WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Ilafy

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Pulled Out Excalibur

Chapter 170

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Interlude – On the Continent (2)

The scholars of the Grey Tower—where stars were observed and constellations were recorded—were famously slow and lazy.

They woke up late in the evening, yawned, observed the constellations a bit, and then went to bed early in the morning, repeating the cycle. As a result, their sleep schedules were completely messed up, and since there was little change in their work, their lives were very static and even boring.

Stars and constellations were like that too. There was no significant change in a day or two, and it took at least a year of observation to notice any real changes. In other words, missing a day or two of observation didn’t really affect their work, and the workload itself wasn’t heavy.

‘Money-eating hippos.’

‘Wouldn’t it be fine to drastically cut their budget?’

‘If you want to taste the meteor of Nayuta, the Grey Tower Master, it wouldn’t be bad to try.’

‘Work less, earn more.’

‘I want to get a job at the Grey Tower too.’

‘It’s a way to live life on easy mode.’

The Grey Tower’s reputation within the Empire wasn’t very high. It was seen as a place where lazy geniuses worked—a top-tier workplace where people did little work and earned a lot of money. 

That was the dominant perception of the Grey Tower… but… about two years prior, that perception changed. Someone pulled out Excalibur, Arthur and Merlin’s constellations shook in the night sky to cause a realignment of celestial bodies, and amidst that chaos, even a malevolent star moved.

Events that should have happened over hundreds of years occurred in rapid succession, forcing the scholars of the Grey Tower to scream. On top of that, the birth of the youngest two-star constellation, who acquired two stars simultaneously, pushed their workload to the brink of overflowing.

Scholars who had joined the Grey Tower to live an easy life and earn money comfortably found themselves busier than ever, barely managing to complete the records of the realigned celestial bodies.

Just as they finished…

“Huh?”

A gift arrived for them that Najin sent from the Outland.

“Uh… uh…”

“Why is that falling?”

“Uh, Senior? Four stars just fell out of the sky?”

“They’re worn-out stars, but… they’ve been in place for over 150 years. Why are they falling now?”

One month after Najin left for the Outland, four stars fell, the stars of the Holy Flame Guard Knight, Schlein.

“Uh, uh, uh!”

“There, there!”

“A star is falling there!”

“No, it’s rising?”

“What’s that star? I’ve never seen it before… there’s no record…”

Two months in, six stars that had fallen long ago suddenly rose, shone brightly one last time, and then exploded, scattering.

“Uh.”

“…”

“Oh, my God.”

Amidst it all, one star rose: the third star Najin had raised to the sky.

The moment the scholars of the Grey Tower confirmed the star belonged to Najin, they clutched their heads. When they realized his star was connected to the fall of the previous stars, they screamed.

The fall and birth of stars messed up the celestial bodies, the laws had to be recalculated, and their positions had to be remeasured. In other words, it meant they had to observe the sky “from the beginning, all over again.”

They screamed not because of the birth of the youngest three-star constellation, but because their entire year’s work had gone down the drain. Just as the Grey Tower was being praised for finally earning its keep under the Empire’s budget… they had to start working again, cutting back on sleep.

Four months after Najin left…

“Hahaha,” a scholar of the Grey Tower, looking up at the sky, burst into the kind of laughter that would have made the Carnival King clap if she were there.

The other scholars, looking at him with expressions filled with, ‘What’s wrong with him?’, picked up their telescopes one by one, and soon they too started laughing.

The fall of eight stars, the appearance of the Carnival King with ten stars, the intervention of the Starblood Sect’s patron deity with eight stars, the descent of dozens of constellations, the scattering of constellations, falling stars, the battlefield of stars, and the rising stars…

Observing the chaotic state of the celestial bodies, they let out hollow laughs and muttered, “What the hell?”

And then, flash…

Amidst the battlefield of countless falling stars, Najin acquired his fourth star; even a fifth star, seemingly ready to be completed at any moment, shone beside it.

The first to receive the records released by the Grey Tower were the Imperial Family and the historians who recorded the Empire’s history.

The Emperor burst into laughter; the historians quietly clutched their foreheads. They no longer had the energy to scream, nor any hair left to pull out.

Four months after Najin left for the Outland, the Empire faced chaos for the umpteenth time.

Najin unfolded the newspaper he had been handed.

「Who is Najin, really?」

「A nineteen-year-old Sword Seeker who, within two months of setting foot in the Outland, acquired one star, and after another two months, has now acquired another.」

「He has shattered the records for the youngest one-star, two-star, three-star, and four-star constellations by a wide margin.」

「Age is just a number.」

「Grey Tower scholar claims, “This is inhumane treatment, work improvements are needed.”」

「Imperial historian Durek, in a drunken rant at a gathering, said, “What the hell, is that guy dueling Sword Masters or something? Does he have ten lives?”」

「The Grey Tower claims this is unprecedented.」

「A large-scale descent of constellations has been observed, and it has been confirmed to be related to the Star of Dawn…」

Amidst the sensational headlines, Najin read the newspaper with a slightly overwhelmed expression. 

‘Why are they making such a fuss?’ Every article was filled with superlatives like “legendary,” “unbelievable,” “astonishing,” and “miraculous.”

‘Why are they going this far…?’ To him, the person in question, the exaggerated praise felt burdensome. 

Merlin, watching him from the side, gave him a look of disbelief.

- Do you know how long you were in the Outland?

‘About four months?’

- And what did you do in those four months?

‘I got two stars.’

-Yeah, so how do you think that looks to people on the continent?

Najin thought about it. The Empire had been thrown into chaos just by him acquiring two stars. Normally, the more stars one has, the harder it was to acquire new ones, but in his case, the pace had only accelerated.

Two stars in just four months.

Najin nodded. ‘It’s surprising.’

- It’s beyond just surprising.

As Najin continued to check the newspaper, Yuel spoke up with her usual indifferent expression. “Your current status in the Empire is equal to or even higher than mine.”

“Don’t people scream and cheer wherever I go? It’ll be similar for you. Your face isn’t as well-known as mine, but there will be plenty who recognize you.”

‘People do scream wherever you go, but it’s not exactly cheering.’ Najin slowly nodded.

“If you enjoy the commotion, I won’t stop you, but it would be wise to be careful when you go outside.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Yes, then rest well. I still have some work to take care of.” Yuel stood up. As she turned to leave the room, she suddenly stopped and turned her head back toward Najin.

“I’ve been thinking.” She stroked her chin with her one remaining hand. “I have no personal bias, so I see the world very objectively. It seems I saved your life. It wouldn’t be strange to call me your ‘life’s savior.’”

Najin slowly nodded. It wasn’t wrong. Yuel hadn’t saved him alone, but it was true that he had been able to escape that situation thanks to her.

“To save you, I sacrificed a large amount of starlight and even one of my arms. Oh, my arm hurts. It’s throbbing. It’s very uncomfortable.” She didn’t look like she was in pain or discomfort at all. Without even trying to act, Yuel spoke in a monotonous voice, like she was reading a textbook.

Glance.

She glanced at Najin. 

He had a feeling he knew what she was getting at, so he reluctantly spoke. “Thank you. I will definitely repay this debt.”

“I recommend repaying it in a material way, not through spiritual or ideological means. For example, through duels or sparring.”

“…I’ll consider it.”

“Yes, I’ll be waiting.”

About a week later, Najin was able to get out of bed. His body wasn’t fully healed yet, but he had recovered enough to move. Getting up, he made his way to the storage room where his belongings, recovered by the Starblood Sect’s battle priests, were kept.

His longsword, the Lance of the Crossed Star, and the military standard he had been holding when he collapsed… He stood there for a while, staring at the standard bearing the emblem of the Golden Horn Knights.

‘I am Najin. A disciple of Aldaran Vasaglia, the First Horn of the Empire… and a squire of the Golden Horn Knights.’

He had said that to Aldaran. Since Aldaran Vasaglia had become a clown, Najin was the only remaining member of the Golden Horn Knights. Staring at the standard that Aldaran had kept closest to his heart, he remained silent.

Expressionless, silent, still. Outwardly, he seemed unaffected, but Merlin, who shared his inner world, could feel the turmoil within. He was quietly seething with anger, the fierce flames and killing intent directed at the Carnival King.

‘I will. I will definitely kill her.’

Another goal had been added. As he pondered this goal, Najin let out a long breath. He didn’t let himself be consumed by anger—he suppressed his emotions, looking forward to the day he could unleash them.

‘By the way, Merlin… Why do I still remember Aldaran Vasaglia, my teacher? It seems like all information related to him is distorted.’

Even Yuel Razian, a Transcendent, couldn’t escape that distortion. Why was he unaffected? Did Merlin intervene like in the Outland? Najin thought so, but Merlin shook her head.

- I intervened back then, but I haven’t since we returned to the continent. You just remember.

‘Then how?’

- I don’t know the exact reason… but I suspect it’s related to the stars you’ve acquired.

The stars ‘Breakthrough’ and ‘Indomitable’ were deeply connected to Crunbelle, Aldaran Vasaglia, and the Golden Horn Knights. 

Merlin pointed out the stars.

- Stars are something only you can possess, something no one else can interfere with. They are also a part of you. Since your stars contain their stories, you can’t forget them.

Crunbelle, Aldaran Vasaglia, the Golden Horn Knights, the First Horn of the Empire, the Battle Ram, the Triumph Sword, and so on. Their characteristics and stories were embedded in Najin’s stars as something no one else could interfere with, something only he possessed. 

Najin clenched the star floating above his palm along with the Golden Horn Knights’ standard.

The Captain of the Golden Horn Knights, The First Horn of the Empire, Aldaran Vasaglia.

Recalling the time he spent with the helmeted knight, Najin vowed that, no matter what, he would kill the Carnival King and restore his honor.

Packing his belongings, he stood up. There was someone he needed to meet—someone who remembered Aldaran Vasaglia. There was only one such person on the continent.

‘The First Horn of the Empire, Gerd.’

He needed to meet that old Sword Master.

He didn’t head straight back to the Outland. He needed time for his body to fully recover, and there were people he needed to meet on the continent.

Looking for a carriage to the Empire’s capital, he walked through the city with his robe pulled low over his face.

‘It feels a bit excessive…’

Merlin had suggested he be careful since people might recognize him. Honestly, he wasn’t sure yet, but since Merlin recommended keeping his face covered, he did so.

As he wandered the city…

Najin suddenly looked at his hand. He was unconsciously fiddling with the ring he wore around his neck, a habit he had developed recently.

The artifact Dieta had gifted him before he left for the Outland gave him a comforting warmth, so he often found himself unconsciously touching it. Even then, as he looked at the ring, the image of a brown-haired girl popped into his head.

‘It wouldn’t hurt to visit her while I’m back on the continent.’ A flash of blue hair caught his eye at the edge of his vision.

- Hmm. Hmm… 

A dissatisfied expression on her face, Merlin stared at the ring in Najin’s hand. When he asked what was wrong, she sulkily told him it was nothing.

She had been like that for a while now, so Najin didn’t think much of it. As he looked for a carriage to the Empire, a familiar emblem came into view on a building—the emblem of Dieta’s trading company.

Why would Dieta’s trading company have a presence in a remote city near the Outland? Najin tilted his head and entered the trading company.

Clunk.

The building was large, but there weren’t many employees. The few employees there were too busy with their work to pay much attention to the new customer.

“Here.” He tapped the table of an employee with the back of his hand. 

Only then did the employee look up and respond differently with, “If you’re here to pick up an order, go to that counter. If you want to place an order, use counter number three. For requests, go to the building next door.” He waved his hand dismissively, clearly annoyed.

Najin suddenly remembered what Dieta had said. “If you need to find me, just show this to an employee.” 

He took out the emblem Dieta had given him: an emblem carved with a bright yellow gold flower.

He placed the emblem in front of the employee; the employee gave it a casual glance…

“…!” Clatter. He stood up from his seat and looked back and forth between the emblem and Najin. His eyes widened when he saw Najin’s face, which had been hidden under the robe.