WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 574: The Tree That Bears Meat

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My rest had been short, but my mind was clear. Ever since Tyr's Demon God had taken up residence in my body, I could no longer call myself normal, not even as an empty courtesy. That went for my fatigue, my mind, and my body. Even the briefest rest returned me to perfect condition.

The same was true this time. It was my first proper rest on the way to the Tree of Origin, yet I woke after only thirty-odd minutes feeling completely refreshed.

"Ah. I can't even sleep in properly anymore."

Regretting my lost chance to sleep late, I sat up and spotted the regressor wrapped in grass moss. When I gave the moss protruding from her collar a long pull, she jerked violently. The grass moss had spent a little over an hour moving over her skin and wiping away the grime, and it had become lukewarm from her body heat.

"Pah! Hngh. Hah... You..."

"What? It did exactly what you ordered. I didn't lay a finger on you, and you got cleaned without moving an inch. Don't you feel refreshed?"

'I do feel refreshed... That's why I hate it even more!'

What was I supposed to do with that? Ugh. I should just stop caring.

"What should I do with this grass moss? Want to use it again later?"

"Forget it... Just burn it. It feels disgusting."

"That's harsh. They gave their bodies to wash you, Shei. You could at least show some gratitude."

Still, I couldn't think of anywhere else to use it, so I threw it out the window. Nothing felt quite as freeing as dumping trash where no one would hold you responsible.

'I feel a little sorry seeing it get thrown away like that...'

Seriously, what did she want from me? Even when I wanted to ignore her, I couldn't. Scratching my stomach, I wandered around the room.

"I'm a little hungry now that I'm up. Should I take out something to eat?"

"...We have Manhan Quanxi. Take it out of the pocket."

"Let's save that. Why use emergency rations when we have food right here? I think there was a food storage area here."

Ah, there it was. Near the brazier holding seed oil, I found a branch curved like a fishing rod. It looked as though heavy, plump fruit hung from the slender branch.

A pumpkin bowl, a bamboo faucet, a moss towel, a seed-oil brazier. The food storage had clearly been made from plants too. Food usually meant crops, after all. Expecting fresh fruit, I pulled the branch down.

"This is the Tree of Origin, so there must be fruits and grains everywhere..."

As I spoke and looked at the fruit hanging from the branch, I flinched at something I had never expected.

What hung from the branch was not fruit, but... animals covered in thin, soft skin.

Pigs, rabbits, chickens. Animals good for eating slept curled up inside. Like unborn children, they floated in fruity amniotic fluid, attached to umbilical cords made of branches.

Fruit with animals growing inside it. I had sometimes wished meat grew on trees, but I never thought it actually could.

I picked one huge pig-fruit. The pig inside squirmed within the fruit, which I could barely lift with both arms. It couldn't be called alive, but it couldn't have grown into a pig while dead either. Frowning at the pig-fruit, I said,

"This is..."

[An origin beast!]

The parrot's voice came from outside. Puzzled, I opened the kitchen window. As though it had been waiting, the green-feathered parrot flew in and landed on my shoulder.

"An origin beast?"

[Beasts fashioned from trees, origin beasts. Nevida and Agartha's masterpiece.]

The parrot puffed out its chest and squawked proudly, then bit my ear and shouted.

[More importantly, leave the window open! If you close it, I can't come in whenever I want!]

"Isn't that the very reason windows need to be closed?"

[Wouldn't it be better if I came in? Then, like now, when you see an origin beast and get scared, I can clear away the fog with my knowledge!]

"I wasn't scared... Huh? Wait a second. I definitely closed the window earlier. How did you know I'd seen an origin beast?"

[Ah!]

Struck right on the mark, the parrot fluttered. It had probably used mice or insects as familiars to spy on us, but it couldn't admit that. Its eyes darted around as it made an excuse.

[Eek! I saw through a gap in the window!]

"I thought it was shut..."

[There was a gap!]

"When the window is closed, not even a speck of sunlight gets through."

[If I say there was, there was!]

"You're awfully arbitrary. Fine, if you say so."

No matter how much I pressed it, it wouldn't stop peeping. It would only hide its familiars more carefully after deciding it had been unlucky enough to get caught. Better to pretend I didn't know.

"I can eat this, right?"

[Eek! Of course! That's why they were made in the first place!]

"That's why? Then origin beasts were made as food from the start?"

[Yes! Killing precious livestock just for meat is inefficient!]

That was true, but I hadn't known the origin beasts were Nevida's power, meant for food. They could move and even fight. Naturally, I had assumed they existed for battle.

The parrot, which had been chattering away, covered its beak with a wing.

[Oops. Have I said too much? Oh well, it doesn't matter. We have a lot to talk about! Let's continue at the exchange meeting!]

"An exchange meeting?"

[You said we should have one, didn't you? I'll wait until you're done eating, so hurry up and come outside!]

Ah, right. I had suggested an exchange meeting. Since I couldn't read its thoughts, I didn't understand what it meant right away.

I tore open the pig-fruit and took out the pig. The pig inside the fruit didn't open its eyes and move. I took out a card and slit open the pig-fruit's skin. Though it had grown from a branch, its structure was exactly the same as a real pig's.

Even as I cooked the meat in a pan, I couldn't shake my doubts.

"An animal grown from a tree... Is it really safe to eat?"

It was needless worry. Meat was meat. Setting aside how it felt, it tasted good. The meat somehow tasted like beans, but as someone from the military state, that didn't matter to me at all.

[Hurry up and eat! How long are you going to keep me waiting?]

"Where did that parrot who said it would wait through my meal go?"

The parrot hurried me along. Taking over a parrot had apparently given it a parrot's petty patience. Grumbling, I got ready to leave and asked,

"I'm going now, so please guide me."

[I sent Walpurgis! She'll be waiting outside the door!]

"What? You've had her waiting this whole time? You should've sent her after I finished eating. I feel bad."

[So what? It's fine!]

"I meant I feel bad for Walpurgis, not you."

[If I'm fine with it, she's fine with it too!]

"How arbitrary."

At least it asked for opinions, which made it better than Nevida. Either way, it was undeniably quite troublesome. I asked the parrot,

"Ah. Can Shei come to the exchange meeting too?"

[Eek? Shei? Who's that?]

"The one who lost her arms."

[Ah, that one?]

The parrot glanced at the regressor and stroked beneath its beak with a wing as it considered.

[Is that okay? Is it not okay? Eek. The Holy Maiden will know everything anyway, so it should be fine, right?]

"If it's something you can tell me, it doesn't really matter if she learns it too, does it?"

[Eek. But I might accidentally blurt out a secret!]

Its attitude toward handling mistakes was admirable. Was not blurting out secrets by accident simply not an option?

[Maybe I can shut your mouth, but it would be difficult to shut hers. That's what a Holy Maiden is. Light looks down upon all things, and there are no secrets under the sun. If you want to hide something from a Holy Maiden, the only way is not to say it aloud.]

Too late. The regressor already knew all your plans. She had seen them in the future.

"Then why don't you hear information about Shei in return?"

[There's nothing in particular I want to ask...]

"There is. That mask."

[Ah!]

Agartha's mask. I couldn't read how she had obtained it or what history it had either. This was a chance to hear the story from the regressor herself.

[Eek! Fine! I'll be generous and allow it.]

"Then I should bring Shei. As you can see, she's so weak that she can't even wash herself with her own hands."

[Ah, I saw that! Right! You're quite impressive, you know? Using plants like animals to toy with someone! Even I never thought of that!]

"What? Toy with someone? What are you talking about?"

That wasn't toying with her. It was attending to her. I had only adjusted the towel moss a little. What did it mean, toying with her? The regressor was satisfied with the service too!

More importantly, when had it seen that? Had it been peeping without missing a single moment? Did the Great Witch have nothing better to do?

The parrot seemed to realize its slip and fluttered.

[...Eek! Just let it go!]

"Let what go? Come here."

[I'll tell Walpurgis to bring a cart! Walpurgis!]

The parrot fled out the window at once, avoiding my hand. A wingless human couldn't chase after it. Clicking my tongue, I approached the regressor.

"You heard that, Shei. Everything you do is probably being watched. Be careful what you say and do from now on."

"...Hngh. I don't like being watched."

"You're one to talk. Who kept following and watching me in Tantalus?"

"T-that was because you were so suspicious! And if we're keeping score, my intuition was right! You lying King of Humanity!"

What? A liar? I had concealed facts, downplayed them, or exaggerated them before, but I had hardly ever lied! And if anyone was a worse liar than me, it was her!

"Is that something a person who kept dressing as a man, even while being mistaken for a sodomite, should say?"

"Do you think I dressed as a man because I wanted to?! I had no choice! If I had looked like a woman from the start, you or Tyrkanzyaka would definitely have been wary of me! We never would've been able to travel so comfortably...!"

"Really? Then you aren't hiding anything now, right?"

You were still hiding the fact that you were a regressor. Weren't you?

Hit hard, the regressor pressed her lips together and turned her head away. She was stubborn, as if she couldn't bring herself to say that much. Good grief, what a turnoff. This was why I didn't feel like taking her side. The regressor always had the upper hand.

"Fine. Let's just go to that exchange meeting."

"...Okay."

"She said she would send a cart, so I guess we can load you up like luggage."

"Don't treat a person like luggage!"

"Hello? Did a cart come by?"

Once I was ready, I opened the door. A witch stood outside, breathing heavily as if she had just run somewhere and back. Witch Walpurgis presented the cart she had brought with her.

"I brought the cart. Let's go."

"...Huh. This is..."

Seeing the strangely familiar cart, I tilted my head. The cart, which looked like a wheelchair, was made entirely of... gears, from its wheels to its frame.

Footnotes:

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