WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 573: Plants Have Many Uses

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There were two World Trees on this continent.

No, there had been.

A blessed ginkgo stood in the southeastern jungle. Drinking up the river's current all by itself and chewing the earth apart as it grew, that enormous World Tree had towered there for tens of thousands of years, gazing upon the world in lofty solitude.

They said the jungle had no seasons, but seasons were nothing more than the World Tree's whims. If the World Tree wished to adorn itself in yellow robes that day, then that day became autumn. When countless ginkgo leaves blanketed the world and announced autumn's arrival, they formed a bridge across the Serpent's River that divided the jungle in two. That was when the beasts of the land migrated.

During the Kingdom of Ten Thousand's prosperous age, the World Tree had been the symbol of its glorious civilization.

That beautiful, blessed ginkgo had fallen, consumed by ugly jealousy.

At the continent's opposite extreme, only the silent metasequoia that supported civilization in the northwestern Great Forest remained as the sole World Tree.

"The World Tree? Why go after an innocent tree?"

[The tree has done nothing wrong. But I do care about the despair they will feel when it falls.]

"The druids of the Great Forest? Why them? They worship the same World Tree, after all."

[Perhaps it was not the same World Tree to them.]

The parrot muttered in a dispirited tone, as if there were a story behind it. I should probably read her thoughts too.

No, it had a loose tongue. Maybe I could coax it into telling me.

[...Uh. Walpurgis. Why? What? Did I say something I shouldn't have? Huh? I talked too much?]

Well, the Great Witch might not have noticed, but one of the other witches seemed fairly sharp. Having regained her composure, the Great Witch spoke arrogantly again.

[Knowledge is more precious than gold. If you want to hear more, you will have to pay an appropriate price.]

"What do you need? Should I tell you about Tyr's Demon God?"

[Uh, um! That would just barely be enough!]

"Just barely won't do. Forget I asked."

[Huh? Why?]

"I wasn't that curious about your motives in the first place. What does it matter to me if a World Tree on the other side of the continent falls? It's not even certain you can succeed, and I haven't contributed anything. Nor do I have anything to contribute."

[Huh? Would you help?]

"I haven't even heard your story."

I'll just read her thoughts later and get the rough idea. As I waved my hand, preparing to shoo the parrot away, it fluttered over and clung to me.

[No! Now that you've boarded this ship, you have to get everything you can out of it! King of Humanity, let's make a deal! You want to know why the World Tree burned too, don't you?]

"No, I said I wasn't interested. Was I being too indirect? It's none of my business."

[B-but! The metasequoia is the World Tree of civilization! Those Great Forest bastards have no qualms about cutting down the tree they worship to enrich the Empire! Druids who became the Empire's dogs!]

"People can become dogs. I do sometimes when I drink."

[Hey!]

What a nuisance. How many times did I have to say I wasn't interested?

'...Wait. If it concerns the Great Witch, I am interested.'

The regressor, who had been listening quietly until now, silently revealed her interest. I thought she had been sitting still despite the parrot messing up her hair, but she had been listening with gloomy focus. I had no right to criticize the Great Witch.

'The Great Witch scattered the Rider of Plague across the world, and at the same time... she was the one who devastated the Great Forest with the Green Death. It would be good if we could stop either one.'

The Rider of Plague? The Green Death? Some strangely intriguing keywords had appeared again.

No, if it was that important, shouldn't she have learned about it first and told me? Why was she trying to find out now?

Then again, if the regressor had been Nevida and the Great Witch's enemy until now, she would never have had the chance to hear their circumstances. She had been too busy fighting them.

This was troublesome. If I alone wanted to know the truth, I could just read her thoughts and keep quiet. But if I wanted to tell the regressor about the Great Witch's circumstances and draw information from her, I needed to obtain it through a "proper" process rather than mind reading. That way, she would not suspect the source.

"Then could you arrange a meeting? We're in the same boat whether we like it or not, so let's hold a little get-together."

[Yes! Good!]

"Please arrange the place yourself. I'll come to you."

[You have to come! You must!]

After repeating herself several times, the parrot flew energetically out the open window. For someone who had lived so long, the Great Witch was more cheerful than I expected. Every elderly person I had met until now had either been emotionless or stiff. Was it because she lived with animals?

She was not a welcome visitor, though. The parrot was gone, but the Great Witch's familiars were still hiding throughout my room, silently watching us. As I shut the door and then the window, the regressor groaned.

"...Hughes. Take me with you when you go."

"Can you even manage in that condition? Your arm looks like it might fall off if you jog lightly."

"Still, I need to hear it. About the Great Witch. Because the Great Witch is..."

"Whoa, wait. Watch what you say, Shei. This is enemy territory for you."

Most of her information came from what she had seen during regression. At this point in time, it was knowledge from the future. If she carelessly recited things she had seen in the future, it would make the Great Witch wary. Nevida was a resilient and mighty plant, slow to notice things, but the Great Witch was a sensitive, watchful beast. If she showed a weakness, there would be no taking it back.

"Mhm. But this is also an opportunity. Maybe, when it comes to the plague, the Great Witch..."

"Come on! Take a hint!"

Could she not understand a subtle warning? I clamped my hand over the regressor's mouth and glanced around the room. The Great Witch's hidden surveillance... no, observation... no, peeping grass insects showed no particular movement. She had been controlling the parrot until just a moment ago, so she probably was not receiving their senses at the moment.

"Try to watch your behavior. I might be fine, but you are only a prisoner. If you let unnecessary information slip, you may have to cough up even more instead. Understand?"

"Mmph, mmph!"

"I'll trust that you understand. From now on, don't say anything out loud that only you know."

I'll read it with mind reading anyway.

Once I knew the regressor had calmed down, I removed my hand. She looked displeased, but she accepted what I said.

"...I hadn't considered that. You're quite sharp."

"Weak people have to watch all sorts of things. You wouldn't know that, since you've always been strong."

"If I were truly strong, I wouldn't be groaning here with a broken arm... I'm not strong either... I've always been weak. Weaker than the King of Sin, the Demon King, the Sword Saint, and... Nevida."

The regressor lamented her lot weakly. With her confidence shaken and that vicious edge gone, she was rather cute. She had been far too sharp until now.

"You're already plenty strong if you can count your rank down from the top. Then what does that make me?"

"...True. How did you survive?"

"It feels bad when you suddenly agree with me. How did I survive? I survived by avoiding danger, running away, and working hard! You keep sticking your head into places where people die, yet you've somehow stayed alive!"

'Though I've already died more than ten times.'

Exactly. Without her regression ability, she would have died long ago. She should bow to the person who gave her that ability every time.

"If you want to come to the get-together, get your arm in order first. I can't drag around a walking filth bomb that sprays blood whenever it moves."

"It's not that bad...! Ah..."

The regressor suddenly remembered her condition and let out a miserable groan. She could not move a single finger, and her clothes were stained with blood, sweat, and dirt. Her skin had been reattached, but yellow pus still seeped from the stretched and torn flesh. She looked so wretched that she could not protest being called a filth bomb.

'Normally, I would have cleaned myself up with qi at least... but I don't have the strength now. Maintaining the Heaven-Reversing Boundary alone is exhausting. I should at least wipe myself down...'

But unable to use either qi or her hands, the regressor had no way to clean herself. She continued thinking with a groan.

'Should I ask someone? But Hughes is the only one on my side right now. If anyone does it, Hughes...'

The moment she thought that, the regressor shook her head so fiercely it was hard to believe she was injured.

'No. I'll just endure it. It's only a little unpleasant. Just a little...'

Once she became conscious of it, though, it became a problem she could not ignore. The regressor kept squirming as if something were uncomfortable. From her feet up to her waist, the parts she could still move kept twitching this way and that.

'Ugh. How am I supposed to ask him... to clean me? That would be strange! But there's no one else I can entrust myself to...! The witches? No. As long as the Great Witch exists, every witch is my enemy. I can't entrust my body to an enemy. Even less so!'

Too prideful to say it first, the regressor pressed her lips shut and glared at me. I could feel a terrifying pressure.

No, what did she want me to do? Was this it? She didn't want to ask me to clean her, but she wanted me to do it anyway? What a difficult sort of person.

I tried to ignore her and make food for the day, but her gaze only grew fiercer. At this rate, the back of my head would catch fire before the brazier did.

"If you have something to say, say it. Stop staring at me."

"...It's nothing!"

"If it's nothing, stop looking at me! Focus on treating your body!"

"I can't focus! My clothes are soaked with blood, and my body is dirty!"

"Really? Want me to wipe you down?"

"A-are you insane?! Who said that?!"

"Then what do you want me to do?!"

Ugh, what a headache. I really did need to clean her, but how was I supposed to get past that defense mechanism? Maybe? It probably wouldn't work, but should I try?

"Shei. You're a man, right? A man can help another man."

Only then did the regressor remember she was disguised as a man, and she answered uncertainly.

"Oh, right. I was... wasn't I?"

"Come on. Don't be so embarrassed. We should help each other when things are hard."

"Y-yes. Please... No! Stop! Take your hand off my clothes!"

Damn it. She caught me. Though it would have been stranger if she had not. The regressor really had weakened a lot. Under her fierce glare, I withdrew the hand that had been about to remove her clothes and sighed.

"Then what are you going to do? Wear those forever?"

"...I-is there another way?"

"What other way is there? What you want is this. I can't touch you, but you want to wash yourself, and you don't want me to see you. Is that right?"

"Not quite that much...!"

'...Though that would work!'

"Ha. You're a prisoner, yet you have so many demands."

Her demands were excessive, and her wishes were complicated.

Still, fine. The harder the wish, the more satisfying it was to grant. It was a huge hassle, though. They say you should grant even a dead person's last wish, so how could I refuse the wish of someone alive?

"...Forget it. Leave me alone. I'll do it myself after I recover."

"Who knows when you'll recover? What am I supposed to do while we live together until then?"

Sighing, I searched the room. In this natural room formed within the World Tree's flesh, all kinds of useful plants grew. After looking around, I found a lush patch of grass moss growing near the bathroom and tore off a large clump. It was dry, but soft like a towel.

It was moss only in classification. I had never seen a species like it before. Nevida must have "improved" this one with her power too.

"This looks like grass moss for wiping your body. It's dry now, but it should become moist when soaked in water."

I filled a water bucket made from a gourd shell, placed the grass moss in it, and set it at the regressor's feet. Then I called upon the Demon God, the Tree of Origin, and made the grass moss "grow."

"If we leave it like this, the grass moss will grow while wrapping around your body. It should clean you up well enough. What do you think?"

Strictly speaking, this was far more suspicious, but it was enough to overcome the regressor's resistance.

"...T-that should be fine."

"Well, it's not me cleaning you. It's the grass moss, so whether it cleans you well or badly has nothing to do with me. Don't complain. Understood?"

"Yes."

As we spoke, the growing grass moss extended its tendrils. Since grass moss had no stems, it needed something to wrap around in order to grow. The tendrils searched inside the gourd bucket for support, found the regressor's bare foot, and wrapped around it.

'Ah, cold. It's moister than I thought. It grows rather quickly... This should clean me up well. Eek?!'

The moment it found support, the grass moss began climbing the regressor fiercely, as though its tendrils were competing with one another. Green moss brushed across her skin like snakes. Startled by the unfamiliar sensation rising from below, the regressor spoke.

"W-wait. Hughes. This...!"

"I don't know. I'm going to take a nap."

This was what she wanted. If I had washed her with my own hands, she would have complained endlessly. She could endure it.

"I-it's going inside...! Hughes, wait! Take it off, hhk!"

"Snore."

I lay down on the bed with my back to the regressor, who was gradually being buried in moss. I thought her noise would keep me awake, but perhaps because I was tired too, I fell asleep surprisingly easily.

Footnotes:

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