!'

The parrot settled amid the regressor's hair. After clearing its throat, it spoke in a squawking voice.

[King of Humanity. I have come for an audience.]

"You say you've come for an audience, but you sent a familiar? I don't feel any respect here."

[Apologies. Please understand. It's easier to borrow Polly's mouth than speak directly.]

"Easier? Does talking through a parrot even count as talking? Isn't speaking with your own mouth easier?"

[Not really? Speaking isn't difficult. Even a parrot can do it, yet humans make such a fuss!]

Was she speaking from somewhere far away? I couldn't read her thoughts clearly. She had to be one of the witches, but who was it?

Standing proudly atop the regressor's head, the parrot spoke.

[Humans are the ones who make the biggest fuss. Beasts have the same blood in their veins. Parrots can speak, and leopards use their heads to hunt. The only things humans do better than beasts are jealousy, envy, filthy desires, and childish schemes. Rather than meeting such humans face-to-face, isn't it better to meet beasts? Don't you agree, King of Humanity?]

Hm. I got it. Her hatred of humans and love of beasts came through in every word.

It was the Great Witch.

I hadn't recognized her because her manner of speaking was different, but the Great Witch was the only being who would waste her precise control over familiars on having an elaborate conversation through a parrot. Besides, no other witch would contact me before the Great Witch did.

Well, I could sympathize with part of what she said. Fundamentally, though, something was wrong with it. I spoke.

"I don't agree at all."

[You don't? Are you defending your people because you're the King of Humanity?]

"Not particularly. I'm just seeing things as they are. Don't other beasts feel jealousy or envy? Don't they bare their teeth over filthy desires? Why make such a fuss over things every other beast does too?"

Everything good was something beasts did, while everything bad was humanity's fault? That was what was strange. Saying humans were beasts didn't mean humans were especially evil.

"The one making a fuss is clearly you, Great Witch."

[Squawk, squawk!]

The parrot flapped its wings violently after I hit the mark. Red feathers fell over the regressor's eyes and face. I caught one before it touched her nose and spoke to the parrot.

"Are you afraid of humans?"

[N-no! Not at all! I'm not afraid! They're just difficult!]

"If you're not afraid, come here yourself. No matter how well you control familiars, you need to see me with your own eyes to understand my true nature."

From what I'd read when we briefly met before, the Great Witch had a severe aversion to people. Severe enough that she was closer to beasts than humans.

She was fine with women or people she knew. That was why she could speak freely with Nevida and the other witches. Apparently, she couldn't do that with me.

Especially...

[How am I supposed to know what the King of Humanity might do to me!]

"I haven't done anything lately, yet people keep saying I did something. At least let me do it before you accuse me! So I won't feel so wronged!"

If she was afraid of humans, then she would be afraid of me, the King of Humanity.

Huh? Wait. This might be useful. It would be easier to use her if she feared me than if she looked down on me, right?

I raised my chin and asked in an imposing tone.

"So. Why did you come to see me?"

The parrot ruffled its feathers uncomfortably, but it was only a parrot. That wasn't frightening at all. When I widened my eyes and glared at it, the parrot flinched.

Then the regressor shrank back in fright too. Why were you scared?

[It's about the Demon God!]

"The Demon God?"

[Yes. Is it true that Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka became a Demon God of beasts?]

"A Demon God of beasts? She isn't exactly a Demon God of beasts. If anything, she's a Demon God of blood."

The parrot bobbed its head and let out a hoarse cry.

[Why, why?]

"What do you mean, why? A Demon God is a Demon God because she's a Demon God. If you're asking why she's a Demon God...? Besides, she created the vampire race by herself. What's strange about it? You became an Elder by receiving her blood too."

[I did that for research! I meant to uncover the mysteries held by the Progenitor's blood and become a Demon God! Yet she got there before me...!]

Among the Progenitor's thirteen Elders, the Great Witch was a little different. The Great Witch, the darkness draped over the jungle and teacher of every witch, led her own faction. The Progenitor and the Great Witch stood as equals and shared their treasures. The Great Witch offered her knowledge, while the Progenitor offered her blood. The continent's two darknesses joined forces and became more complete.

Still, an Elder was an Elder. To the public, it probably looked as if the Great Witch had joined the Progenitor's forces. Vampires who had ruled the world were far more powerful than a group of witches living in hiding.

[Tyrkanzyaka...! You were born before me! You're stronger than me! Isn't it too much for you to become a Demon God too!]

Perhaps that perception had left a trace of inferiority in the Great Witch.

The parrot thrashed about by itself, then glared at me with a huff.

[King of Humanity, I heard Demon Gods change you.]

"It isn't limited to me. Demon Gods change the world itself, so I'm affected too."

[Either way! I'm basically right!]

You shouldn't gloss over that so casually. Well, I'd let her have it for now.

[How can I become a Demon God like Tyrkanzyaka? Tell me.]

"Why are you asking me that?"

[The Demon God is human. As the King of Humanity, you should know!]

"Ask the Demon God. It's not like you don't know Tyr."

[Then it would look like I'm beneath Tyrkanzyaka!]

"That is the truth. What are you dissatisfied with? Whether you look at name value or accomplishments, Tyr is the one who should become a Demon God."

[What am I lacking!]

"Presence, charisma, strength, authority, fame, looks. Ah, and age too."

[Shut uuuup!]

The enraged parrot flapped its wings and flew up. It looked ready to peck and claw my face, but I was human. I wouldn't lose to some lightweight bird. I seized its neck in an instant and twisted its wings.

[Squawk! Let go!]

"You're fairly strong. Is that because you're the Great Witch's familiar? Still, I'm not weak enough to lose to a mere parrot."

[Let Polly go right now! You haven't forgotten that I'm the Great Witch, have you? You dare touch my precious familiar? Aren't you afraid to meet me again?]

"What? You haven't forgotten that I'm the King of Humanity either, right?"

The parrot stopped struggling. Its eyes rolled as it stubbornly replied.

[Hmph. You've lost your strength, yet you're still putting on airs. I-I know. The King of Humanity lost all strength and went to sleep....]

"I'm discussing how to regain that strength with Nevida right now. And what did you say? That I should be afraid to meet you again? Listen. Do you want to meet me after I regain my strength while we're on bad terms?"

The parrot's eyes rolled again. It quietly folded its wings and curled its claws, avoiding my gaze.

[...N-no.]

Nevida had the attitude that nothing mattered after the King of Humanity was revived, but the Great Witch was different. She had her own goal in cooperating with Nevida. She would want to remain on friendly terms with the King of Humanity if possible. I didn't know whether that would be me, but still.

That was enough threatening. I smiled faintly and gently placed the parrot back on the regressor's head.

"Of course. I want to remain on good terms with you too, Great Witch. After all, you're a friend to beasts, which means you're a friend to humans too."

[Y-yes. Thank you....]

"By the way, Great Witch. Why do you want to become a Demon God?"

[W-well.... F-for revenge.]

"Revenge? Whose revenge?"

[W-well...]

"What?"

She couldn't speak well, so I couldn't understand what she meant. I grumbled inwardly that I needed mind reading again and asked once more. A clear voice flowed from the parrot's beak.

[To avenge the World Tree that burned and fell. To honor the soul of the blessed ginkgo tree.]

The parrot's gaze settled in one place. With its feathers smoothed down, the Great Witch's parrot spoke with a calmness unbefitting a bird.

[I will destroy Metasequoia, the World Tree that remains alone.]

Footnotes:

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