WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ Surviving in the Magic Academy

Chapter 98

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Hao closed their eyes. Their face gradually grew calm. But the flow of magical power rising from their body carried all their anger as it swirled through the air.

Hao quietly spread both arms. The grand motion drew every believer’s eyes to one place. Beneath all those gazes, Hao snapped their eyes open again and shouted.

“There is something the Ring of the Sky-nim once said to me. It was the night of the third day after I met that being. I asked that being, ‘Can I overcome these long years of suffering alone?’ Perhaps that being sensed my anxiety, because they looked at me and spoke.”

Hao closed their mouth for a moment. After meeting the eyes of each believer one by one, Hao pointed at the mirror bug, eyes shining.

“That being said, ‘I have seen your hardship and stand with you, so I will never leave you or abandon you. So believe in me. Wherever you go, I am with you.’ That was how they comforted me. Yes. We cannot trust the words of such an evil devil! The Ring of the Sky-nim will never abandon us!”

Beyond the mirror bug, Hao shouted with fervor. Pfft. Mira burst into laughter again. She lightly covered her mouth and giggled, then looked at me.

“That child is very funny. Truly charming. To say something like that with such sincerity.”

After catching her breath, she spoke in a voice full of laughter. Her eyes curved into crescents, brimming with delight.

I quietly closed my eyes. Right. How funny must this be for her? A student had flustered a treasure and even made it ask us for help. From her perspective, there probably could not be anything more amusing.

But I could not enjoy it the way she did. I sighed. I was just as flustered. Because of that, I could not find it funny. If anything, I was close to feeling ashamed.

What had I thought before? That the treasure and I were playing a board game. Ring of the Sky made a move, and I blocked it. Like that, I had placed the students beneath me and acted arrogantly.

But that was not it. Ring of the Sky had never been thinking that way. One student I had dismissed as a piece on the board had simply gone berserk all on their own. A faint bitterness lingered in my mouth.

Hao shouted something else to the believers. The believers answered with equal fervor. Their mood grew even hotter.

They no longer cared about Ring of the Sky. They seemed to pay no attention no matter what Ring of the Sky said.

Instead, the more the mirror bug in front of them spat out writing, the louder they shouted. Some cried while calling out for the Ring of the Sky. Hao was one of them. Tears poured from Hao’s eyes like rain.

“I will save you without fail. No, we will! Let us pray while thinking of the Ring of the Sky-nim. May happiness always be with you.”

Hao brought both hands together and drew a circle over their chest. The believers also bowed their heads and followed along. Soon, they cleaned up and left the room. Silence settled over it.

The mirror bug we were watching began vibrating again. It flashed briefly, then changed the screen. It was the communication screen where we had been talking with Ring of the Sky. There, Ring of the Sky was writing.

-Did you see them treat me like a devil? I don’t know why they changed so suddenly. They were only kind until yesterday.

The writing carried Ring of the Sky’s disappointment all too clearly. I smiled bitterly. It continued as if grumbling.

-And I don’t remember saying anything like that either. That I would always be with them? I’m busy tending this room.

“Didn’t you receive offerings from them every day? Perhaps you said something to them then. I think Hao-ssi said it was the third day after you met. Do you not remember that day?”

The mirror bug erased and rewrote its text several times. It looked as if Ring of the Sky was organizing its thoughts. At last, it cautiously began to display writing.

-If you mean offerings, they simply asked me things, so I answered. And if it was the third day, I do remember saying something similar... but that wasn’t what I meant.

“Could you tell me what you said? If you do not remember clearly, I will check the video from that day.”

Ring of the Sky seemed unsure of its own memory, so it agreed. The mirror bug quietly shifted. Then a slight ripple began to appear inside it.

Offering tributes was classified as a special event. Because of that, records related to it were always saved as videos like this.

The third day after they met. I searched and searched through the records until I found the video from that day. The mirror bug began showing it.

In the video, only Hao was facing the mirror bug. Hao was not wearing the outfit from now, either. They merely had on an ordinary robe. With a face full of hesitation, Hao bowed toward the mirror bug.

“Ring of the Sky-nim, will I truly be able to pass in this tower by beating the others? That has been my concern lately.”

-Do not worry. Even if you do not pass, you will use that misfortune as a stepping stone and gain greater happiness. I will always pray for your happiness, so try believing in yourself.

Ring of the Sky spat out writing like that. At those words, Hao’s face brightened slightly.

“Thank you. Hearing that makes me feel a little more at ease.”

Hao offered points to the mirror bug and left. The video began to blur. That was the record from that day.

“Hmm, Hao looked pretty normal back then.”

Mira said that while leaning slightly against me. I quietly nodded. That looked more like personal counseling than a mass.

Had that strange religion started from something like that? I had never thought to trace it that far back, so I had not known.

-See? I only encouraged that child because they seemed to be having a hard time. I didn’t say anything impressive.

Ring of the Sky spat out writing like that. Just as it said. The memory of that day had clearly warped somewhere inside Hao’s head. And that had come from faith and belief.

“Even so, you must have known they had formed a religion.”

-A religion... you mean? Wasn’t that something that existed everywhere? Whenever I shared happiness, something similar always formed.

The mirror bug spat out writing. Seeing those words made my head ache a little. I quietly rubbed my forehead. It seemed I had failed to properly equip myself with treasure-style thinking.

I remembered hearing from Professor once before about the process of capturing Ring of the Sky. Apparently, Professor had found it gathered together with humans and magical beasts in some remote place, all soaked in happiness.

There was apparently a kind of religion formed there. Professor said Ring of the Sky had simply been torn away from the center of it. I had heard Professor bragging beside me about feeling like they had hit the jackpot because a treasure had been lying on the roadside.

That was why I had assumed Ring of the Sky had guided Hao into creating a religion. But looking at this process, I could tell. Ring of the Sky had not thought much about it. Hao had simply created a religion all by themself.

As I looked at it that way, the mirror bug blinked dots as if reading the room. Then it began displaying text in broken pieces. It felt strangely cautious.

-To be honest, I did expect the children who received my power to gather a little. Happiness grows bigger the more it gathers, after all. I was simply thinking of receiving a few offerings from the children. I never thought Hao would go this far....

It spat out words as if confessing. I let out a slight sigh. I had not predicted Hao’s movements either, so I could say I was the same as Ring of the Sky.

Come to think of it, something bothered me. Because of that, I had assumed Ring of the Sky had chosen Hao on purpose.

“Did you not choose Hao-ssi because you knew about their power?”

-Power? Did that child have some kind of power? Ah, I think the other treasures said that child smelled a little fragrant.

“That fragrance has grown very strong now. Did you not know? Strong enough to charm magical beasts, even.”

-Aah, is that so? I’ve only been trapped in the storehouse, so I didn’t know. Then this situation makes a little more sense....

I heard Mira laughing lightly beside me. When I glanced at her, she met my eyes and smiled with her eyes. Mm, she had a reason for acting like that. I quietly avoided her gaze.

The treasures had looked over the students’ information and evaluated in advance which students they liked. Among those treasures, talk of Hao had gone around from time to time.

Rumors like how Hao had quite a tasty scent. They had come from treasures who had participated in the last Treasure Hunt class. Since I had glimpsed those records, I had simply assumed Ring of the Sky knew about that special trait of Hao’s.

With that in mind, I had even expressed a bit of admiration to Mira. I had said Ring of the Sky had created a very good trap to draw in the students. She was clearly laughing because she remembered that.

But that thought had been wrong too. Hao was just going berserk. For Hao’s scent to deepen just because of faith, I had no idea what lay at the root of it. Hao themself probably did not know either.

-I chose Hao simply because that child’s past, and the guilt inside them, were so deep and unhappy. Seeing that, I only felt sorry for them and wanted to give them happiness.

“For that, you accepted offerings from them very well. That was why I thought you had chosen Hao on purpose.”

I narrowed my eyes and looked at the mirror bug. It hesitated, then spat out writing.

-Tooth Necklace-ssi told me, you see. That child would easily believe any story I told them. So I was told I could answer comfortably.... I really didn’t know it would turn out like this.

I smiled bitterly. In the end, the problem came down to one thing. Hao was running wild. I clicked my tongue softly. I did not think Hao had stood out this much during the last Treasure Hunt class.

It seemed this class suited Hao quite well. After all, Hao had already been chosen by two treasures. Being noticed by nonhuman beings did not seem to stop at scent alone.

-So, can you help me? If you help, I’ll give you all those things called points that I received from them. I was originally going to use them somewhere else, but resolving this matter is more important right now. I have about fifteen thousand... points? gathered.

They had offered that many points? It had been less than a month. Then again, they had been devoted to hunting magical beasts lately. The power Ring of the Sky had granted was specialized for that, after all.

They could grow stronger and earn points, so it must have been a perfect two-for-one situation. With about twenty people steadily offering points like that, it made sense that this many points had gathered.

-Those children are trying to make me descend, saying the storehouse keeper-ssi is persecuting them. If Hao really has the power Evron-ssi mentioned, perhaps I may not be able to refuse that call. That can’t happen.

The writing the mirror bug spat out trembled wildly. It looked as if Ring of the Sky’s anxiety had taken shape. I nodded heavily.

How could I just pass by after seeing a treasure pour out its fear? For someone like me, who always strove to improve the rights of treasures, a treasure’s crisis could be called my own crisis.

They were trying to worship a treasure as a god without even properly asking for the treasure’s will. I could not tolerate such an act of treating a treasure like an object.

I would stop them, return the tower to normal, save the anxious treasure, and gain a few points as a bonus. Yes, only a few points. I absolutely was not getting involved because of the points.

“Trust me and leave it to me. I will resolve this perfectly. Of course, Ring of the Sky-nim, you will need to help a little too.”

-Of course. I’ll do anything I can.

I quietly rubbed my chin. I needed to set up a perfect plan. Truthfully, while talking with Ring of the Sky, I had thought of something. It seemed fairly possible too.

Hao was half trapped in a world of their own making. Enough that Hao called Ring of the Sky a devil. That meant Hao was deeply immersed in the imaginary Ring of the Sky-nim they had personally created.

In that case, the answer was simple. We only had to show them what they wanted to see. I smiled lightly at the mirror bug.

“If they see Ring of the Sky-nim and deny that you are the Ring of the Sky they imagine, then would it not be enough to create what they truly want?”

-Yes?

“Let us make their god for them. The being known as Ring of the Sky-nim, whom they can truly believe in and follow.”

I looked at the puppet quietly standing with its eyes closed in one corner of the workshop. The puppet had long purple hair and an extremely beautiful appearance. It was one I had made to investigate what the love Professor On spoke of was.

Hao seemed to like that one quite a bit. Well, that was understandable. Even I, the one who had made it, had felt slightly drawn to that puppet. It was also the most beautiful puppet I could create right now.

Then should I try using it? With that appearance, Hao would feel at least some fondness. If I could make that heart waver even a little, the plan would become much easier.

I did not know what the Ring of the Sky they spoke of was. Perhaps they did not know either. Even Ring of the Sky itself did not know.

So it only had to pretend to be Ring of the Sky in a convincing way. Maybe I could catch not just three birds, but four with one stone. When I imagined that future, my face twitched on its own.

“Huhu, that is a very sinister expression. Your scheme is written all over your face.”

Mira said that while lightly poking my cheek. I cleared my throat and fixed my face again. First, I should set up the situation. And do a little practice for it too. I rose from my seat. I had to move quickly.

And so, the next day came.

Hao was passing through the tower’s door with a slightly tired face. But Hao’s eyes alone held an incredible light. The shine was visible even from far away.

Together with Mira, I casually blocked the path ahead. Hao lifted their head and looked at us. I smiled lightly at them.

“I came out for an inspection. I wondered if you might have done something like proselytizing last night.”

Hao looked into my eyes for a moment, then shook their head. I bowed my head slightly toward them. Then I met their eyes and spoke.

“Please always keep in mind that we are watching you. And that Ring of the Sky-nim is in our hands.”

I said that while lifting the key in my hand. The magical power flowing from it spread slightly around us. Hao saw that and nodded heavily. Hao’s face seemed to show a faint hostility toward us.

Linking arms with Mira, I turned around. Then I waved at Hao and moved away. The purple-haired puppet followed behind us.

It secretly dropped a piece of paper behind its back. It was a very small note. Riding a bit of magical power, it fell near Hao’s feet.

Hao checked it, then looked at the puppet. The puppet met Hao’s eyes and let a smile touched with sadness cross its face.

“Hey, hurry up and come!”

I turned my head and shouted at the puppet. At my shout, the puppet bowed its head and began following us again. Like that, we moved quite far away from Hao. From here, Hao surely would not be able to hear us.

After placing a barrier with a little magical power, I smiled at Mira. Mira tilted her head briefly, then asked.

“Will this really work?”

I nodded lightly. A plausible appearance made a story plausible. I believed that. The puppet blinked its purple eyes, which had jewels embedded in them, and looked at us.

From far away, I saw Hao quietly pick up the paper. I nodded in satisfaction and climbed the stairs.

It happened that night. When the students were leaving the tower, Hao quietly entered the first-floor room. Hao fiddled with the paper. “At the place where you always prayed, I will wait for you.” That was what the paper said.

That place was the room where the Ring of the Sky Church always held mass. When Hao entered the room, their eyes widened. There, the purple-haired puppet was quietly looking at the moon beyond the window. Hao stared at the puppet’s face as if bewitched.

Perhaps it noticed Hao’s gaze, because the puppet looked at Hao. Bathed in moonlight from outside the window, the puppet gave Hao a hazy smile. It was a fragile smile that looked as if it might shatter at any moment.

The puppet handed Hao a sheet of paper. The paper tossed into the air rode magical power and softly landed in Hao’s hand. Hao checked the contents of the paper and froze in place as if turned to stone.

-I am Ring of the Sky, the being you believe in and follow.

The puppet bowed its head lightly toward Hao. Hao only stared blankly at the puppet.

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