WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Ilafy

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Pulled Out Excalibur

Chapter 179

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The Banquet (4)

Najin was sensitive to changes in people’s expressions. It came partly from how his childhood forced him to be hyper aware of others and partly as a natural gift—his eyes missing even the smallest flicker of emotion.

“You say the Order tried to kill you? When was this? This is the first I’m hearing of it. That would be impossible.”

Watching Eurypylus speak, he doubted the man was lying. His expression and body language were far too natural. Twice, Najin scrutinized him for any hint of deceit, but he found none.

Sure, it was possible the Lighthouse Keeper was a master of subterfuge, carefully feigning ignorance, but considering everything else he had done and said, it seemed unlikely. Besides, the simple fact that he was making the proposal at all, offering Najin the position of Holy Knight Commander, supported the idea that he truly didn’t know the Order had previously targeted him. 

If he’d known, then why propose something so absurd?

“So you decided to offer me the role of Holy Knight Commander on your own?” Najin asked

“Just as the Empire’s First Pillar effectively represents the Empire, I represent the Starlight Order. I don’t care for the phrase ‘on your own.’ This is the will of—”

“What I mean to ask is whether you’re acting without the High Priest or the Lighthouse God’s orders.”

“Stop cutting me off.” Eurypylus gave an irritable nod. “Why would I ever take orders from the High Priest? Only the Lighthouse, our deity, stands above me. Even then, I’m not obliged to obey its every whim.”

He was not in a strictly vertical chain of command, apparently. Folding his arms, he continued, “Yes, you could say this is my own judgment.”

“Why?”

“A moment ago, you were openly antagonistic; now you act all cooperative. I assume you at least want to talk?”

“Yes. I suppose so.”

“Your attitude is still aggravating, but I guess I can explain. I am the one making the proposal, after all.”

Najin gave him a slight bow, and the Lighthouse Keeper’s brow twitched as if his mood improved somewhat. He even loosened the arms he had been holding tight across his chest.

“Large-scale change always brings chaos, and chaos brings confusion. For a thousand years, the Empire’s stability has relied on not letting that confusion take over. You stand at the center of a massive upheaval that’s unsettling everything. Logically…”

“You eliminate that upheaval?” Najin suggested.

Eurypylus looked taken aback. “You keep talking about killing and destroying. That should always be a last resort, not to be chosen lightly.”

With a short sigh, he continued, “Change is the flow of the world itself. You can hold it back for a while, but never forever. If you can’t stem it completely, you have to bring it close and guide that turbulent current into calmer waters.”

His explanation boiled down to: ‘You look dangerous, so I’d rather bring you onto my side.’

“So you came all this way from your station just for that, then? Even though people call you the ‘Unmoving’?”

“I planned to meet you from the moment you were labeled the ‘Youngest Sword Seeker.’ Who could have imagined that, in less than half a year, you’d already collect four stars? Then you hardly ever appeared in public, so it’s not like I could just invite you to tea.”

From Eurypylus’s perspective, it was all a bit unfair. He intended to move slowly, but Najin’s meteoric rise disrupted that plan. Half a year was nothing, and in that time, Najin soared beyond all expectations. The Order tried to contact him to no avail, and the banquet in Camelot was his best shot.

Thus, he’d hauled himself out, only to be glared at by Najin, threatened by the Empire’s Sword Master, and shown the door by a grand sorceress. He felt more than a little aggrieved.

“You say the Order attacked you,” he went on, narrowing his eyes. “Tried to kill you outright, and even hired outside operatives using blackmail?”

“Yes,” Najin answered.

“Huh.” Eurypylus pressed a hand to his forehead. “Give me a moment.”

While Eurypylus was mulling it over, Najin kept his silence—he also needed time to think. Until then, his prime enemies had been clear: High Priest Orland, The Lighthouse That Illuminates All Things (the god of the Starlight Order), and Eurypylus, the Lighthouse Keeper.

Quite some time had passed since he drew Excalibur, during which he was attacked by members of the Order. He naturally assumed their chief god and High Priest must be in league, and if the High Priest was that powerful, then surely the Lighthouse Keeper, who outranked him, had to be in on it as well.

After confronting Eurypylus, Najin saw that he truly seemed ignorant about everything. Could that be possible? It felt contradictory. Still, it didn’t look like the man was lying. Venting his rage on someone who truly had no knowledge would feel pointless. Najin studied him with mixed emotions.

Originally, the Lighthouse Keeper was supposed to be the greatest obstacle to his vengeance, so he had meticulously planned how to deal with him, picturing a cold, unyielding figure, an implacably hostile presence as powerful and merciless as Gerd. The man was nothing like that.

He was cautious and conservative, yet willing to talk. Of course, he still bore some responsibility.

If he wanted to be angry, there was plenty of justification. As the great champion of the Order, how had he let it become so rotten? Had he simply turned a blind eye while it decayed? Najin could rage at him, but it would be an empty fury.

His true anger was aimed at the ones who had knowingly tried to break him, who carried out that plan with deliberate intent. It didn’t feel right to direct lethal hatred at someone clueless, and if he took the path of murdering every member of the Order, he’d become a mere butcher.

“Hmm.” After some silence, Eurypylus finally spoke. “I can’t be sure your claims are true, so I need to confirm things for myself. I’ll have to go back and investigate and see what the Order has been up to.”

Najin asked quietly, “If you discover proof, if the Order truly committed such wrongdoing, will anything change?”

“Hard to say. I’m mostly curious why they tried to kill you, if they did.”

Najin pressed, “What if the reason turns out to be pure evil on the Order’s part? What if it’s undisputable?”

“We’ll see.”

Najin was startled. “Excuse me?”

“I’m no champion of justice or keeper of law. If I was, I would’ve gone off to the Outland ages ago,” Eurypylus said matter-of-factly. “Basically, I’m a friend of the Order. We’ve been close for about four hundred years. If a friend does something wrong, you don’t just stab them in the back. You talk first, see what they have to say.”

He leaned back in his chair. “Judging from the vibe I’m getting, you want to tear down the whole institution; wipe out the Lighthouse, the High Priest, and the entire framework of the Starlight Order.”

Najin silently looked into the man’s eyes.

“Your silence is an answer, huh? Now it’s even more complicated for me. Great.” He scratched his snowy-white hair in annoyance. “Najin, was it?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll make you one last offer. Join the Starlight Order as Holy Knight Commander. I’ll give you that authority. If you can’t stand the High Priest, kill him. I won’t interfere with your personal grudges.” He added, “Anything more is off-limits. I have to preserve the Order’s framework for my own reasons and because I owe it a debt.”

He drew a line with his finger across the table. That line represented a boundary, a point of compromise. Tapping that line, Eurypylus cleared his throat. “Perhaps I can allow a bit more, actually. I can permit you to break pieces of that framework, just not one specific part. Leave that untouched, and I won’t interfere.”

“What part is that?”

“The Underground City, Artman.” His fingertip touched the table. “You know it?”

“I do.”

“It’s a place for confining serious criminals. It still serves a use. If you leave it alone, I won’t get involved.”

“…And the people held there?”

“What about them? You know someone down there? Too bad. That’s a necessity, so it’s off-limits.”

“Why is that?”

“I’m not going to tell you everything. I’m only offering this much because it looks like the Order may have done you wrong. Consider it a courtesy. Demanding more would be rude, don’t you think?”

Najin stared at the imaginary line Eurypylus had drawn. The man wanted Najin to remain on the near side, not cross it, but he already knew his answer. “That won’t work for me.”

“I see.”

“Yes. My mentor always said, ‘When you see a line in front of you, cross it first and see what happens.’”

“Sounds like he was quite a headache.”

“He was.”

“So, negotiations have collapsed. How annoying.” Eurypylus sighed, leaning his head back to stare at the night sky. His gaze fell upon the distant star that symbolized the Lighthouse. “So much for walking all this way. The wasted time is practically painful.”

“Now that negotiations have failed, are you going to kill me?”

“Didn’t I say that’s always a last resort? Still…” He lowered his gaze to meet Najin’s eyes. “If things get bad enough, that’s where we’ll end up.”

Killing might be a last resort, but it was a resort all the same. Eurypylus was clear: if it was the only way, he’d do it.

“Of course, as I said, once I confirm everything, it could go any number of ways. I might oppose you, or I might even lend a hand. Who can say? It’s not set in stone.”

“You’re rather noncommittal, aren’t you?”

“Life is like that. It isn’t black and white. Humans in particular rarely stay consistent. Maybe you’ll change, too.” He shrugged. “We’ll meet again. Or better yet, maybe we won’t have to.”

Standing, Eurypylus walked away with slow, heavy steps. 

Najin found himself calling after him, “Tell me, what is the Starlight Order to you?”

Eurypylus paused and turned back briefly. “An old friend.” He resumed walking; then stopped one last time to add, “And the reason I exist.”

When Eurypylus finally departed, Najin stood there, lost in thought.

“Merlin…”

- Yes?

“You heard it all?”

- I was listening.

“What do you think?”

- About the Lighthouse Keeper’s strength?

Najin nodded. 

Merlin gave a brief answer:

- Nobody on the continent can beat him, I’d say.

“Pardon?” Najin blinked. “Including the Empire’s three Sword Masters?”

- Yes, including those three. I’ve told you before, the number of stars doesn’t always indicate absolute power. It’s like having more weapons to choose from. It gives an advantage but doesn’t guarantee victory.

Unless someone was approaching ten stars, it didn’t necessarily decide the outcome in a fight.

- Besides, this Lighthouse Keeper is an exception among exceptions.

“An exception?”

- I’m not fully sure whether it’s through ‘Unmoving’ or some other method, but he has a way to hoard his time. He uses that stored time to set himself outside normal laws.

The Lighthouse Keeper, somehow, was unaffected by erosion. Merlin insisted that escaping such wear wasn’t easy.

- I don’t know exactly how much time he’s stored, but if it’s been 300 years or so… 

She tapped her fingers in thought.

- He turned a hundred and then started hoarding. He spent three centuries without needing to expend it. If he used all that, he could probably fight the combined Five Pillars of the Empire to a standstill.

“He’s that powerful?” Najin murmured in astonishment.

- That’s the raw output, anyway. Variables could change things in an actual fight.

Merlin’s words matched what Dieta had once hinted: the Lighthouse Keeper’s mere presence kept a certain balance on the continent, a check on potential aggression.

Quietly, Najin recalled Eurypylus’s last words.

“An old friend… and the reason I exist.”

For a long time afterward, Najin pondered what that could mean.