WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 660: Tower of Babel, Floor 2

──────

They called it the Dragon Gate: a tiny gate through which hundreds, even thousands, of little fish swam upward. All yearned to become dragons, shoving and striking one another as they competed.

Historically, the Tower of Babel had never been used as a Dragon Gate, but what went on inside was no different from any other year.

Competition. Participants becoming one another's obstacles and testing each other.

Problems that arose on their own without anyone needing to put their heads together, with enough filtering power to ensure one of any two contenders would be eliminated. Any examiner would clap with delight at that.

The people actually fighting would feel nothing but despair, though.

‘Three over there too? I heard the Dragon Gate was an individual competition. Did the three of them join forces? Then again, we came as a group too, so it isn't strange.’

Cardinal Elton of the Northern Holy Church, no less? A cardinal, a group of priests, and holy knights?

That was force on the level of an entire legion!

Cardinal Elton approached with a kindly smile. There was neither fear nor wariness in his expression. Filled with endless faith and confidence in his own strength, he did not fear three mere passersby.

Neither did we fear him.

"Huh? Those are high-ranking priest's robes. At the very least, he's chief-priest rank, Hughes."

"Why would someone like that be here?"

"Maybe he came looking for the Demon God?"

That was the problem! He was a competitor!

Shei, who had been closely connected with the Sanctum in the previous cycle, was pleased to see the holy knights as well. Yet when she sensed the fighting spirit radiating from them, she stopped moving. Shei tilted her head.

"What is this? It looks like they want to fight."

"We're competitors."

In the end, only one person would climb the tower and claim the Demon God. It was better if no one else remained. Besides, those people were holy knights who had infiltrated this place to recover holy relics. They surely considered mages thorns in their sides.

Still, they merely gave off fighting spirit. They did not attack first.

‘First, offer your opponent a handshake. If their hand bears a weapon, rebuke them politely. If they try to harm me with that weapon, retaliate. Yet mercy must remain in that retaliation. As clergy, we cannot attack first.’

It was because our opponent was a cardinal, a cleric second to none in devotion. Otherwise, he would have picked a fight long ago. Mages were rational, and it was better to attack than be attacked first. Mages were strong in prepared battles but weak against unexpected ambushes.

‘I will concede the first move. Go ahead and attack first.’

Of all groups, the first ones we encountered had to be a cardinal and holy knights. I did not know about anything else, but they were among the strongest groups in the world when it came to defense. It would be troublesome if we exhausted ourselves here.

Oh, wait. They would not attack until we did first? This could be interesting.

While I was lost in thought, Lankart sensed the fighting spirit and frowned.

"Fools who believe in some god."

Innate Arcane: Right-Handed World.

Air currents swirled around Lankart. A spiraling pattern appeared on the broad carpet as the wind clawed across it.

There was only one Demon God anyway. Everyone else was a competitor. We should strike immediately and eliminate future trouble, and Lankart had the ability to do so. It was a rational judgment.

As the response he expected came, Cardinal Elton made a small sign of the cross and waited for Lankart's attack.

I stepped forward just as the situation was about to explode.

"Wait. Lankart. We don't need to fight now."

"Why not?"

"The Tower of Babel has a long way to go. We have countless trials ahead of us. Wouldn't it be better to cooperate for now rather than spend time fighting them?"

"?"

Lankart looked at me as though I had said something incomprehensible. They were targets that had to be eliminated eventually, so why do something as troublesome as cooperating with them?

Explaining would be a pain. I made the sign of the cross and greeted the cardinal.

"We give thanks for sending us a guide when we lost our way in the darkness of night. Meeting Your Eminence feels as though I have found a lighthouse in that darkness."

When I recognized him immediately, Cardinal Elton asked with a curious look.

"How did you know this humble servant was a cardinal?"

"The Sanctum sends letters each year in the cardinal's name. Yet the Tower of Babel fell suddenly without warning. An envoy carrying Your Eminence's letter could not climb the Tower of Babel without Your Eminence's permission, unless Your Eminence personally granted it on the spot."

Yes. I read his mind. Once you knew the answer, putting together the story was easy.

"And any believer in the Celestial God would have heard Cardinal Elton's name at least in passing."

"...Hmm."

‘Unless he were a believer who had studied theology, he would hardly know of this humble servant.... Has he studied theology?’

All right. We were going with that scenario.

I lightly brought my hands together in the posture of a theology student and spoke in the level tone of someone reading scripture. At that moment, I looked exactly like a theology student who had learned only the basics before leaving.

"I too am a student of Saint Rene. Theology, too, was a brick I carefully shaped for the tower I was building. I may not measure up to Your Eminence, but I am confident my studies have not been lacking."

"Ho ho. To meet one who has read scripture here. This must be heaven's guidance."

"Even the finest writing can only be read when light shines upon it. I believe the light that illuminated my writing guided me to this meeting today."

‘No intention of fighting? Hmmm.... That makes things difficult.’

My polite and respectful demeanor left Cardinal Elton quite flustered.

Mages were arrogant and rational. They did not easily overturn a judgment they had made, because their judgments were usually rational and accurate.

Choosing to cooperate briefly with an enemy one would have to fight someday was not an easy decision. It was even less so when the other party was holy knights. If a mage allowed them close, the mage began half-defeated already.

‘To think a mage could be so polite and devout. If only he had been rude like that mage behind him, I could have taught him a lesson at least. Tsk. It cannot be helped. Until he reveals some other scheme, we can only leave him alone.’

"You said you were asking for directions, right? I just arrived here too, so I haven't had time to assess the situation. What happened?"

Cardinal Elton relaxed and answered.

"With the light's protection, this hall appeared before us when we reached the second floor. We split up and searched for stairs leading upward, but there were none anywhere. We opened the door through which your group appeared, but there was nothing beyond it except endless emptiness. We could not step through."

"It seems the space wasn't connected."

"That is right. Unable to make sense of it, we decided to respect the original purpose of the chairs and tables. The moment everyone sat down, your group suddenly appeared from the corridor opposite us."

"Is that so? It seems the space has connected now. One moment."

I turned and pulled the door, then felt something strange. I had pushed it open when I entered, but now it would not move at all. I tried pushing it just in case, and the space I had climbed through was gone without a trace. Only distant emptiness remained.

The spaces connected when entering and leaving were different.

"It seems solving this door's secret is the second trial."

"This humble servant had realized that much. The question is how."

"I can think of one method. It is a Lumen magic circle using light."

I pointed at the ceiling. The chandelier, each lamp glowing like a jewel, illuminated the banquet hall. When its light struck the transparent tables and chairs, it fractured beautifully and left trails behind.

"The now-extinct Lumen family drew magic circles with mana-infused light. They placed prisms at the core and used rays of light as lines to complete their spells. I heard their casting speed surpassed anything else. This is an application of that."

Let's see. This here, and that there.

I pulled chairs, twisted tables, and shifted them little by little. The scattered clusters of light gradually gathered into one. It was like drawing together hay with a rake, then sweeping dust into a pan.

The holy knights looked quite startled as the shape of the light gradually formed. To them, light was an object of faith and the Celestial God's guidance, not something that could be shaped like this.

"Oh. So that is how it is."

"Could you move aside? If possible, press yourselves against the walls. I need to gather all the light coming from the chandelier."

"Ah, um. Understood."

Astonished by the miracle I was performing, the holy knights rose awkwardly from their seats. As I arranged the chairs one after another, it began to feel as though the space itself was gradually shrinking.

Areas untouched by light became dark and empty, as though no space had existed there in the first place. If I put my hand into one, it felt as though it might disappear forever. It probably would not, though. Before I shone light there, that space had clearly existed.

But did it really exist?

If there was nothing to illuminate a space, how could one know that space existed?

"It is as though... you are weaving light."

One of the holy knights muttered that. I gathered the hundreds of rays extending from the chandelier into one. When every last ray had been collected, a single dazzling beam of light was completed.

Countless beams reflected from the chairs and tables converged at the center of the banquet hall. The concentrated light settled upon the largest and most splendid table, glittering like a bead.

Shei unconsciously murmured,

"Pretty."

"If we send this beam past the stairs and illuminate it, the space inside will reveal itself."

When I fired the light, it pierced through space and illuminated the distant void.

The light swept away darkness so distant it could be mistaken for emptiness, faintly revealing a staircase.

I could not tell whether the stairs had been there from the beginning and we simply failed to find them, or whether they appeared only after I shone the light.

Only one thing mattered. I had solved the problem and found the stairs leading upward.

That was all.

I had earned the right to head to the third floor.

Then I gave the holy knights a gentle smile.

"Now, let's go together."

"...Hm!"

The tense holy knights and Cardinal Elton hesitated at my words.

They must have assumed I would monopolize the solution and pull up the ladder behind me. They had even discussed a plan to seize the initiative and push me out. The problem was that I had offered goodwill with a smile, leaving the holy knights at a loss.

Trusting a stranger was unpleasant enough. Trusting a competitor was even worse. But they were holy knights through and through. Without justification, they could not act.

Cardinal Elton clicked his tongue as he watched them.

‘The holy knights still lack magnanimity. Goodwill should be met with goodwill, even if that goodwill is fabricated. Yet they have not drawn their swords, and already their minds are full of attacking those people. It cannot be helped. Holy knights are swords meant to defend the faith, so they cannot help being burdened by such duty.’

Right. What would you do if my goodwill was fabricated? Strike from behind?

Go ahead. As long as I had mind reading, I would not be caught off guard. You could not do that anyway.

‘We have already lost completely in psychological warfare. We act as clergy should, but that man does not act as a mage should. As long as he has no intention of fighting, we cannot attack first. We have no choice but to board the same boat.’

To ease the tension in the holy knights, Cardinal Elton changed his manner and spoke.

"I understand that you are a guide worth following. Still, I would like to discuss this first. There is only one place at the Dragon Gate, yet there are many of us. Are you certain you are willing to travel with us?"

Cardinal Elton was asking on behalf of the other priests and holy knights. Respecting his intent, I answered earnestly.

"Of course. I wanted to travel with all of you as well."

"Truly? I would not wish to see us squabbling so disgracefully with such an outstanding, kind, and devout guide."

"Why should we squabble? We are all simply people who follow Saint Rene's teachings."

Saint Rene.

A saint revered by the Sanctum, and an ancient teacher who established the system of the Arcane Federation.

Though she possessed immense power to create subspaces, she never used it to harm others. In an age when knowledge was called heresy and scholars were branded devils and executed, she wandered the north and shared knowledge. She became a great example to both the Arcane Federation and the Sanctum.

I continued, invoking her name.

"Saint Rene said that knowledge is only completed through sharing. The tower's magic, the mysteries of the floating castle, and holy relics are no different. I hope the relics Saint Rene left behind will be revealed to the entire world. If knowledge belongs to everyone, no one will need to fight."

"That is a dangerous thought. The world contains much knowledge that is dangerous and harmful, such as the Demon God and forbidden arts."

"Perhaps. But should not Saint Rene's relics at least follow Saint Rene's will? Saint Rene shared knowledge all her life. Is it not contradictory to monopolize that knowledge?"

"Ahem."

Cardinal Elton also followed Saint Rene's teachings. He could not wholly agree with me, but he acknowledged that my words were sound.

"I have much to say on that subject, but..."

"Rather than fight, it would be better to continue our discussion as we climb. That is Saint Rene's spirit, after all."

"Very well. Let us go. We are not the only ones in this tower."

Cardinal Elton and the holy knights relaxed their combat stances and moved in orderly formation. I let them climb first. I knew the solution, so I could go up whenever I wanted.

"So you meant to use them as shields? Then you'll discard them at the final moment? Shall I prepare a spell to collapse the space from within?"

Lankart made a terrifying suggestion, but I shook my head hard.

"No. An ambush is pointless against holy knights."

"Because of combat precognition? We can make it more elaborate. If we use a trap involving the space itself, even combat precognition will be useless."

"No. It would be one thing if there were only holy knights, but there is a cardinal too. It is better not to fight, and if we do fight, we have to win head-on."

"Yes. Understood."

Lankart followed my order without complaint. That was why I traveled with Lankart despite the enormous burden. Lankart trusted my judgment as much as he followed me.

Of course, the first reason was that Lankart was smart and knew too much for me not to bring along. Look. We solved both the first and second floors thanks to Lankart.

The holy knights had all gone up. We followed after them, heading for the stairs lit by a single beam.

‘...Come to think of it, I failed to focus on the second floor's problem this time. It was because I was wary of the holy knights and preparing magic, but Hui realized amid all that that the second floor's problem was a Lumen magic circle and calculated the answer. What I lack compared to Hui is not only knowledge. Hui and I have different perspectives. To catch up to Hui, I need to change how I see....’

I left behind the thoughts that cast their shadow over me from Lankart.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried