WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 629: Better the Head of a Snake Than the Tail of a Dragon

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The Arcane Federation had no capital. The floating castle served a similar role, but making a castle that drifted thirty thousand meters above the ground into a capital presented all sorts of difficulties.

The greatest of them was accessibility.

Only the “elect,” who could use antigravity magic, could board the floating castle, and even they had to observe its trajectory and cast precise spells. There were at least three hurdles to clear, and one mistake would leave you lost in the world.

Above the clouds and below them. A vast gulf that conveyed nothing but separation.

A castle in the sky that did not take responsibility or govern, but merely looked down from the lofty heavens and reigned over all below.

Even so, the Arcane Federation could not abandon the floating castle. No, it had to strive not to be abandoned by it.

It needed the knowledge and magic that came from Babylon, the Demon King's tower, and its five subordinate towers.

『The Descent has ended! All elect aboard the floating castle may visit the Descent site after completing a very simple procedure! This Descent site is the Celsius domain, whose rule raises the freezing and boiling points! Please consult the rule book for further details, and check the temperature before drinking water!』

The Descent had ended.

Nothing much happened. The floating castle changed course and descended closer to the ground, yet the “elect” living within only noticed after the announcement. After giving the matter its obligatory moment of interest, they returned to what they had been doing.

Even though the Descent only happened once a year, the floating castle's elect had no reason to leave. Its shell kept out cold winds and blinding sunlight. There was no threat of disease or wild animals, and they did not even need to worry about falling. Compared to the Celsius domain, which had only one magical house, the floating castle, home to the five towers and the Demon King, was a far better place to live.

The people outside the floating castle felt the same way.

"Whooooooaaah!"

A roar loud enough to make my ears ring.

The moment I stepped out of the floating castle, I heard cheers. Far below, ordinary citizens of the Arcane Federation were cheering for the descended floating castle.

Gazes full of longing. Cheers meant to leave an impression, even for a moment. Determination to climb aboard that place someday.

All those feelings blended into fierce cries, freely offered of their own will.

Even an emperor or king would receive less of a welcome. Cheers commanded by authority could never contain such joy.

Yet the Arcane Federation's floating castle inspired awe. People gazed longingly at magic that did not belong to this land, at the castle in the sky that drifted through distant heavens before descending.

At Babylon, the enormous tower at the center of the floating castle, the Descent Festival was underway. The Demon King and the five Tower Masters appeared, and the five towers extended legs toward the ground. The towers gradually lengthened, descending until they stopped just short of the earth.

They were not planted in the ground. They maintained a fixed altitude while flying at the same speed as the surface. It was a feat close to acrobatics.

The exalted floating castle had laid bridges to the lowly lower world, and people flocked there.

The mages of the magical houses who had come to meet the Demon King had prepared a grand event to welcome the floating castle. Light and mist created through magic rose within its shadow, while instruments that played themselves sounded fanfares.

The Descent Festival. A celebration joyfully held by the domain chosen by the floating castle that year.

A little distance away from all that, I, who had been expelled from the floating castle, received unexpected news while preparing to go down.

"What? Shei, what did you say?"

"I'm staying here."

She had disappeared for a while, and now she was saying what? She was staying here? What did that mean?

When I asked again, Shei showed me the five-pointed-star badge pinned to her chest.

"I became one of the elect."

"What?"

"To repay the faith you placed in me, I decided to do my best too. I sold information I obtained before my regression to gain the qualifications of an elect, and I've already made contact with the Temple of the Demon God. There's a lot of information I need to gather, so I'll be dealing with them for a while."

"What?"

"You can ascend through the Dragon Gate, right? I'll be waiting!"

While I had been studying to ascend through the Dragon Gate, Shei seemed to have been making her own preparations. It had been decided that I alone would be cast down into the lower world.

Tch. Just wait. When the Dragon Gate came around, I would return to the floating castle and show her.

Avant-garde wanted to see me off all the way to the surface, but the members of the Crystal Tower had too much work to do for the Descent Festival. With only a communication crystal ball in hand, I descended to the surface alone.

They said you came empty-handed and left empty-handed. I had been treated like a king inside, but now that it was time to leave, no one was seeing me off.

Would I be all right? Could an outsider like me survive in this harsh world? What if I died of loneliness?

Filled with worries, I rode the tower's elevator down. Just as I quietly opened the door and stepped outside...

"An elect from the floating castle!"

"One of the elect came down from the floating castle!"

"Excuse me! Please, just a moment...! Teach us!"

A huge crowd stood before me.

No one had seen me off, but this many people had come to welcome me. My shoulders rose a little.

* * *

Avant-garde and the Cyan Tower Master both worried about whether I could ascend through the Dragon Gate, but they did not particularly worry about how I would live among the ignorant masses after descending to the lower world.

Honestly, I was a little hurt. Their disciple was being cast down into the lower world, so they could have at least given me travel money. Instead, they gave me piles of grimoires I couldn't eat. What would they do if I starved to death in an unfamiliar place?

"Teacher! Have you experienced any inconvenience?"

It seemed my concern had been needless.

The floating castle was an object of longing, and a mage who came down from it was practically a celestial maiden, one of the elect. I received the utmost hospitality for the sole reason that I came from the floating castle.

What? I was also one of the ignorant masses, and only an examinee preparing for the Dragon Gate? What did that matter? They didn't know that.

"The floor is warm, and the room is spacious. I'm satisfied. Is this an empty building? The facilities look nice."

"The facilities are all right, aren't they? It's a school where the children of this domain are taught. Since they need magic lessons too, the people of the school district all chipped in to build it. It's not the best, but it's more than enough for teaching children."

"A school? What happened to the person who taught here before?"

"Oh, we sent them on vacation for a while. With an elect from the floating castle here, what could some local headmaster possibly matter?"

The neatly dressed middle-aged woman answered sweetly. Of course. Since I was here, some local headmaster...

"Huh? No. Why did you drive out a headmaster who was teaching perfectly well?"

Did they expect me to take the headmaster's place? I was busy enough looking after my own future.

When I asked, the woman waved both hands in a fluster.

"Oh, don't misunderstand! We aren't treating you well so we can ask you to teach a class. We only invited you because we hope the children can receive good energy by staying near you. They say simply serving an elect from the floating castle nearby lets you receive magical power!"

"There are studies showing that people frequently exposed to magical power become more sensitive to it. But it doesn't have to be a mage, does it? I can see plenty of magical tools here. This amount of magical power should be enough."

"The more, the better, and if we're choosing, why not choose the finer cloth? How could magical tools compare to an elect from the floating castle?"

‘Keep him close for now! This is when you make connections! He may have lived on the floating castle, but he seems ignorant of the ways of the world. If we treat him well and cater to him, maybe he'll be pleased enough to give us a grimoire or two!’

So that was the plan.

The Arcane Federation was a society where magic determined one's class. Receiving better instruction was the quickest path to rising in status. Having boarded the floating castle was an enormous credential in itself, so the woman running the school must have decided she needed to keep me here first.

She wanted to sweet-talk me into teaching them. What did she take me for...

"You must be hungry, right? Oh, what was I thinking? I should've served you a meal first, after you came such a long way."

At the woman's clap, the door opened, and a feast grand enough to make the table legs buckle was brought in. The delicious scent drifting through the room made my mouth water.

"Ahem. I wasn't expecting this. Perhaps I should pay you."

"Oh, what are you saying? We have no intention of taking anything from you, so don't worry about that and eat up!"

"Then I won't refuse."

I hadn't been able to eat proper meals while studying on the floating castle. Faced with a real meal for the first time in a while, I eagerly picked up my spoon.

I roughly cut a large piece of meat with my spoon and put it in my mouth. I was about to chew the meat, steam still billowing from it, when I felt a slight crispness and an explosion of savory flavor filled my mouth. I swallowed without thinking and exclaimed in pure admiration.

"Delicious...!"

"It is, isn't it? The Celsius domain is famous for its cooking. We prepared plenty, so please eat as much as you like."

"How did you make this? The texture is different from any meat I've had before."

How could meat be cooked so tenderly in such a short time? Was it fried? But it didn't feel greasy enough to be fried. When I asked out of genuine curiosity, the woman answered with a broad smile.

"It's nothing special. We seasoned it, brushed it with oil, then boiled it thoroughly. Meat cooks quickly and deliciously in the Celsius domain."

"There must be some secret to it."

"It isn't a secret. It's because of the Celsius domain's rule. The boiling point and freezing point are higher within the Celsius domain."

"The rule...?"

Come to think of it, the announcement had told us to familiarize ourselves with the rules of the domain. It had said something about higher boiling and freezing points. I had just let it pass like an ordinary notice. Could it be?

"Does that mean ice freezes more easily here, and water is harder to boil?"

"That's right. It cooks even better than pan-frying in oil! Not just meat, either. Stews and broths develop flavor quickly, and ice sculptures don't melt easily!"

How strange. It wasn't as dramatic as the floating castle's warped gravity, but even ordinary land could violate the laws of nature? Was the entire Arcane Federation like this?

"What are the rules in other domains?"

"Let's see. In the neighboring Pascal domain, wind only blows in one direction. I hear sound carries farther in the Decibel domain... It's difficult magic, so I don't know much about it. Wouldn't you know better, Teacher?"

Had I asked too many questions? The woman looked at me suspiciously. I put food in my mouth as though I hadn't noticed and replied.

"Do I need to know? I'm going back to the floating castle anyway."

If I acted humble here, it would only make her suspicious. I held my head high and kept eating as though I didn't care. Only then did the woman seem to understand her place, and her expression quickly relaxed.

"Of course you're going back! Still, there isn't another place with rules as good as the Celsius domain. The ground is warm, there's plenty to see, and the food is delicious, so it's perfect for resting awhile! Please get plenty of rest before you go!"

"Well, it does seem like a good place to rest. I'll give you that."

I nodded and silently enjoyed my meal. Seeing my attitude as a sign that I had nothing more to say, the woman gave an awkward smile and left.

Creak. The door closed, and I heard the woman's whisper beyond the threshold.

‘Honey, what do you think? Did he say he'll stay?’

‘Seeing how well he's eating, I think he will?’

‘Did you get a definite answer?’

‘No. But if he has any decency, he won't eat all that and keep his mouth shut, will he?’

‘You don't know anything! Mages are shameless creatures. If they don't say it themselves, it means nothing!’

‘Then what should we do?’

‘We need to get the words out of his mouth! Give him money, send a woman to him, whatever it takes! Call the school district people first!’

On the floating castle, I had been nothing more than one of the ignorant masses. Here, I was treated as one of the elect.

I couldn't agree with the saying that it was better to be the head of a snake than the tail of a dragon, but feeling firsthand how relative power was...

Maybe this wasn't so bad after all?

Footnotes:

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