WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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Chapter 132: Do You Like Me?

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As the darkness cleared, Kyle and Helenas returned to the entrance of the forest.

Kyle first watched Helenas's expression. He had been the one to agree to the "conversation."

He had never expected things to turn out like this, but that unpleasant "conversation" had angered Helenas. Clearing his throat, Kyle cautiously took hold of her wrist.

"Are you all right?"

"Are you worried about me?"

Helenas turned her head as she asked. Kyle immediately shook his head.

"I'm not asking whether the Sword Church Master was hurt. I'm asking whether you're all right emotionally."

"The unpleasant feeling is still there."

Helenas spoke quietly and shifted her gaze. The messenger who had summoned Galea lay facedown at the entrance to the forest.

They approached together and nudged the robe. With a soft crumble, the body collapsed into black ash. Earlier, though its face had been hidden, it had at least felt like a living human. Now it looked as though every trace of vitality had been drained away, leaving it shriveled beyond recognition and reduced to ash.

'The backlash of that power?'

The messenger had possessed only a single ring. It had contained the power of a demon, an Ascendant, but it too was ordinary now that Kyle examined it.

It seemed everything had been a one-time use setup for that "conversation."

'Even if it was one-time use, it's remarkable that she could pull off something like this.'

Galea had put in far too much effort just to have a conversation. Even considering that, what had just happened was strange and impressive. Kyle thought of the darkness Galea had poured forth, the fall that seemed to go on forever, and the black armor that had emerged from that "world," then looked back at Helenas.

"She isn't dead, is she?"

"That woman's true body wasn't here."

Helenas answered.

"The beings following her were the same. I cut them deeply, but I couldn't kill them. They must be injured, though."

"Are you disappointed you couldn't kill them?"

"Disappointed..."

Helenas considered the question for a moment, then tilted her head.

"I don't know. I don't understand the emotion called killing intent very well. But it is true that I swung my sword because I was displeased."

"You've learned to put desire into your sword."

Kyle smiled without meaning to. It was not a positive emotion, but Helenas, who had always swung her sword without emotion, could now put feeling into it.

"What did that woman say to you?"

"She mistook me for Ruin Alastor's reincarnation."

"Why would she make such a mistake?"

"I'm not exactly ordinary."

Even so, Galea's misunderstanding involved far too many leaps. This was their first meeting, yet she had been certain from the beginning that Kyle was Ruin's reincarnation.

"It doesn't seem like a simple delusion. She must have had her own reasons for being so certain..."

Kyle muttered as he ran his fingers over the ring, which no longer held any power.

'Galea is a dark mage herself, and she's also in league with the dark mages hidden away on the Avara Plateau. That talk about conquering the continent and claiming hegemony can't be Galea's desire alone.'

There was someone working with Galea.

'Or someone who encouraged her.'

Dark mages? A returned Ascendant? Dark magic borrowed power from the outer gods. Perhaps the outer god that had whispered for Kyle to come closer from within the Black Cube had encouraged Galea.

'Duke Oun wants me to come to the Dark Front, and his daughter keeps telling me to come south.'

Kyle narrowed his eyes and clenched the ring in his hand. It crumbled in his palm and fell to the ground. He had no intention of playing along with Galea's arrogant ravings and delusions, but he had no intention of ignoring them either.

'I need to look into it properly before deciding.'

The continent's current situation was far from normal. They still knew little about the imperial family and the Moon Church, so even Alastor could not simply draw its sword against the south without thought.

"Let's finish eating."

Kyle led Helenas by the hand, which he was still holding. Galea's sudden arrival had interrupted their meal.

The campfire was still burning before the carriage they returned to. Kyle placed the cold meat over the flames and sat down with Helenas.

Irritation, displeasure, anger. The warmth flowing from the hand Kyle held was enough to soothe the unfamiliar emotions Helenas was feeling.

* * *

Night deepened.

Helenas said that she normally found no pleasure in eating, so aside from rare occasions, she barely ate at all.

Did that mean she did not sleep either?

"You do sleep, right?"

Kyle asked Helenas just in case. Still fiddling with Kyle's hand in hers, Helenas had been staring at the campfire. She parted her lips.

"Sometimes."

"Sometimes? What do you usually do when you don't sleep?"

"Meditate."

Helenas's face, faintly colored orange by the flickering firelight, turned toward Kyle. Her skin was usually pale enough to seem bloodless, but under the firelight, she looked healthier.

"I close my eyes and think about swords."

"What kind of sword?"

"The sword I swung today. I swing my sword every day."

"So are you going to meditate tonight too?"

"What about you?"

Helenas stared at Kyle as she asked.

"Are you going to sleep?"

"I am."

"You slept for two whole days."

"That wasn't sleeping. I was unconscious."

Kyle grumbled and shook his head.

"You might not be tired after today, but I am. I used too much mental force, so my head feels heavy. I'm going to sleep."

"Then I'll sleep too."

"You sleep in the carriage. I'll sleep out here."

"Why should we do that?"

Just as expected, Helenas asked that question. Kyle let out a deep sigh.

"Fine. Then let's sleep together in the carriage. No complaints, right?"

"Hold my hand while we sleep."

"What?"

"I said, hold my hand while we sleep."

Helenas whispered. Her grip tightened around his hand. Her stubbornness was clear. No matter what he said, she had no intention of letting go. Kyle hesitated for a moment before answering with a sigh.

"We're only holding hands while we sleep."

"Okay."

"We aren't doing anything else."

"Anything else? Like what?"

Helenas tilted her head. Her question left Kyle's mind blank, as if someone had punched him in the jaw. What was he even supposed to say?

"Uh... like touching each other's bodies for no reason?"

"Do you usually sleep while touching people?"

"No, not at all. I just close my eyes, lie down, and sleep. Without doing anything. I might toss and turn sometimes, though."

Clearing his throat, Kyle rose with Helenas.

"Where are you going?"

"We should brush our teeth and wash our faces before bed."

Earlier, Helenas had dragged him off to the lake before he could bring any supplies. This time, he took his washing things with him before heading to the lake.

Fortunately, Helenas did not insist on brushing his teeth and washing his face for him as well.

After washing up, they returned to the carriage together and got ready for bed. The floor of the carriage was wide enough for two people to lie down comfortably, and once they spread out the blankets, it was reasonably comfortable.

"Good night."

Without letting go of their tightly clasped hands, Kyle lay down on the floor. His heart was not pounding or anything. He just felt a little awkward and embarrassed.

[Shouldn't you call her sister-in-law?]

Kyle's heart was perfectly fine, but Jor, coiled inside him, wriggled about as if she found this fascinating.

'Shut up, Jor.'

Kyle tapped his chest and closed his eyes.

"..."

He tried to sleep, but he could not. The gaze he felt from beside him was too intense. With a deep sigh, Kyle looked to the side. Rather than lying on her back and looking at the ceiling, Helenas had fully turned onto her side and was staring at him.

"Lie down properly and sleep."

"I can't sleep."

"Why...?"

"I think it's because you're beside me."

Helenas murmured, tilting her head. Thump, thump, thump. It felt as though Jor was dancing inside his chest, and his heart began beating faster than usual.

"My chest feels restless."

"Really? Mine is quiet. No, I guess my Spirit is making a bit of noise."

"Not yours."

Helenas's face drew a little closer. Inside the pitch-black carriage, her faded blue eyes seemed to shine strangely brightly. Kyle swallowed without realizing it.

"My chest feels restless."

Thump, thump, thump.

It was true. When he listened closely, he could hear Helenas's heart racing. It was louder and faster than the noise Jor was making in Kyle's chest. It was the actual sound of a heart beating.

"Do you like me?"

"Why are you asking something so obvious? Is there any reason for me to dislike you?"

"Right. There isn't. Of course you like me, but that's not what I'm asking. I don't mean liking someone without disliking them."

Kyle forced his racing heart to settle. Wearing a bitter smile, he asked:

"Do you love me?"

"Love?"

"Even if you're an elf, you know what that emotion is."

"I do. But..."

Helenas hesitated, trailing off. She knew what that word and emotion meant, but she did not understand it. That was the nature of elves.

An elf had only one child in their lifetime and took a mate in order to have that child. Elves were a race that lived far longer than humans. If elves had several partners or bore several children like humans and other races, the world would be full of elves hundreds of years old.

"The love I know is only familial love."

They took a mate to have a child, then became a family by having that child. A husband loved his wife, a wife loved her husband, parents loved their child, and a child loved their parents. For elves, the emotion called love was created at that moment.

'Elves live for eternity, but they cannot choose how they live.'

Elves devoted their entire lives to the fate that had captured them. The Angel's whispered words were not only about the fate of elves. That race, which lived for eternity, had its way of life determined by instinct.

"Is the emotion I'm feeling now love?"

Helenas asked hesitantly.

"I don't know."

Kyle maintained his bitter smile and squeezed Helenas's hand.

"I'm not you, so I don't know exactly what you're feeling."

"If the emotion making my heart pound is love, then you have to become family with me."

"Family?"

"It means you have to have a child with me."

That answer made Kyle's mind go blank again, as though he had been punched in the jaw.

"No... I'm fifteen."

"Only your body is that age."

"In this case, my body's age matters too. If I... uh, became family with you and had a child, my family would lose their minds."

Arian had brought Aslan home and declared that she would marry him before receiving permission from the family, but Arian had been over twenty at the time.

"I'm stronger than the Thunder Emperor."

"That's not the problem. Can a human and an elf even have a child together?"

"Elves take a mate only to have a child, and the child an elf wishes to bear is always an elf. That is why most elf Half-bloods are born through humans violating elves."

"That's sad and disgusting."

Kyle let out a deep sigh.

"Do you want to become family with me?"

"I don't... know. I've never felt this way before."

"You've lived for five hundred years, yet there are still so many things you don't know, just like before. Well, you'll learn them as you go. Like how you found the joy of the sword... you can find out what this feeling is too."

Helenas blinked. As she fiddled with Kyle's hand in hers, she sank into thought.

"For now, just sleep. I'm going to sleep too. I don't mind you looking at my face, but don't stare too much. Your gaze is prickling, so I can't sleep."

"I'll try."

Kyle closed his eyes again.

Despite saying she would try, Helenas's gaze did not leave Kyle's face for even a moment.

The night passed. Kyle opened his eyes at dawn, as the sun rose.

The hand he had held all night was empty. When he looked beside him, Helenas was gone.

'Jor.'

[Yes, Master.]

'Nothing happened during the night, right?'

[Sister-in-law watched Master's face all night.]

'She's not sister-in-law. If you keep talking nonsense, I won't give you food or mana anymore.'

[The... the Sword Church Master watched Master's face all night.]

'She didn't do anything besides look at my face, right?'

[No. She only fiddled with Master's hand.]

'That's a relief.'

Kyle ran a hand through his messy hair and sat up.

When he stepped outside the carriage, he saw Helenas swinging a sword. What she held was not actually a sword, only a long branch, but there was no doubt that what she held was a sword.

That was how it felt. Without moving her feet, Helenas remained in place and kept swinging her sword one-handed.

There was no flashiness in the sword path Helenas drew. It was not so fast that the eye could not follow it either. One slash from top to bottom. Once that slash ended, she raised her sword and drew the same sword path again.

Leaning against the carriage door, Kyle quietly watched Helenas's sword. He understood why the Sword Church's followers were captivated by it. An enchanting elf swinging her sword against the backdrop of a forest was a painting in itself, and Helenas's sword possessed a depth that gave anyone who knew the sword something to dwell on.

'Layer by layer.'

Kyle narrowed his eyes. Helenas's simple sword path was not being repeated exactly. It was shifting by the smallest degree.

'A sword that fills.'

She was filling the space with swings of the same form. Movements smaller than a strand of hair remained perfectly even, never breaking their rhythm.

'She must have repeated that for five hundred years. No wonder she saw the sword itself as something natural.'

The space was filled with Helenas's sword.

"How long have you been swinging your sword?"

"Since shortly before the sun rose."

"Do you usually swing your sword at this time?"

"No."

Helenas stopped and turned toward Kyle.

"My heart was beating too fast while I looked at your face."

"..."

"After swinging a sword for a while, your breathing gets heavy, right? I wondered if it was like that, so I was swinging my sword using only my body."

"I was wondering why you were sweating. So, how is it?"

"It's different from this pounding."

"..."

"It isn't an unpleasant pounding."

Helenas answered as she wiped away the sweat running down her forehead. Kyle gave a faint laugh and drew Fenris.

"I should do my morning training too."

"Should we spar?"

"Not right now."

Standing beside Helenas, Kyle began swinging Fenris as she had.

"I'm still not fully awake."

It was not an excuse because he did not want to lose helplessly to Helenas.

Footnotes:

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