WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 171: Alliances and Maneuvering (6)

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Baek San-ho was not the only person like that.

[There are others of a similar sort, though not as bad. So many 100-dollar bills came pouring out that armed Secret Service agents were dispatched. In the end, they concluded all of it was legitimate currency and simply went back, but... judging by the mood in the military government office, the U.S. government seems surprisingly pleased with this.]

The Secret Service was known as the agency that protected the U.S. President, but in truth, its main duty was not protection. It was cracking down on counterfeit money. Protecting the dollar, the core of the American economy.

In other words, the Treasury Department had panicked because it thought counterfeit bills were being produced in the refugee zone.

“But the U.S. government likes it?”

[Why would it not? They have gained a budget they can use however they like. They are only selling off land in the contaminated zone, so from the government’s perspective, they lose nothing. They have obtained a way to grease the wheels of national accounting while avoiding institutional limits such as the debt ceiling or currency issuance limits. The amount being diverted to support the military government office will shrink as well.]

“Is that how it works...?”

The deeper economic details were difficult for Gyeoul. What did all that talk about the debt ceiling mean? Still, it was enough that the point Min Wan-ki was making came through from context.

“If the government likes it, it’ll be hard for the Distribution Bureau to put the brakes on it.”

[Yes. That old man Li Qinzhen has been in a good mood lately. He sends gifts often.]

Selling off land and buildings was also the Distribution Bureau’s job. Li Ailing was part of that.

[Collusion between politics and business is a practice Korea, China, and Japan share in a special way. Once money started circulating, the brutal relations between them began to soften too. I do not think another large-scale uprising will break out like before.]

“If it worked out, then I guess it worked out, but it still doesn’t feel good.”

[In any case, that man Baek San-ho is currently claiming to represent the so-called capitalists. Not only has he gathered the wealthy people in the alliance, he also seems to be cooperating with nouveau riche of other nationalities. He appears to have reached out to Li Qinzhen as well, so I protested to the Triad side, but...]

“It wouldn’t have helped. You’re asking criminals to have common sense.”

[Every time, their words sound plausible. Only Miss Li Ailing seems troubled, and even that may not be sincere. It wears me out. I thought I had become quite used to the Chinese people’s vague way of speaking, but perhaps not.]

“You worked hard. I understand why you said you didn’t have the luxury of choosing someone other than Song Ye-kyung.”

The supervisor had been listening to the conversation with interest. She had openly admitted to the CIA and FBI wiretapping. Since she knew some of the circumstances, her understanding should have had more depth.

[There may be some room for concern, but I believe everything will be resolved once Little Captain returns.]

Gyeoul tilted his head at Min Wan-ki’s words.

“Will it really?”

[I will make it so.]

The scholar declared it.

[The fact that nostalgia is already raising its head when the alliance has not even existed for long is something we must reflect on, but in any case, the past many people miss ultimately has Little Captain at its center. The more that longing is stirred up, the stronger the impact will be when you return. Shall we call it the return of the king?]

“That’s too grand.”

[Would it not be more accurate to call it dramatic?]

Somehow, Min Wan-ki sounded amused.

[The conflict between Department Head Jang and me will also end at that point as if it had been a lie. Most of the chaos will be put to rest in one stroke. Before people suspect anything rationally, they will be swept up emotionally. That is the nature of the masses. Each person may be smart on their own, but gather them together and they get carried away by the mood.]

“That part of you hasn’t changed. The way you see people in such a negative light.”

They had once had a similar conversation in the past. Back then, Min Wan-ki had said that politics and religion shared the same root. Then Min Wan-ki had added, “I sincerely believe in the people I understand.” Skepticism and cynicism toward humanity. A firm belief in human limits could be felt there. People would never surpass those limits.

[Are you not actually the same, Captain?]

“I think I’m a little... different.”

[You want to believe, do you not?]

“I wonder.”

A single exception denied a generalization. Gyeoul had two exceptions. Because one of them had been so very beautiful, he had endured life and continued on after death.

In this world setting based on the past, more exceptions existed. There could not be this many good people. Before, he had simply thought it was a beautified past, but now he could not be sure. Maybe the days of physical reality, unlike the present from when he had been alive, truly had been a little more beautiful. Maybe people had possessed hope.

“Department Head Min, isn’t it hard?”

Gyeoul asked.

“Dealing with people with that kind of mindset must wear you out. I’m grateful for your help, though.”

The briefing was approaching. Even with the time limit, it was an answer he wanted to hear.

[On the contrary, I find it satisfying.]

The cynical self from the past spoke.

[The old me was a cog. One of the teeming supporting actors on a massive stage.]

Then Min Wan-ki added that it had been a comedy with no leading role to begin with. Like a trash can, where everyone crashed into one another in confusion, and things such as order and law sometimes emerged as products of chance.

[All the irrationality of the world existed beyond my limits. I had no choice but to conform to bad practices and inadequate people. There were times when I dreamed impossible dreams, but as I aged, I grew used to resignation. That was how people lived. A life lived only for the sake of living.]

Min Wan-ki recalled having been happy, in a way.

[Life was nothing special, but I never thought I wanted to die. Sometimes it was enjoyable too.]

Just from hearing this much, Gyeoul could guess what Min Wan-ki would say next. The word “limits” resonated with him. At least in the emotions they felt while looking at the world, the boy and the professor were no different.

“You mean the present, where you can shape your own surroundings, is better?”

[Exactly.]

The response was pleased.

[As expected, I find myself wondering what it would have been like if Little Captain had been my student while the world was still intact. I have thought that many times before. It is not simply that your comprehension is good. I feel there is some common denominator that is hard to describe.]

“Can I take that as a compliment?”

Min Wan-ki answered with laughter instead.

[It seems you already understood, but still, to say it aloud... yes. I am happier now. Should I say it feels like I am alive? Other people would curse me if they heard this, but I even think it is fortunate that the end came. It destroyed everything that had been built wrong and allowed us to start over.]

This too was something Gyeoul had thought while alive. Perhaps every person in this world was trapped by misfortune approaching from beyond their limits. Perhaps people who did not empathize with one another, or could not, were becoming one another’s misfortunes.

Would things not become at least a little better if everything collapsed and they started again from the beginning?

If only someone beyond humanity would empathize first and reach out first.

He had wanted to become that first person.

[That is why I like Little Captain. All of this is thanks to one person who does not seem human.]

Gyeoul smiled. It was rare honesty.

“Thank you. That was the dream I was having.”

That topic ended there.

Other recent news from the refugee zone came up.

“Han-byul seems to have finally managed it. She wanted to go so badly.”

Jang Han-byul. The designated marksman of Yura’s squad. She was so skilled at shooting, and liked it so much, that she had earned the nickname Trigger Witch. This was the story that she had completed Sniper school. More surprising was how she had managed to secure a recommendation from a battalion commander or higher.

“Even if it was east of the blockade line, she would still have trained only inside Fort Benning, right? Did she like it? I’m worried she might have been disappointed. If her motivation drops, she’s hard to handle.”

It was not an empty remark. In this world setting, America was humanity’s last bastion of civilization, and admiration for what lay beyond the blockade line was something every refugee had. The three weeks she spent at a military base in Georgia might have been no more than a single drop of water given to someone wandering the desert.

‘There’s also the possibility of depression.’

The U.S. soldiers who served as shooting instructors had all mentioned Trigger Witch’s strangeness. They said the way she kept giggling and snickering while shooting was oddly creepy.

When asked, she said she could not control it. It simply felt too good.

Gyeoul suspected that bizarre love of weapons and shooting might be a reaction to stress.

Like Jin-seok’s obsession with discipline was a means of enduring fear. Gyeoul saw Yura as mentally more stable than Jin-seok, if anything.

[You do not need to worry. She said she simply loved it.]

“Really?”

[In her own words, she slept like a log. The food was good, and the training was hard but rewarding. Far from being depressed, she bragged so much that other people grew jealous. Team Leader Park Jin-seok said he did not know whether to blame Miss Han-byul’s bragging for harming the mood, or to be glad that, thanks to her, everyone was becoming more motivated about shooting.]

“Oh dear.”

[Since the subject came up, I will tell you this as well. Miss Han-byul’s grades were apparently decent. She fell short in many other areas, but I heard that when it came to shooting, even the base commander praised her.]

“That’s excellent. Did she bring back something like a medal?”

[She is bragging hard about that too.]

From the story that followed, America still seemed very interested in forming combat units made up of refugees. The combat group had grown to a scale in the hundreds, and there was even talk that officers and NCOs would be supplied from the mainland.

When Gyeoul heard that the new Centurion armored suits had been formally issued, he quickly understood.

‘Well, the current president is from the Democratic Party too.’

The more visible the results of refugee policy became, the more favorably the presidential election would tilt toward the Democratic Party.

“When I return, I might end up being responsible for an independent company or something.”

[Is that so?]

“Yes. When I visited Police Superintendent O’Connor’s office before, back when we were clearing out the drugs supplier, I saw a map there. It showed future development plans. There was an empty lot in the middle of the settlement, so I thought it was strange, but looking back, I think that might have been the site where Company Headquarters was supposed to go.”

It was a map he had studied because he judged it to be high-grade intelligence.

If it had been an ordinary city, he would have thought the empty lot was meant to become a park. But this was Fort Roberts. Considering the base’s defensive strength, there was no way such awkward waste of space would be allowed.

“Refugee volunteers assisting the U.S. military and a combat unit made up only of refugees carrying out missions independently are completely different things. Considering the president’s tendencies, I think it’s likely.”

[I hope so. It will raise our standing as well.]

At that point, Joanna tapped her wristwatch. Her lips moved soundlessly.

Time out.

“Time is up. I need to end it here for today. There are still so many things I want to hear.”

[It cannot be helped. I will give a heads-up to the executives who have phones, so next time, please contact someone other than me. You should be able to hear enough of the situation from anyone. I recommend Department Head Jang, but that is for Little Captain to decide.]

“I’ll consider it.”

[One last question. How long do you think it will take until you return?]

“...I don’t know. For now, there’s no telling.”

[Could it possibly cross into the next year?]

“Surely it won’t take that long. Keeping me tied to a secret mission must already be quite burdensome. There should be a limit to how long they can gloss it over by saying I’m carrying out an extremely important mission.”

There were several parties who would find it burdensome, so he omitted the subject. They were editing unreleased videos and photos taken before to appease the citizens’ demands, but how much longer could that last?

[You are right. Then I will continue doing my best, and I hope you stay safe until you return.]

“Yes. Department Head, please take care of your health too. Even if you enjoy the work, don’t overdo it.”

[Thank you.]

Gyeoul ended the call. Joanna took the terminal from him and stored it in her bag. The certificate, code table, instructions, and other items went in with it. As the supervisor locked the bag, she said,

“That was an extremely impressive conversation. It’s quite different from listening secretly.”

“It’s a little embarrassing.”

“No. It felt fresh, like you were a leader in the literal sense. That department head seemed very wise as well. I’m glad someone like that is helping you.”

“I think so too. People like that are rare.”

Looking over all the experiences so far, Min Wan-ki was a strange and exceptional person.

Gyeoul said,

“Shall we go, then?”

The briefing room was not far. Gyeoul walked beside the supervisor.

============================ Author’s Note ============================

#Q&A

Q. Xenogears: Another phase. Is this someone he will keep at a distance despite not wanting to, yet still take in... Since he has already obtained the buildings, will this person become a seed of discord he cannot discard?

A. Who knows. What will happen, I wonder. It may just be a simple supporting character. :)

Q. Balam: @Ossuary, I’m enjoying the story very much. Personally, I have a question about your previous work. I remember you said it was on hiatus due to “priorities,” so if you finish Ossuary, will that work come off hiatus too?

A. For now, “yes.” But since I am a full-time writer, my priority is my livelihood. If I cannot make a living right now, I cannot write only Seal Breaker. I think it will take quite a long time to reach the ending.

Q. Kikeros: Gyeoul’s story is one thing, but I’m curious about the later reaction of that monster wearing Gyeoul’s skin. Of course, perhaps that’s what the somewhat malicious gaze I possess wants?

A. That story will come out little by little. I do not know what you are hoping for with that malicious gaze. In any case, this novel will end with a happy ending. Truly.

Footnotes:

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