WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 101: Star of the Military State

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The two officers carried an unusual air.

One was a burly officer who seemed to have benefited greatly from a clothing packet. Without one, they would have needed clothes tailored to fit that massive body.

Half a step ahead of them walked a tall officer with perfect posture. Even while descending the stairs, his upper body did not sway in the slightest.

What stood out was that his officer's uniform, unlike the ordinary kind, was an elegant dark blue. Two shining stars rested on his chest in place of medals.

As though that alone was enough to explain who he was.

And it was.

"A general..."

Those who had brought down emperors.

Walking wars.

Stars of the military state.

In the military state's history, built with blood and iron, that was what the stars on one's chest meant. Overwhelmed before them, Callis instinctively began to salute.

"Sal..."

"Wait. I go first."

Ebon stopped Callis with one hand, then stood straight and made a solemn declaration.

"I report my arrival. I am Lieutenant General Ebon Crimsonwild, appointed as Tantalus's Director of Training and instructor while also investigating this incident. From this moment onward, Tantalus falls under my command."

It was a formal report.

Yet his words carried weight, as much weight as the authority behind them.

He had only spoken, yet it felt as though Tantalus had fallen into his grasp. His power, the authority of the military state, settled heavily over us.

While everyone stared at him, Nabi had already approached Ebon and begun pestering him.

"Nyaaa! You're late, nya!"

Lieutenant General Ebon calmly placated Nabi, far more mature and quiet than the cat.

"Nabi. Unlike you, we cannot land lightly on our feet. From such a height, we have no choice but to rely on parachutes."

"Nya! Enough! Hand over the offering already, nya!"

"Sigh. You're getting impatient more and more often..."

"Nyat!"

Lieutenant General Ebon sighed, then glanced at the officer who had followed him down.

"Colonel. That."

"Yes, sir!"

The colonel pulled a paper-wrapped stick from a square cardboard box. I immediately recognized it.

A magic herb cigarette.

The instant it was halfway exposed, Nabi snatched it away like lightning.

As though possessed, Nabi sliced through the paper with her claws, shoved her nose into the stick, and began sniffing. Her breaths came fast and ragged, as if she were hyperventilating.

After inhaling the scent for a while, Nabi smiled in ecstasy.

"Nyahak! Nyahyaah... Nya..."

Her pupils went slack. Letting out melted moans through her teeth, Nabi swayed drunkenly.

A magic herb leaf cigarette made only for the King of Cats, rolled with catnip and World Tree leaves.

It was an offering that combined a cat's tastes, human technology, and the vitality of the World Tree.

At the same time... it was also a means of controlling the King of Cats.

"Nya, hah, hih, nyaha..."

Drool streamed from Nabi's mouth. Her supple body twisted this way and that as she shuddered all over, indulging in the scent like a madwoman.

Lieutenant General Ebon asked, "Are you satisfied, Nabi?"

His words were respectful, but there was not a shred of respect in Ebon's eyes as he looked at Nabi. He simply looked down at the King of Cats coldly, as though she were an object.

Nabi, who had been rolling around by herself, held out the magic herb cigarette and cried out.

"Nyaha! Fiiire! Light it, nya!"

"Nabi, didn't I tell you? This is a contract. If I offer tribute, you must catch the rat for me. That is the contract, isn't it?"

"Nya! Then hurry up and tell me, nya! What does Nya have to do?"

"Please wait a moment. It will be here soon."

Just as he muttered that, a fierce wind blew through the corridor. At the same time, the regressor, who had raced through the air, landed at the far end of the hall. She shouted with a grave expression.

"Something just landed on the rooftop...!"

She did not get to finish.

Nabi, worked into a frenzy, lunged at her in an instant.

"Is it you, nya!"

"Ugh?!"

She was not as fast as Azzy, but a stealth that seemed to swallow sound concealed Nabi's form. In the blink of an eye, Nabi closed in on the regressor and threateningly raised her forepaw.

Even caught off guard, the regressor responded with the Heaven-Reversing Boundary. She raised her arm to match Nabi's movement and drew Skywarbler. Compressed space unfolded and pushed them apart...

Even so, Nabi's momentum did not falter. Her forepaw blurred, and the regressor reflexively turned her head.

Slice.

A line of blood ran down her cheek.

The regressor shouted, "King of Cats!"

"Nyahaa! Become an offering, nya!"

Thump.

The regressor kicked Nabi away and leaped back. Nabi lightly stepped on the stair rail before flying toward the regressor.

The two vanished into the distance in an instant. Soon after, a tremendous crash rang out, as though the world were breaking apart.

Lieutenant General Ebon clicked his tongue as he watched Nabi disappear.

"Tsk. She'll break down soon enough... Is it because she's wearing a human body? She breaks down much like a human does."

Only then did Lieutenant General Ebon turn his attention to Callis and me, huddled together in one corner.

Callis had been tense, and only saluted after Ebon's gaze returned to her.

"Loyalty. Lieutenant General Ebon. It is an honor to meet you."

"And you are?"

"I am Lieutenant Colonel Callis Kritz. I came to Tantalus as a supply inspector and was stranded here."

Lieutenant General Ebon furrowed his brow, then sighed as if he had only just recognized Callis.

"Ah. I didn't recognize you for a moment because you aren't wearing an officer's uniform. Lieutenant Colonel. You were alive."

"Y-Yes, sir."

"I thought you had certainly died when all four jewels shattered. It appears you were more capable than I expected, Lieutenant Colonel."

Callis's eyes widened.

"The jewels? How did you...?"

Lieutenant General Ebon smiled kindly at Callis.

"If you know, why ask, Lieutenant Colonel? Isn't it obvious? I am your sponsor."

Callis had already realized it deep down.

At this moment, the only people who would come all the way to the Abyss with the King of Cats in tow... were the Lords of All Creation.

Still, after she had just betrayed them by selling information, she could not bring herself to accept it.

Fortunately, Lieutenant General Ebon had not noticed Callis's betrayal and showed her goodwill.

"We have never met in person before, but I knew of you, Lieutenant Colonel. I knew every medal you received."

"It is an honor."

"I may have provided the opportunity, but without your abilities, you could not have achieved any of it. You may take pride in yourself."

Callis, who had nearly been driven to suicide a moment ago, looked bewildered by Ebon's attitude. Regardless, Lieutenant General Ebon smiled warmly at her.

"I came here under the pretext of investigating what happened around Tantalus. Now, your evaluation will depend on my report. Of course, as I am your sponsor, I intend to clear away every suspicion hanging over you."

"Th-Thank you."

"It is only natural for people on the same side. Of course, you must complete your mission first."

Words that held intentions as deep and dark as an ocean trench.

The truth was slowly revealing itself.

The golem had said an investigation team, including a general, was coming to thoroughly investigate Callis's fall into the Abyss and the series of events surrounding it.

But if Callis had successfully completed her task and lured Azzy out... who would send Azzy to the surface? An investigation team including a star of the military state, a general, was about to arrive.

Simple.

The investigation team that included a general. They were the Lords of All Creation.

From the beginning, the Lords of All Creation had intended to push Callis into Tantalus first, then arrive under the pretext of investigating her.

After all, a general needed a reason to come all the way out to this remote place.

And in that case, dealing with Callis would be easy too. They could pull her out of the Abyss and reuse her, or bury her beneath it for good. Their options would be wide open.

So she really had been a disposable pawn from the start, Lieutenant Colonel Callis.

Who had betrayed whom first in this case? That would make for an interesting question.

Still seeing Callis as an ally, Lieutenant General Ebon said, "Even in a dangerous situation where every being in Tantalus was hostile to you, it seems you did not use your escape packet. Is that the spirit of never retreating in battle? Excellent, Lieutenant Colonel."

"Thank you. It is an honor that you recognized it..."

"That courage of yours called us here. We were waiting only for you to escape with the King of Dogs. But when you did not emerge, we took the risk and came here ourselves to save you and complete the mission!"

Of course, it was a lie.

The escape packet was meant to send someone out of this world. Since Callis was alive, they mistakenly assumed she had not used it, then brazenly spun lies to restore the motivation of someone who had nearly died.

"Now that we have arrived, there is no need to worry, Lieutenant Colonel. You need only carry out your mission. Take us to the King of Dogs immediately. Then every achievement will be yours."

Callis's body trembled.

The escape packet that had tried to force her suicide had nearly killed her only moments ago.

Yet Lieutenant General Ebon, who called himself Callis's sponsor, calmly lied that the Lords of All Creation had come for her sake.

Ebon lied with chilling ease. Callis felt an instinctive revulsion.

But.

'There is... no way not to obey.'

As she looked at Lieutenant General Ebon's benevolent smile, Callis desperately forced down her trembling.

'He's a star of the military state, a general. At the same time, he's a member of the secret society, the Lords of All Creation. He even commands the King of Cats.'

To survive this moment, she had to attach herself to them again, no matter how pathetic it was. She had to erase the fact that they had almost killed her from her mind, be blinded by the credit she would earn, and swear loyalty to them.

That was the sensible bet...

'Is it really?'

Callis's conflict deepened, and just as Lieutenant General Ebon's smile was about to crack, the immortal firmly grabbed Callis by the shoulder and shoved her forward.

"Why are you standing there in a daze just because you almost died? Pull yourself together! Lieutenant Colonel, you aren't dead yet!"

Callis hurriedly came to her senses at the immortal's words and answered.

"It's all right. I couldn't have accomplished anything alone. I nearly died instead... It's as though I have no achievements to claim."

"I did not ask for such humility. Still, it is a virtue among people like us."

Lieutenant General Ebon nodded, then looked at the immortal smiling behind Callis.

"You are the immortal trainee, Rashy. Correct?"

"Precisely!"

"Seeing you awake, it seems the lieutenant colonel has been indebted to you."

"I am the one indebted to her! She gave me a World Tree leaf when I had collapsed!"

Since Lieutenant General Ebon was the one who had given Callis that World Tree leaf, he did not find its mention strange.

Lieutenant General Ebon nodded.

"Hmm. I am glad you are an immortal who knows courtesy. Let me add that I still find it strange that you are confined in Tantalus."

"There is a saying that when in the Empire, one follows the Empire's laws! If one commits a crime, one must naturally be punished!"

"No, it is not always so. There are people who believe the military state's laws are their personal weapons and use them to commit every sort of rudeness. Even tearing apart and killing those who treat the law as their friend, as you did, would not be enough. Sometimes I feel like doing it myself."

Rarely, the immortal's face twisted into a deep frown. Without hiding the displeasure written all over it, he said, "What a bad habit, bringing up a person's shameful past! Don't do that. If I could return to that time, I would rather cover my ears and run away!"

At that unexpected response, Lieutenant General Ebon blinked his golden eyes, then readily apologized.

"My apologies, trainee. I only wished to explain my position. In any case, are you not a good person who tried to protect even laborers you had no connection to? I believed you would help the lieutenant colonel..."

"You speak as though you predicted everything."

The immortal shrugged.

"Well, enough of that. I shall be going now. Please take care of the lieutenant colonel."

"Going? Where do you mean to go?"

"I am going to where those two are fighting!"

"What for?"

The immortal answered Ebon's question as though it were obvious.

"Should I not stop their fight? The boy may be strong, but he still has a young body. If he gets hurt, things will be difficult later. And the cat lady is in a very strange state! I ought to do my best to stop them. I cannot die, so I am perfectly suited to that role!"

Lieutenant General Ebon's expression turned strange. He watched the immortal with a gaze that might have been interest or displeasure, then muttered, "You are... an even kinder person than I expected."

Footnotes:

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