WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

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◈ Scum of the Brave

Chapter 7

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Lesson 2: When in Trouble, Use Violence

When you work in a business like being a Brave, your human relationships tend to get pretty bleak.

In the middle of that, friends are precious, no matter what kind of bastard they are. Especially friends you can play with. Who knows how many of those you will ever meet in a Brave's life?

Back then, whenever we saw each other, we would play cards without ever getting sick of it. The game was called 《Seven Medallions》. It had been popular a while back, and was starting to cool off a little now, but we showed no sign of getting bored with it.

The right amount of beer, reheated junk food, and 《Seven Medallions》.

As long as we had that, we were satisfied. Truly, that was all we needed. Whenever I had free time, I would drop by Ed Cyrus's bar, and just finding the faces of the other regulars there was enough to put me in a good mood.

The Brave trade was work where it would not be strange to die at any time.

The guy who was fine yesterday is dead this morning. Things like that happen. There is nothing strange about the same thing happening to you someday, and thinking about it makes you gloomy. In the end, maybe we went to Ed Cyrus's bar to look away from that reality.

"Hey."

That night, when I visited Ed Cyrus's bar, Maruta the "Unlicensed" raised one hand and greeted me. For an instant, I was taken aback and lost the words to answer.

"Been a while, Yashiro."

Maruta smiled as he said it. It really had been a while.

He was dressed in dirty clothes like a homeless man, with a flat cap pulled low over his eyes. He looked squat. His eyes darted around strangely, and combined with his appearance, he looked like he was searching for loose change dropped on the roadside.

In other words, he was an all-around shabby-looking man. His name was Maruta. That was probably an alias too. As his nickname "Unlicensed" implied, he was an amateur Brave with no Brave License.

If we were legal killers, then he was, in other words, an illegal killer. Even so, among the regulars at this bar, he was on the relatively sensible side.

At least more than Salt Joe or Ishino. Maruta was homeless and did not even have a cellphone. Otherwise, I would have contacted him more often and invited him out to play.

That night, there was not a single customer besides Maruta.

Ed Cyrus only gave me one glance while resting his cheek on his hand at the counter, then stared blankly at the television. Apparently, he truly had no intention of doing business tonight.

"What the..."

I somehow managed to say only that. I had not seen Maruta for about half a year, and none of the regulars at this bar even knew a way to contact him.

"You were alive, Maruta?! Where have you been wasting time?"

"Well, yeah."

Maruta grinned and gestured for me to hurry up and sit down.

"I figured somebody with free time would be here soon. Just you, Yashiro? Where are that bastard Salt Joe and Ishino?"

"Just me. Joe seems to be working, but I don't know about Ishino. I haven't been able to reach him lately, so maybe he really did die around now."

Without holding back, I sat beside Maruta and picked up the beer bottle on the table.

"For now, I guess I'll toast Maruta's survival."

"That beer is mine."

"Sure. So what were you doing? For half a year?"

"I got a job. I was working as a ticket scalper for a while."

Maruta made a gesture with one hand like he was counting cards. A scalper was someone who bought up popular tickets and the like on the cheap, monopolized them, and sold them at a high price to people who wanted them. I was stunned. I nearly sprayed beer everywhere.

"What? You're kidding. Maruta got a job? You didn't have a fixed address."

"You ever heard of contract employees and company dorms, Yashiro? Those are nice. They make you feel like you're doing something proper."

"So maybe you came drinking today with that bonus? You bastard! Traitor!"

"Except I got fired from that company."

Maruta gave a wry smile. This was the kind of thing that made it hard to hate him. As a man, Maruta was third-rate at anything other than killing people, and he had never stuck with a single thing for long.

"My damn boss in the scalping outfit told me to trick some civilian grandma and sell her worthless tickets. Like hell I was doing that. So I crushed that boss's eyeballs, stole anything that looked like it would turn into money, and ran."

"Divine punishment, that's what that is. All right, Ed Cyrus! Buy Maruta a beer!"

When I shouted, Ed Cyrus waved one hand with a gloomy look. It probably meant later. Some sport that looked like soccer was playing on the television. Apparently, it was at a part he could not look away from.

But Maruta did not seem to care. From inside his dirty coat, he presented a surprisingly clean bundle of tickets.

"So, Yashiro. I thought one of you guys might buy these tickets today."

"Oh?"

This time, I was truly and properly shocked. Beer went down my windpipe, and I choked. The tickets seemed to give off such a noble radiance that I almost went blind. I got extremely excited.

Several brief words were written on those tickets. 《Seven Medallions》. Grand Winter Season Final Battle. And then: King Rob Comes to Japan! Every one of those phrases had special meaning to me.

I almost snatched the tickets out of Maruta's hands on impulse.

"Are you serious?!"

"Yeah. Premium seats."

"There's a King Rob signing event too, right? I know! You did well stealing these!"

King Rob was our idol, a master of the card game 《Seven Medallions》, and the world champion who had won five years in a row. He was coming to Japan to fight the final match of the Grand Winter Season tournament. These were tickets to watch it.

I had teamed up with Salt Joe and Ishino to try to get those tickets the moment sales opened. But I had bitter memories of defeat before the mass-buying strategies of countless fans, resellers, and scalpers. I was overwhelmed by the sacred aura those tickets released.

"How much are these?! Amazing, Maruta, you!"

"Thirty thousand."

Maruta held up three fingers. He had me over a barrel. I thought it was way too much, but apparently it showed on my face.

"If you don't want them, I'll sell them to Salt Joe or Ishino."

"Wait."

I grabbed Maruta by the arm and stopped him. A brutal choice. I had absolutely no money on hand. Ever since the job with Lord Amber Thorn had ended in failure, my financial situation had fallen into a severe slump. It was so bad it felt like I had been possessed by a god of poverty.

But I could not give up. I decided to negotiate.

"How about payment later? Next month, I'll take a big job and earn it."

"No good. I'm strapped too. For starters, I don't even have money to drink beer tomorrow."

"Damn it. I have to give up."

"Don't worry. Just earn it now, Yashiro."

Maruta smiled with an awfully frivolous look and pointed behind me.

My spine suddenly felt cold. When you work in the Brave trade, you get sensitive to what people commonly call presence. The sounds humans make, their body heat, their breathing. Those faint signs catch at you on an unconscious level. That kind of sensation.

At that moment, I only now noticed the presence.

"I heard about it."

Maruta slapped my shoulder. There was sympathy in it.

"You started tutoring, right? Nice one."

I silently turned around.

There stood three schoolgirls in uniforms.

"We have been waiting for you, Master!"

Aki Jogamine said it almost like she was shouting. Indo Yukine silently bowed her head, and Sara Pendragon stared at me with an unhappy face, almost like she was glaring.

Apparently, they had arrived at the bar first and had been lying in wait.

My fine Monday-night mood vanished.

"In other words, practical training. Teacher."

Aki Jogamine announced it without any warning, her face absurdly serious.

Incidentally, she was gripping a memo in her hand.

Most likely, to save herself from her fatal inability to explain things, she had written down what she meant to say beforehand. Wise.

"It is an important event at our Academy. Next week, we have a practical sparring exam using swords, in a real-combat format."

Just to be clear, I indicated my intention that I was not going to listen to this multiple times.

But Jogamine did not listen, and I could not remove them by force. Because the father of one of those three, Sara Pendragon, was far too frightening.

"It is a one-on-one match between trainees. In reference to medieval European lance tournaments, it is called a 'Joust.'"

Apparently, the Academy they attended had a lot of old-fashioned elements. Probably the management's tastes. Or King Arthur's.

"Depending on our grades in this practical, whether we remain at the Academy or are expelled is expected to be decided."

"Good for you."

At that moment, I seriously thought so.

"It's your chance to wash your hands of this shady line of work."

"That will not do. Teacher, please instruct us in the sword! All of us are confident that you will graciously agree."

"I want to ask why you think that."

"No particular reason. If I had to say, I thought that if three pure-hearted beautiful girls like us asked earnestly, Teacher might graciously accept."

"Whoa."

I felt a chill. I may actually have shuddered.

Aki Jogamine. This girl could apparently hear people's thoughts, but had that inflicted serious damage on her personality? Could she only read logical thoughts while being completely indifferent to other people's emotions?

"Instructor."

Suddenly, Indo Yukine tugged on the hem of my coat.

"I want to start training quickly. Time is being wasted."

She had a very displeased expression. Come to think of it, I still had never seen Indo Yukine smile.

"Or is this some kind of training too?"

"That's right. Go buy me a cheeseburger and shochu right now. Instantaneous Movement is banned, and you have five minutes."

"Understood, Instructor."

Indo Yukine took my random comment seriously. She was much too earnest. But someone grabbed Yukine's arm as she started to move.

"Hey. Wait, wait."

Sara Pendragon glared at me. The expression "picking a fight" felt closer. There was absolutely no doubt she had spent some period of her life as a delinquent.

"Listen. Yukine takes stuff like that seriously. Cut it out."

"Sorry about that."

I immediately apologized. Because I knew that attitude would irritate Sara.

"So please don't tell your papa, at least. Is this request also guidance from your great father? If I turn it down, will the Knights of the Round Table come kill me?"

"My old man has nothing to do with it."

Sara growled low. She was clearly angry. I hoped she would get even more annoyed and, if possible, go home.

"Even if you refuse."

Sara planted her hand on the table in front of me with a thud. A gesture like a thug's.

"I'm not going to tell my old man anything. First of all, there is no way that old man would lift even one finger for me."

"A true Brave, then. Scum at the bottom even as a father."

"Yeah. Scum."

I had been certain she would get even angrier, but Sara spat the word out with disgust.

"I don't want to do what that scumbag old man says. He's told me over and over to quit being a Brave. That's why I want you to teach me. You're a strong Brave. And you're someone we can trust. That's what Aki said, of all people."

"Because Jogamine said so?"

I burst out laughing.

"She's a little crazy. You know that if you're friends, right?"

I pointed my thumb at Aki Jogamine. Jogamine looked unhappy about it, but Sara only grimaced and did not deny it. Indo Yukine nodded even more clearly, expressionless.

I turned my face away from them.

"I don't care, just go home. Have your school teachers teach you."

"However."

Jogamine objected.

"We are recognized as extremely poor students, and as students with problems. In other words, we are 'unwelcome.' Also, I believe becoming stronger in this short period is impossible under the Academy's normal curriculum."

"Like I care."

"Well, well. Isn't it fine?"

Suddenly, someone at my side slapped my shoulder with excessive familiarity. Maruta. The bastard smiled lightly and ostentatiously held out the tickets for the tournament final where King Rob would participate.

"Listening to them, they've got guts, don't they? Asking Reaper Yashiro to be their teacher? None of us would ever think of that. Take the job."

I glared back at Maruta. I did not need to think to know what he wanted.

"These admirable young ladies are saying they'll pay right now. They must have saved it desperately through part-time jobs. Makes you want to help them, doesn't it, Yashiro?"

In other words, he wanted me to accept the job and hurry up and buy the tickets.

I folded my arms and leaned back in my chair. I hated everything, I thought. It felt like various situational factors had left my control and were moving however they pleased.

Nothing good ever happens at times like this. I knew that. But...

"I'm a Brave, not a teacher."

"Yes! We know."

"I think I'm bad at teaching."

"Yes! I believe that is certainly true!"

Jogamine's answer was wonderfully refreshing. I wanted to punch her, but I endured it. From here on, there would be plenty of chances to send her flying. In fact, it did not seem like I could do it any other way. That was how my master had trained me.

"For now, a hundred thousand up front. If you can't pay, we're done talking."

I asked for an outrageous price. Jogamine and Indo exchanged looks and nodded as if to say, He really is easy after all.

Sara raised one hand with a sigh, blocking the two of them from my view.

"Yeah... for now, we'll pay fifty thousand in advance. The rest will be later. So train us."

"Then first, let's see..."

I drained the rest of the beer bottle that bastard Maruta had ordered. A little encouragement. Then I snatched the tickets out of Maruta's hand.

"Take me to your school. We'll do it there. We need a wide space and training weapons."

"Yes! First thing tomorrow morning..."

"Starting now."

I said it as sternly as possible. In truth, I wanted to get this work settled as fast as I could.

"Immediately. For Braves, judgment and speed are important."

"Entering the school building at night is..."

"How is a Brave who can't even sneak into a school supposed to infiltrate a Dark Lord's hideout?"

"Yeah."

Surprisingly, Indo Yukine was the first to answer. I did not really want to know, but apparently there was some element in that which touched a chord inside her.

"That sounds really like special training."

Do whatever you want, I thought.

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