WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: ChaoticRain

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 152: Episode 29: Constellation Banquet (5)

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When the Fable Succession Ceremony began, six small rooms materialized at the edge of the stage. One room per Incarnation participating in the ceremony, exactly.

"All Incarnations, please proceed to your secret rooms immediately!"

The order of the Fable Succession Ceremony was simple. Each Incarnation would enter their room, receive secret offers from constellations, hear out all their conditions, then take the stage and announce which fable they had chosen to inherit.

On the door to my room, a nameplate read "Incarnation Kim Dokja."

I waved at Yu Junghyeok.

"See you later."

Yu Junghyeok said nothing and disappeared into his own room. I went in and sat at the table. A sensation like the zone folding in on itself passed through me, and then every sound from outside cut off completely.

The secret room.

This was one of the most perfectly confidential locations in all the Star Stream. Nothing that happened here could be known even by the dokkaebis of the channel.

[You have become the owner of the Secret Room for one hour.]

[Administrative authority over the Secret Room has been granted to you.]

[The maximum duration of the Secret Room is one hour.]

[Please make contact with as many constellations as possible within the time limit.]

I stared at the door, buzzing with anticipation.

All right, who's up first.

At that moment, someone kicked the door open and stepped inside. Yellow robes. A sacred text floating just behind them.

[Incarnation Kim Dokja. Choose Feast of Resurrection.]

Apparently my first guest was Indian.

* * *

[The constellation Founder of Mankind glares at you.]

The negotiator sent by Veda was Manu, the constellation bearing the modifier "Founder of Mankind." I knew a thing or two about Manu's fable. Not that I had any reason to be versed in Indian mythology on my own—I had TWSA to thank for all of it.

"According to Indian epic literature, 'Manu' was a survivor of the great flood. He saved the life of a fish, and in return the fish prepared a boat for him. He escaped the flood by sailing to the peak of the Himalayas..."

Recalling the fable, I thought I understood why Manu had come as the negotiator. Manu frequently clashed with the "Master of the Ark," a constellation under Eden, over their overlapping fable copyright. In other words, among all of Veda's constellations, the one who could claim genuine expertise in fable copyright disputes was none other than Manu himself.

"Has the Master of December 25th not come in person?"

[Does he seem that free to you? Stop wasting words. You only need to answer. Will you accept Feast of Resurrection or not?]

So that's the attitude we're taking. And the actual fable holder, Mitra, didn't even bother to show up.

[If you have ears, you already know that Veda is one of the largest nebulae in the Star Stream. Countless mythologies were born first within Veda, and many nebulae plagiarize our myths. Especially those Eden people...]

"I have no interest in personal grievances. What can Veda offer me if I accept the “Feast of Resurrection” fable?"

[The blessing of the Sun God will be with you.]

"What exactly is the blessing of the Sun God?"

[Do I really need to explain every little thing to you? A lowly mortal like...]

"I have a question."

[What is it?]

"That lowly mortal speech. Don't you think it's a tired cliché by now? You constellations claim to love fresh and original stories—so just how long do you plan to sneer at humans with such stale lines?"

Manu stared at me wide-eyed.

[You insolent wretch, what are you thinking, daring to say such...]

"Exactly what you'd expect."

[You have used the administrative authority of the Secret Room.]

[The constellation Founder of Mankind has been expelled from the room!]

At my command, the self-proclaimed Founder of Mankind vanished mid-shout in a burst of white light. Should have played things smarter when he had the chance.

No matter how fabled-grade the other party was, I had no intention of groveling under pressure. Once the succession ceremony was over, maybe—but right now, I was the Superior here.

"Next."

The word had barely left my mouth before the door opened again. A wanderer in a worn crown and tattered clothes stood in the doorway. Who's this?

[Incarnation Kim Dokja, join Olympus.]

Did these people all read some sort of Kim Dokja instruction manual together?

[The constellation Self-inflicter of Blindness smiles at you.]

Self-inflicter of Blindness?

[It seems you know who I am.]

"In Korea, you hear that story until you're sick of it by the time you hit university."

[Is that so? Surprising. A small country in the east...]

"Self-inflicter of Blindness." He was King Oedipus, the figure endlessly taught in university general education courses. A sudden surge of hatred for Sophocles rose up in me.

"By the way, I already heard Olympus's pitch from the God of Wine and Ecstasy. You've come to tell me to become the Priest of Bachhus, right?"

[Bachhus? So that one had already reached out.]

Something felt off. Persephone, who had attended the banquet, was at odds with Olympus. Dionysus had said not to trust anyone. And neither of them had told me to join Olympus.

Yet King Oedipus had opened with exactly that.

[I am not here to make Bachhus's offer. Nor have I come to exercise copyright over a resurrection fable.]

So King Oedipus had come with something entirely different from the two constellations before him.

Could he actually be the true representative of Olympus?

[The fable Olympus presents to you is Lightning Carnival.]

"What?"

I was genuinely startled. Lightning Carnival was the fable of Zeus, one of the Three Highest Gods.

Oedipus saw my expression and smiled—something unreadable in it.

[As I suspected, you know this fable. Yes, you're right. What we're offering is in an entirely different class from the resurrection fables put forward by other nebulae.]

"Why are you making this offer to me?"

[Because I and the Three Fates have glimpsed a fragment of your Fate.]

My Fate?

[Before long, you will have earned the right to inherit Lightning Carnival. Of course, you could instead inherit my fable and take Blind Prophet... but you already have a reputation as a prophet, so I doubt you'd choose that.]

"Wait. What do you mean? Why would my Fate lead to..."

[The decision is yours. But you will come to need Olympus. Think carefully until we meet again.]

With those words, Oedipus disappeared from the room.

My thoughts grew unsettled.

I had no idea what "Fate" Oedipus was talking about, but if the Three Fates had gotten involved, something close to the future they had seen would happen to me before long.

And of all things, an event suited to inheriting an Olympus-line fable. That could only mean trouble. Every fable from that camp was...

[Hi.]

Something poked its head through the door, and suddenly someone was inside. A clean, sweet fragrance. A beautiful angel's face, right in front of mine. An angel who looked like a young girl, with a faint hint of something small and impish about her.

So this turn belonged to Eden.

"I thought the Master of the Ark would come. You came yourself."

[Are you disappointed it's me?]

Her voice dropped into an instant sulk, and my chest sank with it.

Uriel was this cute.

"No. I'm glad you're here."

[I missed you! Kim Dokja!]

Uriel threw her arms around me without warning. We were pressed together. The warm texture of thin silk against me. Her dress was open at the back, so my hands had nowhere to go. She buried her face in my chest like she was cradling a beloved stuffed animal, and I answered in something that came out more like a sigh than words.

"I... missed you too."

[Yes, yes!]

It was a slightly awkward situation, but for me the feeling of seeing her again was real. Uriel had been the constellation who stayed by my side from the very moment the Scenarios began.

"You came to tell me to choose “Path of the Messiah,” right?"

[...Oh, right! That's why I came!]

Uriel's head shot up from my chest in a startled jolt. Not the face of someone who had been keeping that in mind at all. Apparently just seeing me had made her that happy.

[I think it's because you're too handsome.]

"Very convincing reasoning."

Uriel smiled brightly.

[Kim Dokja, you'll accept our Eden fable, right?]

"That's... something I'll need to think about."

[Why? Our fable is the best! There's no comparison!]

She wasn't wrong. Path of the Messiah was the highest-ranking fable in the resurrection lineage. But there was a problem.

"If I take that fable, I lose something important."

[Huh? Oh. Right. If you choose our fable, you'd become a eunuch... That won't do.]

I hadn't expected her to be persuaded that easily, but Uriel reacted with genuine distress, as though it were happening to her personally. Was me becoming a eunuch really that big a problem for her? Why?

[Oh no, what do I do? Metatron said if I don't bring Kim Dokja back, I can't use the internet for a month... But if I bring him back, he becomes a eunuch... And then... Oh, wait. Even if he becomes a eunuch, if I adjust the position a little...]

What position?

[Okay! Kim Dokja! Don't worry too much about the eunuch thing. I'll figure something out...!]

Uriel had the look of someone who had just made a grand resolution entirely on her own.

I shook my head firmly.

"I don't want to be a eunuch."

[Right, so even if you become one, it'll be okay because...]

"Next."

* * *

After that, several more nebulae came to find me. Tamra, Guiok, and others. There were also unaffiliated constellations and Historical-grade constellations who had simply come to see me.

The Historical-grade constellations from the Korean peninsula in particular left words of encouragement before departing. They seemed genuinely unhappy about me forming ties with any specific nebula.

[You are the hope of our world.]

[Please, do not bend your will.]

I understood where they were coming from. Historical-grade constellations who had spent their entire existence since ascending being pressured by the fabled-grade would naturally envy the way I acted on my own terms.

Before long, the negotiation period ended. The Incarnations rose one by one and made their way to the stage. The time had come to review the offers and decide which fable each would inherit.

"Now then, let's announce the succession results! First, Selena Kim from the United States!"

The dokkaebi at the podium had the energy of a home shopping host. Good for them. Through this banquet, the Administration Bureau would rake in yet another enormous haul of coins.

"Selena Kim has chosen to inherit the fable “Indomitable Aegis,” bestowed by Constellation 'Last Conscience'!"

Cheers flooded the stage the moment the announcement landed.

So Selena Kim had gone with Olympus after all. Indomitable Aegis was a fitting choice for her—a guardian of kings.

As the ceremony proceeded, my thoughts grew more tangled.

Choose one, and you make enemies. Choose no one, and you make even more.

"Think carefully. Does this really have to be a problem of making someone your enemy?"

Persephone's words had probably meant for me to take all of the resurrection fables. I had more than one life, and the next time I resurrected, there would be others wanting to pass their fable on to me.

Still, the problem remained. Eden and Veda would certainly not yield on "the first resurrection," and if I directly inherited their fables, I would be bound by subordination constraints to each of them. Unavoidable. The relationship between Incarnation and constellation had never been equal to begin with.

Wait. Equal...?

Yu Junghyeok rose and walked to the stage.

"The next fable heir is the Supreme King of Seoul..."

The moment he moved, the sound of the audience swallowing could be heard. The fabled-grade constellations in particular had strange looks in their eyes. Those who wanted Yu Junghyeok at any cost. And alongside them, others who looked almost afraid.

A thought struck me. And then Yu Junghyeok opened his mouth.

"I..."

Dionysus had said it. Trust no one. But that was about constellations. Right here, in this place, there was at least one person I could trust.

I ran and leaped onto the stage. I grabbed the stunned Yu Junghyeok by the wrist and raised his arm high.

"I have something to say to all of you."

I turned to face the audience. Constellations staring back in shock. I could see Uriel's face, nearly on the verge of fainting at the sight of us together. I took them all in slowly, one by one.

The reason the succession ceremony was not equal was because the inheritance of fables took the form of one-sided "patronage." A consequence of the fact that constellations and Incarnations were never equal partners.

[The constellation Naval Warfare God pays close attention to your words!]

The reason fabled-grade looked down on Historical-grade was the difference in their rank. The reason nebulae looked down on lone constellations was that they belonged to a collective.

[The nebula Veda pays close attention to your words!]

"We have decided not to inherit any of your fables."

A crushing silence fell over the audience. Stunned gaze after stunned gaze poured down on me and Yu Junghyeok, heavy with pressure. Yu Junghyeok was trembling as he glared at me.

I grinned at him, then turned to the constellations.

"We will buy your fables."

To make an unequal game equal, the first step was to stand on level ground with the other side.

"If you want to sell a fable to me and Yu Junghyeok, do business with our nebula."

Footnotes:

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