WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

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◈ Omniscient First-Person's Viewpoint

Chapter 112

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Aftermath - 1

Tantalus split in half.

The bigger something gets, the harder it is to bear its own weight without cracking. That's why icicles can't grow forever, and why even the mightiest empires in history eventually broke apart.

Tantalus had endured every kind of falling debris without issue, but like everything else, it was split cleanly in two by problems from within.

Specifically,

"A beast that attacked a person should be beaten to death on the spot! What do you mean, spare it?!"

"It's already been neutralized! We don't have to kill it!"

because the regressor and I disagreed.

Furious at that logic-free argument, I glared and shouted.

"You can cut off a human arm just fine, but you can't wring a cat's neck? It's people like you that make cats strut around with their heads high like they own the place!"

The regressor shouted back.

"Killing it won't help anything! Nabi is the King of Cats, and a Beast King is a valuable asset! As long as we don't hand it over to them, that's enough!"

Beside the yelling regressor, Nabi lay sprawled across the training room floor, wheezing faintly.

After taking Tyr's punch, Nabi was at death's door. It had lashed out on instinct, but that was no more than a dying struggle.

At the last moment, Azzy charged in and bit Nabi's ankle, and Nabi couldn't shake her off. Azzy clamped down and whipped her head from side to side. The leg snapped with a crack, and Nabi's body painted alternating bloodstains across wall and floor. A cat bitten by a dog became a mangled mess.

Nabi lost consciousness, but Azzy had no intention of stopping. If the regressor hadn't intervened, it would have ended there.

Looking at Nabi lying there like a beast facing death, entrusting its life and safety entirely to the other side.

I felt nothing. I couldn't read a beast's thoughts.

And I had no need to.

"Even if a Beast King dies, another one appears somewhere in the world anyway! Just kill it! Then go raise a clean cat that isn't doped up and hasn't gotten a taste for blood!"

"We can't even leave the Abyss right now, and how do you know where the next King of Cats will appear? This is our chance, now that we have one in hand. If we tame it properly like this."

"You always talk big and never raise anything! I can already see you half-neglecting it, and me ending up raising it anyway! I said I don't want to raise a junkie cat!"

"I-it'll be different this time! And if it's a King of Cats that can live fine on its own, then there won't even be much to do!"

"The second you say that, you've already disqualified yourself!"

Our positions stayed perfectly parallel.

I wanted to kill Nabi now for immediate peace.

The regressor wanted to keep Nabi alive to prevent a future disaster.

As the standoff sharpened, Tyr, who had been watching silently, stepped in.

The scale had been hanging in perfect balance. Tyr came to my side, added one vote, and stared at Nabi with a cold expression.

"I side with Hyu. This Beast King is unstable in many ways, so it would be better to deal with it now. Especially if it has already attacked us."

"Ugh...."

I'd picked my line well. Tyr always backed me, so my words gained weight and authority. Look at that. The regressor who'd been yelling at me clamped her mouth shut.

So this was what it felt like to borrow a tiger's power. Sweet.

I pressed the advantage and called my underling, no, my under-dog too.

"Azzy!"

"Woof!"

"Should we spare this bad cat that tried to attack humans, or kill it? What do you think?"

"Bark, bark. Grrr."

"Death penalty, death penalty. Immediate death penalty, she says."

Azzy was kind even to other beasts, but merciless toward beasts that attacked humans.

It had even broken her own arm, so there was no way she'd forgive it. Azzy bared her teeth at the cat at once.

That made two of Tantalus's strongest fighters on my side. What now, regressor?

'Tch. If the Beast King ends up with the Lords of All Creation, the odds of them going berserk go up! Not just beasts, beastkin too! But how do I explain that!'

She was stuck, unable to explain.

"Just a moment.... Please let me speak."

On the far side, a pale-faced Callis forced herself up. She lost her balance and staggered, and the immortal nearby caught her.

"Thank you, Rashy...."

"It's nothing. This is too little to deserve thanks!"

Callis gave a slight nod, then staggered toward us.

Callis had been run through the back by Claw, and survived only thanks to Tyr's bloodcraft and Azzy's grooming. But she had only just survived.

In this Tantalus, she was the next most ordinary person after me, and three blades through the torso was a severe wound for an ordinary person. Bad enough that collapsing on the spot wouldn't have been strange.

"...This officer, no, I oppose killing it."

She was standing there by sheer willpower, and that was what she said. I scrunched up my face and fired back.

"Huh? Sorry? Could you say that again, Lieutenant Colonel Callis of the Lords of All Creation?"

"...That is exactly why I'm saying this. I served there, so this is my opinion. Please take it only as reference."

Callis addressed me with strict respect. I was about to snap at her, but then it hit me that I, a Level 0 citizen, was being treated politely by a Level 3 lieutenant colonel, and suddenly I felt great.

Revolution really was this sweet. Fine, let's hear it.

"The Lords of All Creation are trying to use Beast Kings as weapons.... And they've prepared ways to find Beast Kings, along with means to control them. Even if a new King of Cats appears, it will quickly fall into their hands."

"Do we really need to care about that? Whatever the Lords of All Creation do with a cat, isn't it safer to get rid of the crazy cat right in front of us? You're a regular person like me. If things go wrong, that junkie cat could attack and kill you too."

'A regular person? The one who calmly strangled a military-state colonel to death is a regular person...?'

That rude thought never made it out of her mouth.

Looks like she had good sense, too. Keeping that thought to herself, Callis answered calmly.

"...Maybe. But the King of Dogs seemed to be some kind of... special being to them. If their forces recover...."

"They might come looking again? And then it could become even more dangerous?"

"Th-that's right. Ngh."

After forcing out her last words, Callis sagged into the immortal's arms. He quickly supported her.

"Well done! Your words have been delivered in full, Lieutenant Colonel!"

Then the immortal immediately added a word to me.

"Oh, and for the record, I also vote to keep Miss Cat alive!"

"Why?"

"If I'm counted, that makes it a fair three to three, doesn't it!"

Even after making the serious mistake of counting Azzy as headcount, the immortal gave a proud thumbs-up. Instead of pointing out the error, I said,

"No, don't act like some guardian of balance with nonsense like that. It's people like you that add chaos to this world!"

"Haha! Even so, isn't living better than dying?"

Coming from an immortal, he sure cared a lot about life.

He laughed heartily and shrugged.

"But that's only the view of one who doesn't die, and I haven't done anything for Miss Cat myself, so I can't force the issue! Take my opinion as just an opinion! I leave the judgment to all of you! Now then, I'll escort the Lieutenant Colonel for a moment!"

He immediately slid an arm under Callis's legs and lifted her up. Callis leaned against his chest, breathing hard.

"S-sorry.... I'm still not fully recovered."

"Ahem! You must take care of yourself. I can stay fine even if my body gets torn apart, but those who die easily, like you, have to rest even from minor injuries!"

"Thank... you... every time...."

"Haha. Save your thanks for now and focus on recovering."

"I will surely... repay this...."

"Ahem. I said it's fine! You can repay me all at once once you're fully healed, so don't worry. Getting repaid bit by bit is a hassle!"

The immortal lifted her without difficulty, but Callis couldn't keep her balance. She shifted her posture in his arms, and ended up pressed tightly against him.

Right after that, the immortal tilted his head upward and made a sound like a fake cough.

"Ahem. Ahemhm."

"Rashy...? Is there... some problem?"

"Aha! Nothing at all!"

'Hmm. We're touching a little, but if I point it out, won't we both get embarrassed? What should I do!'

Holding Callis in his arms, the immortal tilted his head and thought for a moment.

...Without noticing that Callis, in his arms, had narrowed her eyes sharply.

'Well, if bodies touch while helping someone, that can't be helped! The Lieutenant Colonel doesn't seem to mind, so as long as I don't show it, it's fine! I'll treat this as a lucky windfall and gratefully enjoy it!'

Idiot. You're the one about to get eaten.

From what I read in his thoughts, if they went back to her room like this, Callis would start chattering from the cold. Then the immortal would think it was another windfall and hug her. And since her body temperature really was low from blood loss, he'd seriously try to warm her up.

What happened after that, I couldn't say. What fate awaited that barbarian swept up in a meticulous, lightning-fast assault operation drafted by a military-state lieutenant colonel?

Peeping isn't polite, so I'd clear out the fourth floor for a bit later.

After the immortal and Callis left, I scratched my chin and said,

"Anyway, headcount is three to three. So the votes are tied."

I casually counted Azzy as headcount, declared it a tie as if that were settled fact, and slid right past it. Luckily, the regressor failed to notice that major error and said,

"Then it's a temporary stay?"

"No. Not even close."

A temporary stay meant leaving it alive for now. I couldn't allow that.

Compared to a danger that might come in the future, or might not, it's better to remove the certain danger right in front of me. Unless you're a prophet, you can't see the future. That's always been my long-held creed.

But to push past the regressor's opposition... I had no choice but to use that.

I rotated my right arm in circles and muttered,

"The great sages of history prepared many ways to resolve conflict in times like this."

"You mean... a duel?"

'Three to three...? Tch. No chance if Tyrkanzyaka and Azzy are on his side too. Should I suggest a captain match? I did want to spar at least once....'

"What idiot talks about duels here? Are you crazy?"

And a captain match on top of that, no less. If you have no common sense, at least have some shame.

"Then what are we using?"

"Rock-paper-scissors. The fairest match, proven by history."

"You're deciding Nabi's life or death with rock-paper-scissors?"

"Then what, do you have another method? Want a real duel? Just so you know, I'm a nation that possesses Tyrkanzyaka. If you're confident, come at me."

I pointed at Tyr with complete confidence.

Tyr flinched, then clasped both hands and fidgeted.

'H-he says I am his... though I never gave permission for such an arrogant declaration, how presumptuous.... And yet, why does it not feel as unpleasant as I expected...?'

No, that's not what I meant. I meant I had asymmetric force on my side.

Anyway, the regressor took it exactly as intended. She accepted my proposal with obvious displeasure.

"Tch, fine. If that's what we're doing, let's do it."

"Don't drag it out. One round. Nabi's life depends on your fist."

"I said fine."

Good. She took the bait.

Rock-paper-scissors. Scissors beat paper, paper beats rock, rock beats scissors. A simple game.

People rarely think while playing rock-paper-scissors. Most people don't think at all until they throw, then decide reflexively in the moment.

But under certain conditions, rock-paper-scissors turns into a fierce mind game full of prediction battles.

And once it becomes a mind game, I always win as a mind reader.

"I'll throw rock. A real man throws rock."

Hiding my true thoughts, I raised my fist.

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