WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 108: Cause and Effect

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[You hear things well? What does that mean?]

‘I was born with a strong spiritual sense.’

Kyle had possessed a strong spiritual sense even before gaining the Chaos Spirit Root. If he focused on it even slightly, he could hear the voices of all kinds of Spirits and communicate with the Dokkaebi dwelling in old objects that had been cherished for a long time.

‘I have been keeping my spiritual sense active since speaking with all of you earlier, but I have not heard anything unusual in the Imperial Palace. Still, if I visit the roots of the Spirit Tree, I might hear something.’

It was possible that the holy arts spread through the Imperial Palace prevented even Spirits from existing there, but the roots of the Spirit Tree guarded by Izelion would not have such a thing.

Of course, they could only know after going there themselves. Soha hesitated for a moment at Kyle's suggestion, then glanced at Muheok.

He had expected them to agree without hesitation, but the father and daughter's reactions were strange. Muheok, like Soha, hesitated and could not answer at once. He thumped his chest as if frustrated, then drained his cup.

“Drinking without anything to eat has left my stomach empty. We should have prepared some food.”

After saying something aloud to avoid arousing suspicion of eavesdropping, Muheok answered in his mind.

[In truth, I would dearly like to invite you to Izelion and bring you before the roots of the Spirit Tree, Sir Kyle... but I cannot agree immediately. I must discuss it with the Elders of the family.]

‘You were ready to carry out the Emperor's assassination at once, yet inviting me to your family requires discussion with the Elders?’

Kyle had been drinking, and the answer had been so absurd that he asked a question that might have sounded rude.

He was not actually drunk at all, but Muheok's answer had been too ridiculous not to question.

[The Emperor's assassination has already been discussed with the Elders.]

Muheok let out a long sigh. He seemed frustrated by the position that forced him to answer this way.

[For our family, the safety of the roots is a matter that demands greater caution than assassinating the Emperor. Of course, I trust that Sir Kyle would never harm the roots... Please understand.]

[The roots are tied to the fate of everyone who bears the name Izelion.]

Soha took over. She continued while cautiously watching Muheok's reaction.

[That is why our family uses Izelion rather than Mok as our surname. More precisely, it is not a surname we chose, but little more than a binding imposed by the main house. In any case, if the roots completely rot away or are severed... everyone bearing the Izelion name will die.]

‘Are you serious?’

[Of course I am. That is why we resolved to assassinate the Emperor.]

Soha, like Muheok, let out a deep sigh.

[That is why the Elders will fiercely oppose allowing an outsider anywhere near the roots. But... if little brother truly can hear the roots' “voice,” we should persuade them.]

‘My goal is to cross the Wall of Severance.’

Julius flinched and looked at Kyle. Kyle filled Julius's cup before speaking aloud.

“I like drinking with Grandfather.”

‘Crossing the Wall of Severance is not my own intention, though. It is a request from the Fragment.’

[The Dokkaebi of the Sword Tower made such a request?]

‘Yes. Muheok-nim, what connection is there between assassinating the Emperor and crossing the Wall of Severance?’

[I believe everything has cause and effect.]

Muheok answered.

[Four hundred years ago, the roots of the eastern Spirit Tree stretched beyond the Wisdom Mountain Range. Do you know what happened across the continent at that time?]

‘I do not.’

[Humans gained an organ called the Spirit Root.]

Ah.

Kyle let out a quiet sound and nodded. All humans had gained a Spirit Root three hundred years ago, but according to historical records, the first human Spirit Root had appeared four hundred years ago. Spirit Roots had originally awakened only rarely, then a hundred years later, they awakened in every human.

[It happened around ten years after Alastor's Founding Ancestor, the Sword Saint Ruin Alastor, underwent Ascension.]

Ruin had lived for several more decades after ending the Dark Age. He underwent Ascension atop the Sword Tower at the age of one hundred and ten, and the Dragon King Velatus crossed east after Ruin's Ascension.

Ten years later, the organ called the Spirit Root first appeared in the world, and the eastern Spirit Tree's roots stretched beyond the Wisdom Mountain Range.

[By the time every human had gained a Spirit Root, the Wall of Severance rose and made it impossible to cross into the east. Even then, our family could communicate with the east through the roots. But... once the roots began to rot, it became completely impossible to communicate with the east.]

‘Do you think that if you kill the Emperor and restore the roots, you will be able to communicate with the east and cross the Wall of Severance?’

[That is what I believe. Until now, the main house did not permit us to open a “door” in the Wall of Severance.]

A door.

Kyle turned his cup in his fingers as he thought. In the end, everything Muheok had said was only speculation. Still, Kyle could not help believing, as Muheok did, that all things had cause and effect.

Ruin Alastor. It seemed there were other Ascendants besides him, but Ruin Alastor alone was said to be a complete Ascendant. When he ascended, he rewrote the laws of the human race, and the world changed greatly because of it.

‘All right. Return to Izelion and speak with the Elders. If they refuse to grant permission in the end, I will infiltrate the roots myself.’

“Cough!”

Muheok, drinking with a frustrated expression, choked on his liquor. Soha burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.

“Ahaha! Ahahahaha! Ah, Father! Drink slowly. There is, there is still plenty of liquor.”

“I... I need food. Something to eat...”

“Is there anything we can eat?”

Kyle raised his voice. Soon after, someone knocked on the reception room door. When they allowed them in, servants from the detached palace stood there holding plates of fruit.

“Everyone has sharp ears.”

Kyle accepted a plate filled with all kinds of fruit and set it on the table.

[You... you said you would infiltrate?]

‘What other choice is there? If the fate of your whole clan is at stake, we should do everything we can. As my grandfather said earlier...’

[Alastor will do everything in its power to ensure Izelion does not perish.]

Julius answered with a faint smile.

[For me, dealing with Izelion's old men would be far easier than facing the Imperial Palace's guards, knights, and every imperial soldier. Do you not think so as well?]

[I will... return to the family and try to persuade the Elders first.]

Muheok answered hesitantly.

‘Is there no way to shake hands with the Emperor?’

Kyle asked as he popped a grape into his mouth.

‘In my experience, this Out-of-Place Artifact of Direct Sight activates when I take someone's hand. If I can shake hands with the Emperor, I may learn the secret that old man is hiding.’

[I cannot even touch the Emperor's body.]

Julius answered.

[Besides, making direct contact with him carries great risk. The holy arts are, in the end, the authority of sky god, just like your Out-of-Place Artifact. If your intention is discovered, the hidden force may go into hiding.]

‘Your position is that we should investigate the Moon Church. How do you intend to do that, Grandfather?’

[I intend to join the Moon Church myself.]

Julius spoke as he sipped his liquor. Everyone stared at him in surprise.

[For a long time, the Moon Church has wanted Alastor among its followers. If I show interest, they will welcome me with open arms.]

‘How will you investigate them after joining?’

[I intend to ask the Moon Church for “youth,” along with Lavian's recovery.]

During his audience with the Emperor this time, Julius had learned that the Emperor's body had not grown old and still retained its youth. That youth was said to come from the Moon Church's holy arts, so if Julius's request were accepted, it might lead them to the Emperor's secret.

[Of course, it will not be as simple as it sounds. If the hidden force wants the Empire divided, they will be wary of me and Alastor.]

Kyle could only stare at Julius for a moment. The Moon Church was the state religion of the Grandica Empire, which had endured for a thousand years, and the largest religion on the continent.

Julius joining the Moon Church himself could put Julius in danger. If the hidden force truly sought to divide the Empire, and intended to sow those seeds of division by twisting the Imperial Palace and Alastor against each other, then those unknown people were confident they could handle the resulting division.

‘What happens if they learn what Grandfather intends and try to eliminate you?’

[If they make such a move, Alastor's task becomes simpler.]

Julius answered.

[It means wicked people have made the Emperor their puppet, and we need only cut down that wickedness. Kyle. What I wish to prevent first is the Empire splitting apart and the Dark Age returning... But if the Dark Age returns no matter what, Alastor must reclaim the light once again, just as the Founding Ancestor did.]

Julius's voice was calm. He was volunteering to join the Moon Church himself and act as bait to draw out the hidden force, and he believed that if it placed him in danger, the situation would become simpler.

[If I can, I will cut down the one who devised this conspiracy and prevent the Empire's division. If I fail and the Empire divides, Alastor will bind the Empire back together.]

Julius filled Kyle's cup, his eyes shining. The gaze he turned on his grandson held warm trust.

[I will do the best I can. So you need only do the best you can. Remember those words.]

‘Yes, I understand.’

Kyle nodded slowly. None of this could be resolved in the short term. If there was something within the Moon Church, it would take time for Julius to reach it.

Until then, Kyle's task was to wait for Izelion's answer. He did not intend to wait long, and if they did not give him the answer he wanted, he would infiltrate Izelion and inspect the Spirit Tree's roots himself.

“Come to think of it, an executive from the Crows said a number of things to me earlier.”

Kyle spoke aloud. His conversation with Lentz had been held aloud anyway.

“Lentz Adigan. He said he was the Armaments Bureau Director of the Central Branch.”

“I know the Central Branch well. They send gifts several times a year, always with some excuse.”

Julius answered with a faint smile.

“Did he ask you to sell Fenris?”

“If I said I would sell it, would you allow it?”

“You say mad things. If you were ever to sell Fenris, even by some impossible chance, you would immediately be removed from Alastor's family register, have all four limbs cut off, and be thrown into Gladiheim's prison.”

“I'm glad I didn't sell it. I don't understand why the Crows want Fenris so badly. What do you think, Grandfather?”

“They always ask to buy Fenris while going on about the founder's will, but I do not understand it either. It would be more reasonable to assume they have another reason.”

“The Crows wanted to commission me for something. Do you think it is a trap?”

“If it is a trap, is it not too obvious?”

Kyle thought so too. Even if Crow Company was the continent's largest private military company, it could not act so recklessly as to kill an Alastor direct descendant and take Fenris through such an obvious trap.

[Do the Crows not profit from war? If the Empire splits apart and the Dark Age returns, that would be the world the Crows want.]

Soha cautiously offered her opinion, but Julius shook his head.

[The Empire's division and a Dark Age across the continent are not what Duke Oun wants. He is devoting all his strength to developing the dark frontier.]

[But if war breaks out across the continent, the Crows would profit greatly.]

[No. The Crows' main force is tied down on the western dark frontier. Duke Oun himself and the entire family of the company's head are there as well. The conquest and development of the west is an investment the Crows have spent decades on. What do you think would happen if the Empire divided and the center was shaken?]

Soha could only turn her cup in her hands without answering.

[The supply of resources and manpower sustaining their western main force would be cut off. Everything the Crows have poured into it over decades would come to nothing.]

Julius filled Soha's empty cup.

[Think about the nature of the Crows as a company. They broker mercenaries, supply weapons, and rent out private troops. All of that requires war, and customers who can pay for it.]

“Have some fruit as well.”

Julius pushed the fruit plate toward Soha.

[If the Dark Age returns, every kingdom and family will be too busy ensuring its own survival. They will lose the means to fulfill contracts, and every source of the Crows' income will dry up. Five hundred years ago, the Crows sold the Empire their fangs and claws for almost nothing for the sake of the future. But this is no longer an age where they need to go that far.]

[Does that mean... the Crows only want war at an appropriate scale?]

[That is right.]

Julius nodded.

[Cyrus Rubalt, the founder of Crow Company, was a man who prepared for the next era. He was not someone who created chaos, but someone who prepared for it. The Crows' way is to climb atop the existing order and spread their wings. If the order itself collapses, there is nothing left to stand on.]

Kyle smiled inwardly. Julius was right. Cyrus had acquired business rights through the chaos, but he had not created that chaos himself. Rather, he had contributed to postwar recovery by arranging troops for the Empire.

Of course, Duke Oun, the current head, might have a business vision different from Cyrus's. Still, planning a war across the entire continent while devoting the company's full strength to developing the dark frontier for decades would be too great a gamble. Five hundred years ago, the Crows had not yet become a company, but now they possessed too much to devise such a conspiracy.

[Of course, I cannot say with certainty that no one within the Crows has other intentions. But Duke Oun is not that sort of person.]

‘I will still keep open the possibility Soha-noona mentioned. The Crows may be planning a limited degree of division and seeking profit between the Empire and Alastor.’

Kyle put another grape into his mouth.

‘I am also personally curious about the job the Crows want to ask of me. They said they need Baal's power of annihilation.’

[Whether you accept the job is your decision, but remember one thing.]

Julius looked directly into Kyle's eyes.

[The Crows are people who make their living selling war. They approached you with kind smiles because you are a good product. The name Black Sword Kyle Alastor, Baal's annihilation, and Fenris. Those are all things worth setting the Crows' minds turning.]

‘I understand what you mean.’

[Do not become a product. It is fine to make use of merchants, but do not let merchants make use of you.]

Just as he was not the Empire's sword but a swordsman, the same applied to dealing with the Crows. Kyle set down his empty cup and smiled.

“This liquor is good.”

“Does Izelion's liquor suit your taste?”

“Yes. I would like to try drinking other liquors with Grandfather in the future as well.”

“If it's behind Arian's back, I'll drink with you as much as you like.”

Julius let out a dry laugh. Muheok sat with a blank expression, turning over their conversation as he raised his cup.

Night deepened. On the surface, the drinking gathering in the Imperial Palace's detached palace was a warm occasion strengthening the friendship between two families. Underneath it, they had discussed the Emperor's secret, the decline of the Spirit Tree's roots, the identity of the hidden force behind the conspiracy, and the danger of the Dark Age returning.

Kyle scooped out the liquor remaining in the jar and glanced out the detached palace window. The moon hung in the Imperial Palace's night sky.

‘The Moon Church. A religion that worships the moon.’

Kyle looked at the moon and thought. By day, the Emperor shone over the Empire like the sun. By night, the moon shone over the Empire.

‘Has the sun swallowed even the night? Or is the sun the moon's puppet...’

Either way, the answer was still far away.

The liquor jar was emptied cleanly. Julius rose from his seat first.

“Let us return for today. I enjoyed the fine liquor.”

“Yes... Let us share good liquor again next time.”

Muheok rose with a bitter smile. He and Soha came out to the entrance of the detached palace to see Kyle and Julius off.

“See you again, little brother.”

Soha smiled softly and held out her hand to Kyle. Kyle grinned and took her hand. The lingering mark on his palm stung.

“Yes, I will see you again.”

He released her hand with those parting words.

The archer's calluses on Soha's fingers brushed Kyle's palm one last time.

Footnotes:

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