WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 249: Sore Finger

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Siati raised her head with a pained, displeased frown. Her broken fingers, the black magic consuming her from within, and the wounds Maximilien had inflicted were steadily wearing her down.

In contrast, Historia stood upright, looking down at Siati. Heavenly Silkworm Thread bound her, and she could not move either arm in the slightest.

Even so, Historia was strong. Objectively and subjectively.

"What... are you talking about?"

Historia glanced at Siati's fingers.

Her right arm was prosthetic. A solid chunk of metal had replaced the right hand she had lost long ago. Her remaining left arm still had fingers, though they were broken and twisted.

Judging by their condition, even those might not last much longer. Maybe... it would not end with her fingers. Historia narrowed her eyes.

"Your fingers. You haven't even reached headquarters, and you only have two left. Your ring finger and middle finger are beyond saving now."

"So what?"

"You have two bullets left. Once you've used those, what then? Will you spend your life next?"

"Why not?"

Siati answered stubbornly. She meant it.

She was prepared to use even her final curse. If she came face-to-face with headquarters, with those who had ruined her life, Siati would spend her own life without the slightest hesitation.

Her resolve was genuine.

But Historia dismissed it at once.

"Stop."

"What?"

"Black magic like that won't work."

Siati's anger flared, and she raised her upper body. Yet despite how honestly her body showed her emotions, she could not immediately argue back.

More than anyone, Siati herself knew it.

She had broken two fingers against the Halberdier. It had accomplished nothing. At most, it had bought the tiniest sliver of time. Maximilien had returned just fine.

No, if her fingers alone had delayed him at all...

That was already more than she could have hoped for.

Siati had always treated her own life as expendable, so long as it could kill an enemy.

But what if she gave her life and still achieved nothing? What if she reached for a forbidden art and still could not accomplish anything?

"Even if it works, you can't achieve anything with two fingers. A gun without bullets is just a lump of metal. And a black mage without enough sacrifices is weaker than an ordinary person."

Siati snapped back.

"...So what, you want me to sit around sucking my fingers instead of breaking them? Don't be ridiculous! Is someone else going to break their arms for me?!"

"I will."

"What?"

"I'm saying I'll break them. Unlike you, I'm not limited by ammunition."

Without hesitation, Historia turned away. Leaving Siati behind, she turned toward the Princess.

The Princess blinked, abruptly dragged into the conversation. One of the military state's proud Six Generals approached her with a sharp, intimidating air.

"Princess. I am making you a formal request. I will become your gun in Siati's place."

"Pardon?"

Siati's eyes widened as she anticipated what Historia would say next. Historia was trying to take away her reason to fight.

"I will cooperate fully with you and these people. I will do everything in my power to accomplish what you want, even if that means acting against the military state."

It was an extraordinary proposal. One of the military state's strongest forces, a member of the Six Generals, was offering to cooperate fully with the Princess.

The Princess swallowed.

"There must be conditions, of course. What do you want?"

Historia nodded and answered with cruel decisiveness.

"In exchange, remove Siati from combat."

"Historia!"

Ignoring Siati's shout, Historia continued as she pleased.

"You said Siati was your friend, Princess. Then this is your chance to protect your friend and strengthen your forces. If you can do even the slightest calculation, you won't refuse."

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

"Major General Historia of the military state's Six Generals. The youngest general, one who has attained reason. A Gunslinger who can handle firearms freely. I am not comparable to a black mage with only two bullets left."

Historia calmly recited her qualifications.

"I also know headquarters. I don't know who the informant you'll contact is, but... they won't know the structure of headquarters better than I do."

In other words, my strength would be more useful than yours alone.

Historia fired off that obvious but uncomfortable truth, one that was difficult to say aloud.

Siati had hesitated just now because she could not deny it.

'If Historia became an ally, then certainly...'

For just a moment, she wanted to sink into that comfortable refuge. If someone far stronger than her helped...

Wouldn't it be easier for her, and more efficient besides?

Just as her resolve began to weaken, her defiance rose again.

If Tyr had made the same proposal, Siati would have gladly accepted.

But this was Historia. Someone who had once spent the same time as Siati was trying to save her out of pity.

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

Historia did not argue with words. She showed her directly.

"One of the requirements to become a military state general is mastering Water Qi Art."

Creak. Creak.

A chilling sound began to rise from Historia's entire body.

Her bones and joints shifted. Her muscles contracted, and her tendons pulled taut. Her waist bent as though someone invisible had seized her shoulders and yanked them hard, while her shirt swelled as if it might tear apart, unable to keep up with the changes in her body.

But no one stood behind her. She was doing all this to herself.

Even as she twisted her own body, Historia continued speaking calmly, as though this was no obstacle at all.

"Only after mastering Water Qi Art does one earn the right to become a general. If you can infuse qigong into your bones and muscles, your odds of survival rise dramatically. A general leads a legion. Even if blades tear through their body and rocks crush them, they must survive and take responsibility for their soldiers to the end."

Historia's arm bent further, and her bones briefly slipped from their proper places.

Crack.

A button finally gave out and flew free. The changes were violent enough to damage even her sturdy clothing packet.

Historia's body moved flexibly, but the knots were not nearly as flexible.

"Haa..."

Historia let out a long breath and returned her shoulders to their original position. With nothing left to bind, the Heavenly Silkworm Thread hung beneath her arms.

She had not untied the knots. She had slipped out of them entirely.

Historia pulled away the Heavenly Silkworm Thread as it curled toward her chest, searching for somewhere to cling.

"That is why black magic... is not very effective against a general, either. At most, it can inflict slight injuries and restrict their movements."

She tossed the thread to its original owner.

The regressor caught the flying thread and clicked her tongue as if she had expected this.

"...Well, I expected it, but you got out more easily than I thought. I tied you up pretty tightly."

The Princess stared at Historia, who had freed herself from her restraints, and muttered.

"So that could be undone..."

"Of course. Things like straitjackets and ropes are meaningless against someone at the level of the Six Generals. Heavenly Silkworm Thread takes time to escape from, and I can respond during that time. That's why I tied her up with it."

"I thought that was your preference..."

"Huh? Preference?"

"That's a relief... I don't have that kind of potential... No, is this really the time to let my guard down...?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

Historia noticed where the Princess was looking and flushed slightly as she fastened the buttons of her shirt. In any case, now free after slipping out of the Heavenly Silkworm Thread, Historia repeated her proposal.

"Princess. Your answer to my request?"

The Princess composed herself again before replying.

"Um. Miss Gunslinger. Thank you for the offer, but..."

"But?"

Historia fixed an intimidating stare on her at the faint hint of refusal. The Princess swallowed at her frightening presence, but though Historia's aura overwhelmed her, it did not threaten her.

"As you said, Siati is my friend. I'm not in a position to give her orders unilaterally."

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

"No, no! That's not what I said!"

The Princess hurriedly shook her head and answered quickly.

"I-I mean, if you want to help Siati! Instead of cooperating with me, how about you stay by Siati's side and protect her? I... I have an ability that prevents me from being attacked...!"

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

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

"I understand. In the end, Siati is just another pawn you can use as you wish. Just what I'd expect from a Princess. You're exactly like the Kingdom."

The Princess closed her mouth. If she truly thought that, she would not have joined the front lines in the first place, but after losing Selphy just moments ago, she did not have the strength to deny it.

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

Siati shouted instead.

"You never see us as fellow human beings, right to the end! Because we're weak, because we're insignificant. You're certain we can't do anything! The people who abandoned the children of Hamelin were no one else. People like you, who saw us as worthless and unnecessary, might as well have killed them all!"

"Talk all you want. No matter what you say, I'll save you as I please."

"Like when you fell into the Hamelin River? Ha! You were so great, but all you pulled out of the water were corpses. What did you save there?"

Siati laughed scornfully and tore open an old wound. It was black magic of the mind. Painful for both of them, but more fatal to Historia than to Siati, who had already been worn down far more.

"...Yes."

Historia suffered for a moment, but it did not show on her face. She simply turned her head.

"Like then."

Since I was holding the steering wheel, I had been somewhat removed from their argument. Internally, I sighed.

Neither of them was particularly sociable, but this conversation was going around in circles badly. I could understand it, given their unresolved resentment, but when the two of you kept baring your fangs at each other, I was the one who got tired.

"All right, all right. Everyone calm down. In the big picture, this is still a good development..."

I was trying to defuse the mood with that empty comment when Historia abruptly turned her head.

"You as well, Hui."

"Huh? Me?"

"Stay out of the fighting. Take Siati with you. Then I'll fight in your place."

Historia did not hesitate. After Siati, she now intended to protect me as well. I scratched my chin at the unexpected proposal.

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

She seemed to be seriously misunderstanding something. Couldn't she see me driving right now? I wasn't a combatant to begin with.

"I can't listen to you either."

"...Are you planning to die recklessly like Siati?"

"No? I have no intention of doing that. I'm not a combatant in the first place. I don't go anywhere near dangerous places."

'...That doesn't seem right. He acts like he's good at avoiding trouble, but he always gets involved in dangerous things.'

Historia looked at me suspiciously, but I had nothing to say. I really had only gotten dragged into every single one of them.

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

I raised a finger and pointed at the sky.

The sun, having finished its day's work, was slowly preparing to sleep. Its slanting light steadily weakened, and darkness filled the space it left behind.

"It's getting dark."

Forcing the automatic carriage onward to arrive on time had been worth it. It was nighttime now, when danger often came calling.

But we had a noble of the night on our side.

Tonight would be dangerous only for the military state.

Footnotes:

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