WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

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◈ Omniscient First-Person's Viewpoint

Chapter 162

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Night of the Military State

Like anywhere else in the world, abandoned buildings were the perfect place for outlaws to gather. Unmanaged buildings and unwanted people leaned on each other, each filling what the other lacked.

Today, in another neglected ruin, predators of the urban jungle were counting their spoils.

No. 2 looked at the small glass vial full of golden powder and grinned.

"Kkhh. Jackpot. No. 1, nice work."

The vial was tiny. If you pushed your index finger in, you'd hit the bottom before it went all the way down.

But truly valuable things often proved their worth by being small.

If something needed its own bottle for such a tiny amount, that meant one thing: what was inside mattered that much.

"This is spice. At minimum it's a level-two luxury, and depending on the type it can go up to level four. Level-zero trash can't have this, and can't even get it. Better we use it for something meaningful."

The one who had actually stolen it, No. 1, still looked doubtful.

"It's just powder, and it's expensive?"

"You seriously didn't know? Then why'd you steal some damn powder?"

"Because he was holding it like it was precious, so I beat him up and took it."

"Man. It's a miracle an airhead like you got this in one piece."

"What did you call me?"

Ignoring No. 1 as he flared up, No. 2 kept talking.

"I used to be with the Market, so I know. This is expensive. We need to check the exact value, but if we're lucky we might be able to buy a motor carriage. A luxury you eat and it disappears in your body. Stuff like this sells for a fortune in the military state."

"You called me an airhead? Want to see how brain-dead a guy gets after being hit by an airhead?"

"Aw, come on. You're still picking fights over old shit?"

"I said that just now."

No. 3, who had been quietly watching No. 1 and No. 2 bicker, suddenly spoke.

"Risk of being tracked?"

No. 1 boasted.

"None. I checked along the way, multiple times."

No. 3 still did not look reassured.

"Stay careful anyway. We might've been tailed."

"Come on. Who tracks you because some level-zero civilian got punched a little? Even if one reports it, it won't even get filed. We can rob them and nothing sticks."

"That's exactly why I'm saying it. If it's police, they'd raid us openly. If he has backers, they'll retaliate thoroughly."

No. 1 waved him off like it was nonsense, but No. 3 would not let it go. At No. 3's picky attitude, No. 1 clicked his tongue and muttered,

"There goes that paranoid bastard again."

Usually No. 3 would have snapped back, but for some reason, today he stayed quiet, deep in thought.

"A level-zero can't get spice on his own. Someone must have handed it to him. He might really have backing."

"So what if he does? Could they compare to that man?"

No. 1 snickered, and No. 3 did not deny it.

The new wind blowing through this back alley was a storm strong enough to shake the old order. A true darkness that would sweep away the trash. A shadow cast over the military state.

With his power, even people like them, hiding under the military state's oppression, might finally breathe again.

So they could not fear some level-zero civilian's backer.

That would be disrespectful to that man.

"Any back-alley backer is just a jackal. Compared to that man, a powerhouse who even laughs at generals, rumored to have escaped from Tantalus, they're just nobodies."

No. 1 said it proudly, like following him was a stroke of luck, or an honor that would never come again in his life.

No. 3 sighed and got up, gathering his things.

"...Fine. If we're done sorting, I'm going to the bathroom for a bit."

No. 1 shouted at his retreating back.

"If possible, go do it far away! We can't report to him that you got caught pissing in public near the base!"

"Do I look like an idiot who can't stop halfway?"

"True, if it doesn't come out, it doesn't come out. But you can probably stop."

"You little...!"

Maybe it was urgent, because No. 3 did not even bother to answer and hurried off. No. 1 and No. 2 snickered and opened lukewarm beer.

Level-one luxury: compressed beer.

It was concentrated, sold warm, and undrinkable without ice, but it was still the only alcohol ordinary people could get.

They had no choice. Unless they had already seized full control of back-alley power, they were stuck wetting their throats with this awful beer.

No. 2 diluted his glass with water and muttered,

"That bastard's bladder is something else. His bladder level is zero...."

"I guarantee it. Gallen, no, that No. 3 guy will get dragged off for public urination before any other charge."

"That'd be better, honestly. Military police would at least give him time to pull his pants up. If he gets jumped like this, he couldn't even tell anyone...."

Thud.

While they chewed over someone who was not even there, both of them shut their mouths at the sound from the floor below. They held their breath and listened, but after that one sound, nothing else followed.

No. 2 frowned.

"No. 3, is that you? Don't tell me you did it right below us. I said go far away, it'll stink!"

No answer came. No. 2 got up and headed for the edge of the ruined building.

The walls were not fully built yet. One bad step and you'd fall five floors straight down. At that edge, No. 2 stuck only his head out and looked at the floor below.

"What the hell. No one's down there. Was it the wind?"

Seeing No. 2 hanging out over the edge, No. 1 spoke up in concern.

"Hey, Milsen. Isn't that dangerous? Looks like you'll fall."

"Scaredy bastard. Did Gallen's worry rub off on you too? What's dangerous about this?"

"You drank beer. If you slip-"

"I keep wondering how cowards like you joined the group. If you're enough of an idiot to get drunk off one beer, you should just fall and die. Nagging and nagging like someone's mom...."

Ignoring your mom's nagging.

To No. 2, who clearly knew nothing, I offered sincere advice too.

"You should listen to your mom's nagging. It's all advice that becomes your blood and flesh."

"Huh?"

The moment No. 2 asked dumbly, I judged the unfilial son. The wire hanging from the hook snapped tight and wound around his neck.

Holding the other end of the wire, I muttered,

"Crime of ignoring nagging: sentence, umbilical cord execution."

"Ghk!"

Right after that, with the wire choking him, his body staggered toward the edge. Startled, No. 1 grabbed No. 2's leg.

Thanks to that, No. 2 got pulled from both sides and choked even harder.

As No. 2 gagged, No. 1 shouted,

"Who are you?!"

"A sad and hungry man who lost his dinner. I came to avenge the dinner that was never even born."

After No. 1 moved away from the stairs, I trudged up them.

Whew. Plan successful.

I'm an ordinary human, so I can't fly. If they had kept the stairs guarded, that would've been a real problem. I could only be grateful they moved aside on their own.

No. 1 finally noticed me and said,

"You bastard! What did you do to No. 3?!"

"The man with the tiny bladder is using his own body to cover the wall he dirtied. Personally, I think he looks filthier than whatever was in his bladder.... Damn, imagining it makes me feel sick again. Let me hit you a little while I catch my breath."

Committing robbery was less of a crime than setting up on the fifth floor. It took forever to climb. If you live with your feet on the ground, use the first floor.

"Who are you? Who sent you?"

"The world sent me. Anyway, do people still go around beating random people up these days? Aren't you afraid of the military state's solemn judgment under criminal law?"

As I strode forward, No. 1 urgently looked at No. 2, still choking and gagging. If he let go, No. 2 looked like he would drop five floors while being strangled.

'No choice. If we get attacked like this, we're both done. Better to let go completely. At least one of us has to live!'

Having made up his mind, No. 1 squeezed his eyes shut and released his grip.

No. 2's eyes went wide with betrayal. He reached out helplessly, but the hand that held him was already gone. His body balanced on the edge for a second, then slipped out of sight.

I was impressed.

"Wow. You let go that fast. I thought you'd hold on a little longer."

"You son of a bitch...! You killed No. 2!"

"No. You let go."

I don't kill people this casually. No. 2 was probably flailing around in the wire net I set on the lower floor. As for whether he felt betrayed by you, who knows. Maybe.

But No. 1 didn't know that. Fully worked up, he pulled a razor-sharp knife from his pocket.

"You alone?"

"I've been lonely lately."

I answered as I tipped my magic hat a little. Gripping the knife tightly, No. 1 searched for signs of others.

'Only his presence. Doesn't look that strong. If he were, he would've stormed in from the start instead of ambushing us one by one.'

No. 1's prediction was correct.

I'm an ordinary petty criminal. If there are two opponents, I stay alert. If there are three, I run. If I get stabbed, it hurts. A perfectly normal person.

So even against nobodies like these, I have to do my best.

'He was waiting to ambush while I held No. 2. But he was wrong. We were already prepared. No. 2 will understand.'

He won't. He's pretty resentful, actually.

Having settled things in his own head, No. 1 glared at me with burning eyes.

"I'll avenge No. 2 and No. 3, bastard!"

No. 1 raised the knife and charged straight in.

I didn't want a frontal fight. If the other guy was strong, that was a problem. If he was weak, that was a problem too. I'd rather avoid him tripping over his own feet and stabbing me by accident.

So.

"Tada."

I pulled out the card I had hidden.

Diamond 6. A card with six rhombuses arranged in a circle.

'A card? What's he gonna do with that?!'

From the outside, it looked like an ordinary card.

But its true identity was alchemic equipment I made with my entire fortune. One alchemic coin per card, sometimes two. The peak of pure money-burning.

I ran the card through my biometric terminal and converted it alchemically. In an instant, the card unraveled thread by thread and revealed its true form.

A tiny revolver that fit right in my palm.

No. 1's eyes widened.

'G-gun?!'

Yep, gun.

Bang.

The muted bullet slammed into his ankle. A large hole opened there.

The power was too low to punch through, but a point-blank shot like this was enough to stop an ordinary mugger.

"Ghk!"

At most, it was a gun. Humans don't die the second they get shot. If he had endured the pain and stepped in anyway, if he had kept coming and tackled me, No. 1 might have won.

But No. 1 was as trivial as I was petty.

Unable to endure the pain, he lost balance and slid across the floor. I turned the revolver back into a card, took out a skewer, and sat on top of him.

After subduing No. 1 easily, I spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Friends, if you don't want to build any more friendship with me, let's compromise. At this point, I can just take the spice and end it."

"Kgh! Bullshit...!"

Pinned under me, No. 1 still struggled without losing any fighting spirit.

He thrashed so hard I nearly lost balance, so I had no choice but to stab his shoulder with the skewer.

"Gaaaaaah!"

Once something went into his body, No. 1 became much more obedient. Instead of thrashing, he clenched his teeth and yelled,

"Do you know who we are? We're the military state's Shadow! If you kill me, that man won't leave you alone!"

That man? Who the hell is that now? And what kind of group is Shadow? Why did weird new things crawl into this foodless back alley while I wasn't around?

Well, that's outside my interests.

That wasn't what mattered right now.

"Forget that. Where's the spice? It's pretty valuable, so I'd like it back."

"Hah!"

Maybe he still didn't understand the situation. Even pinned down, No. 1 bluffed hard.

"Spice? Hmph. It's in my stomach. Cut me open and take it."

It was a lie. He had hidden the spice in his inner pocket.

I could've just searched his clothes and taken it, but I was curious where that baseless bluff came from, so I asked,

"You shouldn't say things like that casually, friend. What if I really cut your belly open?"

"Hah! Then do it! You think you've got the guts?"

That spirited line was unexpectedly sincere, so I shut my mouth.

While I stayed silent, No. 1 said proudly,

"What, scared? We were all ready to die. You think we'd commit robbery in the military state without that kind of resolve?"

That part was true.

If you get caught committing robbery in the military state, the minimum is fifteen years of forced labor. Depending on how many people you attacked and how severe it was, you can be summarily executed.

If they quit now and disappeared, they still had some chance to live, but...

"If our fate is to do forced labor forever, until we die anyway, then we'd rather live flashy and go out that way! For that man who'll fulfill our wish, we're ready to die and ready to kill!"

I understood. As a mind reader, I understood his wish and desire.

'I am a lower-class nobody in this country with no dreams and no hope. Only that man can change this fate! He'll overturn the military state and rule the underworld! Then I, his follower, can change my life too...!'

In this country where the state took everything, there were no dreams, no hope, no romance, no luxury. You only wore away slowly in repeating days.

The future shown by a country that controlled everything was fixed, controlled gray. Anyone with romance simply dried up and died.

But.

"My friend, don't say you're ready to die so lightly. Especially not in front of me."

No one alive has died yet, so no one can know whether that resolve is true or false.

Even people who mean it in the moment often flail pathetically right before death.

Still, people who claim they're ready to die use that resolve like a weapon and kill others, as if they can repay that sin with their own death.

Without proving they can repay anything, they just keep creating more sin.

So when someone says they're ready to die, if their faith in that resolve is real,

you have to test it.

I said calmly,

"Actually, that spice's nickname is sprinkled gold dust. It's made by drying only the pistils of flowers occasionally found on the southeastern coast, and it's a top-grade spice so valuable that one handful can buy a patch of land. Since it's an edible luxury, you can sell it for a huge price even in the military state."

"Haha! Too bad! That amazing thing is about to become my shit!"

'He looked unusual for a reason...! Fine, if I trick just this guy, or even if he takes it, I can tell that man! It'll help his grand cause...!'

"But tada. The spice was right here."

I shook the vial packed with glittering golden powder in front of his eyes. His eyes flashed with confusion.

'I definitely put it in my inner pocket. How did he know?'

"I'm a magician. I can pull things out of a box without touching it. Though this time, the box was your food bucket."

Of course I had read his thoughts and pickpocketed it, but I spoke like I had really pulled it from his belly.

"You know this? The flower used for this spice can kill you if you eat it wrong. The pistil is the part with the least toxin and a unique scent, but this spice made by drying and compressing it... if you eat too much, it becomes poison that kills people."

'What? Poison...?'

"Though honestly, more people have died trying to claim this spice before that. That's why this spice has long been compared to human life."

So his claim that he had eaten all the spice had to be false...

not anymore.

"As you said, I don't have the resolve to die or the resolve to kill. Someone without resolve has no right to possess spice worth as much as a human life."

I let out a sigh of regret, grabbed his hair hard, and lifted his head. Into the gap of his slightly open mouth, I shoved in a rounded card.

His mouth couldn't close. While No. 1 panicked, I held the spice vial between two fingers. The puzzlement in his eyes slowly turned into fear.

"Sorry I took it out on my own. I'll put it back."

It's fine. The glass bottle is sturdy.

If you're lucky, you might survive.

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