WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 90: Territorial Behavior

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They say that when someone commits a crime, the Celestial God knows, Mother Earth knows, and the criminal knows.

If you asked who knew first, devout followers of the Celestial God might deny it, but the answer was the criminal.

Someone about to commit a crime usually knows they are doing wrong. They glance around suspiciously, move restlessly without blending into their surroundings, then suddenly tense up and do it.

If they get caught, they freeze as if time has been cut away, their eyes darting wildly. Then they either run for it or pretend nothing happened.

That was proof that people recognized their own sins before anyone else did. You could call it the expression of a guilty conscience.

Unfortunately, the regressor had shredded her guilt and scattered it across thirteen regressions, so even that was gone.

"You agree too, right? I'll take care of it."

Never mind. Her guilt was practically in the negatives.

What kind of thought circuit did someone need to have installed to say, You agree too, right? Why was she so certain that I would naturally agree?

The regressor's externally installed thought circuit from her thirteenth regression truly exceeded imagination. Maybe it was fortunate that mind-reading only worked halfway on her. If I read the wrong thing, my mind might become contaminated.

I immediately shouted before the regressor could do anything outrageous.

"Stop! You amputee manufacturer. What the hell are you trying to do?"

The moment I raised my voice even slightly, the regressor swiftly swung Skywarbler.

Heavenly Sword Technique, Precipice.

Skywarbler's slash drew a boundary through empty space. The edge of a distant cliff where the wind shattered. The path of the wind was severed where Skywarbler divided the space. For one minute, the wind would carry nothing into that area. Not scents borne on the wind, nor sounds that shook the air.

That sword was seriously unfair. Then again, it had to be this powerful for the regressor to have carried it from the start of her regressions.

While I grumbled inwardly, the regressor muttered with equal dissatisfaction.

"Why? You're a forced laborer, aren't you? I don't know whether that's real or fake, but you've been locked up here. That means you're on bad terms with the military state."

"That's true enough. I'm imprisoned, after all."

"Then the answer is obvious."

Skywarbler spun in the regressor's hand. She caught the wildly moving sword in one motion, held it straight, and glared at the door.

"We'll leave the people already here alone and kill every military state dog that comes down here. One at a time."

"No. Kill what?"

"Military state dogs."

I could only gape at her in disbelief.

The regressor genuinely intended to kill every member of the military state who came in from now on.

"I'll explain simply, so listen. There are two kinds of people in the military state. Those who want to control everything they can, and those who want to control even what they can't. The ones down there are the most extreme of the latter."

After giving a truly simple explanation, the regressor reached a simple conclusion.

"So we'll kill them before they do anything unnecessary."

"Wow."

"The lieutenant colonel is a pawn. So what? Kill her, and they'll react. Either they'll fly into a rage and all come down here, or they'll watch like cowards. If they come down, kill them. If not, leave them alone. Either way, there won't be any military state left in Tantalus. Then we can protect the people here."

It was very simple logic.

Azzy and Tyr, who could later become fragments of the apocalypse, were unharmed. And I, the greatest variable, did not actually belong to the military state.

That meant the only variable left was military state interference.

So she would erase it. All of it.

Was this... how the regressor saw things?

Rather than untie a knot, she would cut it with Skywarbler. In a way, it was rational, but wasn't she leaving herself with no way back?

I carefully asked, "Then what about supplies? If you kill everyone who comes, won't they cut us off?"

"I have food in my pocket. I prepared it in advance for emergencies. I'll bring it out."

"While everyone else was living on canned beans, you were hiding food for yourself!?"

Was this... the regressor's preparedness?

"You could get hurt fighting the military state! What if they keep dropping bombs in supply crates?"

"The military state isn't stupid enough to pour bombs onto land that would be fine if they left it alone. I can deal with simple bombs, and even if we get hurt, I can make basic recovery medicine.... If things get desperate, ask Tyrkanzyaka. You can just become a vampire, can't you? Tyrkanzyaka would be happy too."

Was this... the regressor's character?

"Even so, we can't live here forever, can we? Or are you really planning to live forever?"

"Not forever. A way out will appear before long. If she falls from the surface, then... one way or another, it'll end."

'Whether I die or she dies. The rest will be able to escape. The Abyss will collapse.'

What I felt from the regressor was vague anxiety and grim resolve. It was a gladiator putting her life in order before an uncertain battle.

This was the regressor's resolve.

But...

But listen...

You couldn't die. The world would end if you did.

Whether the world rewound or another apocalypse came, what would happen to the people left behind?

First, I had to stop her. I could think afterward. Letting my expression fall, I said, "Um, I just set something in motion. Could you wait until it takes effect?"

"You don't understand? Those people are more dangerous than bombs! Even if it's only a lieutenant colonel, we don't know what methods she might have!"

Only a lieutenant colonel? They were fairly influential in the military state.

Ah, but that sort of thing was possible for them. Sometimes, I just couldn't get used to the scale of things here.

When I looked unconvinced, the regressor clicked her tongue and lowered Skywarbler.

"If you don't believe me, I'll show you now. Watch. See what a lieutenant colonel who comes to the Abyss does."

At that moment, I read the intent to leave from inside the instructor's office. The lieutenant colonel had begun moving. The regressor noticed it as well and gestured for me to come closer.

Once I pressed close to her side, the regressor gripped Skywarbler and took a middle stance.

Heavenly Sword Technique, Precipice.

She cut through the air. The sword of heaven severed the news carried by the wind. Scent and sound alike. Everything that flowed through the air was cut apart at the fault line. A wall of severed air surrounded the regressor and me.

Then she pointed her sword downward. Wind surged from Skywarbler.

Wind, Clouds, Rain, and Dew.

The compressed space unfolded, and dew and mist thickly filled the suddenly expanded space. The mist that should have spread into the world struck Precipice and bounced back.

The regressor summoned a watery fog to blur our forms, then gripped her sword again.

Heavenly Sword Technique, Heavenly Mirror.

A mirage was the afterimage of light bent as it traveled through distant space. It was recreated over a distance of barely one meter. The regressor and I were now hidden within distorted light.

Soon after, the instructor's office door opened and the officer stepped out. Just then, a thread of wind flowing from Skywarbler brushed past the officer's hair.

Feeling wind in the Abyss, the officer looked around in confusion. Her gaze briefly passed over the regressor and me, but we were hidden by the stealth technique and invisible to her.

The officer nodded to herself, then headed for the stairs in heavy military boots. Her figure, hands clasped behind her back, disappeared down the steps.

The regressor let out a deep breath.

"Whew. Doing it in a hurry leaves me a little winded."

"A stealth technique? That's impressive. I can't believe we were invisible even from right in front of her."

At my sincere admiration, the regressor puffed up a little before answering as if it were nothing.

"Hmph. It's nothing special. It blocks sound and scent and makes your presence faint, but it doesn't work on strong people who leak energy everywhere."

"Did you use this when you tried to spy on me last time? The ability is impressive, but every use for it is so shady."

"...Shut up and follow the lieutenant colonel."

The only sounds it could block were those carried through the air. Worried that our footsteps might be heard, the regressor and I carefully walked down the stairs.

The officer went out into the yard of the Abyss. Standing in the middle of the area lit by daylight lamps, she took a rubber ball from behind her back.

It was a pitch-black rubber ball, springy and sturdy, fitting perfectly in one hand. It was several times more fun to play with than my improvised leather ball.

Thump, thump. The officer bounced the ball on the ground a few times. The elastic ball sprang back up like a spring.

Once she was ready, the officer called Azzy.

"King of Dogs!"

"Woof?"

Azzy poked her head out from beyond the corner. The officer bounced the ball again, then threw it hard toward the other side of the yard.

"A gift!"

The rubber ball flew high into the sky. After flying for quite some time, it bounced thump, thump across the ground and rolled all the way to the opposite side of Tantalus.

Wag, wag. Azzy wagged her tail at the ball, then kicked off the ground as if she couldn't stand it any longer.

"Woof woof!"

Azzy happily chased after the ball. She ran on all fours, caught up with it, tried to grab it in her mouth, then became even more excited when it bounced off her face and rolled away again.

After missing it several times, Azzy caught the rubber ball in her mouth and returned to the officer. The officer picked up the ball with crisp movements and gave her obligatory praise.

"Good job."

"Woof woof! Ball!"

"I'll throw it again. Here!"

"Woof!"

'Just as the report said. The King of Dogs isn't wary of me.... She'll be easier to bring under control than expected.'

The officer, with such sinister thoughts, was taming Azzy.

Seeing that, I felt as though my heart were breaking.

"No! Azzy!"

"See? Her first act after coming here as a lieutenant colonel is taming the King of Dogs. Isn't that suspicious?"

The regressor muttered with her arms folded.

"My prediction was right. They're Lords of All Creation. They want to tame Beast Kings and use them however they please.... We don't know what they'll do next. It's better to deal with them in advance.... Are you listening?"

"I'm not listening!"

Was that what mattered right now? She was trying to steal the puppy I had painstakingly raised for months!

How many hardships had I gone through to tame her? I had kept throwing for her even when my pitch count was at its limit, cooked for her every day, petted her, and even groomed her fur! And now she was going to fall for some uniformed officer with medals just because the officer brought a slightly bigger, bouncier rubber ball?

"Y-you fickle puppy! You start wagging your tail the moment someone brings a bigger, bouncier rubber ball?"

"Well, she is the King of Dogs. Hey, don't move. If you move too hard..."

"Not a chance! Do you think you can tempt Azzy with just one toy? I've lived with Azzy for months. I know exactly what she likes!"

Ignoring the regressor's words, I ran straight into the prison. I took the stairs two at a time, reached my room, grabbed an armful of rubber balls and steel discs from my drawer, then came back down and dumped them all onto the ground in front of Azzy.

Azzy, who had been carrying the ball, stopped when she spotted me and the discs.

"Woof?"

"Azzy, come here! You graduated from balls long ago! We finally broke through the two-disc wall, so it's time to move on to three discs!"

"Woof woof?"

Azzy looked between the officer and me, dropped the rubber ball with a thud, and ran straight toward me. I picked up three discs and threw them into the sky with some distance between each one.

Azzy kicked off the ground and caught one disc in her mouth. Then she stepped off the prison's outer wall, snatched the disc higher above it, and stretched herself toward the final disc.

"Oh dear. Just a little short...!"

When she couldn't reach it, she simply grabbed it with her hand.

I took the disc from Azzy's mouth after she landed and praised her.

"Using your paw is cheating, but good job. That's how you do it!"

"Woof! Woof woof!"

I was petting the excited, bouncing Azzy when the officer approached. She had lost Azzy halfway through, and beneath the low brim of her hat, she glared at me with terrifying eyes. Her military boots thudded against the ground.

"...Forced laborer. Why are you interfering with me again?"

I answered calmly, "I'm defending my territory, Lieutenant Colonel. If you want to befriend Azzy, you'll have to get past me first."

"...You. Do you truly wish to die?"

"Goodness. Make a face that frightening, and even a dog coming this way will run off."

"A common criminal dares speak to an officer of the military state this way...!"

As the enraged officer took a step forward,

[Sheathe your killing intent, soldier.]

A voice rose from the shadows. It was not a voice produced by vocal cords, but one created by the darkness itself trembling.

The officer flinched at the ominous presence and clenched her teeth.

"Tch, Progenitor...!"

[I do not care what you do.... But I will make this clear once more. Hyu is under my protection, and should you inflict any manner of harm upon him, I will not stand by and watch.]

The billowing shadows issued a stern warning. It sounded like a demon speaking through darkness, or the world itself delivering a solemn warning.

By the time the officer shrank back before a voice that carried fear beyond mere intimidation, I tapped the shadows and spoke familiarly.

"Tyr. If you're going to watch over me like that, just come out."

The voice that had seemed ready to swallow the world suddenly wavered. A moment later, Tyr's slightly deflated voice came from the shadows.

[...I am. No. As you said, how could people stay together every day? There must be times when they are apart as well.]

"Are you sulking because I said we couldn't stick together every day?"

[It is not sulking. I simply thought you were right.]

"If you're going to do it, do it properly. You planted eyes in the shadows anyway."

[...Then may I come out?]

"Of course."

[I will come at once.]

Soon after, the underground armory door opened. Tyr, sitting demurely atop her floating coffin with her limbs gathered together, flew toward us at once. She had been waiting behind the door, ready to rush out at any moment.

The whole lineup was here. The regressor was hiding with her arms folded in displeasure, but she was still on my side.

Azzy's favorability was also far higher toward me.

And Tyr went without saying.

The officer must have realized it too. The wall she would have to overcome.

"You can't have Azzy. If you can, entertain her better than I do!"

The officer glared at me with fierce eyes and bit her lip. Still, no matter how she raged before this lineup, she would only lose out. Before long, she gave up and sharply turned around.

'He is openly keeping me in check. Does he know my identity...? No, an ordinary criminal could not know. Is this simply a struggle for dominance?'

As she walked away from me, the officer made up her mind.

'It is a little wasteful to use one already, but it cannot be helped. I will have to use one of the three bundles that person gave me for emergencies...!'

Footnotes:

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