WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 649: An Open Secret Is No Better Than the Truth

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One way or another, I ended up joining the Temple of the Demon God.

Lankart had always been a core member of the Temple of the Demon God, and Shei had joined because she intended to work with them during this iteration. With two familiar faces already there, I joined as well, like I was signing up because my friends had.

If they had been complete strangers, I could have put on some sort of act. Since I knew them, though, it caused problems in all sorts of ways.

"Hughes? Didn't you say you were going up Dragon Gate? What did you do?"

"Ah, well..."

Behind Shei, who immediately started grilling me, Lankart shook his head.

"You're even shriller than that wild boar. Hui really does have unusual tastes."

"Wild boar? Me?"

"That's what I call Historia. I'm comparing an idiot with nothing but strength to a wild boar."

"Really? If it's Historia, then fine."

So she was fine as long as he had not called her a wild boar? Not much camaraderie between wild boars.

Unable to hold back, Lankart added another jab.

"It means you're even dumber than that. I can't sense a scrap of intelligence from you. Who suggested letting this one into the Temple of the Demon God?"

"Want to die?"

"In my judgment, you don't have the strength to kill me."

"I'll show you how wrong that judgment is. Though you'll be dead by then."

That sounded like the sort of exchange unruly villains would have in an evil organization. Shei, you fit right in. Nothing about it felt out of place.

The two built up their momentum as if they were about to fight at any moment. Usually, this was when the boss came in to stop them.

Sure enough, flames rose from the fireplace on the other side of the room, and the Red Tower Master appeared. Without even brushing off the sparks clinging to her body, she walked in and glanced at the two.

"Are you going to fight? Then listen while you fight! I have something important to say!"

Oh, fiery. So fiery that Shei lost the will to fight and sat back down.

"...Hmph. Forget it."

The Red Tower Master said, "Really?" then walked straight over to me without another word. Everyone gathered there turned to look at us.

Grinning brightly, the Red Tower Master seized my shoulder.

"All right. Everyone, pay attention! First, let me introduce our new comrade. His name is Hughes."

After kneading my shoulder with obvious affection, the Red Tower Master must have decided that was not enough. She pulled my head into an embrace. Something soft pressed against the back of my head. Having rarely received such forward affection, I was flustered.

"...Huh?"

For some reason, while Shei directed killing intent toward me, the Red Tower Master beamed as she spoke.

"His true identity is the King of Humanity. Everyone, give him a warm welcome!"

It seemed the rumors had spread everywhere. Well, after advertising it that much, there probably was not anyone in the world who did not know.

Apparently, not everyone knew. Several people reacted with considerable surprise. A mage holding a staff topped with a blue crystal pushed back their hood and spoke.

"The King of Humanity? Are you sure? I heard the King of Humanity was crossing the Enger Plain with followers."

We had met before. Lord Johannes, the master of the tenth floor. A great mage who had guarded the Crystal Tower longer than even the Cyan Tower Master, but had stepped back from the front lines and chosen to teach disciples.

Even someone powerful enough to put the Empire's court mages to shame belonged to the Temple of the Demon God. Some mages, like Lankart and the Red Tower Master, made it obvious, but most concealed their connection to the Temple of the Demon God. Perhaps their reputations suffered for joining a private organization.

"I have seen his abilities, but they were nothing especially remarkable. More importantly, how credible is that information? Who did you hear it from?"

Lord Johannes raised their doubts with rational, critical reasoning. Lankart scrunched up his face and answered.

"Has the elder gone senile? If you don't have any information, keep your mouth shut. You're babbling without knowing anything."

...Maybe the Temple of the Demon God's poor image was not solely because it was a private organization.

"You came up from the lower world, so you have no foundation. Don't you know common sense? When making a claim, one must present proper grounds. If every word people said were true, I would have harvested every star in the sky long ago."

Like a mage of the Crystal Tower, Lord Johannes was cold and rational. They were also dismissing Lankart's shallow experience and knowledge.

Perhaps because of that, Lankart's rude words did not particularly upset them. Those words merely annoyed Johannes.

The Red Tower Master sided with Lord Johannes.

"Johan is right!"

"It is Lord Johannes."

"That's too long. Shorter is better!"

The Red Tower Master freely called an elder more than twice her age by name. With her upper body still pressed against the back of my head, she began explaining.

"I didn't reach that conclusion from one clue alone. A few months ago, the Progenitor returned to the Fog Duchy. There were guesses that she had been slumbering somewhere, but we knew where she had been sleeping."

I had heard that information had been sold somewhere, and this was where it had gone. The Temple of the Demon God's members nodded at the mention of the Abyss.

"The Abyss... the land cursed by the Earth Mother."

"It was where the Demon God was. Using the Progenitor as a key to guard the Demon God, they thought that through quite well."

It was probably a secret the military state wanted to conceal, but the Temple of the Demon God had already figured it out. The military state, with the Holy Maiden's power, would not lose an information war easily, yet the Arcane Federation's mysteries seemed to have penetrated even that solid system.

"According to Lankart's information, there are only two days a year when escape from the Abyss is possible: the days when the sun shines on its very bottom. Lankart proved that he could escape on one of those days. If nothing had happened, we would have moved on the next day the sun shone there. Jiseon got there first and disrupted things, though."

Questioning eyes turned toward Lankart. He answered indifferently.

"What are you looking at? You didn't know either."

"You nearly disrupted the operation with false information, yet you have a lot of nerve."

"At least I didn't sit around doing nothing like you. I cleared out Tantalus and left the aftermath to Hui. And as you can see, Hui got results. Unlike you."

Now the gazes turned toward me. Shei's expression stood out most of all, as if she were asking whether what Lankart had said was true.

Ah, should I answer this or not? I decided to answer.

"That's right. Once Lankart escaped with the prisoners from Tantalus, I was supposed to go inside, inspect Tantalus's structure, and uncover the Earth Mother's secret. And the plan succeeded beautifully."

I lowered my chin slightly and smiled faintly, as though I had planned everything. I let an enigmatic air show, as though I were sneering at the world.

The Temple of the Demon God was filled with renowned mages, but at this moment, I was the most arrogant and dangerous person there. Before the flinching mages, I casually shrugged as if it were nothing.

"There were variables, but it succeeded in the end. Thanks to Jiseon, who arrived one step before us, we obtained Jizan, an Earth Mother relic. There was significant conflict with Jiseon, who was after the Earth Mother's relic beneath the Abyss, so I entrusted the relic to Shei in order to escape."

It was an improvised script built on a certain amount of truth. We had not agreed on it, but Shei played along surprisingly well.

"You said the Demon God had been your goal from the beginning, and you were still friends with Lankart... I see. From the moment Lankart escaped, everything must have gone according to your plan. You had planned it much earlier."

Shei looked refreshed, as if a question that had troubled her had finally been answered. The other Temple of the Demon God's members looked at me a little differently too.

Only one person, Lankart, who knew more of the truth, had a slightly different expression.

‘The plan went far off course. What could we do? We weren't the Holy Maiden. Still, Hui pulled the best possible result from all that. That's what was truly amazing!’

...Right. It had not actually succeeded beautifully.

Tantalus had originally been supposed to be empty, and I had planned to enter it through a more reliable method.

But Shei infiltrated Tantalus before I did, and I learned about it a little too late.

If someone was already there, they might not send me into Tantalus. That made things far less certain. Even if they did send me, there would still be a problem. Shei was a mysterious person who had deliberately provoked Absolute Spear and been thrown into Tantalus. It was as obvious as day that she was after the Demon God, just like I was. She was a frightening person to live alongside in an isolated Tantalus.

Should I go? Should I not? After considering it, I eventually decided not to go. But I was a little too late. As with any sudden stop, the plan that had been moving forward and my intent to halt it fell out of sync. The one I had assigned to report me went ahead with the plan despite the signal to stop.

The plan I had made worked damn well. With variables pouring in from every direction, perhaps getting trapped in Tantalus was fortunate in its own way.

The Red Tower Master spoke cheerfully.

"Hughes had been investigating the Demon God independently even before he had any connection to the Temple of the Demon God! And Hughes and Shei really did succeed in obtaining an Earth Mother relic! Unlike us, who knew the location but fell behind while doing nothing but armchair theorizing!"

As the mages, unable to tell whether she was criticizing herself or them, cleared their throats, the Red Tower Master laughed without hesitation and continued.

"Afterward, Hughes and Shei crossed through the Lesser States into the Duchy. At the same time, the Lord of Gold vanished, and the Progenitor returned as a Demon God! Then they were found at the Tree of Origin guarded by the ancient druid! If you dismiss all these events involving the Demon God as coincidence, I'll light the fireplace for you, so go wash your face in it!"

When the Red Tower Master pointed a finger, a large fire rose in one of the fireplaces. If I washed my face there, I would never need to dry it again.

Quite a bit of time had passed since we stirred up the Demon God. Any organization active in gathering information would have begun paying attention to Shei and me by now.

Honestly, if they had not noticed us after all this, they would have been neglecting their duties. Either way, it would be difficult to pretend I knew nothing now.

Lord Johannes nodded after hearing the explanation.

"Those who escaped Tantalus. And the Lord of Gold and the Progenitor... His connection to the Demon God is clear. I acknowledge that. But."

They cut themself off for emphasis, then asked with genuine curiosity.

"That does not prove he is the King of Humanity. Could he not simply be a mage passionate about the Demon God? What connection is there between the King of Humanity and the Demon God in the first place? And what effect would the fact that he is the King of Humanity have on the Temple of the Demon God's policy?"

"Good question!"

It was clear that I was connected to the Demon God. That did not prove I was the King of Humanity, though. In the first place, did anyone even know why the King of Humanity had vanished?

As though she had been waiting for this question alone, the Red Tower Master grinned, baring her teeth.

"Because the King of Humanity can use every Demon God!"

Huh? My secret was...

Footnotes:

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