WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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Chapter 260

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260.

I took the tree branches from the box and arranged them neatly. Then I lightly examined them with magical power. Unlike an ordinary mage’s tree, strange currents had been engraved into them.

Some repelled my magical power, some contaminated it, and some devoured it. Each one could be called a magical power curse with its own character.

Perhaps because they had been continually maintained, their power had grown stronger than before. Feeling the flows of those magical power curses, I nodded in satisfaction.

As expected, experiencing them directly gave me a better understanding of curses than simply studying records.

I carefully covered them with magical power and rose to my feet. I would need to carry out many experiments with these from now on, so I had to conserve the tree branches as much as possible.

As I layered several spells over them, I felt someone watching me. I glanced over and saw the Chairman, who had been examining the Imperial Prince’s body only moments ago, now standing beside me and looking down at the tree branches.

“Seeing these has made me curious about something. Would you answer a question?”

“Of course.”

What did the Chairman want to ask? As I looked over, the Chairman gestured with their chin toward the workbench where the Imperial Prince lay.

“I understand well enough why you wish to use Beral as a specimen. Beral has the body of a weed, unable to grow a tree, so if you bleach the tree you placed inside, it should become possible to cultivate it properly. But...”

The Chairman narrowed their eyes slightly. Their gaze was full of doubt, as though they could not understand my actions. Stroking their chin, the Chairman continued.

“Their trees have already been warped beyond repair. How do you intend to keep your promise to them?”

“Ahaha. Right, I haven’t explained everything yet. Is the next lecture in a week? If I can’t find a method by then, there’ll indeed be a problem, just as you fear.”

The Chairman’s concern was reasonable. I had obtained tree branches from ten mages partly by using the Chairman’s prestige, but also because I had promised them one thing.

I promised to straighten their trees.

I gently stroked the tree branches and felt the currents of magical power curses engraved within them at my fingertips.

Magical power curses fundamentally rejected magical power.

That was why the trees of those carrying such curses had no choice but to become badly warped as they grew them.

The curses flowing through their souls blocked the path magical power should have naturally taken.

Well, they probably hadn’t wanted to grow their trees like this either. But they had no choice. If they couldn’t grow a tree, the magical power curse would surely eat away at their lives.

I glanced at the Imperial Prince’s body. Even while the patchwork tree caused constant trouble, the body had not received a single scratch. Every time I saw it, I couldn’t help being impressed.

Unless they had a powerful bloodline protecting them like this, people with magical power curses had to grow trees. Those who could not had died and vanished. That was why everyone who came to the Council had managed to create a tree.

And once a tree had been established, it was practically impossible to remake it in a new form without completely destroying its foundation.

Yet I had torn away parts of their trees under the pretext of rebuilding their warped trees. In other words, I had torn away pieces of their souls.

So if I failed here, they would surely demand many things in return for the tree branches I had taken. The lectures would fall under suspicion as well.

The Chairman was surely worried about such a situation.

Although the contract bound the Chairman, we were ultimately in the same boat.

My failure would be no different from the Chairman’s own. It was only natural for the Chairman to ask such a question.

I shrugged lightly. Then I should give my business partner some confidence. I glanced toward Isabella.

“Ms. Isabella, have you finished the preparations?”

“Yes, Master. As you asked, I have created a magical power erasure array covering the entire workshop. If the Chairman supplies the magical power, we can begin the experiment immediately.”

I nodded quietly, then turned to the Chairman and smiled.

“Since it’s the first experiment, you should watch as well. Would you come this way?”

“...What are you planning?”

The Chairman narrowed their eyes.

“You’ll see for yourself.”

With that, I walked away.

A week passed.

The day of the lecture had arrived.

As I slowly walked onto the platform, I felt countless eyes upon me. I calmly looked around.

The lecture hall was packed. I had heard it could hold around four hundred people, which meant nearly twice as many people had gathered compared to the previous lecture.

Four hundred people. That was roughly the total number currently staying on this mountain. Scratching my head, I realized that word of the Chairman joining my plan must have spread to the others.

Well, I had deliberately encouraged that rumor. That was how I had extracted various bits of knowledge from them. I had already gathered everything I could about magical power curses, so I collected all sorts of knowledge and magic instead.

Converted roughly into points, it was comparable to the points I had extracted from Domitian before. A satisfied feeling swelled in my chest, and I smiled. The bigger the matter became, the more I gained.

Of course, to keep all of it, I needed to finish today’s lecture successfully. If the lecture ended without me proving anything here, those who had gathered to hear it would have no choice but to fleece me in return.

Just as Domitian had, I would be buried beneath a debt I could not repay. Hmm... Still, I had at least one chance. I could probably offset my debt with Domitian’s.

But I had no intention of handing over what I possessed. Tea brewed from Domitian’s tree was such a delicacy. How could I simply give it up?

I had not come here to fail.

I straightened my shoulders, met the eyes of the crowd, and leisurely opened my mouth.

“At last, the final month of the year has arrived. With two lectures remaining, including today’s, I believe my discussion of the Artificial Tree Project will come to an end. I am simply grateful that you have gathered here to hear my inadequate lectures to the very end.”

I bowed my head slightly, then took a small crystal from my pocket.

“If anyone wishes to hear the previous lectures, I have prepared video crystals containing recordings of them. Please feel free to purchase them. I will offer them at a reasonable price.”

Everyone had surely recorded the lectures I had given so far. Those newly attending this lecture had likely spent a great many points to obtain and watch the earlier ones through word of mouth.

There was no need for me to hide the lecture content. I couldn’t simply watch others earn points, could I?

Besides, the more I put everything out into the world and drew attention, the better it was for me. Causing a commotion while earning points. What a wonderful thing.

I glanced into the air. Several mirror bugs were floating around me, recording my lecture from all directions. I continued while facing their screens.

“In the previous lecture, we practiced how to create trees. You have likely all studied the seeds I distributed yourselves. And I expect you now understand the direction I intend to pursue.”

When I finished speaking, a few people frowned slightly. They were probably the ones who had failed to attend the previous lecture and had not received seeds. Well, I had no reason to accommodate even them. Opportunities came only once.

“However, as you all know, that alone is not enough to call it an artificial tree. Many people before me have made similar things. Yet all of them failed, for one reason alone.”

I raised a finger, poked my chest, and continued.

“No matter how convincing a tree they created, it ultimately collapsed from the rejection of the soul carried by a living being. You likely believe the trees I create will have similar side effects. So today, I would like to speak about that.”

I looked around the room. My gaze met those who had given me tree branches, the people carrying magical power curses. Their eyes held a trace of doubt.

They seemed unsure whether I could keep my promise to them. Naturally. For the past week, I had not taken a single step outside the workshop, so they had no way of knowing what I had done.

Then I needed to give them an answer.

“What I focused on was magical power curses. In truth, I have asked you all for much knowledge concerning magical power curses, so I imagine you have realized they are tied to the method I use to create trees. I have even heard that someone purchased all the knowledge I collected.”

I glanced at Merov. Merov gave a dry cough, looking as though something was weighing on him.

Well, Merov had brought me here, so it was natural for him to take an interest in what I was doing. According to rumor, he had gathered around ten people and was sharing the knowledge with them.

I did not know whether that would work out properly. Apologizing to Merov in my heart, I continued.

“With your help, I carried out my research. And at the end of it, I succeeded in obtaining one possibility. I found a method to cultivate trees naturally.”

I could feel the crowd making puzzled faces. It seemed they did not fully understand what I meant.

I nodded as I watched them. Well, I had not expected to explain everything with words alone. They would understand only after seeing an example for themselves. Which meant it was time to call up my assistant.

“Chairman, would you come up here?”

Before my words had even ended, I felt someone standing beside me. The Chairman had appeared like the wind. The other people’s gazes immediately turned toward them.

“Now then, the Chairman will conduct the following experiment. Please welcome them with applause.”

I clapped lightly and stepped back. Leaving this task to the Chairman could not be helped. Other people would not trust me, and my current condition was not particularly good either.

The Chairman stared at me. Somehow, I thought I could see a weary look on their face.

But the Chairman’s gaze soon shifted to the people who had begun applauding. They shook their head and made a light gesture.

Strong magical power rose with that gesture, and every person who had given me tree branches floated onto the platform. The Chairman clicked their tongue as they looked at those who had gone stiff from the sudden turn of events.

“Tch. Show the forms of your trees. Otherwise, the others will not be able to recognize the changes.”

To a mage, a tree was practically a pillar of the soul. Showing it openly was the same as revealing a weakness.

Perhaps because of that, they hesitated for a moment. But when the Chairman glared lightly, they soon manifested their trees with magical power.

Their forms were badly twisted under the influence of magical power curses. The Chairman gestured toward them with their chin.

“Can you all see? Those are their trees. They are the result of magical power curses shaking their foundations and forcing them to warp. I will now alter them and make them into sound trees.”

At the Chairman’s confident words, the crowd began murmuring. Looking annoyed, the Chairman reached toward Oga, who stood at the very front.

Oga panicked and raised magical power, but the Chairman easily tore it apart and thrust a hand into Oga’s chest. The Chairman was not merely piercing Oga’s physical body. Their fingertips had penetrated Oga’s inner image.

“Be careful. If I touch the wrong thing, you could be permanently crippled.”

Oga froze at the Chairman’s words, seemingly realizing that a single tight clench of the Chairman’s hand could collapse their inner image entirely.

The Chairman pushed their hand deeper and began delicately channeling magical power. As their hand burrowed farther in, Oga’s face grew paler.

“Here it is. Then I shall begin. Endure the pain for a moment.”

The Chairman whispered softly and channeled even more magical power.

Oga let out a short scream and twisted in pain. But the Chairman paid no attention to the struggling and moved their hand without hesitation.

As time passed, Oga’s face turned deathly pale. The blood Oga coughed up pooled at their feet, forming a puddle. Only after Oga had vomited what seemed like half the blood in their body did the Chairman stop pouring in magical power.

After some time, the Chairman withdrew their hand with a satisfied expression. Oga lost consciousness and collapsed.

Oga’s intermittent breaths made it seem as though death could come at any moment.

The crowd was startled by Oga’s condition. But I simply crossed my arms and watched calmly.

Oga had merely lost consciousness from the shock of having their tree forcibly altered. That amount of pain alone could not kill someone. I knew that because I had experienced it myself.

Soon, Oga coughed lightly and woke up. Rising from the spot, Oga began circulating magical power as if examining the inside of their body. Then Oga’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“H-How...?”

“Tch. Stop examining it and show your tree to the others. They all seem curious.”

The Chairman shook out their hand as they spoke. Oga looked around at the crowd, then manifested their tree once more.

The tree that appeared looked entirely different from before. Its badly twisted and crushed form had disappeared, replaced by a single straight tree rising tall.

Its magical power was extremely similar to Oga’s. A few people sent magical power toward Oga’s tree, examining it as though they could not believe it. Before long, however, they withdrew their magical power as if they had no choice but to accept it.

The tree had truly been rebuilt.

The other specimens who had watched the entire process had shining eyes. They seemed to realize that their own chance had come.

The Chairman approached them as well and thrust a hand into their chests. As with Oga, the Chairman forcibly altered their trees until they formed sound shapes.

Once all ten people were sprawled across the platform, feeling over their bodies, the Chairman lightly shook out their hands. They glanced at me, who had been standing back, and vanished again in an instant. The Chairman had apparently finished everything they needed to do.

I smiled lightly and looked around the room. I met eyes filled with intense interest. This reaction was enough.

“What do you think? As you have seen, we have been researching methods of cultivating trees. I believe that modifications like these can also minimize the rejection of newly implanted trees.”

A tree was the very symbol of a soul. Editing one created a divergence from the soul, so rejection was inevitable.

Moreover, trees containing magical power curses were especially sensitive to rejection. Their warped forms were terribly unstable. Correcting them could therefore be seen as overcoming the rejection between tree and soul.

Of course, that was half a lie.

I had been able to alter their trees only because I had successfully learned everything there was to know about their magical power curses. Those curses had guided me like signposts.

If I tried to touch the tree of someone without a magical power curse, the tree would surely collapse. That was why it was impossible to tamper with the patchwork tree in this manner.

I clicked my tongue in regret. If only I could alter the patchwork tree, it would have been better. Then I could have solved Isabella’s and the Imperial Prince’s problems without needing to bleach it.

But it was impossible for the others to discover that flaw. I crossed my arms and looked around. A few people still seemed doubtful, so I smiled lightly and shrugged.

“Hmm, it seems some of you still have questions. Then let me tell you how we obtained this method.”

It seemed I needed to reveal exactly how we had altered the trees. Only then would they all be convinced.

The Chairman had altered the others’ trees according to the blueprint I had given them. So if they followed my method, they too could obtain a similar blueprint.

Of course, the Chairman had watched what I did and given up immediately.

I closed my eyes, placed a hand on my chest, and brought out the tree inside me, just as the earlier specimens had.

“Well? If you follow my example, you too will be able to touch other people’s trees. Of course, I will not be responsible if you fail.”

As soon as I finished speaking, silence filled the lecture hall. Some frowned while examining my tree, while others turned away as though they had seen something horrible.

Naturally. The tree I had brought out was covered in small spots. Strange currents seemed to flow from those spots, which interfered with magical power.

Yes, they were all magical power curses. I had planted the magical power curses collected from ten mages into my own soul.

The tree that carried those curses had lost its former shape and become half warped.

Could anyone here plant magical power curses inside their soul as I had?

No. I was certain they could not. That was simply what mages were like.

I leisurely looked around the room.

Hmm. Judging by the atmosphere, this lecture seemed likely to succeed as well.

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