WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 116: The Rift of Time (6)

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After their simple dinner, Alfred gave his bed to the two of them.

Naturally, Kyle refused. He was already staying in someone else's home, so taking the owner's only bed felt shameless. Alfred was stubborn, though. Saying he was accustomed to sleeping outdoors and that it was no trouble at all, he urged Kyle and Elysia to use the bed instead.

At that point, Kyle found it difficult to keep refusing. Thanks to that, the two were able to sleep comfortably. The glowing tree fruits on the ceiling had gone dark before they knew it. Lost in a tangled mess of thoughts, Kyle squeezed his eyes shut.

Thinking about it now won't change anything.

I should get some proper sleep and deal with it tomorrow morning.

Kyle deliberately pushed everything he needed to do into the farthest corner of his mind. It was best to rest whenever he had the chance.

Most of all, Alfred was here. The greatest archmage of the Empire in this era, and Elysia's ancestor. Alfred had said he would help Kyle and Elysia in every way he could. Given his age, his knowledge of magic likely surpassed theirs by far.

Kyle stopped agonizing over it and gradually drifted to sleep. Once drowsiness washed over him, the worries gnawing at his mind faded away one by one.

His consciousness sank deep, then slowly rose again.

"Awake?"

An elderly voice reached him. Kyle, who had been lying still and staring at the ceiling where branches stretched overhead, turned toward its source.

Alfred, who had given them his bed yesterday, sat at the table reading leisurely. Faint morning sunlight poured through the square window near the door. Kyle pushed himself up with a groggy expression and checked his pocket watch. It was just past eight o'clock.

"...You're up early."

Kyle mumbled, still half asleep. Alfred looked away from his book and glanced at him.

"That's what happens when you get old. No matter what you do, every day starts to feel like the same dull routine."

"......."

"Oh, come to think of it, aren't you hungry?"

He closed his book and asked with a kindly smile whether they were hungry as soon as they woke up. He seemed like a warmhearted grandmother fussing over her grandchildren.

"We brought food with us too."

"Oh, did you?"

"We have plenty..."

"Then that works out well."

Kyle rubbed his eyes a few times and got out of bed. Elysia was waking up at the same time.

"Kyle...?"

"It's already morning. We're about to eat, but..."

She could sleep longer if she wanted. At Kyle's words, Elysia shook her head.

"It's all right. I'm awake too."

The two sat across from Alfred at the table. Smiling contentedly, he used magic to float the book in his hand and slide it into the wooden bookshelf carved into the wall.

Before long, all kinds of food covered the table. Rye bread and salted meat Kyle had brought, along with cheese and fruit. Even the variety alone was more than an ordinary mercenary could normally afford. Compared to the simple soup they had eaten last night, it was practically a feast.

"Is this... a date?"

Alfred's interested gaze swept over the food before stopping on one fruit.

"Yes. Have you had one before?"

"I tried one once, long ago. Even then, a few local specialties came into the Empire through the Kingdom of Sarmaren. Huh... To think I'd see these here. It brings back memories."

Alfred picked up a date with an intrigued expression and carefully bit into it.

Then he immediately frowned.

"It's still excessively sweet."

After that, they enjoyed a peaceful meal. Kyle, Elysia, and Alfred all deliberately avoided speaking about what lay ahead. They simply enjoyed this brief peace. They had too much to do in the future to spend even mealtime worrying about it.

"That was good. I was just thinking of heading down to the city because I had run out of food. Now I feel like I've been treated instead."

Once the satisfying meal was over, Alfred took a drink of water and brought up the main subject.

"First, as I said yesterday, I plan to visit the cave where you two first arrived in this world."

"Will that be meaningful? When we first woke up and looked around, there weren't any notable traces."

Kyle spoke, but Alfred shook his head.

"Clear traces aren't the only clues. The existing environment itself could provide an answer."

"...Is that so?"

"The flow of mana accumulated over many years is evidence in itself. More importantly, you said the spatial rift resonated with the Dragon Heart and brought you here, correct? Then traces may appear after some time has passed. There may have been nothing yesterday, but there could be something today. You might also have missed something because you had only just arrived in the past and were too shaken to think clearly."

Alfred's opinion was reasonable. As an experienced archmage, he knew a great deal.

"Is the cave where you said it was yesterday?"

He asked another question, and Kyle answered immediately.

"Yes. The entrance is closer to a tunnel than a cave. All I can tell you is the surrounding terrain, so it's difficult to explain the exact location..."

"That will be enough. As long as I can get the general direction, I will find it quickly."

After finishing his meal, Alfred floated the dishes and cups away, then rose from his seat. Kyle and Elysia stood a moment later.

"We'll get ready too. It won't take long..."

"No. I will go alone. You two will stay here."

Alfred refused firmly. Kyle and Elysia exchanged surprised looks at the unexpected answer. When Alfred said yesterday that they should visit the cave where Kyle and Elysia had first awakened, they naturally assumed all three of them would go together. Yet he intended to go alone.

"Is there a particular reason?"

Elysia asked. Alfred, who had been carefully preparing to leave while the two stood there blankly, answered.

"There is another place I need to visit besides that cave. It is far more dangerous than this place. I always intended to go alone."

"Then wouldn't it be better for us to go with you?"

Kyle spoke as if arguing against him. Though his body had been afflicted by a curse, the ring he had taken from the Lich, the last king of Alenos, made him stronger than the Commander of most nations' knight orders. The same was true for Elysia. She was a born genius mage from the Arven Mage Tower, despite her young age.

"No."

Alfred's attitude did not change.

"It isn't that I doubt your skills. It is simply a place where having more people would be a hindrance rather than help. I cannot bring more people when I need to move quietly."

His voice was unwavering. There was not the slightest hesitation.

"...What kind of place is it?"

"I will tell you when I return. It will not take that long."

A place where even the Empire's greatest archmage could not easily let down his guard. When Kyle asked with concern, Alfred waved it off as though it were nothing. Elysia, who had been listening, asked a question.

"Roughly how long will it take?"

"One day at the earliest, two at the latest?"

He looked up at the ceiling and answered with a slight frown.

"Either way, make yourselves comfortable here until then. There should be some bread and jerky in the kitchen cupboard... You said you have plenty of food too, right? Then you should have no trouble lasting two days. You only just arrived in the past, so your minds must still be in turmoil. Take the time to adjust, at least. If you get bored, feel free to read any of the books on the shelves."

Having finished preparing, Alfred finally draped his red robe over himself. Once he pulled up the hood, the pleasant old mage took on the air of a mysterious archmage, just as he had when the two first met him.

"Oh, come to think of it."

After checking his robe and standing before the door, he turned around.

"I was getting in your way yesterday, wasn't I?"

"Excuse me?"

Getting in their way yesterday? Kyle and Elysia stared at Alfred, unable to understand what he meant.

"You young people should enjoy some quality time together."

He gave a sly grin.

"A meddler should know when to make an exit, shouldn't he?"

The old mage chuckled, threw open the door, and stepped outside. A flood of bright morning sunlight poured in for an instant. Once the door fully closed, Kyle stared out the window with a foolish expression.

Elysia had lowered her head and was staring intently at the floor.

* * *

Once Alfred left, the house quickly fell silent. Perhaps sensing the sunlight streaming in through the windows, the fruits on the ceiling shone more faintly than they had last night.

"...I think he has seriously misunderstood something."

Kyle sighed as he sat at the table. Across from him was Elysia, who had just taken a book from the shelf. Unlike before, she looked calm as she spoke.

"He was probably joking. Don't worry about it."

"I hope so..."

"More importantly, he was a good person. When I heard the name Alfred Lucent, I expected an arrogant and self-righteous noble. That was how he was written about in the history books."

"Do you feel as though you've gained a kind grandfather?"

"A kind grandfather...?"

Elysia repeated the words to herself. Tapping her lips with a finger, she slowly nodded.

"Grandfather, grandfather... I see. My grandfather died when I was young, so I barely remember him. It really did feel as though I had gained a grandfather. Even though I knew that wasn't true."

"It would be hard to say it isn't. He is your ancestor from three hundred years ago, but if you look at it broadly, he is practically your grandfather."

"Is that so?"

Elysia tilted her head. Though their blood had thinned over the years, she was a direct descendant of the Archandia imperial family and carried the blood of House Lucent. It was not entirely wrong to say that.

She was only lost in thought for a moment before something came to mind, and she stared directly at Kyle.

"More importantly, is your arm all right?"

"My arm? Why all of a sudden?"

Kyle narrowed his eyes. Elysia's gaze lowered from his face to his right forearm beneath his sleeve. She knew that Kyle relied on the ring's mana because of his curse. She also knew purple thorns sprouted whenever he drew mana into his body directly.

"You used mana recklessly, didn't you? There is always the possibility that..."

Yesterday, after taking in the mana from the air without using the ring, Kyle had pulled the thorns from his forearm and poured a potion over the wounds as soon as dinner was over. Since he had only roughly stopped the bleeding, Elysia seemed worried something might happen. Kyle briefly dismissed her concern.

"There's no problem. I treated it properly."

"Really?"

"I know the state of my own body better than anyone. I'm not the type to stubbornly hide pain until something goes wrong."

"Then do you believe what the elder said as well? That he might be able to resolve your curse?"

"Well..."

Kyle let his words trail off.

"We'll know when the time comes. Nothing is absolute."

Even as he said that, Kyle did not have high expectations. He had already traveled across many places in the future three hundred years from now, searching for a solution, but he had found no clear answer. No matter how great an archmage Alfred was, he would not be able to lift Izra's Thorn, forbidden by the Sacred Treaty, in one stroke. Kyle had suffered too many disappointments to cling to false hope.

But who knows.

Kyle murmured inwardly as he looked down at the ring on his left hand. The Brightest Star of Dawn was certainly worthy of being called the greatest treasure of the Kingdom of Alenos, but compared to the amount and output of mana Kyle had originally controlled, it was still lacking in many ways.

Maybe.

This was the past from over three thousand years ago, when Dragons that had gone extinct still lived and breathed. Even if he could not solve it immediately, perhaps he could at least find a method.

Kyle carefully read through the book in front of him and the books Elysia had brought over, one after another. Once Elysia also became absorbed in reading, the tree house, where faint conversation had lingered, sank into complete silence.

Flip, flip.

The sound of pages turning quietly echoed. The sun set quickly. After spending more than half a day engrossed in their books, the two put them away as though they had never started reading and ate a simple meal.

Then they returned to the bookshelf and began reading different books.

Most of the books Alfred appeared to have gathered during his year in the tree house were filled with information about Spatial Magic, Time Magic, and Dragons. Elysia looked through one book written in elegant handwriting and muttered to herself.

"This is... a research journal...?"

"Did he hope to return to his original world?"

"It seems so. There are countless records of attempts to connect space and time. All of them failed, though..."

"Magic using Dragons. I suppose it would have been an irresistible challenge for a mage. It would be impossible in a future where Dragons were extinct."

The next day passed. Then the day after that.

Other than sleeping and eating, Kyle and Elysia spent all their remaining time reading.

Yet on the third day, around the time they had read more than half the books on the shelf, Kyle and Elysia stopped reading. Alfred still had not returned by then. At that point, both of them knew something had happened.

"Kyle, this..."

"Yes. I think something happened."

Kyle spoke as he looked out the window. The sun was slowly setting. This was different from Alfred's confident claim that it would take two days at most. It would soon be more than three days.

"We should prepare in advance."

"Are we leaving?"

"Not yet. We'll wait a little longer, and if he still doesn't come back, we'll leave then."

Kyle put on the leather coat nearby and fastened the sword that had been resting against the wall at his waist. Then he wrapped himself in the black cloak hanging beside it.

Elysia also wore her white robe so she would be ready to leave immediately.

Alfred returned thirty minutes later.

"Whew... I thought I was going to die. My apologies. I came back a little later than planned, didn't I?"

The old mage in a red robe threw open the closed door and laughed heartily. Unlike when he had left three days ago, he had sustained a few injuries.

"Blood...?"

"What happened?"

Elysia rushed toward Alfred in alarm. Kyle pulled a cloth for wiping blood and a potion from his Inventory Pouch with a grave expression.

"It is nothing serious. As for your problem, I think you may be able to return."

Alfred grinned like a young boy. Kyle and Elysia had been armed and ready to leave at any moment, but his bright smile left them speechless. Alfred did not seem to care about his injuries in the slightest.

He looked like an excited child eager to share good news.

"...Really?"

Kyle asked in a trembling voice.

"Yes. Do I look like the kind of person who lies?"

"Then..."

"There is one condition."

"What is it?"

"Hunting a Dragon."

Kyle and Elysia stared blankly.

"You two will have to help me hunt a Dragon."

Alfred continued proudly, regardless.

"At first, it was only a guess, but now I am certain. It is the only way. Surely you won't run away because you're afraid?"

Footnotes:

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