WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 707: The Cleanup Is Even Busier

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The Sword Saint was traveling far beyond escape velocity, so unless something extraordinary happened, he would not be able to return to the ground. The Empire's strongest force had been removed from this planet.

There was no problem with that. The Sword Saint had invaded first, so it was his own fault. Who told him to invade alone? If one person could do everything, why would armies be necessary? Why would strategy exist? I hadn't gotten rid of the Sword Saint. I had simply sent away a lunatic trying to destroy common sense.

Now then. The next problem was the Demon King. His upper and lower body had suffered a dramatic separation, leaving him in a grotesque state.

His body had clearly been cut in half, yet no blood flowed out, and he showed no signs of dying. Judging by his actions and speech, he seemed perfectly fine.

Still, whether he was alive was another question. Could someone whose severed body had stopped just before falling truly be called alive?

Neither dead nor alive, the Demon King spoke, sounding troubled.

“Energy arts... What a troublesome power. Logic means nothing against it. I had to use my head for the first time in a while.”

“Master! Are you all right?!”

“I am, for now.”

The Green Tower Master started toward the Demon King, then paused at the strange sensation that suddenly came over her. The closer she got, the less her body moved. Her body remained the same, but its speed slowed, compressing her fingers into short, stubby shapes.

The Demon King waved a hand.

“You should not come closer. Having suffered a fatal wound, I can no longer release the time delay.”

“We can call a priest...! Please hold on until then!”

“There is no need.”

“No! Divine power is good at healing external wounds. It might be able to heal your injuries too!”

“What I mean is, there is no need. There is a spell placed upon my body. A spell I call Twin Paradox.”

The reason he always kept space wrapped around him was not to block unexpected attacks. That may have been one reason, but its main purpose was to remove him from the flow of time.

“It is a body-limited time-delay spell created by combining my innate arcane and magic. I have slowed my aging with Twin Paradox until now. The moment I release it, I will age rapidly.”

“Then...! Does that mean you have even less time left?”

“Why are you so surprised? Everyone dies someday. That includes me, even if I can interfere with time. Death was always coming. I only delayed it. It has simply arrived a little sooner.”

The Demon King remained detached even about his own death, as if it were someone else's affair. He gathered up the pieces of his fallen body and reattached them.

“Still, being split in two has nearly stopped my body. I do not have much time left in which I can act.”

“Master...”

Before her dying master, the Green Tower Master reached out, but her hand could never touch the Demon King. Nor should it. If that hand made contact, the Demon King's time would begin to flow again.

“Even so, the professor's teachings remain in this land. That is enough. This world is still worth watching grow. I only regret that I do not have much opportunity left to do so.”

The Demon King spoke regretfully, then looked at the Cyan Tower Master.

“There will be no time to build another floating castle. Cyan Tower Master, I leave the floating castle to you.”

“...I'll do my best.”

“I thought you might try to hide my master's teachings... but you won't do that now. Do as you see fit.”

Then he looked at the Green Tower Master with concern. Seeing his disciple weeping at his side, he urged her on.

“Green Tower Master. Heal your arm quickly. Your intellect and mind are essential to humanity. Take care of your health.”

“What about you? What will happen to you?”

“Twin Paradox remains effective. I will not die immediately. But the time during which I can act will inevitably become much shorter. I must keep time nearly stopped for most of it.”

After that brief answer, the Demon King turned to the Black Tower Master. Tears pooled in those large eyes.

“Black Tower Master. You have a different potential from the Green Tower Master's. Your direction may differ, but your vanishing point that traps light can reproduce phenomena similar to the Demon God's. See where your path leads.”

“...Y-Yes.”

“The Red Tower Master... can be left to the Cyan Tower Master. The Red Tower Master should have studied more. The Demon God's wisdom was the means that could have granted her wish.”

His voice gradually slowed. It was not because his injuries made him speak slowly. It sounded as if his voice itself were being played back at a slower speed. His drawn-out words were difficult to understand.

“The White Tower Master... was right. My time... is running out... The next time I must act... will be the end.”

“Master...”

“I will... rest for a while.”

Then the Demon King vanished. Only an empty wind lingered where he had stood. The Green Tower Master stared at the space her master had occupied and sobbed.

At first, I thought it was teleportation, but it was closer to sealing himself away through the extreme application of innate arcane. He probably would not be able to appear as often as before. Nor would he be able to spend enough time teaching anyone.

But he was not dead. I decided to comfort the grieving Tower Masters.

“It’s all right. Lord Demon King isn’t dead. He just can’t appear often because he has to delay time. Think of it as him getting busy. You know, it’s common for people who get along well to stop seeing each other because they’re busy.”

Huh. Why were they looking at me so sharply? Was that not comforting?

Well, it didn’t matter. It might not comfort them, but it comforted me.

The Sword Saint had been sent away, and the Demon King was gone. The immediate crisis had been overcome, we had found the Demon God, and we had even brought down the floating castle once. The floating castle would fear falling now. Fear would become respect.

Good. Everything was good. Just as I was feeling rather satisfied with myself.

“Master can no longer look after the Arcane Federation. The floating castle has fallen, and until it is stabilized, we must remain in the lower realm.”

The Cyan Tower Master had been quietly staring at the place where the Demon King vanished. She muttered softly. She had succeeded in stopping the meteor as she wanted, but the Arcane Federation had sacrificed far too much for it. And the sacrifices were not over yet.

The Sword Saint's arrival meant that the Empire could come as well. The Demon God's power had driven the Sword Saint from the ground, but he might still be alive. If so, what would they do next time, when the Demon King was not there?

'Master is gone now too. The floating castle has fallen. We stopped the meteor, but... What am I supposed to do now?'

Drained of strength, the Cyan Tower Master slowly looked around. Chaos had broken out, but it had not yet become a tragedy. An enormous effort would be needed to prevent that chaos from leading to tragedy and restore even the bare minimum of daily life.

'It’s hopeless.'

What needed to be done? Where should she begin? The Cyan Tower Master knew none of it.

There was no single right answer to the affairs of the world. Stopping the meteor was right, and saving people was right. Those things were so obvious that there was no need to question them.

But what came after that? How should she act now that there was no right answer? The Cyan Tower Master could not find her bearings, and her gaze wandered.

The Cyan Tower Master muttered softly, then looked at me.

“Hughes.”

“Yes?”

She stared straight at me.

“Will you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Be the Demon King.”

“What?”

What was she suddenly talking about?

“Lord Demon King isn't dead yet. Don't appoint a successor on your own.”

“The Arcane Federation needs its smartest and most capable person at the top. But I am not enough for that.”

“You know yourself well.”

Lankart cut in tactlessly. The Cyan Tower Master nodded at his words.

“I know. I may have some ability. But I don't have the confidence to take responsibility for the people of the Arcane Federation. Maybe... nobody has that confidence.”

“Anyone who says they're confident enough to take responsibility is abnormal. Who can take responsibility for someone else when they can't even take responsibility for their own path?”

“But you can do it. You are the King of Humanity.”

Who even came up with the term King of Humanity? That was why everyone thought I was a real king. I wasn't.

“They say that long ago, the King of Humanity brought an age of peace to the continent. The Five Lords took that power and established kingdoms of their own, but all of them except the Empire eventually fell.”

“At least one survived.”

“But the Empire only flourished by relying on the Holy Maiden's glory. It has faced countless crises, but it has always depended on the Holy Maiden. Lately, it seems to be trying to break free from her influence, but the situation isn't very good.”

I had heard bits and pieces through others.

There were rumors of unrest within the Empire. Rumors that the duchies were plotting to escape the Empire's shadow.

The Lilac Duchy had actually reached out to Ende. It was trying to establish a bridgehead for advancing beyond the Enger Plain. And beyond the Enger Plain lay directly opposite the Empire.

Their movements were directed away from the Empire.

“The Empire isn't incompetent. Master may scoff, but considering its population and national power, it is unbelievably capable. Just look at the Sword Saint. His strength is impossible to measure. But competence alone does not make a country stable.”

“Incompetence certainly won't.”

“That is why I think the Arcane Federation needs you. It has nothing to do with competence or incompetence. It needs resolve, conviction, and insight. Like yours.”

The Cyan Tower Master took my hand. It was not a romantic gesture. She gripped it tightly, as if trying to keep me from running away.

Wait. Was she really...

“You're trying to make me work?”

“I won't only make you work. I promise a reward equal to it.”

“What reward?”

“The Tower of Babel is Master's tower, and also the culmination of research into spatial magic. It contains the research of mages from the five towers whom Master recognized.”

Spatial magic?

Even without the Demon God, magic was a technology. If applied well, it would be useful. It might even become one of my cards.

Still, accepting just for that would be too much.

“...Elisha. I don't think Master entrusted you with the floating castle for that purpose. You're opening the place where the Arcane Federation's truths are gathered to an outsider.”

“The most useful book is the one currently open and being read. Truth that cannot be used is no different from a jewel buried in the sand. And he may be an outsider, but he is also a mage more outstanding than anyone else.”

“Master is still here. As long as I remain the Green Tower Master, he will not be able to treat the Arcane Federation as his own.”

That was right. This was the proper response. I applauded the Green Tower Master's spirit.

“See? It can’t be done. I’m a drifter, suspicious and powerless, with nothing but devious intentions. Who would entrust power to someone like me? Only the Cyan Tower Master has everyone's recognition.”

The Arcane Federation? It was a good country. But I had already taken everything worth taking from here. I did not want to stay long enough to deal with the aftermath.

It was about time to leave the country. Just as I made that resolution.

A cold chill suddenly rose around my body. An ominous feeling ran through me. They said that when someone harbored enough resentment, frost fell even in midsummer. Rather than ordinary ice, ice crystals settled over my body.

“W-Wait. What is this...?”

“Hughes. You must take responsibility.”

“Responsibility? What responsibility do I have?”

“I became like this because of you. I overturned countless decisions I had made, compromised, and endured. And what remains is a destroyed floating castle and a half-finished peace. The Sword Saint came and suddenly vanished, so next time, the Empire will come.”

“Pride” had been stopped. But the Sword Saint had personally come, fought the Demon King, and the result was close to mutual defeat. How would the Empire react now? It would not be favorably.

The Demon God was here, but the Empire was a powerful opponent. In a normal war between nations, the Empire would win without question. The Arcane Federation's future was dark indeed.

“That’s... unfortunate?”

“I won't say all of this happened because of you. They were my choices, and I created the outcome I wanted. But if you feel even a little responsibility toward me.”

Ice covered my vision. It looked ready to freeze my entire body at the slightest provocation. It was not cold yet, but if the Cyan Tower Master lost focus for even a moment, I would freeze down to the cellular level.

The Cyan Tower Master had no hostility toward me. If anything, she only wanted to rely on me. I could not tell whether this was a threat or a request.

The Cyan Tower Master wrapped both arms around my half-frozen body. Leaning against me, she whispered weakly.

“Tell me the right answer.”

Footnotes:

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