WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 94: The One Who Hears the Wind

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The immortal who had awakened from his long sleep immediately kicked open the cabinet and leaped out.

He landed heavily on the floor, then staggered for a moment. The arms and legs that had been roughly attached to him had not fully settled into place and wobbled loosely.

But he was an immortal with regenerative abilities, and vital energy now filled his entire body.

"Hup!"

The moment the immortal tensed his body, his slightly twisted arms and legs snapped back into place. The wounds covering his body healed in an instant, and his shriveled frame swelled as though he had been soaked through with water.

Fully restored, the immortal looked down at his hands and feet and shouted.

"Oh! I'm overflowing with vital energy! What happened?"

As the immortal looked around, the officer standing before him stiffened and spoke.

"Tantalus Training Corps, Rashy. Is that correct?"

The immortal immediately answered.

"That's right! To think such a beauty would greet me the moment I opened my eyes. My life has not been in vain! This too must be Mother Earth's arrangement!"

"...A beauty?"

"Of course! What else would one call a beautiful person but a beauty?"

The immortal's words were playful, but they came so suddenly that the officer could only frown, unable to respond properly.

"There's no time for wordplay. This officer is Lieutenant Colonel Callis Kritz, newly assigned as an instructor at Tantalus and its administrator. And..."

The officer opened the bundle and took out the item inside. Rashy stared at it with curious eyes, then brightened once he recognized it.

"Is that not a World Tree leaf?!"

"You recognize it."

If beasts had kings, then grass and trees had the World Tree.

Unlike beasts, though, the king of plants did not take human form.

Humans were the dominant species on land, but only within the realm of beasts. No matter how arrogant they were, no human would dare claim that humanity ruled plants as well.

And that was indeed the case. Plants retained their original forms without caring in the slightest what became of beasts.

Flowers and grass that bloomed and withered countless times also had kings, but finding one was nearly impossible. Each plant king had its own form, making it difficult to distinguish, and even if someone found one through incredible luck, its life would end the moment it was uprooted.

Some trees, however, could live for thousands of years. The same was true for the kings among them.

The kings of trees had lived anywhere from decades to millennia. Among them were tree kings so ancient that their locations had become known.

People called them World Trees.

It was said that after absorbing the earth's vital energy for thousands of years, a single root could resemble a small hill and a single leaf could be as large as a great fan. Some people worshipped these vast, sacred kings of trees, born and raised alongside Mother Earth, as though they were gods.

The immortal Rashy was one of them.

"Of course I recognize it! Our tribe is closer to Mother Earth than anyone else in the world. How could we fail to recognize something so full of vital energy? Sacred ginkgo trees may not grow near us, but they have always been objects of our longing!"

To everyone else, though, they were simply unusual, enormous trees.

Slightly valuable trees whose fallen leaves could be sold for money.

The officer spoke.

"Then you understand how valuable this is."

"Of course I understand its market value too! I tried to buy one once, but it was damned expensive! The pittance I earned through labor was nowhere near enough! Anyway, thank you. My regeneration had been slow because I lacked vital energy! Thanks to you, I'm completely healed!"

The immortal readily nodded. The officer who had given him the World Tree leaf did not show it on her face, but inwardly, she was bewildered.

'Strange. He didn't even eat the World Tree leaf, yet his right arm jumped over by itself and he regained his strength. What happened?'

Wait. That recovery potion used to heal the right arm, could it be...?

Suspecting as much, I asked the regressor.

"Shei, did you perhaps use...?"

"Yeah. Immortals respond well to the earth's vital energy, so I used World Tree leaves."

The regressor answered calmly, and I could not hide my shock.

"Wow. You're only extravagant at times like this."

"It was the minimum necessary expense. Someone turned that arm into a rag, and the curse was so severe that I couldn't have restored it with anything less."

"Yes, yes. Entirely my fault."

Clicking my tongue, I pressed myself against the corner and cautiously peeked into the training room. The regressor followed behind me without understanding why.

"The lieutenant colonel met the immortal. Is this why you called me?"

"It's already too late. Let's just watch."

While the regressor and I looked inside through the open door, the officer studied the immortal with sharp eyes beneath her cap.

He was a muscular giant who looked close to two meters tall. The body visible through his tattered shirt was darker than bronze, more like metal than skin. His rugged frame overflowed with life, and despite not yet using the World Tree leaf, he had already recovered the strength of his prime.

'Still, what was that right arm that leaped in a moment ago...?'

The result was good, and that was enough. Setting aside her thoughts about the right arm, the officer looked the immortal up and down.

'They said he tore people apart with his bare hands. He doesn't stand out much in the Abyss, but he belongs to the immortal race once called the berserker race. And he held the second-highest position among them, called the Right Arm... He could become a useful helper.'

The land of the immortals had never moved beyond tribal society. Rashy had left that land to wander the world, and the strong, prosperous military state had fascinated him. After several negotiations with the military state and accepting harsh conditions, he had even received temporary citizenship to remain there.

Then he committed murder and was thrown into the Abyss without room for reconsideration.

'One of the few who bears goodwill toward the military state.'

The Abyss was filled with enemies. In this place isolated from the world, she had found the only person who might become an ally.

The officer felt deeply relieved.

'It's fortunate I solved the mystery of that bundle. If I hadn't remembered it... Their orders are always delivered so ambiguously...'

The officer rested a hand on her chin as she thought, then finished her cold calculation. Rashy looked happily at the World Tree leaf and asked with great anticipation.

"Can I truly have this?"

"Yes. But there is a condition."

"Ha! Such a precious gift! Thank you!"

"I said there was a condition."

Having decided he had sufficient value, the officer pulled down the brim of her cap.

"This is not a gift. It is an expense this officer paid for the sake of a trainee. This officer also suffered considerable losses, so the trainee must repay me accordingly..."

"Ha ha! People from the military state have a talent for speaking so stiffly! I shall gladly and gratefully accept this gift!"

"Trainee. I've told you repeatedly..."

The officer looked at the immortal, who continued to call it a gift, with displeasure. She thought he intended to dismiss the World Tree leaf as a gift and swallow it without paying anything back.

But that greatly underestimated the immortal's generosity.

"No, it is a gift!"

The immortal stubbornly shook his head, then raised his thumb again.

"This is an immensely precious gift to me, and the nourishment I needed most, short on vital energy as I am! You personally brought such a gift to find me and gave it to me. This must be a gift filled with your heart, and since our hearts have met, can we not call each other friends?"

"...What?"

Raised in the military state and unfamiliar with such words, the officer only then understood what the immortal meant.

In other words, he refused a debtor-creditor relationship in favor of owing a debt of the heart.

A debt ended once it was repaid, but friendship did not fade until the heart did.

"I'm not a person who refuses a friend's request. So, what do you need, friend?"

Perhaps the situation had surprised the officer as well. She fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.

But she had been pushed into a corner. At this point, she had neither reason nor grounds to refuse.

Nor did she have any desire to.

"...This officer has something that must be done. I want the trainee to help me with it."

"Ha ha! If it's a friend's request, I'll do anything!"

The immortal held out his hand. The officer did not seem eager, but she eventually took it.

'...I don't wish to be friends with a prisoner trapped in the Abyss, but it will be more useful to use him this way for now.'

Whether it was friendship or a debtor-creditor relationship did not matter.

As long as she could use an immortal who did not seem to value his own life, the officer decided not to care what their relationship was called.

'Perhaps because he's so large... His hands are large too. Even his fingers are two knuckles longer...'

The instructor briefly had a thought that did not suit the moment as they shook hands. She shook her head and composed herself.

'No. I was only considering his build. At this size, he'd be perfect as a meat shield.'

Good.

It was about time to leave. I turned my eyes away from them and whispered into the regressor's ear.

"Shei."

The regressor jumped with a look of disgust.

"Ah, damn it! You startled me. What?"

Why was she reacting so sensitively? I asked the regressor, who was bristling all over and hissing.

"Why are you so startled when it's just two men?"

"That's creepy! You could just speak normally. Why whisper?"

"I can't shout when they would hear everything inside."

"It's fine. I always keep sound from leaking out!"

So stalking was a passive ability. Very admirable.

I nodded and pointed to the side.

"It looks like they'll be coming out soon too. Should we run away?"

"Run away? Didn't you have business with the immortal?"

"I finished a little while ago."

I glanced over at the officer, who had gained the helper she wished for, someone she could trust and rely on.

"Her wish has been granted," I murmured.

The regressor tilted her head, unable to understand what I meant.

"It won't sit right with me if we leave like this. The immortal... Even if he joins the lieutenant colonel, he won't bring about any meaningful change... Still, I'd rather not have things become troublesome."

"Honestly, the most troublesome person in the world..."

"What?"

"Never mind. Just come on!"

It was about time for the officer and the immortal to leave the training room. To avoid getting in their way, I pulled the regressor along and headed outside.

Footnotes:

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