WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Ryuu

Editor: Ilafy

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Pulled Out Excalibur

Chapter 191

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Who Am I? (7)

Time flowed.

On rainy days, Najin visited the tavern and played music with Violet. On days without rain, he sought out other performers and watched them play in person. Then he would steal their performances. In that case, he had no intention of using the word “learn.” In his view, it was closer to thievery than learning.

“It’s different from learning swordsmanship.” Whenever he copied another’s sword style, he understood the philosophy and life contained therein, then reinterpreted those elements into his own sword. 

That could be called “learning,” but music was not like that. He could not understand the performers’ philosophies and merely stole the form for himself.

Still, just by copying the form, his performance skills improved day by day. He might not have touched the realm of a true master, but he got close enough to the tier just below it.

“I figured your talent would work for anything related to moving your body, but…” Watching him, Merlin looked at Najin as though it were beyond belief. “Seeing it for myself, it really is ridiculous. Does that even make sense?”

“I’m thinking the same thing.” If he had to offer an excuse, it was that the extreme limits to which he’d honed his body made the kind of mimicry possible. Unlike the bodies of ordinary performers, his well-trained physical capabilities let him control even the finest details of his strength.

In any case, in that dream, where everything remained stagnant and the same moment repeated itself, only he advanced steadily onward.

“Ah… Honestly, you…” Footsteps pressed into the ground where Najin walked. Someone followed. “How did you do it? My goodness, does this even make sense? One week! You’ve gotten this good in just one week…!”

“Well, I’ve always been rather amazing.”

“Saying ‘amazing’ doesn’t cover it! If only the other performers could have seen this! Could you maybe play this piece too? I’ve been wanting to try this one!”

“I don’t mind, but… Merlin?”

“G-give me a second. I’m reading the sheet music.”

Violet hitched a ride on the momentum Najin created. She, who must have spent an unimaginable amount of time alone in that tavern, tapping away at the piano, genuinely welcomed the visitor who came to see her twice a week.

“Welcome, Najin!” She no longer called him a “strange customer;” she no longer sat at the piano first, either. She would place a chair outside the tavern and wait for him to arrive. Once he showed up, they would enter the tavern together.

“How about this one today?” Every time, she brought in a new piece. “Ah, really…” Tapping at the keys, she smiled brightly. As if she could hardly contain her delight, she burst out laughing.

“You know, I really love playing piano. It makes my heart feel calm. No matter what happened yesterday or what will happen tomorrow, when I’m in the middle of a performance, I can forget it all.” She stroked the keys. Her pale fingers gave a soft tap, against them. “When I’m sitting here, I can be a performer. Something I always wished for…”

While she was playing, she hid none of her feelings—she laughed, frowned when she missed the beat, and at the end of the performance, she exhaled loudly as if satisfied. There she could be Violet.

The old tavern, a space filled with dusty instruments, was too shabby and unimpressive a place for a Transcendent to call home, yet for Violet as a human, that much space was enough. She did not need fancy instruments, a grand orchestra, or a crowd of listeners paying attention to her performance.

A worn-out instrument, an old tavern, and one listener was all Violet required to live, but Najin did not intend to let her merely “live.”

He tilted the scale, which had been leaning toward Viola Oldina, so it would shift to Violet’s side, ensuring that, at least in those moments, she could genuinely feel “happiness.”

“Najin.” Violet smiled. “Thank you.”

Time flowed, slowly, yet surely, and the music continued until it neared its end. At the end of the sheet lay not a conclusion but a repeat. Since there was no end to the dream created by Viola Oldina, no finale could exist.

Da capo—return to the beginning and play it again. Najin advanced toward the spot marked by that repeat sign, which would force one to replay the same piece hundreds of times. 

Glancing back, he saw Violet following behind. She was walking in the footprints he left.

He brought change to her life—one that had remained unchanged for centuries. Led by that change, she was progressing with a clear sense of direction rather than endlessly repeating the same loop.

‘Here.’ Najin stopped. He was a single step away from the moment Kassel Kingdom fell. If he looked ahead, there stood the repeat sign. 

From there on, it was no longer his choice.

Swaaah, swaaah…

Rain poured down. Perhaps it was the last rain. When it stopped, and the next morning dawned, Violet would lose herself.

Tuk, tuduk, tudududuk…

Drops of water hit the corner of the building. Outside the tavern, Violet sat on a chair. She wore gloves on her hands—the same gloves she once claimed to hate because they prevented her from feeling the keys.

She held her hands cupped, palms turned inward, resting them gently on her lap, almost as if she did not want anyone to see her fingers. Though she had already hidden them once with the gloves, she curled them in again, covering them completely.

Najin came to a stop in front of her. Normally, around that point, she would stand from her seat and guide him inside. That time she didn’t. Instead, she looked up at Najin.

She seemed unsure of where or how to start talking and pressed her lips together repeatedly.

Najin briefly turned his head to make eye contact with Merlin. No words were needed—one glance and a single nod were enough. 

Understanding what he intended to say, Merlin shrugged. ‘Do what you want.’

Najin smirked, then looked back at Violet. “Violet, do you happen to like the rain?”

“Huh?” Violet blinked.

Najin extended his hand to her. “Let’s take a walk for a bit, if you don’t mind getting wet.”

“Ah.” Realizing he was being considerate, Violet’s lips formed a slight smile. She slowly nodded, then took the hand he offered. “Sure, why not? I actually like being in the rain. I used to stand in the street all day when it rained. I like the sound it makes. How about you, Najin?”

“Well. I don’t dislike it.”

Soaked in the downpour, their hair became drenched, and their clothes were soaked. Paying no mind to that, the two walked through the street.

“It’s really a shame.” The rain turned the gloves transparent, and they no longer served any purpose in hiding her hands. Violet removed them to show her blackened, decaying fingers. “I wanted to play more.”

Najin simply let her speak.

“With hands like these, I can’t tap the keys anymore. It’s such a pity, but still, thanks to you, I’ve spent this past month playing to my heart’s content. I even got to try out everything I’d ever wanted to play…”

She took a light step forward. Standing one step ahead, she turned and looked back. “You knew who I was all along, didn’t you?”

Najin nodded.

“Yet you didn’t pry or ask. That was out of consideration for me, right?”

Najin cocked his head. “Consideration? You’re Violet, aren’t you?”

“Ah. Seriously, how far—” Violet murmured. 

Cutting her off, Najin said, “So from now on, whatever you say, I’ll think of it as coming from the Violet standing here; not that dark, haunted-looking person.”

“Did my face really look that gloomy?”

“Yes, to the point that watching you was exhausting.”

Violet gave a soft chuckle. “All right, then. Would you mind listening to a little of my story? I feel like complaining a bit.”

“Sure thing. We’ve got plenty of time.”

Amid the downpour, Violet walked, taking the lead. “I hate swords.” She spoke as if talking to herself. “I saw my mother and father stabbed to death right in front of me. Of course I would hate them, wouldn’t I? What I hated even more was that I had a talent for the sword.”

It was a talent someone else might have dreamed of possessing.

“Whenever I hold a sword, I get scared. My body moves on its own. It knows exactly where to cut, how to slice… all of it just pops into my head. Then my body reacts instinctively, moving in the optimal direction. It doesn’t even feel like my own.”

For some reason, she possessed a gift that she herself despised.

“When the Oldina House Head saw that, they adopted me; said I had talent, talent to become a Sword Master. They forced me to hold a sword and pushed me to the front lines. I was told to kill the enemies who’d invaded this country. They said my talent existed for the sake of this kingdom.”

“They said if I didn’t do it, this kingdom would fall. That we’d be conquered or something? So I had to do it.”

Violet had never wanted that gift.

“I killed them. Blood splattered, screams echoed, their life sprayed across my face, corpses rolled at my feet, and I looked at them all with a blank expression. I killed them, but why? It never felt like it was actually me doing it. My body was moving on its own—how can that be me? Why am I the one being held responsible?”

The pounding rain drummed on Violet’s body.

“Kill, then kill some more, and they told me I’d become a Sword Seeker. Keep going like that, and eventually a Sword Master, they said. So now I’m a Transcendent being, a guardian of this land, a guardian spirit, a hero… or something like that.”

She gave a hollow laugh. “And then Ladon appeared. Honestly terrifying—even making eye contact was enough to instill fear. I couldn’t figure out how to cut it, but again, they said I had to step up. I didn’t want to, but if I didn’t, the kingdom would be destroyed again. Again, again!” She raised her voice. 

The streets were quiet and empty. Only the sound of the rain buried her cry.

“Every day, I fight.” She ruffled her hair with both hands. “There’s no end in sight. After every fight, my body’s a wreck. Even walking is hard. I don’t know how long I have to keep doing this, and… I just…”

Her teeth ground audibly. The once snowy-white hair on her head had turned black. Viola Oldina scratched at her forearm with her fingernails. 

“I’m no hero. I’m just scared.” Her arm dropped limply. “If I don’t do it, if I don’t move, nearly a million people will die… and I can’t distance myself from that responsibility. Why? Because people see me as a hero. Why? Because I’m their guardian.”

To them, it was only natural that she did that. It was their right to expect it.

“How can I call myself a hero if my own will isn’t in it? I don’t have the courage to question it. I don’t have the courage to run away. I’ve been living like this just because I’m scared. Where’s the heroism in that?”

She looked at Najin. “I can’t be a hero. I’m just a mentally unstable wreck tormented by constant anxiety… a coward with no resolve to accept responsibility…”

Her lips trembled. “That’s who I really am. Isn’t it laughable?”

He’d heard the words once before, but they were different that time. Najin sensed that the scales had tipped more toward Violet than Viola Oldina. Clearly, the past month of effort had not been in vain.

The person before him, Violet, was in anguish. Originally, “Viola Oldina” had been completely detached from Violet, but that line had blurred.

“What’s so funny about that?”

“Huh?”

Najin responded to her question with another. “Did you want to become a hero?”

“No. Not at all.”

“Then you’ve been doing something you never wanted to do for sixty-seven years now, right?”

She didn’t answer.

“Whether it was out of fear or compulsion, you’ve protected this kingdom for sixty-seven whole years. Long enough that people here take it for granted. I don’t see what’s so laughable about that.” Najin casually spoke. “I’d say that’s more than enough. You’ve done your part for sixty-seven years. Isn’t it weird for anyone to demand more?”

“But if I don’t do it…”

“They’ll die, sure, so you have to do it?”

“Because there’s no one else…”

Najin smiled. “When someone performs good deeds despite having no obligation, no reason, do you know what the world calls them?”

Her gaze through the downpour waited for him to tell her.

“A hero. Or a knight.” They were the words Najin had wanted to say to her back on the day before the world reset. “You’re already a hero. Whether you deny it or not, that’s not going to change.”

“Me, a hero?”

“Yes, you.”

Violet opened her mouth and closed it again, repeatedly. She let out a breath of disbelief, almost a laugh. “You said earlier I’m Violet, remember?”

“Yes, you’re Violet.”

“But the hero is Viola Oldina.”

“That’s still you, isn’t it? If Viola Oldina were truly someone else, would you even be struggling over this at all?”

“That’s just sophistry. It’s not that simple—”

“But it’s also the plain truth. The two are only a sheet of paper apart. It all depends on how you accept it. If you can, why not accept it in the way that’s best for you?”

As if the months of worrying were all pointless, Violet laughed at herself. She swept a hand through her hair. “If I brush it off so easily, won’t that make me look silly after all these decades?”

“What’s so silly? I know someone who’s been agonizing and regretting for a thousand years. Compared to that, a hundred years is nothing.”

‘Which means…’ Najin looked at Violet. “What does the hero who’s protected this kingdom for so long want to become? At the final moment, I mean.”

“If what you say is true, then I’ve lived as a hero for more than a hundred years, right?”

“That’s how it seems.”

“I’ve done enough to last a lifetime. I want to retire. For this one last moment, I’d like to remain a performer. Is that weird? Holding on so long only to run away at the very end.”

“Not at all.” Najin shook his head and spoke. “When a hero retires, someone else should step up, but it looks like there’s nobody here who can fill that position…” He trailed off. “Fortunately, I’m standing right here.” He grinned and pointed a finger at himself. “I’m a fool who actually wants to be a hero.”

“Are you serious? You know it’s not something you can just say lightly.”

“Saying it is always easy. The question is whether I can prove it… and in this situation, I think it won’t be much of an issue.”

Najin pointed a finger at the sky. “I’m pretty good at killing dragons.”

The Dragon-Slaying Star, Najin’s second star, glimmered.