WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

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◈ Omniscient First-Person's Viewpoint

Chapter 249

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Sore Finger

Siati raised her head, face twisted with pain and disgust.

Her broken fingers, the black power tearing through her, and the wounds Maximilien had left on her were steadily wearing her down.

By contrast, Historia stood straight and looked down at her. The Heavenly Silkworm Thread bound her, and she couldn’t move either arm at all... even so, Historia was strong. Objectively and subjectively.

"...What are you talking about?"

Historia glanced at Siati’s fingers.

Her right arm was a prosthetic. Where her right hand had once been, solid metal now filled the space. On her one remaining left arm, her fingers were broken and twisted.

Judging by how they looked, even that might not last much longer. Maybe... it wouldn’t end with just her fingers. Historia narrowed her eyes.

"Your fingers. We haven’t even reached Headquarters yet, and you only have two left. Your ring finger and middle finger are beyond saving."

"Heh, so what?"

"You have two rounds left. After you spend those, what? Next you’ll spend your life too?"

"Why not."

Siati answered with sheer stubbornness. She meant it.

She was prepared to use even her final curse. If she ran into Headquarters, if she came face to face with the people who had ruined her life, she would spend her life without a second of hesitation.

That resolve was real... but Historia denied it in an instant.

"Stop."

"What?"

"That kind of black magic won’t work."

Siati jolted upright in anger. But unlike her body, which reacted honestly, no rebuttal came out right away. No one felt that truth more deeply than Siati herself.

She had snapped two fingers against the Halberdier. It achieved nothing. At best, she bought a tiny sliver of time. Maximilien returned in perfect condition.

No, if her fingers had managed to stall the Halberdier at all... that alone was already more than she could have asked for.

If she could kill the enemy, Siati had always treated even her own life like clearance stock.

But if she gave up her life and still achieved nothing, if she touched a taboo and still accomplished nothing...

"Even if it works, two fingers won’t achieve anything. A gun without bullets is just a lump of metal. And a black magician without enough sacrifice is weaker than an ordinary person."

Siati flared up and snapped back.

"...So what, you want me to stop breaking fingers and sit here sucking my fingers? Don’t be ridiculous. Then who, someone else is going to break their arms for me?!"

"I will."

"Huh?"

"I said I’ll break them for you. Unlike you, I’m not tied to remaining rounds."

Historia turned away without hesitation. She left Siati behind and faced the Princess.

Dragged into the conversation out of nowhere, the Princess blinked. One of the Six Generals, the pride of the military state, strode toward her with a razor-sharp presence.

"Princess. I’m making a formal request. Let me be your gun instead of Siati."

"What?"

Siati’s eyes widened, already knowing what Historia would say next. Historia was trying to take away her reason to fight.

"I’ll cooperate fully with you and your group. I’ll use everything I have to achieve what you want, even if it goes against the military state."

It was a shocking offer. One of the military state’s strongest assets, a member of the Six Generals, was offering complete cooperation to the Princess. The Princess swallowed and asked,

"Then... of course, you must have terms, right? What do you want?"

Historia nodded and spoke with ruthless certainty.

"In return, pull Siati out of combat."

"Historia!"

Ignoring Siati’s shout, Historia continued on her own.

"You said Siati is your friend, Princess. Then this is your chance to protect your friend and strengthen your forces. If you can do even basic math, you won’t refuse."

"Don’t talk down to me! Who are you to tell me whether I fight or not?!"

"I am Major Historia of the military state’s Six Generals. The youngest general, one who has reached principle. A gunslinger who can handle firearms freely. I’m not comparable to a black magician with only two rounds left."

Historia calmly listed her qualifications.

"I also know Headquarters. I don’t know who your information source is... but they won’t know Headquarters better than I do."

So compared to you alone, my strength is more useful. Historia drove home that harsh truth, obvious yet hard to say out loud.

The fact that Siati hesitated for a moment now was because she couldn’t deny it either.

'If Historia becomes our ally, then definitely...'

For a brief instant, she wanted to sink into that safe refuge. Compared to her own powerlessness, if someone far stronger helped... wouldn’t it be easier for her too, and more efficient?

The moment her resolve started to soften, defiance surged back up.

If Tir had made the same offer, Siati would have accepted gladly.

But this was Historia. Someone who had once shared time with Siati was now trying to save her out of pity.

"You’re tied up too, and you think you can help?!"

Historia didn’t answer with words. She answered with action.

"One condition for becoming a military state general is mastering Kan energy."

Creak. Crack.

A chilling sound began to come from all over Historia’s body.

Bone and joint. Muscles contracted and tendons pulled tight. Her waist bent as if unseen hands were yanking her shoulders hard, and her shirt bulged like it might rip, unable to keep up with her body’s distortion.

But no one stood behind her. She was doing all of it herself.

Even while twisting her own body, Historia kept speaking calmly, as if this were no obstacle at all.

"You have to master Kan energy to qualify as a general. If you can infuse bones and muscles with energy, your survival rate rises dramatically. A general leads legions. Even when blades tear through your body and rocks crush you, you survive and stay responsible for them to the end."

Her arm bent farther, and for a moment her bones slipped out of place. Snap. A button finally tore free. The change was so violent even the reinforced fabric gave out.

Historia’s body moved with flexibility, but the knots had no such give.

"Huu."

Historia let out a long breath and rolled her shoulders back into place. With nothing left to bind, the Heavenly Silkworm Thread drooped under her arms. She hadn’t untied the knots; she had slipped out of it entirely. Then she peeled away the thread that had curled around toward her chest looking for something to cling to.

"That’s why... black magic isn’t very effective against generals either. At most, it causes minor injuries and restricts movement."

Historia tossed the Heavenly Silkworm Thread back to its owner. The regressor caught it out of the air and clicked her tongue, as if she had expected this.

"...Well, I expected it, but you got out easier than I thought. I tied that pretty tight."

Watching Historia free herself alone, the Princess muttered,

"So it could be undone...."

"Of course. Restraint suits or ropes mean nothing to fighters at the Six-Generals level. Something like Heavenly Silkworm Thread at least takes time to escape, and I can respond in that window, so that’s why I kept you bound."

"I thought... maybe you were into that kind of thing...."

"Huh? Into what?"

"That’s a relief.... I don’t have that kind of potential, so.... No, this isn’t the time to relax...."

"What? What are you talking about?"

Historia noticed where the Princess was looking, flushed slightly, and fastened her shirt buttons again. In any case, now that she had freed herself from the Heavenly Silkworm Thread and regained her freedom, Historia repeated her proposal.

"Princess. Your answer to my demand?"

The Princess straightened up again and replied,

"Uh, um. Gunslinger. Thank you for the offer, but..."

"But?"

At the faint refusal in her tone, Historia glared at the Princess with a crushing stare. The Princess swallowed under that terrifying pressure, but while Historia’s presence overwhelmed her, it did not threaten her.

"Like you said, I’m Siati’s friend. I’m not in a position to give one-sided orders."

"Then what? You don’t care if Siati dies?"

"N-no, no. I didn’t say that!"

The Princess shook her head urgently and answered quickly.

"I-if you want to help Siati, then instead of cooperating with me, how about staying by Siati’s side and protecting her? I, um, have an ability that keeps me from being attacked...!"

"So in the end, you’re refusing. You don’t care whether Siati dies, or whether her hand disappears entirely."

"T-that’s not what I mean! It’s just... Siati has something more important than life itself, so I thought that might be better!"

"I see. So Siati is just a horse you can steer however you want. No wonder you’re a princess. What you do is exactly like the kingdom."

The Princess fell silent. If she truly thought that way, she would never have joined the front line, but after losing Selphy just now, she didn’t have the will to deny it.

"I don’t need it! Even if I die, I won’t take help from someone like you!"

Siati shouted instead.

"You, you never saw us as fellow human beings to the very end! Because we’re weak, because we’re insignificant. You were sure we could do nothing! The one who abandoned the Hameln children wasn’t anyone else. It was people like you, people who thought we were unnecessary! You might as well have killed them yourselves!"

"Say whatever you want. No matter what you say, I’ll save you my way."

"Like when you fell into the Hameln River? Ha! You were so amazing, and all you pulled out of the water were corpses? What exactly did you save there?"

Grinning with contempt, Siati dug into an old wound. It was psychological black magic. It hurt both of them, but it was more lethal to Historia than to worn-down Siati.

"...Right."

Historia was in pain for a moment, but it never showed on her face. She only turned her head calmly.

"Like then."

Because I was at the wheel, I had been away from that conversation, and I sighed inwardly.

Neither of them was exactly social, but this talk was going in circles so badly it was painful. Sure, they had history, so I got it, but if they kept baring their fangs at each other, I was the one getting exhausted just sitting here.

"Alright, alright. Everyone calm down. Big picture, this has still been a productive discussion...."

I was trying to defuse the mood when Historia whipped her head around.

"You too, Hui."

"Huh? Me?"

"When we fight, stay out of it. Take Siati with you. I’ll fight in your place."

Historia didn’t hesitate. After Siati, she now tried to protect me the same way. I scratched my chin at the unexpected offer.

"Uh, well. Ria. I really appreciate the thought."

She seemed to be seriously misunderstanding something. Can’t she tell from me driving right now? I was never a combatant to begin with.

"But I can’t do that either."

"...Are you trying to die recklessly, like Siati?"

"No. Not at all. I’m not a combatant in the first place. I don’t go near dangerous places from the start."

'...I don’t buy that. He acts like he’s good at dodging trouble, but he ends up stepping into every dangerous mess.'

Historia looked at me suspiciously, but I had nothing to say. In reality, I really had just been dragged into one mess after another.

"And you don’t need to worry so much. Look."

I raised a finger and pointed to the sky. The sun, done with its day’s work, was slowly preparing to sleep. The slanted light weakened, and darkness filled the gap.

"It’s getting dark."

Forcing the motor carriage onward and timing our arrival like this had been worth it. It was night now, the hour when danger usually came.

But we had a noble of the night on our side. Tonight would be dangerous only for the military state.

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