WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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Chapter 136: Rita

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After all the commotion had settled, Elbridge's group returned to the cabin.

Sonia sat down at the table.

"I never thought the Goddess of Thornbush... no, I should call her Ms. Rita now. Anyway, I didn't expect Ms. Rita to make that choice."

"Why not?"

"Choosing between Jin and Bella is hard, isn't it?"

To get straight to the point, Rita chose her father, Jin.

What surprised Sonia wasn't that Rita had chosen Jin over Bella. It was the fact that she had made a choice at all.

"I thought Ms. Rita would leave the decision to the elves and muddle through somehow."

Rombel snickered.

"No. She couldn't do that. Rita had to choose one of them."

"Why?"

"Because the elves' votes would be split between the two."

Resting his chin on his hand, Rombel continued.

"If Thornbush's church had a lot of seats to begin with, it wouldn't be a huge problem. But even if you gathered every elf's vote, it would only add up to one seat. If the votes were split, both Jin and Bella could miss out on a seat. To maintain the status quo, they need to concentrate the votes on one side."

"Hmm. That makes sense."

"Honestly, even with Rita's decision, maintaining the status quo won't be easy. Not every elf lives in Thornbush Forest, so they'll have to send elves to the other forests and spread the news before the by-election begins. There isn't much time, so they'll need to hurry."

"There's a lot to consider."

"It can't be helped. If they leave it alone, assuming things will work out, they're bound to ruin everything."

Sonia stretched and spoke as if to herself.

"Ugh. The ways of the world are strange. If the elves had only had two high-quality Elixirs, Ms. Rita wouldn't have lost her divine throne..."

That reminded Elbridge of something he had forgotten.

"Marcus. Don't you have the Elixir we received from Chief Tibo before?"

"I do."

Marcus took the Elixir from inside his clothes and placed it on the table.

It seemed he had always carried it in case of an emergency.

'Did Marcus forget about the Elixir too?'

No. Marcus had the expression of someone who possessed an Elixir but had deliberately chosen not to bring it out.

As if he had read Elbridge's mind, Marcus spoke first.

"I learned something while working as a Mercenary. When two people are dying and you let them both die, nothing much comes of it. But if you strain yourself to save only one, people curse you for it."

Sonia asked, "What do you mean?"

"If you save only one, the survivor tries to push their guilt onto someone else. They say things like, 'You should've saved them instead of me!'"

"That depends on the person."

"No, anyone would have to say that. Otherwise, the people around them quietly point fingers. 'That person died because this one lived. If that one had lived instead...' There are always bastards who say things like that."

Elbridge and Rombel nodded.

They had both heard similar remarks several times.

"Survivors instinctively know someone will point fingers at them. They raise hell beforehand because they don't want to hear that. They have to make it clear that they didn't want to be the only one who survived, so people won't point fingers at them. Or at least, so fewer people will."

"No way..."

Sonia muttered softly. Still, despite saying so, Sonia seemed to agree with Rombel to some extent.

Marcus put the Elixir away and said to Elbridge, "And honestly, I thought it was a waste to use the Elixir. I received teachings from them for a few days, but we're not close enough for me to hand over an Elixir without hesitation. If it were easy to get, that'd be different, but an Elixir is hard to obtain even if you have money. And even if Jin and Bella died, it wouldn't be my fault..."

Elbridge remembered the two gold coins Marcus had once pressed into his hand.

From everything he had seen so far, Marcus was a kind and easygoing person.

There were two kinds of kind people. Those who believed the world was full of goodness because they knew nothing of it, and those who quietly held onto their kindness even though they knew the world wasn't beautiful.

Marcus was clearly the latter. After living as a Mercenary and seeing all kinds of people, there was no way Marcus could be ignorant of the world.

As the conversation died down, everyone sank into their own thoughts.

Elbridge recalled the sight he had seen in today's battle.

'Jin's arrow.'

The pure white arrow Jin had fired into the sky.

It had gone beyond ordinary archery. In Elbridge's eyes, the white light covering the arrow had been the distinctive glow of divinity.

Just as Knights used mana to strengthen their bodies, Paladins used divinity to strengthen theirs. That was the conventional use of divinity, and until now, the only known use.

This was the first time Elbridge had seen someone attack by infusing divinity into a Weapon like Jin had.

Its power had been remarkable.

Starwave was not an especially tough demon, but its enormous body and thick hide meant piercing that hide was no simple task.

Yet the arrow Jin fired had pierced through Starwave as though it were only natural.

'How did he do it?'

Elbridge felt a strange impatience and a desire to improve.

If he could use divinity that way, it might change the outcome of the battles to come.

"Goddess."

Elbridge prayed to the Goddess of the Rusted Shield, intending to ask about the method.

But she gave no answer.

* * *

Some time later, as the group was finishing dinner, someone knocked on the door.

Thud, thud.

When Elbridge opened it, he found an elf with shining silver hair.

"Lady Rita. What brings you here?"

"Because I promised something."

Rita answered in a somewhat haughty tone.

It didn't feel strange. Until this morning, she had been a goddess in heaven. Perhaps beings on earth still seemed like inferiors to her.

"If you mean the promise... are you referring to the elves' full support? Or the secretary position for the Goddess?"

Rita shook her head.

"The elves' full support will be given. But the secretary position is impossible. Mother isn't the chair of the standing committee. She probably won't become chair even as time passes. Mother isn't very skilled at that sort of thing. Father might have been different..."

Elbridge was a little flustered.

"...Is it all right for you to say that? Bella might be listening."

"No. She won't be able to hear. The welcoming party in heaven should be in full swing by now."

"A welcoming party?"

"When a newly Ascended god appears, they hold a welcoming party. It's more important than you might think. It's a social gathering, but it's also where they decide on divine names."

Only then did Elbridge understand why the Goddess of the Rusted Shield had not answered his earlier prayer.

Most likely, she too had attended the welcoming party.

"Anyway, since I can't give you the secretary position, I should repay you in some other way. I thought of something while wondering what I could do."

"What is it?"

"Selene made you a promise on the way here, didn't she? She said Mother and Father would tell you how to deal with the Master of the Central Magic Tower."

That was why Elbridge's group had left Norens City and come all the way to Thornbush Forest.

They had come because the Sentinels were supposed to tell them how to deal with the Master of the Central Magic Tower.

There were two expected obstacles in facing the Master of the Central Magic Tower.

The Master of the Central Magic Tower's own abilities, and the city of Middlemarch.

The second was the more daunting of the two.

A city where mages were favored, Middlemarch was a vast fortress created by the Master of the Central Magic Tower.

Unless the Master of the Central Magic Tower left Middlemarch, Elbridge's group couldn't confront them.

Rita said, "I don't know the extent of the Master of the Central Magic Tower's abilities either. But I do know a way to lure the Master of the Central Magic Tower out of Middlemarch."

"What is it?"

"Based on information Pre-Sentinel Selene uncovered, and on your earlier conversation with Selene, it is almost certain that the Master of the Central Magic Tower is releasing demons from their seals."

"That's correct."

"Looking at it another way, that means there's a high chance the Master of the Central Magic Tower will appear in an area where demons have not been released from their seals."

"Ah?"

Elbridge was startled. Rita's solution was simpler and more reasonable than he had expected.

Still, he quickly understood why he had not reached that conclusion himself.

They lacked information.

"Are there areas where demons have not been released?"

"The gods of the non-combat churches whose influence is concentrated in the west. Their expressions were relatively relaxed."

Rita spoke as if she were speculating. Yet she would not have come here merely to offer a guess.

This was practically a certainty.

"...I understand."

"Yes. I'm sorry I can't offer more help."

"You've already been a tremendous help."

Just as Rita finished speaking and turned to leave, Marcus asked, "Uh, Miss Rita? Ms. Rita?"

"...Call me Lady Rita."

"Ahem, understood. Lady Rita, may I ask something as well?"

"If it's something I can answer."

"It looks like you're interested in what the Master of the Central Magic Tower is doing. Why do you think the Master of the Central Magic Tower is releasing demons into the world?"

It was a question Elbridge's group had held for a long time.

People acted because there was something to gain. Yet as far as Elbridge's group could tell, releasing demons gave the Master of the Central Magic Tower no benefit. If anything, it only brought enormous risks.

But neither the Goddess of the Rusted Shield nor the God of Fox Rain had been able to understand the Master of the Central Magic Tower's intentions.

Rita replied, "It's not as though I have no idea. But it's only an uncertain guess, and not information I can reveal easily. The Chief God has forbidden us from freely disclosing information about heaven to the lower realm."

"Anything is fine. Even a little."

Rita frowned slightly as she thought, then answered.

"If you already know enough, I can offer a small hint. Tell me everything you know about heaven."

Elbridge's group listed everything that came to mind.

The Heavenly Council, Ascension, those who gave up becoming gods and descended to earth, the limits on divine power, the process by which gods turned into demons, and stories from the distant past before the council system existed.

Interest flickered in Rita's eyes.

"You know more than I expected. Of course, all of it is broad information, but that also makes it important. That's enough for me to give you a simple hint."

After thinking for a while, Rita said, "Do you know why an Archdemon is called an Archdemon?"

Rombel answered immediately.

"Because they're the strongest among demons?"

"They are the strongest, of course, but that's not why they came to be called Archdemons."

"Then why are they called Archdemons?"

Rita answered with a faint smile.

It meant the information was something she could not reveal.

"I don't know what the Master of the Central Magic Tower desires. But I can guess what the Master of the Central Magic Tower is trying to do."

"Then tell us quickly."

Rombel's impatience finally irritated Rita.

"I said I can't tell you directly. Are you a dwarf who can't understand what I'm saying?"

But Rombel did not back down.

Rombel was intimidated by the gods in heaven, but he believed that once they descended to earth, they were all the same.

"What's the point if you just keep circling around it, acting like you're going to tell us but never actually saying it?"

Rita felt something hot rise in her chest.

The truth was, she could not look kindly on Rombel. When it came down to it, hadn't she descended to earth because of Rombel's sudden actions?

"No, you rude little..."

Rita was about to give him a piece of her mind, but she let out a sigh.

"No, forget it. It's true that I can't explain it clearly. I don't want to fight with a wet-behind-the-ears brat either... If you learn how the council system was introduced in heaven, and why Archdemons came to be called Archdemons, you'll understand what the Master of the Central Magic Tower is trying to do."

"I understand. Thank you."

Elbridge thanked her on behalf of the group.

He could tell Rita was trying to give them as much information as she could.

Rombel was different.

"...Making such a big deal out of it."

For the first time in three thousand years, Rita swung her fist.

Footnotes:

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