WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 125: A Happy Occasion

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A happy event that made you want to boast to everyone was called a joyous occasion.

When one occurred, people wanted to tell the whole world. They congratulated one another, shared their joy, and strengthened their bonds.

I was no different.

To receive congratulations for the joyous occasion of Jiseon's arrival, I headed to the warehouse. On the way, I greeted the regressor, who was leaning against a wall, lost in thought for some reason. Then I entered the warehouse and stopped in front of a closed box.

Some unfortunate being was trapped inside. I opened the lid, and that being...

"Nya?"

A wild Nabi appeared.

My eyes met Nabi's; she had squeezed herself into the cramped box.

"Why are you in there?"

"Why are you disturbing Nya's rest, then?"

Nabi glared at me as though asking what I was looking at. I gestured toward her.

"Move whatever you're sitting on so I can take it out."

"Nya?"

Even in that tiny box, Nabi somehow managed to shift around. She wriggled, lowering her head and raising her tail, then rolled over like a fetus swimming in the womb before poking her head back out.

A golem, bound with wire and twitching, dangled from Nabi's mouth.

"Nyaa. Take it, nya. Nya doesn't need a tin-can toy like this..."

Since she said that with it still in her mouth, the golem's body rattled up and down. I scratched Nabi beneath the chin and took the golem from her.

Nabi glared at me with slightly upturned eyes and muttered,

"Nyaa. That big female smells dangerous, nya."

"Still better than the mana herb smell coming off you, isn't it?"

"Offerings are sacred, nya!"

Not a single chain-smoker I had ever met had called cigarettes sacred. Just how addicted was she?

Nabi grumbled from inside the box.

"That thing is dangerous, nya. Those stupid mutts can't even sense anything strange and just wag their tails, but Nya knows... You can't fool Nya..."

That was rich coming from someone who had been trained by drugs and manipulated by a cat beastkin. I couldn't hold back.

"Of course someone you can't beat would seem dangerous to you. By that logic, aren't most of the people here dangerous to you?"

When I struck her with that irrefutable truth, Nabi hissed.

"Nyah! Be grateful Nya is in here, nya! Otherwise, Nya would've taught you a lesson right away..."

I closed the lid, and the noise faded. Once the box became too cramped for her to move, I could hear her purring contentedly from inside.

An animal that liked cramped spaces. What a strange creature. A certain golem groaned when you tied it up.

Leaving Nabi where she was, I started putting the golem back together.

First, I reattached the speaker to its mouth, untied the wires around its arms and legs, and removed the blindfold from its eyes.

Then...

『...Phew!』

The golem came back to life.

For some reason, it kept its mouth firmly shut after regaining its senses. I tapped its head and spoke.

"You have a rough idea of what's going on, right?"

『....』

"Hehehe. So you do know. Jiseon came here, you see?"

It was watching the surface, so there was no way it wouldn't know.

It probably knew why Jiseon had come, too. Maybe because this communications officer was Tantalus's administrator, but it seemed to know an oddly great deal.

I bragged about Tantalus's joyous occasion to the communications officer, who could do nothing but watch this situation unfold.

"Hahaha. What are we going to do? It looks like we'll be getting out of here soon!"

『...Urgh.』

"On top of that, the brigadier general herself is getting us out! Now that's legal, isn't it?"

『Objection! That is utterly unacceptable! Laborers such as yourself must be punished under military law, and leaving your assigned post without permission before completing your labor is a grave crime!』

"But the brigadier general says she's going to erase the Abyss. What are you going to do about it? As a mere... captain?"

『...Urgh!』

"Come down here and stop her, then."

『If I could!』

It really was strange. It was obviously a golem, yet it had more vocal variations than any person I knew. Right now, it was even making a sound like it was biting its lip.

『It will never happen, but even if the military authorities release you! This officer will not forget your cruel and brutal acts...!』

How many cruel and brutal things had I done? I had only played with a golem and forced it to answer me.

Still, for something whose thoughts I couldn't read, this golem was easy to understand.

I asked casually,

"Administrator, would you perhaps like to see what's happening here right now?"

The golem replied as though it had completely forgotten how it had been cursing me out just moments ago.

『...If, if that is possible?』

"What would we need to do to make it possible?"

Learning was not exclusive to humans, but human learning was somewhat faster and contained an innate element.

The golem I had trained so far hesitated a little, but still made its decision faster than before.

『...W-would you like to take a walk together, oppa?』

"What? Who do you think you're calling oppa? Do I look like the kind of sucker who'll do anything just because someone calls him oppa?"

The golem's joints creaked for a moment. Then it raised its head pitifully and looked at me.

Human learning was somewhat faster and contained an innate element, so when an existing reward circuit was damaged, it quickly fed that information back.

It would've been fun to refuse its request and throw it back into the warehouse, but it was a shame to break it already.

"That's right! I am a sucker! Come on, let's go!"

Before the golem could say anything, I picked it up and started walking.

Food and supplies were neatly stacked in boxes around the yard. Most of the food had been stored in cans. Military state cans could be recycled as long as one knew alchemy, so we had decided to make full use of them.

That made things harder for me, since I was the only person here who could use alchemy.

I took a can from one of the boxes and opened it. Inside was gleaming white Fresh Rice, packed tightly. I held it in front of the golem's eyes.

"Look. We're packing our things. This is what will keep us fed after we break out of here."

『...Kgh!』

Seeing it with its own eyes seemed to make it real. Carrying the groaning golem, I continued boasting about our joyous occasion.

"Who do you think made all this possible? Jiseon, who came here!"

I pointed at Jiseon, who was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the yard. As she sensed the veins of the land, Jiseon noticed my and the golem's footsteps and turned her head.

"Ah, a messenger of the military state. It has been a long time.... But what should this humble one call you?"

"Please call me Hughes! If we're not close enough for you to use my name yet, you can call me hey, you, or bastard. Anything is fine!"

"How could a traveler speak so carelessly? Forgive my discourtesy, but this humble one shall call you by name."

"Thank you! Yes! Jiseon called me by name!"

Jiseon had called me by name herself. A lifetime achievement. If I bragged about it to those old engineering corps members in the city, they'd be green with envy.

Anyway, I pulled the golem hanging from my side forward and held it out. The golem hurriedly saluted as though overwhelmed.

『Loyalty. I am Captain AB, communications officer of the military state! This officer monitors and manages Tantalus, and first welcomes the brigadier general's return!』

"Thank you. Yet this humble one has not returned. This humble one has only come to erase the Abyss."

『I have a report concerning that! Brigadier General, could you delay the erasure of the Abyss for just a little while?』

Jiseon raised an eyebrow slightly at the golem's proposal.

"Is that the military state's will?"

『Affirmative. The military authorities have not yet conducted an environmental assessment concerning the disappearance of the Abyss. We are not even certain whether the Abyss can disappear....』

"There is no need for concern. This humble one has confirmed it time and again."

『...Furthermore, there are the international conditions that will change drastically because of this, and the scattered issues caused by the trainees' escape....』

"Those are not matters for the military state to worry about either. The disappearance of the Abyss and the return of vitality to the land are the Earth Mother's will, so humans must adapt to it. And from what this humble one has seen, those within are too kind to belong in the Abyss."

Would she have sent us straight to the Earth Mother's side if we had shown any evil tendencies? Whew, what a relief. I hadn't done anything wrong, right?

"Moreover, the military state has no right to say such things. Have not those who are truly wicked already escaped? Before reproaching this humble one, you should reflect upon yourselves."

『Then, at the very least.』

Despite the repeated rebukes, the golem stubbornly continued trying to persuade her.

『...Should you not inform the followers who followed you? Should they not witness the moment when the Abyss disappears?』

For an instant, a crack appeared in Jiseon's expression. Still seated cross-legged, she let out a deep, heavy sigh.

"How much longer must this humble one wait?"

Mistaking Jiseon's question for a change of heart, the golem replied excitedly.

『One year. No, we can shorten it a little more than that. During that time, please contact the followers scattered throughout the military state. The military state's Ministry of Public Relations will assist you.』

It probably considered that an extremely important proposal, but unfortunately, it was wrong.

Jiseon did not particularly want to meet them.

"...How could this humble one make them wait any longer? It was this humble one who sent them down a thorny path. If this humble one gave great hope once more to those who remembered that miserable failure, only to cast them down into the abyss again..."

A resolute light lingered on Jiseon's bitter face as she murmured.

"This humble one will act first. After erasing the Abyss, this humble one will only tell them that the Earth Mother's anger has subsided. Along with an apology for answering their wishes far too late...."

『Brigadier General.』

"This humble one has already decided. Whatever the military state does afterward is irrelevant. This humble one will carry out the task entrusted to her."

Jiseon's words were like a boulder rolling downhill, impossible to stop or turn aside. Realizing that, the golem watched Jiseon quietly, then raised its hand in salute once more.

『...I pray that fortune in battle will be with you, Brigadier General.』

It acted as though it would kill me for disobeying military state orders, but it was wishing Jiseon fortune in battle. Wasn't that discrimination?

Thinking about it, someone like Jiseon deserved preferential treatment. Fair enough.

Since this was no longer a situation where I could keep talking to her, I picked up the golem and headed into the prison. The golem hung limply at my side the whole way.

I spoke to it.

"Anyway, you understand now, right?"

『...Understand what?』

"I didn't leave my post. My post disappeared. That's as big a difference as falling and jumping. In other words, I'm innocent in this matter. Understand?"

『No matter how you phrase it, it does not change the fact that you were a co-conspirator in the Falling Star incident.』

"I'm telling you, I didn't kill anyone. How could an ordinary person like me harm a general officer? I couldn't even touch a hair on their head."

『The military state does not know that. If you wish to prove your innocence, surrender and submit to an investigation after leaving Tantalus.』

"Like I'd ever do that."

『...Agreed.』

The golem let out a groan.

『Though she is a Gray Star, the brigadier general's name is renowned throughout the military state. Many people in the military state respect her, regardless of whether they are general officers or ordinary soldiers. Therefore, I warn you not to harm the brigadier general under any circumstances.』

"What are you talking about? Why would we hurt Jiseon?"

『...I only emphasized it as a precaution. Everyone who has fallen into this place so far... has met a bad end.』

"That's ridiculous. Setting aside the fact that we don't want to, we don't even have the ability!"

Except for one person.

Still, even after hearing the story and reading memories, Jiseon did not seem like the sort of person who would do something worth remaining in the regressor's memories.

What on earth was going to happen?

There were two possibilities.

Either the regressor was actually a lunatic who believed she was a regressor.

Or something incredible was hidden at the bottom of the Abyss, something that would change Jiseon from the roots up.

It was around the time I began wondering whether I should take the first hypothesis seriously after all.

Footnotes:

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