WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 58: A Mind Reader's Monologue

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Just as the vampire had said, Finlay stopped suddenly appearing out of nowhere to swagger around.

Sometimes, when I was cooking and slicing ingredients with a knife, he would stare back and forth between the kitchen knife and my fingers with eyes full of expectation. Not a chance. If I were stupid enough to cut my hand with a mere kitchen knife, I wouldn't be able to shuffle cards.

Do you know how dangerous shuffling is? One wrong shuffle, and your wrist goes flying. Compared to that, knife work where the worst possible outcome is losing a finger is a piece of cake.

Sorry, but there was no food for vampires in a human kitchen. Get lost.

Anyway, the Abyss had regained some semblance of peace. The vampire spent more time away from Finlay than before, and though the regressor wasn't satisfied, she no longer bristled at every little thing. The great ripples had calmed, and we entered a strange period of stability.

During that time, I faced a golem in one corner of the dining hall.

『Confirmed.』

The golem's voice had softened somewhat after hearing my report.

『There are still many unresolved issues, but our available options are currently limited. We expect to monitor the situation for the time being. Please maintain the current state until headquarters takes further measures.』

"Understood! Leave it to me!"

『....』

The golem simply stared at me in silence. Perhaps because it was a golem's gaze, it felt unbearably burdensome.

"Why are you just sitting there with your mouth to the microphone? What are you about to say now?"

『...Query. Why are you being so cooperative today?』

"Today? I've always been cooperative with Captain AB. Has there ever been anything Captain AB asked that I refused to do?"

『Those are duties you ought to perform. You are a laborer of Tantalus and are obligated to follow the legitimate orders of this officer, its administrator.』

"Exactly. Other than when we had a small difference of opinion and needed to work things out, I followed them all. If you asked me to take someone somewhere, I did. If you asked me to save someone, I did. If an intruder fell in, I dealt with it. I even solved things on my own without orders sometimes. Where else could you find such an exemplary laborer?"

『Did you not use those occasions as leverage to make unreasonable demands of this officer?』

"Unreasonable demands? What are those?"

『Forcing this officer to engage in certain words and actions.』

"Certain words and actions? I don't know. I have no idea what you mean."

The golem froze, but only for a moment. Soon, a flat voice came through the speaker.

『Did you not force this officer to say childish things such as "oppa" or ask for piggyback rides?』

"Oh, that? Come on, it was just a joke. A joke."

I tried to brush it off, but the golem's unblinking stare was so piercing that I had to make more excuses.

"Honestly, was it really so difficult that you had to call it forcing? Did Captain AB lose money? Did she get hurt? You only asked me to carry you piggyback. The order just became a little cuter, and I happily gave you a piggyback ride in the end, so wasn't it a win-win?"

『Negative. This officer is a communications officer of the military state and a captain in an independent communications unit. This officer has a duty to uphold the dignity appropriate to her position.』

"But you're a golem to begin with. If I made the real Captain AB do something like that in person, I'd unquestionably be a pervert. I was only playing around with this tiny golem, that's all."

『There is already no room to doubt your perversion.』

"Pervert? Goodness. You really will say anything to your oppa."

『.........』

Oh, was she angry?

Before the golem could seriously consider retaliation, I hurriedly moved on.

"Oh, and the Progenitor said this too. Since Finlay fell in here by accident, she asked us to send him back to the surface."

A sigh escaped the golem as it stared at me. It was so absurd that she had given up on arguing.

『Impossible. Finlay entered Tantalus in the Abyss with specific intent and therefore violated the Security Act. Had this occurred on the surface, a warrant would have been issued. This location is the Abyss. Therefore, the Progenitor's request cannot be accepted.』

"I said something similar and managed to keep Finlay here for now, but he looks ready to fly off if things go wrong. As you know, powerful vampires can fly freely even in darkness like this. What if he flies back up to the surface?"

『Escape is also impossible.』

The golem answered bluntly. The explanation was too short, so I flailed both arms in protest.

"No, I said he'd fly! He says he plans to keep flying until he dies of old age! Vampires don't die of old age, so that means practically forever! No matter how deep the Abyss is, surely he could escape eventually, right? Then I'll get shot for failing to keep watch!"

『You need not concern yourself with that. It is not possible to escape this place, the Abyss, by flying through the air...』

The golem's voice abruptly cut off there, severed as sharply as though by a blade.

After that, a harsher voice came from beyond the golem.

『...As a communications officer of the military state, this officer is issuing you a stern warning.』

None of the ease from earlier remained in her voice. The golem had let the truth slip through a gap in the tension after I had spent so long relaxing the atmosphere, then realized it and pulled herself together.

With a rigid attitude that allowed no opening, the golem spoke.

『This officer fully understands your position and has maintained a cooperative attitude in consideration of the fact that you are the only available person inside Tantalus and have formed a friendship with the trainees through your status. However.』

Its crystal-ball eyes moved. My reflection appeared clearly in those round orbs that held the light within them.

Somewhere beyond that, where I couldn't see, the eyes watching me must have turned cold.

『If you again show signs of attempting to extract information from this officer, or if such signs are observed, this officer will seek other means to "replace" you.』

This was why I didn't particularly like the military state. The people, ideology, and system were all so stiff that it was hard to survive.

In a harsh world like this, a magician pursuing romance had nowhere to stand.

I answered with a smile. The golem stared at me for a long while before cutting the connection unilaterally, without warning.

The light vanished from its crystal balls, and its iron body slumped down.

* * *

Finlay stopped demanding blood from me. In accordance with the supreme Progenitor's orders, he no longer interfered with my life or suddenly barged in.

He had stopped, but.

'Get cut. Cut your finger. Bleed.'

I had overlooked the fact that I was a mind reader.

Whenever I cooked, especially when I did something with a kitchen knife, Finlay would hide nearby, watch me, and hurl curses in his thoughts.

No matter what, if I kept hearing thoughts like that, I felt like I would lose my mind. At this point, it was practically a curse.

No, why did that wretched ghost keep coveting my blood?

'I have to offer blood to the Progenitor! For a blood kin to voice an opinion to a Blood Lord, especially a Blood Lord of unimaginably high rank, fresh blood must be brought as an offering. The blood kin offers blood, and the Blood Lord receives it and hears the story contained within. It is tradition, so the Progenitor will accept it too!!'

From Finlay's thoughts, it seemed the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka had misunderstood a little as well.

Before a Blood Lord, blood kin were infinitely insignificant. A Blood Lord who gave them birth as vampires, could control them through bloodcraft, and could end their lives with the flick of a finger was something like both a god and parent to blood kin.

'The Progenitor pities us. She wishes to protect us. I understand her intentions, so if I keep speaking to her again and again, I can persuade her.'

But.

The world was full of children who showed no respect even for their own parents, and there were absurdly many humans who looked down on gods.

The feelings they harbored were varied as well. There were ten thousand ways people respected their parents, and even worshippers of the same god revered that god in different ways.

'Yes! I should tell her that the Elder was destroyed. If the Progenitor learns that one of her closest blood kin has been destroyed, she may change her mind out of grief.'

Finlay pondered.

When he first prostrated himself before the Progenitor, who was like a god to vampires, he had clearly considered it, if only briefly.

Should he deceive the Progenitor and steer the situation in a favorable direction, or reveal the truth no matter the outcome?

At the time, Finlay was afraid of the Progenitor's unfamiliar power and told the truth.

'Though that one... was not hunted by the Sanctum. Even the Progenitor won't know that much. If she blames me later, I'll gladly accept the punishment. It is a tremendous loss to us nobles of the night for her to waste time here with insignificant vermin like these.'

The unknown was fear. Therefore, we were always humble before what we could not know.

When darkness came, we either respectfully went out to meet it with torches or lamps, or bowed our heads in our rooms.

Put another way, knowledge was comfort and arrogance at the same time.

Despite her infamous reputation, the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka was quite kind. Finlay, who had received the Progenitor's protection several times already, no longer feared her as much as before.

That must have changed Finlay's judgment.

"Haah. So I have to change how I deal with this too."

I felt it sometimes, but there were times when being able to read thoughts was a little disappointing. Like now, when I heard something I didn't particularly want to know. I wasn't a prophet. I didn't know what would happen in the future.

Still, when someone's thoughts flowed into my mind, when mind reading laid bare the excessive resolve behind a pitiful plan, I couldn't help but feel something strange.

Pity? Contempt?

A strange feeling slowly rose in me. It was so amusing that I wanted to make the plan come true, while another part of me wanted to ruin it like a mischievous child.

Come to think of it, it was more fun when there was at least some difficulty in reading thoughts.

The golem, the regressor, or if necessary, the vampire. Even Azzy, at the very least. Digging into their thoughts had its own pleasures.

Perhaps this was also the self-indulgence of someone with a full stomach.

My cooking was finished just then. After slicing a hard carrot into long strips to decorate the dish, I took a bell from my pocket and shook it.

Jingle, jingle.

"Woof! Woof woof!"

Azzy barked, and Finlay, who had been hiding beyond the corner, hurriedly fled. I set the dish down as Azzy burst into the dining hall without caring about Finlay at all. Azzy sat in a chair, buried her head in the bowl, and began chewing up the carrots first.

I wiped my hands on a cloth and called out.

"Finlay!"

Finlay slowly returned, then flinched at the sound of my voice.

Staring directly at him beyond the corner, I said,

"Tell Trainee Tyrkanzyaka that there's class this afternoon."

Footnotes:

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