WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Abood

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Friedrich's Battlefield

Chapter 2: Friedrich's Daily Life (2)

Friedrich bought two people’s worth of pork while walking with Yurika, who was humming and in a good mood.

In the period of time before evening hours, lots of shoppers and people coming back from work walk to their homes in accordance.

In between the people going back and forth, Friedrich saw someone he didn’t want to see.

“Hey, you shitty orphan. Strutting down the street like you belong — who do you think you are, you freak?”

The one who called Friedrich out was of the same age, a young man named Bruno.

Back when they were children, Bruno was known among the neighborhood kids as a bully and the local troublemaker. Now, he had a reputation in town as a rough-tempered delinquent. It seemed he still couldn’t stand the fact that Friedrich was now making a modest living despite being an orphan. Just like when they were kids, he still found excuses to bother him from time to time.

Next was his two lackeys who always followed him, both wearing nasty smug grins.

“Oi, say something. Is that pork you’re carrying? Where’d you steal that from?”

Bruno kept calling out to Friedrich, as he kept ignoring him.

Trailing behind with his two lackeys, Bruno continued throwing out spiteful remarks. Yurika stopped humming her tune, moved in closer to Friedrich’s arm, and walked on with quiet caution, keeping an ear on the presence of the three behind them.

“Hey Friedrich, what will you do?”

“No need to listen to them. They probably won’t follow us all the way to the outskirts of town.”

Friedrich answered Yurika, who was whispering behind his ear.

"I can easily win if things come to be, but I’d rather avoid troublesome stuff as much as possible. It’s best to ignore fools.

“Oi, don’t ignore me. Acting all high and mighty for being some shitty orphan. Always got that girl hanging off you, huh? Guess when you’ve got a pretty face, even a monster like her’ll do the job. Long as there’s a hole, right?”

Bruno’s vulgar provocation was met with filthy laughter from his lackeys.

“...I take back what I said. I’m luring them to a back alley, you can do whatever you want with them after that, Yurika. Just… try not to leave any noticeable marks.”

Friedrich clicked his tongue as he said that.

“Fufufufu, I got it. Leave it to me.”

Moreover, Yurika answered with a satisfied and cheerful smile.

The two of them veered off their usual path and, after making sure Bruno and his gang were following, suddenly broke into a run and darted into a narrow alley.

“A- hey! Wait up!”

Judging by the voices behind him, Bruno and his lackeys had taken the bait and were following. With that in mind, Friedrich stopped in the alley and waited.

In front of him stood Yurika. She cracked her shoulders, bounced lightly on her feet, and looked almost cheerful as she prepared to greet their pursuers.

“Stop messing with me you shitty orphan!!”

As Bruno came charging into the alleyway, he was met with Yurika, who launched a kick right at him.

“Wha—!?”

“Guhk!

Bruno ducked just in time, narrowly avoiding the kick — but the lackey right behind him wasn’t so lucky. Yurika’s shoe slammed into the side of his face, sending him flying into the alley wall. He collapsed on the spot, completely out cold.

“You bastard!!”

The other lackey charged at Yurika, throwing a punch with reckless determination, but it was a foolish move.

With a calm, unbothered look, Yurika slipped past his fist and drove her knee into his gut. When he swung again, she dodged with ease and swept his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground. Her movements were smooth and precise, like a cat — not a single motion wasted.

Yurika kicked upward between the legs of the lackey sprawled pitifully on the ground, aiming for a man's most vulnerable spot. It was a light kick, pulled just enough to avoid doing real damage, but even so, the lackey let out a strangled cry and writhed in agony.

Watching the pitiful scene, Friedrich let out a quiet chuckle.

“Better pay attention, you bastard!”

Shouting in rage, Bruno charged not at Yurika, but straight at Friedrich.

If Bruno’s plan was to go after the weaker one and use him as a hostage, then for him, that was surprisingly clever. Friedrich raised an eyebrow slightly, almost impressed.

Bruno lunged, arms outstretched to grab Friedrich by the neck—

But he never made it.

Yurika sprang at him from behind, landing a sharp kick to the back of his knee. As Bruno dropped to the ground, she stomped down on his shin, keeping him pinned. Before he could recover, her arm wrapped around his neck and began to squeeze.

Bruno’s outstretched hands clawed at the air just short of Friedrich’s throat. His face turned red as he thrashed helplessly, trapped in her hold.

“Ahaha, how unfortunate. You were pretty close.”

Friedrich let out a sarcastic laugh, seeing the position Bruno is in.

“Hey, idiot.”

Yurika spoke in a teasing voice, right by Bruno’s ear as he struggled in her grip.

“How many times is this now, losing to me like this? You do know I’m a super strong, scary monster girl, right? So why do you keep picking fights with us? Did you really think this time would go differently? How many times have I put you down like this already? Seriously, why are you so incredibly dumb?”

“Guh… l-let… go…”

Yurika was strong. It was something like natural talent, a raw instinct that made her absurdly powerful despite never having received any formal training.

She couldn’t match men in sheer strength, but she overwhelmed them with speed. That was her strategy. Using her lean, toned body with precision, she fought like a wildcat, agile and unpredictable. Bruno had never once managed to beat her.

“Yurika, let’s stop there.”

Seeing Bruno’s eyes starting to roll back, Friedrich spoke calmly. Yurika immediately released him and stood up at his words.

“Gah— cough, cough, ugh… Y-you bastard… You think you’ll get away with this…”

“Oh? Don’t tell me you’re gonna go cry to someone? Gonna run to your mommy and daddy ‘cause a poor orphan girl beat the crap out of you? Or maybe beg the city guards for help? Go ahead, if that’s what you want. Just know that if you do… I’ll make sure the whole town hears exactly how pathetically you lost.”

Yurika mocked Bruno as he sat slumped on the ground, gasping for breath. He glared up at her, but said nothing more.

Volga was a small city. Rumors spread fast. No matter how much he hated her, Bruno couldn’t go around telling people he lost a three-on-one fight to a girl, not without humiliating himself.

“And just so we're clear, both Yurika and I are pretty useful to the people of Volga. Unless we actually broke your bones or something, no one’s tossing us in a cell or kicking us out of town just for throwing a few punches and kicks. It’s not like your parents are anyone important anyway.”

Friedrich spoke as he crouched down in front of Bruno.

“Hey, Bruno.”

His expression shifted into something almost apologetic.

“Come on, isn’t it about time you stopped messing with us? It’s not like we ever did anything to you, right? And like Yurika said, I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve lost now. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but let’s be honest. You can’t beat us. Or rather, you can’t beat Yurika. That much should be obvious by now.”

There was clear exasperation in Friedrich’s voice.

“If you really need to blow off steam, at least go bother someone else.”

“Shut up. You think I can just stay beaten by a couple of shitty orphans? I’ll make you pay one of these days”

“...I see.”

Friedrich let out a sigh as Bruno spat the words without meeting his eyes.

Hopeless. There was no reasoning with him. With that thought, Friedrich stood up.

“Take care of yourself, Bruno. You two as well.”

Leaving those words behind, Friedrich stepped out of the alley and started heading home. Yurika followed right after him.

“Yurika, are you fine? Any injuries?”

“I won’t get hurt that much. What about you, Friedrich? Are you fine?”

“I’m good as well. Thanks to you, Yurika.”

Yurika gave a soft, lingering smile as Friedrich answered, and leaned in close to his arm.

“Yeah… good. I’ll keep protecting you, Friedrich.”

“Thanks. I’m counting on you, Yurika.”

Bruno and his gang weren’t the only ones who gave Friedrich trouble. As a former orphan, he was easy to underestimate, and other thuggish types would occasionally try to push him around.

Even when he traveled to the capital of the territory, a day’s walk from Volga, his neat appearance often gave the impression that he had money, making him an easy target.

And in those moments, it was always Yurika who stepped in to protect him with that strength of hers.

Friedrich often thought about how the two of them were going to survive. He was the more sociable of the two, so he kept up relations with clients and found them work. Yurika, in turn, protected him.

That was how they had lived. That was how they would keep living. Friedrich believed it was the only way they could.

“Let’s go back home… Ah, we need to pass by the church as well.”

Footnotes:

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