WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: Ryuu

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◈ The Little Prince in the Ossuary

00019 <-- The Little Prince of the Ossuary -->

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#High Risk, High Return, Paso Robles (6)

The day had changed.

Around 8 AM, the radio crackled to life.

[Checking communication status. Banana, Banana, awaiting in desire, radio check. This is Abel, Abel. Over.]

The radio, battery replaced and left on since dawn, spat out a voice mixed with faint static. From the start, it wasn't very friendly.

The rescue mission was assigned to Abel Company, commanded by the racist Senior Company Commander, Captain Markert. A character who shows his true colors as the world goes mad. The US military strictly prohibits racial discrimination, but these were extraordinary times. Many things that should have been upheld were not.

The very term they used to address us was ‘Banana,’ a derogatory term for Asians.

To begin with, using military communication protocol with civilians was inconsiderate. To put it politely, the message could be interpreted as:

「Attention, refugee volunteers on the communication network, do you copy? We are Abel Company. Over.」

Adding ‘Over’ at the end means, "I've finished speaking, now it's your turn to speak," to avoid overlapping conversations.

The repeated use of ‘Banana’ was clear. The group was displeased. People do have ears to hear, after all. Jin-seok and Je-jung's faces turned red with anger.

Even among those in the gymnasium, a sensible majority glanced at Gyeoul's party's faces. Some were indignant, but a few, including a man who had a clash with Gyeoul the day before, were barely holding back their laughter. The twitching corners of their mouths were annoying to see.

‘Banana’ is not even a code found in communication protocols. Demanding a response according to the rules was nothing short of mockery. Communication grammar is something that players would not know unless they have acquired or experienced relevant skills.

Gyeoul picked up the handset.

"Roger. This is… the refugee volunteer group, Han Gyeoul. Lima Charlie, five by five. How do you read, over?"

Lima Charlie stands for Loud and Clear.

Five by five refers to signal clarity. It indicates the strength and clarity of the signal captured by the radio. A clear signal indicates good sensitivity, and if it is easy to understand, then the clarity is also good. Korea usually uses a scale from 1 to 3, while the US uses 1 to 5.

The response sent meant, "This is refugee volunteer Han Gyeoul. Your communication is coming through loud and clear. Please confirm if you can hear me well."

[Copy, your signal clarity is good. Notification from Abel-Actual to correct your call sign. Your call sign is determined to be… Banana. Repeat if acknowledged. Over.]

Even the radio operator sounded uncomfortable. Anger was palpable. Abel-Actual... must be the commander's doing.

It's like making a black person refer to themselves as a ‘Negro.’ It's childish. A stone in Gyeoul's heart rolled halfway and then stopped. Gyeoul responded in a calm voice.

"......Copy. One request from Abel, please. These people here do not know communication grammar. You can call us Banana or whatever you like, but I'd appreciate if you use simpler language so others can understand as well. Over."

After a moment of silence, a reply came.

[Understood, Banana. Abel has commenced the rescue operation as of 0800 hours. Oscar Mike... no, what's the situation on your end?]

"Found thirty-four civilians. Among them, twenty-one are students, and there are no patients or injured; their health is fine."

[Then, can Banana lead them to escape to the intersection of 24th Street?]

An absurd request. They were informed that more than half were students, yet they asked if self-evacuation was possible. The civilians' faces instantly twisted in dismay. The AI's system message was displayed as a hologram.

「AI Advice (Insight Level 8): Your response will alter the mission content. If you choose self-evacuation, Abel Company will not move from its current location, and the success condition is to rendezvous with Abel Company 60 minutes before EENT. Rewards will vary based on the evaluation of the process.」

「Estimated Difficulty (Insight Level 8): Near impossible.」

「AI Advice (Insight Level 8): The likelihood of success is extremely low. However, if the objective is fully achieved, a reward evaluation up to thirty-seven times the maximum is anticipated. The choice is yours.」

There was no need to think about it. Over thirty unarmed personnel, twenty-one of whom are middle school students with penalties greater than Gyeoul's own minor penalty. Self-evacuation was out of the question. Even Gyeoul had limits.

"Impossible. Three civilians are armed, but the firepower is insufficient. There's a high chance of losing control if a situation arises."

[Understood. Abel will continue the mission. Banana, hold your position. Over.]

The communication ended there. Gyeoul, hoping nothing would go wrong, activated the time acceleration feature. Unless something unusual happened, the time acceleration would automatically disengage upon Abel Company's arrival.

However, the expectations were off. When the time acceleration broke, what could be heard were the echoes of gunfire and explosions not far away. Loud noises, massive roars one after another. The latter was not of human origin. People became anxious. They gathered around Gyeoul.

Gyeoul picked up the radio. Tried to communicate, but no response came.

"Hey, little captain, what's going on?"

Je-jung, awkwardly formal. The title ‘little captain’ carried a hint of reluctance. It would improve in time. Gyeoul answered without delay.

"The US military uses suppressors, right? Hearing gunfire means it's not normal. If it's a weapon that can't use a suppressor, then it's mounted heavy weapons, right? We're facing an opponent that requires such firepower."

"Ah, come on."

"And explosions have varieties too. If we categorize by size, there are at least three types. It's not just grenades we're talking about, and among the explosives the US military has, only rockets and plastic explosives make louder noises than grenades. If they're still fighting with that kind of firepower... Maybe we're dealing with a very large group?"

"……."

As Gyeoul's analysis reached this point, the three people showed varied expressions. A sense of disappointment and defeat was evident in Jin-seok.

"You know a lot for your age. You're guessing all that just from the sounds...?"

"If you think about it calmly, anyone could come to that conclusion."

The young man bit his lip. The boy's mature response deepened his sense of defeat. The boy glanced at him. It's stimulating to have one or two such people in a group.

The only one among the three who didn't have issues with pride, Yura was frank.

"Being calm in this situation is remarkable in itself. Maybe the rescue team won't make it."

Worry mixed with clear trust. Esteem affection had built up enough to show on the surface. Gyeoul still spoke calmly.

"We need a goat."

"Huh? A goat? What do you mean by that...?"

"It's nothing much, but it's tiring to explain. I'll tell you when we get back."

The implication in the casually thrown words was, 'I believe we will return safely.' Yura's expression lightened slightly. Shouting "We will return safely!" at the top of her lungs would have had the opposite effect. Saying that out loud would mean even they doubted it themselves.

"What are you all talking about?"

The Americans were suspicious of the conversation in Korean. Although they were in the minority, in some cases, inexplicable anger could be seen in their eyes. That's how people are. In times of uncertainty, everyone looks for someone to blame, to resent.

Should Gyeoul be honest or not? Considering the ripple effects, Gyeoul chose the former.

"We were saying that the rescue team seems to be struggling."

Immediate pushback. A white man pointed his finger, veins bulging in anger.

"Ha, as if! The strongest military in the world! There's no way they're struggling against those half-dead things!"

The reaction was immediate and emotional. A backlash against the negation of hope. There was no need to confront him directly. Gyeoul nodded.

"That might be the case. Anyway, that's what I think."

"...If you don't know, then shut up! Don't make us anxious for no reason! The rescue team will definitely come."

"I hope so."

A smile that could have been natural, a gently returned response. An expression of sympathy for his words but realistically not agreeing. The boy's calm demeanor was not really aimed at the man but at the watching crowd.

The tense atmosphere was broken by the radio suddenly coming to life.

[Break, Break! This is... 5... transmit! Abel 1! From...! Break away from current position... cease engagement... to Romeo Point... individual withdrawal...!]

Although the signal was strong, the message was hard to understand amidst rough breathing, gunfire, and explosions. Screams were layered within. The gym turned chillingly silent. Despite the unclear details, "cease engagement" and "individual withdrawal" were unmistakably heard.

The radio chaos intensified. Amidst it all, the word "monster" was repeated several times. Gyeoul inwardly found it strange. It was too early for special or enhanced mutants to appear. And there was no reason to call regular mutants "monsters" now.

'It must have been a more difficult mission than expected.'

The frequency of gunfire and explosions outside decreased. At the same time, the directions diversified. It meant the US military was dispersing. Yet, the continuation of substantial gunfire meant some vehicles must have survived. However, the fading sounds were not a good sign; it meant vehicles were leaving stragglers behind.

At this point, there seemed no need to inquire about the situation via radio.

Someone started to sob. The crying gradually spread. It was the psychology of the crowd. As the crying increased, the frequency of the radio cries decreased. It would have been better if the screams continued. The voices crying out in the communication network one by one disappeared, and finally, it seemed like one person was talking to himself. He seemed quite panicked when the responses stopped.

[Hey, is really no one there?... Someone respond, please!]

The frightened person had thrown all communication protocol to the wind.

But, in reality, this was normal. Not all military communications strictly follow protocol. Looking at public US military communication cases, informal conversations are more common.

In the end, the earlier communication was just the racism of an old-timer.

The lone cries grew increasingly desperate. Gyeoul picked up the handset. He paused, tilting his head. There was no need to identify himself with a ridiculous call sign.

"This is Han Gyeoul. I'm listening, go ahead."

[Oh! My God! Thank you. I forgot you guys were there! Damn, it won't help, but... having someone to talk to is a relief! I'm really glad!]

"Are you injured?"

[Damn... I hurt my leg falling down some stairs. I think it's broken...]

"How many are with you?"

[Just me. My buddies all scattered. There must be some other fools alive besides me.]

"Are you safe for now?"

[Safe? Well, nothing immediately lethal in sight, but who knows how long I'll stay alive. Haha.]

His last laugh was soaked in despair and resignation. The expected plea for help was conspicuously absent. Gyeoul pointed it out.

"You're not asking for help. Is your injury severe?"

[It's not the injury. With that kind of monster roaming around, how can I ask to be saved...]

"I'm sorry, but could you describe that monster?"

[......]

There was a moment of silence from the other end. Just when Gyeoul thought he might have lost consciousness, he finally got the answer he was looking for.

--------------------------- Author's Note ---------------------------

1. To readers concerned about the author's health, let me say this.

I'm still lacking in skill, so it takes me a long time to write one piece. It's not something I can do while working at a company. I quit not long ago.

The reason I was working at a company in the first place was to save up money and try becoming a full-time writer.

2. Today wasn't supposed to be a release day... but, ah, I don't know.

Footnotes:

[1] Oscar Mike: Military slang for "On the Move." Used in radio communication to indicate that a unit or individual is moving from one location to another.

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