WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Asakusa
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Knight Commander of the Doomed Heroes ◈
Chapter 8: Peaceful Days (3)
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The wind sent ripples through the green grass.
Shhhhh.
The sound of the grass bending was just like rain falling on the training grounds at the Tang Clan compound.
“This is nice...”
Dang Seorin closed her eyes, her hair tied tightly back. She thought of home.
Father.
Mother.
Hidden weapons and poison arts.
Candied sweets.
Mapo tofu.
Malatang.
Could she see them again in her dreams?
“Maybe I'll sleep. Just a little. Just for a moment...”
Shhhhhh.
Two strange statues stood in the middle of the green meadow.
One was an angel with a neck stretched out like a snake and three crooked wings of different sizes sprouting from its back. It reflected a blue-green light, like oxidized bronze.
Beside it was a white angel statue, smooth as marble. Six legs gripped the ground, and one enormous wing drooped over the earth.
Strangely, both statues looked as though they had died vomiting blood, their bodies posed as if clawing at the ground.
Green grass grew in concentric rings around them, and the wind blew from that spot.
Seen from higher above, everything beyond those rings was marked by destruction.
Hills that had been sheared away.
Forests snapped and flattened.
Muddy water pooling between rocks that had been violently torn apart.
Dang Seorin took a nap in the meadow that had sprouted so naturally in the middle of it all.
* * *
“Sir Dang Seorin, who has only just entered her second year, has now been asleep for forty-eight hours after single-handedly destroying two twisted angels and eight hundred monsters.”
If apostles were the end of the world, twisted angels were natural disasters.
Unlike apostles, they weren't impossible to fight.
But for humans to face one, we would have to throw an entire legion into the battle just to have a chance of taking it down with us.
Sir Seorin was a girl of only sixteen, yet she had destroyed two of those monsters and eight hundred lesser monsters alone.
Hero or not, she had only just entered her second year. It couldn't have been easy. She was talented, but she must have pushed herself hard.
Still, sleeping for forty-eight hours straight...
“She still sleeps a lot.”
“Yes. She says it's her only pleasure.”
“That's all she has...”
“When she joins the Order of Eternity, you should cook her something nice, Commander.”
“I've already learned how to make candied sweets, mapo tofu, and malatang.”
Dang Seorin. By the time she transferred to the Order of Eternity... Sir Soyeon would have been here a little over three full years.
If I succeeded, Sir Soyeon would still be alive to meet her successor.
She could.
She really could.
“What is Sir Soyeon doing?”
“Just as you suspected, Commander. She's been training on her own.”
“...Training to sharpen her magical power, I assume.”
“Yes. That's right.”
“...”
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Keron, my deputy commander, scratched their brown hair with a bitter expression as they gave their report.
The reason Baek Soyeon hadn't been giving my training her full effort.
She had been saving her strength to train separately, on her own.
And that training had an entirely different goal from mine.
Not to extend her life, but to fight better and kill more effectively.
Unhindered Harmony (圓融無礙) lasted only five seconds.
But last time, she hadn't managed to defeat the apostle alone within that time. Had that been weighing on her?
She had been training behind my back, honing her magical power to make it sharper and maximize her attack power.
Determined to finish any enemy within five seconds.
“She's given up on living longer. All on her own.”
“...That seems to be the case. I believe she's made it her goal to kill as many apostles as possible in her remaining year.”
...
A heavy silence fell.
Many of the ordinary knights in our Order of Eternity had been saved by heroes as children.
Deputy Commander Keron was one of them.
That was why the fate of the heroes weighed so heavily on all of us.
“But!”
Keron deliberately brightened their voice.
“She's been enjoying herself during her recovery time!”
They projected a magical image in front of me.
It showed Baek Soyeon roaming the capital with the crystal tablet Eihen had given her.
“...A smartphone, was it? It seems to work quite well.”
“Yes. I don't know what's in that thing, but she keeps finding sights even I didn't know about.”
“There are children following her.”
“They're asking her to take photos.”
“Photos?”
“Yes. It's a spell built into the smartphone. It records images.”
“Hmm. And she's using it for fun rather than military purposes?”
“Yes. She takes all sorts of pictures of delicious food, pretty streets, people, and her own face. She's been smiling a lot lately.”
“...She does look happy. She must really like it. That smartphone Eihen gave her. Hmm.”
“On that subject, Sir Soyeon has quite a few complaints about you, Commander.”
“Complaints? About me?”
“Yes.”
Something sparkled beside Keron's ear as they answered.
They covered their ear with a hand, listened for a moment, then spoke.
“It seems she's on her way here right now.”
“Hm?”
“I'm told she's almost here.”
Bang!
The door to my office flew open the instant Keron finished speaking.
I didn't need to look. It was Baek Soyeon.
I glared at Keron. This bastard. They had deliberately delayed their report to get the timing just right.
I wanted to glare a little longer as they pretended not to notice, but I didn't have the chance.
“Ice cream! My ice cream! Give me ice cream!”
The menace named Baek Soyeon had practically flown across the room and was slamming her palm onto my desk with a bang!
I let out a short sigh and looked up at her.
“Aren't you getting enough snacks?”
“Not those disgusting magical mushroom shakes! Ice! Cream! I want ice cream!”
“It can't be helped. Since you aren't keeping up with my training, we have to make up for it with shakes.”
“Then give me the shakes and give me ice cream too!”
“...”
“Why won't you give me any?”
I didn't want to answer.
But the words slipped out before I could stop them.
“Why do you need ice cream? Aren't you finding plenty of delicious food with that smartphone or whatever it is?”
The moment I said it, I knew I'd made a mistake.
“Huh?”
Sir Soyeon tilted her head.
“What?”
Deputy Commander Keron's eyes widened.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“That was a careless remark. Forget it. I'll give you ice cream right away. It simply slipped my mind.”
“What was that just now? Don't tell me. Are you jealous?”
I couldn't hear her. I couldn't hear Baek Soyeon's voice.
“Hmm... Where did I put strawberry yogurt ice cream prototype number thirty-one...?”
As I searched through the food chest enchanted with freezing magic, her voice kept tickling my ears.
“Were you that jealous of my smartphone? Is that why you've only been giving me those nasty shakes?”
“It simply slipped my mind.”
“Heh. So our commander is human after all. Aww, poor thing. Were you that upset because I got a present from someone else?”
“...”
I hurriedly scooped out prototype number thirty-one and set it on the desk, but Baek Soyeon kept at it. She clearly had no intention of letting me go.
The ice cream sat there melting.
In the end, I chose a direct approach.
“Yes. I was jealous.”
“Hehe. Really?”
“Yes. I've failed as a commander. I didn't even know what a Knight of Eternity wanted. Even an outsider like Eihen knew about smartphones, yet I overlooked them. There's no excuse. And to take that out on you through petty jealousy... I deeply regret my behavior.”
“No, you don't have to go that far.”
I put a spoon in the flustered Sir Soyeon's hand.
“Sir Soyeon.”
“Y-Yes?”
“What I want is your happiness.”
“Uh. Wh-Where did that come from?”
“I think of nothing but you all day.”
“Wh-What the hell! What, what, what are you saying? You must be crazy!”
It was true. Why was she so surprised?
In any case, good. The tables had turned.
Should I get to the real issue now?
She had deceived me and given up on extending her life.
She had been training on her own.
We needed to discuss that.
“You said something last time. That a life spent clinging to an uncertain possibility had no value. I've been thinking about it ever since.”
“That was...”
“Sir Soyeon. You've been training separately to kill apostles, haven't you?”
“...You knew?”
“Nothing in this capital escapes my notice.”
“Tch. Deputy Commander Keron told you again, didn't they?”
Sir Soyeon glared at the deputy commander. Keron casually looked away and pretended not to notice.
I asked her directly.
“Killing as many apostles as you can, even if you only live for one more year. Is that what you consider a meaningful life?”
Sir Soyeon fidgeted with her fingers, watching my expression as if she didn't know what to do. Then she gritted her teeth, seeming to make up her mind.
“Yes! Because I'm a hero! Honestly, we're short on heroes right now. That means I have to do the work of several people. With things like that, I don't want to cling to some tiny chance just to save myself. I don't want to spend my life worrying that it'll fail, either. I'd rather kill as many apostles as I can and make this last year, the time I have right now, more meaningful. ESFPs live in the present! We're not like INTJs like you, Commander, always looking to the future!”
'So that's what she meant...'
I gazed at her quietly.
A hero.
To be honest, I hated that word.
“I see.”
“Yes. Even if it's just one year, I want to make it count. Fight properly when I have to, and spend the rest of my time enjoying peaceful days. I want to experience this world, enjoy what it has to offer, and have fun. That's how I want to live. Honestly, I've earned that much, haven't I? I fought nonstop for two whole years after I landed here. I don't want to torment myself with false hope for my last year too...”
“...Yes. That sounds fine. Peaceful days.”
“Right?”
“I'll help.”
If that was the life she wanted, I would make it happen.
Sir Soyeon could live her own life.
Regardless, I would find my own way to save her.
This wasn't the first time.
I had never once gone against a hero's wishes.
Whatever choice a hero made, I supported it. Then, separately, I searched for a way to save them.
Until now, I had been a fool who knew nothing but failure...
But this time...
I could do it.
I really could.
“What? You'll help? Really?”
“I'm always on your side.”
“Then you won't obsess over keeping me alive and keep pushing yourself so hard anymore?”
“Well? I think even this moment you're spending worrying about that is a waste.”
I pushed strawberry yogurt ice cream number thirty-one toward her.
“Have some ice cream first.”
She grinned and scooped up a generous spoonful.
After rolling the cold treat around in her mouth, she gave me a wicked smile.
“It's better than last time, but it's still not strawberry enough.”
“Ugh.”
Still, it was good to see her smile.
* * *
Sir Soyeon left.
I stared at the five empty ice cream bowls, then muttered,
“We had a request for deployment, didn't we?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Let's go.”
I checked my equipment once more and went straight out of the building. After a look around, I stepped into the glowing blue gate.
Shimmer.
I fought off a dizzying rush of vertigo and opened my eyes to a city in flames.
Buildings had collapsed, and all sorts of things lay scattered across the streets.
Laundry.
Toys.
Broken cups.
Overturned dining tables.
Abandoned hopes.
Dead people.
“I'm sick of this.”
It had been the same that day.
The day our house collapsed and Mom and Dad were brutally murdered.
The day Harin noona saved me. The scene had looked just like this.
Twisted angels and monsters would tear through empty air and spring out anywhere.
In major cities far behind the front lines like this one. Even in the capital. Without warning.
Any land where humans lived could become a battlefield.
“They're here! They're finally here! The Order of Eternity!”
The city's military commander came running over in armor, almost flying.
“Where are they? Huh? Where? No, where is the hero?”
Restless feet. A trembling voice.
I told the commander the truth.
“There is no hero.”
“What?”
“We'll handle this ourselves.”
“No. What are you talking about? There are two twisted angels here.”
“It's all right.”
“All right...? No. Stop joking. Is there really no hero? Who are you?!”
Keron, who had been standing respectfully beside me, stepped forward sharply and pulled out their identification badge.
“Watch your tongue. You stand before His Grace Revel Vieta, Duke of Eternity.”
“D-Duke of Eternity! The c-commander of the Order?”
The commander flinched in shock, then staggered as if all hope had been lost.
“Then. Then... A hero really isn't coming...?”
“Correct.”
“Ahh. Then how... There are two twisted angels! What do you plan to do? We'll all die! Every last one of us!”
Kabooooom!
A tremendous explosion erupted behind the despairing commander.
“That one's huge.”
I glanced up. It was particularly large, even compared to the ones I had seen before.
It looked about ten meters tall.
Pillar-like legs stretched beneath abdominal muscles that looked like a fortress wall.
Its long, whiplike arms hung down without end. Even as it hovered high in the air on enormous wings, its fingertips reached the ground.
An overwhelming presence.
Just looking at it made my magical power shrink back and my breath catch.
Fear.
The despair a lesser being couldn't help feeling before an unmistakably superior existence.
The angel's Fear weighed down on the entire city.
Baaaang!
Whenever it swung an arm, a sound like the sky tearing apart rang out. Buildings exploded, and the ground shook violently. This was why people said it took a legion to face one angel.
Even a twisted angel, no more than a speck of dust compared to an apostle, posed this much of a threat to humanity.
- Revel?
Just then, my ear tingled as a communication spell connected.
“Commander-in-chief?”
It was Helian, the supreme commander who held authority over all of Estel's military forces.
- I just received a report. No hero support? What is that supposed to mean?
Had the commander gone running to Mommy?
I glanced back and saw a furious face.
“That's right. There will be no support from a hero.”
- No. I know we're short on heroes, but things aren't so bad that we can't spare anyone.
“We can't.”
- What about Sir Dang Seorin?
“She's sleeping.”
- ...What? No. What are you talking about?
“She's sleeping. She killed two twisted angels and eight hundred monsters.”
- Wasn't that forty-eight hours ago?
“She's still sleeping.”
- ...This is insane. Then what about Sir Baek Soyeon?
“She can't fight because of the aftereffects of ignition.”
- What are you talking about? Hasn't she rested enough by now? According to the headmaster, she could easily handle something like a twisted angel even in her current condition.
Eihen. Saying unnecessary things again...
“No. Doing that would reduce the benefits of her training and cause her physical pain.”
- No! What do you think you're doing? A city of four million people is collapsing! We have to stop the attack first!
“The heroes' rest must be guaranteed without exception. Do you want to see a hero become a witch from exhaustion and despair?”
- No. Why are you taking this to such an extreme...?!
“Of course it's extreme. Isn't this entire shameless situation extreme? We depend entirely on people who aren't even from our world and demand that they sacrifice themselves.”
- ...
“We'll stop them. Our Order of Eternity is still the Order of Eternity, even without a Knight of Eternity.”
- What? You lunatic! Are you planning to fight them yourself? Hey! Have you lost your mind?! Are you that desperate to die...?!
“That's enough. It's time.”
I cut off the communication without waiting for a reply.
“Knights.”
There was no need to shout.
Every one of them had honed their magical power and strength to nearly the limits of what a human could achieve.
Flap.
The ordinary knights of the Order of Eternity gathered behind me, their cloaks fluttering.
There were roughly a hundred.
All the knight-captain-level fighters scattered across the land had assembled.
They had the same look in their eyes as I did.
I spoke to them.
“Sir Seorin is sleeping. Sir Soyeon is enjoying peaceful days. We have to fight so they can rest.”
Anyone else would have found those words absurd.
But all my comrades drew their swords, fire burning in their eyes.
“It's an honor.”
A sharp aura surged from them.
A will to fight that didn't falter even before monsters far beyond human limits.
Yes. This was the sight I had worked so hard to see. Since before I became commander.
Creak.
I tightened my grip on my sword hilt until it made a sound, then stepped forward.
“We will now slay the twisted angels.”
The first time in nearly sixty years, wasn't it?
Challenging twisted angels with human strength alone, without a hero.
And facing them with so few people, rather than a legion hundreds of thousands strong, would be a first in history.
“This is madness...”
Not one of us paid any attention to the military commander muttering behind us.
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