WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈
Chapter 240: We Were Sitting on the Wooden Veranda of an Old City (1)
──────
Dawn broke.
1.
The color of dawn seeped slowly into Kim Yul's silver hair. As Kim Yul was kneeling before me, I had the luxury of looking down at the dawn rather than up. Yes, the dawn was beneath my feet.
[Your existence becomes better defined.]
It was around that time when the voice of the Tower reached me.
[The King of Death's level increases.]
As dawn gloriously painted the sky, the Tower once again affirmed my qualifications.
It was expected, in a way.
I had returned Ester's physical body, restored the bodies of the Demonic Cult elites, granted life to Silvia Evanair, and finally embraced Kim Yul's life. I became as distinct as their greed, desires, hopes, and wishes.
Heavier.
I had expanded.
[Your skill slots have expanded.]
[You are now an A-Rank hunter.]
[May fortune be with you.]
Yes, God.
To the God who wishes to be a mother to all who are born into this world.
Jaa Soo-Jeong. Even if those you regard as your daughters and sons bared their claws and tore you open, you would only grieve and slowly accept even that as your own fault.
I think.
That's sad.
“You will not need to do that with me!”
Gripping the hilt of my sword, I looked up at the sky.
I used to worry if the Tower would listen to someone like me. But not anymore. Every word I speak, every word I utter, will reach the Tower, and reach Jaa Soo-Jeong’s ears.
Because that's the existence I've become.
“I’ll go there and smash everything! Be it the Golden Rule, kingdoms, whatever, I’ll go and obliterate them! I'll show you that you're wrong, much happier, with happy people!”
My declaration undoubtedly reached the Tower.
And thus, a response came.
[May fortune be with you.]
On this day.
I declared war on the Tower.
2.
"From now on, we are one house."
I sat on the raised wooden veranda.
Only Raviel and I were seated on the floor, making it clear who deserved the throne.
“Our house shall be called the House of the King of Death.”
Hundreds of humans knelt on one knee in the courtyard. All of them were my retainers. If there wasn't enough space in the courtyard, they would climb the walls, and if the walls were too narrow, they would even climb the old trees to submit to me.
A full thousand.
A sufficient force to form a family.
“I am the head of this house, and my husband, Raviel Ivansia, is...”
“I too am the Family Head of a great family.”
Raviel lightly tapped the wooden-floor with the side of her fan.
“The head of the House of the King of Death is the wife of House Ivansia. It therefore stands to reason that the husband of House Ivansia should become the wife of the House of the King of Death. Every retainer gathered here is a life Gong-Ja took under his wing. It would be inelegant for me to interfere merely because I am Gong-Ja's husband.”
Raviel smiled.
“Translated into this world's language, Ivansia means Silver Heart. It would be fitting to call my house the House of Silver Heart. Someday, the House of the King of Death and the House of Silver Heart will merge completely. When that day comes, the House of the Dead Heart shall subdue the Tower.”
That's right.
When that time comes, Raviel and I will lead our family as co-Family Heads.
“Silvia Evanair.”
At the sound of her name, the shoulder of one of the retainers kneeling in the courtyard twitched. She was a noble lady with fluffy blond hair and also the powerful apostle of a constellation.
“Yes, yes! Family Head!”
“From now on, you are the chief steward of the House of the King of Death. See to what the members of the house eat, where they sleep, and what they wear. Use whichever members of the four units led by the Four Demon Lords have time free that day as attendants. I entrust the management of the household to you.”
Silvia Evanair broke into a sweat.
“…It all seems like chores and menial tasks?”
“You haven’t forgotten what you said yourself, have you?”
Silvia's expression hardened.
“The steward is the one who serves the Family Head most closely. If you want to be like me, if you want to learn to accept others, then watch over me from my side. That’s the opportunity I'm giving you.”
“I am..."
“If it's too hard, you can quit.”
I spoke sincerely.
“But proving your heart and life can only be done through your actions. Think. Decide. If you've decided, then fight. If you’ve fought, win. That's what your butler would want.”
“Damn it..."
Thus our house acquired a chief steward who constantly muttered, [Damn it], [Hell], and [Fuck]. In contrast to her bright blond hair, her face was always dark. Curses leaked out whenever her lips parted, and that would henceforth be the daily life of [Chief Steward Silvia Evanair].
“Ester.”
“Yes, Family Head.”
Ester stood up straight when I called.
Unlike Silvia's disgraceful display, Ester's expression was detached and her bearing orderly. In her breath lingered the afterimage of the Demon King who had once commanded hundreds of thousands of monsters and annihilated a continent.
“Please give me your orders.”
“As my eldest daughter, in times of need, you will be the successor to lead the family in my stead.”
"......."
A faint crack appeared on Ester's tranquil face.
“An emergency...? That is an irreverent thing to say. You shall never die...”
“I have my ways, of course. The family won’t be in crisis just because I lose a life or two. But I can't ignore the possibility of times of need. What if I am cursed, unable to move not just my limbs but even my teeth, sealed tightly in a vast, sturdy safe?”
"......."
“Of course, even in that state, I can use [Ghoul Reincarnation]. But what if someone turns me into a vegetative state?”
“Father..."
“I'm not invincible, Ester. As we climb the Tower, our enemies will get stronger. We must always consider the worst-case scenario, and if it really happens, I want you to lead the family.”
"......."
Ester closed her eyes.
She breathed quietly, and her exhalation carried a harsher, more potent scent of ruin than before.
“Yes.”
Ester reopened her eyes, now solemn.
She held the sword with both hands, touching her forehead to the crossguard.
“I, Ester, will become the successor of the King of Death Family.”
I nodded.
“Good.”
We may still be immature as parent and child.
But as [Family Head] and [Successor], we can certainly do well.
‘There’s no need to rush.’
We can start from here.
Ordinary people first become parents and children, then the head and successor of the family, but that's only for those who have enjoyed ordinary fortunes.
Scattered across this and other worlds, having met each other by chance, we have no choice but to become a family in reverse, backwards.
That's enough.
"As a successor, you will be treated as such, but ordinarily, you will serve as an advisor, aiding me."
"Advisor, you say..."
"As the name suggests, it is an office from which I will seek your counsel. Ester, you once led a vast army and brought down the kingdoms, holy kingdoms, and empires that divided the continent among themselves. My military insight and strategic sense cannot even be compared with yours."
I'm gradually realizing this as we ascend the Tower.
'The stages where a hunter can wreak havoc alone are diminishing.'
The size of the forces appearing as enemies in each stage is growing.
I managed to clear [The Hellfire Mansion] somehow on my own.
But starting from the tragedy of [Aegim Continent], it became significantly more challenging.
Originally, that stage required top hunters to take roles such as generals, knight commanders, and prime ministers, working together to uplift a crumbling empire, didn't it?
'I just exploited a loophole in the stage.'
A solo play that shouldn't have been allowed.
I made it happen through actions akin to cheats.
'Even in the Revelations of the Great Library, [team play] was already enforced. Entering the [Race War], it even reached the point where I was leading an entire race.'
This.
What does this series of events signify?
'The Tower is ordering us to form a [force].'
I narrowed my eyes.
'The Tower never arranges stages without meaning. No, Jaa Soo-Jeong never acts without purpose. This is advice. A warning.'
If we don't build a force in advance.
The stages beyond the 50th floor will be brutally difficult.
'Currently, in our Tower, only I am aware of this warning.'
Because I alone have faced Jaa Soo-Jeong directly.
Only I know what kind of person the owner of the Tower is, what she thinks, and what she desires.
And this will definitely serve as a massive advantage in conquering the Tower in the future.
'We need to grow our force.'
Fortunately, I have people around me.
A lot of them.
Not just a large gathering, but people who can mean a little more to each other.
'My fortune.'
I am deeply grateful for this fact.
'We are strong.'
I looked around the courtyard.
[The Warriors of the Demonic Cult] bowing to me.
[The Four Demon Lords serving as warrior deputies] leading the warriors.
[Warrior Commander Uburka] commanding the Four Demon Lords.
[Chief Steward Silvia Evanair] supporting them from the rear.
[House Shadow Kim Yul] organizing an intelligence unit to operate covertly.
[Ester, the Advisor] who will give me strategic advice.
I observed each of them, exchanged glances and wills. Those who shared death with me, those who declared to live together, were here.
'We are strong, and we will become stronger.'
I spoke to Ester.
“Your father is skilled at saving people and bringing them together. In that respect, I may fairly boast that I am quite capable. I can tell by looking what wounds a person carries through life, and when looking is not enough, I can die to find out.”
"......."
“In that way, your father shares people's wounds with them. By sharing them, we become one house. With greater effort, perhaps we may become a family. But when it comes to directing the [force] I have saved and brought together, your father is still inexperienced and inadequate. Very much so.”
I smiled.
“I need your help and advice, Ester.”
"......."
“The history where you, as a Demon King, annihilated the continent has disappeared because of me. But that's not a meaningless trauma."
Precisely.
“It can be made not to be.”
I gestured to Ester.
She approached me with cautious steps.
I took Ester's hand, seated her beside me on the raised wooden veranda, and turned her to face the same direction I did.
“Look."
I shared the same view with her.
“The wounds you suffered through a lifetime of trauma are not merely wounds. From now on, they will protect this house. My house. Your house. Our house.”
"......."
“No one will be able to burn down our house.”
I spoke to the child who became my daughter today.
And then, I conveyed the words I had always wanted to tell her.
“With what you gained while destroying the world, now protect your world.”
Dawn broke.
As the crystalline blue began to color the world, the blue paint momentarily lingered on Ester's face.
"......."
Ester nodded slightly.
“Yes.”
She nodded once more.
“I will protect it.”
Ester raised her left hand.
Then, grabbing the skull mask that had always covered half her face, she ripped it off and casually threw it towards the ground of the courtyard.
The ancient bone crumbled into dust the moment it touched the ground.
“I will protect our world.”
Ester turned to look at me.
For the first time since she became a ghoul, I saw Ester's whole face.
“Family Head.”
Tears of dew that had accumulated over the long night were on her face.
Now that it was dawn, it wasn’t strange for dew to form on things born like leaves in this world.
“I shall become your adviser.”
So it wasn’t unusual for Ester to smile brightly either.
"......."
Without a word, I nodded and finally rose from the raised wooden veranda.
I looked up at the sky, turning from glassy to blue, and shouted.
“That settles it.”
The sky was quiet.
“The vacation is over. Thanks to your consideration that was no consideration at all, I have seen much and experienced much. Yet once again, what I saw strengthened me instead of weakening me. What I experienced did not burn me away; it set me ablaze.”
The sky distorted.
“Now,”
A ray of light descended from the sky.
“Please send us to the next stage.”
Then, a voice echoed from the sky.
[The Constellation 'The Princess Who Strolls Through Mirages' manifests.]
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
