WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 460: Episode 87: The Heart of Steel (2)

──────

[The ship's hull is being stabilized. Please wait.]

The group stared blankly out the window.

A house swept away by a tornado, a new world... The others must have begun to realize where they were.

"Mister, this is it, right? 『The Wizard of Oz』."

Unexpectedly, Jihye was the first to say it.

"You know it?"

"Yeah. A friend of mine used to like a musical based on it."

Jihye's proud expression darkened in an instant. Huiwon noticed and quickly picked up the conversation.

"But isn't 『The Wizard of Oz』 a relatively recent work?"

"If I remember correctly, it was published in 1900."

"See? Sangah knows everything."

Jihye gave her a thumbs-up. Huiwon spoke again.

"But then it doesn't make sense. This world's only a little over a hundred years old... Hyeongseong told me that the Master of Steel is an older Constellation than that."

"Huiwon is right."

It was a reasonable question. Every fable made up an existence. Since the fables comprising that existence were so recent, it was only natural to wonder.

"What about 『Journey to the West』?"

"Sorry?"

"Which came first, 『Journey to the West』 or the Great Sage Equaling Heaven?"

The group wore expressions of realization.

"Then does that mean the Master of Steel existed before he was written about, too?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"What kind of answer is that?"

It was exactly what I said. Once an existence became part of a fable, its age gradually became uncertain with time. Even if a Constellation's birth originated from a source fable, the source fable itself changed as time passed.

[The ship's hull has been stabilized.]

[The entrance is opening.]

"Well, we'll find out once we get outside."

Han Suyeong was the first to hop down. An excited Jihye and the children followed her.

"Let's go, too."

The rest of the group nodded at my words and disembarked.

As I remembered it, the Scenario we would receive here in <Oz> followed the original adventure exactly. A house carried here by a tornado arrived in the otherworld of <Oz>, and it happened to crush the Wicked Witch beneath it...

"What is this!"

Then I heard Jihye's voice. She had probably found the witch under the house.

But...

"It's fake?"

Someone was trapped beneath the house. It wasn't a witch, though, but a doll shaped like one. The filthy model barely looked like a witch at all.

Suyeong picked up a broken mannequin leg.

"What's this?"

I silently stared at the leg.

「The story has unfolded differently from the original.」

The planet <Oz> that appeared in TWSA was a kind of theme park. Visitors followed the same route as the original 『The Wizard of Oz』, met the dwarf Munchkins, received a role each, and headed toward Emerald Castle.

Something was strange, though.

「The Munchkins are nowhere to be seen.」

Junghyeok muttered, "This is different from what my master told me."

I agreed. What was this scene?

There was barely any sign of life in the silver city, where a bleak wind blew.

"It's so desolate. This is supposed to be a fairytale world..."

Even though I had read all of TWSA, I didn't know much about <Oz>.

The world was introduced precisely once in the novel, during Junghyeok's 999th round. As TWSA approached its end, it skipped more and more scenes, until eventually it only said something like, "He went to Oz and acquired fable metal to strengthen his weapons."

「"It's a sad place. It would have been nice if happier transmissions had taken root here."」

I still clearly remembered what Hyeongseong from the 999th round had said. Here, Hyeongseong awakened his power and inherited the strength and will of the Master of Steel.

Yet no matter how I looked at it, this scene was completely different from the original.

Why? Was it because we had changed the original too much?

But this was <Oz>. It wasn't a planet strongly affected by the changes made by Kim Dokja Company.

"Shouldn't little fairy-like creatures be swarming us, singing and dancing as they take us away? Forget fairies, there isn't even a fly here."

Broken theme park signs lay scattered across the ground. The atmosphere felt like an amusement park that had gone out of business.

Even that seemed exciting to the children, who pressed themselves against my side and whispered, "It feels like a haunted-house attraction."

For the moment, we decided to follow the yellow marks on the road. According to the original, Emerald Castle lay at the end of this road. After walking for a while, we saw a tall green tower rising into the sky. A small city had formed around it.

「Where all journeys came to an end, we built an old castle.」

「We hope you'll visit and remember our story.」

A strangely sentimental message was written at the entrance to the city.

That was when Junghyeok spoke.

"I'll act separately from here."

"What? Why?"

"There is an outstanding blacksmith among the dwarves here."

A sentence came to mind.

「The oldest magic resides within the metals of Oz.」

<Oz> was the origin of metals containing the oldest fables in the Star Stream. Junghyeok's weapons in the original were strengthened with steel from this place. The strongest blade, reborn as a constellation artifact by combining the metals of <Oz> with Junghyeok's fables. That was the constellation artifact Splitting the Sky Sword used by Junghyeok in the latter half of the story.

Of course, that was in the original. This time, the one being strengthened would probably be the Black Heaven Demon Blade.

"Oz steel is the hardest in the Star Stream. Securing weapons comes first."

After declaring that, Junghyeok left without even asking permission. The others looked at me as if asking whether it was all right to let him go, but I only shrugged.

There was more than one reason we had come to <Oz>, so we needed to split up. We didn't need the whole group just to save Hyeongseong.

I turned to Jihye, whose eyes were sparkling beside me.

"You go with him, too. We need to upgrade the battleship."

"Yes!"

Jihye hurried after him, practically skipping.

I looked at Sangah.

"Could you secretly follow them, Sangah? I'm worried about sending just those two. And the children... There'll probably be plenty for them to see."

"Let's go! Hurry!"

The children, each holding one of Sangah's hands, disappeared toward the shopping district.

The group had been so noisy, and now that they had scattered, I felt a little empty.

Only Huiwon, Suyeong, and I remained.

Suyeong muttered, "Dorothy, the brainy Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion are left."

There were four main members in 『The Wizard of Oz』. Dorothy, the protagonist, the Tin Woodman, the brainy Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion.

I asked, "Since you specifically said 'brainy Scarecrow,' that must be you."

"Correct."

"I won't bother asking about the rest."

"You're the Cowardly Lion."

"Thanks."

We joked around as we entered the city.

If this place were still a theme park, it might actually have been fun to make a group like that.

Huiwon shook her head at us and strode ahead.

A few groups of monkeys hid throughout the city, glancing at us.

They didn't seem welcoming. A world without a welcome or even a greeting. It felt more suited to a horror novel than a fairytale.

Before long, we arrived before the Emerald Tower.

Suyeong said, "It looks like a mage tower."

"It is a tower where a wizard lives."

Assuming one still lived there.

We went to the tower entrance and knocked. A stiff male voice answered.

―State your business.

"We've come to see the Master of Steel."

There was no answer.

The door remained firmly shut.

It seemed I had said the wrong thing. I recalled TWSA. What had he said in the 999th round?

While I thought, Huiwon drew her sword.

"Give Hyeongseong's soul back before I split this tower apart."

The Status of an Archangel surged from her whole body. Intense flames of [hellfire inferno] blazed across her steel sword, and the door opened hesitantly.

[Emerald Castle welcomes you.]

I wondered if this was really all right, but we didn't have time, so it worked out well enough.

Suyeong seized the chance and muttered as if impressed, "As expected of Dorothy."

"Shut up. I didn't come here to play around."

Suyeong sidled up to me and whispered through Midday Tryst.

―That's terrifying. Is that the power of love?

Huiwon moved forward, swinging her steel sword through the air. She had always been someone brimming with innate fighting spirit, but seeing her like this, her presence was truly overwhelming.

―I guess so.

The inside of the tower was plain. There were no notable decorations, only the things it needed. It reminded me of Hyeongseong's military backpack.

After walking for about five more minutes, we came across a room that looked like an audience chamber. We opened the door and went inside. Soft lights came on, and a large silver mask rose in the center of the chamber. Empty eyes stared at us.

[Is this Kim Dokja Company?]

A constellation's declaration, hard as steel, echoed throughout the audience chamber.

I knew at once. That was Hyeongseong's Patron, the fabled-grade Constellation Master of Steel. It was likely a symbolic form.

"That's right. It's a pleasure to meet you."

[So you are the Demon King of Salvation.]

I nodded. The silver mask stared at me with an annoyed gaze.

[What is the purpose of your visit?]

Straight to the point. That was good.

"Please return Lee Hyeongseong's soul. I know you hold ownership of it."

[That is impossible.]

"Why?"

[His soul is necessary to sustain this planet.]

That was unexpected. When I looked back, Huiwon was glaring at me. I quickly added, "I know Patron contracts work like that, but Hyeongseong is our Companion. I thought you liked our story, too."

[...]

"And doesn't <Oz> already have enough Great Fables? There shouldn't be any reason to use Hyeongseong's soul as fuel."

『The Wizard of Oz』 was a fable famous enough to be known even on Earth. Its popularity may have faded somewhat these days, but it had once become a worldwide sensation. If it had been that popular on Earth, how much more so in the Star Stream? There was no way it lacked fuel.

Even so, the Master of Steel remained stubborn.

[Go back. I cannot return the soul.]

Footnotes:

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