WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 287: The Blessed Nation, the Cursed Human - 10

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A brief silence followed my declaration that I would destroy this country. Then Yuel tried to bring her hands together. It was a well-practiced motion, and she was quite fast.

Still, a shut-in who had never learned ki arts could not move faster than a mind-reader like me.

I snapped my fingers. Just before her hands met, a card slipped between them. Its sharp edge cut the Holy Maiden's hand, drawing a groan from her.

"Urgh!"

"Quit using that busted skill! Being invincible is cheating!"

Eight of Diamonds. Anything thin and long.

I drew wire from it, quickly wrapped it around Yuel's hand, and yanked. The sharp wire dug into her flesh as it caught her hand and dragged her arm toward me. At the same time, I pressed hard on her shoulder to keep the rest of her body from following.

"Gh!"

"I'll say this again just in case, but the princess is here! We can't use plans that get us all killed anymore!"

The Holy Maiden tried to struggle, but it was laughable. I was a healthy adult man who had learned even basic ki arts. I was not about to lose a contest of strength to a shut-in Holy Maiden. Yuel's restrained body trembled.

"...Impossible. You have lost all your power. You cannot destroy the military state."

"You don't need power to destroy the military state. It was always distrust, not force, that brought down bad checks. That's why credit matters so much."

The method was simple. I told her already. The deadliest poison was a nerve toxin.

I whispered into Yuel's ear.

"With Captain AB's help, I'll make every communications officer leave their rooms. I'll give freedom to every communications officer throughout the military state."

"You can't! Communications officers are bound by the rule that they must not leave rooms without windows. The officers won't break that rule just because a single communications officer orders them to!"

"But what if it isn't a single communications officer? What if the order comes through a communications module, no different from an order from Command?"

Command had turned out to be a collection of communications officers, but that did not mean a communications officer's words instantly became Command's orders.

For it to become Command's judgment, that officer had to pass the information on to other communications officers. The information would then be processed through countless officers and modules specialized in particular value judgments before being sent back, packaged as an order from Command. Much like a human brain.

So a single communications officer could not impersonate an order from Command.

A powerful communications officer could, however, synchronize with and control nearby officers.

"From what I saw, the communications officers upstairs are all unbelievably innocent. Untouched, pure white is the best canvas to paint on. What happens once Captain AB and I take control of the upper module? If we use it to free the nearby communications officers one by one? Well? Can you see the picture now?"

"...You're planning to contaminate their minds?"

"That's what you call it, apparently. I intend to call it liberation from oppression."

Ah, that felt good. I finally understood how a third-rate villain felt when he blabbed about every part of his plan at the final moment.

What? Telling everyone your plan gives them a chance to turn things around? Who cared whether I succeeded or failed? I was having fun right now!

If it had been empty talk, Yuel would have laughed it off. What made it chilling was that the future I described was possible. Until now, Yuel had looked as though she had given up on everything, with no attachment to life, but my words made her sense danger.

"You think... I'll just sit back and watch?"

"What are you going to do if you don't? Pray? Unfortunately, now that your hands are tied, you won't get the chance. You shouldn't have undone your prayer in the first place."

The Holy Maiden's power was nothing more than a reproduction of the miracles achieved by the First Holy Maiden. Miracles were special, but predictable. Her arms were restrained, and with the princess here, she had no means of threatening me.

Oh, come to think of it, the princess's hands were free.

"Princess, could you come hold this wire? I think I'll need your help to take this woman out."

"M-me?"

"Yes. Even I can't carry a struggling woman up a ladder, especially when she doesn't mind falling to her death with me."

The princess immediately looked frightened.

"You want me to take someone like that up...?"

"You know roughly why, Princess. No one can attack you intentionally. It's similar to why the King of Dogs cannot harm humans. Of course, it's less absolute for you than for the King of Dogs, a conceptual being."

The princess did not fully understand the latter half, but she did not need to understand everything to be persuaded. Hesitantly, she reached out. I kept pulling until she grabbed the wire. Yuel could not attack the princess, but she could still shake her arm loose.

Hmm. If I looped this wire around the princess's neck, Yuel would not be able to shake it off either...

No. An unexpected accident could kill the princess, and more importantly, Siati would try to beat me to death. That plan was canceled.

"We'll go out, show them the War Hero's corpse, and reveal the true identity of Eimeder of the Heavenly Link. At the same time, we'll free the communications officers one after another. The communications-officer system, once the military state's pride, will become an object of distrust. Communications officers are nothing more than individual girls, and every order given until now was really something they cooked up among themselves! The distrust we spread will pass from person to person and eat away at the military state!"

"That kind of..."

"That kind of crap! I'll do it! I will!"

It could not be helped. This was like an occupational hazard.

I listened to human wishes. But the military state was not human, so I could not hear its wishes. And from the perspective of those who lived in it, the military state was a truly miserable country.

By collective judgment, the military state was better than the kingdom. Most people who had experienced both would say so.

The military state was still an oppressive nation. It took choice, responsibility, and sin from humans. Therefore, every misery suffered by its people became the military state's fault. Its sins piled up, and as it failed to resolve them, only obscuring them instead...

"You called me a destroyer of civilization, but I see things differently. To me, you're just a human who invented the machine that kills humans for the longest time and with the greatest efficiency. Unfortunately, that machine is beyond my understanding."

"We cannot return to an age of savagery! Humans are not beasts!"

"Is it because people say it so often? Quite a lot of people seem to believe it seriously, but peel back one layer and the truth is right there. Humans are beasts by nature."

That was why I existed.

Fear and shock crossed Yuel's face. She knew something about me, though I did not know how, and that made her fear me more than necessary.

'No. This country is my only legacy. The child he and I created together! Even if it is buried and lost to history, it cannot be eaten away by savages...!'

Yuel had no means of resistance now. She had spent over a decade grieving in seclusion. No one even remembered who she was anymore, so no one would come to protect her.

Just as despair colored Yuel's eyes...

"Um, Mr. Hui."

The princess cautiously raised her hand. She wore the helpless expression of someone who wanted to make an unreasonable request. As someone with mind-reading abilities, I knew that when people started like this, they usually disagreed with me.

Why all of a sudden? I was puzzled, but the princess still had an important task, so I answered gently.

"Yes. Go ahead."

"Do we have to reveal it that way? It's too harsh."

"What?"

What was that supposed to mean? Was there such a thing as an attack that was not harsh? You could not stab an enemy in the throat kindly.

My disbelief must have shown on my face. The princess was still intimidated, but she spoke stubbornly.

"The military state is certainly a cruel country. But countless people have adapted to its system and live by following its orders. If we reveal all the secrets that move the military state at once... there will be chaos beyond control."

"Of course. Wasn't that the point from the beginning? The more chaotic the military state becomes, the safer we are."

"Then many people will suffer. The military state is about to wage war against the Lesser States. If we blindly tear apart Command in this situation, the soldiers will fall apart. Historically, whenever a large armed group falls apart, the people suffer. Lord Shei, who loves peace, would not want that either."

Idiot. I knew that! That was why I had left the regressor behind!

If it were the regressor, who pursued only the best possible outcome, she would keep the military state alive no matter what. What she wanted was a suitable amount of chaos that might benefit her. A disaster would come if this continued, but if everything were overturned, there would be too many variables. She was probably planning to stop the conflict, preserve humanity's strength, then pour it all into fighting the weakened King of Sin.

But that could not happen! For a lot of reasons!

I had no idea what kind of future that was, but I would probably be the King of Sin in it!

"You said so yourself, Mr. Hui. We do not know the military state. But what I wanted to change was the cruel military state that had neither mercy nor kindness. I believe it can become better if there is kindness in the military state."

"So the princess intends to be kind to the military state too?"

"I-it isn't anything so grand. But if I want kindness, I have to show kindness first. The military state desperately needs one chance."

A deaf person could not speak. If they could not hear sound, they could not learn how to make it.

By a similar principle, those of the Grandiomor royal family could not feel hostility toward others. No one had ever shown hostility toward her, so even if she learned what it was, she could not understand it as an emotion.

Was that why? Despite being only human, the princess said something as absurd as forgiving a country.

But...

I clutched my head and screamed.

"Aaaaaah!"

"M-Mr. Hui?! What's wrong?"

"Damn it. Of all people, why did it have to be the princess? You're asking for another delay here?"

Humans could find their own kings. Therefore, they did not need the Beast King.

They drove out the King of Humanity while making that claim, but every kingdom eventually fell. Humans, who needed something to rule over them, now worshipped different things.

But the princess remained. And because she had never learned hostility, the princess did not hate the military state. The result was...

"You want to become the military state's king? That's a truly strange way to reclaim the throne! Become king by parasitizing the country born after yours was destroyed!"

"W-what? It's not exactly that."

"Don't brush it off by saying it's not exactly that! Even if you don't think of it that way, the result is the same! This country has potential, and you want to see more of that potential, right?"

Ugh. Did that mean the Beast King was still unnecessary? If the other party was a monarch, the request was valid.

There was a problem, though. According to the regressor, the King of Sin would awaken in the not-too-distant future. I probably did not have much time left either. Giving them a delay like this...

When I thought about the future awaiting me!

"Well, it doesn't matter."

It did not matter.

I was not a prophet. The future I had not seen myself was none of my concern. I was still bound by those tiresome prophecies, but I would not limit my current actions because I feared a future that had not yet come.

That was the way of civilization beloved by prophets. It was not my way.

I would not obey the law because I feared the military police who might come one day, nor would I stand aside because I feared things going wrong. If I could do it right now, I would.

"Really?"

"That's not the problem. Princess, there is no way to fulfill your wish."

Only things that could be done. I had no desire to crack my head open by ramming it against something impossible.

"Yuel's power begins with communications officers and ends with communications officers. But the only power you have is avoiding hostility. If Yuel tries to kill us by summoning angels as soon as we leave, or communicates with other officers to move troops, what can you do? You have no means to resist. It will become the same as the old military state."

"We can persuade Yuel and get a promise from her! Lady Yuel is reasonable, so she will accept it!"

"She absolutely will not. An eternal country cannot have a king. That is why Yuel created communications officers and desperately built a system without a king, even if it was only a deception. To add this thing called kindness as you wish, your will has to be far stronger than that of the other communications officers. Like the relationship between a king and their subjects."

"Ah..."

If there was no way to achieve it, nothing you did could make it happen. Even if the princess had the ability to avoid hostility, she was not omnipotent. If she lacked an ability suited to the system, no one would hear her cry.

"It might be better if the military state completely broke down. If chaos came, with guns and blades pointed in every direction, your bloodline would stand out the most."

"I do not want that to happen!"

"I thought not. Anyway, you understand what I mean, right? Then..."

Just as I shrugged, about to make the princess give up...

"Sir."

Captain AB quietly called to me.

Footnotes:

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