WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

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◈ The Inept Mage’s Infinite Regression

Chapter 85

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True History

Ethan explained.
<Of course, you're not the only one who finds it strange. That's why there are so many different versions of the Nose-Shaped Stone story. Like you said, some versions feature a mage who uses petrification magic, some begin from the girl's point of view and have the boy win the contention, and some include both a stone shaped like the girl's father and her actual father. Because people can't make sense of it, they either claim the Nose-Shaped Stone story is wrong or try to guess what would happen in a case like that.>
<So it's a thought experiment.>
<What's that?>
<It's when you assume a situation that's hard to happen in normal life... you'll understand later. More importantly, you still haven't explained what True History is.>
Ethan replied.
<Ah, True History. Right, that's what I was talking about. Anyway, if stories were always in contention, everyone would be anxious, and they'd have to fight to win that contention. Like I said, in ordinary situations it's fine, but in some situations it isn't. One person usually can't deceive many people and steer things toward a merge. But if the number is large and the intent is clear, they can force a merge, and if people with that intent put only their own interests first, everyone else gets dragged into trouble.>
<That's a historical problem.>
<Exactly. That's why True History exists, led by Havain University. Havain University receives records from scribes and historians across many countries to prevent contention, and when contention does happen, it helps things merge into True History under fair judgment. Havain University is as old as Yurmus, maybe older. It's so large that one of its affiliated schools is a magic academy about the same size as Yurmus Magic Academy.>
Demi said:
<But I doubt everyone accepts that True History so quietly. No matter how fair it tries to be, no, because it tries to be fair, many people would believe their history is being recorded to their disadvantage.>
<To a certain degree, that's manageable. Havain University has institutions precisely for making agreements and mediating those disputes. The bigger problem comes from frontier powers beyond Havain University's reach.>
<By frontier, you mean?>
<To the east of Damarth, there's the Emperor of Yumaha, of course. In the north there are barbarians, in the west witches and fairies, and in the far north giants. Then there are dragons here and there, and descendants of the ancient empires. Since they don't have scribes or historians, their histories remain in constant contention. Even those frontiers at least contend somehow, but worlds farther away beyond the sea, places like Doatua, Gernia Hasarnia, Seshuys Serrenemis, and Soem, are another matter entirely. Ah, and the Revisionists too.>
<Revisionists?>
<People who challenge True History from inside Damarth Yumaha. You could say the Emperor is a representative case, but more than that, they're the ones who kill scribes and historians and try to alter records. You see that often. Revisionism itself is a crime equivalent to dark magic, or worse.>
<I understand. I now understand Damarth Yumaha's situation clearly.>
Demi asked:
<Then, User, if everyone in Damarth Yumaha disappeared except one person, and that one person were a child who believed the world vanished when they closed their eyes, what would happen when that child closed their eyes?>
<Well...>
After thinking it over, Ethan said:
<...It would go dark.>
Demi muttered:
<...I see. Thanks to you, User, a few of my questions have been resolved. The mystery of Damarth Yumaha, that is...>
<Hm?>
Boen said, "Please focus on the conversation, Ethan."
At that, Robita and Renzo looked at Ethan.
"Am I the problem again?"
"Are you listening? We were talking about the group Ms. Robita belongs to."
"Oh, right?"
Seeing Ethan's blank expression, Robita cleared her throat and spoke again.
"Our group is the Post-Ancient History Society. Post-Ancient means we deal with late antiquity, the period of rapid change right before the current age began. We kept meeting while traveling between Bisneri and nearby territories. Our society is an ordinary local history study group, but one special thing was that Professor Alinai unofficially led it. We helped with the professor's research, and the professor reviewed ours. Professor Alinai never stepped forward publicly, but thanks to that, our work was recognized in academic circles, and we were able to present in many places. Then a problem arose."
"A problem?"
At Boen's question, Robita answered.
"Our researchers started getting attacked. When the first person died from an arrow, we thought it was a random bandit incident. But then someone died from poison, and another was stabbed to death in bed, so it became clear we were the target."
"What about the culprits?"
"We caught all of them. They were thieves from gangs that did anything for money, mercenaries without honor, and adventurers without courage. But every single one said, 'I don't remember who hired me.'"
"...At least one thing is clear. It was a mage."
"We think so too, but there are far more mages with no interest in history than mages who care about it."
Boen looked at Ethan as he said that, so Ethan quietly avoided his gaze.
"Of course, Bisneri isn't a very large territory, but our Post-Ancient History Society is an open gathering. If you include Bisneri and all the members' territories, then list all mages likely to know our society exists, you'd end up suspecting almost every mage in Damarth."
Renzo cut in.
"But aren't all the people in that group nobles anyway? You should've had enough protection."
"That's right. Once we realized our members' lives were in danger, we reduced meetings as much as possible and got help from fortresses and knights, and after that no one else died. It even looked like that unknown mage had stopped attacking us."
But everyone in the room already knew that wasn't true.
"The lords must have stepped in. Big cities have people you can pay to solve crimes like that."
"Of course we hired the people we should have hired. But our enemy handled things very delicately. Naturally, since they were using other hands."
After she said that much, even Renzo seemed to have nothing left to add and fell silent.
Ethan said, "Even if they hid everything else, you should still be able to infer their intent."
Robita's eyes widened at Ethan for a moment, as if surprised, then she nodded.
"Yes, that's right. Intent is all that's left."
Robita continued.
"Still, there's a problem even with trying to identify intent. The Post-Ancient History Society had only just begun gaining a reputation, and we still weren't receiving much attention from academia. Post-Ancient History as a field is not especially distinctive either. As I explained, ancient history is an unfilled gap in True History, and Post-Ancient History is the late part of that ancient era, when the largest and most brilliant cultures bloomed. People lived not only in Damarth Yumaha but in many worlds beyond it, and their numbers were vastly greater than now. That meant there were just as many states and groups to study. So the category called 'Post-Ancient History' is both vague and massive, and just because someone targeted us, it's hard to conclude what exactly they were targeting."
Ethan thought the answer was already obvious, so he said confidently,
"But the Post-Ancient History Society had one part that stood out, and that part wasn't known to outsiders."
"...Yes. The one thing that made us different was that Sage Alinai Quine belonged to our group."
"On the surface, it looked no different from other research groups, but someone knew the members were different. I think there's only one answer."
Ethan gave his conclusion.
"The culprit is a member of the Post-Ancient History Society. If you find the common point between the members who already died and Ms. Robita, you'll get a clearer picture of their intent. If it's some personal grudge, it'd be even easier to understand."
Robita answered, "It's not a personal grudge. The members had no special conflicts of interest, and we were free within scholarship. People tend to assume academia has a rigid hierarchy, but our society pursued equal relationships. More than that, this wasn't 'work we had to do,' it was 'work we wanted to do,' in other words, a hobby. So even when private issues came up, they never escalated into serious disputes, and we were tolerant of each other."
"Then the common point?"
"Yes. There is one. It was before the first incident happened. Each season, we took turns giving one major presentation, and I was the last speaker. I don't know if this is too academic, but my presentation was on an ancient kingdom called Almin. Almin had very few historical sources, and even those were written in Alminic, an ancient local language that has not been fully deciphered. I succeeded in partially deciphering incomplete Alminic, interpreted a stone tablet known as 'the final record of the Kingdom of Almin,' and presented it. Because of that, my interpretation differed from the widely known one. Every member heard that presentation. By the time three people had died, I remembered that presentation and started suspecting who the culprit was."
"Is that so? Just from what you've said now, it still seems hard to deduce the culprit."
Robita said, "The widely known interpretation of that final record was Professor Alinai's."
Boen, startled by the unexpected turn, said, "Wait, then does that mean Sage Alinai Quine was jealous of you, Ms. Robita?"
"How could that be? My ability and my research cannot compare to Professor Alinai's. More than anything... there would be no reason to kill every member except me."
"Every member died?"
"After three died, we thought things had improved. They hadn't. Everyone was scattered across different regions, so news arrived late. Each case looked unrelated, which also caused delays, but many incidents were hidden too. We even received letters in dead members' handwriting saying they were doing well. Professor Alinai is the only one whose life or death remains unconfirmed, with no word reaching us."
To Ethan and the others, that sounded no different from saying Alinai was the culprit.
Ethan said, "If it wasn't jealousy, then why did Professor Alinai do this? He's a Sage, and even if he handled things so it wouldn't be obvious he was the culprit, if this many nobles were killed, no one can just ignore it. Does the King know about this?"
"Yes. I heard His Majesty's investigator placed the professor on the wanted list and is cooperating with other kingdoms. And the professor is..."
Robita forced the words out.
"...most likely a Revisionist in league with dark mages."

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