WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 627: 90% of Humans Are Right-Handed

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I wasn't trying to land a killing blow. Lankart had no intention of killing me, and I had no need to kill him either. My skewer was merely a means of reaching him.

Still, I couldn't reach him without giving it everything I had.

No, I couldn't reach him even if I did.

The world of the right-hander controlled even the flow of magical energy. My cards were elaborate blueprints, so a little magical energy was all it took to turn them into skewers. But in this world of the right-hander, even that tiny amount was disrupted.

My skewer, which should have gone straight, curved to the right. Instead of piercing Lankart's cheek, it merely grazed it. Blood droplets spat out with a pfft and scattered as they were swept up in the world of the right-hander.

'I've been interpreted? Me, by a conceptual existence?'

My one chance was over. Feeling the pain in his cheek, Lankart reflexively raised his arm.

'Right arm.'

The world of the right-hander was centered on Lankart's body. He was the eye of the most capricious, impulsive storm in the world, and he swung it at me.

In the world of the right-hander, there was only rightward rotation around Lankart. Any movement or magic originating from him rode that rightward current and was amplified. In contrast, anything approaching from outside Lankart inevitably carried a leftward current and was canceled before it could reach him.

The Green Tower Master's innate arcane was conceptual one-way traffic, while Lankart's innate arcane was resultant one-way traffic. Hundreds of storm currents centered on his fist warped violently, then swept around me.

Just before the storm struck, I lifted my feet from the ground and curled up.

Even the innate arcane I had stolen was useless. The tangled storm compressed sharply between Lankart and me, then burst free in an instant and flung me away. I spun through the air and hit the floor back-first. I gritted my teeth against the shock running through my entire body. Mind-reading kept me from feeling dizzy, but there was nothing I could do about my body staggering.

'He floated in the air without resisting the current, spun himself to cancel out the rightward rotation... That's not all. He leaped along the same trajectory as my right fist, the core of the world of the right-hander. He completely understood my power!'

Whenever I fought Lankart, it would end like this. Even after stealing his innate arcane, the difference in strength was overwhelming. If Lankart added even a little white magic to the mix, I wouldn't be able to resist at all. I would only lose out by fighting him seriously.

But I had to fight him now. That was what Lankart wanted!

'The one solving a problem has the advantage over the one setting it. With a single clue, even the most tangled thread can be unraveled. But why? Hui interpreted me, so why haven't I managed to interpret Hui yet?'

"Is the test over, or is this the real thing? Tell me quickly. I need to decide how to deal with you too."

I was getting back to my feet and glaring at Lankart. Shaken, he soon reconsidered.

'Because he's the King of Humanity? That can't be it...! A conceptual existence is the world of the right-hander itself! He can't be left-handed!'

"...Ah, sorry, Hui. I think I was mistaken for a moment."

Lankart dismissed his innate arcane, and the storm freed from him unraveled strand by strand. Mages screamed and used wind magic against the storm that had suddenly appeared in the floating castle, but Lankart ignored them and walked toward me.

"Of course not. Right. The one who beat me couldn't be the one being interpreted."

"What are you talking about? I told you, I am the King of Humanity."

"The King of Humanity is that woman. I made the mistake of assuming you were the King of Humanity simply because I believed what you said."

Come to think of it, the woman I call Big Sis was closer to being the King of Humanity than I was. But I was the King of Humanity too.

Well, that wasn't important. Even this had merely been a means for Lankart. I growled at him.

"A mistake? You did it on purpose, you bastard."

Lankart flinched and watched my reaction. I pointed my skewer at him and glared furiously.

"You found one opening and immediately dragged me into the world of the right-hander? Why? Testing and knowledge weren't enough, so now you wanted to test my ability to respond to emergencies? Has the meta changed?"

"H-Hui. Calm down. It wasn't necessarily like that."

"Do you think I can calm down? A guy who latched onto me claiming to be my friend is acting like an examiner, trying to measure every one of my abilities. You said the same thing in the military state, didn't you? You said it was unpleasant when someone dumber than you tried to judge you. Do you think you're better than me?"

"That's not it. I guess being among the floating castle's self-proclaimed chosen people rubbed off on me a little. I forgot what kind of person you were and kept..."

Oh, now he was blaming his environment. This troublesome schoolmate of mine was giving me a headache.

Why did he do this?

Simple. He couldn't accept his defeat unless he periodically reaffirmed my superiority. He deliberately tested me so he could think more highly of the person who had defeated him. He was like a lover constantly testing someone to confirm they were loved.

If he had at least been a woman, it might have been cute. Watching a grown man act like that was just unpleasant.

"I took your claim that you're the King of Humanity at face value, that's all. Anyway, let's put this minor issue aside for later."

"You want to brush aside the problem you caused. Must be nice."

"More importantly, the King of Humanity has appeared. Has our policy changed?"

No. If this guy had been a woman, he would've been far more troublesome than he was now. Thanks for staying my friend, you bastard.

I rubbed my face and answered.

"It changed a little. I've decided to enter the Dragon Gate."

"The Dragon Gate? It's nothing special. Why bother?"

"I need to meet the Demon King. I'm learning from the Cyan Tower Master for that."

Lankart tilted his head.

"Someone at her level has nothing to teach you."

"The floating castle has its own forms and rules. I need to learn those too. Even I don't know much about white magic."

"She may know white magic, but she doesn't know you. I could teach you better."

"Just do your own job well."

There was no advantage in learning from him when I had Avant-garde and the Cyan Tower Master.

"It would be much better to learn in the Crystal Tower and build connections too. What was Big Sis doing?"

"Gathering people."

Gathering people? More likely, people were gathering around her on their own.

Big Sis wasn't the type to gather people personally, nor did she need to. There was no proper country in the Great Forest, only tribes full of people longing for the Kingdom of Ten Thousand. To them, Big Sis would seem like their only hope, someone worthy of their loyalty.

"I wonder what Big Sis intends to do."

"Why ask that? The King of Humanity is a conceptual existence. She isn't a right-hander. She's right itself. Her actions won't differ from those of the other stale Beast Kings."

"Let me put it the other way around. I wonder what humans will make Big Sis into."

My words must have inspired him. Lankart found an interesting subject for thought and sank into contemplation. I had tossed him a mental dog chew, so he would chew it to bits over the next few days. Brushing back my hair, which had been thrown into disarray during the commotion, I said,

"Clean up the damage you caused. I already have a mountain of things to do. I don't want your little disturbance to make my life more troublesome."

"Yes. Of course, Hui. I won't trouble you. Never."

Lankart nodded repeatedly, then immediately amplified his voice with magic and barked at the witnesses.

"Did you hear him? Fix this. Make sure no one finds out."

This bastard. That would only make it spread further.

* * *

Lankart hadn't needed to threaten anyone. A concern far more important than the usual tale of the mad mage Lankart running wild after unleashing his innate arcane had emerged.

The King of Humanity. News of humanity's representative shook the floating castle to its core.

What kind of being was the King of Humanity? What abilities did she have? Could she use magic? If she could learn magic, how far could she go? Tower Master? Demon King? No, surely not.

The floating castle wasn't that small, but it was closed off, which made news travel quickly. In just one day, stories about the King of Humanity had spread throughout the entire floating castle. Both towers and streets were filled with the subject.

The King of Humanity. The King of Humanity. The King of Humanity.

Mages walked through the streets, sat at tables around avatars made of light with grave expressions, and visited magic towers to seek advice from more skilled teachers.

No arrow could be fired forever, but gum could be chewed forever. The King of Humanity became excellent food for thought, passed from one mage's mouth to another. Big Sis was a true king who cared for humanity in this way too.

"I need to write a paper about the King of Humanity! That's the theme for this academic conference!"

Even the Crystal Tower, proud of its immutable, sturdy scholarship, could not escape that atmosphere. Dozens of mages stopped their research and gathered in small groups to seek materials on the King of Humanity.

It was no atmosphere for teaching.

The Cyan Tower Master closed the grimoire crystal and looked at me intently.

"Come to think of it, you came from the Tree of Origin."

"Yes, I did. Didn't Shei explain it?"

"She did. But if that explanation had contained even a grain of information about the King of Humanity, I don't think I would be as surprised as I am now."

So Shei hadn't mentioned the King of Humanity either. She did have some sense of judgment... No, that wasn't it.

I had seen Big Sis, but Shei hadn't seen her awaken. She knew Big Sis would be resurrected someday and that it was close, but she wouldn't know that Big Sis had opened her eyes and stretched. There was no reason for her to mention something she didn't know much about.

"What I saw was a two-thousand-year-old druid growing a tree to resurrect the King of Humanity. Shei and I were trapped there together, but I don't know whether the King of Humanity has been resurrected."

The Cyan Tower Master narrowed her eyes.

"Really?"

'An ancient druid imprisoned you two for no reason, then the King of Humanity happened to appear in the world afterward...? You're telling me a lie I would see through even if I weren't me. That's a little unpleasant.'

Sharp. I supposed I needed to reveal some of it.

"We were sacrifices meant to resurrect the King of Humanity. We were heading for the Kingdom of Ten Thousand when Nevida kidnapped us. We couldn't just wait for the day we died, so we set the Tree of Origin on fire to escape safely. Then Lankart rescued us."

"And Lankart happened to be your friend. The world is so small, isn't it?"

"That really was a coincidence. It's not as though I specifically called for Lankart to come, is it? The floating castle is unfamiliar to me too. I was lucky enough to meet a kind person like you, Cyan Tower Master."

This place was unfamiliar to me too, so why would I tell her everything? My eyes met the Cyan Tower Master's briefly. I gave her a faint smile.

'He may be treated poorly in the floating castle because he is an unenlightened person, but Hughes must have been a notable talent in the lower world. If he reached Nevida's tree, he has to be an important figure. I should look into him.'

The Cyan Tower Master gathered her outer robe and stood up. This was originally the time when she was meant to teach me, but she too had become busy because of the news about the King of Humanity.

"I'm sorry, my disciple. The Descent is in three days, so I should be focusing on teaching you. But I'm very busy, so I need to leave. We won't be able to see each other often from now on."

"It's unfortunate, but it can't be helped. The King of Humanity is an issue big enough to warrant calling all five Tower Masters."

"...Who told you there would be a meeting of the Tower Masters?"

"You had prepared a curriculum timed for the Descent, but you suddenly became busy. That means it can only be because of a recent issue. It must be the King of Humanity. If you're holding a meeting about that, they wouldn't summon only the Cyan Tower Master."

You're not the only one who can make deductions. Well, I had read her thoughts, but still.

'That's true. With his intelligence, making a deduction like this would be easy. I've always been the one analyzing others, so it's been a while since I was the one being analyzed. It caught me off guard.'

A faint smile touched the Cyan Tower Master's lips. Before leaving the room, she said one last thing.

"The world is changing. It's time for the floating castle to change its attitude a little too. I hope you enter the Dragon Gate. If an unenlightened person like you rises to the floating castle, the floating castle may be able to change as well."

I saw the Cyan Tower Master out, then fell into thought for a moment.

The Cyan Tower Master had been like that from the beginning. She was interested in people from outside, helped them remain in the floating castle, and even taught them. No one would do that without dreaming of change.

But the floating castle itself seemed very stable and peaceful. I liked it, after all.

Then the problem must be outside.

The lofty city that only chosen mages could ascend to, the floating castle.

It was time to look not here, but at the Arcane Federation, where most of the population lived.

Three days until the Descent.

Footnotes:

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