WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 337: Sunlit Shade (4)

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September 20. With only ten days left before his departure for D.C. on a tour through several states, the empty spaces in Gyeoul’s daily routine were shrinking by the day. There were few tasks light enough to use Time Acceleration on, either. It was fair to call this the final hurdle before a long vacation. If Major Singh had not been covering Gyeoul’s duties as commander of the Independent Battalion, separate from base command, even Gyeoul would have had a hard time keeping up.

“That’s too bad. It would have been nice if you could come too, Major.”

At Gyeoul’s consolation, the devout Sikh smiled clearly, even through his beard.

“I am honestly jealous, but someone has to stay behind and take responsibility for the battalion. Running the training camp and managing the facilities are important, and we cannot simply leave three companies practically built from recruits unattended, can we?”

“That’s true, but... I really didn’t think the East Coast schedule would stretch this long. No matter how many cities we were visiting, I expected a month at most. But it’s actually until Thanksgiving.”

The final schedule was a long vacation of nearly two full months. Strictly speaking, it was not a vacation for Gyeoul, but the soldiers saw it differently. Thanks to that, the former independent company members threw themselves into training with even greater desperation. The battalion staff, who did not know the details but did know some simple trick had been involved, found that fervor very amusing.

“Anyway, before I leave, I want to finish as much as possible of what needs my approval. You said there were things you needed me to check about assigning personnel to Bravo, Charlie, and Delta Companies, right?”

“Yes. We intend to take the officers commissioned at Fort Roberts and the existing volunteers into the battalion in large numbers. We followed your guidelines, Battalion Commander, but there seem to be some unsuitable people. There is also a list of newly commissioned officers who applied from the mainland, so please review that as well.”

Sitting on the edge of a desk where sunlight fell at a slant, Gyeoul accepted the tablet Major Singh handed him. The officer and soldier records he needed to review amounted to twice the battalion’s authorized strength, but it still would not take long. The major was only hoping there might be disqualifying factors that only Gyeoul, who knew the refugee zones well, would spot.

“You got the first round of screening from the military government office committee members, right?”

When Gyeoul asked just in case, the major answered at once.

“Of course. They were a great help in filtering out unsuitable candidates. There were quite a few people who were, as human beings, a little... lacking.”

Major Singh was a refined man, so his wording was refined too, but his tone was stricter than usual.

‘Department Head Jang must have done the job properly.’

As always, Gyeoul had asked the two department heads for help. Their task was to assist Major Singh and filter out unsuitable military manpower, regardless of nationality. Jang Yeon-cheol had done more of the work here. When it came to going around and meeting people, he had a wider reach than Min Wan-ki.

Yura had described him as something like a kind, diligent student council president. But also like a returning student who tried to mingle with his juniors, except the effort sometimes felt awkward. It was a comparison suited to Yura’s age. In a normal world, she would have just graduated from college by now.

Gyeoul flipped quickly through the digital pages, then pointed out several ensigns.

“These six here... I’ll meet each of them once and then decide.”

Major Singh peered at the photos on the screen.

“Sun, Xu, Liu, Wang, Li, Fei... They are all Chinese.”

The major’s pronunciation was fairly accurate. At least the surnames were not hard for Americans to say.

The first one he had chosen, Ensign Sun, Sun Xian, was the White Paper Ship of Wo Shing Wo who had once entrusted themselves to Gyeoul. Xu Jinlong and Liu Jianchao, who followed, were the same.

Wang Kecai was a rare case: a Chinese person without any separate background.

The last two, Li and Fei, were Li Ailing and Fei Changlong. Fei Changlong had once been nothing more than one of Li Ailing’s ordinary subordinates, but now wore an ensign’s insignia. That promotion had actually been part of Min Wan-ki’s maneuver.

“From Li Qinzhen’s perspective, Wan-ki said Fei was a rival piece he pushed forward because his daughter had started defying him.”

In other words, the goal had been to worsen the relationship between father and daughter beyond repair. On the surface, though, he had only pretended he could not refuse Li Qinzhen’s request.

Li Qinzhen was something else too. He had deliberately commissioned a low-ranking member as an officer to insult his daughter. It was probably also a way to show off his own power within the organization, but honestly, it was an extremely petty and crude move.

Min Wan-ki had testified with his usual cynicism.

“He said it exactly like this: he was going to properly tame his spoiled daughter.”

He had provided the trigger, but the sparks of conflict and the foolishness behind them had already been there. Gyeoul remembered Elder Kang Yeong-sun’s assessment of Li Ailing. There was probably an angry, wronged child inside her. Even though she must have overseen plenty of rough business as the Triad’s Incense Master, the way Li Ailing had once shed tears so easily was proof.

“Mm, there is one thing you should know, Battalion Commander.”

Gyeoul came out of his thoughts and tilted his head.

“What is it, Major?”

“The battalion staff are expressing concern about accepting Chinese and Japanese soldiers.”

Nobody on the staff, including Foster, showed any extreme leanings. Gyeoul wondered about it for a moment, then roughly guessed and asked to confirm.

“I doubt they’re saying we should discriminate by nationality... There must be another reason, right?”

“Yes. Their opinion is that if the members of each company are clearly divided by country of origin, the atmosphere inside the unit may become extremely ugly. Even in the training facilities that have begun expanded operation, the volunteers being put through training are clearly forming sides according to background.”

“I see. I expected that to some degree.”

“A certain amount of intense rivalry exists in most units, so I would not worry about that. But hatred strong enough to make us nervous about gang fights breaking out is a problem. They are quiet only in front of the officers and instructors. On an actual battlefield, we may have to worry not only about intentional refusal to cooperate, but even about fratricide.”

“Does it look impossible to overcome, in your view?”

The major paused with an ambiguous expression before answering.

“...I don’t know. The reality of the refugee zones is too different from what I imagined.”

“What did you imagine?”

“I had a vaguely positive image of them. You came from this place too, after all. I wondered if it might be a place where good people lived despite difficult circumstances.”

Gyeoul let out a soft laugh.

“Should I thank you for that, or should I apologize for making you misunderstand?”

“Both.”

After they shared a brief smile, Singh added First Sergeant Merriweather’s opinion.

“Returning to the main point, the First Sergeant’s position is that if ordered, it can be done. Some of the drill instructors say the same. They say it is an NCO’s job to turn even third-rate trash into honorable soldiers. Work them like dogs until they become human, and if that still does not work, do it again until it does... provided that you permit the time and resources necessary until then, Battalion Commander.”

“In other words, you’re saying it will take longer to make them combat-ready.”

“Yes. To borrow Sergeant D’Angelo’s words... mm, I’m not sure I should repeat this exactly...”

“It’s fine. Go ahead.”

Singh looked as if he regretted bringing it up, but since Gyeoul had asked, he had no choice but to answer.

“In her words... though I only heard it from a conversation among NCOs, there are a lot of bastards whose brains are like a gonorrhea-ridden X, so they will need to be worked over for a generous estimate of one year.”

That was indeed an expression worthy of an NCO.

“What do you think we should do, Major?”

“As a unit commander, I would like the members to have a strong bond. The reason our battalion achieved outstanding results back when it was an independent company, and the reason the old Nisei unit displayed such excellent combat power, was likely due in part to that distinctive bond.”

“The Nisei unit... The company Colonel Kim Young-ok commanded?”

“That is right. Colonel Kim. Since the media has begun mentioning him together with you more often, many people know of him now. He is an example often cited by supporters of the refugee volunteer system.”

During the Second World War, the Nisei unit had been composed entirely of second-generation Japanese immigrants, except for its commander.

“In short, you want the whole battalion unified by country of origin.”

“Yes. I know it is an unreasonable demand, but looking only at unit operation, that would be best.”

As a pure soldier, Major Singh would have found it difficult to offer another opinion. After hesitating, he added to his position.

“If it is difficult to fill the battalion entirely with Korean soldiers, I think it would not be bad to choose either Chinese or Japanese and fill the remaining manpower with one of those groups.”

“What about Vietnamese?”

“Mm, the Southeast Asian people here at Fort Roberts are far too few in number... Actually, the military government office’s Ngu-kei-en... no, Ng-yen? Good grief. The name is too difficult.”

“Isn’t it Nguyen?”

“Ah, yes. That committee member came to see me. Somehow, Nguyen seems to have heard that I was working on personnel assignments. But by the standard of people who passed the physical fitness test, there are only two platoons. To fill a company, we would need to accept people from other refugee camps too, and that procedure would be far too complicated, would it not?”

“Other camps... That might be worth looking into.”

If the regional military government offices differed, though, he would have to consider it almost impossible. Singh shrugged and continued.

“On top of that, they get along quite well with the Korean soldiers, but they treat the Chinese almost like mortal enemies. It makes me think it would be better to put them together with the Japanese instead. I do not know why they are on such bad terms.”

“Historically... there were many reasons for bad blood. There were frequent border disputes afterward too.”

“Sir. Do even people like you have those feelings?”

“Not at all. I think few currents are as wrong as that one.”

“A wrong current... is it?”

“They’re feelings that have flowed down from long ago. Newly born people keep getting swept up in them, sweep up more people in turn, then pass them on to the next generation. Too few people try to break away from it. It feels useless for me to struggle alone. I often wish the past would all disappear so we could start over from the beginning.”

Song Ye-kyung had been the one to make him reconfirm that fact most clearly. Her words had carried weight.

Major Singh reacted negatively.

“I sometimes feel that way too, but those who do not seek the right and wrong taught by the heart they were born with, that is, love and morality in the name of God, will walk the same path in the end. Unless there is someone to teach them the right path. If someone like you were there at that time, Battalion Commander, perhaps it might be possible.”

Gyeoul only gave a bland smile.

As he flipped through the tablet’s pages, he spotted a familiar person in the soldier records that followed the officers.

‘Kushinada Setsuna... Rank, Private?’

This was the victim whom the Damul Promotion Association’s chairman, alias Im Hwa-su, real name Bang Gwi-nam, had presented as a so-called gift.

Because their head had been shaved, he almost failed to recognize them from the photo alone, but he remembered the name. Their physical fitness records were slightly below average. The instructor in charge of their training had written that they had a gloomy personality and poor interpersonal relationships. Their participation in and understanding of training were not bad.

Bang Gwi-nam was one of the tumors from the past that had to be cut out as soon as Gyeoul became base commander. He was postponing punishment because if he raised the issue now, he would be absent in the middle of handling it. As for Baek San-ho, he needed to take some sort of warning measure at least once...

The thought that was about to continue was suddenly severed. A sharp sensory correction stimulated the ends of his nerves. Once Gyeoul identified what it was, he felt no small amount of distress.

‘Crisis Detection? So suddenly?’

Gunshots came faintly right after. The direction was toward the Saints Church residence district. Because of the place involved, no siren sounded. All emergency measures would be going out quietly. Even Major Singh did not seem particularly concerned. He seemed to think it was ordinary shooting practice.

A vibration came from the device in his hand. It was the Net Warrior terminal. Gyeoul checked the screen where Singh could not see it, then turned and called to him.

“Major. Something urgent came up, so I think I need to go.”

“Is that so?”

“There may be a battle, so muster Alpha Company.”

The relaxed Singh finally studied Gyeoul’s face and tensed up in turn.

“Muster will not be a problem, but what on earth is going on?”

“I’m not certain yet. I’ll contact you if I learn anything. Until then, please stand by in a ready state.”

A roughly evasive order. Major Singh looked a little confused. But there was nothing more Gyeoul could explain, and no more time to drag this out. Gyeoul ordered the waiting driver to get out, then sat in the Humvee’s driver’s seat himself and started the engine.

Footnotes:

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