WeTried Translations

Translator: Nemui

Editor: Nemui

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◈ Scum of the Brave

Chapter 9

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"Hey. So what was all this in the end?"

Sara crouched on the tatami, and between rough breaths, she somehow managed to speak.

"This. What the hell was it? You just keep using dirty tricks."

There, Sara coughed lightly. Being thrown a moment ago must have worked.

"You can't use stuff like this in a match."

The other two were in a similar state. Jogamine was sprawled out magnificently with her arms and legs thrown wide, and Indo was barely standing, leaning against the wall. This, roughly speaking, showed the level of their abilities.

"Well, yeah."

I accepted Sara's complaint. You could not use this in a match. True.

"That sparring just now won't help with your match at all."

"Hey... are you screwing with us?"

"Not really. I did think you looked pathetic, but I wouldn't go out of my way to spend effort just for that."

A master must not lose to his disciples. No matter what dirty tricks he uses, he has to make them feel he is always one step above them. Who listens to instruction from someone who seems worse than they are?

That was what my master used to say, and I did not think he was all that wrong. Especially because I had never studied theory or built achievements like a sports coach.

"I think I already said this, but there is no such thing as a sure-kill technique that makes you strong overnight. So it would be better to understand your own problems and deal with them. Probably. Most likely. First, let's see."

I tried my best to put into words what I had felt during the sparring just now.

"You three are, well, at a decent level, I think. Should I say you have the basics? No, that's a little different. Your ways of fighting are... ingrained... no, that's a weird explanation too. Whatever."

I gave up quickly. I was not a specialist at explaining this kind of thing anyway.

"So if you solve your problems, you should be able to start winning against other students pretty quickly. Probably. I also more or less figured out why you're dropouts."

"You say 'probably' way too much."

"No. As expected of you, Master."

At last, Jogamine seemed to have recovered enough stamina to sit up and speak. Even so, her breathing was still rough.

"To think you would immediately discover why we are dropouts. Please tell us!"

"First, Sara, you're way too scared."

"Huh?"

Sara glared at me with eyes like a beast's.

"What are you talking about? Who's scared?"

She growled, with an air like she might leap at me any second. But that was nothing but bluffing. If you wanted to kill someone, you should do it without saying anything and without letting it show on your face. In other words, Sara's attitude meant she wanted to avoid a fight by intimidating the other person.

"When you attack, you always come third. And you always came with a full-power downward strike."

"That's because I was trying to kill you."

"In other words, you want to end it in one blow. You don't want to be attacked by the other side, so you want to settle it with the first blow from yourself. Once you miss, you turn passive and only think about somehow enduring the other person's attacks."

Maybe I should say that way of fighting had sunk into her body. When she exchanged blows, that habit showed itself in an extremely obvious way. Only fight opponents you can definitely beat. As a Brave's way of fighting, that had a point, but sure enough, it would be hard to win sword matches against classmates with it.

Even when I had a sword at the side of her neck, she could have struggled if she wanted to. The problem was that she tried to end the fight so she would not be attacked any further.

"Were you taught that way of fighting since you were a kid?"

Sara said nothing. She only glared at me with a thoroughly unhappy expression. Her face said there was something she could not bear at all. The cause was probably one thing and one thing only: her father, King Arthur.

"Anyway, you should improve that. Basically, you need to fight with the mindset that you can force a mutual hit."

Sara still did not answer. For now, there was no objection. Do whatever you want, I thought. I should have fulfilled the minimum duty of explanation. Next.

"Then Indo."

"Yeah."

Indo Yukine seemed to have recovered fairly well already. She was in Knees-Hugged Sitting near my feet. Her face was sullen and expressionless, but her eyes somehow looked expectant.

"Instructor, what should I do?"

"Nothing in particular."

That was the honest truth. Indo Yukine was plenty strong. Against classmates, she probably would not lose. She had almost landed on me several times, and without 《E3》 it might have been dangerous.

"Actually, in this kind of exam, your grades aren't bad, are they?"

"Yeah."

"Yukine's top class in practical skills."

Sara said it with a growl.

"She's hopeless at classroom work, though. Like, times tables are suspicious."

"I can do that much."

"Liar! When I helped you study the other day, you were solving problems in some weird code-looking way. People who know their times tables don't do that."

"That was coincidence."

"There is no coincidence in how you solve arithmetic! So first of all..."

"Either way, shut up and listen. Time is being wasted. From now on, raise your hand before speaking."

It looked like the discussion was going to turn barren, so I judged quickly and cut in. Indo Yukine immediately closed her mouth and looked up at me.

"Anyway, Indo has no particular problem. You should study seriously, but that's not my job."

From what I saw, Indo Yukine clearly showed traces of having received some kind of combat training. Most likely from the military. She too might have some strange past.

"But, Instructor."

Indo Yukine faithfully raised her hand before speaking.

"I want to become stronger. Instructor is stronger than me right now, so I want instruction."

"You said 'right now,' didn't you? Cheeky brat. Sometime."

"Sometime? When? I want you to promise."

"Sometime."

I did not take the bait. These girls would try to make me give ground without limit. Leaving Indo, who still looked like she wanted to say something, I pointed at the problematic third person.

"And last, Jogamine."

"Yes!"

Jogamine raised her hand high. Apparently, she had recovered and was in Knees-Hugged Sitting beside Indo.

"Please be gentle, and also meaningful, with me!"

"Then you're totally hopeless. Not even worth discussing."

"That is not..."

"No, seriously."

I immediately silenced what sounded like Jogamine's objection. Letting her talk would be annoying.

"You don't fight like you mean to kill or break your opponent."

I thought for a bit, but that summed up Jogamine's problem.

"In those four rounds of sparring, did you manage to go on the attack even once? You were defense all the way. Aiming for counters is fine in itself. If, after handling an attack, you can land a counter that breaks the other person's body."

Because she could not do that, she just slid into one-sided defense. This problem was big. Sara's cowardice drove her into an extreme attacking tendency, but Jogamine was the opposite.

"In other words, you're underestimating your opponent. I thought this before too, but what, do you think you don't want to kill people? If so, quit being a Brave. That's a problem before talent even comes into it."

"But, Master!"

Jogamine spoke without raising her hand.

"I was taught that a Brave is hope."

"Huh?"

I felt a faint headache.

"If peace can be built without hurting anyone, would that not be best? And what reason do we have not to aim for the best? From the start, being a Brave is a thorny path. Therefore, do we not need to continue doing our best at all times?"

"Listen."

My head hurt badly enough that I could clearly feel it. While pointing at Jogamine, I turned not to her but to Sara.

"Is she always like this? Or is this the basic Academy thing?"

"No, Aki is..."

Sara hesitated a little.

"A little strange. She's not a bad person, but..."

"Then you, Jogamine..."

Should I "educate" her a little harshly? No, before that, did I have any obligation to? Was I being paid enough to go that far? My head hurt. I knew the cause. So I hesitated for a moment. And in those few seconds of silence, I noticed.

"Oh."

A faint sound. Hard, repeating at a steady rhythm, and faintly muffled. Even without 《E3》, I could tell that much. Human footsteps, no mistake. Coming closer.

And there were several of them. At least two.

Were the owners of those footsteps school staff, or were they illegal intruders unrelated to the school? Either way, running into them would be a problem. By that moment, Sara, Indo, and even Jogamine had noticed too. Sara looked uneasy, Indo expressionless, and Jogamine unhappy as they exchanged glances.

I nodded.

"Perfect timing."

"Master?"

Jogamine raised her hand.

"Do you have a plan?"

"Well, it would be bad if someone saw us here."

I moved close to the wall and turned off the lights. In an instant, the gymnasium was wrapped in darkness.

"But they're coming closer. What do you do? Yes, Sara Pendragon."

"Run, obviously."

Sara's voice. I shook my head.

"You really are scared, aren't you?"

"What did you say? Hey, you keep..."

"Raise your hand before speaking. I have a plan that kills two birds with one stone. Whether the people coming this way are guards or teachers staying late..."

I picked up the bastard sword-shaped training weapon lying at my feet.

"Let's beat them up and shut them up. You get real combat experience too. Nothing to complain about, right? If you mess up, you're expelled. Nice sense of tension."

The three of them answered with silence.

"Sara and Jogamine, solve your own assignments. I basically won't interfere. A brilliant plan. Maybe I'm suited to teaching after all?"

The answer was still silence. I decided to treat that silence as agreement.

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