WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 112: Episode 22 — Three Promises (4)
The God of Wine and Ecstasy.
Only one of Olympus’s twelve gods could wear such an epithet, Dionysus.
[The constellation God of Wine and Ecstasy hums a tune.]
I could not hear the melody, yet the spilled drops of liquor danced to it, as though they were alive, sketching countless notes across the ground.
The notes ran back and forth between Yu Sangah and me. Studying them closely, Yu Sangah spoke.
“The Minute Waltz.”
“You can read sheet music?”
“A little.”
She tilted her head.
“Chopin in a place like this, what do you think it means?”
I had no idea. For Dionysus to know Chopin was strange. Then again, TWSA said he had a keen interest in later musical culture, so perhaps it was not so odd.
The notes traced a playful circle like a puppy’s pawprints, then all at once formed arrows pointing at the remaining bottles. Sangah said,
“…It seems to mean we should drink more.”
“Let’s oblige.”
There was no other way to read it.
“Please go easy, Sangah-ssi. At least one of us needs to stay sober.”
If I went under, someone had to protect the group. I could rouse Gilyeong or Yuseong from their soda-induced sleep in an emergency, but tonight I wanted them to rest.
“Are you a light drinker, Dokja-ssi?”
“I’m not especially strong.”
We clinked glasses lightly, and I downed a shot of soju. Warmth surged through my chest, it was my first bit of alcohol in quite a while.
The notes still would not stop.
“…They want me to keep going.”
I emptied several more shots in a row. Heat rushed up from my stomach and flushed my cheeks, the notes seemed to whirl even faster, though perhaps that was the drink. Sangah smiled.
“It’s nice to drink together. I was feeling a bit lonely.”
After a few more cups the tipsy glow reached me as well, and somehow the distance between us shrank. I was sure we had been farther apart a moment ago…
Was it my imagination? Our breathing sounded rough—
I could not tell whose breath it was, hers or mine.
Sangah’s shoulder brushed mine.
“Dokja-ssi.”
“Yes.”
Her skin was flawless despite the lack of makeup.
Half-lidded eyes, dizzy with drink, leaned slowly toward me.
Her face drew closer and closer; paired quarter- and eighth-notes whirled around us in a frenetic dance. The soft contact on my shoulder made my heart pound.
…Something was wrong here.
[The exclusive skill Fourth Wall dampens your intoxication.]
With the message my mind snapped clear.
Right, this sort of thing did not happen in real life. Sangah was far too careful to lose control like this.
Such a scene was possible only because this was TWSA.
Gripping her shoulders, I spoke firmly.
“Sangah-ssi, stay sharp.”
“Eh? Ah… ah?”
Startled, she blinked. For the first time a blush spread across her cheeks.
“Wh-what was I…?”
It was obviously not her own will. Looking at the notes circling on the ground, I spoke in a slightly bitter voice.
“Enough games. Let’s get to the point.”
The notes froze at once.
As though a midnight feast had been cut short, a dangerous silence fell. All the bottles toppled; the pooled liquor began to tremble, as if in fear, then arranged itself into a single line of text.
「A killjoy, are you.」
I was a little surprised to see actual words written in droplets.
It may not seem impressive, just a few letters in liquor, but in TWSA a constellation communicating directly was no small feat.
Most constellations used dokkaebi channels precisely because direct messages cost enormous plausibility, and only the highest-ranked beings could afford it. This world was hypersensitive to the currency of language.
A faint groan drifted from the Great Hole in the sky. Even the Outer Gods had noticed Dionysus’s presence.
If he was willing to speak directly without an avatar, he clearly believed he could handle the price… Well, one of Olympus’s twelve gods was different indeed.
Deliberately provoking, I said,
“If you’re that confident, why not come here and talk face-to-face?”
The string of text shifted.
「I hate dealing with those tentacle fellows.」
Even dying, he would not admit to losing.
「And fighting is such a bother. If I descend in person, everyone dies.」
I had not expected him to accept. An Olympian god fully manifesting would reduce Seoul to dust.
「My mother died that way, struck by Father’s true form.」
Sangah whispered,
“…What does he mean?”
“He’s talking about his birth myth.”
In the version I knew, Dionysus’s parents were Zeus and the Theban princess Semele. Hera, jealous of Zeus’s affair, disguised herself as Semele’s nurse and urged her by saying ‘Lord Zeus might be an impostor. Ask him to show his true form as on Olympus.’
Semele, fooled, made the request, and the blaze of Zeus’s divine body burned her to ash.
Sangah tilted her head.
“That’s… a little different from the tradition I learned. I heard his mother wasn’t a Theban princess at all…”
I was impressed by her knowledge and almost wondered if she held a certificate in mythology, not Korean history.
The letters on the floor changed, sounding pleased.
「Hmm. You two know quite a bit about me.」
Indeed, Dionysus had two birth legends:
one where his mother was Semele, and another where his mother was Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. I asked him,
“So which version is true?”
「Does it matter?」
“It does. I need it to be the latter.”
The drinking session tonight had been set up from the start to lure Dionysus.
If he was Persephone’s son, he could likely arrange contact with her—and Persephone, in turn, meant a path to Hades.
「Impertinent human.」
The droplets shook.
「But, I do like impertinent humans.」
In truth I already knew which version was canon, TWSA briefly mentioned it.
「Long ago there was another mortal as rash as you, one who played the lyre beautifully. Things did not end well for him either.」
“I will write a different ending.”
「I can open the gate to the underworld. ‘Father of the Rich Night’ dislikes me, but his queen will grant my plea. Know, though, that it is perilous, and there is no guarantee you will return alive.”
“I accept.”
「Good. I also like desperate humans.」
He agreed so readily that I tensed. Dionysus was unreadable.
「Remember, you have only twelve hours. Fail to return before the limit, and you will forever lose the scenario you call home.」
Sleep rushed over me as the words wavered before my eyes.
So that was why he made us drink.
I spoke quickly.
“Sangah-ssi, wake the others.”
That was probably my last sentence.
[A new hidden scenario has arrived!]
As my eyes closed, it felt as though the liquor droplets were giggling.
「May ‘Father of the Rich Night’ take a liking to you.」
[The constellation God of Wine and Ecstasy is guiding your soul.]
[Your body has escaped the shackles of flesh.]
Colors exploded behind my eyelids like psychedelic drugs. Pain stabbed my forehead, faint voices murmured all around.
[Who is that mortal?]
[…Intriguing.]
[Has an incarnation’s soul entered the constellations’ realm?]
[You will regret this.]
Those whispers, they were Olympians, no doubt.
[The exclusive skill Fourth Wall has activated strongly.]
The chatter vanished as if the world had been muted.
[You have entered the underworld as a living soul.]
[The Judges of the Underworld have noticed your presence.]
With the last message, every aura around me disappeared. The world spun once and slammed me downward like lead.
After a time I sensed I had arrived somewhere. Moving was difficult, but I could guess the scene awaiting my eyes: the thick air of Hades’ realm, black sand clinging to my fingers.
I was probably on the bank of the Acheron, the river leading to Hades’ palace. Charon the ferryman would be waiting, and then…
“Hey! Get up! What are you doing here?”
Something blunt smacked my head, and a viscous, petroleum-black fluid poured over me.
Coughing, I pushed myself up. Hands groped my body, seized my collar, and hauled me upright.
“What, a rookie? Haven’t seen your face before.”
His face was new to me as well—
a brutish man, muscles bulging everywhere. Others gathered round, snickering at me dangling by my collar.
“Looks sturdy enough. Check his pockets, he might’ve brought something.”
“Don’t touch him lightly. Landing here means he’s no pushover. Did you forget that lunatic who showed up a while ago?”
“That guy was special-grade crazy. How many of those do you think show up?”
Ignoring their chatter, I surveyed the area.
A vast space boiled with heat.
Judging by the swarming shades, this was indeed the underworld. Frames of black underworld-metal stood everywhere, forges roared to smelt it—an enormous factory. Spirits who had slaved themselves to death in life now labored in death as Hades’ property, constructing something—
They looked like giant robots at a glance…
What was this place?
“Hey, are you ignoring me?”
I truly ignored him and calmly twisted his arm.
“W-what the, how strong is this guy…!”
I had no time for small fry.
First, the hidden scenario.
+
<Hidden Scenario – A Stroll Through the Underworld>
Category: Hidden
Difficulty: A+
Clear conditions: Evade the judges and find a safe path back to the world of the living.
Time limit: 12 hours
Rewards: 10,000 coins
Penalty for failure: Forced conscription as an underworld resident.
+
…Everything matched Dionysus’s words.
But then why was I here instead of by the river?
“You wretch! To lay hands on me, the one they called the Hyena of the Waning Night—!”
What a pathetic villain’s nickname. If I did not remember him, he must have had no weight in TWSA. His boulder-like fist drew back toward me when a sharp voice rang out behind him.
“Hey, stray dogs. What’s up? Something fun going on?”
“U-uuaah!”
“Haha, let me join. I’m sick of fiddling with Gundams all day.”
“It’s the psycho! Run!”
The thugs surrounding me scattered like herbivores before a predator.
I turned toward the voice.
A lanky young man, long bangs hiding his face.
He peered at me, then started in surprise.
“…What are you doing here?”
For a second I did not understand. Why act like he knew me?
“What, you don’t recognize me? Did you really forget?”
He lifted his bangs and only then did I know him.
Damn it. I had forgotten that the underworld was where the dead gathered, of course someone I killed might be here.
“Relax, we’re both corpses already, right?”
His curious eyes leaned close, mean and cruel, unforgettable even from the brief glimpse I’d had.
He smiled a fishy grin.
“So, who offed you? Come on, tell me.”
Kim Namwoon, the Delusional Demon who died in the first scenario, was here in Hades’ underworld.
Footnotes:
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