WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 218: 218

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Ivrio carefully looked down at the paper in front of them. Magical power flashed in their eyes, weaving light through the air. They were clearly using their unique magic.

Soon, Ivrio gave a small nod, picked up the pen, and began checking off the various functions written on the paper.

“This will help me on my path ahead.”

Ivrio handed me the paper with a confident expression. As I looked it over, I could not help tilting my head. I did not understand their choices at all.

Most of the options Ivrio had chosen concerned appearance. A woman’s appearance, a high nose bridge, eyes that looked as though they held jewels, and so on. Somehow, those features resembled Emery, who stood beside them.

This was the result of using their unique magic? It was far too vague for that. Then I noticed Ivrio darting their gaze about as they gauged Emery’s reaction. I let out a quiet snort.

It seemed these were simply options they had selected according to their tastes. Emery would surely have something to say if they plainly explained those tastes, so they had clearly tried to pass it off as the result of their unique magic.

It was a very believable method. Of course, I did not think Emery would fail to notice. I glanced at her and saw her narrowing her eyes while lightly fanning herself.

“To think you would try to deceive this lady. How insolent.”

Emery lightly smacked Ivrio’s head with her fan. Ivrio clutched their head and watched her nervously. She took the paper from me and erased every option Ivrio had chosen.

“No useful puppet would come of your meddling, so this lady will choose for you.”

“It is my puppet, though...”

Ivrio tentatively opened their mouth, but they met Emery’s glittering gaze over her fan and could not continue. Emery crushed their resistance and leisurely rolled the pen between her fingers as she selected the puppet’s functions one by one.

“This should do.”

Emery nodded with a satisfied expression. I took the paper and let out a small gasp. The arrangement she had chosen was highly efficient. I gave them a slight bow and stood.

“Then please wait a moment. I will make the puppet with the functions you selected.”

I went to the storeroom and took out a puppet that had volunteered for the task. I laid it on the workbench and slowly refined its appearance.

A small smile formed on my lips as I delicately adjusted the puppet’s flow. For some reason, my hands were in excellent form today. There was no doubt it would become a fine piece.

Perhaps the puppet sensed it too, because it trembled faintly. After some time passed, the puppet quietly rose to its feet. I nodded as I looked at its massive body.

It was an excellent puppet. They would surely be satisfied. I slowly headed to the reception room with it.

“I have brought the puppet.”

“Oh, it came out well.”

Emery smiled lightly with her eyes from behind her fan. I glanced at the puppet. It had the appearance of a muscular man. Even I could not help admiring its perfectly formed muscles.

As those muscles made clear, this was a puppet that valued physical strength over magic. It would solve through force what others handled with magical power.

Of course, that could be seen as inefficient. Physical strength naturally had limits. But seen another way, it was a puppet that did not require much magical power.

As a result, the cost of its functions was not particularly high. Including the activity-time extension, it would probably cost around eighty points. Considering what this puppet could do, that was practically cheap.

As expected of Emery. To think she had put together such an efficient puppet. Yet unlike us, Ivrio drooped after seeing it.

“I did not want something like that...”

Ivrio shook their head with a gloomy expression. It was understandable. The puppet that had been made looked completely different from what they had wanted.

Still, I was confident that even this appearance would satisfy Ivrio. The puppet had chosen Ivrio because it knew that as well. I gave the puppet a small nod.

From now on, Ivrio would be its companion. Sensing my intent, the puppet strode confidently toward Ivrio and tapped the shoulder of the half-slumped Ivrio.

When Ivrio looked at it, the puppet firmly struck its own chest. Then it met Ivrio’s eyes. Its gaze was very warm.

After silently looking at Ivrio for a moment, the puppet gently patted Ivrio’s back. Perhaps Ivrio’s heart was gradually easing under that touch, because they slowly rose.

The puppet gave Ivrio a thumbs-up. Then it folded its arms and stood quietly behind them. Ivrio blinked slightly as they looked at it.

“Are you encouraging me?”

The puppet laughed loudly and patted Ivrio’s shoulder. Ivrio hesitated for a moment, then nodded. It seemed they had decided to accept the puppet. I gave them a small bow.

“I hope you like the puppet. I look forward to seeing you again. Like with the entrance exam, it seems our connection will last for a long time.”

“This lady thinks so too. You seem interested in that thing as well.”

Emery clicked her tongue softly as she glanced at Ivrio. Then she slowly stood. Now that they had rented a puppet, they seemed ready to leave the shop. I saw them off with a faint smile.

Ivrio had an indecisive nature. Their magic itself proved that. That tendency had also been plain in the survey they filled out before renting a puppet.

That was why the puppet connected to Ivrio needed a personality that could firmly rein in such indecisiveness. In that respect, this puppet suited them very well. The ego within it had absorbed a great deal of information about swordsmen.

Swordsmen were always confident and tended to take the lead in everything. Since this puppet had been based on such a swordsman, it clearly showed a swordsman’s particular strength and confidence.

Whenever Ivrio hesitated or lost heart, that puppet would always encourage them. Ivrio would draw strength from that encouragement and step forward more boldly. It would become the being that supported them from behind.

In that sense, the puppet might suit a man’s appearance better than a woman’s. Perhaps Emery had noticed that to some extent as well.

I gave a small shrug. Then I quietly closed my eyes and examined the star glowing within the shadow tree’s domain. It belonged to the puppet that would remain beside Ivrio.

I smacked my lips softly. Ivrio’s magic was very interesting. That was why I had been rather curious about it.

And now, I finally had an opportunity to observe it up close. Information about Ivrio would flow to me through that puppet as well. I had gained a way to steal at least a little of their strange sense.

“This should keep us out of the red.”

I glanced at Isabella. She was organizing the mirror bugs that had collected the points at the counter. When our eyes met, she smiled softly.

[Yes. As Master said, this month’s revenue should be around thirty thousand points. That is about double last month’s.]

As though printing a receipt, she wrote a calculation beneath her words. I nodded in satisfaction as I looked at it. Double. It was a great success.

Of course, the net profit after subtracting expenses would not be particularly large. Some points had gone toward costs, and the puppets also required maintenance. Once I calculated all that, there would surely not be many points left in my hands.

Even so, it was quite a milestone. This was the first time we had escaped the red since the Arcana Puppet Workshop began swallowing our territory. It was all thanks to everyone bringing in new customers.

Of course, even if we brought in new customers, our total number of customers was gradually falling compared to before. That could not be helped.

How could I compete with them luring people in with low prices? That was why I could not stop those who wanted to leave.

Yet even as our numbers fell, our revenue kept increasing. The new customers I had received were investing far more points than those who had left.

The crisis they had brought me was certainly threatening. They stole my magic, stole my methods, and used capital to suppress me. It was difficult for me to respond to that.

But there was a saying that opportunity came within crisis. It was a maxim that matched the grain of my university life. The moment they failed to starve me out, that crisis became an opportunity.

The reason I had not been making much profit until now was that many people using my puppets valued efficiency. They only wanted to use puppets at low prices.

They did not care much about their puppets. So they did not invest many points. In fact, the cost of maintaining their puppets every month was even higher.

Those who formed the core of that deficit left to use the other side’s puppets in search of greater efficiency. Quality customers gathered around me in their place.

What an excellent trade. My current points proved that one good customer was more important than dozens of ordinary customers. And people like Repo had played a major role in making this possible.

“Thank you very much for bringing us a new customer again.”

I bowed toward Repo, who was sitting on a small sofa in one corner of the shop. Since she had brought Ivrio as a referrer, part of their fee would be returned to her in points.

“No, I’m doing this to make a living too.”

Repo gave a small shake of her head. Then she looked out the window, toward the Arcana Puppet Workshop beyond the flow of people. She narrowed her eyes and continued.

“As you said, if things continue like this, we’ll earn even more points than before. They won’t be able to stop this carelessly either. It’s our victory.”

Repo leaned her head against the puppet standing beside her and smiled faintly. I looked outside along her line of sight. Victory. I wished things could go that easily, but I could only give a bitter smile.

Jegang and the Trading Company’s people were not fools. What I had accomplished would pressure them for now. But just as I had targeted their weakness, they would surely target mine.

I knew my method’s flaws very well. Even so, I had chosen to act this way because I held a small expectation for them.

I hoped they would stop here.

But it did not take long for that expectation to be crushed.

A few days later, I was quietly making a puppet in the shop when I heard a small bell ring. Someone had entered.

Thinking it was a customer, I dusted off my hands and went outside. There, I saw a familiar face. Repo had come to visit me again. I lightly looked around. Since no one had come with her, she clearly had not brought a new customer.

Then why had she come to see me? I led Repo to the reception room and studied her face. Her slightly pale expression was full of hesitation.

Judging from that look, something had clearly gone wrong. Isabella poured her a cup of tea. Repo drank it and gradually gathered herself, then finally let out a deep sigh and spoke.

“Gadon has decided to join them.”

“Gadon, you say?”

Repo gave a small nod. Then she leaned against the puppet beside her. The puppet stroked her shoulder, offering comfort through its will.

[That makes six people now.]

Isabella clicked her tongue as she wrote. I lightly closed my eyes and tapped the table.

Over the past few days, people who had been drawing in customers had often returned their puppets for refunds and left. The people they had referred left with them as well.

I had trusted them, and they had followed me, because I could fulfill their interests, just as I did for Repo.

As long as the people they had referred remained tied to my shop, they could steadily earn points. They clearly would not receive such benefits if they went to the Trading Company’s puppet workshop.

Because I knew their situation, I had entrusted them with many things. Gathering customers, promoting the shop, and everything else involved in maintaining it. And that was also the weakness in my method.

If the people promoting my puppets disappeared, I would no longer be able to take their customers away. That was why I knew exactly why they had left.

“What did they say they would give them?”

If my people were giving up their profits to leave, the other side had clearly offered them more.

And there was no way the offer given to Gadon had not reached Repo. They had traveled together for ten years. Repo hesitated briefly before slowly speaking.

“They said that if we joined their side, they would preserve the points and referrals we already have. If we brought in as many people as possible, they would pay us according to the number of people.”

Hearing the details, I gave a small nod. To offer benefits that great. Of course they would betray me. I would have done the same.

“So it has come to this.”

I stroked my chin. I had known they would target my people. It was the easiest way to bring me down.

Even knowing that, I could not avoid being hit by it. I was already promising my people considerable benefits. If they attacked by surpassing those benefits with capital, how could I stop them?

Still, I had thought they would not dare try it. I narrowed my eyes and looked through the window toward the Arcana Puppet Workshop. Did they want to eliminate me that badly?

The reason the People’s Council had initially targeted me was clear. They wanted to cut away Hwaryeong’s collaborator. That meant I had three choices.

I could fight them to the end, betray Hwaryeong and join them, or make them give up on me.

Of those options, the one I liked most was making them give up on me. If they abandoned me and stopped attacking, I would not need to deal with them either.

That was why I had arranged the current situation. There was clearly a way to target me, but one that would force them to bear a large burden.

The people working for me had quite a few referrals. They had accumulated many points and functions as well. Even for the Trading Company’s people, offering enough profit to draw them in would clearly be a heavy burden.

So even if they invested that much to remove me, there would be nothing in it for them. The losses they would suffer would surely be greater than the damage they could inflict on Hwaryeong by cutting me away.

The Trading Company’s people were always sensitive about profits and losses. Had Hwaryeong not shown that herself? So I thought they would naturally withdraw if the losses outweighed the benefits of getting rid of me.

The People’s Council had no personal grudge against me either. In that sense, the current state of affairs could have been a turning point where they and I reached an agreement.

I was attempting a sort of premium strategy with my puppets. I wanted to shift their direction so they occupied a different space from theirs. This was an opportunity for them too.

As Jegang had told me, they wanted to distribute puppets and use them to influence people’s behavior. They could earn sufficient income through things other than puppets.

And I wanted to increase my puppets by building upon them. They could pursue their profits, while I pursued mine.

Of course, I would still irritate them. But considering the losses, it would be difficult for them to act. So if they gave up on removing me, I would not need to keep fighting for Hwaryeong to the end either.

In that sense, I was actually seeking the possibility of cooperation with them. If we formed a connection instead of remaining enemies as we were now, we could play in a much bigger pond.

If we discussed matters properly and set a direction we could both accept, there was nothing wrong with accepting cooperation. That was why I had even sent a puppet to Jegang’s side for negotiations.

But Jegang did not accept my proposal. Instead, perhaps because he found it unpleasant, he half-destroyed the puppet I had sent. He had done it cleverly, without breaking the university’s rules.

Then, as though mocking my proposal, Jegang began moving to eliminate me. To think he dared touch my puppet. I had even tolerated his greed toward Isabella to some extent, out of consideration for him. My eyebrows twisted in displeasure.

I could somewhat guess why Jegang was acting this way. The puppeteers who joined his side had likely promised him sufficient compensation. They wanted something from me too.

Jegang seemed to intend to eliminate me and swallow this entire territory. Then he would surely use it as an achievement to return himself to his original position.

I clenched both hands at the clear malice of someone who did not even seem to consider me worth looking at. Faced with this situation, I realized something anew.

Just how far beneath them they considered me.

Hwaryeong, Jegang, and Gaon. All of them saw me as someone they could keep beneath their hand and use. Well, from their perspective, I was nothing more than an insignificant existence.

No matter that I moved with Professor Irian behind me, I was only a wandering mage crawling along the bottom. The gap in status between them and me was obvious.

I had felt this a few times before. When I dealt with treasures in the storeroom.

Except when Mira was present, treasures did not pay much attention to me. When I lacked strength and was not respected, no matter how plausible a proposal I made, it meant nothing.

It was no more than an ant’s clamor. Why would anyone need to listen to an ant? As they were doing now, they could simply take what they wanted by force. Then there was only one thing I could do for Jegang.

I would thoroughly crush him.

I needed to show them that I was not merely relying on Professor Irian’s influence. That would be the price for touching my puppets. I turned to look at Isabella.

“How many people remain?”

[About forty percent. Of course, a few more may leave in the future.]

Isabella checked the mirror bug and wrote. I glanced at Repo. She was quietly gathering herself in her puppet’s embrace.

Just as Repo had received an offer, the others had surely been approached by the Trading Company. Yet they had not left my workshop.

Their choices must have come partly from a desire for profit, but they also surely had feelings for my puppets. Just as Repo showed now.

The people at the puppet workshop saw puppets as nothing more than merchandise. But to me, they were not products. They were practically my children.

That was why I trusted my puppets. I believed they could protect my customers well enough. And the puppets did not betray that trust.

I quietly stroked my chin. Forty percent... If this happened, I had expected only around twenty percent to remain. Far more people had stayed than I expected. That meant my puppets had satisfied them that much.

[Now that they have reduced our people, something bigger will come. Shall we move as Master said we would?]

Isabella asked. As she said, losing people was certainly fatal. But it only suppressed my growth.

If time passed like this, my customer base would recover again. That was the nature of a mage’s desire. So they would surely try to finish me before that happened.

“Yes. Let’s move.”

Them taking my people was something I had wanted as well. You could call it a kind of pruning. The more people there were, the slower our movements would become.

I looked out the window and nodded. If they intended to tie me down with capital, I needed to move fast enough to surpass it. They had made one move. Now it was time for me to make two.

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