SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 349

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 349: The Voyage of the Full Moon (6)

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When I asked whether they knew the Way, the cats' response was simple. Though the cats were gods of commerce, they prostrated themselves without a moment's hesitation even as they trembled.

"We shall surrender!"

Indeed, they knew their place.

"However, if we were to fall completely, it wouldn't be just one or two beings left destitute on the streets! It's not just for our own survival that we struggle, but for all the faithful people across the worlds and the divine citizens of this world... Please, have mercy on us...!"

"Please have mercy on us!"

The twenty-four cats simultaneously begged for forgiveness.

There was something deeply moving about the sight of the differently colored cats bowing their heads in unison.

But my heart had become far too sullied to live by sentiment alone.

"Is that the truth, you serpent?"

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth reveals their innermost thoughts in a single sentence.]

As the serpent hissed, text floated before my eyes.

Mental State: 'Followers and divine citizens be damned, we're about to die here, what do we care!'

I knew it would be like this.

I clicked my tongue in disapproval.

"You all are consistently petty...."

"Meow! Why should a serpent submit to a mere human?! Because of it, we can't deceive or negotiate! This is an outrageous abuse of power... it shouldn't be allowed!"

The cats were outraged. Since deceit was this Constellation's stock-in-trade, Hisimet Cretsu seemed to be its natural enemy. Hisimet Cretsu, suddenly cursed as a snake bastard and apparently pissed off by it, raised its head and shrieked, "Kieeeek!"

The cats jumped in shock.

"Meow!?"

"S-So scary!"

"It's terrifying...!"

"Ah, look at that dreadful green! Such a color and curve cannot possibly be permitted in this universe! It is an insulting and blasphemous creature that disgraces all creation merely by existing...!!"

"Hisss!"

"Meowww?! Spare us, spare us!"

"The green alien is trying to eat us! Help! Help-!"

What a dog mess.

No, strictly speaking, would that make it a cat mess...?

But "cat mess" is too long, so I should shorten it to "meow-meow mess." Huh, that's cute, isn't it?

"My friend seems to have fallen into some strange thoughts again. Proceed with the negotiation."

The Countess intervened just in time. Of course, she was watching the spectacle live through the hologram.

"What I want is unconditional surrender, but I have no intention of extorting more than is reasonable from you over this. That place is a kind of heaven, after all, and you are its administrators, are you not? It is only right to preserve your status."

"Meow. So, what do you desire...? A fair monetary compensation or periodic tribute?"

"No, what I desire is only one thing, and that is your utter humiliation."

The Countess showcased the character that made her the wealthiest in the tower without any reservation.

In short, this was called being an asshole.

"Cu-Customer...?"

"I have no intention of ruining the economic structure of the Heaven of Gold. Nor do I plan on ruining other worlds. It wouldn't be fair for the administrators of heaven to favor our tower alone, wouldn’t it? I'm saying, once again, I just wish you'd eat shit."

"Eek...!"

The cats trembled at the Countess's sheer assholery. Since they were the ones responsible for cultivating that personality, I felt no particular sympathy for them.

What goes around comes around. Karma. A meow punch. All these are among my top three favorite phrases.

"Come when I call you. Perform tricks if I ask you to, and if I command you to open a snack bag, then do it. Of course, you cannot lie to me and must always speak the truth. And that's not all. If I tell you to meow, you meow, and if I get sick of it and tell you to bark, then bark willingly."

The cats trembled.

"What outrageous demands!"

"For a cat born with a feline spine to utter a dog's bark is the ultimate disgrace!"

"Indeed! Dogs are inferior creatures whose backs cannot even stretch! There are the Three Bonds and the Five Relationships, so we cannot possibly speak the language of dogs!"

So these creatures are a deceitful Constellation that feeds on the pleasure of tricking others until that pleasure becomes actual satiety, as well as speciesist cats that look down on dogs. At this point, I was worried that calling them cats might itself be an insult to the cats of our world.

The Countess quietly listened to the cats' protests and then ended all arguments with just two sentences.

"If you don't like it, just let the King of Death expose all your secrets."

"From now on, we are your eternal dogs."

The twenty-four cats bowed deeply to the hologram.

"In fact, we have long admired the ways of dogs and have always wanted to say 'woof' instead of 'meow.'"

"Woof woof! This feels much more affectionate and fitting!"

"Our customer has mercifully bestowed upon us the Way of woof and the doctrine of bark. Only now do we feel moved to have escaped barbarian customs and entrusted ourselves to the Great Way. Meoong!"

Indeed....

I'm not exactly sure what 'indeed' refers to, but it seems like the most appropriate word to describe the current situation....

[The 'Gold-Biting Cats' surrender.]

The Countess and the gods of commerce continued their miscellaneous war of nerves. I did not pay much attention to it.

It was just the process of refining the minutiae in the surrender document leaving no room for misunderstanding, and well, the Countess would handle it.

What was important to me was what came next. After over three hours of discussion, a perfect surrender document was finally drafted, and the Countess, beaming with a smile, looked my way.

"Good work, King of Death."

"It was nothing."

Unlike the joyous Countess, the cats were completely exhausted and lay sprawled on the floor.

"There was a demon among us...."

"We might need to reconsider our service levels to our customers...."

How much had they been fleeced to end up like this?

I was relieved that the Countess was on my side. If she were an enemy, the Paladin would be too, and not just the economic structure of the tower, but the security forces would be against me as well.

Game over. The detailed assassination plans and the capital to execute them would just be the icing on the cake. Truly sinister.

"Thanks to you, I've fulfilled a wish I never thought possible in my lifetime. They say 'what's the use of having friends,' but clearly, I'm enjoying luxury because of a friend."

"I enjoyed it too."

"And now, we must end these enjoyable times."

The Countess closed her fan and smiled.

"It’s time to return, King of Death."

A message resounded in my head.

[The judge you've chosen has given you a passing mark!]

[You have gained the recognition of your judge!]

[You may declare Stage Clear at any time.]

There was no reason to hesitate.

I quietly declared Stage Clear under my breath, and a yellow light wrapped around me in response.

[You have subdued the 'Gold-Biting Cats.']

[Hidden Stage Cleared!]

[You will be transferred to the 70th floor.]

And then, I opened my eyes.

"Welcome back."

Upon opening my eyes, the first thing to greet me was still the Countess, languidly reclining on the sofa. She slowly waved her fan and said to me,

"I really wanted to say this face-to-face. Congratulations on your clear, Kim Gong-Ja."

We had broken through the 72nd floor.

Completing the stage did not make the Countess leave immediately.

Perhaps it was because the Countess knew that leaving would erase those memories. The Tower's law required every memory related to the Pillar, namely the [Staff of Time Immemorial], to be distorted. Perhaps that was why the Countess stubbornly lingered.

"I'm always in work mode because of the Merchants Union, 24/7. No rest for me."

The Countess said.

"Honestly, being here is like a free vacation. The flow of time is even different from Babylon, making it the ultimate vacation spot."

"What's the point of resting here if your memories are going to be erased anyway?"

"If it's going to be erased, I better enjoy myself more before that happens."

The Countess seemed serious. Well, I wasn't in a hurry either. I thought it might be a good opportunity to chat and get closer to the Countess.

"......?"

And during our conversation, we stumbled upon a quite astonishing fact.

"You knew about Patricia's assassination plans?!"

"Of course."

The Countess said it as if it was the most natural thing.

"Patricia and I have no secrets from each other. We don't needlessly blab about everything, but we never blur the line between what's necessary and unnecessary. We both have the intellect for that, and we've made that promise. The most important thing is the will to keep that promise. I trust Patricia's will."

The certainty in the Countess's expression was undeniable.

Honestly, I was taken aback.

"Uh... I don't know if I should say this, but Patricia probably also has, well, of course, it's just a plan, but a plan to assassinate Nisha too?"

"Of course. If Patricia were to seize the entire Tower in place of the five guild masters, she would have to strike the Merchants Union first. And to take over the Merchants Union, she would have to remove me first."

"Good heavens."

As I stammered, the Countess chuckled as if amused by my reaction.

"It's an old story. I was the one who told Patricia first. If she ever decided to become a dictator, she should start by taking my head before killing others."

"......"

"How could she ever carry out a bloody purge without that much resolve? She had to pay the price. It was a kind of restriction. Honestly, without the shackles I placed on her, Patricia would have erupted long ago. She thinks so much that she may appear indecisive, but once she makes up her mind, she charges straight ahead no matter what happens."

I was momentarily lost for words.

My silence wasn't for no reason.

Neither the Paladin nor the Countess knew. Not a past event, but a secret buried in the cycle of time.

Only I remembered it.

'...The Countess was the first to die.'

The tragedy that unfolded on the 12th floor.

'When I first reached the 12th floor, the Paladin accepted the choice offered by the [Demon King of Autumn Rain]. She colluded with the Demon King. And we, the leaders of the Five Major Guilds, were hunted down by the Demon King one by one...'

When the Demon King swung her sword, red rays burned everything in their path. The first thing destroyed by that sword was the imperial audience hall of the Aegim Empire, and the person in that hall was the Countess.

Patricia, the Paladin, killed the Countess first.

As promised.

"Hm? Your expression is odd. Is something bothering you?"

"...No, it's nothing."

It's okay.

In this timeline, it's nothing more than an event that hasn't happened.

The [Demon King of Autumn Rain] became a Preta. I call the Paladin Patricia. I can call the Countess Nisha. And both of them call me Kim Gong-Ja.

Everything has changed.

'But...'

But looking back now, many things I had once thought were mere coincidences came to make sense in ways I had never imagined. I came to understand them.

It's… How should I say?

'A strange feeling.'

I realized anew. Eventually, coincidence is just a name I temporarily attach to the inevitabilities I don't know.

What I do, what I wish to do, might be the process of transforming countless coincidences, one by one, bite by bite, sip by sip, into inevitabilities.

Surely that was it. I felt that this was no different at all from the process of turning each other person, one by one, into myself.

"Uh. Sorry to interrupt your enjoyable conversation."

A voice intruded beside us.

"This isn't a holiday resort."

The Pillar, hiding silver blades in her eyes.

The [Staff of Time Immemorial], holding a long staff, watched us.

"King of Death. It's time to ascend to the 73rd floor."

That’s right.

Another heaven was waiting for me.

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