WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 117: The Black Wedding (3)

──────

"O Ru-Ruin-Harvesting Cow..."

Goldencup desperately prayed.

"Please bestow upon me... a new... a new blessing!"

Humans shrink when cornered. Their mind, their scope of thought, rapidly narrows. That's why humans can flee or cling desperately to someone. Goldencup was no exception.

"As a price... Yes. I'll offer my existence as the price! No, whatever you desire, I'll wreak havoc in this world! Ruins! Destruction! Shattering! Isn't that what you, Mutia, cherish? I-I'm good at that! At destroying!"

Thud. I stepped forward.

-Eek.

Goldencup heard my footsteps and became even more desperate. She stumbled backwards, looking up at the crimson sunset as if salvation would descend any moment.

"I'm good at it, Mutia! I'm really good at destroying things…!"

But there was no response.

-This is,

Her prayer quickly turned into resentment.

-This is a breach of contract!!

I took another step closer.

-You promised me a new destiny, power to remake my fate! Then, why! Why is there a crazy woman inside me! Give it back! My body, return it!

"Ah. That's a wrong expression."

Heretic Inquisitor cheerfully corrected.

"If you're referring to me, I'm sorry, but my physical gender is male! So your words are incorrect! I'm not a [crazy woman] but a [crazy man]. Ah, for a healthier language, perhaps it's better to say [insane person]. A healthy mind resides in a healthy language, Miss Evanair!"

-You fucking bastard!

Lady Goldencup, no, Silvia Evanair, screamed.

-It's wrong! Yes, it's wrong! It's a breach of contract... I deserve to be the Empress. I was meant to rise to a greater position than Raviel Ivansia. It's my destiny! The destiny I created! So... so it's a breach of contract… I am,

Another step.

-Huh!

Only then did Silvia Evanair turn her eyes away from the sky. Now, unable to ignore me as I had drawn much closer.

-You monstrous bastard!

Silvia Evanair swung her hammer. Clang! The iron hammer clashed with the Holy Sword. She brought the hammer down wildly, and I easily deflected her attacks as I advanced. The more her attacks missed, the more impatient she became.

An impatient mind was easy to break.

-Ah,

I seized the moment when Silvia Evanair swung the hammer widely. I sliced her wrist.

-Aaaaaah!!

Naturally, there was no wound. No bloodstain. No blood. Not a trace of red to prove her pain, yet Silvia Evanair screamed as if being torn apart.

She dropped the hammer. Thud! The iron hammer fell to the ground with a heavy sound.

-Ah, uh... uhh....

I locked eyes with Silvia Evanair. Dust raised by the fallen hammer settled on both our knees.

"Make a choice."

-Ch-choice…?

"You've already lost your place in this world. Even if you flee now, you're no longer 'Lady Goldencup.' You're merely an Apostle of a Constellation."

-.......

"I'll give you a chance."

Silvia Evanair, clutching her wrist, glared at me.

"If you choose to remain a servant of the Constellation, do as you wish. Escape. I'll let you go. But if you still have attachments to this world, if you want to do more here, then give up the protection of the Constellation."

-Why would...

"And die by my sword."

I pointed the sword at her.

"You saw the battle just now. I can summon those who died by my hand with all their memories from life intact. Silvia Evanair, if you surrender willingly, I will summon you back into this world so that you can live once more as 'Lady Goldencup.'"

-.......

"Of course, your life won't continue exactly as before. Any hostile action toward my lover, Raviel Ivansia, is strictly forbidden. But that is all. The rest is up to you. Whether you marry the Crown Prince or not, live however you wish."

-Why...

"Because life should be something that can be re-lived."

The sunset was now tinged purple amid the red. In the Empire, a wedding lasted from the moment sunset fell until it faded away. I estimated that less than thirty minutes remained.

-How can I... trust you? What if you turn me into a summon and exploit me like a slave? I wouldn't be able to resist or fight back.

"Think about it."

I looked at Silvia Evanair.

"Why, of all people, were 'you' and 'your butler' chosen as the hosts?"

-Huh?

"You offered everything to the Constellation in order to make your wish come true. Your memories, your body, all of it passed into the Constellation's hands. That is why the place you occupied in this world became a void."

A void that anyone could fill, anyone could replace.

The reason [Holed-Up Head Librarian] could have me and Heretic Inquisitor possess them.

"I can understand why your place became vacant."

But.

"Have you ever thought why your butler's place became vacant too?"

-.......

Silvia Evanair's eyes widened.

"I don't know the details. But I've been a butler once, fully immersed in the life of a butler. I realized then, this man was utterly devoted to you, Silvia Evanair."

I surmised from that point.

"I bet even if you had become the empress, you would never have been happy."

-What…?

"You said it yourself. You didn't want to become empress out of love for the Crown Prince, but to outdo Raviel. Even if you became the empress that way, would your life have gone well?"

I shook my head.

"You're quite capable. But not as much as Raviel. You don't have the power and dignity of Raviel's noble birth. You lack the ability to manipulate and dominate crowds like Raviel. Even as empress, people would constantly compare and belittle you."

-........

"For the rest of your life."

Suppose.

Suppose there was one butler.

That butler watched his mistress suffer all her life.

"The butler I know would give up everything to save you."

The butler might have thought.

[If only Miss Goldencup hadn't become the empress, she might have been happy.]

"That's what I think."

-Butler... My butler, did he regress?

"No."

The butler is not a Returner.

"You wished for yourself. But not the butler. He wished for you. Not to rewind his own life, but simply wishing for you to go back."

-What are you saying…?

"Do you remember your butler's name?"

-Ha?

Silvia Evanair furrowed her brows.

-Of course. My butler's name is......

But.

-……Huh?

She couldn't say the name. She furrowed her brows further. After a moment, her frown relaxed. She looked perplexed at the air.

-Wait, this can't be. Ah? ……Ah? Uh…?

I calmly observed Silvia Evanair.

Yes.

In this world, the butler was never called by name.

Silvia Evanair never called the butler by his name. The only servant and childhood friend, she only referred to him as 'butler.' Even when alone in the room, with no need for formality.

『Butler.』

Raviel Ivansia never called the butler by his name. Despite holding all the Empire's information in her grasp, she could not possibly have been unaware of Lady Goldencup's closest aide.

『Butler.』

The person whose body I had possessed.

Lady Goldencup's servant had had his name erased from this world.

Because he had given everything to the Constellation.

I, too.

Even I, who had been completely immersed in the life of a butler, didn't know his name.

I couldn't remember or recall it.

-.......

Silvia Evanair's expression crumbled.

-Then, what does it mean…?

Like a tower meticulously built, collapsing from the top.

-The butler, he's gone for good?

"Yes."

Perhaps.

There were three regressions in this world.

First, Silvia Evanair wished for a regression from the Constellation.

The Constellation that granted the wish was [Ruin-Harvesting Cow], overseeing destruction and recreation. She granted Silvia Evanair another chance at life.

Silvia Evanair became the empress, surpassing Raviel.

Next, 'the butler' wished for a regression from another Constellation.

The granting Constellation is unknown.

The butler sacrificed everything for Goldencup, and as a result the world returned to the past once more. To a time before Lady Goldencup married the Crown Prince. A past in which nothing had yet been decided.

Lastly, Raviel caused a regression.

The granting Constellation was a fragment of [Goddess of Protection].

As a result of this regression, the world got trapped in an eternal loop of ten days.

And here we are.

"We can never know the butler's name. Forever."

-.......

"We can never know what was in the butler's heart as he attended you throughout your life, or what he was thinking when he sacrificed everything and prayed for time to turn back. He is gone."

But.

"The butler must have wanted you to live a different life."

Thus.

"I want to honor the butler's wish."

-.......

"Silvia Evanair. Somewhere you do not know, someone whose name you can never know sacrificed everything solely for you. The person who loved you more than anyone and wanted more than anyone to remain by your side gave up everything."

That was how a nameless butler loved.

"Live again."

It's not too late.

"Live as he wished, once more."

Silvia Evanair said nothing.

Her hands trembled. Her mouth opened and closed. Her throat bobbed. A life was convulsing there. A cursed life. Yet how cruel it was to learn that there was, that there had been, someone who wanted her to go on living.

-.......

Slowly, Silvia Evanair bowed her head, no longer having the strength to face forward.

Gradually, light began to leak from her body.

That light was the Constellation’s blessing, being released.

"Alright."

I raised my sword high.

I deactivated the Sword of Pity and called forth the Sword of the Idol again.

The sunset blazed red.

The shadow of my sword stretched long on the ground.

The shadow swung the sword.

[The Apostle of the ‘Ruin-Harvesting Cow' has been annihilated.]

The sunset faded.

All the Apostles from another world had been subjugated.

The beings threatening this world were gone.

[Stage Clear.]

The voice announcing it echoed.

Probably only the Heretic Inquisitor and I could hear it.

[Today.]

[The 25th floor stage has been cleared.]

The voice of the Tower.

[Announcing to everyone once more.]

[Today, the 25th floor has been cleared.]

[Assessing raid participants.]

[Assessment complete.]

[Announcing the 3 raid participants.]

People began to open their eyes groggily. Preta. The members of the Demonic Cult. The guests. One by one, those who had been swept up in the Apostle's song and made to dream began to rise.

"Uh..."

“What on earth happened...?”

Above these people, text appeared.

+

[Raid Contribution Ranking]

1st place. King of Death

2nd place. Heretic Inquisitor

3rd place. None

+

"......."

I silently looked at the text.

There were only two participants in this stage.

The only hunters sent by [Holed-Up Head Librarian] were the Heretic Inquisitor and me.

But the Tower listed three participants.

‘None.’

The third, nonexistent participant's name did not appear.

I looked into the void for a while.

"Hmm."

Raviel, my bride, came beside me and took my hand. We leaned on each other. Then Raviel slowly looked around at the guests.

"This man is my husband and the wife of House Ivansia."

The guests, just awakened from a dream, looked at us blankly.

"Does anyone object to this marriage?"

No one spoke.

There might have been those who were displeased. Those who wanted to object. But it all became a thing of the past.

The mere appearance of beings from another world was enough to shake heaven and earth. Moreover, the guests had witnessed me defeating those otherworldly beings.

The guests, by remaining silent, agreed to Raviel's words.

"Good."

The very person who had chosen today for the wedding with precisely this outcome in mind.

Raviel, my bride, nodded deeply.

"I declare that my marriage to this man has been successfully concluded."

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