WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Abandoned Tank is a Disaster-class Awakener ◈
Chapter 38
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Ba-ba-ba-bam!
As the military band began to play.
Click.
The door opened.
“...”
I paused slightly as I looked outside the open van.
A long red carpet.
The bayonets held by the honor guard lining either side gleamed in the sunlight.
The steps below were packed with people.
Invited Awakeners, government officials, soldiers, and even residents who had returned from Briar Creek.
Flap.
The Stars and Stripes unfurled in the wind on one side, and applause spread beneath the flags lining both sides of the building.
Clap! Clap!
It began nearby.
Soon, even the people farther back rose to their feet.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
The applause swept across the plaza like a wave.
“Seong-un...”
Hye-won, who had ridden with me, called softly.
“Didn't they say it would be a small welcome ceremony?”
“I think they did.”
Even as I answered, I was a little bewildered.
Miller had said I was being asked to attend a simple government-hosted awards ceremony.
He said I only had to show my face briefly.
But this...
‘...This doesn't look like something that will be over quickly.’
As if he had guessed what I was thinking, Miller, seated among the high-ranking officials, waved.
The smile on his face was particularly irritating.
“Let's... go.”
“...Yes.”
Hye-won and I walked side by side.
Snap!
As we passed, the honor guard moved their rifles.
Dozens shifted their stances as one.
Not even a single metallic sound was out of place, as if one person were moving.
A child in the front row waved both hands.
At first, I did not recognize them.
Then I noticed the woman seated beside the child.
She was the one who had clung to the child and wept when they returned.
Without saying anything, she bowed her head several times.
I gave her a small nod in return.
Only then did the people gathered here look a little different to me.
The missing people I had known only as numbers, the people whose return I had heard only through reports, were all here now.
Safe and alive.
When Hye-won waved, the child jumped up on their chair.
Laughter broke out around them.
We stepped onto the platform.
A man in a suit approached first.
A red tie.
Light blond hair swept back.
A face that looked as natural in front of cameras as breathing.
Maxwell Braddock, the President of the United States.
President Braddock strode forward and took my hand.
“So we've finally met. Do you know how thoroughly Association President Miller has kept you hidden?”
President Braddock pointed at Miller.
“It seems the person who manages the schedule of the one who saved the country has more power than the person who saved it.”
Miller smiled and dipped his head.
“My apologies. He needed time to recover.”
“Oh, right. Time to recover. I wish someone would say that to me, too.”
The words carried through the microphone.
Laughter broke out from the audience.
Still holding my hand, President Braddock looked directly at me.
“Welcome back.”
His voice was different from before.
“And thank you so much for bringing our people back.”
His grip tightened.
“I only did what I had to do.”
“Not many people have earned the right to say that.”
President Braddock patted my shoulder once, then offered a hand to Hye-won.
“Miss Shin. I heard your abilities were a great help as well.”
“Oh, no. I only did a little...”
“A little, huh?”
President Braddock looked at me.
“You don't mind sharing the credit, do you?”
“Not at all. She helped a lot.”
“Good. That's one less dispute for me to mediate today.”
Laughter rose again.
The vice president and ministers came forward to shake our hands.
Everyone in the VIP section stood to welcome us.
They called our names, met our eyes, and thanked us.
It could not help but feel a little different.
In Korea, I had been evaluated countless times.
How useful I was.
How far I could rise.
What else I could offer.
Today, no one asked anything of me first.
Step.
President Braddock headed toward the podium.
The military band's performance began to fade with him.
People returned to their seats.
The president looked down at the prepared speech.
Then pushed the first page aside.
“Here is a very fine speech.”
He held up the paper.
“My staff wrote it all night. It has many long sentences and difficult words. I'm sure it says something impressive.”
Laughter rippled through the audience.
“But today, I'll begin with something simple.”
The president looked back at us.
“Mr. Kang, Miss Shin, and eight other Awakeners. This Raid Party did it.”
Applause erupted.
He raised a hand, asking everyone to wait a moment.
“When I first received the report, Briar Creek was a black circle on the map. No homes, no schools, no people could be seen.”
The plaza fell quiet.
“I asked who was inside.”
President Braddock's gaze moved to the front row.
“At first, I was told there were around four thousand people. After confirming visitors and people left off the list, the number came close to five thousand.”
He opened a palm.
“Five thousand names.”
The hand holding the paper came to rest on the podium.
“There were families waiting for calls that someone would be late coming home. There were children who needed to be picked up after school. And all of them vanished.”
The woman in the front row wrapped an arm around the child's shoulders.
“The Awakeners said it was dangerous. The experts said we had no information.”
The president nodded.
“They were right. It was extremely dangerous, and we knew almost nothing.”
He turned toward me.
“But Mr. Kang and the Raid Party went in despite all those dangers.”
The supporters standing behind us straightened.
“And all ten returned.”
Applause poured forth.
This time, the president did not stop it.
He merely looked across the crowd and nodded several times.
“They brought the town back with them, too.”
Someone laughed.
President Braddock raised a finger.
“Every building as well. We should make that clear. Usually, when a government has to restore something, it asks for a budget first.”
Laughter and applause burst out at once.
“They came back and checked the list of residents before asking for a budget.”
His expression softened slightly.
“The cameras were waiting. Reporters asked for their thoughts. But this was the first thing Mr. Kang asked.”
He paused briefly.
“What about the residents?”
I inadvertently looked at Miller.
He avoided my gaze as he clapped enthusiastically.
It was nothing special.
I had only checked what needed to be checked.
Yet people across the plaza began rising to their feet again.
“I like that question.”
The president said.
“Before declaring victory, checking whether everyone has returned. That is the kind of person we can entrust with the lives of our citizens.”
He looked at the Stars and Stripes on either side of the podium.
“Now, someone may say that Mr. Kang and Miss Shin were born in another country.”
The atmosphere shifted slightly.
“So what? What do you want me to do about it?”
Laughter burst from the audience at the unexpected remark.
President Braddock shrugged.
“I did not come here today to inspect birth certificates. These two are already Americans. And they saved nearly five thousand Americans.”
The applause grew louder.
“Some will keep talking about where these two came from.”
He pointed at us.
“But I will talk about who these two brought back.”
The residents in the front row stood.
Others followed, rising from their seats.
So many hands moved that my vision seemed to shake.
President Braddock watched them for a moment before continuing.
“America is a country that entrusts dangerous work to its heroes.”
His voice grew firm.
“Then when they return, we must show them how we welcome them.”
An official in charge of the ceremony came forward.
They carried a dark navy box in their hands.
Click.
The lid opened to reveal a deep blue ribbon.
Below it rested a medal, six blue crystal points radiating from a silver star.
『Star of Awakening』
A national medal newly established after the Tower appeared.
Separate from existing military medals, it had been created for those who had rendered exceptional service to the nation and its people during disasters of the Awakener era and Tower raids.
Its highest rank, the Golden Star of Awakening, was not a medal one could receive simply for clearing a raid.
It was awarded only when someone saved the lives of citizens amid a large-scale disaster,
took on extreme danger themselves,
and their actions resulted in the resolution of a national disaster.
President Braddock lifted the medal from the box.
The silver star swayed slowly at the end of its blue ribbon.
“Mr. Kang.”
I stepped forward.
The sounds that had filled the plaza moments ago faded away.
President Braddock raised the medal.
“In recognition of your service in leading the Raid Party into extreme danger during the Briar Creek Abyss incident, rescuing missing citizens, and safely bringing back every one of your companions.”
He looked at me.
“On behalf of the United States, I award you the Golden Star of Awakening.”
I bowed my head.
Swish.
The blue ribbon was placed around my neck.
The cold metal touched my chest.
It was neither Black-Iron Armor nor an artifact that raised my stats.
Just an ordinary piece of metal without even a single skill attached.
Yet, for some reason, it felt a little heavy.
President Braddock stepped back and held out his hand again.
Squeeze.
I took it.
Flash! Flash! Flash! Flash!
“I'm glad you chose this country.”
He lowered his voice so only I could hear.
“...Thank you.”
“Make sure you come back next time, too.”
A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“There's no one who can accept the Star of Awakening in your place.”
I smiled briefly as well.
“Miss Shin.”
Soon, Hye-won's name was called.
She came forward with a tense expression.
President Braddock opened the second box.
A blue star of the same shape.
The ribbon was placed around Hye-won's neck.
At that moment, the child in the front row sprang to their feet.
“Thank you!”
Hye-won raised her head.
The child waved both hands above their head.
The tension on Hye-won's face eased.
Then she smiled.
Her eyes were slightly red.
The eight Awakeners who had entered with us were also awarded the Star of Awakening in ranks reflecting their merits.
President Braddock personally placed medals around each of their necks and shook every hand.
All ten of us stood side by side at the front of the platform.
The military band began playing again.
Snap!
The honor guard saluted in unison.
Beyond them stood the residents we had saved.
And on my chest, the blue star that had saved them glittered in the sunlight.
Flap.
The Stars and Stripes unfurled.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
As the applause continued, President Braddock took a step back.
The vice president and ministers stepped aside as well.
The space before the podium opened.
The president pointed to the microphone with an open palm.
“Now we should hear from the main character.”
“...”
I looked at him.
No one had told me this was part of the schedule.
When I looked toward Miller, he was still clapping calmly.
‘We'll talk later.’
I walked to the podium.
The medal on my chest swayed with each step.
I stood before the microphone.
There was no prepared speech.
When I raised my eyes, I saw the people gathered in the plaza.
The reporters adjusted their cameras.
The applause gradually faded.
“...Thank you.”
The applause subsided.
I had not prepared anything to say.
So I spoke the words that had been on my mind all along.
“I was not born in America.”
At those words, the venue fell quiet.
“I was born in the Republic of Korea, and I chose to leave it and become a naturalized American. Some say I abandoned my country.”
I looked toward the cameras.
“So I know there are people who look at me with suspicion. That they think someone who left one country might leave America someday, too.”
The people seated in the front row looked up at me silently.
“I won't speak at length.”
I placed a hand on the podium.
“I will continue climbing the Tower quietly, as I have until now. If possible, I will be the first to do so.”
I saw Miller.
The companions who had returned with Hye-won and me as well.
“If a disaster like the Abyss appears again, I will willingly leap inside.”
My gaze shifted toward the residents.
The woman with the child on her lap.
The man who would not let go of his family's hands.
“And I will return with the companions who enter with me and the people waiting inside.”
I took a moment to breathe.
“I will come back and greet you, just as I am now.”
That was what I had to do.
And my way of repaying America for believing in me.
“I am an American now.”
My voice echoed across the plaza.
“I will show you through my actions from now on what responsibility those words carry.”
People rose to their feet.
I bowed to them.
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
The applause did not stop for a long while.
But it was not over yet.
There was still something I needed to say.
“Because of that responsibility, there is one more thing I must make clear today.”
The reporters shifted their posture.
“I hear that many people in other countries have also failed to return because of the Abyss. I hear the American Association is receiving continuous requests for assistance as well.”
I looked at Miller.
“It seems the association president has been having a difficult time.”
“I'm dying here!”
Miller held up his vibrating phone.
“I'm getting calls even now!”
Laughter spread through the plaza.
From behind me, the president added a comment.
“Please answer my calls.”
The laughter grew louder.
I smiled briefly before continuing.
“I will help as much as possible if a country formally requests assistance and prepares the conditions and compensation necessary for deployment.”
At that moment.
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
The foreign reporters' hands flew across their keyboards.
“However, I cannot go everywhere. I reviewed with the Association the time needed for travel, raids, and recovery, and I also have commitments with countries that negotiated with us first.”
I looked toward the cameras again.
This was a declaration.
“So, based on the currently confirmed schedule, I will not be able to participate in the current Abyss raids in the Republic of Korea, China, and Japan.”
The laughter vanished.
Someone at the back of the audience hurriedly pulled out a phone.
“Does that include Korea?”
A question flew up from below the platform.
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“I will not break an earlier promise simply because it is the country where I was born.”
“Then...”
The reporter moved their lips again, but I was faster.
“Nor will I promise to go somewhere I cannot. I hope the three countries will not delay other responses while waiting for my aid.”
The plaza was silent.
“I will do my best for the places I said I would help.”
I lowered my hand from the podium.
“I will work to save as many people as possible.”
I bowed my head.
“Thank you.”
Reporters' voices poured toward me as I bowed.
“Awakener Kang Seong-un!”
“Is the decision to exclude support for the three countries final?”
“Association President Miller! Please provide further explanation!”
When I stepped down from the platform, Miller approached me.
His phone rang again in his hand.
After checking the screen, he looked at me.
“You've made me even busier than before.”
“I'm counting on you.”
Miller smiled briefly and answered the call.
Click, click!
Behind us, flashes continued bursting without pause.
* * *
Breaking news from foreign media began to appear almost as soon as the speech ended.
『Kang Seong-un: “I Am an American Now... I Will Do My Best for America”』
『World's First Abyss Conqueror Officially Expresses Willingness to Provide Overseas Aid』
At first, the focus was on news of support for Abysses in other countries.
But the headlines soon changed.
『Kang Seong-un: “I Will Help Formally Requesting Countries as Much as Possible”... Support for Korea, China, and Japan Difficult Within Deadline』
『American Abyss Support Schedule Effectively Excludes Korea, China, and Japan』
『“Do Not Wait”... Kang Seong-un Urges Three Countries to Respond Independently』
The speech included talk of opportunity, trust, and rescued citizens.
But the media in the three countries mentioned carried one sentence most prominently.
『I will provide as much support as possible to prevent a global crisis. However, Korea, China, and Japan are excluded.』
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