WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 617: Let It Go

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She was someone who stood out, and she truly did stand out. Even mages with little interest in others spotted the Cyan Tower Master, stopped in their tracks, and began whispering among themselves.

One even came right up to her.

"I admire you! I've read all seven parts of the Theory of Crystal Structures you wrote, Lady Elisha! I was deeply impressed!"

The Cyan Tower Master did not lose her smile, even as an unfamiliar mage approached in a state of excitement.

"Really? You worked hard. I scribbled it down based on how I felt at the time, so it turned into a terribly difficult paper."

"It is difficult... That's why I still carry it around and read it! Ah, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you sign it here?"

"Of course."

The Cyan Tower Master accepted the offered paper and took out a short fountain pen. It was her wand, though she seemed to have chosen it more for its design than its magical power. Her signature appeared across the page in elegant cursive.

"I'm rooting for you. Keep working hard. -Elisha."

"Gasp...! Thank you! I'll treasure it!"

"Hehe. Thank you."

'It isn't easy enough to understand just by reading it, but it's admirable that someone with that brain has tried so hard.'

...Should I call that being the same inside and out, or different?

Her inner thoughts were even worse than Lankart's. Unlike Lankart, who dismissed people and did not even treat them as people, the Cyan Tower Master took pleasure in her own superiority as she watched them struggle. The kindness she offered came from arrogance.

Yet outwardly, she looked kinder than anyone.

Once she had given one autograph, mages with similar purposes began gathering around her. The Cyan Tower Master wore a troubled smile as she spoke.

"Oh dear. I've drawn too much attention."

Lankart replied irritably.

"That's because of you."

"Can't be helped, can it? Moths aren't the only ones drawn to something that shines. Humans flock to shining intellects too."

The Cyan Tower Master waved to the gathered mages, then covered her mouth and muttered.

"But keeping a prior appointment comes first. Sorry, fledglings. I need to be going. I have business to take care of."

The mages seemed to think fledglings was a playful pet name for her fans.

She meant it sincerely.

"Shall we go?"

The Cyan Tower Master waved her fountain pen through the air. The empty air froze, forming a shimmering magic circle in midair.

Innate arcane, Crystal Theory.

The Cyan Tower Master's innate arcane was forced crystallization. She turned the moisture in the air into crystals as naturally as breathing and used them to draw a magic circle.

She was not freezing it. That was only the result. The essence of Crystal Theory was causing and fixing phase changes through "crystals."

Ice from permanent frost that would not melt or flow formed the magic circle.

Crystal structures held magical power. The essence of white magic was to collapse that structure and release the magical power. That was why white magic used jewels as catalysts, and why black magic was less powerful.

The bodily structures black magic used as catalysts instead of jewels were endlessly inferior to crystals.

Ice was the same. Its structure was decent enough, but it melted too easily to serve as a suitable catalyst. If the structure collapsed at an unintended moment, the magical power would scatter away. That was why ice catalysts were only barely usable in polar regions.

The Cyan Tower Master, though, was different.

Unmelting ice held magical power and shone. A grand spell was completed with surprising ease. The magic circle surrounding Lankart, the Cyan Tower Master, and me melted in an instant and adjusted gravity.

"Ta-da."

When the Cyan Tower Master capped her fountain pen, the ice crystals melted at once and completed the spell. Our bodies rose into the air without the slightest impact.

The floating castle was a place governed by artificial gravity. Precisely controlled gravity guided us toward the Cyan Tower.

A magic tower was not a mere structure. It took the form of a tower because it was a structure that embodied knowledge.

Knowledge had schools too. At first, someone simply drew a line on an empty patch of ground. Then, as bricks of knowledge were stacked one by one upon it, intellectual wanderers came seeking it. Some of those looking for somewhere to rest their reason settled there and added their own bricks.

Day after day, enduring wind and rain and welcoming countless wanderers, they built a towering monument of bricks of intellect.

That was a magic tower.

Mages who studied a world hardened into solidity had built a tower of blue crystals. The Crystal Tower. The Cyan Tower Master guided us to the highest floor of that tower, commonly shortened to the Cyan Tower, then drew a rectangle on the wall with her fountain pen.

Having made a door in the tower's outer wall, she led us inside. After closing it, the Cyan Tower Master hardened the scattered crystals and spoke.

"Now, even if a vicious black mage with a bounty on his head were hiding here, no one would find him. You can relax. You may thank me if you wish."

'Look at me, taking in a wanted black mage. How can I be so superior? I must be the only mage in this floating castle who can even consider a black mage's circumstances.'

This was driving me crazy. I was grateful, but every time I read her mind, I felt my feelings thinning out. Still, her arrogance was useful to me. I should flatter her for now.

"Thank you. I'm not saying that because you made me. I truly mean it. I'm glad someone recognizes that I'm a harmless black mage from the military state."

"I do hold the title of Director of Intelligence, after all."

"Intelligence?"

"The Federation Intelligence Bureau. It gathers and manages information from outside the Arcane Federation. Thanks to that, I'm better informed than other mages. I'm also quick to catch trends."

There was even a hint of pride in the way she subtly showed off her clothing and accessories. Even I, who came from the military state and knew little about fashion, could tell her outfit was worth being proud of.

"For your information, your closest friend, Lankart, belongs to the same organization. He is my subordinate. There is no better informant than a chosen person from the lower realm."

When I glanced at Lankart, he hurriedly defended himself.

"Don't misunderstand. I'm only under her in name. You're still my commander, Hui."

"That's not the important part."

Closest friend? What was that supposed to mean? If anything, you were closer to a business partner.

"I'm grateful for your help. But wouldn't it be more efficient to remove my bounty?"

"That isn't possible."

The Cyan Tower Master answered at once.

"Mages have a principle of not interfering with another's domain, whether that domain is magic or power. Don't expect the same common sense as the lower realm here, understand?"

'I wonder if that vacant-looking face can understand what I mean. Lankart said he was better than himself, but he doesn't look that impressive. Born in a country where intellect has been shattered like the military state, he may not have overcome his foolishness.'

She had her own boundaries, then. Perhaps because her kindness was self-satisfaction rather than self-sacrifice. In that case, it would be best to remain quietly within those boundaries.

"All right..."

When I muttered in a subdued voice, the Cyan Tower Master smiled brightly again.

"That doesn't mean I'll sell you out, so relax. Honestly, I'm a little puzzled too. You may be a black mage, but once they learned you came from the military state, they should have known how weak and insignificant your power was. I wonder if they really needed to put a bounty on you."

"Puhahaha!"

That laugh had not come from me. Lankart clutched his stomach as he laughed, and the Cyan Tower Master pushed her sunglasses up slightly. Lankart waved a hand.

"Hehehe. You're not much either. The Security Bureau evaluates Hui more accurately than you do."

"What does that mean? Do you know something I don't?"

"Information? I've told you again and again. You're the one who failed to understand."

Perhaps because Lankart was a chosen person acknowledged by the Cyan Tower Master, she focused and answered him.

"I don't think your friend is that dangerous. He looks kind and harmless, if anything."

"The only world a right-hander can judge by right-handed common sense is a right-handed world. Right-hander, you still don't understand what kind of power Hui has gained...!"

"Hey, Lankart. Keep it down. What power do I have?"

Lankart's words stopped short.

It was nice that he thought highly of me, but he should not do that around other people. People needed to see me as ordinary.

'One of two things must be true. Either Lankart has been deceived, or I have. I can't have been deceived, so Lankart must be the one being fooled. Even with great talent, one's perception becomes distorted when the environment around them is lacking.'

...In a sense, she really was incredible.

Anyway, having wrapped up the conversation, the Cyan Tower Master laced her fingers together and spoke.

"We're adults, so let's deal with what needs to be done first. Lankart, start with your report on the mysterious explosion at the Tree of Origin."

"Hui was there. Nevida must have offended him somehow."

"How could that be?"

I quickly corrected him and told her the truth.

We had been kidnapped by Nevida, so we blew up the Tree of Origin to escape.

Well, Shei had.

Naturally, I did not mention that I was the King of Humanity or that I was Nevida's top priority. It was not exactly a secret, but there was no need to reveal my cards first.

The Cyan Tower Master also pointed out the gap in my story.

"That's strange. Nevida would have no reason to kidnap you."

"Are you stupid? There is more than enough reason to kidnap Hui. To make that power her own..."

"I told you to keep it down."

She probably thought the reason was insufficient. I should sell out Shei here.

"One of my companions is named Shei. She came with me this time, but we got separated when I was locked up by the Security Bureau. The truth is, she possesses a relic of the Demon God. Nevida may have been after that."

I had intended to emphasize how powerful and dangerous Shei was, but there was no need.

The Cyan Tower Master said, "You mean Mother Earth's relic."

"Huh? You know about it?"

"Of course. The Demon God has a huge influence on the magical world. We keep a close watch on the Demon God's movements too."

If magic towers were towers of intellect built by steadily accumulating knowledge and magic, then the Demon God was an enormous tower that had stood there from the beginning of time.

'But... a relic of the Demon God at this time? Things are becoming rather complicated. If I hadn't been here, the situation might have become a tangled mess.'

"We already know where your companion is."

"Oh, as expected of the Intelligence Bureau."

'They came looking first, but that too must be the fruit of my shining intellect and the mercy I bestowed upon the ignorant.'

Did Shei know what the Cyan Tower Master was thinking? Perhaps she had helped because Shei looked that foolish and pitiful.

The Cyan Tower Master took out a small crystal ball. A resonant crystal ball was a magical device that linked two crystals with perfectly identical structures, transmitting the vibration of one to the other. Capable of transmitting not only voices but even light, it was an iconic invention of the Crystal Tower.

The Cyan Tower Master brought the clear crystal ball close to her lips.

"Sequiel. Are you there?"

[Yes, Lady Elisha! This is Sequiel. Is there something you need?]

"You know the one who came to the Cyan Tower last time? I'm going to meet her. Call her over."

[Understood! I'll check immediately!]

A voice filled with respect came through the crystal ball. Once she had given her order, the Cyan Tower Master set it down.

"All right. We have some time, so shall we have a private conversation until then?"

"A private conversation? I don't know enough to have much to say..."

"I won't ask uncomfortable questions. I'm only curious about how the ignorant people of the lower realm live. What should we drink while we talk? Green tea? Coffee?"

Without even giving me a chance to refuse, the Cyan Tower Master raised her fountain pen. She drew the shape of a cup in the air and used her innate arcane, and a cup shaped exactly like the drawing popped into existence. She dropped a crystal of water into it, then lightly pushed it toward me. The cup slowly slid across the table and stopped in front of me. Tiny traces of ice, almost too small to see, covered the tabletop.

She had formed ice along the cup's path. It was an application of her innate arcane as natural as breathing. It was not as absolute as the Green Tower Master's One-Way Street, but it seemed far more versatile. I honestly admired it.

"That is a delicate innate arcane."

"Hohoho. It's obvious flattery, but I still like hearing it."

"It is useful too. You call it crystallization, but it is closer to material creation... Aside from its limited material properties, it seems superior even to alchemy."

"I like your analysis as well. This is the first time someone has made me feel so good while evaluating another person's innate arcane. So, what is your innate arcane?"

"Pardon?"

The Cyan Tower Master tilted her cup slightly as she asked.

"You're Lankart's 'friend,' aren't you? Lankart has a stronger sense of being chosen than even the chosen people born and raised in the floating castle. If he calls you a friend, I assumed you had awakened an innate arcane too... Haven't you?"

"I don't have an innate arcane."

"You haven't awakened an innate arcane or learned white magic. A truly pure ignorant person? Oh dear."

She looked slightly disappointed. Why did I have to be treated this way? It made me feel miserable.

I had nothing more to say, so I was only taking small sips of water when the resonant crystal suddenly flashed and transmitted an urgent voice.

[Lady Elisha!]

"What is it?"

[A battle has broken out in the floating castle! The person you told us to call is fighting the Black Tower Master!]

What kind of trouble was Shei causing now?

Footnotes:

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