WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Natty
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Black Badger ◈
Chapter 75: The Inherited Sword (2)
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My breathing slowly calmed.
As I stopped gasping for breath, the memories that had come pouring out gradually settled into place. I still did not remember everything, but my memories of the old comrade who had faced my sword came back vividly.
Ray.
I did not know if I had any right to say that name.
Or any right to cry like this.
But the tears would not stop easily. After crying quietly for a long time, I wiped my face again.
I had practically killed Ray.
I remembered Lee Seung-hyeon too. A soldier recruited from Korea. He had been born with an extraordinary talent for combat.
I remembered being amazed by his skill.
I remembered his smile as well.
He was not someone who smiled often. Rather than expressionless, his usual face looked faintly displeased. He had been startlingly young when I first met him. It was not as if he could not get along with his comrades, but he was never someone people could treat casually. Even I had always kept my distance around him.
But twice, Lee Seung-hyeon had smiled brilliantly as his comrades celebrated him.
“I remember now.”
I muttered blankly.
The tears had stopped pouring out, but the shock had not faded.
“Lee Seung-hyeon was an orphan.”
Ye-hyeon, kneeling before me and looking up, quietly nodded.
The memory that had returned was accurate. I used to have brief conversations with him.
Of all the human soldiers I had trained, he had been the most outstanding. Lee Seung-hyeon did not know how to give love well. He had never been properly cared for himself.
That did not justify abusing his son, of course.
Still, he had smiled with utterly clear happiness exactly twice.
When he told us he was getting married.
And when he told us he was going to have a child.
Just those two times.
So...
“You were that child.”
I stared down at the person sitting before me in a daze.
Now that I looked, Lee Ye-hyeon really did resemble Lee Seung-hyeon. His features were much softer, but the arrangement of them was exactly the same.
I remembered congratulating Lee Seung-hyeon on becoming a father.
“You grew up so fast.”
Without thinking, I stroked the head of the person looking up at me.
Ye-hyeon’s eyes widened slightly, but he did not move.
Wow, he really does look like him. Even the dark eyes and hair were the same.
Fluffy black hair...
...
...Hm?
Hair?
Ye-hyeon’s hair?
“Argh!”
I sprang back with a scream.
Ye-hyeon, who had been quietly looking up at me, also sprang back with wide eyes.
The distance between us opened in an instant.
I froze, pulling my hand close to my body. Ye-hyeon froze as he stood.
Silence fell over the living room. The men stood stiffly in the tense air. For a while, neither of us moved. We only stared at each other with wide, rabbit-like eyes.
Slurp, was the only sound as Yoon drank his coffee.
Ye-hyeon broke the silence first.
“Why are you doing that?”
“Argh! Please don’t use honorifics with me!”
Why were you using honorifics with me?!
No, why was the Commander-in-Chief using honorifics with me?!
Horrified, I shook the stupid hand that had been petting Ye-hyeon.
“I’m sorry!”
“What? No, uh?”
“I’ll correct it. I’m truly sorry!”
“Our seniority hierarchy is a complete mess.”
Yoon commented in a dry voice.
He alone sat calmly on the sofa, drinking coffee. His legs were crossed, one arm draped over the backrest.
Without so much as blinking, my senior partner added, “This is worse than Richard’s case. Want me to use honorifics with you too?”
“Argh!”
Don’t!
I shot to my feet.
“Please don’t!”
“What?”
“I don’t want that! I hate honorifics!”
“Why are you rejecting it so passionately?”
“Treat me like a rookie!”
I shouted with all my sincerity.
“Treat me like the greenhorn I am!”
My senior partner ignored me.
He brought his coffee cup to his lips while keeping his eyes on me. One eyebrow rose without a word. His pitch-black, cold eyes studied my face.
Even after hearing everything, he seemed unchanged. That was so like him.
I looked at Yoon seriously and said, “What does age matter in an organization, respected senior?”
“Oh. Admirable attitude.”
Yoon pretended to be impressed.
My senior set down his coffee cup on the table.
“And yet, with those beliefs, you petted your highest-ranking superior’s head?”
“Argh! I’m sorry!”
What was wrong with me?!
Making a miserable face, I deeply bowed to Ye-hyeon again. Ye-hyeon tried to stop me in a flustered voice. He came over, told me to raise my head, then turned to Yoon.
Ye-hyeon arched an eyebrow and scolded him.
“Yoon. Stop that.”
Yoon looked at Ye-hyeon and lifted one corner of his mouth.
“What did I do?”
“Stop picking on Hilde. Besides, it is right for me to speak formally to Hilde in private.”
“That’s not right.”
I turned serious at the nonsense he was saying.
Yoon lowered his head and began to laugh quietly. Ye-hyeon looked back at me with even wider eyes.
The Commander-in-Chief blinked twice and asked, “Do you hate it that much?”
“Yes. No, please.”
Why did he keep using honorifics with me?
“Please treat me as you did before.”
“Hmm... If that’s what you want, I can, but...”
To my surprise, Ye-hyeon hesitated.
The blood gradually drained from my face.
As I began to feel faint, he slowly continued.
“I heard that you taught my father swordsmanship.”
Ah. That was true.
Lee Seung-hyeon had been an exceptional student.
Better than anyone I had ever taught.
“I inherited the swordsmanship you taught my father, and I heard the voice messages you left behind. So regardless of age, it is only natural that I speak formally to you in private...”
“It is not natural.”
Which part of that was natural?
But my superior only blinked and looked at me. He had the expression of someone who would not listen if I spoke normally.
I had no choice. I began begging him to treat me as he had before. I apologized for the things I had blurted out while hyperventilating, and for mindlessly petting his head like an idiot.
Then I eagerly exposed my shortcomings, saying that even if I had been like this in the past, did he know how pathetic my skills were now?
I kept at it for a long time, ignoring Yoon lamenting that our seniority hierarchy was a wreck.
Until Ye-hyeon’s work phone rang and changed the atmosphere.
* * *
In the end, the matter of forms of address was only settled the next morning.
At eight in the morning, summoned from the cabin, I persuaded my two seniors again.
Fortunately, Yoon quickly promised to treat me as usual. He said that he did not know how old I was, but my skills were still lousy, so I was a fresh-faced rookie.
Those rough words moved me so much. I thanked my senior partner from the bottom of my heart.
Then I switched targets to Ye-hyeon and began my petition.
The Commander-in-Chief hesitated for a long time.
“But you’ll speak casually to my father, right?”
“No, that’s because he was my disciple... I mean, because your father is an old acquaintance of mine. You are my highest-ranking superior, Commander.”
“In public, it is right to respect each other’s positions. But in private...”
“I have not even recovered all my memories.”
I was desperate.
“At least wait until I have recovered all of them and can pull my own weight before speaking formally to me.”
That argument was accepted.
Our conversations returned to how they had been before. As my superior naturally spoke casually to me again, a small peace came over me. I placed a hand over my chest and let out a sigh of relief.
Of course, that peace did not last long.
For some reason, Ye-hyeon, who did not seem to be preparing for work, watched me relaxing and asked, “So, do you want to hold your sword again?”
I froze reflexively.
My chest hurt as if pierced by sharp glass. The night before, I had tried to fall asleep while ignoring that pain.
My sword, which might still be stained with Ray’s blood.
If I asked for it back, Ye-hyeon would surely hand it over willingly. Perhaps he had been waiting for that day ever since I arrived here.
But I was not certain yet.
It was strangely like a weekend morning. Was it because Ye-hyeon did not seem to be going to work? Clear morning sunlight streamed through the living room’s floor-to-ceiling windows. The smell of early morning air came through the open kitchen window.
Taking in the cool sensations with my sharpened senses, I answered.
“I do not want to hold it until I regain my skill.”
My superior quietly heard my weighty answer.
“You may think that sounds foolish, but I feel it is proper...”
For Ray, and for my sword that had slept for so long.
I trailed off, but no one asked. Ye-hyeon, who had been watching me with an unreadable expression, only nodded. I was grateful that neither of them asked anything further.
The past I remembered still had not properly settled.
Suppressing the guilt and self-loathing that bored a hole through my chest, I bowed.
“Thank you.”
“No.”
Ye-hyeon answered shortly.
“Tell me when the time comes.”
“Yes. Please give me a little more time.”
“All right.”
After readily replying, my superior fell into thought.
He stood still in the white morning sunlight, then looked at me only after Yoon lazily rose from the sofa and approached, saying it was time to go.
To me, still unsure whom Yoon had been speaking to, Ye-hyeon said, “Then let’s go spar now.”
“What?”
“Sword sparring.”
My superior said it casually.
“Let’s spar with swords, Hilde. I need to see your skill.”
I stared at Ye-hyeon.
Many thoughts came to mind. But I asked only the one thing I was most curious about.
“Commander, do you have a sword?”
Or did he mean he would use mine?
Perhaps understanding what I meant, Ye-hyeon smiled bitterly.
“I have not held your sword since that day.”
There was an inexplicable apology in his voice as he explained.
“I have never shown it to anyone else or spoken about it in detail. Sometimes I took it out and maintained it. Though I worry that my maintenance might not meet your standards...”
“No.”
I answered quietly.
Then, looking into black eyes that always seemed to hold sorrow, I said, “Thank you for keeping my sword safe.”
It had been the possession I loved most.
The moment I learned it still existed, longing rose in me. Even knowing Ray’s blood stained it, I could not suppress that longing.
Even I did not know how I would feel when I held the sword again.
Still, I was grateful to the person who had treasured the sword I passed down.
Once my skill returned, I would be able to hold my longsword again.
“Will you spar with me?”
When I looked up and asked, Ye-hyeon gave a sad smile and nodded.
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