WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 114: In the Abyss: Survival

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『...Fallen Star. A star of the military state has fallen.』

The golem's tone as it announced the lieutenant general's death was darker than ever.

『Murdering a general is an unforgivable crime, one that cannot be covered up by anything. Even if they... invaded with some seditious purpose, only the military state has the authority to uncover and punish their crimes. Everyone here is a criminal who caused a Fallen Star. You have become enemies of the military state.』

"Haah..."

I had hoped it knew nothing, but apparently it had slipped out of the cafeteria and witnessed some of what happened.

Then again, after that much chaos, it would have been stranger if it had known nothing. Besides, the military state would grow suspicious if a lieutenant general never appeared.

I spoke carefully.

"So, the conclusion is..."

『...This unit cannot say with certainty what instructions will come down, but one thing is certain. No further supplies will arrive.』

"Damn it!"

I knew it! We had fought a lieutenant general. There was no way they would do nothing!

While I cursed and pounded the floor, the regressor, who had been leaning against the cafeteria wall, muttered darkly.

"Then there's no reason to leave the golem alive anymore, is there?"

『...I beg your pardon?』

"I was going to get rid of them all, but I left one since there was supposedly an Instructor here. But that thing isn't even an Instructor, right? Now that we're openly hostile, there's no reason to keep a golem around."

She reached over her head, grabbed Skywarbler, and trudged toward the golem. The golem hastily stepped back.

『Negative. Please wait. This unit wishes to object to your judgment.』

"Object to what? You're the military state's eyes. Nothing good has ever come from leaving you people around. Goodbye."

『Wait...!』

I raised a hand to stop the regressor from splitting the golem in half.

"Wait, Shei."

"Why now?"

"Since it's trapped in the cafeteria anyway, do we really need to get rid of it immediately?"

"There's even less reason not to."

Tsk, tsk. She only knew one thing and not the next, this regressor.

The golem being trapped in the cafeteria meant the military state's means of obtaining information were limited. In that case, it was better to leave it alive than erase it. We could feed false information through their only remaining channel.

Plant false information in the enemy's head and lure them into lowering their guard. That was the foundation of information warfare.

Fake. Intel.

I mouthed the words at the regressor.

"What? Don't just move your lips. Say it."

"Ah, damn it! We really can't get on the same page! I'm saying we should keep it because we're going to use the golem!"

I ended up shouting.

The regressor finally went, "Ah," while a dazed voice came from the golem.

『...Use me, you say?』

"Oh, dear."

Oh, dear.

We tied up the golem's arms and legs, blindfolded it, and locked it inside a box. It was unavoidable now that we had become enemies of the military state.

Sorry, Captain AB. But you could cut off the sync, so you'd be fine, right? Call it a vacation and relax with an ice-cold beer.

Afterward, we gathered in the classroom to discuss what to do next. Everyone attended except Callis, who was injured.

"All right. Let's assume our supplies have been cut off as of today."

For once, the regressor stood in front of the blackboard. It was a deeply awkward sight, enough to give me cognitive dissonance.

An elementary school graduate... teaching a class?

The regressor tapped the blackboard with Skywarbler.

"From now on, we're managing our food."

The remaining food supplies were written on the board.

Bean cans: 42. Meat cans: 2.

The numbers were hopeless, and so was the ratio. Beans were nutritious, but anyone would get sick of them after eating too many. More importantly, forty-two was not enough.

"There are five people here who need food. Even if we ration it carefully and eat one can a day, it'll run out in forty-two days."

"Hm? Me, the lieutenant colonel, the teacher, the kid, the dog lady, and the cat lady. Excluding the vampire lady because she's a vampire, doesn't that make six?"

At the Immortal's question, the regressor waved a hand.

"Ah, exclude me. I have Manhan Quanxi."

"What's that?"

"It's a treasure from the old Empire, the Empire before it split apart. If you put ingredients inside beforehand, it prepares three meals a day. Before coming here, I loaded it with a huge amount of ingredients. Enough for about ten years."

"What? You've been eating delicious food all by yourself!"

"But it has restrictions. Once something goes into its pocket dimension, it can't be taken back out. And only I can pick food up from the plate. This treasure was made solely for one person, the Emperor."

The Immortal grumbled.

"What kind of treasure is that?"

"I agree. All old Empire treasures are like this. Luxurious and useful in small ways, but full of restrictions, so they're hard to use for anything else."

The regressor casually shrugged. I asked her,

"Can't you just give us a bite at a time?"

"Once or twice, sure. I don't want to do that every time."

"Tsk. Then don't brag about it."

As I grumbled, the regressor wore a confident expression and finally got to the point.

"Of course, I didn't bring this up for nothing. I've prepared separate ingredients for all of you."

She created a crack in the air and rummaged around inside it. What emerged from her personal pocket dimension was a sack overflowing with food.

There were grains like rice, potatoes, and flour. Three chunks of salted meat, liquor and spices stored in glass bottles, and even twenty cans of meat.

The liquor and spices were all premium goods worth as much as their weight in gold.

Azzy caught the scent, pricked up her ears, and drooled. Even the Immortal's eyes went wide. Mine nearly rolled back, and I had to straighten up.

"Will this do?"

The regressor puffed out her chest. Having endured unsatisfying meals in this isolated place, I swallowed hard.

"What is all this? You've been hiding things like this until now?"

"There was no reason to use limited resources while you were receiving supplies."

"So you brought it out now that the supplies have been cut off? Couldn't you have done that sooner? If we'd had this from the start, we wouldn't have lived like that for the last few months. You're so greedy."

"Greedy? I guess you don't need food, then. I'll put it back..."

"No. You're the greatest prisoner in history."

Before the regressor could change her mind, I gave her a series of thumbs-ups and inspected the supplies.

Looking closer, it wasn't only the liquor and spices that were premium goods. The rice was Fresh Rice, so filling that a single grain felt like a full meal, and the flour was the finest wheat from the golden plains, every grain glowing gold.

The potatoes, prepared for self-sufficiency, were a hardy variety that could fill an entire field if planted as they were. We couldn't grow them in the Abyss, but if there had been soil, they alone would have let us hold out for ages.

"And the meat is black pork raised on wild acorns and herbs in an oak forest... This is crazy. We could live like royalty."

"Don't get too excited. They're all premium goods, but food doesn't last forever. We need to survive the remaining nine months on this."

"Nine months? Why nine months?"

The regressor hesitated at my question, as if wondering whether she should reveal this information.

'If we're going to endure for the remaining time anyway, it's better to know the period. I've already mentioned nine months. There's no need to keep them anxious by hiding more.'

Her hesitation was brief.

"Nine months. After that... you'll probably be able to escape this place. Someone will come down here."

"Who?"

"Someone exists. Someone who can destroy this Abyss..."

"With brute force? By pounding it apart?"

"Not like that. I mean someone who can truly erase it, conceptually."

'The strongest earth mage of this era, the Agent of the Earth Mother... the Ground Serpent That Swallows the Sky, who will become the Sanctum's nightmare.'

Even those scattered thoughts gave me a sense of her might. Even that rude regressor feared and respected her.

Perhaps she didn't even want to think about it, because the recollection soon stopped. Still, that alone let me sense how terrifyingly dangerous she was.

But...

Why was she even thinking of fighting someone like that?

"...Anyway. I heard from a source that she plans to erase this place. Once she lifts the curse on it, this land will return to its original form."

'That source was me from the previous regression. Many things have changed this time, but this won't. Not considering the strength of her will.'

Nine months. The declaration that we could escape after surviving that long carried weight. The Immortal was greatly relieved.

"Ooh! That's good! Nine months is manageable!"

Tyr, who had entered this place voluntarily, didn't show it outwardly, but she was pleased as well.

'...I do not dislike the simple, peaceful life here. But it must be different for Hyu. He must miss warm sunlight and the wind brushing past his ears.'

Her gaze turned toward me. A faint smile bloomed beautifully on her lips.

'Yes. Now that I have reclaimed this life, perhaps leisurely traveling outside would not be so bad.'

Haha. That was a little burdensome. Why did I feel like I was about to become her world-travel guide?

Still, everyone reacted well. The regressor was encouraged by their positive response.

"Anyway, that's all I have to say. Any questions?"

I raised a hand.

"What are you going to do about Nabi's magic herb?"

"We'll figure something out by then."

"You don't have a plan again?"

"Don't worry too much. If it comes down to it, I'll personally..."

'If I still can't cure her addiction by then, there'll be no choice. I'll keep her barely alive for as long as possible, then let her go peacefully before we leave. I planned to overturn the Lords of All Creation as soon as we got out anyway. If I wipe them out before they find a new King of Cats, it'll be fine. I can't care for Nabi forever...'

What was that? She had spoken as though she would raise Nabi forever. Had she saved Nabi purely for practical reasons?

Just as the regressor was about to declare something with a cold expression,

Meow.

Nabi cried outside the door.

The regressor opened the classroom door, puzzled.

"Nabi? What's wrong..."

But Nabi had already vanished. Instead, a shining crystal orb rolled across the floor in front of the door. It looked as if Nabi had taken it from the remains of the golem in the administration office.

'What could the intention behind this be...? No, that can't be. Nabi is the King of Cats...'

Even her instinctive wariness did not extend to a Beast King.

The regressor looked touched for a moment, then carefully held the crystal orb in her hands. She muttered,

"...I'll figure something out."

"What? What does that mean?"

"I'll figure it out! We have sixty magic herb cigars, don't we? We can think about it in sixty days!"

The regressor shouted.

She grew attached so easily, judging by how touched she was by such a small gift.

The thorns in her heart were simply sharp, but once she grew attached to someone, it seemed it would carry over even into the next regression.

Come to think of it, she had been friendly with Tyr from the beginning, hadn't she? Hadn't she said they had formed quite a deep bond in the previous regression?

"But did you know?"

I had no intention of staying in a place like this for nine months. I spoke confidently.

"We don't need to wait nine whole months. Ninety days will be enough."

Footnotes:

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