WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 293: Sacramento (8)

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The tank that had fallen into the pit was left there for three days. The units deployed on other streets had suffered similar attacks. The simultaneous battles had produced nearly eight hundred casualties, officers included. It was the first time since Boar Hunt began that they had taken losses on that scale in a single day. The mood at headquarters was somewhat subdued.

“At least the dermal damage isn’t too severe.”

That was Captain Jo Yun-chang, the medical officer treating Gyeoul’s burns.

“If you take good care of it for the next week or so, there shouldn’t be much scarring.”

“I see.”

“That is only if you take good care of it. How did you even think of swinging a sword with this hand? Treatment would have been much easier if even the epidermis had been intact.”

It was a warning he had already repeated several times during the daily process of disinfecting the wound and changing the bandages. Rather than a complaint, it was closer to nagging him never to do that again. Gyeoul changed the subject.

“How is Lieutenant Foster?”

“He needs at least four more weeks of rest.”

“So it might be longer than that.”

“Yes. Even after the bones knit, he may feel pain in the serratus anterior or the intercostal ligaments. In that case, he’ll have to rely on painkillers for several months. It will hurt just to breathe.”

“You should have kicked him a little more gently,” the Captain said.

Gyeoul gave a faint, bitter smile. The operations officer, who had cracked several ribs, had simply collapsed and been unable to move once Combat High faded. Even if they respected Foster’s wishes and did not replace him, it seemed they would have to keep the Lieutenant out of combat strength for the time being.

“It feels strange that I’m getting a Purple Heart when even that Lieutenant can’t.”

The Purple Heart was a commemorative medal awarded to those killed or wounded in combat. Gyeoul had never had any connection to it until now, but this time he was receiving one because his burns had been judged second-degree. The operations officer, however, was excluded from eligibility. The reason was that the injury had not been caused by a direct enemy attack.

For example, a Purple Heart was not awarded for an accident caused by evasive maneuvering while operating a vehicle. That was why Gyeoul had not received one in the past, even after suffering a laceration on the back of his hand when he was buried in a landslide.

The medical officer shook his head.

“The regulations are what they are, so there’s nothing to be done. Please accept it for the sake of the others too. If you decline, Company Commander, wouldn’t that put quite a few people in an awkward position?”

“Mm, that’s true.”

There would be people who qualified for it but started watching others’ reactions. Someone’s humility could become someone else’s harm. Courtesy without consideration easily became self-satisfaction.

Besides, the Purple Heart was not only an honor. It was also a real benefit added to one’s pension.

Looking down at his freshly bandaged hand, Gyeoul said, “But it still bothers me. I keep wondering if there’s some way to take care of him too.”

“I think the fact that you feel that way about your subordinates is already enough.”

It was subtle flattery from Captain Jo Yun-chang. Gyeoul pretended not to notice.

“I’ll get going. I need to see what will happen to the tank, and there are other headaches too.”

“Keep up the good work.” It was an awkward farewell to leave with someone from the mainland, but the Captain and Gyeoul came from the same place.

The first people he saw after coming outside were engineering corps troops drilling into the road. While artificial noise was being made elsewhere, they were using low-speed drills that produced almost no sound to make holes and feed camera cables underground.

At the same time, the underground passages leading to each building were being blocked with obstacles and welding. It was a process of gradually shrinking the mutants’ range of activity.

Work in this area was nearly finished, so outdoor activity had become much freer than before.

“You’re here, sir.”

Ensign Song Jeong-hun, the acting First Platoon leader who had been guarding the tank recovery site, saluted Gyeoul.

“Doesn’t look like the work is going well.”

The recovery tank sat motionless at the edge of the pit. On closer look, there were also signs of further collapse. The Ensign confirmed Gyeoul’s words.

“Yes. The first attempt failed. Look at the cracks in the road. The ground seems to have weakened, and we almost lost the recovery vehicle too. The engineering corps plans to make a ramp before resuming work.”

Even if they managed to drag it out, Valor No. 3 would be headed for the maintenance yard. The shock of a sixty-ton lump of metal crashing down had broken all kinds of equipment by itself. On top of that, the hull had endured the explosion of gas cylinders. The external observation devices were all dead, so for now it was no different from scrap metal.

‘Good thing the turret didn’t come loose.’

If it had, there would have been more casualties.

Ensign Song Jeong-hun cautiously brought something up.

“Um... Is that rumor true? That Captain Singh is being transferred to another unit...”

“Who said that?”

Gyeoul narrowed his eyes slightly while looking at the tank with its thrown track, and the Ensign flinched.

“It wasn’t one person. Everyone’s heard it. They say there’s no helping it because public opinion is bad.”

In other words, religious backlash. They were taking issue with the shout Captain Singh had cried in the previous battle. “Long live the Khalsa! Victory belongs only to God!” The public affairs office’s mistake had been releasing the footage unedited, since the sight of him drawing his sword while shouting it had been so forceful. Supposedly, many citizens were complaining that it violated one regulation or another. The point was that a fanatic like that should not be placed beside Major Han Gyeoul.

The real problem was that most of the people making that argument were Christian fanatics.

The controversy was stoked further by the fact that the cry was a confession of faith from the Khalsa Amritdhari sect of Sikhism, and that even the reason he carried a sword was somewhat religious.

‘It had to be bad for Major General Rogers to contact me.’

That had happened just yesterday. Gyeoul had felt a trace of displeasure from the other end of the receiver. Considering the Major General’s dry personality, that meant fairly deep displeasure.

The Major General had cut straight to the point.

[You know the situation. Do you agree to Captain Bahadur Singh’s transfer?]

“I do not agree. He did nothing wrong...”

[Enough. I’ll handle the rest.]

Then the line went dead. As if all Rogers had needed was the fact that Gyeoul’s position had been confirmed. The guess that headquarters was under outside pressure seemed to be true. Now that they were winning across the entire quarantine front, even the simple fact that they had taken significant casualties could have weakened their position.

After that, Captain Singh himself had requested a private meeting.

“I don’t wish to cause trouble for you, Company Commander.”

Naturally, that meant he wanted to be sent to another unit. Gyeoul firmly refused.

“Why are even you acting like this, Captain? Go back. Saying things like that is the real trouble.”

“...”

Gyeoul asked the strict Sikh a question.

“You said this before, right? That the name of God was the conscience, love, and courage inside the heart.”

“That is so, but why bring that up now?”

“If other people ask, tell them exactly that. Tell them that saying victory belongs only to God means only victory through conscience, love, and courage is true victory. Tell them that victory won with wrong intentions isn’t victory to begin with.”

There had been a similar concept in the textbook Gyeoul had studied too. Ethics and Thought. It was hazy now, but he thought it had probably been Kant. The idea that a right action was only truly moral when you practiced it solely because it was right. If desire or some other purpose got mixed in, it became false morality.

There was common ground between an a priori moral law and an a priori God.

“Captain. Is my interpretation wrong?”

When Gyeoul asked again, the Captain quietly denied it.

“At least to me, it is not. Those are the exact words my father taught me.”

“Then that’s enough. Go. This is a decision I’m making according to my conscience.”

“...”

“Are you really going to keep this up? Didn’t you say I was closer to the name of God than anyone?”

Only after Gyeoul half-jokingly barked at him could he push Captain Singh away.

Having recalled that much, Gyeoul gave Ensign Song instructions.

“Make sure rumors like that don’t spread any further within the platoon. I’ll pay attention to it too. I don’t want the soldiers getting shaken by pointless talk, and I especially don’t want Captain Singh himself to see it and be hurt.”

“Yes, understood.”

“There’s a lot more to worry about after becoming platoon leader, right?”

The Ensign gave a hollow laugh at Gyeoul’s words.

“That’s true, but it feels very strange hearing you ask that, Company Commander.”

“What does?”

“Please don’t tease me. You know.”

Heh, heh. Suppressed laughter could be heard. It came from the nearby guards. Ensign Song pursed those lips, making the soldiers read the room, then let out a light sigh.

“To be honest, it’s not comfortable. I did serve in the military as an officer candidate in Korea, but I never actually commanded combat. I hope the previous platoon leader returns soon.”

“Even if Ensign Yura returns, your rank will stay the same, you know?”

“Pardon? Why would... I’m only an acting substitute.”

“We’re short on officers. Why do you think I’m still a Major? Even if it’s a position-based promotion, once your rank goes up, you should assume the possibility of being lowered again is slim. I heard Ensign Yura is receiving theoretical education right now too. They’re probably trying to give her promotion qualifications while she’s injured.”

“This... can’t be...”

“On top of that, Ensign Song received officer training in another country, graduated from university even if issuing a diploma has become impossible, and speaks English at native level... You’re too useful a resource to waste. Congratulations on your rank being confirmed.”

Song Jeong-hun’s shoulders drooped. The mood was genuinely depressed. Did Song hate it that much? Even though Song had been discharged as a Lieutenant in Korea? Among the refugees now, many people wanted a stable position however they could get one. If it was an officer rank, it would not be strange for people to want it desperately. In the first place, enlisted soldiers and officers were in different pay brackets.

In Gyeoul’s eyes, Ensign Song was not especially timid. If anything, the fact that there had been no real noise despite being an acting platoon leader proved Song’s ability.

Something flashed through Gyeoul’s mind, and he checked quietly.

“Is the Second Platoon leader bullying you?”

Flinch. Those shoulders jumped. Gyeoul had only asked on the off chance, but it seemed to be true.

“No, sir.”

“What do you mean, no? Your body is being this honest. Are you supposed to lie to a superior?”

One nearby soldier, who seemed to have been listening with curiosity again, flinched. “Body is honest...” the soldier muttered. Even if it was only to herself, Gyeoul heard it clearly with his hearing correction. What exactly was she thinking?

Ensign Song, stiff as a block of wood, denied it again.

“It’s true. I’m lacking in many ways, so the work guidance is strict, but Ensign Park Jin-seok is normally a very good senior.”

“Is that so?”

Even though they were both Ensigns, Jin-seok was the senior one, had his standing within the Gyeoul Alliance, and had also been one of the original three who spread the rumor about Je-jung. The other refugee-born Ensigns besides Yura must have found him difficult to deal with.

The atmosphere in the independent company was a little different from other U.S. military units too.

‘He must be comparing Song to Yura at every turn...’

Of course, Jin-seok would never let that show on the outside. Gyeoul had felt Jin-seok’s competitive streak was strong ever since he had selected Yura as the first combat group leader over him.

Should he call it childish? While Gyeoul was thinking over the right word, Ensign Song’s face was full of worries that could not be said aloud. Gyeoul reassured Song for now.

“Don’t worry. I won’t say much to Ensign Park.”

“...Yes.”

Jeong-hun looked oddly relieved and a little disappointed at the same time. That was why Gyeoul’s next words drew a puzzled look.

“If this were going to last long, I’d take some kind of measure, but it seems like it’ll be resolved soon anyway.”

“What do you mean by that, sir?”

“I mean it’ll be fine once Ensign Song is no longer First Platoon leader.”

He had already been informed of Yura’s return schedule. There was no need to stir things up for no reason.

Ensign Song was not slow, either, so after a moment of confusion, that face suddenly lit with realization. Gyeoul reminded Song.

“Like I said earlier, make sure pointless rumors don’t spread.”

“Of course. I’ll take this secret to my grave.”

“No, it doesn’t need to go that far...”

It felt like Song was getting a little too far ahead. But after seeing the Ensign’s firm expression, Gyeoul decided it would probably be fine to leave things alone.

========== Author’s Note ==========

#Q&A

Q. Calpis: @I came right away but I’m second, that’s frustrating... / The Trickster died to avoid Gyeoul’s retaliation. It’s like seeing that one player in Civilization V who left for space to avoid King Sejong.

A. Still, Gyeoul might be more merciful than King Sejong D...

Q. Ryujianne: @Is the malice of mutants the malice of recorded people?

A. Partially, yes. The sources referenced by the control personality are varied beyond that. The key is what humans fear, in what situations, and from what targets. A lot of data is probably collected from the Afterlife Insurance service itself.

Q. UnlimitedOne: @At this point, special mutants have become close to another form of humanity. / Good heavens, a Trickster that kills itself after firing a shotgun......

A. Since intelligent individuals are still only an extremely small minority, I think they are still far from that. :)

Q. Bug: @If you play as a scientist or engineer, can you distribute technology depending on research?

A. That itself meant it needs to be unlocked past a certain level. Even if you personally know it, you cannot just release it. To put it in mobile game terms, it is a job that requires a paid purchase. Believe in the malice of Afterlife Insurance.

Q. TigerOldMan: @My goodness, one high school girl is five Gyeouls, so why is America not deploying such an incredible force?

A. That is because all high school girls are Sith Lords.

Q. qgegegqe: @Captain Singh is top class among humans, but Gyeoul pulled out a sword Singh couldn’t draw no matter what, and did it all at once.

How high would his grip strength measure?

A. The realm of the superhuman is literally a realm beyond humans, impossible for humans. Depending on the measuring method and

the circumstances, he may need to control his strength. In that situation, before Gyeoul judges for himself, the control personality will probably give a recommendation.

Q. FullMetal: @Looks like a few more medals are coming out.

A. Yes. I think related content will probably be mentioned next chapter.

Q. John_Doe: ...It was like that when saving Private Ryan too, but... why take more damage to save one unnecessary person? It seems too inefficient... Or is that profitable from a broad perspective?

A. What matters is social trust. In countries where faith that society will protect me is weak, each individual builds fences as self-defense. To put it simply, it means they become like China. Korea is the same. No person is unnecessary.

Q. Crysis2: @Author, I think the vividness of your novel comes from faithful research and writing skill. From the first episode to now, I have never felt bored once. Cheers to your ten legs as you struggle hard, author!

A. It seems the novel suits your tastes well. I’m glad. I’ll work hard so it stays good until the end. :)

Footnotes:

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