WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Order
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 161: The Wise and the Foolish (2)
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Most people who could move without difficulty had left with the expedition.
The expedition had to travel while protecting far more people than it could reasonably manage, so it was highly likely to suffer heavy losses. It wouldn't be surprising if some unforeseen event wiped them out. No, it would be more surprising if they returned without incident.
Still, their circumstances were better than those of the people left in the basin.
Around eight hundred people remained after the expedition left.
The elderly, children, the sick, and others unable to endure a grueling long-distance journey.
Then there were those who stayed because they couldn't bring themselves to leave their families behind.
People looked at Scaldrina and Irsa with quiet hope and expectation in their eyes. A few elderly people lowered their voices and whispered among themselves.
“I heard the Paladins call that young lady Scaldrina earlier.”
“Scaldrina? Scaldrina the Unyielding?”
“It must be her. It’s not a common name, and she has blonde hair and blue eyes.”
“Do you think we can survive?”
“We must be able to. I suppose people aren’t simply meant to die...”
Irsa met their gazes and thought quietly.
‘How do we get through this?’
There was no way for Scaldrina and Irsa to rescue everyone on their own.
To save the people, one condition had to be met. The expedition needed to complete its mission, return, and send reinforcements to this basin.
There was a problem, though. Irsa thought it was unlikely that reinforcements would come.
There were countless people in this basin.
Yet aside from Scaldrina and Irsa, none of them had much tactical value. Most couldn't even move freely.
They had no tactical value, and the chance of a successful rescue was low. Sending a rescue team would be a foolish decision.
Another problem was that only Scaldrina and Irsa could prove their worth on the battlefield. Would the leaders of their churches risk numerous Paladins to rescue the two of them?
‘Of course not.’
Yet the people left behind didn't abandon hope.
They firmly believed someone would come to save them because they were still alive, and because even a famous Paladin had remained with them.
Contrary to their expectations, combat churches had no principle that said survivors had to be rescued unconditionally.
Every life was precious, of course. But many lives were more precious than one.
‘What are the odds that reinforcements will come by some miracle?’
If this place had been close to a fortress and relatively safe, reinforcements might have come.
The current situation was the complete opposite.
‘It takes fifteen days to get here from the nearest fortress. A round trip would take a month. In the time it takes to rescue us, they could complete three or four missions. And The One Who Walks on Graves’ army has been sighted.’
The One Who Walks on Graves was one of the demons the Paladins had practically given up trying to deal with because it was so difficult to defeat.
There was virtually no chance that a combat church would clash with The One Who Walks on Graves just to rescue Scaldrina and Irsa.
‘Reinforcements aren’t coming.’
Irsa sighed silently.
‘...The situation was too urgent, so I was slow to judge. If I wanted to count on reinforcements, I should've found some excuse to keep a few more Paladins here.’
It was a hopeless situation. Still, Irsa didn't show it. She knew people were watching her and Scaldrina.
The situation had never been this dire, but Irsa and Scaldrina had found themselves in similar circumstances many times before.
If they showed any sign of wavering now, the people would surely become unsettled. Once a large group became agitated, the confusion would quickly spiral out of control.
Clutching at straws, Irsa whispered to Scaldrina.
“Sis, do you have a plan?”
“No. But if we wait and hold out, something will work out.”
“What’s the tactical objective?”
“...I don’t know.”
“Then why did you decide to stay?”
Scaldrina gave an awkward little laugh, her face filled with embarrassment and apology.
“I just didn’t think we could leave these people behind.”
Irsa wasn't disappointed. Instead, she smiled faintly. She had expected Scaldrina’s reason to be exactly that simple.
Scaldrina had always lived by instinct and split-second judgment. As a result, it was difficult to count the impulsive actions she had taken so far.
There were three reasons Scaldrina hadn't been expelled from the Blind Guardian. She acted out of goodwill, didn't force that goodwill on others, and was exceptionally capable.
‘It would be nice if Sis were a little more cunning.’
At the same time, Irsa hoped Scaldrina would remain exactly as she was.
That kind of foolishness was why people loved Scaldrina, and why Irsa had stayed by her side.
Irsa whispered.
“Sis, one day, there’ll come a time when God doesn’t grant us divine power.”
Humans worked hard to use limited resources efficiently.
Gods did the same. Divine power was limited, so a god couldn't grant it to Paladins without end.
That meant there was a chance God wouldn't hear a Paladin’s prayers or grant divine power. It was the possibility Scaldrina feared most.
“If we start praying twice as hard from today, won't God look kindly on us?”
Irsa smiled.
“That would be nice. Let’s pray hard.”
* * *
For about two days after the expedition left, nothing happened.
Things changed on the third day. Beasts that had died once and risen through demonic power, along with demonic beasts, began prowling around the basin.
It wasn't because the scent and presence of the people left behind had drifted beyond the basin. The problem was the scent left behind by the Paladins who came and went, and by the people who had left with them. It lingered like a trail of footprints. Even after dying and rising again, the beasts’ sense of smell remained sharp.
Scaldrina blocked the only path into the basin.
Irsa was the only person who remained by Scaldrina’s side.
“Grrrk!”
An enhancement type demonic beast, somewhere between the middle and late stages, charged at Scaldrina.
“Hah!”
Scaldrina shoved her left arm into the demonic beast’s jaws to restrict its movement, then thrust her sword forward with her right hand.
Her blade pierced the creature’s eye and tore through its brain. Scaldrina subdued it in a single strike.
In return, a large chunk of flesh was torn from her left shoulder. Neither Scaldrina nor Irsa panicked. As Irsa treated her, Scaldrina asked,
“Will things get better with time?”
No. There was no chance of that. If Scaldrina fought here, the smell of blood and rotting corpses would spread in every direction. That stench would surely draw The One Who Walks on Graves’ army toward them. The fighting wouldn't end. Things wouldn't get better.
But Scaldrina didn't ask because she didn't know that. She simply wanted to hear a positive answer.
So Irsa replied,
“I think so. The question is how long we can hold out...”
Encouraged by Irsa’s words, Scaldrina spoke proudly.
“Holding out is what I do best. Irsa, just trust Sis. All right?”
* * *
More than a month passed.
Scaldrina remained at the entrance to the basin the entire time. She fought there, ate there, and occasionally tried to sleep there.
As its name suggested, the Blind Guardian specialized in defensive battles and holding out.
The Blind Guardian eased the strain on a Paladin’s stamina and helped them sense approaching threats even with their eyes closed or while deeply asleep.
Even so, whenever Scaldrina’s physical exhaustion reached its limit, Irsa used the divine power of the Order of Thread and Bottle to restore her strength.
The mental strain kept building, but her body still retained its vigor.
The problem came from another direction. Food, for one.
“Irsa, doesn't this part look fairly fresh? It’s red, too.”
“It smells strange... Still, we should be grateful to have even this much.”
To conserve food, Scaldrina and Irsa had stopped eating the meals people gave them around fifteen days ago. Instead, they tore flesh from the corpses of demonic beasts and animals that had died and risen again.
“Ugh.”
“It tastes awful...”
Scaldrina and Irsa complained at the same time.
They had no seasoning, and they couldn't cook freely. The meat had a strange astringent taste and a severe gamy stench. There was nothing to be done. It wasn't normal food.
But there was a problem even more serious than food and physical exhaustion. It was the agitation that naturally arose among the people as time passed.
Ordinary people couldn't endure the stress of such extreme circumstances.
“Irsa, I’m going to sleep for a bit.”
When Scaldrina crouched down and closed her eyes, several people approached and began shouting.
“Hey! How long are you going to keep us trapped here?”
“Do you think I don’t know you stayed here just to lock us up until we die?”
Scaldrina kept her eyes tightly shut and tried to sleep as if she had heard nothing.
When the expedition left and Scaldrina and Irsa remained behind, the people had sincerely thanked them.
Their presence made it feel as if the world had not abandoned them. Those left behind were happy and relieved by their presence.
But gratitude faded quickly. Before long, people began to take Scaldrina and Irsa’s goodwill for granted.
Given the situation, they demanded more and more.
“You can do it, can’t you? Take us somewhere safe!”
People formed expectations as they pleased. They expected new Paladins to come rescue them. Or they expected Irsa and Scaldrina to save them.
Scaldrina and Irsa hadn't planted those expectations. Yet when those hopes were betrayed, people grew angry. Whether the other party had done anything wrong wasn't especially important.
People who were suffering needed someone to blame.
It wasn't because they were evil. That was simply how people were.
Some even made proposals to Irsa and Scaldrina.
“There’s nothing we can do about the others. At least save people who can move, like us. Isn’t it far better for a few people to live than for everyone to die? Huh?”
“Staying here isn’t protecting people. It’s killing people who can move, like us. Do you understand?”
They came up with every reason why they should survive, and every reason to abandon the others.
They tried every method to stir Scaldrina and Irsa’s emotions. They brought dying children before them and harmed themselves in front of them.
But Irsa and Scaldrina didn't move.
They had stayed because they couldn't leave people behind. If they were going to leave for such reasons, they would never have stayed in the first place.
When their long, persistent persuasion received no answer, people sincerely cursed Irsa and Scaldrina.
“I told you from the start. Those bitches are waiting for us to die as soon as possible so they can go back to their comfortable homes. Filthy bitches.”
“You think you’ll sleep easy after we die? We’ll curse you even after death. May God curse you too.”
Not long after the insults and curses began, demonic beasts would appear.
Then the people naturally put Scaldrina and Irsa between themselves and the danger before retreating to safety.
Once they were gone, Scaldrina finally opened her eyes and gripped her sword. Then, with forced cheer, she said,
“All right, Irsa. Let’s begin another worthwhile day.”
Footnotes:
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