WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 171: How Convenient

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"No, I followed you all the way to this distant Sword Tower, and now you're leaving again?"

The workshop district in Gladiheim's middle levels. Agur had established a private workshop there and spoke with an incredulous expression.

"I didn't expect to leave again so soon either. The situation is urgent, so please understand."

Kyle could not act shamelessly over this. He simply bowed his head deeply.

"I still haven't received the dragon materials you promised in exchange for lending you that monstrosity. And the eastern dragon you mentioned wasn't even a dragon, but a Spirit. Even so, I came here because I wanted to examine it closely. Isn't it too much to leave before I can even do that?"

Everything Agur said was true, so Kyle had no choice but to lower his head further.

"Ahem... Once I return from the East, I'll definitely have dragon materials. The Dragon Queen Velatus herself said she'd give me her heart. Aren't you interested in Velatus's heart?"

"Are you sure?"

Agur glared at Kyle with a sullen expression. Kyle had changed his story several times, so naturally Agur did not look at him kindly.

"It is certainly true that Velatus promised to give me her heart. If I go all the way to the East and fail to obtain it, then Velatus is the one who lied."

"..."

"Um... Please don't look at me like that. Is there any souvenir you want from the East?"

"Forget it."

After glaring at Kyle for a while, Agur let out a long sigh.

"I've already gathered enough data on your Spirit. Before I begin the work in earnest, I'll warm up by making other things."

Agur grumbled and turned away. Various components lay scattered across the wide workbench. They were parts for Lavian's exoskeleton. It was still incomplete, but Agur already had a rough design in mind. Before long, Lavian would be able to walk on her own two feet with the exoskeleton's aid.

Because of this, the Sword Tower's purebloods spared no support for Agur. Even craftsmen from the First Workshop had come to assist. It was well known that the First Workshop's craftsmen possessed skills comparable to dwarves, but Agur was an exceptional master even among dwarves. Agur was skilled enough that, rather than cling to their pride, Gladiheim's craftsmen sought to learn whatever more they could. They hammered away without complaint, doing as Agur instructed.

"Just make sure you return safely. If you don't return, I'll lose something that may become the masterpiece of my life right before my eyes. I'll curse you even after I die."

Though the words were harsh, no small amount of concern lay beneath them. Kyle could not tell whether that concern was for him or truly for Agur's own ambitions. He bowed and left Agur's workshop.

In truth, he could have departed the Sword Tower immediately. He had not because several matters still needed resolving.

Fragment's matter. Agur's matter.

His duties as a son and an older brother.

"You're only fifteen, no, sixteen years old, and it's already hard to see your face."

Arian complained, shooting Kyle a look.

"I left home early too, but I stayed quietly at home when I was your age. Kyle, aren't you growing up too fast? I'm fine, but you barely have any memories with Kaya."

"What can I do? It's unfortunate."

Kyle let out a deep sigh. The rabbit ears on his head were embarrassing and bothersome, but he could not take them off because Kaya was in his arms, pouting.

"Mother gave birth to me so wonderfully that this son of yours is simply too capable. That's why everyone keeps asking me to come."

"Brother."

Kaya looked up at Kyle. His shoulders jerked at her sullen gaze.

"Huh? Y-yeah."

"Why did you stop?"

"Sorry. I'm sorry."

Kyle immediately resumed moving his hand. With his left hand, he stroked Kaya's hair. With his right, he turned the pages of the storybook Kaya had opened. With his mouth, he recited its contents.

"You're mean, Brother."

As soon as the storybook ended, Kaya thrust another one at him.

"You don't even play with me. You only go outside all the time."

"I'm sorry."

"When are you coming back this time?"

"Um... I don't know."

"Will you come back later than one hundred nights from now?"

"Probably... probably?"

Tears immediately welled up in Kaya's eyes. Startled, Kyle picked her up and raised her high into the air.

"O-or I might return sooner."

"Liar."

"I'll try my best to come back quickly."

He had no idea what might happen in the East, so he could not even make her a definite promise.

In the end, Kyle spent a full five days playing whatever Kaya wanted before she gave him permission to leave.

* * *

Izelion was located in Pagema Forest beneath the Hyeonmyeong Mountain Range. This place belonged neither to the Empire nor to any nation on the continent.

The mist that drifted through the forest year-round grew thicker the closer it came to the mountain range. It was not generally known exactly where Izelion was within this vast forest. Those who entered the forest without an invitation in search of Izelion could never reach it. Unless they decided to leave the forest, they would wander through it endlessly.

Alastor was no different. They had interacted with Izelion before and reached its residence in the past, but this visit was uninvited. Having come without warning, they could not reach Izelion.

"That would be true if we behaved ourselves."

Katarina Alastor.

Commander of the Aurora Knights, Julius's eldest daughter, and Kyle's eldest maternal aunt. She looked at the mist-covered forest and spoke.

"They say the mist strictly forbids outsiders from entering, but in the end, it is a barrier that prevents people from approaching Izelion. And this mist barrier is limited to the forest itself."

Katarina rested a hand on the sword at her waist.

"In other words, this barrier is formed by the forest itself. If we destroy the forest, we may damage the barrier. So we should draw our swords and destroy the forest..."

"Wait, wait a moment."

Her expression was serious, but what she said was incredibly violent and simple-minded. Kyle immediately stopped Katarina.

"Isn't that too extreme?"

"We are uninvited guests from the start."

"We may not have been invited, but we aren't strangers. If we enter, Izelion will respond."

"There's no guarantee that response will be peaceful. Mu-hyeok Izelion wished to let you enter all the way to the Spirit Tree's roots, and we inferred that the Elders would fiercely oppose the Family Head. We have lost contact with Izelion's Family Head since then. It is reasonable to assume that the Elders disregarded the Family Head's opinion and imprisoned the Family Head."

It sounded simple-minded and violent at first glance, but Katarina's opinion had a clear basis.

"The Elders, who have likely seized control of Izelion, will have no intention of allowing outsiders inside. That will be especially true of Alastor, and particularly you. That forest is a barrier governed by Izelion. Entering it is like walking into an obvious trap, so it is reasonable to destroy it before we enter the trap."

"Even so, destroying it is a little..."

"Consider that the Izelion Elders stand opposed to us. Conflict is inevitable."

Kyle stared at Katarina in mild surprise. The more he listened, the more he realized she was not wrong. Perhaps that was to be expected from the commander of the Aurora Knights, who carried out the family's special missions. Kyle considered it briefly, then nodded.

"Destroying it is a little much. Let's try to provoke a response from them instead. We'll be forceful enough to make them feel that we won't hesitate to use violence."

Quite apart from being a senior member of the family, Katarina was someone with extensive experience. Kyle decided to respect her opinion to that extent. He drew Fenris from his waist. Katarina smiled with satisfaction and drew her beloved sword as well.

"Everyone, stand back."

At Kyle's warning, the Sword Wolf Knights stepped back several paces.

Katarina's sword ignited first.

Whoosh!

Flames rose along the blade. Among Julius's children, Katarina was considered the finest swordswoman after Karthan. Her Spirit Root was flame, and what burned now was not ordinary fire. It was the manifestation of a will to burn away and erase everything it touched. The entrance to the mist-covered forest shimmered with red heat.

"This will be our first time matching swords."

Katarina looked at Kyle with shining eyes. She did not merely mean swinging their swords side by side. She meant combining their strikes.

Kyle smirked and gripped Fenris more firmly.

"Swing however you wish. I'll match you."

Purple Aura covered Fenris's blade. Kyle's Spirit Root was Chaos. It could become anything and blend with anything. Kyle drew forth one of the swords within his mind, a sword of spreading flame suited to Katarina's sword.

Intent stirred.

Fwoosh!

Flames resembling Katarina's covered Fenris. Only their colors differed. Katarina's sword burned with crimson flames, while Kyle's burned with violet flames. As the two fires blazed side by side, the forest mist thinned as though backing away.

"Oh."

A quiet exclamation slipped from Katarina's lips.

"You matched the nature of my sword on the spot."

"Your sword burns in a very easy-to-understand way, Aunt."

"You arrogant brat."

She said that, but the corners of Katarina's mouth rose slightly. Raising her sword over her shoulder, she glared into the forest.

"Here we go."

With those words, the two swords swept forward at the same time.

Boom!

Two flaming sword strikes bore down on the mist side by side. The grass at the forest's entrance flattened beneath the heat wave, and the Sword Wolf Knights instinctively raised their arms to shield their faces.

'Insane...'

Jade stared at Kyle's back in disbelief. He knew their commander, who had always been monstrously strong, had become even more of a monster after returning only a few months later. Still, he had not expected Kyle to show no sign of falling behind even while combining strikes with the commander of the Aurora Knights. And that sword was not even at full power. It was merely a knock to announce that guests had arrived.

Unlike the stunned Jade and Narua, Bruno's expression remained calm. He had seen Kyle and Julius exchange swords in the Sword Hall. Compared to those astonishing swords, this was nothing worth being surprised by.

Beside Bruno, Lucia's eyes gleamed. Kyle's sword was no longer one she should admire. It was a sword she would one day have to surpass. She fidgeted with the fingers resting on her sword hilt as she stared at Kyle's back.

Kyle narrowed his eyes beneath that prickling gaze. Just as the sword strikes were about to touch the mist, the mist moved as if alive.

The mist, which had been retreating, changed its movement. Dense mist gathered toward the point where the strikes would land as if being sucked in, instantly forming a pale wall. That thick wall collided with the flaming sword strikes.

Sizzle...

The flames died down. They had not been cut apart or deflected. The force of the sword strikes had been drawn into the wall and swallowed whole. The mist wall rippled for a moment, then loosened and spread through the forest again as though nothing had happened.

"..."

Silence fell. Katarina, who had been glaring at the mist, spoke.

"It won't cut."

Katarina frowned. Her pride had been wounded by the fact that mere mist had blocked her sword. Flames rose from her sword once more.

"If it is this sturdy even when we strike it from outside, then we should not enter it all the more. Kyle, we'll strike harder than before. You can keep up, correct?"

Her reasoning was sound, but suggesting they strike harder because it would not cut sounded somewhat simple-minded. Kyle remembered the time Katarina had slapped him across the face. Perhaps his eldest maternal aunt was more hot-blooded than her cold appearance suggested.

"I don't think it's that it can't be cut. I think our strikes aren't reaching what needs to be cut."

This was a mist that made intruders wander endlessly. No matter how strong a force was, it weakened with distance, and the mist before them had no physical substance. No matter how much they cut it, they could not shake the barrier's core.

Of course, they could shake the core by striking it with even greater power. But after failing once, it was better to seek a more efficient method.

"The barrier's power is strong even at the entrance, so there must be an anchor sustaining it. If we swing our swords without identifying it, we'll only waste our strength."

"That may be true, but how do you intend to find the barrier's anchor without entering?"

"We'll ask."

Kyle grinned and tapped the Middle Dantian in his chest.

"An expert."

At that call, Jor's head slowly emerged. Light glimmered from Jor's branch-like horns, and a small flower bud bloomed.

[Hmm.]

Fragment's voice flowed from the swaying flower bud.

[This is not a barrier created by magic. It was formed through eastern arts...]

"So you don't know how to deal with it?"

[Wait. Its method of manifestation differs, but its foundation is similar. This is... a barrier that uses the forest itself as a formation. The trees that make up the forest serve as stakes. Pulling out one will not collapse the barrier, but it should be enough for a threatening knock.]

Fragment's voice held both admiration and interest. It had spent hundreds of years within the Sword Tower alone.

[As the saying goes, if you want to hide a tree, hide it in a forest. There would be no end to touching these countless trees one by one. If I weren't here, that is what you would have had to do.]

Arrogant pride colored Fragment's voice. Light gathered within the flower bud. At the same time, mana flowed through Jor's long body, and complex patterns began to form in the air. Symbols made of lines of light intermingled, forming a magic circle.

The magic circle shone. Its light swept across the forest entrance. Then, one tree among the many beyond the mist gave off a faint glow.

Kyle looked at the glowing tree. Now that he concentrated, he too could see something that had been invisible until then. Fine threads of light flowed within the hazy mist. They connected, tangled, and circulated among the forest's trees. That tree was the knot in the flow.

[Strike that tree. There is no need to worry about whether your attacks can reach it. I have connected the path.]

"You're much more convenient than I expected. It was a good thing I brought you."

[You insolent brat. Do not forget that all this cooperation is for the sake of meeting Velatus.]

Hearing the urging words, Kyle and Katarina raised their swords again. Unlike before, when they had a purpose but no target, they now knew exactly what to cut.

Their combined sword strikes pierced the mist. The mist wall rose again, but their strikes did not disappear within it. They rushed straight toward the tree that served as the barrier's stake.

"Aaaah!"

Just as the sword strikes were about to hit the tree, a scream erupted from it.

A man burst from inside the tree, spread both arms, and took the sword strikes with his body.

Boom!

The man's body was swallowed by an explosion with a deafening roar. His body, now a black mass of ash, rolled across the ground. Kyle and Katarina's mouths fell open at the sight.

"Ugh... ughhh..."

Pained groans flowed from the mass of ash. A person bursting out of a tree was shocking enough, but what shocked Kyle and Katarina even more was that the man who had taken their combined sword strikes with his body was still alive.

"Y-you... insane, simple-minded, lawless... bastards...!"

Crack. Crackle.

Ash covering his body fell away, and fresh flesh grew beneath it. Dry leaves began to shower down from the surrounding trees. In the middle of it all, the man, now pale and naked, staggered to his feet.

"What the hell are you..."

"Ahhh!"

Katarina screamed. She covered her face with one hand, spun around, and stepped in front of Lucia and Narua.

"P-put, put some clothes on immediately! Have you no shame?!"

The man stared at Katarina's shouted rebuke in disbelief.

After swinging their swords around so recklessly, Katarina was shouting at him for being naked. Of course he could only be bewildered.

Footnotes:

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