WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Abood

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Saviour Embarks on a Nameless Journey

Chapter 27: Book

“What’s that over there?”

Alina tugged at Io’s sleeve, her eyes sparkling with curiosity at the sight.

“A street stall. They sell inexpensive goods and food, correct?”

Io glanced up at me as if to confirm her answer.

“Aye, that’s right.”

I nodded.

The tack we’d ordered was unusual. A side saddle for Io with a double seat so Alina could ride with her, which meant our departure was delayed by another day. The only reason it was finished in just one was because Io had solved the problem with money.

I did wonder if that was a habit she ought to be forming at her age… but since her blood relative Marius hadn’t said a word, I held my tongue. Duke’s family, huh…

With the extra time, we were shopping for Alina and Io’s travel gear while taking the chance to sightsee around town.

It seemed that everything Alina laid eyes on was new to her. As we walked, her questions never stopped. I didn’t mind, her shining eyes were far too endearing, and Io kept up with her admirably.

Perhaps Io was happy to be asked, too. And for Alina’s part, she probably felt assured that either Io or I would answer her questions without brushing her off.

As for Marius, that fellow hadn’t even bothered to come along, claiming it was too much trouble, so there was no question of him being asked anything in the first place.

“What’s that?”

“A cup, used in place of porcelain or pottery. This one’s made of wood.”

“Is that a perfume bottle?”

“Yes… or perhaps an empty ink bottle.”

“What’s that?”

“A spool. It’s used to wind thread spun from sheep’s wool or cotton.”

“You’re amazing, Sister. What about that?”

“That is—”

Io hesitated.

“A stamp. Judging by what’s around it, I’d say it’s for pressing patterns onto cloth.”

Various shapes of wooden blocks were gathered in a box, each either carved with a pattern to match the shape of the block or carefully shaped so the pattern fit the form.

“People who work really do use all sorts of tools. Grandfather, Sister, you both know so much, it’s amazing. …What’s that? I can tell it’s a book, but it’s all tied up.”

“Pyaa.”

“Ah, that’s the Demon King’s Book Guardian… Wait, hold on—why is that here?!”

Who was the fool who brought something dangerous like that out here?!

From both ends of the bundle, wrapped tightly in layers of cord, I could see the familiar red-and-black cover. Open that book, and it would transform into a monster and attack.

It was one of the books said to have been written by a holy spirit, containing the path to the Demon King’s castle.

After retrieving it, the Demon King’s right-hand man had placed it in a tower, sealing it there as a guardian. I’d once had the pleasure of searching for that single holy spirit’s volume among a tower crammed to the ceiling with books.

If I remembered right, about sixty percent of them were ordinary books, while the other forty percent would turn into monsters.

And then, after getting tired of the fighting partway through, I’d taken whatever might have been the holy spirit’s book, tied it up tightly without opening it, and poured holy water on it…

Depending on the monster’s strength, a splash of holy water would make it sizzle with white smoke. The weaker ones would even melt away completely. Of course, holy water cost a fair sum, so normally you wouldn’t waste it on something of that level.

In the end, I grew tired of the constant binding. It was inefficient, and I remembered that books left behind by the holy spirit couldn’t easily be damaged by demonic power.

So I shifted to a new method: taking them into battle and letting a monster’s attacks hit the book. Any volume that came away unscathed was the one I was after.

“Could this be one you threw away?”

I bought the book quietly and returned to the inn. Once the children were asleep, I showed it to Marius. He stabbed at me with that smiling tone of his.

“......”

“The remaining ones in the tower, Elaine has sealed the entire place and forbidden entry.”

Yes… there were still plenty of books left there. There had been even more in the past, and I’d grown so bored that I’d wanted to pour holy water on any that turned into monsters and toss them out the tower windows.

“That’s why I always tell you to treat books with care.”

“Pya—.”

Don’t you agree with him, Pya! And it’s not a book, it’s a monster!

“I’ll take responsibility. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll go outside and deal with it.”

I answered without meeting Marius’s eyes.

“Can you even break Elaine’s seal? Well, with brute force, you probably could… but in that case, I suppose an explosion would be the lucky outcome?”

“Guh…”

Yes, Elaine liked to put nasty surprises into her seals for anyone who tried to undo them. Or rather, she claimed that was all she knew how to do, and with her abundant magic power, she’d decided that was good enough.

The problem was that with Elaine, it was always one of two things, an explosion or a curse. I was confident I could withstand an explosion, but if it turned out to be the type of curse that spread to everyone nearby, that would be no laughing matter.

“Can’t be helped, I suppose. I’ll come with you tomorrow morning at least for the part where you break the seal.”

With a sigh and a half-smile, he offered his cooperation.

Kuh… curse you… my past self!

“Pyaa.”

Don’t “Pyaa” me!

If you really are a sacred beast, you should at least be able to sense demonic presence— Wait. Could it be you actually did? Was that chirp a warning? You did cry out when my eyes went to the book…

No, but if you only warn me when it’s within a meter of my nose, what good is that supposed to do?

Footnotes:

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