WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Knight Commander of the Doomed Heroes ◈
Chapter 5: A Bitter Reward
──────
The apostle had rampaged for only half a day.
Even so, half of a great city with over two million people had been destroyed.
The death toll had reached tens of thousands.
The destruction was truly comparable to a nuclear bomb.
Yet the city had not fallen into despair and grief.
“Over here! We need about three people! Hurry!”
“I’ll go!”
“Hey, big bro! Is there anything I can help with?”
“Go study, kid.”
Instead, the rebuilding effort was positively bustling with life.
“Remarkable.”
Eihen Giheis, the head of Estel Academy, watched the scene with a curious look in his eyes.
“They all have hope. To think I’d see something like this in a place an apostle passed through.”
The citizens were certainly grieving, but at the same time, they carried the hope they needed to overcome that grief.
“All right! Keep it up! Steliya…!”
“Steliya!”
They had witnessed a miracle.
A hero had slain an apostle.
And survived.
In truth, people outside the capital did not know that heroes were doomed to die.
But they did know that many heroes died. Every hero they knew of had reportedly fallen in battle after killing an apostle.
Who knew? Perhaps somewhere, a hero had killed an apostle and survived.
But in their experience, a hero fighting an apostle meant that both would die.
So the sight of Baek Soyeon walking away unharmed on her own two feet had shocked them.
Enough to revive a faith forgotten decades ago.
Her very existence gave them courage and filled them with gratitude.
If that was not a god, what was?
“Five seconds. She maintained ignition for only about five seconds. But she couldn’t finish it off. The rest was finished off with help from the Order’s members. They left the tiny pieces to the citizens and handled the larger chunks themselves. An apostle, even if it had been reduced to weakened fragments. And they were humans, not heroes.”
Eihen carefully examined the traces left at the scene, piecing together what had happened.
When he finished, a smile of disbelief appeared on his lips.
“You really did it, Revel.”
* * *
“Hmm…”
Sir Soyeon spent an absurdly long time examining the strawberry ice cream I had made her.
“I may have strict standards for strawberry flavor, but I’m not picky.”
Sir Soyeon, Sir Soyeon. What in the world did that mean?
“I mean, I like both artificial strawberry flavor and real strawberry flavor. As long as it tastes good and touches that strawberry goodness deep inside me!”
What was this strawberry goodness inside her? Was it like the mental images mages used…?
“But this one looks the part… The smell is already a little disappointing, though. If I had to put it in a category, it’d be artificial strawberry flavor. But even then, it’s missing something. It’s definitely not a natural strawberry scent.”
“…”
She heaped criticism on the strawberry ice cream that had been my most ambitious recent project.
And she had not even tried a bite yet.
“And the taste. Let’s see. Hmm?”
She scooped up some pink ice cream and put it in her mouth. After rolling the cold spoonful over her tongue and smacking her lips, she suddenly looked up at me.
“You used fruit to flavor it?”
I proudly puffed out my chest.
“Of course. I combined no fewer than five kinds of fruit to recreate the taste of strawberries.”
This was fruit alchemy. A triumph of culinary magic that had impressed even me.
“Hmm. Yeah, no.”
What?
“This tastes exactly like someone who’s never tasted strawberries trying to imagine what they taste like. It’s a nice, tangy fruit flavor, but the actual strawberry goodness is missing.”
“…”
I could not say a word. Someone who did not know the taste of strawberries had indeed made it while imagining their flavor.
Baek Soyeon tried another spoonful, then stirred the ice cream as she spoke.
“I think the problem is the smell, not the taste. Strawberries are sweet and sour and all that, but the thing is, they have this unique scent. How do I put it? There’s this fresh, strawberry sort of smell, like something blooming bright red among pure white snow.”
What did that even mean?
“Anyway, I’m sorry. I have strict standards for strawberry flavor. By my standards, this doesn’t taste like strawberries.”
“…I see.”
I took away the ice cream in front of her.
“Huh? Why are you taking it away? It doesn’t taste like strawberries, but it’s good. Really good. I’m going to finish it.”
“No. I need to taste this myself. One must savor a failure repeatedly to move beyond it.”
“Huh? Then you can make yourself some more.”
“I can only make a proper assessment by eating what the judge tasted.”
“What kind of logic is that? Then make me another one. Exactly the same.”
“No. I cannot serve a failed creation to our precious hero.”
“Hey! My ice cream!”
I firmly brushed aside Baek Soyeon’s resistance and carried off my failed creation.
She studied my expression before asking,
“Are you sulking?”
“Of course not.”
Sulking? Me? What a ridiculous idea.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I spoke without thinking because I’m starting to feel more comfortable around you, Commander.”
“I told you I’m not sulking.”
“But you even took my ice cream…”
“What are you talking about, Sir Soyeon? I am not sulking. Is sulking not the act of expressing disappointment because one’s efforts were not appreciated? It is extremely self-centered and childish. I am a professional. I understand perfectly well that people are not obliged to be pleased simply because I put effort into something. Instead, I accept that, take their feedback, and produce better results. Because I am a professional. Therefore, I do not sulk.”
“Oh, no… All right. I’ll do all that PT and follow the diet you mentioned before. So please don’t be upset. Okay? I’m sorry.”
“…”
There was no reasoning with her.
But this worked out rather well.
I put the ice cream in the magic freezer and said,
“Really? Then we’ll begin right now.”
“Gasp. Can’t we start tomorrow?”
“You said you were sorry. Did you not mean it?”
“You said you weren’t sulking! You are sulking!”
“…Correct. I am sulking. So we’re starting your PT and diet immediately.”
“Eek.”
I tried to push the protesting Sir Soyeon out toward the training ground.
But the moment I opened the door, I came face-to-face with a tall woman who had one hand raised as though she was about to knock.
Red hair rippled like flames.
An eye patch covered her left eye.
‘Another new eye patch.’
Ever since she had lost her left eye at the northern Great Wall a few years ago, she seemed to treat eye patches as fashion accessories.
Her remaining eye rolled between Sir Soyeon and me.
“Uh… You two seem close.”
I moved Sir Soyeon behind me and greeted her.
“It’s been a while, Lady Helian Ionia. I hadn’t heard you were in the capital.”
“Yeah. I only just came through the gate. But how long are you going to keep talking to me like that?”
“What brings Your Excellency the ever-busy commander-in-chief here?”
“Right. Just ignore me… Whew. Whatever. I heard the rumors. So this is the hero? You… You really did it.”
At the mention of herself, Sir Soyeon’s eyes darted around.
I gave Helian a slight glare as I answered.
“I did not do it. Sir Soyeon did. If you have congratulations, gratitude, or praise to offer, I believe you should direct them to her, not me.”
“You really are…”
Helian seemed to stop herself from saying she was sick of me.
She shook her head, then turned to Sir Soyeon and bent at the waist in a formal bow. Her red hair spilled down like a cloud of smoke.
“I, Helian, born in Estellan and the only daughter of House Ionia, offer my thanks to Sir Baek Soyeon, Knight of Eternity. My heartfelt congratulations on your great victory. And once again, thank you for saving us from destruction. Above all, to slay an apostle and survive… A feat no one has ever achieved. You have allowed us to dream of hope once more.”
Hmm. Satisfying.
Just as I expected from Helian. A proper education truly made a difference to one’s manners.
“Ugh. Aah, aaah… Stop. Please stop. I’m cringing so hard…!”
Sir Soyeon writhed in agony.
Helian shamelessly jerked her chin at me.
“The commander made me do it. I was just following orders.”
“Hmm. Excellent. Next time, though, your tone of voice should be a little more…”
“Aah. Aaah! Commander, please!”
Sir Soyeon pinched my side. …Ah. Right on the bruise.
Sir Soyeon hopped about, I suffered, and Helian stared at me.
In the middle of this commotion, someone else appeared.
“Well, isn’t this cheerful? Though even a festival wouldn’t be enough to celebrate! Speaking of which, the citizens have prepared something!”
“Tribune?”
Tribune Astrid.
His face always looked as mischievous as a child’s. But he was not to be underestimated. This man was responsible for the welfare of everyone in Estel.
He smiled broadly.
“Yes. Can you hear it?”
Hear it?
Hear… what?
“Ah.”
I heard it.
A song drifted in from outside the Order’s building, quiet but clear.
May you live forever♪
May you live forever♩
As you made us smile♫
As you made us weep♫
As you let us live♩
May you live forever♪
As you came to this land from a distant land♬
As you saved us and kindled life♪
May you always shine, here and there♩
May you shine♩
“Huh…? What? This is…?”
Sir Soyeon started in surprise and opened the window.
Then we heard it more clearly. From every direction. No, from all across Estellan, the capital where tens of millions of people lived.
Astrid spoke.
“I only told them one thing. That, for the first time in history, the hero who slew an apostle had returned alive. Then one household after another began to sing, and before I knew it, this happened.”
The song was called the “Hymn to the Heroes.”
A humble expression of our feelings toward the heroes, who sacrificed themselves for this world without asking for anything in return.
It was also my favorite song.
“…May you live forever♪ May you live forever♩”
When I quietly sang along, Sir Soyeon pinched my side again. In exactly the same spot as before.
But…
Why?
* * *
The song continued without end, seeming about to fade away only to rise again.
Whenever someone stopped singing, someone else seemed to take it up.
Perhaps the news was spreading at that very moment.
What? Why is everyone suddenly singing the Hymn to the Heroes?
The hero came back alive!
What?
After slaying an apostle!
Oh! May you live forever♪
…It warmed my heart.
I wished Harin noona could hear this chorus, too.
Then she would probably have boasted, “See? Your big sister is this amazing. Got it?”
We stood in silence for ten minutes, listening to the Hymn to the Heroes.
Tears welled in Sir Soyeon’s eyes. She looked like a rabbit, and I almost said something about it, but the sting in my side made me think better of it.
Instead, I raised a matter with Astrid that he had repeatedly rejected.
“Tribune. If you’re so pleased, I can expect support to match, I trust?”
Tribune Astrid held authority over all of Estel’s finances. With his full financial support, I could attempt everything I had planned.
“Yes, of course. Just say the word. I’ll reconsider every budget request I’ve rejected as unrealistic until now. Unrealistic? What foolishness, a snake failing to recognize a dragon’s wings. But are you going to keep calling me Tribune so stiffly? For how long?”
“Can I expect a vegetable garden and orchard for the Order’s exclusive use? And support from agricultural specialists?”
“Right. Ignore me… But about that. I’ve asked before, but why on earth does the Order need those? Are you planning to make something strange again…?”
“Melons. Not something strange.”
“Ah…”
Astrid looked at a loss. I stared steadily at him.
“Yes, you’ll have my support. Of course you will. You’re the commander who worked the miracle of bringing a hero back alive. A mere earthworm like me shouldn’t presume to understand a dragon’s mind.”
In the end, Astrid raised both hands in surrender and backed down. Sir Soyeon gave my sleeve a light tug and whispered,
“What was that? Did you just pressure the Tribune so you could grow melons? All for some melons?”
Some melons?
“Do you dislike Melona, Sir Soyeon? All the heroes from Korea seemed to like it.”
“No! I don’t dislike it! But melons, when people are busy producing essential food… You’re asking way too much!”
“We people of Estel are the ones asking far too much of the heroes.”
“Ah. Uh. That’s… No. How do you even…”
Unable to refute my perfectly logical argument, Sir Soyeon sank into defeat.
While I was at it, I turned to Helian, the commander-in-chief.
“I believe Your Excellency has something to offer as well.”
“You… Don’t tell me. Haa…”
She pressed her fingers against her temples as though her head hurt.
“You mean those things that look like black beans, right? I’ll have the scouts collect them regularly.”
“Excellent.”
Sir Soyeon tugged on my sleeve again.
“No. What is it this time?! What could possibly justify sending busy soldiers out to get it?! Are you seriously doing this? Are you going to keep using me as an excuse to trouble people? Even I have my limits. Whatever it is, take it back right now!”
What?
“Sir Soyeon.”
“What? I really don’t think this is right.”
“Do you happen to dislike coffee?”
“Sorry? Sorry…? What…? What did you say?”
“Cof. Fee. I said coffee. There is a fruit almost identical to coffee. However, it cannot be cultivated and only grows in remote areas. But Commander Helian can easily obtain it. Are you sure you don’t need it?”
Sir Soyeon’s eyes wavered.
Back and forth.
She looked at me. Then at Helian.
Then she squeezed both eyes shut and said,
“I-I need it… I desperately need that rich, bitter taste…”
“As I thought.”
I calmly took out my notebook and wrote.
- Sir Baek Soyeon. Prefers coffee to melons. All heroes from Earth show a very strong preference for coffee.
Sir Soyeon peeked at my carefully written entry and recoiled.
“Eek! I hate this! What are you writing? That’s so creepy!”
Was it?
But I paid her no mind, my pen going scratch, scratch, and kept writing as I replied.
“Whether you dislike me is not a factor I consider. I am merely doing my duty.”
Scratch, scratch…
I continued filling the page.
Sir Soyeon opened and closed her mouth, apparently at a loss for words, and looked around.
Tribune Astrid smiled awkwardly. Commander Helian put a hand to her forehead.
She gave Sir Soyeon a gentle pat on the back.
“The commander’s always like this. There’s no reasoning with him.”
I did not compromise when it came to my duty.
Not a bad compliment.
Probably.
Footnotes:
Melona is a Korean melon-flavored ice cream bar.
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