WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 645: Black Magic, White Magic, and Gray Magic - 8

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I used mind reading. I was still frozen, but I could read the perspectives of the people outside. I saw myself through other people's eyes.

Space had frozen into hexagonal crystals. I was trapped at the center, so thoroughly frozen that I could not even blink. It was closer to being stopped than frozen, leaving me imprisoned without a chance to resist.

"I've confined him within the rule. As long as Celsius's rules remain intact, he'll stay there forever."

Elcia spoke quietly in the cold, frozen world. The still air made every voice clearer. The Celsius family members issued orders to their soldiers through magically amplified voices.

"We've screened the area with refraction crystals. Clear the area."

"Don't leave any traces of black magic."

The prisoners who had been freed froze once more. Soldiers also approached Missionary Casas and Hilde, who had been hiding in a corner. Unlike before, they held their staves at the ready and moved cautiously.

"Watch the housekeeper. She's a skilled qigong practitioner."

"If she links up with divine power, this will become troublesome. Take out the priest first."

"Father Casas. You should not have come here."

The soldiers aimed their spears at Father Casas who slowly backed away. They were still too far away to reach the priest, but Casas had no choice but to be cautious.

Richard was unconscious in Casas's arms.

Hugging the child close, Casas cried out.

"I'm fine! But let this child go!"

A muffled laugh came from somewhere at Casas's cry. Rankin Celsius, who had been preparing magic from a protected position behind the soldiers, lowered his staff.

"You made the wrong request, Father. I might have agreed if you had asked for the opposite."

"The opposite...?"

"If a missionary like you quietly leaves, we have no reason to pursue you. You understand what I mean."

Even Celsius territory found it burdensome to attack a missionary. They could do it, but if the matter could be settled peacefully, they would not refuse.

Casas, however, could no longer back down after getting involved.

"I'll set this child straight! He'll never even think of black magic again! He'll live quietly out there, as though he were dead!"

"That is uncertain."

Casas looked into Rankin Celsius's cold eyes. Rankin's gaze asked whether it would not be better to choose a more certain method than such an uncertain one.

Before that merciless, resolute, and above all rational choice, rage suddenly surged within Casas.

"What sin has this child committed? Is it right for this clever, resourceful child to lose every opportunity just because he's unranked? Is it the Celsius way to deny him even the slightest chance?"

Casas felt the weight of the child in their arms.

Richard was light. At an age when he should have been growing the most, both physically and mentally, the starving child was light enough for Casas to carry with one arm.

"If you had shown these children even the slightest bit of concern! This child would have found his own foothold and become a mage! He would have contributed to this territory instead of turning to something like dark magic! You are the ones who abandoned the countless children outside!"

"An awl always pierces through its pouch."

Even in the face of the missionary's heated speech, Rankin Celsius remained as cold as someone made of crystal.

"An awl that cannot pierce even such a small pouch is of no concern to us, whether it exists or not. We have no need for it."

The soldiers took another step forward. Father Casas gripped their cross tightly.

‘It would be better to retreat now! If I keep them in check as a missionary, I can save Richard! But...!’

That would be an abuse of authority. Father Casas was not the kind of person who could personally misuse the Sanctum's authority. If they had been that calculating, they would not have found themself in this situation to begin with. Besides, the Sanctum took a hard line on dark magic to begin with, so it would not fully take their side.

Casas looked toward their last remaining hope.

‘This housekeeper is no ordinary fighter. She was strong enough to rival the Holy Sword Knights. Maybe she has another way!’

Hilde, the one bearing those expectations, was thinking far more calmly.

‘Father. You got caught because you have a plan, right? I won't interfere, okay? I trust you, okay?’

Trust me? Hilde's trust was heading in a strange direction. Not that it mattered.

Escaping was one of my specialties. This was my first time being trapped in ice, but it was not much different. What mattered was knowing the trick, and I had just learned it after meeting a relic.

A small thermometer sat inside the pocket dimension called the Heritage Vault. It was a modest thermometer, carefully maintained, with mercury enclosed in flawless, transparent glass. Someone unfamiliar with it might mistake it for a thermometer used to manage the vault. Treasure rooms often kept thermometers and hygrometers to prevent damage.

It had been hidden well. That thermometer was Kelvin Celsius's relic, the foundation of the rule behind every relic.

I resonated with the thermometer visible deep inside the Heritage Vault.

"Set, Celsius."

The thermometer reacted. Its temperature remained the same.

Only the scale used to read it moved.

Then the crystallized space shattered. A loud crack rang out, and shattered wind swept about like a storm. Perhaps my body had felt cramped after being held in stasis, because it shot out at tremendous speed.

I rolled across the snow from the impact, then slammed my head into a wall somewhere.

Everyone fell silent.

As silence settled over the area once more, I loosened my rigid body. Were my muscles stiff? No, it was closer to being frozen.

The mana that had seeped into my body was incredible. Thanks to Tyr's Demon God power, I was recovering at an incredible pace, but this was still quite troublesome.

Elcia, who had frozen me, could not hide their shock.

"How? How did you escape the Heritage Vault's binding?"

The relic that imprisoned me possessed the power of "frozen preservation." It looked like a transparent freezer made of ice, and its ability was to preserve whatever it held inside. By combining it with the relic possessing the power of "Ice Sculpture," they had created a crystal freezer around me. With the Heritage Vault supporting it, they had performed the incredible feat of inducing a phase transition instead of simply freezing me.

The powers worked together well. But when things fit together, twisting even one part would make them fall apart.

Kelvin Celsius's relic did not measure temperature. Its true power was to control the temperatures that became the freezing and boiling points, then store heat.

Using the relic, I slightly altered the standard by which the crystals formed. The crystals whose structure had collapsed spat me out like food they had failed to digest.

Still, I did not feel like explaining all of that.

"Ta-da. It was a simple magic trick. Try to figure it out."

To people who did not know, it probably seemed more mysterious than magic. I raised my shoulders in greeting.

"..."

"..."

"Woooo! Just as expected, Father! I knew I could trust you!"

Huh. The reaction was poor. Hilde was the only one cheering.

An odd tension flowed from the Celsius family. They could not understand how I had escaped, and that alone meant defeat. The Celsius family were mages to the bone.

Rankin Celsius spoke while hiding a faint sense of defeat.

"A Demon God...? No, that's impossible. None of the Demon Gods discovered so far have been involved with Celsius's rule!"

"Of course not. Celsius's rule isn't that kind of power."

Good. My body was moving properly now. I stretched out my stiff limbs as I spoke.

"It's an impressive power. I couldn't resist it either, and I nearly crossed the River of Three Crossings. Fortunately, I met your ancestor, Kelvin Celsius, there and was able to return. She was a wonderful person. I owe her a great deal."

"Are you mocking us right now?"

"It's true."

It was a shame my sincerity did not reach them. I had wanted to pass along a message from their ancestor, too.

Still, the fact that I had escaped was undeniable. I had everyone's attention now, so it was time for a proper conversation. I raised one finger to focus everyone's gaze on me.

"I met the first Celsius and spoke with her, and I learned a very important truth. It is vital information about Celsius's rule."

Since they were Kelvin Celsius's distant descendants, I could share what I had learned with them. Listen carefully. This was a lecture for their benefit.

"I've seen many Demon Gods, so I know this. Celsius's rule is incompatible with Demon Gods. We do not even need to go as far as Celsius's rule. Most rules used by other great magical families have nothing to do with Demon Gods either. Why do you think that is?"

A massive principle that ran through the world. Innate arcane is an inner image explored and refined to its limit by one individual.

When those two came together, a Demon God appeared.

What did that mean?

"Nothing much. It's because rules aren't grand or special principles."

The mages took my words as an insult and glared at me.

I calmly accepted the brief killing intent directed at me and let out a deep sigh.

"A rule may be called a rule, but it is actually far removed from the principles of the world. It is magic that digs deeply into a single phenomenon and refines it into something that can be used. In other words, it is something like a machine, facility, or device, intricately made through the power of magic."

The rule of Celsius territory was simple: altered freezing and boiling points. They had applied and reapplied that simple rule to create a huge cycle of heat circulating throughout the territory. Thanks to that, the territory was much warmer than its snow-covered appearance suggested.

It was not an authority born from a great truth. It was a small, ordinary intention created with people in mind.

"Why is Celsius territory the best place to live? It is not because that ability is incredible or outstanding. Knowledge that is too advanced is often far removed from life. It only became great because the intention contained within it was kind."

Rankin asked, "Does that not mean Celsius's rule is great?"

"It's different. What is contained within it is great. The rule itself, this so-called rule, is only a shell. Humans should be able to replace their tools whenever necessary, shouldn't they?"

No matter how important they said the tool was, they were only speaking as those wielding it. Using tools freely to hurt people?

Well, that happened often enough. That was human instinct too.

But if they forgot that it was only a tool and began to worship it, I could remind them.

Who its master was.

"Regimes. Systems. Justice. Morality. Virtue. Civilization. They are all tools. What matters is their purpose. I don't know who decided it, but there are no noble or lofty tools."

I held up a transparent key. It was the key to Elcia's Heritage Vault, which I had casually borrowed while melting the ice and escaping.

Elcia discovered it and looked utterly lost.

"When did you...?"

It was like they had never been pickpocketed in their life. In the back alleys, this level of prank would not even count as skill. I spun the key around my fingers as I spoke.

"If your faith is greater and more precious than humans, it won't break just because someone like me meddles with it a little, will it?"

"Be careful...!"

Elcia looked at the key in my hand in alarm. They were worried that I might break it or damage it.

‘No. Control your expression. The true nature of the Heritage Vault is Rene's Pouch, and the key is only a means of opening it. Even if it breaks, we can simply get another one! Right now, I have to stop that person from doing anything foolish! If the Heritage Vault goes berserk...!’

"This is meaningless. That is a Celsius heirloom. You cannot use it, and someone who meddles with it without knowing its purpose will only put themselves in danger. If you do not wish to freeze and scatter into pieces, I will give you one last chance to reconsider your actions..."

"Open sesame."

I had learned the sensation of opening a spatial door when I read Elcia's thoughts earlier. I walked to a nearby wall of ice and immediately inserted the key into it. The ice split apart on both sides and became a large door.

I turned the key, and the door to the Heritage Vault opened.

Crack.

There should have been nothing beyond the ice wall, yet space opened and the Celsius Heritage Vault revealed itself. As Elcia had said, this was a passage leading to the Heritage Vault. It connected to the space that had opened earlier.

Cold air and mana flowed from within the vault.

Elcia finally forgot all dignity and screamed.

"Aah! Stop! A common fool must not touch it!"

"Humans resist. Against outside attacks, challenges, invasions, and variables, they try to protect themselves by maintaining equilibrium. That is the essence of life."

The relics placed atop the magic circle each remained in their proper positions. To draw upon the powers of relics with different abilities in a stable manner, mana had to flow through a precisely designed magic circle in a fixed order.

A pocket-dimensional magic circle with relics as its core. That was the foundation of the rule.

I reached out. The interior was as spacious as Shei's pocket, but my hand reached the object I wanted regardless of distance.

"Hello, Celsius. Starting today, the rules will change a little. Try to adapt well to the changed rules. You don't need to feel wronged. Isn't that how everyone lives?"

If humans were tested by rules, then rules had to face human challenges as well. They had to prove their value to me.

They had to prove how useful and practical they were as tools.

I gently moved the relics inside the Heritage Vault. The territory's long-standing rule was reconstructed.

Despite how incredible the rule had seemed, changing it was as simple as tidying up scattered belongings.

Footnotes:

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