WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Natty

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◈ The Regressor and the Blind Saintess ◈

Chapter 22: The End of the White Night - 4

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The sun was beginning to rise when Norn paced at the village entrance, consumed by worry.

He should be returning soon...

Vera had left saying he would return before sunset. He had clearly looked like someone prepared for battle.

What if, however unlikely it was, something had happened to him?

It was a needless concern, perhaps. Vera was an Apostle who had received a Holy Mark, and a warrior far beyond Norn's reach.

Even so, Norn could not stop worrying.

Setting Vera's strength aside, he was still only eighteen. To Norn, eighteen was an age of immaturity, an age more accustomed to mistakes than success.

It was only natural for an adult to worry.

Why isn't he back...?

Should I have gone with him? Anxiety filled Norn as the thought crossed his mind.

Rustle.

The sound of brush being crushed came from behind Norn.

Norn quickly turned toward it.

The figure that emerged from the brush was Vera, staggering out as though he had bathed in blood.

“Ah! Vera...!”

Norn started toward him in relief, then stopped short and sucked in a breath at the sight before him.

“W-What...?”

“I took care of it.”

It was a brief answer, thick with exhaustion and carrying a strangely subdued air.

“...Are you all right?”

“Yes. As you can see, I am not injured. More importantly, I am in this state...”

Vera lifted the edge of his robe as he spoke. Norn's gaze fell to the robe, dripping blood.

What kind of battle had left him soaked in blood like that?

The question arose, but Norn did not voice it.

Instead, Norn clenched his fists, pushed the thought aside, and bowed his head to Vera.

“...Yes. Please go inside first. There is still time before the Saintess comes out, so you may clean yourself up at your leisure.”

“The Dragonians will likely come again. We need to learn their routes beforehand, so gather any rumors from the surrounding area.”

“Yes.”

“Then I will be going.”

Vera said that and passed Norn on his way into the village.

When Norn raised his head, Vera's retreating figure remained fixed in his eyes.

Drip. Drip. Drops of blood marked the path Vera walked. His gloomy voice from moments ago lingered in Norn's mind as well.

A small worry rose within Norn.

Did something happen?

Something about Vera was clearly not right.

* * *

After gathering a change of clothes, Vera headed to the stream and threw himself into its waters, still covered in blood.

The cold water seeped into his skin.

He had immersed himself to clear his mind with the chill of the stream, but the sight before him made that difficult.

Vera looked at the blood washing from his body.

A long red trail spread across the clear water.

As he watched it, Vera felt his insides twist again at the thought that the blood, that red trail, resembled the path he had walked. He felt a deep disgust toward himself for not having changed at all.

Negative emotions rose within him. Vera exhaled deeply and plunged his head into the stream.

Splash.

As the cold against his face seemed to seep into his mind, Vera gathered himself again.

...Get a hold of yourself.

This was not the time to wallow in misery.

So what if he had not changed? So what if he was still wielding a beast's sword?

Rene was here. He had to protect her here.

Even if it was the sword of a beast, he still had to wield it.

The only thing standing in his way now was his own heart.

Vera held his breath as he steeled himself, then suddenly opened his eyes wide and raised his head from the stream.

Splash!

Water flew up with his movement.

Vera watched the droplets scatter, then clenched his teeth and rose.

...I can do this.

No matter how many enemies came, he was confident he could stop them. Rene, too, was slowly opening her heart to him.

He only had to contain this self-loathing.

If he could protect Rene, if she finally kindled her flame, he could change.

At that moment, she would make him human Vera, not a Gutter-bred monster.

Drip.

Water ran down his cheek and fell from his chin, sending small ripples across the stream.

Vera watched them, then turned and began to walk.

...I.

I have to save Rene.

* * *

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of Rene's cane striking the ground overlapped with Vera's footsteps, making a steady rhythm.

Vera walked alongside Rene from a spot one step farther away than usual.

As always, they did not exchange many words. They spoke only of ordinary things, the weather, the wind, dreams from the night before.

They were walking as they always did when Rene suddenly spoke.

“Is something wrong?”

Vera flinched at the question and quickly answered.

“Nothing is wrong.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

He answered as firmly as possible, so Rene would not worry needlessly, then shut his mouth and continued walking.

Yet perhaps something still showed through.

Perhaps there was something only Rene could sense.

She asked again.

“Did you know?”

“What do you mean?”

At Vera's reply, Rene stopped walking.

She turned her head toward him and continued.

“People who have worries... especially those trying to hide them, press down the beginnings of their words when they speak.”

Vera flinched.

His answer came a beat slower, conscious of what Rene had said.

“...Is that so?”

“Yes. It is like they have swallowed something before speaking. The beginnings of their words are pressed down, and their endings are cut short. If you remember how they usually sound and compare it to their voice now, it is easier to tell than you might think. Isn't that interesting?”

Vera looked at Rene.

He cursed himself inwardly. He had known that she was capable of telling such things, yet his turbulent emotions had made him overlook it.

“Is it a worry you cannot tell me about?”

As Vera was about to decline, Rene added something else.

A smile carrying endless warmth touched her lips.

“My ears work perfectly well, even if I cannot see. I can listen to you. Um... You always listened to my worries, so I thought I should do this in return...”

She looked slightly embarrassed, lowering her head after facing in his direction.

There was something clear in her actions. Every one of them held consideration for him. The consideration that had once made him feel so weak.

Vera felt something stir within him at her words and actions. He cleared his throat and spoke.

“...Nothing has happened. I believe my voice was somewhat subdued because I had a rough night's sleep. My apologies.”

The words came out smoothly.

Vera had delivered them with as much composure as he could manage, yet Rene could still sense something else within them.

She considered his words and the distance between them, which felt slightly greater than usual.

There was something suppressed in Vera's voice.

It could be called anger. It could be called sorrow.

Yet if she had to choose the strongest emotion in that voice, Rene would have called it hatred.

Rene could recognize the feeling, the temperature of hatred, better than anyone she knew.

Why would she not? On the day her lifelong prayers were betrayed, had she not wept in that very voice?

Of course, she did not know whom his hatred was directed toward.

Nor did she know what had caused it.

She knew it was hatred, but that did not mean she fully understood it.

That was only natural. Humans were foolish creatures, unable to properly understand even themselves, let alone others.

It might be presumptuous meddling. It might even be meddling that annoyed him.

Even so, Rene wanted to listen to Vera's worries.

She could not solve them. She could not fully empathize with them. But she thought she could at least listen.

Rene believed it was the least courtesy she owed Vera, who quietly followed her as she acted so selfishly and put up with her temperament.

“Sir Knight, did you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“You smell like blood right now. Very strongly, too.”

Rustle.

Vera stepped away from Rene, crushing grass beneath his feet.

From that sound and the blood scent growing fainter, Rene realized that Vera was backing away from her.

She carefully stepped forward, closing the distance he had created.

Then she spoke.

“I am blind, not a fool.”

“Songgu...”

“Songgu is what you say when you pass a ball.”

“I am sorry...”

“That is what you say when you have done something wrong.”

Vera fell silent.

Had he closed his mouth?

Rene always found herself silenced by Vera. Realizing that she had silenced him this time, she let out a small laugh before continuing.

“I think of you as my friend, Sir Knight. You listen to me, and you have been meeting with me for over a week now. Um... I think that makes us friends.”

“Please take that back...”

“It is what I think. So even if you say it is not so, there is nothing I can do about it.”

Once again, Vera fell silent.

“The friends I know are people who help each other. They are people who can comfort one another in their hardest moments. So... will you tell me? You have comforted me until now, Sir Knight. This time, I want to comfort you.”

As her words continued, Vera looked at Rene's face.

Her eyes were unfocused. She was looking slightly away from him.

Even so, Vera thought that she was looking at him.

Her smile, her approaching steps, her endlessly clear presence, all of it was directed at him.

The stirring within him, which had intensified as she came closer, had become a wave too great to dismiss as a mere stirring.

For a moment, Vera gave a hollow laugh at the thought that his arrogance and ignorance had once again caused trouble.

Save her...?

Who was saving whom? Who was protecting whom?

No, what basis had he used to decide that her flame had not yet been kindled?

Vera's brow tightened. A long breath slipped through his clenched teeth.

Even though he had not protected her, even though she was pouring out resentment, she remained noble.

Even while she struggled to care for herself, she held a radiant light within her.

The flame Vera had judged unkindled had already taken root firmly in her heart.

In the end, his own arrogance and ignorance had blinded him, leaving him unable to see her properly.

At the edge of Vera's vision, Rene spoke again.

“Is that not possible?”

He was truly foolish.

Even though he had decided to follow that light, even though he had decided to protect her, he had become impatient again, preoccupied with his own circumstances.

Feeling ridiculous at the thoughts rising within him, Vera finally answered Rene.

“Why would it not be possible?”

“Ah, then will you tell me?”

Her voice brightened.

For some reason, Vera found he could not control his expression. Emotions kept spilling out from within him, and his lips parted.

What followed was a confession filled with a deeply guilty heart.

“...The light I wished to follow felt too far away.”

Footnotes:

Vera begins a formal Korean apology, “songgu-hamnida.” “Songgu” can also mean passing a ball, prompting Rene's literal joke.

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