WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Scum of the Brave

Chapter 13

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When it comes to my master, I remember several things.

None of them are especially good memories. Whenever I think about that man, only unpleasantness remains.

Takamiya Kiyoto the "Nine-Fingered," as he called himself.

When did I meet that man? I think it was when I had been kicked out of my family home because I dropped out of high school for personal reasons, came to Tokyo to look for work, and was drifting around. At the time, because the take-home pay was good, I was working part-time under a shabby Dark Lord around Ikebukuro.

The areas of Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Ikebukuro have become dangerous zones over the last few years, with small and medium Dark Lords frequently getting into conflicts.

Every one of them was a newly arrived upstart. Thanks to the latest powerful Ether surgeries, their individual combat abilities were high, but they did not know the know-how a Dark Lord needed to be wary of.

Therefore, for Braves too, it was a convenient hunting ground. Recently, a powerful Dark Lord had risen and consolidation was apparently active, but it still remained Tokyo's largest battlefield. Back then, several years ago, violence happened somewhere in the city almost every day.

The one who lumbered into that place, killed the Dark Lord, and stole my job was Takamiya Kiyoto the "Nine-Fingered."

"You've got to be kidding."

That was what I thought at the time.

If my employer Dark Lord died, what was supposed to happen to that month's rent and living expenses?

With no other choice, I forced my way into serving as that man's assistant in the form of a "disciple." Takamiya Kiyoto was weak against pressure, always afraid of something, and if someone raised their voice a little, he looked like he was about to cry. That was the kind of man he was.

Thinking back, maybe that was a quality necessary for a Brave.

"I respect my father."

Jogamine declared that while walking behind me.

I did not want her to follow me, but until we reached the main street, this was a narrow alley. There was no other path. I had no choice but to walk in silence while listening to her irritatingly guileless voice.

"I believe Father was a person who understood the feelings of the weak. And he spoke to me about the ideal of being a Brave. The sinfulness of that work, and nevertheless, the will to pursue the best..."

When I heard that shitty line, I wanted to snort.

Just because she used an Ether Perception that could read people's hearts did not mean she could understand everything.

What a stupid story.

My master may indeed have often shown mental weakness. However, precisely because of that, he was meticulous, cautious, and cold-hearted. He had no openings.

And my master was always saying, "Being a Brave is work for the lowest scum."

It was not work you could continue for long. Once you got a decent chunk of money from a suitable job, it would be best to build a villa somewhere around Hawaii. After that, you could spend your days fishing.

You should wash your hands of this scummy job as soon as possible.

The master who said that himself made a mistake in a stupid incident and was killed by a Dark Lord.

I myself am sick of the Brave trade.

It has been years now since my master died.

"Father told me about you, about Master's stories."

Jogamine's voice chased after me. The rain was gradually getting heavier, but not enough to drown out her voice.

"That you had wonderful talent and were a promising Brave. Stories of how you fought Dark Lords together with Father too. Lord Gleaming Serpent, the June Seventeenth Conflict in Shinjuku..."

I wanted her to stop talking. If I could have turned around and punched her silent, I would have. As I was now, there was a high chance I would kill her.

I ended up remembering the countless impossible demands my master had forced on me, the many tortures he called training. What exactly had my master told this girl? What was with this two-facedness? He was completely different from the master I knew.

"When I first met Master Yashiro, you seemed so much like a delinquent that I could not believe it. However, Master certainly did help us, so I thought that, just like Father, you really were easy. Tonight too, and during Lord Amber Thorn's incident."

I kept walking in silence, trying not to hear anything.

Eventually, we reached the main street. Cars raced past in front of us. Since I had no umbrella, pedestrians might think I looked suspicious. I needed to stop by a convenience store or somewhere soon. My coat was already close to soaked.

"Master!"

Jogamine called my name in a slightly stronger voice.

I turned around. I intended to tell her to disappear already. But that reaction was a little too careless. For an instant, a sharp flash ran, and I instinctively shielded my face. I thought it was some kind of attack, and in fact, it was not all that different.

"It is a photograph."

Jogamine held up a smartphone with no sign of decoration.

"Since I had the chance, I took one. This is the fan mindset."

I think she said that with a smile, but since my displeasure had reached its peak, I do not remember very well.

To be honest, having my master discussed had made me feel terribly miserable. I did not feel like responding with some dimwitted line like "delete the picture" or "stop it." And because there were pedestrians watching, I could not assault her either.

I desperately resisted the attack impulse brought on by 《E3》 and somehow managed to say only one thing.

"Go home."

At that moment, that was all I wished for.

After walking through the rain, I arrived at Ed Cyrus's bar and found an unexpected face waiting for me.

"You're late."

It was Sara Kashiwagi Pendragon, wearing an unhappy expression like a ferocious dog. She seemed to have been caught in the rain; her golden hair was wet, and her complexion had gone beyond pale into bluish white. She was sitting as if leaning against the counter.

Unfortunately, there were no other customers inside, and neither Maruta nor even Ed Cyrus was there. Had he abandoned the bar and gone somewhere again? What an unbelievable manager.

With no choice, I silently sat beside Sara. Sara asked unhappily:

"What were you doing?"

"I was hungry, so I ate a hamburger."

It was not a very good answer, but my nerves were so badly frayed that it was the best I could do. The effects of 《E3》 were lingering. Sure enough, Sara glared at me.

"Liar."

"It's true. Ed... the manager?"

"Don't know. Said he was hungry and told me to watch the place, then went somewhere. That Maruta guy went with him."

"Damn, I should've come a little earlier."

I leaned against the counter too. I was strangely tired. More than half of it was Jogamine's fault. I felt like complaining.

"What about you? Wandering around a place like this. It's late at night. Are you a delinquent? What are you doing?"

"Normally, if someone runs off like that, you'd worry."

Sara said it with a serious face.

"Whether you're safe. You were holding them back, right? I can tell that much."

"You..."

I was surprised. So I chose my words a little.

"You're extremely normal."

The instant she heard that, Sara made a face like she might bite me.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? Are you picking a fight?"

"No, I'm praising you. I mean you have ordinary sensibilities. You're a considerate, good person."

"Shut up."

As Sara spat that out, I could see her ears turning red. I ended up laughing out loud.

"Your mental state is a little better than earlier."

"Shut the hell up!"

"Just so you know, according to my master, being afraid of your opponent isn't bad. The problem is that if you don't control it, you die. Types like Indo and Jogamine are exceptions. Seriously."

"Is that supposed to comfort me?"

"Yeah. I'm saying something extremely half-assed right now."

We glared at each other for only a few seconds. Even so, as I watched her with a flimsy grin, Sara eventually turned her face away.

"Damn it! Making fun of me. Sure, back then, I was... yeah, I was scared. You think I'm not suited to be a Brave, don't you?"

"Yeah."

I truly thought that from the bottom of my heart.

"You're a good person, so quit being a Brave."

When I gave her that serious advice, Sara kept her face turned away and muttered something indistinct. I think most of it was meaningless cursing like "like I care" and "shit."

But I was not a counselor, and I had no intention of sticking my nose into Sara's personal problems.

Instead, I decided to change the subject. There was something I could not help being curious about.

"Speaking of that Jogamine."

"Huh?"

The way Sara asked back was completely that of a delinquent. This girl definitely lost points through her words and behavior.

"What is she?"

"What do you mean, what?"

"She's a mess. In all kinds of ways. No, all ways. How can you be fine making someone like that your leader? If it were me, I would be plotting an assassination."

"That is, well..."

I did not know what she was remembering, but Sara made a complicated face.

"That's true, but..."

"But?"

"She and Indo were the only ones who talked to me properly. I'm, you know, with my circumstances, and how I am."

"Selection by elimination. That makes sense."

"Also, and then..."

This time, Sara seemed to be choosing her words. After grimacing several times and pressing a hand to her forehead, she opened her mouth.

"No... I'm starting to not really know. She's, well, a good person too. She has weird stubbornness. She meddles where she doesn't need to, and even in situations where she absolutely won't be useful, she comes to help on her own. And..."

As Sara stumbled over her words again and again, she looked extremely reluctant to say it. It sounded like an excuse to me.

"Jogamine can hear hearts, right? But it seems like she chooses not to hear ours. When she uses her ability and listens, she says, 'I heard it.' Only when she first meets someone, she said it's hard to block the channel, so she ends up hearing. Things like that. She has about a hundred pieces of weird stubbornness."

Sara made an expression like she was forcing herself to smile.

"You might think, so what? But I don't actually hate Jogamine."

"I hate her. Listen, you're a good person, so I'll tell you. That kind of..."

On that point, I had no intention of yielding at all. I pointed at Sara and was about to give a warning just in case. At least choose your companions. That was when it happened.

Suddenly, the door to the bar opened, and a dull, unfashionable bell rang.

"Oh."

A familiar bald head poked through the gap of the open door. Same criminal face as ever. Bad eyes and bad attitude. "Salt" Joe. I found myself standing.

"What are you here for?"

First, I decided to mock Joe.

"Ed Cyrus isn't here. Weren't you working? Is it okay to waste time here? Failed already?"

"Shut up."

Saying that in a slightly hoarse voice, "Salt" Joe entered with heavy footsteps. He looked even more displeased than usual. Maybe because his jacket was wet from the rain. The cold wind outside flowed into the bar for just an instant and swirled.

I had a somewhat ominous feeling.

"Ah, hello."

Even while being pressured by Joe's atmosphere, Sara lowered her head a little. She really was a sensible girl. "Salt" Joe only glanced at her and almost completely ignored her.

Something feels strange, I thought. I tapped his shoulder.

"So, Joe, have you eaten yet? Leave the bar to her, and let's go buy hamburgers. We can drink the beer here without asking. Maruta should come back too, so we can play a round of Medallion..."

"No."

Joe cut off my words and looked into my eyes.

"Yashiro, what are you going to do?"

Joe's eyes had a terribly dry color. I deliberately avoided reading emotion or thought from them. I see. Maybe Jogamine had her own troubles too.

"What do you mean, what?"

"I saw it on the news just as I was finishing work. Then I asked somebody who knew the details."

"Saw what?"

"Around evening. They found the body of some dumb-looking guy floating in Tokyo Bay."

"That is..."

I hesitated over my answer. In the end, I decided to smile a little.

"Must have been a tragically dumb-looking face."

"Probably funny as hell. I saw the photo. His throat was split open this much. Even if he came back as a ghost, he couldn't talk like that. Serves him right."

Joe made a gesture of slitting his own throat. He too was smiling a little.

"And this."

Suddenly, he thrust out a photo.

"Apparently, the corpse was clutching it."

Something shining gold had been photographed there. I probably let out a faint groan despite myself. A badge of a beast, or rather a monster, split in half.

Now I could clearly tell. It was modeled after the face of a dragon. Horns grew from it, scales covered its face, and fangs peeked out.

It was something I had just seen.

"Best news since the year started, right?"

"Salt" Joe put the photo away and slapped my shoulder. I nodded firmly.

"Yeah. An irritating guy died."

"Exactly. When's the funeral party?"

"Let's see. After we do what needs doing."

As we talked with this friendly air, Sara Pendragon suddenly cut in.

"What? What happened?"

She looked terribly anxious.

"You look awful."

"You're imagining things."

I pushed Sara's face away.

"Salt" Joe and I exchanged looks and understood there was nothing more in particular to discuss about this topic. We would do what needed doing. The funeral party would be hilarious.

Ishino the "Musician" died in this way.

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