WeTried Translations

Translator: Abood

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Saviour Embarks on a Nameless Journey

Chapter 51: The Beginning of the Journey Around the Cores

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The subordinates granted power by the Demon King were called core-bearers. During the journey to subjugate the Demon King, they were the strong individuals found in regions that had suffered great harm.

Our route to the Demon King had taken us toward him while defeating those creatures, freeing towns from the threat of monsters and strengthening ourselves along the way.

Like the Demon King himself, the cores, where the power granted to monsters by the Demon King had congealed, did not break even if the creatures that held them were defeated. Even if we broke them, they stuck back together! So they were left waiting for the goddess’s purification.

From the incident in Terenoa, we learned that perhaps because the Demon King had not been fully defeated, monsters could possess cores in the middle of purification. And so our journey became a journey around the cores.

From the start, I had planned to follow the route of the Demon King subjugation journey, so nothing much had changed. But our resolve, perhaps, had.

My granddaughter Alina, Marius’s niece Io, and the mercenary Tain we had hired. The three of them wore rather sharp expressions, filled with determination. They even looked somewhat tragic.

Meanwhile, Marius and I watched those three from the corners of our eyes and enjoyed the journey. The blue grasslands and green trees were enough to make the heart lift. On our previous journey, dark clouds had always stretched overhead, the air around our bodies had been heavy, the grass had withered dry, and the trees had stood dead.

Overwriting those memories with this beautiful scenery was pleasant and joyful. I had planned to travel alone, but being with others was not bad at all.

Alina and Io, who would carry the next era. Tain, who connected us to the present. And Marius, who could share the same feeling as I did. Yes, not bad in the least.

“We know where the cores are. If you do not relax where you can, you will only tire yourselves further.”

It was advice I had given more than once.

“When I think that monsters like the one Grandfather defeated lie ahead of us, I cannot help but grow tense.”

“I find myself thinking of all sorts of things. As one who could do nothing against the monster in Terenoa, I feel ashamed of my own inadequacy.”

Alina and Io rode the same magic horse.

Taking advantage of the lack of other travelers on the road, my magic horse, Marius’s, and the girls’ rode side by side. Tain hung back a little, perhaps out of reserve.

“There are no monsters strong enough to serve as training now.”

There was no environment where one could grow stronger through actual combat.

After all, there were few monsters nearby, and those that remained were weak. Only weak pure monsters were left, and most were animals on the verge of becoming monsters. With the Demon King gone, it seemed their magic drained away unless they had a vessel, a body.

The monsters were fading. Those who once sought their own strength had aged. More had laid down their swords and now sought skill in politics and commerce.

There was some loneliness in the changing of the times, but an age in which the Demon King existed was the worst of all. This peaceful time was what we had long sought.

“That monster is what I want to protect people from. That monster is what I want to defeat. Monsters were the standard by which strength was measured.”

Marius said this.

“...Is there no chance a core-bearer revives before we get there?”

Tain asked, unease in his voice.

“They will revive in the order we defeated them, so it is fine. If they revive after a fixed amount of time, the order remains the same, and if the issue is how long it takes them to gather magic, then those later in the order were stronger and will need a greater amount.”

Marius answered.

“So that thing in Terenoa really was the weakest... You two had plenty of room to spare.”

Tain looked thoroughly worn out.

“Pyaa.”

Pya climbed up my back and cried beside my ear.

“You are hungry, I know, but endure it! The town is already in sight.”

From the small hill where we stood, I could see the town through the trees.

At this distance, we should arrive around noon. Thanks to the improved road, it had become possible to judge time by the distance one saw.

In the old days, monsters might appear along the way, or the road might break off and force a detour, so even if a place was visible, there had been many times when we could not reach it quickly.

“Pyaa.”

“No snacks either!”

“Pyaa.”

Noisy! Do not cry beside my ear!

“Shinju-sama, that town’s specialty is a dish where fried rice, meat, and other fillings are wrapped in grape leaves. There are varieties with boiled egg, vegetables, and sweetly simmered fruit, so it would be best to leave room in your stomach.”

Marius spoke to Pya with a smile.

“Pya.”

Hearing that, Pya wriggled back to his usual position on my back.

“Wait. Does that count as me ‘eating’?”

Go to Marius. Go to Marius! You understand each other, do you not?

“Boss, your way of talking.”

“Gh... The amount Pya eats looks to those around us as if I am eating it. Take care of him yourself once in a while.”

I corrected myself after Tain’s rebuke.

Because I had regained a younger appearance, I had been instructed that calling myself an old man and ending my sentences like one sounded odd. Alina was a princess, Io a duke’s daughter, and Marius had until very recently held the position of chief priest.

Among this group, I, the former margrave, was closest to town life, but even so, there were gaps in my perception. Especially in how people treated monsters, things had changed a great deal since the age of the Demon King’s subjugation.

I had asked Tain to point out where our group differed from ordinary people and help us blend in. As a bonus, because I had become young again, he was currently pointing out that my old-man speech was strange.

“You sound a touch broken now.”

Marius’s face was smiling, without responding to my actual argument.

Curse him...!

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