WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 37: The Underground Castle

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These people had neither the drive to improve nor any sense of crisis. Even after I explained it all, they just went, "Heh," and accepted it. The suffocating frustration only people who had tried teaching someone could understand tightened around my chest.

Didn't anyone feel anything?

Then the regressor, who had been standing there with her arms folded, finally opened her mouth. Oh, what was she going to ask?

"Why are you telling us this?"

Sigh. It wasn't a question, it was an interrogation. Just what you'd expect from someone with terminal paranoia.

I didn't bother hiding my disappointment.

"You're unhappy even when I tell you?"

"Of course I am. Tantalus is a Level 5 classified facility. Information about the structure of a military state facility would carry an equivalent security classification at minimum. Yet you're casually telling people like us, who have no security clearance at all. This is a leak spanning five levels of classification. Why?"

They complained even when I told them. How could someone live while suspecting everything in the world? They should take it in like the vampire, saying, "Wow, that's fascinating."

The regressor looked as though she wouldn't back down without a proper explanation. I decided to give them only part of the reason.

"Because you need to know this to develop a sense of ownership."

"A sense of ownership?"

"That's right. You know the Resistance attacked yesterday, don't you?"

"So?"

She really just said, "So?" Anger rising in me, I shouted at the regressor.

"Am I the only one using this land? Am I the only one protecting it? For some reason, it feels like I'm the only one doing any work. Still, if you're living here too, pay some attention! The ground is literally about to give way beneath us, and you're all loafing around in your rooms! What are you doing?"

Once they realized the ground beneath their feet could collapse at any moment, surely they would feel some urgency and try to stop it.

"The only person who went to collect the supply crate was me. The only person who spotted the Resistance in advance was me. The only person who stopped their plan was me! I took the whole burden. I carried it all by myself!"

"That's your job, isn't it?"

"Survival is everyone's job! If I don't save you, are you just going to die?"

"Did you save me?"

"You know perfectly well! Do you know what the Resistance members who infiltrated yesterday were planning? Look!"

I strode to the blackboard, erased both ends of Tantalus with my finger, then dragged a line down its middle with the chalk.

"Here! The other side! And the middle! They planned to place three bombs here and detonate them at the same time, splitting Tantalus in half and sending it down!"

When I thumped the blackboard once, the Tantalus in the drawing shook and shed chalk dust. Starting from the broken ends, Tantalus, which had been balancing so delicately, began to tilt. For a massive structure with its balance thrown off, its own weight was the greatest enemy trying to kill it. Then there was the explosion at its center, driven in like a wedge.

The regressor let out a quiet gasp at the outcome.

"Ah."

'Tantalus... This was how it collapsed?'

Tantalus would not hold. It would split cleanly in two and fall into the depths below. That was how the Tantalus in my drawing met its ruin.

I slammed the blackboard again and again. The regressor came back from her thoughts.

"Yes? The ground directly beneath your feet was nearly reduced to this! Yet you all sat around calmly, then strolled in only after everything was over! If I hadn't actively stopped them, all of you, myself included, would have become lost souls in the Abyss! Am I right or wrong?"

Even the regressor, who had kept her arms folded in a defensive stance, finally had to concede. She quietly uncrossed her arms, turned her gaze aside, and muttered.

"...You're right."

"Are you grateful to me or not?"

"Grateful... isn't quite the word. You did it to save yourself too."

Look at her clinging to her pride until the very end. Could she not say one word of thanks?

"Wow. Someone was delighted that an intruder had come because she got a practice partner out of it. How can you think like that?"

"?! H-how did you..."

"How did I know? Did you think I wouldn't? A guy wearing military gear headed straight for the first floor, then after a while, Trainee Shei came out carrying his head. You could have taken his head off in one stroke with your abilities, so why did you stand there trading blows with him?"

"I, I lack real combat experience."

"Look at you putting your own life on the line because you lack combat experience. While you were doing that, the other intruders were planting bombs! That complacency created this crisis! Tantalus is only safe because I responded in time!"

Every word I said was correct. The regressor tried to pick at my words out of defensiveness, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find a single opening. Clicking her tongue, she conceded.

"Tch, fine. I'll step in next time."

"Good! Remember that!"

According to a memory the regressor had briefly recalled, at least a few more people would infiltrate this place in the future. One of them was probably someone impressive enough to be involved in the destruction of the world.

And I had to stop them? No chance. Not only was it impossible, I didn't want to. I had already needed to risk my life just to capture Kanisen and the other Resistance members. Why should I face something even worse?

"Anyone who drops in here from now on, handle them yourselves. Don't put it off thinking someone else will do it! Whoever spots them first handles them! Understood?"

If I were the only one here, that would be one thing. But the regressor and the vampire Progenitor were here, so why should I be the one working? People with greater strength should handle work that required strength. That was positive influence!

"If someone with bad intentions drops in next time, I won't lift a finger against the next intruder!"

Good. Now I had a plausible excuse to run away when the next intruder showed up. Phew. One get-out-of-criticism-free card. I had gained something precious. Next time someone came, I should sprawl out like an undead corpse and play dead.

As I was plotting my escape route, the vampire tilted their head.

"Are you not making too great a fuss over yesterday?"

"M-making a fuss?"

Did people call it making a fuss when their lives hung by a thread these days? I was too dumbfounded to close my mouth, but the vampire went even further.

"Did you not resolve everything that happened yesterday with ease? You cleaned it up as neatly as one freshens their mouth after a meal, yet you have much to say."

"Freshens their mouth?"

Did they think I had handled the Resistance members easily?

Being overestimated was nice. But the moment it was used as a reason to pile overwork on me, it became a cursed shackle. I hurriedly waved my hands.

"No, please don't trust me! Unlike you, I'm an ordinary person with only one life! I can't walk away unharmed after being shot like Trainee Tyrkanzyaka, and I don't have strange tools like Trainee Shei! All I can rely on is this one body!"

"Yes. And with that one body, did you not deal with three people? Without shedding a single drop of blood."

"What does three matter? Two of them were just hangers-on, and the other was nothing special either! They weren't dangerous at all! I'm not that impressive!"

"Your final opponent was certainly a knight. You subdued and restrained such a knight without a single injury. When I sensed his death, the only wound on his body was the one you dealt to finish him."

"No, that was..."

"Besides, are you not a step above Shei? Those who are stronger and stand higher must naturally shoulder greater responsibility."

This was bad.

The vampire firmly believed I was a step above the regressor!

The vampire, who knew nothing of the modern world, was exceptionally receptive to the information and stimuli coming from outside. If I said the roof of military state headquarters had cracked open and a gigantic magic golem had appeared and flown across the sky, they would believe it. Like a newly hatched chick learning about the world.

"If you bear the title of instructor, you should step forward and lead. Should those who serve the state not lead the people from the front?"

They couldn't even let go of their old-fashioned habits, lecturing me based on that conclusion!

It was fine if they mistook me for strong. I had intended that to some extent. But overestimating me this much was dangerous.

They would resent me once their misunderstanding was cleared up, and if it wasn't, they would push me into a situation where I might die.

The higher you climbed, the more dangerous the fall. What should I do? It was time to let some air out of this.

At least the regressor had a good eye. Wouldn't she start to realize it soon?

'He subdued a knight without a wound? Barehanded, too? ...Could I do that? No, not in my current state, when I haven't fully rebuilt my body. Tch, I hate to admit it, but... he does seem stronger than me. For now.'

Don't judge me based only on what people say! Please watch me fight with your own eyes and then decide! If you hate admitting it, confirm it with those two eyes of yours!

Tch. If I stayed here any longer, I would end up protecting the regressor for the rest of my life. It couldn't be helped. Emergency escape.

I raised my nails and dragged them across the blackboard.

At the skin-crawling sound, the regressor grimaced, the vampire furrowed their brow, and Azzy, who had been sleeping on her stomach in the back, yelped and sprang straight up.

Secret technique, blackboard scratching.

A technique that severed the flow of an unfavorable conversation and escaped a crisis with horrible noise. Drawing everyone's attention with this forbidden art, I shouted.

"Then we'll take turns. I cleaned things up this time, right? If another bad guy comes in next time, one of you deal with them yourselves! That's all...!"

"Woof! Woof woof! Woof!"

This time, Azzy barked fiercely at me. What was wrong with her now?

"Grrr! Woof! Woof woof!"

From what I could tell, she was angry because I had made a blackboard-scratching sound while she was sleeping.

A dog's hearing was dozens of times sharper than a human's, and Azzy, the King of Dogs, could hear even a whisper from the other side of Tantalus. Azzy was a little stupid and had learned to ignore meaningless noise by letting it pass over her. But if I whispered "mangy mutt" anywhere in Tantalus, she would hear it from wherever she was, raise her tail stiffly, and bare her teeth.

A noise attack against that kind of dog was extremely effective. Thinking about it that way made me feel a little sorry. About as much as one dog hair's worth.

I was a human. I couldn't bow my head to a dog first. Holding my head high, I glared at Azzy.

"Who told you to sleep through class? And what, you were scratching concrete with your claws. A human can scratch a blackboard a little. What are you going to do about it? Rebel?"

"Grrr! Woof!"

That meant she would.

Ridiculous. A dog rebelling against a human? How insolent. I would show her the clear difference between humans and dogs.

I raised both hands toward Azzy and gave her an awkward smile.

"Now that I think about it, I feel a little sorry. Why don't we make up?"

Humans could do what dogs couldn't, which was talk and compromise. I attempted to negotiate with the dog.

It didn't work at all.

"Woof!"

The livestock rebellion was so sudden that I had no time to react. Azzy flew across the classroom. Before I knew it, she had grabbed my shoulders, and I rolled across the floor with her. When I came to my senses, she had me pinned in a full mount.

She didn't seem to intend to attack. She hadn't extended her claws and was only pressing down on me, but even that kept me from moving. It felt as though iron stakes were crushing my shoulders.

How did everyone think I was strong when I looked like this every day? They all had to be blind.

Still, I couldn't let them see me lose to a dog. It was a matter of human pride.

Pinned beneath Azzy, I said, "Class is over for today. All right, everyone, go back."

The vampire took up their parasol and sat astride the coffin. As usual, the pitch-black coffin floated into the air and flew toward the door with the vampire aboard.

"Very well. It was entertaining."

"I wasn't trying to entertain you. Get out already. I'm going to teach this puppy a lesson."

For a moment, I had a staring contest with Azzy. Her eyes were filled with dissatisfaction. The audacious creature dared to rise against her superior over a little blackboard scratching. I would teach her a lesson.

The regressor had been walking out after the vampire, but she stopped. Her gaze moved between Azzy and me.

'Are they going to fight? If I see those two fight properly, I might get a rough idea of how strong they are. Hmm. Maybe I'll watch.'

"What are you doing? Here to watch? If you're not going to get this dog off me, leave already."

When I waved her away from where I lay, the regressor swallowed a groan and turned her head.

'As expected, he's on guard. He doesn't intend to show all his strength.'

Wrong. I had no strength worth showing you. There was nothing to watch, so leave already.

As I shooed her away again, the regressor swallowed a sigh and turned around.

"Fine. You two work it out."

The regressor coolly turned and headed outside. With a heavy thud, the thick metal door shut tight.

A moment of silence.

Then a single thought came from beyond the door.

'Those eyes that see through everything. Green eyes...'

"When I tell you to leave, Trainee Shei, it doesn't mean leave and watch from outside. Peeking is not a good habit, so hurry up before you become even more pathetic!"

The regressor flinched hard, then used Wind Step or something and ran down the hall without making a sound.

'T-this isn't running away. That's right. I'm pretending not to be outside so I can seize a more certain opportunity later. One step back for two steps forward.'

What pretending? I could feel it all. Once she got a taste of how easy things were after regressing, she couldn't kick the habit.

Anyway, now the only one beside me was Azzy, baring her teeth as she held me down. Since I had ignored her for so long, she was growling even more viciously.

"Did everyone leave?"

"Grrrrr."

"Hmm. Looks like they did."

After confirming that I could hear no more thoughts, I met Azzy's gaze as she stared straight into my eyes.

With greater sincerity and resolve than ever before, I said, "I'm sorry, Azzy. I won't do it again."

"Grrr."

"Come on, don't be mad. I forgot you were here. I didn't know you hated the sound of blackboard scratching so much."

"Woof!"

"There, there. Good girl, good girl. Puppy. Puppy. A good puppy who doesn't get mad."

"Arf, arf!"

"You know I love you, right? Here, I'll pet you. Move your paw."

"Woof!"

Azzy moved the front paw pinning my shoulder, then abruptly turned around. Her twitching ears seemed to be telling me to pet this side. What a little tyrant.

With a groan, I sat up, settled Azzy on my thighs, and stroked her messy fur. It took only a few passes before Azzy's face completely relaxed and she began to make soft, happy noises.

"Phew. Life."

"Woof!"

"I'm saying I'm so glad I get to share my life with a puppy like you."

"Woof woof!"

Well, I said that, but if I had to choose the best specimen among those left in Tantalus, it was Azzy.

It wasn't a matter of liking her or not. It was a matter of return on investment.

Where else could I find something so stupid, yet so clearly profitable in terms of input and output? Even if I upset her a little, all I had to do was whisper a few sweet words, put her on my lap, and pet her, and she would calm down. How much easier was she to handle compared to the vampire or the regressor?

I cooked for her, took her on walks, and played with her. But that was no big deal.

She also complained a lot and barked at me whenever things didn't go her way. But that was no big deal.

When it came to fighting humans, she was no help at all. But that was no big deal.

...Wait.

Could this barking idiot actually be the most useless one here?

Still, I had already put too much effort into her to cut my losses. Swallowing back tears, I raised a finger and added another day's maintenance costs to this furry lump of sunk cost.

Footnotes:

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