WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 137: Javert’s Iron and Justice (4)
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A memory from long ago.
A scene that had receded with the hands of a clock, yet remained as vivid as ever.
And a moment and a voice the girl would carry in one corner of her life for the rest of her days.
“Javert.”
It was the gentle voice of an old woman.
The person who had taken her in.
The person who had broadened her world and shown her a farther sky.
That was why most of her memories of the old woman remained like bouquets of flowers.
‘Mother.’
She was that beautiful.
She was that fragrant.
A flower field in full bloom.
The girl carefully cherished the flowers and leaves gathered in her hands.
She opened the book that was her life and tucked those delicate petals between every page.
She pressed each page of time like a bookmark, decorating the ends of her memories as though with pressed flowers.
“Don't cry.”
The girl still lived in that flower field.
Though she had outgrown childhood and become an adult, she remained there as though she had never put down the bouquet.
“It isn't your fault.”
And this was one blossom among those memories.
The only moment that had never been beautiful.
The girl never forgot.
Your first red, though you had always been calm and elegant.
At the same time, it was your last red, the last she would ever see.
“Cough...”
Dark crimson flower sap splattered amid short, hacking coughs.
A complete mess. Chaotic. Ruined beyond recognition.
Broken stems protruded from the old woman's body, spilling out in streams.
Her graceful leaves had been shredded, and the roots that had supported her long life had been ripped out.
It was horrifying.
No, even with your body trampled so cruelly, you were beautiful.
That desolation pierced her heart, entered it, and wept there.
“Javert... our beloved daughter.”
You smiled even as your breath faded away.
A weak, wrinkled hand rested briefly against the girl's cheek.
“It isn't your fault.”
“You were simply unlucky...”
Had you hoped that moment would not remain a wound?
Even at the very end, the petals never blamed the girl.
Like cherry blossoms that did not resent the May that made them fall.
“Everything will be all right.”
Words that were not all right at all.
That life wrapped around the girl until the moment its heart stopped.
It was damp and warm, then gradually grew cold.
It was as though winter had come to the flower field.
The old woman's red lightly stained the girl's cheek.
“Everything... will be all right...”
The girl could not forgive that moment.
Her cheek, which had sullied the old woman's red.
She wanted to peel off even her own skin.
After holding a funeral for the withered flower field, the girl became a sinner who could never be forgiven.
“Javert.”
The girl's adoptive father.
Consumed by grief, he wept for days in his wife's study.
Afterward, he grasped the shoulder of the girl who had been quietly standing beside him and spoke.
“This is why rules must not be broken.”
“Otherwise, everything becomes a mess...”
Rules.
Why rules always had to be followed.
“That is the right path.”
Rules and righteousness.
Those words became a stake driven deep into one corner of her life.
Yes.
Deep enough that she would never forget them.
* * *
“So it was you after all. The man from yesterday.”
“Ghk.”
The words rang out coldly.
Javert had Viktor by the collar.
Bang!
His back slammed into the wall as she roughly shoved him against it.
The boy was helplessly restrained, dangling from the woman's hand.
“I-Investigator...?”
The mask covering his face was smiling.
His voice, on the other hand, was thick with confusion.
Which one was real?
The mask seemed to mock her with that question.
“I asked if it was you.”
“What on earth are you...?”
Javert pressed him harder.
The air was sharp enough to cut.
The boy only stared silently at her.
He looked as though he had no idea what this was about and was waiting for even the smallest explanation.
“Investigator... I'd like you to explain first, if you would.”
His words trembled strangely.
He seemed unsettled.
Every one of those reactions felt foreign to Javert.
-Why do you want to check?
-Is there perhaps someone in that robe who should not be there?
The intruder she had encountered the previous night.
Their build and voice had been different from Viktor's.
‘That doesn't matter. A person's build and voice... both can be altered with devices.’
Yet her intuition stirred.
Her instincts as an investigator were fixed on the boy before her.
As she tightened her hold on his collar, several words from the intruder replayed in her ears.
-Why? Would checking change anything? You're going to kill me anyway.
-If you're going to inspect my face, wouldn't it be easier to make me a corpse first and check then...?
Those whispers buzzed like flies.
They scraped at her nerves and darted about inside her head.
Perhaps it was the churning nausea.
Javert unconsciously let her killing intent spill out.
Rumble!
Her presence shook the air in the laboratory.
Viktor's shoulders stiffened despite himself.
“Ugh...”
Javert's green eyes stared at him.
For some reason, her stomach churned.
“Student Viktor.”
“Professor.”
“Is it truly not you?”
“Please calm down first.”
“I asked whether it truly wasn't you.”
“I honestly have no idea what you mean...”
Answer me properly!!!
For a moment, Javert nearly shouted those words.
Perhaps her emotions had become too jagged.
Her voice nearly rose.
Only then did she pull herself together.
The nausea faded, and the blurred world gradually returned to focus.
‘What is this?’
The turbulent air settled.
Then a question came to her.
‘Why am I...?’
Why was she reacting so intensely?
It was not like her.
Grabbing a student by the collar and doing nothing but press him with questions...
On any other day, their exchange would have been calm and measured. Today, every word came out like a threat.
-What would you do if I were someone included among those you had to protect?
-For example, one of the students you teach.
No.
That did not matter.
-Would it be better if I weren't your student?
Javert forced the stray thoughts from her mind.
She was not shaken.
She was simply tired.
The exhaustion from yesterday had not yet faded.
Her condition must have been why she was reacting so sharply.
“...I'm sorry.”
Javert took a moment to breathe deeply.
She carefully released the collar she had been gripping.
“My manner of questioning was rather forceful. I apologize.”
“...”
Javert lowered her head as if ashamed.
Viktor stammered, clearly flustered.
Yet he did not get angry or raise his voice.
Instead, he gently took Javert's hand and showed only concern.
“Investigator... are you all right? Did something happen?”
“I'm fine. I only feel ashamed for behaving so rudely.”
“The intruder you encountered yesterday...”
“Last night, Purgatory Floor 80 was cleared without authorization.”
“My goodness.”
The boy sighed in dismay.
Because of his mask, she could not tell what expression he wore.
“Did you encounter the culprit at the scene?”
“Yes. We had a brief clash.”
Javert kept her reaction as impassive as possible.
She spoke in a businesslike tone, intending to convey only the necessary information.
“My goodness...”
Viktor reacted differently.
“Were you hurt? If you clashed with someone like that, perhaps you were injured too...”
“I did not suffer any serious injuries.”
“Ah! You have a cut on your left cheek!”
“No, that is...”
A wound left when her cheek had been lightly grazed during her clash with the intruder.
It seemed the boy had noticed even that faint mark.
Viktor's hand came to rest against her.
Swoosh.
He brushed aside her red hair and examined the wound closely.
The warmth of his palm colored Javert's cheek.
Her shoulders flinched.
“Did you receive treatment?”
“It is a minor wound.”
“Even so, you don't know what trick they might have used! The weapon could have been poisoned, or it might have been some cursed artifact...”
“I have already checked. There is no problem, so please do not worry.”
“Even if there is no problem, you should not leave a wound like this untreated.”
“Student Viktor.”
“What if it gets worse?”
“Student Viktor.”
“Ah! I happen to have a potion I always carry with me. It isn't especially potent, but I think it would be good to apply it.”
“Student Viktor. It is fine, so please stop...”
“If it is bothersome, I can apply it for you. Investigator, you only need to stay still...”
“Student Viktor!!!”
“...”
“...”
In the end, she shouted.
She felt nauseated.
Her stomach churned.
It felt as if her vision were shaking in every direction.
Her hand moved without thought, pushing away the boy who stood so close.
“Investigator...?”
Viktor landed on his backside.
He stared blankly up at Javert.
A small vial was in his hand.
It must have broken when he fell, because its contents streamed across the floor.
“...Ah.”
Javert stopped breathing.
The warmth of the boy's hand still lingered faintly on her cheek.
-Is there perhaps someone in that robe who should not be there?
Why.
Why did those words keep echoing in her ears?
Javert pressed a hand to her brow.
A splitting headache tormented her.
As each breath continued precariously...
“M-Mom...”
A voice came from behind her.
The girl had been hidden beside the desk the whole time.
“Mom... are you fighting with Dad...?”
Lua.
Her tearful eyes stared at the two of them.
The girl hurried over and tightly gripped Javert's sleeve.
“Don't fight... Mom...”
Tears fell in heavy drops.
Frightened eyes.
Tiny hands.
And the form of address, Mom, filled with pleading.
“Sniff... Mom...”
“...”
And so,
Javert could only stand frozen for a long time.
Footnotes:
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