WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

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◈ Omniscient First-Person's Viewpoint

Chapter 290

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The Blessed Nation, the Cursed Human - Finale

‘Impossible. After tearing through the military state however he pleased and causing massive losses, they want to appoint him as a diplomat and send him out? He has no qualifications. He can’t be trusted. Judging by his words and behavior, he’s probably ignorant of diplomacy too. The type who does whatever he wants and spreads chaos. Exactly the kind of person he would like.’

No, not exactly. I did tend to like that type, sure, but I never thought they were good. A regressor was something beyond chaos.

‘It goes against the military state’s ideology. It’s irrational. But... that is what a king is. One who moves a nation on a whim. Whether right or wrong, a king’s judgment brings unrest. If AB is accepted, this country will eventually be shaken....’

No one knew when or how it would happen. Only that it would.

‘But already.’

Still, those who could not overcome the present had to accept even a future promised to ruin. Wrapped in disillusionment, Yuel had no will left to overcome this situation.

Like the other prophets, Yuel quickly resigned herself before the fate that had arrived.

“I curse you, AB. I hope you drown in as much regret as possible and feel the deepest self-loathing you can.”

People do not curse targets they can still do something about. If they had time to curse, they could fix things or change them. People curse when all they can do is vent resentment.

In other words, Yuel’s curse was practically the same as accepting the proposal. A little pathetic, but still.

“...Fine. You forced it through in the end. You made the military state no longer the military state. Siati, when you couldn’t bear your anger, you found a target for revenge. Princess Grandiomor found someone to demand kindness from. A perfect ending. You’ll be ruined in the near future, but you people who can only see one inch ahead will be satisfied!”

Because it didn’t go her way, she said they could only see one inch ahead. Still, I’m kind enough to always listen to a loser’s scream. Under my silent watch, Yuel kept going.

“AB, one day Siati will be consumed by her anger and try to tear your body to pieces. The princess will gouge into your heart and use that blood to wet other people’s throats. Those two now know what you are and where you are. They’ll come find you whenever they want!”

Compared to Yuel, who was violently pouring out emotion, Captain AB was relatively calm. She asked Yuel’s intent.

“May this officer take that to mean you will cooperate with this officer?”

“It means I won’t interfere. I have no reason to cooperate with you, and no intention of doing so.”

“There is a need for cooperation. Your power...”

“Ah, I forgot one thing. I can’t stay either. I’m the only one who can replace you. Should a king have a spare?”

Still sneering, Yuel raised a hand and pointed outside the door. In nonverbal terms, she was telling us to get out now. With a face that didn’t even want to look at AB, Yuel spoke.

“I’ll be watching, AB. I won’t even need to do anything. The military state is full of people who want you dead. I’ll watch and laugh when you die, so go find your grave plot.”

After receiving that order to leave, Captain AB looked around. The dark underground burial chamber carried the solemn air expected of such a place.

There were plenty of decorations to insist this was a tomb chamber, yet only two stone coffins to hold bodies. Both were empty, but the owners were obvious. One was for the People’s Hero, and the other was for Yuel.

Yuel had no intention of leaving this place. She had probably planned to remain here until death and be buried with him.

That way, the military state’s secret would be buried underground forever.

Yuel seemed to have made that decision out of pure despair, but it gave Captain AB an idea.

“This officer will not leave.”

Captain AB spoke as if entranced.

“This officer must become a ‘special’ communications officer. This officer must be their liberator. This officer must not be liberated like them. Just as Headquarters did... this officer too must exist without revealing her form.”

“You won’t reveal your form? Then what’s different from before?”

If she hid in a secret place, posed as Headquarters, and issued orders, nothing would be different from before Captain AB existed.

Yuel pointed that out with sarcasm, but Captain AB had an answer.

“The communications officers other than this officer will no longer be confined.”

“...What?”

The military state’s secrets were protected by confining communications officers to windowless rooms. Communications officers were also isolated from the world to preserve their purity. They gained objectivity and security in exchange for freedom.

Captain AB’s declaration meant giving all of that up.

Captain AB raised her head and looked at the ceiling. Tiny buds opened, one by one, from every strand of her hair. Purple morning glory buds lifted their heads all at once and began carrying Captain AB’s will upward.

Captain AB put her voice into the buds.

『Communications Officer AB relays this to Module I. A severe armed clash has occurred within Module I. There is a high probability of significant problems continuing afterward. If evacuation is not carried out, loss of Module I functionality is expected, and I judge that a major communications gap will follow.』

“AB....”

『Emergency response evacuation manual, stage 2, disaster-avoidance protocol: all personnel are to evacuate to a safe location. Objections will not be accepted. End.』

The unilateral command ended. Captain AB steadied her breathing. After a short silence, her morning glories fluttered as if buried in a whirlwind. Requests to communicate with Captain AB came again and again, but she held firm and repeated the order she had already given.

A soft thread can wrap around a hard rod, but not the other way around. Until now, the network built by the communications officers had been founded on the harsh objectivity of officers with faint egos. Captain AB’s will, backed by a firm subjectivity, swallowed all objective reports from the communications officers.

The confused traffic soon died down. It seemed they had accepted Captain AB’s proposal. From the communications officers’ side, there wasn’t much reason to object. Two Six Generals had just fought a fierce battle. The secret was already exposed. Evacuating a dangerous building was only natural.

When the communications ended, the morning glories that had been fluttering intensely to relay opinions all settled at once. Captain AB controlled her magical energy and took a deep breath.

“...From this point on, this officer frees every communications officer in the military state. This officer orders them to walk outside on their own feet. Not a single one excluded.”

That was both an explanation of her plan and a declaration of immense resolve. After finishing the communication, Captain AB said:

“The identity of communications officers has been exposed. Now that Module I communications officers have been released, communications officers are no longer a military state secret. Now the only secret is... this officer.”

The duty military state communications officers had carried: never revealing their form, watching everywhere, and delivering information and orders only through communication.

Now they would no longer be forced to bear that responsibility in dark rooms. They would gain lives and breathing room. They would not need to become lonely to serve as objective parts, and would not need to suffer to hide their identities.

Instead, Captain AB would have to carry far more.

Duty was authority. Captain AB made the other communications officers cast off their duty, then took all that authority onto herself. An unseen but heavy crown settled on her head.

The morning glory vines wrapped around Captain AB’s head would now never wither, not even for a moment.

A coronation took place in the lowest, darkest place.

There was no applause, no congratulations. Instead, only Yuel’s dry prayer welcomed the birth of the new king.

“First Saintess who blessed me... was this too a fate you ordained?”

It was closer to lament than blessing, but it was still the sincere prayer of a saintess. A blessed succession, then. I walked up to the newly born king with a smile.

“Captain AB, congratulations! Or wait, are you not a captain anymore?”

I was ready to call her Your Majesty if needed, but AB refused firmly.

“This officer’s rank or title is not important. What matters is what role this officer carries and what mission this officer performs.”

“Hmm. Very true. AB, then what do we do?”

I shrugged and pointed at myself, then Siati, then the princess. The three of us had little attachment to the military state and no loyalty to protect its secret.

“AB, you’re trying to protect yourself with secrecy instead of guards. But secrets isolate even the person holding them, right? For AB, who has no personal combat power, strict secrecy matters more than anything. Even to maintain classified status, you’d need to shut our mouths.”

And the obvious way to shut mouths was eliminating witnesses. The dead could not speak. Extremely rational.

Of course, I had no intention of dying, but unlike what everyone expected, whether I lived or died wasn’t something I alone could decide. I tested AB’s intent a little.

“This officer....”

Then AB smiled clearly and said:

“This officer trusts you.”

“Me?”

AB didn’t answer with words. She only nodded.

It felt stifling, like wearing clothes that didn’t fit. Trust. Was there any word less suited to my life, plastered with scams and lies? After everything I’d done, what was she seeing that made her say that?

“You never know what might happen later, though. How do you know how I’ll change in the future?”

“Including that, this officer trusts you. No matter how you change, you will not abandon this officer.”

A truly irresponsible statement. Now that the other communications officers’ identities had been exposed, AB’s life was no longer hers alone. If she vanished, even Yuel might struggle to restore this country to what it was.

It was a sandcastle, really. A crude thing made by piling loose grains together carelessly. But still.

“Let’s say I’m fine. What about the princess and Siati? AB, you met them for the first time today. They both hate the military state. Can you trust them?”

“I will trust them.”

“You can do that?”

“What they did happened because the military state did not repay their faith. No, because the military state failed to trust them first. This officer will trust first, so this officer hopes they will trust this officer in return.”

Even if it wasn’t especially beautiful, refined, or meticulous.

A carefully built sandcastle, a precarious stone tower, a bud that had just bloomed. Things like that were better watched over than broken. I wasn’t the type to take pleasure in trampling them.

Still, it was pitiful to let someone keep charging toward something impossible. So I offered kind advice.

“It’ll be hard. I don’t really recommend it. If you want to give up, give up anytime. No one will blame you.”

AB looked at me steadily and replied.

“Objection. This officer has you.”

“Me? You can be disappointed in me. I’ll be leaving this country soon anyway.”

I was someone who didn’t care much what happened to this country. I could just go somewhere else. To me, a homeland was easier to replace than shoes.

“That is a valid decision. The current military state has many issues that make it unsuitable for you to reside in. Your choice is rational.”

Even after I declared I would flee abroad, AB showed no disappointment and offered no reproach. She accepted my words as they were, then spoke with renewed resolve.

“This officer will build a place where you can stay. Not now, but one day, for when you return here, this officer will build a place where you can remain at ease. So when you return someday, please evaluate this officer.”

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