Chapter 427: A Beauty That Topples a Nation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 427: A Beauty That Topples a Nation
Though the goal was the Divine's revival, there wasn't much for me to do. I just had to focus on keeping Tyr pleased and restoring her senses, just as I had been.
As a result, I was constantly attached to Tyr. And by 'attached,' I don't just mean we were together...
“Sis! May I have the honor of entering?”
“You may enter.”
“Yes! I shall savor the sight of your room for a moment…”
Permission granted, Kavila joyfully opened the door to the audience chamber… only to fall silent at the sight within.
Inside, Tyr and I were sitting. If that were all, it might have just barely been within Kavila's bounds of tolerance. But there was one thing.
The fact that Tyr and I were sitting on the same chair made Kavila freeze.
“What in the…”
When something is too absurd, you're left speechless. That’s true even for a vampire. I spoke as I read Kavila's progressively crumbling thoughts.
With Tyr sitting on my lap.
“Please, you two talk. Don't mind me.”
“How can I not mind! Why are you holding Sis?! What gives an unrelated man the right to touch her… you touched her again!”
“Didn't Tyr tell you? I'm in the process of restoring her senses, so I need to be as close to her as possible.”
It wasn't a lie. I was currently engraving sensations into her with the hand holding her shoulder.
Even the Divine of Lightning cannot arbitrarily engrave senses onto another's body. The Divine may understand the structure of the world, but not the composition of a single human. If finding a formula could explain every real-world problem, the term 'ivory-tower academic' would never have been invented.
But I am different. If the King of Humans, who can read humans themselves, also understands the knowledge of the Divine, he can engrave senses tailored to that body. Of course, that's only if Tyr cooperates willingly…
“Mmm. I see there is still a psychological barrier to being seen like this by others…”
“Should I stop then?”
“No. Continue. It would be sad to consider Kavila an outsider. She is a child who has been with me for a long time, one who has seen even my shames…”
Tyr said, leaning more heavily against me. I nodded and placed my hand back on her shoulder. The dress, with its thin straps, left most of her shoulders bare, and I pressed my palm against her skin without any obstruction.
Crackle. Generating a faint static, I began to knead Tyr's shoulder. She closed her eyes like a cat and trembled.
“How does that feel? Is it helping?”
“Mmm. Yes. I can feel it.”
“Your muscles are very tense. Why are your shoulders so stiff?”
“Muscles can get tense? I haven't been straining them at all.”
“Ah. My apologies. It seems my strength is just lacking.”
It was a conversation one might have while massaging a grandparent's shoulders. Though, in terms of appearance, I probably looked older than Tyr.
Kavila, still standing, took in the entire scene of me massaging Tyr's body with her own two eyes.
“S…is?”
“That is enough, Kavila.”
Tyr chided Kavila while continuing to receive my massage.
“I, too, did not wish to be seen in such a scandalous state in front of others… But Hu is human. He needs to sleep and eat, and occasionally rest his hands and go for walks. I cannot force him to spend even more of his time on me, can I?”
“You must force him! It is only right for a consort to serve you with all his heart and soul!”
“I refuse. I will not have Hu grow weary because of me. So I hope you will understand.”
When the Progenitor tells you to understand, you have no choice but to understand. Though displeased, Kavila decided to accept the situation for now.
‘To touch Sis so freely… That human doesn't know even a fraction of a fraction of what an undeserved privilege that is…! That’s enough of this public display of affection…!’
Really? Is this really rubbing it in her face? If you strip away all preconceptions, I'm just giving her a massage, nothing more. At this point, it's practically elder abuse, so just let it go.
“Come and sit. Now, what is it?”
“…It’s about the upcoming Night Ebb Tide.”
“The Night Ebb Tide is approaching. It seems I have returned at a good time…”
Night Ebb Tide? As I hesitated at the unfamiliar term, Tyr read my touch and sensed my question.
‘Ah. Of course. Being an outsider, Hu wouldn't know what the Night Ebb Tide is. Even if I told him not to mind us, we can't spend all day talking about something he doesn't understand.’
Right. Tyr gets it. I could find out by reading her thoughts, but it's harder to pretend not to know something I already know. It's easier for both of us if she just tells me beforehand. It's been a while since I've received this kind of consideration.
‘However, saying, ‘Explain it because Hu doesn't know,’ would be embarrassing for him. I must protect my companion's dignity.’
I wasn't expecting that level of consideration, but… In any case, Tyr cleared her throat and asked.
“Kavila. My memory is a bit hazy at the moment. Could you briefly explain what the Night Ebb Tide was?”
“Of course, Sis.”
Kavila began her explanation without a hint of suspicion.
“Two Leviathans live in the Sea of Leviathans. The Island Whale and the Cloud Manta. The wild Cloud Manta strikes the water with its wing-like fins to stun fish, then skims the surface, scooping up the ones that float to the top. It’s a gluttonous and irritatingly troublesome creature… but it’s nothing compared to the Island Whale.”
I still remembered that tidal wave. The one that had nearly swept away the humans who had come to gather food during the low tide. What could have been a terrible disaster was merely the aftereffect of a Leviathan's hunt.
But the Island Whale was on another level. Even Kavila felt a slight sense of awe when she thought of it.
“Once every four years, the Island Whale, which lives as if dead in the deep sea, rises to the Sea of Leviathans around this time. To us, it’s the deep sea… but to the Island Whale, it’s a shallow place where its back juts out of the water like an island if it lies on its belly. It positions itself like a dam between two islands and opens its mouth toward the current. Then…”
“The water that would fill the sea passes through the Island Whale's stomach.”
“Exactly. The Island Whale gluttonously swallows the seawater, filters out its prey, and releases the rest of the water through its massive gills and blowhole.”
As if words weren't enough, Kavila formed a sculpture out of blood to demonstrate. It blocked the current like a dam and opened its mouth. Blood poured into that mouth. The blood-whale gulped down the waves, filtering and releasing the remaining water.
“However, the amount of water the Island Whale releases after blocking the current is far less than usual. This creates a water deficit in the Sea of Leviathans, causing a massive ebb tide unlike any other. This is the Night Ebb Tide. A phenomenon where the plains of the seabed are exposed.”
The stories about the Leviathans were passed down like legends. Not only were they hard to comprehend from words alone, but few had ever seen them in person.
But hearing the tale of the Leviathans from a vampire's mouth… it sounded like a legend even when I knew all the details.
What the hell. So it's called an Island Whale because its back sticks out like an island, and it eats by damming the sea and filtering the water? And that causes a massive ebb tide that creates a plain?
The scale was terrifying. I was reminded once again why ships couldn't sail here, rivers and lakes aside. It wasn't a beast; it was a living, breathing natural disaster.
Having finished her explanation, Kavila crossed her arms, displeased.
“I'm not particularly fond of it, but it's a precious opportunity for the livestock to make a fortune, so it's hard to stop them. There are just so many who covet the coral and seashells.”
“Didn't they used to sell most of it to the Golden Empire? That empire is gone now, so who would desire such things?”
“There are still many. The wandering merchants of the Mage Federation are still around, and though it's gone now, the old kingdom used to secretly acquire them as prizes for their duels. Even the black mages from the untamed lands below used to trade for them as ingredients…”
Kavila was just like Valdamir. Tyr had returned after living in seclusion for a few decades at the shortest, a few hundred years at the longest, so they had to explain the current situation to her each time. No wonder she seemed so used to explaining things.
“So, before the Night Ebb Tide arrives, humans and vampires from all over the duchy will gather here, bringing the darkness with them as if night itself were falling.”
A chance for all the scattered humans and vampires of the duchy to gather. That was the Night Ebb Tide.
“And… Valdamir has set that time as the date for Lyre Nightingale's trial.”
The real reason Kavila had brought up the Night Ebb Tide finally came out.
It was a matter concerning an Elder, no less. Naturally, it had to be announced at a gathering of all vampires. Lord Sanguine had discussed with Kavila the idea of setting the trial for that day…
“Of course, it requires your permission, Sis!”
And so she had come for that final permission. Tyr nodded readily.
“Tell him to proceed.”
“You don't object?”
“It is logical, so there is no reason to change it. It is a day when all awakened vampires will gather, and we will be busy afterward, so it is better to finish it before then.”
Her handling of affairs was impeccable. That was why Tyr had entrusted the country to Valdamir, and why Valdamir served Tyr with absolute loyalty. It was no exaggeration to say that Valdamir handled all of the nation's important matters.
As if she had expected this outcome, Kavila nodded and replied.
“…Then, I will inform him as such.”
“You work hard. I leave it to you, Kavila. Ah, wait. May I ask one more favor of you?”
“Anything.”
Tyr glanced at me and smiled.
“The food you made was truly delicious. It is both a blessing and a curse to have eaten your food after regaining my sense of taste. My standards have become so high that it is difficult to be satisfied with anything else.”
“You praise me too highly.”
“Not at all. So, next time, would you cook for Hu and me? I wish to feel and share that pleasure with him.”
A late bloomer's passion is a scary thing. It hadn't been long since she learned what taste was, and already she's interested in gourmet food.
What must it feel like to serve a meal to the Progenitor you revere, the older sister you adore? Wouldn't it be a heart-pounding, overwhelming situation? She might even collapse from the sheer emotion of it.
But Kavila was a vampire. Her body wouldn't freeze just because she was overcome with emotion. In the first place, her cooking was merely a means to quell the humans' complaints. It wasn't a skill she had learned to feel fulfillment or to connect with others.
It had been different in the past. The Tyr of old was noble but felt an emptiness, and her retainer, Kavila, was bound by that power and emotion. She had strived to please Tyr in even the smallest way. It was a time when Kavila had clung to her one-sidedly.
But now.
“For you, Sis, anything!”
Only a smile, crafted over a thousand years, was all she had to give.