WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Scum of the Brave

Chapter 2

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Ed Cyrus's bar, "Goonies," was special only on Monday nights.

General customers were banned, and the place opened exclusively for Braves. There were clear reasons for that. First, normal people did not like drinking or eating alongside a pack of murderers. Second, drunk Braves were dangerous without exception.

The second reason mattered more, but among us Braves, the service had a fantastic reputation.

You could drink yourself stupid and make noise with familiar bastards without troubling the decent crowd. Anyone who got a little too rowdy would probably receive strict punishment at Ed Cyrus's hands.

According to rumor, Ed Cyrus himself had once been a former Brave who went around killing Dark Lords. One look at his face and you could tell the rumor was probably true.

He had the kind of bearded face that belonged on the boss of a bandit gang, and the right half of his face bore a massive burn scar. Every time he talked, that scar pulled tight, making him look like he was threatening the customers by default.

"What, it's Yashiro?"

The moment I stepped inside, Ed Cyrus looked at my face and muttered like he was disappointed. "Yashiro" was my name as a Brave. An alias, obviously. I was not stupid enough to give out my real name that easily.

"All I'm getting today are poor bastards. You got money? No tabs tonight. Not this time."

"Come on, that's cold."

I laughed despite myself.

"It's been ages since I came in. Welcome me properly. I'm a customer, aren't I?"

"I don't call people who eat and drink on credit customers."

"I know."

"And people who don't order anything don't count either."

"I know! Beer! And something I can eat right now."

To convince Ed, I put a thousand-yen bill on the counter. At this rate, my living expenses were probably going to be tight this month too.

"Then even you count as a customer, Yashiro. Come in."

Ed Cyrus smiled, dragging the burn scar across his face, and quickly recovered the thousand-yen bill. Then he picked up a beer mug. At the same time, I looked around the bar. Maybe the miserable weather had something to do with it, but there were fewer customers than usual tonight.

Only two familiar regulars sat at the center table. From the second I entered, I could tell they were having a truly worthless conversation, the kind that produced no profit for anyone. I walked closer while listening in.

"I'm telling you, King Rob this season is unbeatable. Did you see the challenger's face? White as a sheet."

"Even so, King's Black Cavalry set has already been figured out. He is at a disadvantage, surely. Everyone will target him."

"Heh. King Rob's fighting style is the royal road. You get it? Huh? The cavalry comes out hard and punches through the other guy block by block. You think he'll lose to some cheap counter-fishing trick?"

"I like attrition battles myself. That's a style too. I will be cheering for the challenger."

It was a card game tournament. Obviously. These guys only had a few topics they liked. Games, or stories about other people screwing up at work. That was about the full range. Still, I was one of their kind, and I loved that sort of conversation too.

So I cut in from the side.

"Then what do we do? Bet on whether King wins?"

"Huh?"

One of them turned around. A big skinhead.

"You're late. Where the hell were you wasting time, Yashiro?"

He glared at me with a brutal face. His name was "Salt" Joe. Probably an alias, same as mine. He was an ex-yakuza hitman and a fellow Brave. He wore an army jacket stained with blood, puke, and mud, and it looked too tight on him. As far as I knew, that jacket had never once shown signs of being washed.

Apparently he had some kind of attachment to it, but it was probably a keepsake from a dead friend or subordinate. I had no interest whatsoever in that kind of past, so all I could say was, "It stinks. Wash it."

Joe glared at me head-on and spat his poison.

"Unlike you, I'm not free all day. Making me wait? I'll kill you."

"Liar, 'Salt' Joe."

I decided to call Joe a liar. Because Joe hated me, and I hated Joe. Even so, we were friends, so there was nothing to be done. Being a Brave was a tough business if you wanted friends. Too many people in it were worse than the lowest scum.

So I smiled at Joe and started wasting breath. Like this.

"You're free anyway, Joe. No way you're busy, right? If you find a nice job, call me too."

"I'd hire some punk off the street before teaming up with Yashiro. Are you stupid?"

"Fair enough. I'd do too much work and leave no cut for a hack like you."

"What was that?"

Joe raised his voice and started to stand, but someone grabbed his arm and stopped him. The other regular at the table. A man in an absurdly fine suit.

"Please don't."

The man smiled with eyes as thin as thread. It was a smile so endlessly suspicious it almost felt impressive.

"All of you try to start fights far too quickly."

His name was "Musician" Ishino. Technically, he was a Brave too. Rumor said that before he got his license, he had been an amateur murderer. Amateur, meaning just a plain serial killer. I did not know if it was true. What I did know was that he could not be trusted.

"Why can't everyone get along?"

"Getting along with third-rate murdering bastards is difficult."

I explained my feelings logically and honestly. "Salt" Joe growled.

"I don't let people call me a hack. Take it back, Yashiro!"

"You're a murderer and you still have professional pride?"

"Take it back!"

"Now, now."

Ishino soothed us with a fake display of calm. That was what pissed me off. Ishino did not want us to get along. He just wanted to play a game instead of watching a fight.

"Settle it with a game. The master will throw us out otherwise."

"True."

I glanced at the counter. Ed Cyrus had stopped pouring beer into the mug and was watching us with eyes like an ogre. "Salt" Joe snorted and sat back down. At this point, I was the only one acting childish. I wanted to blame all of it on the lingering effects of 《E3》.

"Sorry, Joe."

"Yeah. I'm not a hack."

"Right, you're not a hack. You're a first-rate Brave. But what about your card skills?"

I pulled out a chair, put my elbow on the table, and took a stack of cards from my pocket. My deck. "Salt" Joe still looked grumpy, probably because I had called him a hack, so I slapped him on the shoulder to fire him up.

"Let's settle this. Joe, Ishino, if you're scared, you can go home! Otherwise it's a three-way match!"

"What'd you say, punk?"

"Fine by me."

Joe was simple, so he stood up like he was kicking his chair away. Ishino smiled like a sly fox. I hated these guys, sure. But I could appreciate that they always took the bait when there was a match on the table.

Except in the next moment, Ishino's irritating smile vanished.

"Or that is what I would like to say."

When this narrow-eyed man got serious, there was something strangely cruel about him.

"Yashiro-san. Those two. Are they friends of yours? Or customers?"

When Ishino said "customers," it carried a special meaning in our line of work.

A Brave's customer.

In other words, a target for killing.

I had a bad feeling, so I turned around at once.

Two girls stood there.

One tall girl with an oddly mature air. One small girl. Both in white school uniforms. Unfortunately, I recognized them.

You're kidding me, I thought.

I could feel my fun plans for the night rapidly losing color.

"Hey."

Ed Cyrus spoke in warning from behind the counter.

"General customers aren't allowed tonight. And I can't say I'm impressed. Minors wandering around a place like this, at this hour..."

"There is no problem."

Her tone was decisive. The taller one stepped forward. No mistake, she was the girl who had fallen right in front of me earlier.

"We are Braves."

Her voice had no hesitation and no hint of shame. She sounded almost proud of the job.

"Academy, second year. Special Training Course. Aki Jogamine."

She, Aki Jogamine, introduced herself with real confidence. Then she fixed her gaze straight on me and saluted like she was in the military.

"Thank you for saving my life earlier."

I almost hid under the table.

"Master Yashiro. I am convinced that you are a Brave of magnificent skill and conviction."

Please stop, I thought.

Ed Cyrus was here. So were "Salt" Joe and Ishino. Hearing that in front of these bastard friends was too embarrassing to survive.

"Please become our master. Tonight. Immediately."

Then Aki Jogamine bowed far too deeply.

"I look forward to your guidance, Master."

That was my limit.

My unpleasant friends broke into low, vulgar laughter. Laughter clearly meant to mock me. I went silent. I had no idea what attitude I was supposed to take except to ignore them, or ignore the girls, as completely as possible.

There was an organization called the Academy.

Just as the name implied, it was a school. A Brave training institution created under the leadership of the Japanese government's Ministry of Education, which was obsessed with cleaning up the Brave industry.

Its motto was:

"Justice, Protection, Honor."

They had to be kidding.

Just hearing those words would probably send "Salt" Joe into an allergic sneezing fit, and a wicked man like Ishino might get purified on the spot. Even I nearly got goosebumps.

That bizarre school, the Academy, had opened about four years ago, if I remembered right.

At the time, apparently, there had been a backlash over the risks of letting minors handle 《E3》 and training them to kill. But thanks to large sums of money scattered through the media, the criticism settled down on the surface. It also helped that the 507th King Arthur of the Round Table Foundation, an international Brave support organization, offered funding.

Generally speaking, girls have more internal Ether than boys, so the student body is now apparently centered around female students, with a fairly large number enrolled.

Their trademarks were white uniforms, the injection scars of regular 《E3》 users, and the silver "winged sun" crest shining on their chests. Missing that had been my mistake. I should have noticed it when I first found her.

The look I gave them was probably extremely unpleasant.

"No."

First, I declared that.

"I don't care what your situation is. I can't take that job. I'm a Brave, not a teacher."

I tried to say it crisply, leaving as little room as possible for her to push in.

"In other words, I'm a killer. You understand? Everything else is outside my field. Can't do it. More than that, I don't want to."

"Yes!"

Aki Jogamine's answer was so crisp it pissed me off.

"However, you are the only person we should rely upon, Master."

Her voice carried absolute certainty in her own actions.

That cold, hard impression her face gave off had been a minor misunderstanding on my part. This girl was the type you should describe as stubborn, or maybe convinced too easily by her own assumptions.

"No matter what, we must subjugate a certain Dark Lord before the night is over."

"Great. Good for you. Do it without me."

I gave a brief answer and looked toward my fellow professionals watching from a distance.

Ed Cyrus, "Salt" Joe, and Ishino were all watching like this was a funny show. They grinned, drank, looked this way, and whispered to each other. They seemed to be having fun. I wanted to join their side. Somehow, I needed to escape back to the world of alcohol, games, and stupid conversation.

But Aki Jogamine's speechlike tone did not stop. Worse, she had opened a notebook and seemed to be reading from it.

"Originally, at the Academy, we are enrolled in Class E of the Special Training Course."

"Wait."

"The Academy's field training is performed in three-person parties. Just like actual professional Braves, we formulate a plan and subjugate a Dark Lord."

"Can you hear me?"

"However, during tonight's operation, due to our inexperience, we were defeated by the Dark Lord's forces. I ended up in that state, and one member of our party was abducted."

No matter what I said, Jogamine's explanation would not stop. Her expression was sickeningly earnest, and in my opinion, she was so serious it circled around into comedy. If I kept looking straight at her, I was going to feel embarrassed for her, or maybe burst out laughing.

So I had no choice but to shut up and stare at the ceiling.

"No matter what, we must take her back. Our circumstances are grave, and we cannot afford even a moment's delay."

"I get it now."

Around there, I completely saw through Aki Jogamine's intention. This was one of those common tactics.

"You're trying to use that momentum to shove the whole conversation forward until I can't say no."

"Yes!"

She answered crisply again. Too honest. If she had lived in a world where honesty was considered a virtue, people would have treated her like a saint.

"You saved my life once, Master."

Jogamine's tone was powerful, but more than that, the contents of what she said did not seem connected to the conversation at all.

"Therefore, I came here with an unshakable resolve. I am certain you will understand the strength of my conviction."

I had to find some way to chase her off. This was bad. But how? I chose my words carefully.

"In short, you screwed up. If you're Braves, even provisional ones, handle it yourselves. Or ask the Academy. You're students, aren't you? I am extremely busy."

"Yes!"

At least her replies were excellent. Jogamine responded like a soldier. The problem was the line that followed.

"I understand that this is rude. However..."

"I said I'm busy! Rude brat. I was about to drink beer and play games. If you get in the way, I won't let you off free."

"Aki."

Suddenly, a quiet voice came from behind Jogamine. A voice that sounded like it was holding back anger. Right, the small girl was standing behind her.

"That's enough. That person seems useless."

That irritated me. The small girl glared at me with a face so displeased she looked ready to puke. What professional would not get angry when some amateur looked down on them?

"What was that? Hey, say that again."

"Ah, excuse me. I apologize."

When I tried to peer at the smaller girl, Jogamine cut me off with an apology. Then she indicated the girl standing half-hidden behind her with one palm.

"This is a member of my party. Indo Yukine."

Even after being introduced, the girl, Indo, showed no reaction. She only glared at me. It felt like there was some kind of grudge in it. Maybe that was just the kind of eyes she had.

"Indo? Who seems useless? Are you saying that to this first-rate Brave?"

I declared it with anger. From behind me came the sound of suppressed laughter. I decided to ignore "Salt" Joe and Ishino watching me like a stage show for now. I glared straight at Indo Yukine. In the freelance Brave business, you cannot survive if people look down on you.

"You don't know Yashiro the 'Reaper,' do you? Hey, remember the 《BFE》 conflict in Ikebukuro two years ago? Listen and be amazed. In that conflict, I, believe it or not, defeated the famous..."

"I don't know who you are."

Indo Yukine cut off my precious introduction like it was a nuisance. She pulled Jogamine's arm.

"Let's go, Aki. People like him are all talk anyway."

"Yukine. Do not be so rude. I witnessed this man's skill earlier, and I also sense that if we push just a little more, he may give way."

Apparently Jogamine meant to scold her, but it was not particularly meaningful, and she was being somewhat rude herself.

Indo Yukine shook her head.

"We're in a hurry. Can this person save Sara?"

"Trying to provoke me won't work."

I made an effort to stay as calm as possible with Indo. This was just another negotiation method. Make the other person angry and get them in the mood. A common trick.

"This isn't about whether I can or can't. I'm saying I won't."

"You're scared, aren't you?"

"What?"

The fact that I did not resort to violence after being told this much meant my personality was well put together, for a bastard.

"Don't call people hacks. It pisses me off. Who's scared? I'm invincible."

"Even if your opponent is Lord Amber Thorn?"

"No matter what kind of bastard I'm up against. Lord Amber Thorn, you said?"

I snorted.

"As a Dark Lord, he's third-rate at best. Lately, he seems to be expanding his influence around Shibuya, but it never rises above the level of ordinary yakuza business. What he's doing is basically the same too."

At that point, I absolutely had to get payback. How dare she try to use such a forceful negotiation on me, provoke me, and control me the way she wanted. I am the type to hold a grudge properly.

"Drugs, for example. Human trafficking. That abducted friend of yours, was it? She might be drugged up and treated like a toy by now. Lord Amber Thorn's Followers are basically no different from street punks either."

That much should be enough to threaten her. I had the finishing line ready too. For someone with that much pride, pity worked better than insults.

"Poor thing."

"...Aki."

Indo Yukine's expression changed visibly.

"I knew it. I'm going. Relying on someone this useless is a waste of time."

"Yukine. But the situation..."

"Even if you say it, Aki, no. We don't have time."

Indo Yukine pressed something against the side of her neck. A small cylindrical injector. 《E3》. Immediately, her presence changed. Since I was used to the invisible power called Ether on a daily basis, I could tell. The first thing you felt was a sensation like static electricity stroking your skin.

Without thinking, I reached toward my pocket. Habit. My 《E3》 was there.

"I'll save Sara and come back."

Indo Yukine said that shortly and took just one step back. As a movement, that was all it was. But immediately after, her figure vanished without warning. For an instant, I felt the wind slowly twist into a vortex.

"Oh? Nice."

Watching from the corner of the counter with a grin, "Salt" Joe let out a mildly impressed voice. How had she done it? As a fellow Brave and business rival, he was probably interested. Ishino was also flicking his gaze quickly left and right.

Rather than search for the vanished Indo's shadow, I thought I should watch the reaction of the person who knew more. I glared at Aki Jogamine with the worst villain face I could manage.

"She went off alone. Where did she disappear to?"

"Yes."

Jogamine looked somewhat pained, but she nodded honestly.

"Yukine's Ether Perception apparently allows her to see the gaps in space. By entering those gaps, she can instantaneously move a certain distance."

"I see."

I was stunned. What an amateur. What exactly were they teaching at the Academy? Who leaks information about a fellow professional that easily? Still, if Jogamine was telling the truth, Indo Yukine's ability belonged in the category of powerful Ether Perception. Not as good as my invincible Ether Perception, but strong. Extremely convenient.

"Aren't you going after her?"

"No. I need your guidance, Master."

"You think there's time for that? Right about now, your friend is..."

"That is a lie."

Jogamine stated it flatly. The sharpness of that statement gave me a slight sense of wrongness. What was with this girl?

"In reality, how will she, our comrade, be treated? I would like to know the exact circumstances. You possess knowledge of these things, Master, the parts they do not teach us at school."

"Because the one abducted was an Academy student."

In recognition of Jogamine's sharpness, I decided to tell her a little.

"They won't damage the goods. It lowers the value. Even Thorn is technically a professional Dark Lord. He won't pointlessly lower her value as a ransom."

"Ransom?"

"The Academy has a delicate public reputation. You know that, right? It's an assassin training school. If I were a Dark Lord and I caught a student, I'd negotiate ransom in exchange for not making the facts public. That makes more money."

That said, about eighty percent of this was only guesswork. There was still a chance Thorn was too stupid to count on an abacus.

But for Jogamine, it seemed to be a major relief.

"I see. So there is still time. Then we must save her, no matter what. Master!"

"You keep shoving your way in. Shameless brat. If it's a rescue, ask your school!"

"We cannot ask the school."

Jogamine bowed deeply. So deeply it was almost excessive.

"I will explain everything. Please, guide us! We must subjugate Lord Amber Thorn before tonight is over!"

"That's an absurd schedule."

As I spoke, I looked toward the corner of the bar. Ed Cyrus, "Salt" Joe, and even Ishino had bills laid out on the counter. They were pointing this way and saying something. Probably betting on me. I could imagine the terms of the bet too.

"Guiding you isn't my job, and I don't do Brave work as charity."

"But with your strength, Master..."

"Stop that pitch. It gives me hives."

I raised my middle finger at the fellow professionals in the corner. The crude men burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, Jogamine stared at my gesture with a puzzled look. As if this girl could understand how I felt. I was extremely irritated. Sometimes even I wonder if I should just accept my station as something worse than the lowest scum. But that is the final line.

This is a question of how I live.

I have my own tastes, things I want to do, and I have no intention of living the way people below scum do.

"I won't guide you. But if it's simply a request for a Brave, I'll accept it. Braves are killers, not teachers. First, you need to understand that."

"Meaning?"

"I'll take one-fifth of the ransom. Around twenty million?"

I could hear all my fellow professionals laughing at once. I deliberately shut them out of my awareness. They probably thought, the idiot took the bet. Bastards. Betting with my life as the stake. I'll take the whole pot, I thought.

"Twenty million. I'll wait a little, but get it ready no matter what you have to do. Also, this."

I took two lumps of cloth from my coat pocket and tossed them onto the table. They were knit ski masks, the kind bank robbers use. One was the one I usually used, and the other was a spare just in case.

"What is this?"

Sure enough, Jogamine narrowed her eyes, then opened them again. Apparently they did not teach even basics like this at school.

"What exactly?"

"Masks. Put one on. You're Braves, so you have to think about the worst case. Imagine you screw up and let the Dark Lord get away after he sees your face. He'll track down your identity and kill you."

"Is that so? It feels almost like something a criminal would..."

"There's not much difference."

I spat the words out.

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