WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 258

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The black snake lazily flicked its tongue. The Chairman, who had been staring into its eyes, lightly furrowed his brow and turned to me.

“This is that Beral brat?”

“Yes. I tried transferring only his soul.”

“…Tch. No wonder he had been out of sight all this time. Was it to hide this pathetic appearance?”

The Chairman looked up at the snake as though it were pitiful. The snake narrowed its eyes.

-Pathetic, you say. You are correct. It is a body unfit for an Imperial Prince. Yet I rather like it.

With this body, I can escape Father’s watchful eye.

As the snake added that, it slowly crawled around him. Watchful eye? I listened to the prince’s words and lightly stroked my chin.

As a snake over a hundred meters long moved about, even this vast cavern somehow felt cramped. I slowly walked over to Isabella and lightly whispered in her ear.

“It seems those two will be speaking for a while, so I’ll maintain the magic circle from now on.”

Perhaps because she had struggled to bring the magic this far, Isabella looked quite pale. I needed to maintain the magical power erasure array now.

“Yes, Master. Thank you for your help.”

Isabella smiled gently and stepped back half a pace. Standing beside her, I supported the fading magic circle. The circle, which had begun to crack slightly, regained its distinct color.

Once Isabella had fully recovered her magical power, she wrote a small message in the air. It was faint enough that the two people silently staring at each other would not notice it.

[I still find it a little hard to believe those two are related by blood. I could not sense anything from their appearances.]

“Exactly.”

I nodded as Isabella’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. I found it quite interesting as well. I still could not truly believe that the Imperial Prince and the Chairman were blood relatives.

That was partly a suspicion based on facts. I stroked my chin as I looked at the Chairman. In truth, I had held some doubts about his identity.

That was because he kept giving me a feeling somewhat similar to the president.

Considering that the president I had met was not an ordinary human, but a being whose soul had been divided, a split soul dwelling in the turtle’s body, it was quite strange.

That was why I had suspected that the Chairman, like the president, might have an unusual past. He was surely no ordinary mage.

From that perspective, the Emperor having a child with the Chairman did seem rather plausible. According to rumors from outside, the Lumina Empress enjoyed coupling with unusual beings.

They said the Empress had coupled with giants, demons, and even dragons. So it was not strange for the Chairman to have coupled with the Emperor.

Even so, I had my doubts because there was something strange about Prince Beral.

A child would naturally inherit at least part of their parents’ souls.

Those portions of the parents’ souls mixed together to create new life, becoming a bloodline passed down to later generations. That was why I could not help but be deeply impressed while examining Prince Beral’s body.

Unlike a wanderer like me, his body possessed extraordinary strength. Even though the magical power curse hindered him, the imperial family's blood flowing through him naturally elevated the quality of his body.

Prince Beral’s completed body was sturdier than even a puppet body strengthened with every kind of material. Anyone would covet it.

Yet at the same time, I could not sense anything from Prince Beral. Other than the imperial family's blood, there was no trace of any bloodline.

Considering the years and power the Chairman had accumulated, it was an incredibly strange matter. That was why I had never noticed they were blood relatives until the prince himself revealed his relationship with the Chairman.

Even after hearing it, I could not erase my doubts. Naturally. No matter how much I investigated, I could find no trace that they were related by blood.

Still, I believed Prince Beral because of his unique condition.

As could be seen now, the prince had been born with a magical power curse. Even the imperial family's bloodline could not overcome it. Perhaps the curse had burned away the Chairman’s blood as well.

I quietly stroked my chin. Looking at the current situation, it seemed the two truly were related by blood. Of course, that did not mean they seemed to get along.

The snake coiled itself and looked at the Chairman. There seemed to be a slight sneer in its gaze.

-And seeing Father call this body pathetic makes me laugh a little. For the past ten years, Father had not even made me a pathetic body like this. Yet Mr. Evron gave me magic in less than a year.

It seems Mr. Evron may be more capable than Father.

The snake rolled its eyes as it added that. The Chairman’s face twisted, apparently displeased by words that put him down.

Watching the Chairman, I carefully waved both hands. I did not want to be caught in the fallout from a quarrel between father and son.

“That can’t be true. I was simply fortunate. If I could have solved this alone, I wouldn’t have called you here, Chairman.”

At my firm denial, the Chairman lightly clicked his tongue and looked around.

“…Tch. Then where is the Mountain’s Heart now? I think I should examine it before we talk.”

-Ah, this?

The snake opened its mouth slightly. I could see what was inside.

The first thing I saw was the prince’s body, hanging limply as if asleep. The snake had grown so huge that it seemed easier to carry the body in its mouth than to coil around it.

And in the prince’s arms was a transparent jewel. I quietly gasped as I looked at the gem spilling out a brilliant light.

The fist-sized gem contained highly pure magical power. If not for the magical power erasure array I was maintaining, that pure magical power would surely have colored the entire area.

That was likely this mountain’s heart. It was my first time seeing one as well.

After showing us the jewel for a moment, the snake closed its mouth. The intense light of magical power emitted by the gem vanished.

No matter how much magical power the heart held, it did not seem able to pierce that body made of magical power curses. The snake smacked its lips briefly before continuing.

-If you want it, take it. It seems the contract has been made.

The prince flicked his tongue, looking somehow reluctant. I simply shrugged.

“Please keep it, Your Highness. You only need to return it to its original place without any damage in one month.”

It seemed the prince liked having the Mountain’s Heart near his original body. Perhaps its pure magical power suppressed the magical power of the patchwork tree, which kept bursting out.

He had surely instinctively realized it would help him. As someone with nowhere in particular to store it, I welcomed that.

If Prince Beral did not keep it, I would need to set up several layers of security in case someone tried to steal the gem. Why would I refuse when he was willing to spare me that trouble?

Besides, the prince was essentially a natural safe. Anyone who wanted to take it would have to tear open the prince’s body and pull it out, which would mean his death.

The problem was that, trapped within the curse, the heart could not absorb magical power. Yet considering the magical power it already contained, that was a very minor issue. I could use other gems to store magical power anyway.

“If every problem is resolved sooner than a month from now, I will return the heart immediately then as well. Why would we need such a hostage between us?”

Once I finished speaking, the Chairman frowned and glared at me. I smiled softly as I looked back at him. After some time passed, the Chairman slightly shook his head.

“What a sly brat. So what is it that I need to do?”

“Ah, I have arranged my workshop for you to inspect. Isabella, could you guide the Chairman to the workshop? I need to organize the magic circle for a moment.”

I signaled Isabella. She nodded and headed toward the Chairman. After exchanging a few words with him, she took the lead out of the enormous cavern.

The Chairman glanced at the snake and me before following Isabella. After seeing them off, I gathered my magical power and began floating the magic circle into the air, just as I had said.

The magic circle surrounding the snake’s body always needed careful attention. If I slipped up even for a moment, magical power would seep through a gap in the circle, which would mean the collapse of the magical power erasure array.

If the array collapsed, the prince’s body would react to the magical power, and the snake would grow even larger. The capacity of the magic circle was already near its limit. It could not grow any larger.

As I concentrated and adjusted the magic circle, I heard something scraping along the floor. Not long after, I felt a huge shadow fall over my head.

When I glanced up, I saw the snake staring at the Chairman’s departing back. Complex emotions overflowed from the eyes of the snake, which had now grown larger than me.

Soon, the snake shook its head and met my gaze. I smiled slightly, then bowed my head.

“If Your Highness had not helped me, it would have been impossible to obtain the heart. Thank you for giving me valuable information that could persuade the Chairman.”

It seems the Chairman values blood relations quite highly, despite his appearance.

As I added that and stroked my chin, the snake flicked its tongue. A somewhat cynical whisper entered my ears.

-Blood relations? That means nothing to him. What mattered more was likely that I was a precious test subject he had held onto for a long time. It would be impossible for him to find another test subject like me.

His earlier mention of being watched, and now his words about being a test subject, suggested there was some story between the Chairman and Prince Beral. I thought about it for a moment, then shrugged.

Whatever story existed between that father and son was not particularly important to me. What mattered more was that the prince had sold the Chairman to me. I only had to do my best to meet the prince’s expectations.

Could the Chairman really solve the problem? Carrying that question, I headed to the workshop with the prince. When I opened the workshop door, I saw the Chairman standing in the experimental area I had prepared on one side.

The Chairman was concentrating on something so deeply that he did not even notice our arrival. I neatly adjusted the magic circle around the prince again before approaching him.

Then I saw what he was holding. It was a small snake that could fit in his palm. The Chairman ran magical power through its body before turning to me.

“Is this the foundation of that body? It looks like you dealt with only the soul and placed it inside this.”

The Chairman gestured with his chin toward the snake in the center of the workshop. I blinked slightly. There was something in his words that bothered me. After thinking for a moment, I nodded.

“Yes. I believed that, to contain a soul tainted by a magical power curse, I needed to create a body with no magical power whatsoever rather than an ordinary body. So I tried placing the magical power curse into the body.”

As the Chairman listened to my explanation, he placed a finger against the small snake’s body. Magical power rose from his finger, and the snake’s body began to split apart.

The magical power curses I had engraved tried to stop the Chairman’s finger, but he forcibly broke through them and dissected each scale. Once he understood the entire structure, he quietly stroked his chin.

“Hmm. You engraved a magical power curse into every scale and turned it into magic. Its complex flow is impressive. There could be no better body for a soul carrying a magical power curse.”

Though there could be no more terrible body for a soul without one.

The Chairman’s eyes shone as he muttered those words. It seemed the Snake of Curses spell I had created interested him.

My eyes shone as well as I looked at him. Listening to him, I became certain. He also knew that magical power curses could be engraved on souls.

That was knowledge I had gained by cutting away my own tree and engraving curses into it directly. It was something I had acquired through blood and flesh. If he knew it, that meant the Chairman had done something similar.

“Then let us look at that now.”

The Chairman gestured to Isabella. She handed him the glass bottle she had been holding.

Inside the bottle, which was filled with magical power fluid, was a tree giving off strange magical power. It looked as though multiple tree branches had been forcibly joined together.

It was the patchwork tree I had prepared in advance. The Chairman narrowed his eyes and looked at me.

“It seems not everything in your plan was a lie. It is somewhat strange, but you really did make something resembling a tree. Impressive.”

I smiled lightly as I looked at the Chairman. Though I now held his leash, he was one of those who stood in a realm far beyond anything I could compare to. I had not expected someone like him to praise me.

“That is a patchwork tree created by gathering other people’s tree branches, matching their grain, and grafting them together. One has been planted in Isabella, and another in the prince’s body.”

I had hidden the patchwork trees to avoid arousing others’ suspicion. But the Chairman was now completely bound to me. I needed to explain how the prince could use magic.

Of course, I did not need to reveal everything. The Chairman furrowed his brow as if he did not understand.

“Grafting? Simply grafting them would not produce something this complete.”

“Hmm… Let us keep that a secret. Please only understand that my magic was involved.”

I shrugged slightly. The reason I could graft together so many tree branches like that was because I used my soul fragments as glue.

Yet even a mage of the Chairman’s level would surely find it difficult to discover my soul fragments within that patchwork tree. They had already assimilated with it during the grafting process.

Perhaps intending to inspect it himself after my silence, the Chairman took the patchwork tree out. He examined it for a long time before shaking his head.

“Tch. I do not know how you made it, but it would be impossible to commercialize this. It would look like you were deceiving others.”

“Still, if we succeed in planting a tree in the prince, others may have hope as well. That is why I want to give the prince a clean tree.”

“So I roughly understand the direction you intend to take. You want to use the magical power curse to erase individuality. It suits you well.”

The Chairman muttered as he rubbed his forehead. I smiled quietly. To think he had figured out so much after only a brief look. Then again, otherwise there would have been no point in bringing him in with the prince.

“Then could you perhaps give me guidance on resolving the prince’s problem?”

At my words, the Chairman glanced at Prince Beral. The coiled snake met my eyes.

“The problem? You mean his body growing endlessly?”

I nodded slightly. The prince’s patchwork tree and magical power curse fed one another and continued cycling endlessly. That was my greatest problem right now.

The prince’s body was holding up well for now, but if the patchwork tree kept growing, even that sturdy body might eventually fail to withstand the rejection and collapse.

I lacked knowledge of magical power curses and had been unable to solve the problem. But the Chairman, who had researched the prince’s curse for over ten years, might know a solution. And the Chairman did not disappoint my expectations.

“Well, that will be simple enough. Could you open that magic circle for a moment?”

“The magic circle?”

“Yes. I will need to touch that thing’s soul directly.”

The Chairman spoke while meeting the enormous snake’s eyes. He looked utterly confident. After hesitating briefly, I opened the entrance to the magical power erasure array.

Magical power flowed in, and the snake’s body began to wriggle little by little. The magical power activated the patchwork tree, and it began growing again.

If this continued for even a few dozen minutes, it would surely double in size. Yet that growth stopped when the Chairman casually waved his hand. After some time passed, its size instead began to slowly decrease.

“This is…”

I could not help letting out a quiet groan. What the Chairman had done was very simple. He had half-sealed the prince’s magical power curse. He lightly shook the snake body in his hand.

“I could not have sealed the curse without examining the underlying magic like this. You called it the Snake of Curses, did you not? An impressive spell. I like it.”

The Chairman’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the snake. He had made it sound simple, but I knew how difficult it was.

The fact that he had broken through every curse in the magic I had created and even bound the prince’s magical power curse meant he had a deep understanding of curses.

Watching him, I found something rather strange. Had the Chairman not said he had examined Prince Beral’s magical power curse for ten years? Yet he said he still had not found a treatment.

I had understood that because I had examined the prince’s curse myself. But if…

I stopped my thoughts there. The Chairman was looking at me with strange eyes. I smoothly changed my expression and clapped my hands.

“Amazing. I knew you would manage it, Chairman!”

I closed the entrance to the magical power erasure array and stroked my chin. Then I looked at the Chairman and smiled brightly.

“Then we can move on to the next stage.”

“Huh. The next stage?”

“Yes. To speed up our research, we need to explore many possibilities. That means we will need more experiments. We should gather more samples.”

In truth, I had no intention of gathering samples other than Isabella and the prince. I had believed it would be impossible to bring anyone else into our plan.

But now, a useful tool called the Chairman had fallen into my hands. If he cooperated, others could join us as well. How could I leave someone this useful alone?

So it did not matter what the Chairman thought or what his purpose was. All that mattered was that he would be very useful to me. Holding firmly onto the smile I had put on my face, I met the Chairman’s eyes.

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