WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 246

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The process of making a contract with Domitian proceeded without issue. I gently rubbed my wrist and smiled.

Now that I had fastened the first button, all that remained was to prepare a trap for him.

However, the trap I intended to prepare for Domitian, namely replacing Isabella’s soul, was not as easy as it sounded.

A soul was essentially the root of a life. Replacing it meant, quite literally, switching to another life.

If I had been certain I could replace a soul in the first place, I would have changed my own soul before anyone else’s. That would have freed me from my contract.

Still, there was a slight possibility this time. I looked down at Isabella, who lay on the workbench.

Isabella had fallen into suspended animation within the magic circle I had drawn. It was certain that she would not awaken until the magic circle disappeared.

There were three days left until the hearing. Within that time, I had to prepare a new soul for Isabella.

To do that, I needed to focus completely. I slowly turned and looked at the person settled in one corner of the workshop.

“Do you intend to stay here the whole time?”

At my words, Ailey, who wore a mischievous smile, swirled the glass in her hand. A faint smell of blood reached me.

“I’m curious about what you plan to do, Evron. I’ll stay quiet, so you don’t need to worry about me.”

I let out a small sigh at Ailey, who showed no sign of leaving. Even with my back turned, it was hard to focus beneath her unrelenting gaze.

Still, it was difficult to drive Ailey out of the workshop. She was the one who had brought the materials for creating a new soul.

I brushed the box on one side of the workbench. Magical power rose from my fingertips and undid its seal.

Feeling the magical power stored inside leak out, I quietly nodded.

As expected, she had not disappointed me. To think she had prepared only the highest-grade materials. I carefully took out the tree branches inside the box.

“Hmm. I was curious even while I was collecting them. What do you plan to use so many tree branches for, Evron?”

Ailey rested her chin on her hand and smiled. I glanced at her before placing the tree branches over Isabella’s body.

“I intend to use these to make a new tree for Ms. Isabella.”

A tree branch could be considered part of a soul. If I wove them together into one, and used them to create a new tree...

At the end of it all, perhaps it could replace Isabella’s ruined soul.

Of course, that was only a slim possibility. Even so, I was certain it would succeed.

The reason I could be this certain was because I believed in Isabella as a mage.

Isabella possessed extraordinary talent. So if I could only prepare a new tree for her, she would surely be able to contain it within herself.

“A new tree. Is it because of the contract?”

I cautiously watched Ailey’s reaction to her words. But she only gave me an inscrutable smile.

It seemed Ailey also knew about the contract between Isabella and Domitian. Perhaps she even knew about my contract.

“...You knew?”

“Well, rumors have been going around. It was probably that old man spreading them.”

Ailey crossed her arms and scoffed. I could not help frowning. I had been so busy continuing my research here that I had not even realized the rumors were spreading.

That old man. Did she mean Domitian? I let out a quiet sigh. I did not need to think deeply to understand why he had spread rumors about the contract.

It was probably because he had succeeded in kidnapping Orgot. The moment Orgot fell into Domitian’s grasp, half the outcome of this struggle had passed into his hands.

That was surely why he had spread word of the contract between us. He wanted to keep me from casually contacting Ailey’s side.

Well, I had expected it. I quietly nodded.

Still, it was a little strange. Ailey had handed me the tree branches because I had promised not to break the pact with her.

Under such circumstances, she would have had reason to be suspicious if word had spread about the contract between Domitian and me. Yet Ailey looked quite relaxed, as I could see now.

Perhaps she noticed my gaze, because Ailey raised her glass and smiled with her eyes.

“As I just said, don’t worry about me. Right now, I simply want to watch you, Evron.”

I had no choice but to turn toward her. Keeping my eyes on hers, I spoke.

“Aren’t you worried? What if I go over to their side?”

Ailey took a sip from her full glass. Then she shrugged with a relaxed smile.

“Then it can’t be helped. It would mean I made a mistake.”

I frowned at Ailey’s words. A mistake? I did not understand. Ailey looked at me and continued.

“You must have noticed at least a little that I made the pact in the first place to deliberately leave an opening. Considering that old man’s greed, I expected him to come rushing in like this.”

“So that was it.”

I nodded. I had thought that the way things were unfolding seemed a little too contrived.

If we had not made this pact, Domitian would not have been able to target Ailey. He would have merely continued holding her back to prevent her from growing.

“Is the request you mentioned before related to the current situation?”

I carefully asked Ailey. She nodded with a faint smile.

“My, I thought I only mentioned it at the entrance ceremony. I didn’t expect you to remember it even now. Evron, you really are interesting.”

Ailey looked me over. Without saying anything, I slightly avoided her gaze. It felt as though a thick killing intent was flowing from her eyes.

“That old man is one of the prey our family has been watching for a long time. That was why the request came to me. And since he seemed suitable for becoming new writing paper, I accepted.”

“Shh. This is a secret just between us.”

As she added that, Ailey pressed a finger to her lips.

I quietly nodded. I had wondered why Ailey had been dropped into this city all alone. Had she deliberately come here to fish for Domitian?

“Hehe. And I trust you, Evron. I know you won’t betray me.”

“...How can you be so sure?”

“Because you hate it when someone lays hands on what is yours. I thought you wouldn’t let it slide when that old man touched your puppets. It seems my thoughts were not mistaken.”

Ailey sipped her drink with a satisfied expression. Looking at her, I shook my head.

As someone who made a habit of testing even a stone bridge before crossing it, I found her attitude deeply unsettling. It felt like she was hiding something.

But one thing was certain. At this moment, Ailey had been of great help to me in facing Domitian.

I glanced down at the tree branches in the box, then bowed my head to her. Ailey waved to me before setting down her glass.

“I wanted to watch a little longer, but it seems you’re uncomfortable with me staying here. Then it can’t be helped. I suppose I’ll have to go play with Mira outside.”

Ailey stretched and rose to her feet. Then she slowly walked out of the workshop. I stared at her retreating back before letting out a sigh.

For now, I needed to stop thinking about Ailey. I had something far more important before me.

I looked around. Numerous magic circles filled the workshop. As I examined them, I took out the carving knife shimmering with golden magical power from my robe.

From this point on, I needed to concentrate. I had to create a new tree. It was also an attempt to overcome my earlier failures.

In the past, I had repeatedly attempted to graft tree branches together. The magic circles throughout the workshop held those grafted tree branches.

But they were insufficient to be called a new soul. Creating a life through such a simple method was still a distant prospect.

Still, they held one possibility. Each individual nature was gathering into one.

These countless tree branches could be called individual soul fragments. Their grafting meant that the soul fragments had joined together.

Then what would happen if I could gather all those countless tree branches into one? If I endlessly grafted them together and made them take the form of a single tree?

Perhaps that alone would allow it to be called another tree.

Of course, the tree branches I had already possessed had all been gathered into one mass. They were materials I had invested several hundred thousand points into.

But the lump created by gathering them together was not a tree. It was merely an enormous tree branch. It was still incomplete, unable to take root in a foundation.

I did not know how to give it the form of a tree. I simply lacked the time and knowledge.

So I decided to think in a very simple way.

If it was incomplete for forming the shape of a tree, then all I had to do was cram in enough tree branches to make it possible.

The tree branches Ailey had given me were the materials for that. I looked down at the branches in the box and smiled faintly.

The Trading Company had swept up every tree branch it could acquire in Icewall City. If I combined all of them into one, perhaps I could form something resembling a small tree.

If that was not enough, I would simply acquire more tree branches and pour them in. There was no need to save points. Once this matter was resolved, points would come pouring in for me.

Of course, there was one minor problem in this process.

I had to tear apart my own tree.

There was no helping it if I wanted to reduce the backlash caused by grafting. I placed a hand over my chest and sent magical power toward my tree beyond it.

It wriggled its branches as if protesting. But perhaps it understood that this was necessary, because it soon drooped and began splitting apart its own body.

Feeling pain surge through me, I quietly nodded. What I had to do now was very simple.

Cut and join.

At the end of repeating that simple work, I would create a massive tree. A massive tree built entirely with points.

With my eyes gleaming, I swung the carving knife.

-

Time passed, bringing me to the present.

Had I carved away too much of my tree? Rubbing my chest, which somehow felt a little empty, I swept my eyes over the surroundings.

The murmuring people around us could not believe what they were seeing. I quietly nodded at that.

It was only natural. An order given through a contract was absolute. And everyone must have seen the chains of the contract burrow into Isabella’s body.

She had died according to that contract.

Yet Isabella, who had died, was rising to her feet again, apparently unharmed.

Of course, it would be inaccurate to say she was completely fine. Blood ran from the corner of Isabella’s mouth. Her face was pale like that of the dead.

Still, she was undeniably alive. Domitian’s eyes widened as he spoke.

“How did you break the contract...?!”

But Isabella did not answer Domitian. No, it would be more accurate to say she could not answer him.

Isabella staggered, her unfocused gaze drifting through empty air. She did not seem to have fully regained consciousness yet.

I could not help my expression hardening as I watched her. According to my plan, Isabella should have awakened immediately. Yet she was like this.

Even if it took some time, she had to regain her senses within a few minutes. Otherwise, everything would collapse again.

I closed my eyes and poured magical power into my connection with Isabella. Through that faint connection, which seemed on the verge of breaking, I glimpsed her mental world.

Within Isabella’s mental world, a single tree stretched straight toward the sky.

That was the fake tree I had created.

A patchwork tree made by gathering every tree branch I possessed into one.

It had taken deep root in the foundation where Isabella’s original tree had once stood.

Seeing that eased my worries a little. Fortunately, things had not strayed far from my expectations.

I smiled faintly. Isabella’s talent truly was incredible. She had half succeeded in containing the patchwork tree I had cobbled together within her own foundation.

Of course, the resulting backlash continued to appear. The blood Isabella was spitting up was one consequence of it. Her body could not endure the shock.

But there was no helping it. To a mage, a tree was the physical form of their soul.

Forcibly replacing one was close to impossible. Even if someone tried to uproot and exchange the tree, the existing soul would fiercely resist.

That meant that if there was no soul, it was possible to minimize the backlash. There was no issue with planting a new tree in a being with only a physical body remaining.

I had judged that if I could directly and instantly destroy her soul while her mind had not yet faded, I could plant a new tree.

Of course, I could not deliver such a shock myself. That was why I needed Domitian’s help.

Just as he had done now, Domitian needed to use the contract to personally end Isabella’s life. And he had pulled that trigger well.

Under Domitian’s powerful will, Isabella’s tree had collapsed in an instant. The patchwork tree I had prepared within her chest entered that empty space.

It replaced the original tree before even a gap in her soul could form. Having minimized the backlash, the patchwork tree was gradually taking root in Isabella’s foundation.

Perhaps Domitian had also noticed that something was wrong, because he reached out to Isabella. A magic circle rippled from his hand, and letters shaped like tiny snakes began pouring out.

The letters shot rapidly toward Isabella. He clearly intended to erase her here.

I could not help clicking my tongue.

As expected, he was quick to catch on. Had he already figured it out?

Originally, Isabella was practically my property. So no matter how thoroughly she was bound by debt and contract, Domitian could not casually touch her.

But at this moment, Isabella had not obeyed even though I had issued an order through the contract.

The patchwork tree I had created had settled within Isabella, causing her to slip halfway out of my control.

And that also meant Isabella had slipped out of my ownership. In other words, she could be considered a puppet existing alone without a master.

She was a being that had completely sidestepped the university’s rules.

So even if he erased her here, there would be no great problem. Domitian had surely realized that quickly and was attempting to kill Isabella. It was a very seasoned judgment.

But Domitian’s letter-snakes were trapped within a faint mist. Mira, the owner of that mist, stood beside Isabella in an instant.

“Hehe. I never expected to see something this entertaining in such a stifling university. If you wish to erase this friend, you will first have to get past me.”

Mira politely dipped her head and smiled with her eyes. Then she waved her fingers, scattering thick mist through the hall.

Domitian gritted his teeth, spreading another magic circle and releasing more letters. The snakes, carrying stronger magical power than before, gave off a sharp momentum like arrows.

But even they soon vanished in the thickened mist. The mist that absorbed that magical power grew denser still, filling the surroundings.

Mira, facing Domitian, gave me a small smile. I quietly nodded to her.

No matter how strong Domitian was, he would not get past Mira within a few minutes. So I had to do my own part as well.

What mattered now was finding the reason Isabella could not awaken. I lightly bit my lip.

If Isabella did not awaken like this, she would truly die. I had to wake her somehow.

I slowly closed my eyes. Then I began pouring magical power into my faint connection with Isabella.

Within that magical power, I felt my consciousness cross over into her mental world.

How much time passed?

I suddenly realized that I had set foot within Isabella’s mental world.

I slowly looked around. The landscape of the mental world, which I had been unable to perceive from outside, came vividly into view.

Everything was collapsing. Everything was burning. Amid it all, the surroundings twisted and let out terrible screams. This place was like hell.

It was only natural that the mental world had become so distorted. The purity held by the original soul had disappeared, and the patchwork had taken its place.

Once I entered this mental world, I naturally understood why Isabella could not awaken. Her mind was incomplete.

Isabella had endlessly deteriorated after becoming a corpse puppet. At the end of it all, she had become an incomplete soul.

Some of that incompleteness remained in her mind as well. It was a crack I had not noticed because Isabella had never shown any weakness until now.

I lightly clicked my tongue. Since Isabella could not awaken, I needed to guide her.

Focusing my mind, I grasped the faint thread rippling within my chest. It was not a connection with a puppet, but a small current formed by the soul fragments flowing through me.

This current was surely keeping hold of Isabella now. I began walking along the thread.

Perhaps every individual nature contained within the patchwork tree had manifested at once, because Isabella’s mental world was made up of many different laws.

In some places, I had to step through empty air. In others, I had to travel along the surface of water upside down.

As I slowly advanced through this disorderly mental structure, I eventually felt the thread’s current become more complicated.

It meant that the being connected to this thread was gradually drawing closer.

After moving quickly, I found Isabella’s mental body collapsed against a wall.

Isabella’s mental body had become faint, as though it had suffered a great shock. She looked like a candle flame that could disappear at any moment.

She had probably been unable to awaken from the shock of death. I sat beside her and stroked her hair.

As long as she had not completely disappeared, there was a way to wake her.

Soul fragments began flowing from my hand into Isabella.

The soul fragments that had formed my tree rapidly flowed into her. An even greater amount awakened once more and headed toward her.

Through that circulation, I could feel Isabella’s body gradually becoming clearer.

Soon, Isabella slowly opened her eyes.

She blinked, then met my eyes beyond her hazy vision. She quietly shook her head.

-Master, I’m sorry. I tried to resolve it alone, but I failed. It seems I still had fear of Domitian left within me.

Isabella’s hand trembled slightly.

Fear of Domitian. It seemed the place where the crack carved into her mind resided was this very emotion.

If she could not resolve it, Isabella would not awaken. Feeling that will flow through my mind, I shook my head.

-...Fear. Overcoming it must be difficult. Especially in a situation like this. But for some reason, I am reminded of something Ms. Isabella once told me.

I looked at Isabella. Smiling, I began focusing even stronger magical power toward her.

-Ms. Isabella, you called me a light. So if fear continues to rise within you, do not believe in yourself. Believe in me instead.

Under my strong will, all my magical power continued to flow into her. It began brightly illuminating her body.

-I believe that Ms. Isabella will definitely rise again. So believe in the one who believes in you, and rise. Then make me your dream once more.

Smiling faintly, I poured every bit of magical power and will remaining to me into her.

It wrapped around her body like flames.

In contrast, my own body had become much fainter than before. I had poured everything I possessed into her.

Isabella quietly looked down at her body. Then she met my eyes and gave me a small smile.

With that smile as the last thing I saw, I was thrown out of her mental world.

I returned to reality and opened my eyes wide. Breathing heavily, I looked at Isabella.

I had done everything I could.

Now, all that remained was Isabella’s will.

Isabella, who had been standing blankly, soon vomited blood and collapsed to the floor.

But I was not worried.

I could feel an energy like flames through my chest.

I focused on the connection beyond my chest. The faint connection with Isabella gradually grew thicker.

It meant Isabella was awakening.

Feeling a heat like fire surge through that connection, I smiled in satisfaction.

“...Thank you... for your help.”

A deeply cracking voice softly echoed through the hall. It was coming from Isabella, who had been lying on the floor.

Mira turned her head to look at Isabella.

“My, can you speak now? Protecting you was worth it. Then shall we stop playing and finish this?”

Mira lightly waved her fingers. Even denser mist began filling the surroundings.

Perhaps sensing danger, Domitian covered himself in magical power and raised a barrier. But the mist easily crossed that barrier and hid his body as well.

Terrible screams soon began ringing out from within the mist, which revealed nothing inside.

At the end of those screams, Domitian was left sprawled across the floor.

Perhaps she had expended considerable power. Distinct cracks had formed across Mira’s body. She looked dangerously close to collapsing if she used any more power.

Mira dispersed the mist entirely, smacked her lips, and looked down at Domitian.

“Hmm. I wanted to eat a little of his soul, but it seems there would be trouble if I tried to devour him now. I shall restrain myself. I will look forward to seeing you outside.”

As she said that, Mira glanced at the vault lord seated in the place of honor.

But the vault lord showed no reaction, merely keeping an expressionless face.

Perhaps that meant the vault lord considered this level of retaliation acceptable, since Domitian had initiated the fight. Mira slightly bowed her head and stepped back.

Beside her, Isabella slowly rose to her feet.

Magical power like flames seemed to ripple within Isabella’s eyes.

Supporting her shaking body with both hands, Isabella looked down at Domitian. Then she slowly spoke.

“I must... declare it once again. I will... follow Lady Ailey’s will.”

Domitian distorted his face and glared at Isabella. But without paying any heed to his gaze, she looked at Ailey.

Ailey clapped her hands and approached Domitian, lying on the floor. She shoved her fingers into his mouth and used magical power to tear out his tongue.

“This is my victory, so you must keep your promise. First, I will take this useless tongue.”

Ailey looked toward the vault lord with a satisfied expression.

The vault lord quietly watched her, then nodded.

“Two votes in favor, one vote against, and one invalid vote. Under the principle of majority, the pact will remain in effect. The one who requested the hearing will pay the price.”

Hearing the vault lord’s words, I let my limp body sag backward.

Victory.

It was a more perfect victory than I could have hoped for.

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