WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression

Chapter 39

Ethan not only explained the functions of the Glock 45 but also went to a nearby bookshelf to demonstrate. Sigil seemed satisfied.

"Arojio, Senamun, look at this."

While Sigil was explaining the handgun to his companions, Ethan made up a rough explanation for Koshe about the item he had handed over: It was a magical tool from the Charasen family with little use beyonds its historical value and functionality as a toy. Since he didn’t particularly need it, he was trading it to find what they were looking for.

"Then I owe you a large debt," Koshe said.

"Well, let’s just say that I won’t pressure you to pay it back anytime soon."

"…Are you really okay with this?"

Ethan waved his hand dismissively. "Honestly, I’d prefer if you didn’t think of it as a debt. Friends help each other, right?"

Koshe reacted playfully to the word "friend."

"Hah, so we’re friends now? Me and this troublemaker?"

"Why? You have a problem with that?"

"No. It’s fine. I even want to introduce you to Maya. She tends to judge people only by their usefulness. She needs to learn to befriend people who aren’t like that."

"Are you saying I’m useless?"

Koshe laughed. "Is that how it sounds?"

From the beginning, Ethan had planned to load a save and return to another life once he found the book’s location. Both the handgun he was giving to Sigil and Koshe’s efforts to find the book would disappear.

Demi had told Ethan that when he disappeared, this world would be treated as if it had never existed. If that was true, then there wasn’t much to worry about.

"Anyway, for an adventurer like Sigil, that item isn’t of great value, and if Koshe’s book is found early, it might still be useful later."

Of course, there was no guarantee that these adventurers would definitely find the two books. It was just that, having witnessed the terror of the librarians, Ethan wanted to search faster and safer.

After Sigil finished his explanation, Arojio pointed to the book Ethan was holding, Introduction to Primordial Magic (Part 1). "That book… I’ve seen it here before."

"Introduction to Primordial Magic (Part 1)?"

"No, Part 2… Wait, I’ve seen Part 1 too… But you’re looking for Part 2, right?"

Ethan thought it was strange, then realized what was odd about that.

"If you’re not interested in this field, how would you even remember the title of a book you just passed by?"

Ignoring Ethan, Arojio said, "It’s further up. I don’t know about the purple book, haven’t seen it yet."

"Then let’s go up," Sigil said. "We don’t even know exactly where the book we’re looking for is, right?"

Arojio hit Sigil’s helmet with her staff, making a loud clang.

"Ow."

"…Idiot. Don’t go around blabbing about the quest details."

"They’re good kids. It’s fine."

"Charasen, the family of swindlers."

Ethan coughed awkwardly and interjected, "…Shall we go?"

Sigil took the lead, and Koshe followed, saying it was her first time seeing adventurers as she struck up a conversation with Sigil. Behind them were Ethan, Arojio, and Senamun.

As Ethan walked, Arojio poked his back with her staff. When he turned around, all he could see was her large witch’s hat, making it hard to tell where she was looking.

"Why did you do that?"

"You’re going to die," Arojio said.

"…What?"

Arojio seemed annoyed that Ethan didn’t understand right away. "I did a reading earlier. It said you’re going to die soon."

"When?"

"I don’t know. Could be a few days, could be a month."

Ethan was about to say that her reading was probably inaccurate, but then he thought about it. Once he found the book, Ethan would disappear. In a way, that would be like dying.

"Hmm, did you see anything else in the reading?"

"Yeah."

"How long will the others live?"

"They’ll all die," Arojio said. "When you die, they’ll die too."

Ethan felt uneasy and decided to quibble with Arojio’s wording. "It’s not like they’ll really die, right?"

"Disappearing is the same as dying."

"Are your readings always accurate?"

"Yeah. Divination is my specialty."

"So, what, is the world going to end or something?" Ethan asked.

"Maybe."

"Doesn’t it make more sense to assume your reading is wrong?"

"I’m never wrong."

Seeing how seriously she was taking this, Ethan felt like Arojio had an incredibly strong sense of pride. Of course, her abilities seemed to match that pride… And most significantly, Arojio wasn’t wrong. When Ethan left, everyone would disappear, so the future Arojio had seen would indeed come true.

Still, Ethan decided it would be better to ease the witch’s anxiety. "You don’t think it’s because of me that everyone’s future disappears, do you? Can you do another reading?"

Arojio held out her hand.

"What’s this for?" Ethan asked.

"Payment."

"…I’m asking for your sake."

"Give me money."

Ethan took a coin from his pocket and handed it to her.

"What do you want to know? Your love life?"

"You’re not listening to me at all, are you?"

"I’m famous for reading love fortunes."

"How about something else?" After some thought, Ethan asked, "Is it your party’s good fortune that you met me?"

Arojio seemed surprised by the question. Hell, Ethan was too. According to Demi, if Ethan disappeared, everyone wouldn’t die, it would just be as if none of this had happened. Ethan would remember everything, though. The connections would remain. If they were competent adventurers, Ethan thought he could entrust them with a quest someday and pay them accordingly. From Ethan’s perspective, they were lucky to have met him. That was why he asked that question.

Surprisingly, Arojio didn’t grumble and, as before, pulled out a random book and dropped it onto her hand. She quickly flipped through the pages and said, "This is strange. Must be because of the book divination."

"Why’s that?"

"It’s good luck."

"Really?"

"It’s unlikely that meeting a swindler would be good luck." Arojio poked another book with her staff.

"What are you looking for now?"

"Confirmation that you’re a swindler."

Before anyone could react, Sigil grabbed the book Arojio was holding and tossed it over the railing.

"Ah!"

"Who believes in divination these days? Haha, don’t worry about it."

That wasn’t something you said to a fortune teller, even if Ethan agreed. Arojio became furious and started hitting Sigil’s helmet repeatedly with her staff while Senamun watched them with her usual serene smile.

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They passed a few more bookshelves before finding the book Arojio had mentioned. Ethan confirmed that the book he was holding, Part 1, was being drawn to Part 2. Before he could even use the enchantment to find it, Arojio used her staff as a catalyst to pull Part 2 into her hand.

Arojio skimmed through it and muttered, "Why would anyone want to learn this kind of magic…"

Sigil snatched the book out of Arojio’s hand and handed it to Ethan.

"One book down," Sigil said. "You look tired, so are you heading back? The purple book will take some time. If Arojio hasn’t seen it, it’s probably deeper in."

Ethan and Koshe followed Sigil’s suggestion and headed back with their guide. Arojio seemed to have memorized this book’s location and knew the layout of the Great Library Labyrinth’s upper levels. Thanks to that, they finished quickly. He now knew where Introduction to Primordial Magic (Part 2) was shelved.

When they returned the next day, they met Sigil, Arojio, and Senamun, who were already waiting at the entrance. Sigil told Ethan and Koshe to search other areas of the upper levels while they headed deeper inside.

Ethan recognized Sigil’s true motive: ‘They don’t want to bother taking us along.’

While the adventurers moved together normally, it seemed like having them around was a hindrance. Perhaps in the more dangerous areas, it would be harder to protect them in fights with the librarians. In that case, it would mean taking on bodyguard duties, so they’d want more money.

Three days later, Sigil was waiting for Ethan and Koshe at the entrance to the Great Library’s secret door.

"Here, the purple book."

The book, wrapped in thick cloth, was exactly as Koshe had described. It was bound in purple leather, and smoke endlessly seeped out from between its pages.

Sigil said, "If you open it directly, you could die, so make sure to keep it wrapped in the cloth Arojio enchanted."

"…Th-thank you." Koshe bowed her head, looking like she was about to cry, and accepted the book. She’d thought it would be impossible to find, so she couldn’t help but be overjoyed.

Ethan pointed at the book and said, "You said opening it directly could kill you…"

"Apparently, it’s some kind of magic book Arojio knew about. I don’t know. Must be famous. But as long as it’s wrapped in that cloth, it should be fine, so don’t worry."

"…Can I ask where you found it?"

"Huh, where was it? I don’t have as good a memory. You know where we met, right? It was pretty far down from there, past a room with a ton of books, and then deep inside where there were seventeen librarians. It was tough."

Ethan immediately realized that Sigil’s directions were useless. They had met Sigil deep in the labyrinth, and there was nowhere in the Great Library Labyrinth that didn’t have a lot of books. Plus, the mention of seventeen librarians sounded like a joke. The only thing Ethan could gather was that it was somewhere he could never reach on his own.

Ethan asked, "Did you find the book you were looking for?"

"Huh? Oh, our quest? No. It’s definitely here, but we’ve searched almost everywhere and couldn’t find it. I think there might be some hidden secret in the labyrinth. We’re going to focus on that from now on."

"…You’ve searched almost everywhere?"

Ethan’s muttering went unnoticed as Sigil said, "Arojio and Senamun are waiting. Let’s meet again sometime."

Sigil leaped down and disappeared into one of the bookshelf aisles.

Ethan asked Koshe if she needed any more help with the book, but Koshe seemed reluctant to involve him as it was related to Maya and dark magic.

"Sorry, but it’s fine. I can handle it on my own from here."

Ethan considered pressing further, but then he thought about his newfound Introduction to Primordial Magic (Part 2). For now, he needed to focus on that. He could always return to Koshe and Maya later.

"Whatever it is, good luck."

"Thanks, Ethan."

∞

Ethan loaded his only save slot and entered the Great Library Labyrinth with Boen. Since he already knew the book’s location, it wasn’t hard to find.

"So, this is the book."

Ethan had thought he might run into Sigil and his companions again, but he and Boen were in the upper levels, and Sigil and his team didn’t seem to come up to the upper levels often—assuming they hadn’t already completed their quest and left.

"Study time. Are you ready?"

Introduction to Primordial Magic was, as Boen had said, a difficult book. Even with Boen’s quicker understanding, Ethan had to reload before the semester ended so he could pass on Boen’s knowledge to his past self. Then Boen would teach Ethan more.

When Ethan returned for the fifth time and explained the book, Boen, who had just finished reading it, looked puzzled and said, "So, you already know everything? There’s nothing for me to teach you." Boen pushed the book aside on the desk and said, "Why don’t you try using it?"

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