WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

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◈ Scum of the Brave

Chapter 10

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When I turned off the lights, the darkness that closed around us was overwhelming, to the point that it felt physically oppressive. It was a well-chilled darkness with a density like clay.

Because the windows were shut tight, and even the blackout curtains were drawn.

"We only get one chance at a surprise attack."

I explained in a whisper to the three Brave apprentices. First, we placed the equipment case in the center of the gymnasium and decided to use it as bait. I scattered mock weapons and protectors around it at random.

"Come out when I give the signal. Jogamine, Sara, you had better end it with that one blow."

We arranged some vaulting-box-like equipment whose purpose I did not understand, along with layered mats, as naturally as possible, and hid in their shadows.

"Otherwise, you're weak, so you'll probably get counterattacked and lose."

"Yes! Understood. I will do my utmost."

"Damn it."

Jogamine's replies were as lively as ever, while Sara growled a curse.

Sara was clearly nervous and focused excessively on hiding. She was almost crawling, pressing her ear to the tatami and listening to the approaching footsteps. But it probably did not mean much.

If you had not received that kind of training, you could only vaguely tell how far away someone really was.

"Instructor, what about me?"

Indo Yukine tugged on the hem of my coat. She seemed to be asking when she should go out.

"You're not needed. No point."

"Instructor."

Her voice sounded more displeased than I had ever heard it.

"I don't accept being the only one with nothing. I want to become strong. Will you make me strong too?"

"Sometime."

"Promise."

"If you follow my instructions."

"Then what should I do?"

"How should I know? Do Knees-Hugged Sitting over there or something."

"Understood."

The moment she said it, Indo Yukine really did assume Knees-Hugged Sitting and stopped moving entirely. Sara and I exchanged looks, while Jogamine nodded as if impressed by something.

"As expected of Yukine. So much that even I cannot help but be thoroughly..."

I could not hear the rest because I covered Jogamine's mouth. Jogamine apparently understood my intent and stopped wasting breath. Sara inhaled sharply. Roughly ten seconds. Then the entrance door opened, and first, the light of a flashlight illuminated the cold darkness.

Then voices.

"I know this may sound rude, but..."

The first was a low male voice.

"Are you certain it was here?"

He turned as if asking someone. His body, which looked larger than mine at least, was wrapped in a cramped suit. I could not really see his face. A school staff member, or a teacher.

That was what I thought at the time, but the next moment overturned that prediction completely.

"I saw light. From this place."

This one was the extremely hoarse voice of a woman. It had a distinctive, unpleasant sound, like a tree that had grown warped and then withered in place.

Ether burn.

I knew the symptom that made a voice like that. Overdosing on Ether, or being a permanent Ether-augmented person, made it easier to develop. The throat was damaged by Ether. That meant an Ether-addicted Brave, or otherwise a Dark Lord. Either way, someone like that being in a school felt obviously strange.

"Was someone here? That is somewhat bad."

The suited man's voice held clear unease.

"What should we do, Levi? Can you find them your way?"

"Who knows."

Another small figure slipped in from behind the suited man. A hooded parka was pulled deep over the face, hiding almost all of it. But the small portion of profile I could see looked strangely white in the flashlight's beam.

"Someone may have been here, but there is a high chance they have already left."

"Wait, Levi. That equipment case."

The suited man pointed to the center of the gymnasium. Keeping the flashlight aimed straight ahead, he approached it cautiously. Good. At my feet, I sensed Sara swallowing. She was extremely tense.

"Hmph."

The woman with the Ether-burned voice did not follow the suited man. Instead, she crouched where she stood. This one was trouble. There was a strong sense that she was used to this kind of situation. From the exchange with the suited man, her name was probably Levi.

"Do not be too wary of something like that. It is too obvious. I will trace it."

That wording made me feel a definite danger. Trace it, she, Levi, had said. It was safe to assume she was going to use some kind of Ether Perception. I decided to move immediately.

I grabbed a coin in my pocket and threw it with all my strength. The coin fell a fair distance away, and a hard sound bounced through the room. The suited man groaned something low and pointed the flashlight that way. Meanwhile, Levi quickly stood and swept her gaze left and right.

But we moved faster.

Because I kicked Sara and Jogamine in the backs.

"Who is there?"

Even Levi, who looked like she would be somewhat troublesome, could only ask that much. Since I had kicked Sara first, Levi had to receive the mock sword Sara swung down from the front. There was no room to dodge. Sara's fighting style had originally specialized in exactly that approach.

Her first downward strike from overhead was fast and heavy.

"Damn it! Bastard really kicked me!"

Sara's blow came with a curse.

Levi raised her right arm and blocked it. Even so, a dull crack rang out. Her strangely white face twisted hard, and she tried to take distance. Sara pursued her further. That was exactly a great improvement. When sparring with me, Sara had immediately reset her stance and hardened her guard.

As expected of my advice.

However, the Ether-burned woman called Levi was not the kind of opponent who could be settled with that level of mental trickery. I somehow had that feeling.

"You..."

Levi muttered briefly and received Sara's second strike. This time, she properly knocked it aside to divert the force of the mock sword. Sara lost her balance and staggered. And of course, she took the opponent's counterattack.

"A student? Why?"

It was probably a roundhouse kick. I could not fully see it in the darkness, but Levi's small body spun at an outrageous speed, and Sara, who had attacked with the mock sword, was the one blown away. With a muffled scream, she rolled across the tatami.

"To be caught like that... disgraceful."

A hoarse, bitter voice. After kicking Sara away, Levi did not follow up and instead held her right arm. It hung limply. Sara's first strike might have broken the bone at least.

"You people!"

Suddenly, Jogamine's sharp voice echoed. That side had reached a development opposite to Sara's.

"Those faces! You are neither Academy staff nor teachers. Who are you?"

The training one-handed sword in Jogamine's right hand had just caught the suited man in the pit of the stomach. A deep step-in, and a blow with good timing.

But that was all.

The suited man let out a cry of pain like his organs had been crushed and rolled onto the spot.

"Penalties apply to trespassers."

Completely putting herself on the shelf, Jogamine thrust the one-handed sword at the suited man's forehead.

"What is your purpose? Hostile action against the Academy, villain?"

"Follow up, idiot."

I unintentionally cursed Jogamine's behavior in a whisper. Because the suited man, while still fallen, was crawling one hand across the tatami. The place where he had fallen was near the equipment case. Training swords were scattered there.

"Indo."

I called the name of the girl behind me in Knees-Hugged Sitting.

"My turn?"

"Yeah. It's pretty bad."

The suited man's hand grabbed a sword on the tatami. A one-handed sword. The same type Jogamine was using.

At the same time, the woman called Levi was cautiously approaching Sara. As for Sara, her situation was not good either. After being kicked away, she should have gotten up immediately, but for some reason she remained on all fours, waiting for Levi to approach. Like a dog threatening a human.

The other side was probably professional. At least Levi was. If so, there was only one thing to do. Apparently, this was no longer the time for training.

"Indo, take the suit. You can use 《E3》."

"Should I kill him?"

"No."

I shook my head.

The opponent was not a Dark Lord, and I did not know whether he was connected to one. Killing someone like that would cause legal problems. Above all, I was not the kind of person below scum who killed unrelated people just because they were annoying.

Or rather, perhaps...

"We're running. They might be stronger than me. Be careful not to die."

Then I took the 《E3》 injector from my pocket and pressed it against the side of my neck. It took only an instant for the contents to scatter into my body and for me to "change."

The world slowed, and I immediately leapt out.

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