WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 64: Puppet Progenitor and the Unpleasant Puppet Show (1)

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People are always tempted.

There is no need to verify the truth of that statement. Every morning, humanity faces a tremendous trial.

Would they savor a few more minutes of happiness in a comfortable bed beneath a warm blanket, or cast it aside and face the frightening world? The moment people go to bed each day, they inevitably come face to face with the harsh trial awaiting them the next morning.

Most people overcome that trial and take a step into the rough world. Not because they are courageous, but because they cannot survive otherwise. Still, that does not change the fact that they have won.

Take pride, humanity. You are beings who fight morning after morning and win every battle.

Well, things are a little different for vampires who can sleep in coffins for three hundred years straight. Still, humans are like that.

And yet.

"Woof! Woof woof!"

What made even such a trial unnecessary was the military state's alarm clock, or rather, Azzy, the King of Dogs, who had decided to replace it.

They forcibly dragged people out of bed, robbing me of even the right to be tempted. They brutally pruned away every other choice and forced a single path upon me.

They were certainly convenient. Efficient, too.

But there was no anguish in that. No reflection gained through anguish, no growth born from that reflection.

Go away, dog.

It's not as though you're the King of Chickens. What right do you have to take away my chance to become refined?

I will agonize beneath this soft blanket a little longer, then claim a delayed victory. Now get lost!

"Woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof!!"

"All right. Sorry! I'm getting up!"

Damn it. That didn't work at all.

As usual, I washed my face, dampened my hair, and inserted a clothing packet to put on my instructor's uniform. The crisp uniform covered my body.

Like all clothing packets, it was remarkably comfortable for how it looked, but I had one complaint. The sleeves were too narrow to hide anything inside. A magician of my caliber could conceal cards in such narrow sleeves, but any other magician would probably feel as though they were wearing handcuffs.

I was thinking such nonsense as I hid cards in my sleeves and left my room as usual.

"Grrrr."

"Hm?"

"Woof?"

I looked at Azzy, and she looked back at me. Her large eyes turned toward mine.

When I tilted my head, Azzy tilted hers along with me.

"That was strange. Didn't you growl just now?"

"Woof?"

"Was I mistaken? Never mind, then."

I thought I had heard something. Was Finlay nearby?

Ah, whatever. It was probably nothing.

I served breakfast using the rice left over from yesterday. While Azzy ate happily, I filled my stomach just enough and headed down to the yard at a leisurely pace.

"All right, what should I do today...? Hmm, I don't really have anything to do. It would be nice to shake some alchemical coins out of Trainee Shei under the pretense of a lesson."

I'd gently coax the vampire by saying today's lesson was very important, fill her head with expectations, then pretend to be at a loss and back out. Wouldn't the regressor open her wallet on her own after that?

The downside of the artworks the vampire possessed was that, no matter how expensive they were, I couldn't use them immediately. Taking that into account, alchemical coins were still the best. Especially since I could turn them into material goods right away.

Heh heh. I'd squeeze out a whole pile of alchemical coins and get myself a new deck of cards. Naturally, with specifications that allowed all of them to be converted through alchemy.

As I walked along, planning today's scam, another strange thought reached me from one side of the yard.

What was this? Had the regressor cut off Finlay's arm again?

Curious, I walked over.

Then.

"I thought you'd be coming soon, Instructor."

The regressor and Finlay stood facing each other. It reminded me of the day Finlay had first arrived.

Their attitudes, however, were the complete opposite of before. Finlay sat in a chair with a confident expression, while two black knights made entirely of rippling darkness stood beside him with disciplined posture, as though serving as his guards.

As always, the regressor stood with her arms crossed and an unhappy look on her face.

I asked in confusion.

"What's the commotion this time? Did Trainee Shei cut off someone's arm again?"

The regressor glanced at me and answered bluntly.

"Not yet."

Not yet. Hmm.

Finlay caught the meaning hidden in those words and let out a short, hollow laugh.

"You've grown arrogant just because you're holding a sword beyond your station.... But that will only last until today."

"Arrogant?"

What was this? Had he gone mad with a death wish?

The regressor trying to cut off someone's arm was an everyday occurrence, but Finlay's confident defiance was far beyond anything I had expected.

What did someone who could be diced into raw vampire sashimi the moment the regressor set her mind to it believe in so strongly?

I was curious.

So I focused my mind and read Finlay's thoughts coming from outside.

Then I realized what he had done last night.

Well, would you look at that.

There was an even bigger scammer than me here.

The scammer raised his chin. He looked as though he were imitating the vampire, which was oddly unpleasant.

"I do not like you. Yet it seems the Progenitor holds you and that little one in some affection. Therefore, I will leave you with a message."

As though he were her representative, Finlay arrogantly declared to the regressor and me.

"The Progenitor will go to the surface with me."

"What?"

"This is neither a request for permission nor a plea for understanding. It is a notice. The Progenitor's will is firm, and you will not be able to stop what she does."

The Progenitor's will? More like his own will.

While I scoffed inwardly, the regressor, who did not know the circumstances, voiced her doubt.

"What are you talking about? Tyrkanzyaka said she had no intention of going up..."

"You bastard! Do not speak the Progenitor's name so carelessly!"

The regressor flared up for a moment, but even then, she showed the good sense not to draw Skywarbler. Finlay looked at the two of us, who had remained still, with satisfaction.

"Yes. The Progenitor said that long ago. But she soon changed her mind. She has decided to ascend to the surface for our kin and look after them."

"I can't believe that."

"Look at the black knights beside me. This is the Progenitor's authority. If it were not the Progenitor's will, how could I be accompanied by black knights clad in blood aura?"

As if responding to those words, the black knights wrapped in crimson blood aura stomped their feet at the same time. They were trying to threaten us in their own way.

The regressor did not even blink.

"I'll meet Tyrkanzyaka myself and decide. Take me to her."

Her sharp gaze looked ready to cut down anything that stood in her way.

Finlay did not avoid that gaze.

"Did you not hear me? I said the Progenitor is preparing to go up."

"Did you not hear me? I'll hear it directly and decide for myself, so take me to her."

The air rippled uneasily. Killing intent radiated from the regressor's gaze. In response, blood aura rose over the black knights' bodies.

It was a situation that could explode at any moment. Skywarbler, which had been spinning like a compass needle, gradually came to a stop, just as the black knights were about to reach their arms behind their backs.

"Wait, Trainee Shei."

I stepped in.

Holding out a hand to block the regressor, I pointed at Finlay, who was still sitting there calmly.

"That's a doll made of blood and darkness."

The regressor frowned.

"A doll?"

"Yes. The real one is outside this building, controlling the doll."

The moment I pointed it out, Finlay's body swelled with darkness. In an instant, the doll became a pitch-black shadow, split its mouth wide, and spoke.

[You're quite perceptive, Instructor. How did you know?]

I read your thoughts. The thoughts coming from outside this building right now.

I couldn't say that, so I made up an excuse.

"All cowards do the same things. A coward like you would never reveal your real body in front of us, would you?"

At my answer, the pitch-black shadow opened its mouth wide and burst into laughter.

[Heh, arrogant. So arrogant. A lowborn nobody, getting carried away just because you have a little power....]

The doll said that, but the real Finlay, who had been eavesdropping on this conversation, thought differently.

'He saw through a doll made with the Progenitor's authority? He certainly isn't ordinary...! Heh, yes. Definitely. Even with the Progenitor's power, it would be better to avoid fighting him...!'

The thoughts coming from beyond the wall grew fainter. Finlay, who had concealed himself in the vampire's darkness and watched us until now, fled at full speed the moment I pointed him out.

He wasn't just a coward. He was an exceptional coward.

As the distance grew, the doll's form became distorted as well. Its skin melted away, its flesh twisted, and darkness billowed out from the cracks. Finlay's doll, now looking neither human nor even like a doll, let out a grotesque sound.

[But can you see it? This doll that perfectly imitates me is proof of the Progenitor's authority itself. Little one, do you believe now that my will is the Progenitor's will?]

It was difficult not to acknowledge it. Even the regressor's senses had failed to realize that the doll was not his real body.

The regressor answered with a frustrated expression.

"Tch. It is certainly power far beyond the likes of you."

[Now that you understand, this will be easier. We have one demand.]

Even as the real body fled far away, the doll stubbornly delivered its final message.

[Do not interfere with our escape. If you do not, we will not kill you...]

Slice.

Before it could finish those words, the regressor cut the doll across the waist. Its body bent in half, and streams of smoke poured from the gap.

The black knights reacted to the loss of the doll, but the regressor swung Skywarbler in a single motion and cut off both their heads. The moment their black helmets touched the ground, the knights' entire bodies turned into black smoke and vanished.

Silence came to the space the vampire had left behind. After putting Skywarbler away, the regressor stared at the billowing black smoke with eyes burning with hostility.

"I have to go meet Tyrkanzyaka. I need to meet her directly and hear what is going on."

'If Tyrkanzyaka truly means to stand against me, I cannot win alone. At best, we will destroy each other. But...'

Mutual destruction was victory for the regressor. She had another cycle after this one.

All she had to do was use the information she learned this time to seek a better future.

Having steeled herself, the regressor turned her gaze to me.

"What will you do?"

Footnotes:

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