WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

Wizard of the Abyss

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 129 - Turbidity (5)

"It’s probably an experiment.”

Dercia replied as she casually extinguished the lantern.

"An experiment?”

"Yes. The Abyss Realm currently encroaching upon the present world doesn’t appear to be of the Three Calamities.”

"But those things are alive, aren’t they? I thought the Three Calamities referred to worlds where life can exist.”

"The analysis is already complete."

Dercia stepped forward. Strangely enough, despite turning her back to the lantern, she cast no shadow.

"It’s not a lifeform. It’s a kind of burden, moving with hostility but without purpose. Fundamentally different from the deep-sea creatures of your world.”

"Then…”

"They haven't discovered the Three Calamities worlds yet. That’s what it means.”

"Even so, this alone is already problematic enough.”

Sharmia interjected, her expression pensive.

"Even if there clearly isn’t any life involved, and it’s nothing more than an anomaly that appears only at night when light shines upon a living being, even that alone is shaking the entire Empire.”

"What’s the scale of the damage?”

"Even if you added together everything Scarlet Abyss has done so far, it wouldn’t compare to the losses suffered in just these past three days, ahaha…”

She laughed, but no matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t something to laugh about.

"..."

"Jern.”

As I silently stared, stunned by the sheer scale of it all, Dercia took a sip of tea and frowned.

"In plain terms, this incident should be described as a minor disaster.”

"A minor disaster? Just hearing about it makes it sound extremely serious.”

"But it stopped at being serious, right?”

I tilted my head, not understanding. Dercia let out a deep sigh.

"There are fixed conditions. Light sources, night, shadows. If one prepares for those factors… Yes, it’s something that can be endured. But Jern, imagine this were your world.”

"...Hmm.”

Deep-sea creatures swimming through the Empire.

I’ve imagined something like that before. Actually more than once.

"That would be hell.”

"Exactly. As I said earlier, this is merely an experiment. They’re likely testing how far it spreads and propagates so that when they eventually release the sea, they’ll know exactly what happens.”

"Then…”

"Yes, Jern.”

Dercia shot a sharp glance at Sharmia.

"You are now someone who must never, under absolutely no circumstances, be captured by Scarlet Abyss.”

"...Haah."

Whatever it was, both we and they knew it could be spread across the Empire in an instant.

Which meant if I were captured now, it wouldn’t just end with my death.

I pressed my fingers against my temple.

"Then I suppose the plan to infiltrate the Upper Tiers should be abandoned. That person, Decay, seems to have already realized to some extent that I’m of the Abyssal Sea.”

"...”

With Dercia pressing her lips tightly together, Sharmia continued in her stead.

"So then—”

"Princess Sharma."

"Yes, Lady Dercia Aspandil?”

"I would ask that you do not forget our contract.”

"Aah, yes. You mean our promise, right? Of course.”

Seeing her flash a cheerful smile, Dercia shook her head and turned to me with advice.

"Jern. My praise comes late, but you truly, truly did well.”

"Ah, yes. Thank you. I still have a long way to go, though.”

"No. Simply by eliminating a member of the Upper Tier, you’ve given those Scarlet Abyss bastards far more to worry about. As I said before, if we consider this incident a mere experiment, then it is no more than that. There’s no need to take it too seriously…”

After she finished her long speech, Dercia let out another deep sigh.

"From this point on, the choice is entirely yours. No matter what you choose, remember that it will be carried out under my protection.”

"...I’m not quite sure I fully understand what you’re saying, but I’ll accept that for now.”

"I’ll explain it to you now!”

Sharmia, now brimming with energy again, looked at me with a bright smile.

"Jern, Lady Dercia said it’s no big deal, but it is a big deal! This is a disaster. So many Imperial citizens are suffering and dying. I’m doing everything I can, but it’s not easy. I barely have time to sleep…”

"You must be under a lot of stress. Is there anything I can help with?”

"Hmm, Scarlet Abyss' Lower Tier is currently proceeding with a plan to infiltrate the Upper Tiers, right? And at the same time, you’re working on ways to survive the Three Calamities and those deep-sea creatures.”

"Yes. Though it seems like I won’t be able to do that anymore."

"No. I want you to.”

"...Excuse me?"

I looked at Dercia with a dumbfounded expression.

Seeing her sitting there with her eyes closed, it was obvious this had already been agreed upon.

I hadn’t realized Sharmia could be this reckless. Still feeling baffled, I continued.

"Of course, this directly concerns my own survival, and it was my original plan, so if you permit it, I can proceed. However…this no longer seems like something I can handle alone anymore.”

"Hmm. Is that so?”

"For one thing, since I was the one who defeated Puppet, there’s no guarantee I can perfectly conceal my world. And now that we know they can encroach on the real world on such a large scale, as a resident of the Abyssal Sea, I absolutely cannot allow myself to be captured.”

"That is indeed true.”

"Above all, that man, Decay, seems to have somewhat realized that I have the Abyssal Sea. Continuing with a plan to infiltrate the Upper Tier under these circumstances feels excessively dangerous.”

I met the gaze of that breathtakingly beautiful prophet sitting across from me.

"Do you have some other contingency in mind?”

"Yes.”

Sharmia smiled and nodded, as if she had been waiting for that question.

"Jern, I can see the future.”

"You mentioned that before.”

"I’ll allow you to glimpse that possibility as well, just once.”

"?"

Still smiling, Sharmia continued.

"Everything you said is correct. It’s incredibly dangerous. But if you look at it another way… If we don’t move forward from here, we'll never learn anything. We’ll be left standing still, forced to watch the people I love die.”

"Wait a second. I’m not sure I understand.”

I waved my hand, expressing my doubts.

"If you’re a prophet, Your Highness, shouldn’t you already know everything they’re going to do? There wouldn’t be any need for me to go at all, would there?”

"Hmm, Jern.”

Sharmia shook her head bitterly.

"Prophecy always comes with a price. A very great price."

"And what would that be?”

"It’s simple…! I only get to see it once.”

"What?"

Sharmia answered playfully, shrugging her shoulders.

"Literally. When I was 10 years old, I foresaw all of these disasters just once. And ever since then, I’ve been struggling to prevent them.”

I frowned, then countered with what felt like an obvious question.

"...Then how did you know exactly what I was going to say when we first met?”

"Because of the price.”

The words left Sharmia’s lips with a faint tremor.

"The price I’ve been paying my entire life for seeing the future.”

"...A burden?"

"I haven’t fallen, though.”

She casually ignited a small flame in her palm. It was proof that she was still a wizard.

"You said Scarlet Abyss possesses something called a Gospel—a book of prophecies, didn’t you?”

"Yes.”

"Doesn’t that sound a little familiar? Prophecies, I mean.”

"..."

Now that she mentioned it.

Scarlet Abyss following prophecies, and Sharmia possessing prophetic power, didn’t seem like a mere coincidence.

When I looked at her expectantly, she replied quite casually as if it was nothing special.

"It’s not a big deal. The being they worship is the First Mage, and surprisingly, that person actually existed.”

"That makes no sense. You’re saying the person who created magic was real?”

"I don’t know whether they truly created magic. But they definitely existed. They are my ancestor after all.”

"...What did you just say?”

"I suspect my prophetic ability is simply that ancestor’s power resurfacing after generations. That’s my theory, at least.”

"..."

I looked toward Dercia, who nodded uncomfortably.

"That is correct. They were a real person and appear to be the ancestor of not only Her Highness but also several noble families. In fact, Jern, the robe you’re wearing now has been recovered from Aletus’ treasury, has it not?”

"...Yes. It was said to belong to the First Mage—”

"Aletus likely carries that blood as well. When I examined his daughter closely, I noticed she possesses a strange power that doesn’t align with any conventional magic.”

"Elisia?”

"Yes. This will require further investigation, but for now, we can be reasonably certain that the so-called First Mage truly existed and that they possessed an abnormal kind of power.”

Worshipped as a god by Scarlet Abyss and the ancestor of the Imperial family and nobility.

An unpleasant feeling crept up inside of me as I steered the conversation back on track.

"So then, what exactly is the price of your prophetic ability?”

"Before I answer that, could you promise me one thing?”

"What is it?”

"That no matter what happens, even if it means your death, you will never reveal what you’ve just heard.”

I tilted my head slightly, feeling puzzled.

"That goes without saying. Is there any other condition?”

At my answer, Sharmia’s eyes widened, and then she let out a chuckle.

"...You really are Jern, through and through… That’s caused you a lot of trouble too, hasn’t it?”

"?”

After spouting some cryptic stuff, she seemed to steel herself and slid a dagger from atop the desk toward me.

"See, I don’t die, even when I die.”

"Are you saying you’re immortal?”

"Yes. Even if my corpse is burned to ash, even if it’s crushed to dust and scattered—it means nothing. I can always come back.”

"Did you expect this?”

"To some extent.”

Sharmia nodded, as if it were something she had long since accepted, then stated it plainly.

"Every time I die, after a fixed interval, I return to the past. That is the price I have to pay in exchange for seeing the future.”

* * *

I had suspected as much.

But even so, I couldn’t quite bring myself to accept it.

Because—

"...No, no, wait a second.”

"Yes. I figured you’d have a lot of questions. Ask as many as you like!”

She raised both arms as if she had said everything she needed to, but the dizziness overwhelming me had a different cause entirely.

"How many times did you die while writing those letters?”

"...I’d rather not say.”

Seeing her shrink up instantly, I swallowed the harsh words that nearly slipped out of my mouth.

At the absolute minimum, it had to be in the four digits. Did she really create that scene by dying over and over?

...For something like that?

"No, it wasn’t meaningless.”

Sharmia hurriedly protested after noticing my expression grow cold.

"First, it was necessary to hide my ability to establish myself as a real prophet. And while I was at it, I needed to test whether you were someone I could trust. And more than anything, wasn’t I a little mysterious and cool?”

"I understand now just how lightly Your Highness treats her own life.”

"It’s my only weapon.”

Seeing how casually she replied, I couldn’t help but imagine how much Carose must have suffered all this time.

What kind of agony would it be to serve a liege who repeatedly kills herself, over and over?

Unfortunately, I had to admit that she had appeared a bit mysterious and cool at that time.

"Originally, I was planning to just send you on your way, Jern.”

"Hmm, so you only intended to extract information, not caring whether I lived or died.”

"No, that’s not it. If you ever ended up in danger, I planned to kill myself and return to this point so I could warn you about what was coming, okay?”

"That’s completely insane.”

Dercia shook her head.

"That is the delusion of a madwoman who believes the world would end with her death. I cannot allow that.”

"But it really does end…”

"You have neither experienced it nor proven it. Therefore, I cannot believe it.”

"Yes, yes. Since the ever-so-great Lady Dercia Aspandil says so, I had no choice but to reveal everything and suggest a different method instead.”

"And what method would that be?”

"As I said before, Jern. I’ll let you experience this price I bear just once.”

"So you mean…”

"Yes."

She answered with a gentle, harmless smile.

"No matter what happens to you from now on, you will wake up in this place and time again just once.”

—This meant she was granting me a single instance of absolute invincibility.

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