WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

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◈ Omniscient First-Person's Viewpoint

Chapter 177

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A Story of the Past, Insider

The military state's history went hand in hand with the clothing packet.

Refined over two generations, the clothing packet was nothing short of revolutionary. It was simple, sturdy, and with a little magical energy, it wrapped the body in an instant. For soldiers, whose food, clothing, and shelter were all tied to labor, that convenience was irresistible.

But the salons and tailors leading the trends at the time hated the very existence of clothing packets. Their technical skill was lacking, but they had money and connections, so they carried a chest of gold coins to the knights.

The effect was immediate. Just a few weeks later, a ban on clothing packets was declared across the kingdom. On the surface, it was framed as a way to prevent soldiers from indulging in luxury and debauchery. In reality, the knights in power had simply weighed one chest of gold against the soldiers' "minor" inconvenience.

At the same time, Seamless Perfection received a duel challenge from an unknown knight, and the heir who would have become the 3rd Seamless Perfection lost.

Without even the right to refuse.

If the knight who took that chest of gold were still alive, he would have regretted it deeply.

The coup did not happen because of that alone, but without it, it would have been delayed by a few more years.

"...The 2nd Seamless Perfection devoted herself to the military state. Thanks to her support, both material and otherwise, soldiers were never left out in the cold, even when the military state was strapped for resources. We are deeply grateful for that, but..."

Peto answered with an awkward look.

"Even so, the matter of a holding company is outside our jurisdiction. We are public affairs and morale corpsmen. We handle all kinds of odd jobs, including household matters, but corporate succession is not something we can touch."

Even the girl who had stood bravely among strangers could not hide her disappointment at Peto's words.

"B-but I was told to come here if I wanted help!"

"Who told you that, exactly?"

"A friend said a rich and fearless girl like me should just go to a host bar, find a man who'd help me, and keep him on my arm!"

Everyone listening nearly blurted out the same thing.

Then cut ties with that friend right now.

But they held it back. Until they knew the full story, giving unsolicited advice about someone else's private life was taboo.

Deeper conversation came only after building a relationship deep enough to carry it.

That was the iron rule of a public affairs corpsman.

"Hmm. This is getting interesting."

That was when it happened. Hughes, who had been unusually quiet and focused, straightened up with a genuinely excited expression.

Right as Peto muttered, "No way..."

"Senior, I'll help."

The impossible became real.

"What? You?"

"You told me to go babysit kids anyway. Well, I just got demoted, so I'll lend a hand with Miss Bakia's problem."

Hughes stepped in without a hint of hesitation, as if everything would be solved the moment he got involved. The granddaughter of Seamless Perfection brightened at once.

Peto, looking like he wanted to rip out his own sideburns, snapped.

"Help with what? We strut around calling ourselves public affairs corpsmen, but we're basically a host bar!"

"You're admitting it yourself."

"I admit what needs admitting! What do we have besides looks and smooth talk?!"

With every line Peto delivered, Sephier's expression, which had just brightened, darkened again in real time. Feeling the guest's discomfort with his whole body, Peto grabbed Hughes by the collar, dragged him close, and whispered in his ear.

"Know your place, Hughes. You and I are just flashy husks. If we want to protect even this host bar, we keep our heads down!"

"So we just send her away? The heir to Seamless Perfection, the top holding company in the military state, came here asking for help, and we pretend not to see it? Is that what a proud soldier of the military state says?"

"We feel bad too. But what can we do? We're useless drifters with no real ability! We don't have the power or the responsibility to step into something this big!"

Separating public duty from private affairs was a virtue required in every public office, but public affairs corpsmen carried that burden several times over.

Their role was an impossible blend: a soldier who could die in public, and a host who could die in private. The responsibility was heavier than most could imagine. If they wanted to avoid enraged officers storming in with swords, they had to know how to rein themselves in.

That attitude was ingrained in Peto, and he kept trying to stop Hughes. In the end, Hughes nodded.

"Ah. Then this won't work."

"Right? Good thinking..."

Hughes released his packet. All the flashy decorations plastered over him dropped to the floor, and he returned to a simple shirt.

In one motion, he took off his uniform and handed the uniform packet to Peto.

"I've always wanted to say this at least once. Starting today, I quit."

"You crazy bastard..."

"I'm not your junior anymore. Watch your mouth, Mr. Peto."

"You really are a crazy bastard..."

Hughes shoved the packet into Peto's stunned arms and walked over to Sephier. Still trying to hide her disappointment, Sephier looked up at the young man now standing in front of her.

"Interesting story. May I help you, Miss Sephier?"

"...Thank you. But."

She had not noticed while he was in that glamorous uniform, but without it, Hughes looked less like an adult and more like someone around Sephier's age, maybe just a few years older. She looked at Peto suspiciously and asked,

"Is this man also a public affairs corpsman?"

Peto squeezed his eyes shut before answering.

"Not anymore."

"So he was, once?"

"He was a substitute, but yes."

He had the lanky height of a kid who had shot up in a sudden growth spurt. His face still looked young. Even "youth" felt slightly too old a word for him.

Sephier tilted her head as she looked Hughes up and down.

"So he isn't just some kid in a borrowed fancy uniform?"

"Puhahaha! Hey, Hughes! She said you borrowed it!"

Peto burst into laughter for the first time that year.

A drowning person might want to grab even a straw, but if you shoved an actual straw in front of them, their expression would still sour. Sephier looked exactly like that now.

She stared at Hughes with suspicious eyes, then turned away. Whether he understood her feelings or not, Hughes just kept smiling and walked beside her.

"So, to summarize."

Hughes laid out the situation cleanly.

"While the 2nd Seamless Perfection's chronic illness worsened, the other relatives started coveting your position as heir, Miss Sephier?"

"...Yes. For now."

"For now?"

Sephier clenched the clothing packet in her hand and answered.

"Right now, in the military state, only my grandmother and I can make the Archi Avatar. When Grandmother was still healthy, she taught me and watched over me. But..."

As the 2nd Seamless Perfection's health declined and she could no longer wield influence, no one was left to protect Sephier.

Hughes asked as her voice trailed off.

"That's strange. I heard the Archi Avatar is essential for making clothing packets. What are they planning to do if Miss Sephier just stops working altogether?"

Sephier hesitated, then answered.

"...Unless I want to destroy Seamless Perfection, I can't stop making the Archi Avatar."

"Ah. So no matter how wronged you feel, you still don't want to ruin the company. And they know that."

"Seamless Perfection is a historic draper shop passed down for generations. It struggled for a long time, and only recently returned to prosperity. Destroying that over my own selfishness... I can't do it."

"Hmm. What to do with this."

Sephier spoke heavily, but Hughes's response remained maddeningly light. No matter how she looked at him, he did not seem dependable, so she asked cautiously.

"...Then let me ask this. How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Only two years older than me..."

"When you're dealing with big things, age doesn't matter much."

"Do you even have a plan?"

Instead of answering, Hughes gave her an ominous smile. A chill ran down Sephier's spine.

That smile looked like a brat who didn't know his place, or the strategist of a century. It filled Sephier with unease, and at the same time, relief.

Not because she felt safe with him as an ally. It was the relief of knowing that a man capable of who-knew-what was, at least, not her enemy.

"Miss, can you trust me?"

...But if she played along here, it somehow felt like losing, so Sephier swallowed and answered.

"No. I really can't trust you."

"Wise. But you'll have to trust me."

"Why?"

"Because."

By then, the two had arrived at Seamless Perfection headquarters in District 3. At the main entrance of the seven-story building the company occupied in full, hired guards stood with hard eyes.

Hughes pointed at them and answered.

"They'll report everything."

Alexei Bakia, the acting president managing the company in place of the 2nd Seamless Perfection, who was bedridden in old age, was receiving an unexpected guest.

After hearing the whole story from Hughes, he laughed so hard at what he considered the funniest news of the year that he nearly doubled over.

"Kuhahaha! Stupid little bitch! Nowhere else to go, so she runs to public affairs corpsmen! To men who are nothing but hosts! A brat is a brat after all!"

"If she came straight to a host bar without knowing anything... maybe that just means she's precocious? Kheh-heh-heh!"

"Hahahaha! I like you. Your tongue's good, and your attitude too!"

After laughing for a while, Alexei continued with a sly smile.

"...And you're quick on the uptake, coming straight to me."

Petty men recognized their own kind. Hughes wore a similar smile as he replied.

"So you had already grasped the basics, as expected?"

"Ah, of course. A tiny girl who's never even set foot in another district can only go somewhere around here... I only missed her because I didn't think she'd stop by a host bar."

"But that means she walked into an even more dangerous place on her own. A place full of husks who only dream of cashing in... Kkkk."

"Kuhahahahaha! That's not even funny!"

"Kehehehehehe!"

The two men, laughing like mirror images of each other, finally got to the point a few minutes later.

Alexei, who had been laughing cheerfully moments before, hardened his expression. Looking deeply defensive and reluctant, he asked Hughes what payment he wanted.

"Right. You. What do you want from me?"

"I'm a host. More precisely, my job is to talk with women and leave them so unsettled in front of me that they can't dare think about anything else."

"Oh. And?"

He reacted positively at the word unsettled. Realizing he had succeeded, Hughes rubbed his hands and said,

"Wouldn't it trouble you too, sir, if that little miss keeps running around? Especially once she gets citizen registration in two years, there's no telling where she'll run off to. Don't you need someone by her side to keep watch over her?"

"Keep watch over her?"

"'Keep watch' sounds a little harsh. I only meant that she might need a private tutor, sir."

More than anything, the choice of the word sir clearly pleased Alexei. Laughing much more heartily than before, now from the gut, Alexei held out his hand to Hughes.

"I'm counting on you. Starting today, you're Sephier's private tutor. Since she won't enter middle school because of heir training, it's only a godfather's duty to at least arrange a private tutor!"

Hughes bent at the waist in a servile bow and shook his hand. That attitude pleased Alexei even more.

"Leave it to me. I'll push her so hard she won't even think of rebelling again, and make sure she can do nothing but make the Archi Avatar!"

If Sephier had had a gun at that moment, she would have shot Hughes. Unfortunately, she didn't have one then.

Sephier paid dearly for trusting people too easily.

And so, one year passed.

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