WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Knight Commander of the Doomed Heroes ◈
Chapter 19: Hope (1)
──────
Harlan, a ranger of the Order of Eternity, raised his head, his blood-soaked fingers trembling.
Drops that might have been blood or sweat ran down his hair and fell. Pat-pat-pat.
“Hero...”
The formal title was Knight of Eternity. Still, “hero” came more naturally.
The only hope in a world marked by death and defeat.
Yet at that moment, Harlan had thought even a hero looked small.
That was how fierce the forces of doom pouring in from beyond the wall had been. Only in his third year with the Order, he had never seen such a brutal, hopeless battlefield.
To be honest...
His mind had gone blank.
Even for a hero...
What could she do in this situation?
That little girl, all alone.
What could she possibly do?
As he stared blankly up at the sky, he saw the Knight Commander approach Sir Baek Soyeon.
After a display of flight magic almost impossible to believe a human could perform, the commander seemed to be speaking with her.
‘Has the Order’s main force come to help too?’
Only then did Harlan feel a little hope.
He had heard how much the Order’s main force had achieved lately.
A hero and the Order’s main force. Maybe they had a chance, then. They’d have to fight like hell, but...
Just as he thought that, the whole world flashed white.
‘Huh?’
Harlan rubbed his eyes at the white light that had appeared and vanished so suddenly. Was he just tired? Something seemed to have flashed.
When he rubbed his eyes and looked again...
“Huh...?”
They were collapsing.
The army of monsters that had seemed ready to cover the world, to bring down the Great Wall of Existence at any moment.
From one end to the other, everything was sliced at an angle and toppled, spilling a mixture of white, black, and red blood.
The battle had suddenly ended. The front had been cleared.
“Uh...?”
What was this?
Harlan turned his head in a daze, staring at the monsters that had been cut apart and killed. Then he happened to meet the eyes of the soldier beside him.
Their eyes asked each other the same questions.
Is this real?
We’re not dreaming, right?
A shiver ran down Harlan’s spine. That exchange of looks had made him realize it.
This was real. It wasn’t a dream.
Flash! Flash! Flash!
The sky flickered like lightning as Sir Baek Soyeon and Revel Vieta, commander of the Order of Eternity, became a streak of white light and crossed the heavens.
Harlan felt as though he couldn’t breathe.
This...
Was this a hero’s power?
Forget the Order’s main force. The power of a single hero was simply beyond reason. The whole reason the Order existed came down to just one hero.
Such overwhelming strength. Violence. Divine might.
A being like that was on their side?
The breath trapped inside him surged up from deep in his belly and burst through his throat.
“Waaaaaah!”
Harlan screamed. Everyone else was already screaming too.
Fear
Despair
Were slaughtered before their eyes
And crumbled like garbage beyond the wall.
“Aaaaaah! Live forever!”
“Live forever! Knight of Eternity!”
“Waaaaah!”
The wild cheering continued for several dozen seconds.
It seemed as though it might go on forever.
Then it abruptly died away, as if someone had poured ice water over them.
“Huh?”
“Uh...?”
Confused voices echoed all around.
“Wh-where are they going?”
The white light swept along the Great Wall, clearing the front in an instant, then continued across the sky and vanished beyond the horizon.
“Aaaaaah! Communications! We’ve lost contact! Form search teams immediately! We have to bring Sir Baek Soyeon and the commander back!”
A strangled scream came from the Order’s main force.
Harlan felt cold sweat run down his back.
‘What? This wasn’t part of the plan? Then... where are the hero and the commander going...? Why...?’
Whatever was happening, one thing was certain. Nothing could be allowed to happen to those two.
Absolutely nothing.
“Me! Me! I volunteer for the search team!”
“Me too!”
“Can we leave now?”
Harlan shouted as he ran over, and the other rangers rushed after him.
The Order’s confusion and fear continued until a signal flare burst far to the north.
* * *
Boooom!
I fired a signal flare.
Neither monsters nor angels could see it. Only trained rangers could.
“...Will it take about a day?”
We were currently at the first defensive wall, the Great Wall of Ideals.
The Great Wall of Existence, which humanity still held, was about three days away. But the rangers who traveled beyond the walls had special means of transport. I thought someone might come to rescue us within a day.
“...We’ve probably wiped out every monster nearby, but we should still move. An apostle was about to be born over there earlier, after all.”
I looked down at the unconscious Baek Soyeon.
She had a faint smile on her face, as if she had done something to be proud of.
Had she managed to work off all her stress?
“Ugh.”
I was about to rap her on the forehead with my knuckles, then caught myself in alarm.
Hitting a hero on the forehead? Unthinkable.
“Phew.”
With a sigh, I hoisted her onto my back.
“Why are you so light...?”
Plod. Plod.
I walked south.
...
I must have walked for a full half day.
“Commander!”
“...Ah.”
Whooosh.
A gust brushed my cheek. It was one of the Order’s rangers, gliding toward me on a wingboard.
“Sir! Ranger Harlan reporting! From this moment on! I’ll protect you with my life!”
“Good. Take proper care... of Sir Soyeon...”
The moment I saw the ranger, my eyelids grew terribly heavy.
A ranger’s wingboard should be able to carry both Sir Soyeon and me to safety...
It should be...
Safe to relax...
Now...
“Commander? Commander!”
The world went dark.
* * *
I could hear a voice.
Just hearing it made me feel as though I might smile for no reason.
Who was it...?
Harin noona?
“Are you sure he’s all right? He’s taking far too long to wake up.”
“Yes. Please don’t worry. He’s simply sleeping.”
Hmm. That didn’t sound like Harin noona...
“But it’s been a week. Who sleeps for an entire week?”
“He’s accumulated far too many injuries and too much fatigue.”
“Please, just check him again. What if you missed something?”
“Of course. I’ll examine him again.”
She was worried about me.
Look who was worrying about whom.
I really shouldn’t have let her find out. So she could keep enjoying her peaceful days...
But who was she?
What had she found out?
Who...
Ah.
The moment I finally understood, my voice emerged.
“Mm... Sir Soyeon.”
“Huh? Huh?! Commander! You’re awake?”
I could see Sir Soyeon through my blurry vision.
Yes. She was safe. What a relief.
“Sir... Soyeon.”
“Yes. Yes. Go ahead.”
“Proto...type No. 1... complete...”
“What?”
“Want... some... Melona?”
“What are you even saying? Seriously!”
Smack!
Mm. She had quite a slap.
It seemed the taste test for my Melona prototype would have to wait.
It took a little longer for me to come fully to my senses.
“Commander.”
“Hmm?”
I sat up, drank some cold water, and stretched a little. As I slowly adjusted to the sensations in my body, Sir Soyeon spoke.
“Would you look outside?”
Outside?
Swish!
She drew back the curtains.
Warm sunlight spilled into the hospital room. Against the blue sky...
“Ah.”
Flags fluttered.
Large kites swayed, filling the blue sky.
Each bore words and pictures.
Waves of pictures and words rippled in the air.
“Read them.”
At Sir Soyeon’s urging, I drew on my magic power and examined the flags and kites one by one.
「It’s time to strike back!!!」
「Long live the Knight of Eternity!」
「Long live the Duke of Eternity!」
「Mom, when I grow up, I want to be the Duke of Eternity’s minion」
「Sir Soyeon Fan Club」
「Live forever, Sir Soyeon!」
「Glory to the heavens! Eternity upon the earth!」
Countless citizens of the capital, Estellan, had raised flags and kites over their homes and workplaces to express their feelings.
I was deeply moved.
Not by the flood of praise, but by the hope within it.
Was this... really possible...?
“Amazing, isn’t it? I’m amazed too, but it must be even more surprising for you. Commander, this is hope. Something this world didn’t have.”
Sir Soyeon was right.
Not once in my life had I felt an atmosphere of “hope.”
The word “hope” wasn’t even used on its own very often. It usually appeared as part of a set phrase.
“There is no hope.”
“Abandon hope.”
“That’s just wishful thinking.”
Things like that.
For more than a hundred years since the end began...
Humanity had always, always been losing.
Slowly, slowly.
We had been losing everything.
There had been moments of victory, but all we felt then was relief.
It could have been far worse. Thank goodness it was only this bad...
That was all we had felt.
But what about now?
I looked out the window again.
「Beyond Existence, toward Faith!」
「Beyond Faith, toward Ideals!」
「Let’s reclaim everything they took from us!」
「Stronger than yesterday! Even stronger tomorrow」
「We’ve been waiting for this day」
「We shall prevail!」
「Onward! To the Great Wall of Faith!」
「Estellan Bad Kids’ Club. Gather with your enlistment forms」
「Sorry, we already submitted ours - Estellan Parents’ Association」
The Great Walls had always been taken from us. Now there was hope that we might reclaim those lost lands.
That had made all the difference.
People spoke of victory.
They imagined the future.
They hoped we might end this apocalypse and enjoy something we had never known: peace.
That hope fluttered outside the window.
As countless flags.
As kites.
“Looks good, doesn’t it? We did this.”
Sir Soyeon’s words made my throat tighten.
Partly because I was moved.
Partly because I could hardly believe her nerve.
We had only survived because I’d barely managed to keep Unhindered Harmony going. One wrong move, and Sir Soyeon and I would have been blown apart side by side beyond the wall.
“...Indeed. Thanks to someone, I nearly died without getting to see this.”
“Exactly. You did so well. Thanks to you holding on, we did something great and survived to see it. Thank you. Hehe.”
She was laughing again.
That settled it.
I needed to make her taste my new Melona right now.
I wasn’t sure which version was closest to the real thing, so perhaps a hundred bowls. With plenty of variations. Made very, very cold with freezing magic...
Knock, knock.
Just as I was about to put my thoughts into action, someone knocked.
Sir Soyeon opened the door. A messenger in a gold-embroidered dress uniform bowed and spoke.
“I offer my deepest awe and gratitude for the great military achievements of the Duke of Eternity and Sir Soyeon. I come to inform you that the Round Table Council has been summoned. Proceedings will begin as soon as the Duke of Eternity arrives.”
Ah. The Round Table Council.
The highest governing council, where all six grand dukes gathered to decide Estel’s fate.
There certainly were quite a few matters worth calling a meeting over.
I rose as I spoke.
“Tell them I’ll get ready and attend at once.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Sir Soyeon looked at me with concern, but I reassured her with a calm expression.
“I’ll be back shortly. If you need anything, tell me now.”
“I do need something.”
“What is it?”
“For you to be healthy.”
“...”
“You haven’t forgotten what I said, have you? Next time, I really won’t hold back.”
“Could you please hold back, Sir Soyeon?”
“Then behave yourself.”
“...”
“Answer me.”
Swallowing my humiliation, I slowly nodded.
* * *
Come to think of it, only half a year had passed since I became commander.
This would be just my second time attending the Round Table Council.
“...The first was to welcome me into office, so this is effectively my first real meeting.”
“Are you nervous? Well, there are three from the old generation and three from the new, so perhaps we’ll see some power struggles.”
Deputy Commander Keron grinned as he escorted me.
I gave a small laugh.
“You shouldn’t group me with Astrid and Helian. Helian became Commander-in-Chief at twenty-three and has already served for more than four years.”
“Hmm. Fair enough for the Commander-in-Chief, then. But wasn’t the Tribune appointed at the same time as you?”
“He was. But Astrid had already spent over three years as Deputy Tribune, being groomed as the successor. It feels different.”
The truth was that I had risen through the ranks overnight.
Traditionally, the Round Table Council had appointed Knight Commanders from outside the Order.
It was because the Order’s members became too attached to the heroes. They feared that we would care for the girls so much that we might neglect our duty to sacrifice them. That was why they had traditionally appointed outsiders.
But this time, I had become commander despite already belonging to the Order.
The reason was that commanders had been replaced so frequently of late that no outsider with enough standing to take the position instead of me remained.
Under normal circumstances, then, I might still have been treated as a newcomer whose abilities were somewhat in doubt.
“But who would dare doubt you under the circumstances?”
Keron chattered beside me without a trace of tension.
I didn’t bother denying it.
“Oh. Oh? Is that a smile, Commander? What’s this? You’re looking forward to it too, aren’t you? Well, you know better than anyone how much you’ve achieved. Right?”
“Be quiet.”
Everything had been a chaotic mess. Not one thing had gone as planned, and at one point, it really had nearly all ended in disaster.
But in the end, my achievements had been enormous.
Not only had I found the enemy’s main base, I had proved that an advance beyond the Great Wall was possible.
I couldn’t help looking forward to seeing how the Round Table Council would react.
“I’m most curious about how the Duke of Might will respond.”
“Really, aside from the Duke of Might, is there anything to be curious about?”
“True enough.”
Halsut, Duke of Might.
He was someone I had almost no connection with.
He was also known for being the most conservative, demanding, and ill-tempered of them all.
But apparently, once he took a liking to someone, he suddenly became friendly.
“As for the Duke of Execution... Well, there won’t be any reaction.”
“Indeed.”
Camellia, Duke of Execution, was the other person I had no connection with.
But Camellia didn’t communicate with anyone to begin with.
As Chief Justiciar, responsible for investigations and punishments, they were forbidden by law from removing their mask, no matter the time or place. The current Chief Justiciar didn’t even speak, so no one knew whether they were a man or a woman.
That left only Halsut, Duke of Might, whose reaction I could look forward to. If he showed me favor, it would be easier to achieve my goals at the Round Table Council.
And if Eihen looked like he’d swallowed shit on top of that, I couldn’t ask for more.
As I walked and talked with Keron, we soon reached the Thorn Court, where the Round Table Council met.
The Thorn Court was known as the most uncomfortable meeting place in the world.
The chairs were hard and tilted. Splinters rose from the rough wooden table. The floor was covered in gravel, and the temperature was always just a little too cold or a little too hot.
This reflected the philosophy of Estel’s survivors.
Meritocracy and pragmatism.
With the end approaching, even a moment’s leisure was a luxury.
Meetings had to be kept to a minimum. They had to be brief and worthwhile.
There was no time to waste on useless discussions and arguments.
Therefore, meeting places had to be uncomfortable.
And the Round Table Council, the most authoritative meeting of all, had to be the most uncomfortable.
I approached the Thorn Court along the central path.
At last, the grand dukes already gathered there met my eyes.
“Haa...”
Eihen was the first to react. He let out a deep sigh.
Yes. You should be sighing.
You’d said unnecessary things to Sir Soyeon and caused all that chaos.
Thanks to that, I’d nearly died.
At the same time, I’d accomplished something so enormous that history had never seen its like.
He was probably very troubled. In several ways.
“Hmm. You’re here.”
Halsut, Duke of Might, glared at me with his arms crossed. As one of the Thor people, his arms were long and as thick as other people’s thighs. With them crossed like that, he was quite intimidating.
His tone and gaze were hard too.
That was unexpected. I’d thought he might be a little friendlier this time.
I glanced at him, then strode toward the round table. Tap. Tap.
“Welcome.”
“Good to see you.”
Astrid, who had been my junior at the Academy, and Helian, my old friend, greeted me with smiles. Aside from Halsut, everything so far had been within my expectations...
Murmur.
That was when a stir spread through the room.
Crunch.
A single footstep cut through the noise and reached my ears.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Camellia.
Duke of Execution. Chief Justiciar.
Also the leader of the Shazar people, a slender, delicate people whose racial traits included an inability to lie.
That person now stood before me, wearing a plain white mask.
“...”
The mask’s eyeholes were so dark that I could see nothing inside them, perhaps because of magic. Camellia silently stared at me.
Why...?
I instinctively glanced at Eihen.
The truth was that I had done plenty of things worthy of condemnation by the Chief Justiciar. Eihen was the only person who knew about most of them.
Had he reported me?
Eihen quickly shook his head. He even waved his arms as if protesting his innocence.
Then what was this?
Last time, Camellia had simply sat at one side of the round table like a shadow...
“My respect and gratitude for your miraculous achievements.”
What?
It suddenly rang out.
A voice like the clear ring of a fine sword being drawn.
Clear, pure, and deeply resonant.
So she was a woman.
“May victory and good health always accompany Revel Vieta, Duke of Eternity.”
Hoo.
Camellia breathed into her hand as if sighing, then pressed it against the back of my right hand.
The Shazar Blessing.
A unique magic that only the Shazar people could use, and only once in their lives, was cast upon me.
Its exact effects were unknown. Some said it improved your luck. Others said it purified you. Whatever the truth, one thing was certain: it was an exceedingly precious blessing.
And she had bestowed it upon me.
No one had expected this.
The Thorn Court fell silent.
After a rather long silence, Halsut’s rough voice emerged.
“Er. You could talk?”
Camellia ignored him, bowed deeply to me alone, then returned to her seat and sat perfectly straight.
Without even the slightest movement, she looked like a wooden statue.
“Ahem.”
Halsut cleared his throat, looking awkward.
I slowly took my seat, finishing my calculations.
The Chief Justiciar, who had been the greatest uncertainty and threat, had shown me respect.
That meant I could act more boldly.
A sharp thrill of satisfaction ran through me.
The Thorn Court remained silent. That was how extraordinary the Chief Justiciar’s actions had been.
Though I was a newcomer to the Round Table Council, I decided to take the lead and break that silence.
It had arisen because of me.
It was only natural that I should break it.
I leaned forward, loosely laced my fingers together, and looked around at everyone.
“Then let us begin.”
As I spoke, I reminded myself of my goal for this meeting.
Sir Soyeon had less than ten months left to live.
So I needed to secure as much funding and as many resources as possible.
To pour everything into research that would extend her life.
Save Sir Soyeon.
Save the heroes.
That was how I would save everyone.
Footnotes:
Melona is a Korean melon-flavored ice cream bar.
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