WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
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◈ The Regressor and the Blind Saintess ◈
Chapter 60: Aisha Dragnov - 2
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Vera stared blankly at Aisha.
Why was she here? Why was the person destined to become a swordswoman who wielded the Demon Sword working here as a blacksmith's apprentice?
The question arose, but it was quickly answered.
...There was no reason she couldn't be.
Of all the heroes who had risen when the Demon King ran rampant in his previous life, only her past had remained unclear. It was entirely possible that she had been an apprentice here before becoming a swordswoman.
As Vera pieced together the chain of events in his mind...
“Aisha.”
Dovan admonished Aisha, who stood with her head lowered and fuming.
Aisha flinched at Dovan’s words, then bowed to Vera and Rene with a face full of resentment.
“...Sorry.”
Her voice was thick with tears.
Rene immediately caught the emotion in Aisha's voice. Smiling softly, she waved a hand.
“It’s all right. It was an accident.”
“Ugh...”
Aisha clutched her apron tightly. Her tearful eyes were already filling with hostility.
Biting her lip, Aisha tried to suppress the anger rising within her. In the end, unable to contain it, she shouted and ran out of the room.
“It’s your fault for looking so suspicious!”
“Aisha!”
Bang!
Aisha slammed the door behind her as she left.
Dovan stared blankly at the door, opening and closing their mouth a few times. Then they sighed deeply and apologized.
“I’m sorry. My apprentice is terribly stubborn.”
“No, it’s really all right! Um, but shouldn’t someone go after her?”
“I can’t do that while I have guests before me. Aisha should be nearby, so don’t worry. Now, let’s get back to business.”
Dovan was clearly trying to reassure them, but Rene could sense deep concern in their words.
“Then may I go check on her? It’s not like I have anything to do anyway.”
“That’s all right. I couldn’t impose on a guest like that...”
“No, I want to.”
Dovan blinked at Rene’s words. After a brief moment of thought, they nodded.
“Then I’d appreciate it. Aisha is probably up in the tree in the backyard.”
“All right.”
Rene nodded, then took the hand of Hella, who had been standing behind her until then, and slowly left the room, making Tap. Tap. sounds as she went.
Thud.
The door shut. Left alone with Vera, Dovan spoke awkwardly.
“She’s a very kind young lady. Is she the one you serve?”
“That’s right.”
“You serve a good person. That must be rewarding.”
Vera nodded. His favorable impression of Dovan rose slightly.
“She is someone who will brighten the world.”
“Your devotion is profound.”
Dovan, however, felt somewhat uncomfortable at Vera’s sudden praise.
As the mood eased, Vera’s curiosity about Aisha grew, and he asked a question.
“Your apprentice is very young. Is she a child from nearby?”
“I raised her. She’s a war orphan.”
“Ah...”
Vera nodded.
That must have referred to the conflicts within the Alliance of Kingdoms.
For the past fifty years, ever since Vargo had smashed Tiger King Haman’s skull and the beastfolk empire collapsed, the land had been divided into five nations. The conflicts had never ceased.
Aisha had become a war orphan because of those conflicts.
I see. Is that why I could find no record of her past?
As Vera finally came to understand Aisha’s past, he nodded and continued.
“That is unfortunate.”
“Unfortunate...? I’d say it’s ridiculous. The tyrant finally falls, and they start fighting among themselves over their own bowls of rice.”
Dovan’s words carried undisguised disgust.
“When the tiger leaves, the foxes act like kings. It describes this situation perfectly.”
Vera kept his mouth shut in response to Dovan’s deep loathing and waited for Dovan to regain composure.
After a short silence, Dovan regained composure and continued with a bitter expression.
“I’m sorry for bringing up such a depressing subject. Shall we go? I would like to show you some specifications that could serve as samples.”
“Of course.”
Screech.
Dovan’s wheelchair began to move.
* * *
Behind the large earthenware jars in the backyard.
Norn crouched there and spoke to Rene, who was likewise crouching beside him.
“She’s curled up in the tree. She doesn’t seem to be in a good mood.”
“Is that so...?”
Rene nodded with a worried expression, then continued.
“How should we comfort her?”
Seeing the concern on Rene’s face, Norn smiled faintly as he answered.
“May I try talking to her?”
“You, Norn?”
“I may not look it, but I’m a father. I’m an expert at handling children.”
Norn was confident.
How much trouble had Hella caused when she was that age? She had beaten up the boy next door until he was a pulp. She had torn the whole house apart looking for a door to another dimension.
He had cleaned up every one of those disasters, so surely he could be useful this time.
Thinking that he needed to make up for accomplishing nothing in the Great Forest, Norn rose to his feet.
“I’ll be back.”
Norn walked toward the tree.
Rene listened closely, her face tense.
“Hey, child. Are you all right?”
“What? Get lost. You smell like an old man.”
Rene’s body trembled.
“H-Hella? What’s happening?”
“...Father is coming back.”
“What?”
“I think he failed.”
Cold sweat ran down Rene’s forehead.
When Norn returned, his voice carried sadness he could not hide.
“...Children these days are frightening.”
“Um...”
“Cheer up. Father, you’re plenty cool.”
“...Thank you.”
The mood sank. Rene felt panic rising within her.
Rene did not know how to heal the heart of a wounded older man.
“Um...”
Unable to find anything to say, Rene kept drawing out the sound before finally squeezing her eyes shut and standing up.
“I-I’ll go!”
The choice she finally made was escape. Wanting to flee this gloomy atmosphere, Rene chose to head straight into enemy territory.
* * *
Aisha buried her face between her knees and listened to the approaching Tap. Tap.
Judging by the sound, it had to be the white-haired blind woman she had seen earlier.
Aisha’s expression suddenly twisted.
Because of her...!
Her master had scolded her.
I only hated people who troubled Master! I only wanted to keep Master from having a hard time! Master doesn’t understand any of that and only scolds me!
Anger rose within Aisha. She slightly lifted her head, her face twisted into a fierce frown. Her ears flattened back in warning.
“Who are you?”
Rene flinched at the sharp words. Then she smiled brightly and greeted her.
“Um, hello?”
“I asked who you are.”
“Ah, I’m Rene. You’re Aisha, right?”
She had thought that speaking warmly would surely make Aisha respond. Yet the reaction she received was far from welcoming.
“Why are you speaking casually? Don’t you have any manners?”
For a moment, Rene swallowed the words, “What about you?” Then she continued.
“Ah, I’m sorry. Was I being rude?”
Her tone remained kind.
She could have matched Aisha’s rude attitude, but Rene believed children should be cared for with love.
Perhaps Rene’s feelings had reached her.
Seeing Rene answer her sharp remarks in such a gentle tone, Aisha flinched.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. Her ears, which had been flattened back the entire time, slowly rose. The tip of her tail began to sway.
Rene could not see any of that. Fortunately, Aisha gave another response that let Rene clearly notice the change.
“...I already apologized.”
Her tone had softened a little.
Rene sensed it and nodded with a brightening expression.
“Ah, yes. I didn’t come here to get an apology.”
Happy at Aisha’s gentler reaction, Rene continued.
“Um, um, how old are you, Aisha?”
She wanted to learn about her one thing at a time and close the distance between them.
Aisha flinched and glared at Rene. She thought that if she admitted she was twelve, Rene might look down on her.
After stealing glances at Rene, Aisha finally answered in a firm voice.
“Twenty-three.”
Anyone who could see her expression would have immediately recognized it as a lie. But Rene was blind and could only hear the confidence in her voice, so she was flustered.
“Huh? Wh-what?”
Her confusion was so obvious that even someone meeting Rene for the first time could have seen it. Rene felt her thoughts becoming complicated.
But they called her a child?
Both Norn and Dovan had clearly spoken as though she were a child. And her voice sounded quite young as well.
This had happened because Vera had not described Aisha’s appearance in detail, and because Rene did not know how to doubt what others said.
Seeing Rene’s uncertainty, Aisha realized her lie was working and continued in an even more confident voice.
“People mistake me for a child because I look young.”
One corner of Aisha’s mouth lifted.
Aisha instantly understood.
She’s a sucker.
That blind woman was a sucker.
Mischief played across Aisha’s face. Her shoulders rose with confidence as she realized Rene believed her.
“I-I’m sorry! I was terribly rude...”
“Well, I’ll let it go this once.”
Aisha said this to Rene, who was apologizing, then jumped down from the tree.
After dusting off her rear, Aisha lifted her head arrogantly and asked in a haughty tone.
“How old are you?”
“Ah, eighteen...”
Rene shrank back. The person she had thought was much younger than her was actually older.
Seeing Rene’s shoulders curl inward, Aisha somehow felt as though she had won. She raised her chin and said,
“So I’m your older sister.”
“I-I suppose so?”
Aisha’s smile deepened.
“I’m Aisha Dragnov. You’re Rene?”
“Yes. Ah, are you a noble?”
Surprise appeared on Rene’s face.
As far as Rene knew, people with family names were either nobles or had received knighthoods.
Aisha could have gained her surname through a knighthood, but it made no sense for a blacksmith’s apprentice to have earned one. Rene concluded that Aisha was more likely the child of a noble family. Smiling, she continued.
“That’s impressive. Usually, young noble ladies do not do difficult work like blacksmithing, do they?”
She must be a person full of passion.
Her words held the admiration that naturally arose from that thought.
Aisha’s eyes shook as though there had been an earthquake.
“R-Right!”
She even stuttered because she was lying.
Aisha was not a noble. She had added a surname because it sounded impressive. The only reason she had chosen Dragnov was because it sounded cool.
Thinking that her lie might be exposed if this continued, Aisha became frightened and hurriedly changed the subject.
“Um...! Where is the man you came with?”
“Ah, he’s talking business with Dovan.”
Relieved that she seemed to have changed the subject successfully, Aisha quietly sighed to herself. Then she cleared her throat, Ahem. Ahem., and continued.
“You two seemed close.”
She was imitating the manner of the mercenaries who occasionally came to commission work from the blacksmith. Aisha thought she needed to speak in an adult manner, but...
“W-We do?”
That action stirred Rene’s intuition, which was always wrong.
Doubt arose in Rene’s mind.
Why is she asking about Vera?
Why was Aisha interested in Vera?
After thinking for a while, Rene suddenly realized what she had overlooked. Her body jolted.
Come to think of it...
She was not a child.
She was twenty-three.
She is older than Vera...
...She was older than him.
Rene felt the hairs on her back rise.
Tension filled her.
Could she...
Was she interested in Vera? Was she trying to take Vera away from her?
Rene’s expression became quite serious.
“Hm? You two make a good pair.”
Aisha’s sly remark followed.
It could easily have sounded like a compliment, but Rene had already decided that Aisha was an enemy. Her response was sharp.
“...Why does that concern you?”
“H-Huh?”
Confusion began to show in Aisha’s voice.
Normally, Rene would have noticed something strange here. But she was too worked up to catch the awkwardness in Aisha’s words, and she continued.
“You don’t even know him.”
It was a curt remark.
Rene straightened her shoulders, which had been hunched until moments ago. She turned toward the source of Aisha’s voice, her expression hardening.
It was her own kind of battle stance for facing a romantic rival.
You thieving cat!
Rene addressed the real cat before her, not metaphorically.
“You seem very interested in other people’s affairs.”
“W-What!”
A strange tension filled the space.
Hostility showed in Rene’s expression. Across from her, Aisha also made a fierce face at Rene’s sudden change in attitude.
What followed was an argument too painful to watch.
At last, Rene’s second embarrassing memory was about to be made.
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