WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 346: Sunlit Shade (13)
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The next day, the refugee zone was somewhat unsettled from the morning onward. Rumor had it that something had gone wrong in the Saints Church residence district. That meant Gyeoul could not ignore even the small, everyday events. If there was nothing to do, it was better to create a reason to show his face and reassure people. It would keep vague unease from spreading and feeding on itself. Especially with all the new eyes that would be turning toward Fort Roberts starting today.
Some of the truth would get out anyway, but until the official announcement, keeping his mouth shut was the right move. He did not know where the government would draw the line. The nondisclosure agreement was also an issue.
Gunshots rang out with the signal, breaking Gyeoul's train of thought.
In each lane of the shooting range stood middle school students who had not yet shed their childishness. Each had an assistant instructor assigned to guide them. Behind them, high school students could be seen waiting their turn. They were children from refugee zones divided by nationality.
The Texas Curriculum.
Texas had been the first to include shooting and survival training in its regular curriculum around this time last year. The policy had spread to several states along the quarantine front, including New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, until similar policies were being carried out across the United States by the middle of this year. Some regions raised objections depending on their political leanings, but the resistance was never especially strong. It was the heyday of the National Rifle Association. The Democratic Party accepted the change of the times with uncomfortable silence, or with unavoidable agreement.
Bang!
The intermittent gunshots were small. The students, all in their early to mid-teens, flinched a little each time they pulled the trigger, but even with their small builds they handled the rifles' recoil without much trouble. It was not because they were talented or well trained. The issued rounds were simply that low-powered, .22LR. In terms of killing power, they were roughly one-tenth as strong as ordinary rifle rounds. Naturally, the recoil was weak too.
But that was no reason to let one's guard down. The weakest, cheapest bullet was also the bullet that had killed the most people in America.
"Muzzles forward! Muzzles forward!"
Han-byul, who had volunteered as an instructor, moved from lane to lane and shouted sharply. She did not go easy on them just because they were students. Wearing the rank insignia of a Corporal, she lost her temper freely and barked orders nonstop. Part of it was to prevent accidents, but she was also deliberately applying psychological pressure.
'They are not just trying to teach them how to shoot.'
Given the purpose of the class, the students needed to experience that state of taut nerves. Gyeoul had once trained Yura in a similar way, though at a far higher intensity.
"Well, this is... This should have been our role, originally..."
It was the cautious regret of An Je-jung, who was still the vigilante leader. Under the policy, supervision of shooting classes fell under the jurisdiction of the local police. Here in Fort Roberts, that meant Sheriff Hayland was in charge. As an officially recognized auxiliary public security organization, the refugee settlement vigilantes were also qualified to assist, but the sheriff had asked the military for cooperation instead of drawing on vigilante manpower.
"It is not because they do not trust you or the other members, Leader Je-jung."
Gyeoul's words were meant to soothe him.
"Today is a little special. The vigilantes will be needed in the remaining quarters."
"Yes, well..."
Je-jung studied Gyeoul's mood.
"But Little Captain, has something bad happened?"
"..."
How many times did that make? Gyeoul counted the number of similar questions he had received since morning. He thought he was keeping his expression under control, but it seemed the aftereffects of yesterday had not been fully hidden. Even so, most people noticed nothing and moved on. Je-jung was on the perceptive side.
"Could it be yesterday, in the Saints Church residence district..."
"Leader."
Gyeoul cut him off.
"Everyone will find out what happened there soon enough. Until then, do not go out of your way to learn about it. Keep your people in line too, so strange rumors do not spread... May I ask that of you?"
He put a slight emphasis on "your people" and "ask." Je-jung was not a bad person, but he had his share of vanity. Satisfying that was enough to motivate him. He also had just enough ability to manage his small ambitions. That was Min Wan-ki's assessment. For a career section chief, the most frightening thing was losing his desk.
Je-jung lowered his voice.
"Ah, of course. A secret, then. I will make sure not to disappoint you."
Then, pretending to be casual, he raised his voice as if for the people around them to hear.
"Over there! Do you see him? The kid in lane nine! He shoots well, doesn't he?"
"He does seem to have talent. Do you know him?"
"He is the son of a friend I work with in the vigilantes. I hear his dream is to become a soldier. If he really enlists later, please keep an eye on him. If he takes after his father in personality too, he should be fairly decent."
For a subject he had deliberately changed to, it still served his own interests. Gyeoul answered while pretending not to notice.
"I will remember him. Since it is your eye for talent, Leader."
Je-jung tried hard to hide his satisfaction. It seemed like a truly useless conversation, but it was something that had to be done. Je-jung was the type who could not establish authority on his own.
To put it crudely, Gyeoul's role right now was to lend prestige by being there.
Some of the parents kept glancing this way as well. Each of them wanted their child to catch Gyeoul's eye. In plain terms, they wanted a connection. In fact, he had once heard similar talk even inside the former independent company, now Alpha Company. He had only been passing by and overheard it by accident.
"Look how fast Pissed-off Seok is rising. We got on one hell of a good line. As long as we hold tight to this connection, we will rise fast too."
Gyeoul did not think badly of the soldiers' perception. People without desire were rare, after all. That desire would make them carry out missions more actively and obey orders more willingly, so it was a positive factor in running the unit as well. As long as the officers, including Gyeoul, did not lose their balance.
But the parents' greed here felt different.
'As if they see their children as tools...'
Enlistment came with citizenship. And if their child became an American citizen, the parents gained many benefits too. It became easier to obtain permanent residency, and there were also the benefits granted to military families. The consolation payment for the families of the war dead that Baek San-ho had mentioned was one of them.
In other words, these were parents who pressured their children to become soldiers not because it was the best path for the children, but for their own sake.
Of course, that was only some of them. Only some, but from Gyeoul's position, he could not help being sensitive to it.
From a distance came the sniffles of a child being scolded after finishing the shooting.
"Come here. Did Mom tell you not to rush your shots, or didn't she? Chang-hyun next door fired ten shots and hit with all ten, so what is this? How are you going to get AB Honor like this? Hm? If you want to become like Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul, even A Honor would not be enough!"
Gyeoul sighed. His mood grew even heavier. Even with correction, the voice was small and faint, but because of the state of his heart, he found himself listening. When he glanced over, the child had returned the rifle and stood empty-handed, tears falling one after another.
"Stop it, Hye-young's mother. Aren't you embarrassed with people from other countries watching? There are broadcast cameras too. Today is the first class of the first quarter, and Hye-young shot well enough. Our Du-jung apparently shot at the target in the next lane."
At least someone had stepped in. Only then did "Hye-young's mother" notice the cold looks around her. She quietly slipped away with the crying child.
Education in the refugee zone was divided by nationality. Even so, students of several nationalities had gathered here because that was what the authorities wanted. The broadcast station staff had been dispatched for the same reason. It was one of the smokescreens meant to buy a little time until the official position on yesterday's engagement could be announced. At the same time, it advertised the effectiveness of the refugee support policy. The implication was that a second or third Han Gyeoul might appear.
It was stale by now, but as repetition meant to imprint an idea, it had some meaning.
Since safety came first, it took quite a long time for the shooting to end.
"You were already in a bad mood, and then you had to sit through all that."
At his next appointment, Min Wan-ki said that, and Gyeoul smiled bitterly.
"Does it show that much?"
"It was certainly different from usual. Anyone who knows Little Captain even a little probably noticed. Captain Park Jin-seok and Lieutenant Lee Yura both asked me whether I had heard anything. Though I was surprised that even those two did not know..."
The force deployed to the Saints Church residence district had been the mobile strike force under Brigadier General Laughlin. The troops belonging to Gyeoul's Independent Battalion had merely blocked the other routes in case of an emergency.
"You will probably be able to see it on the broadcast in a few days."
"Hmm... A few days, a few days..."
Min Wan-ki clasped his fingers together.
"In other words, only limited information will be made public after censorship. I had thought we were finally entering a stable period, but I am surprised there was an incident serious enough to require press control."
"You are too quick."
"At my age, I have to make my living with my head."
He said it jokingly, then offered Gyeoul something to drink.
"How about tea or coffee? Since we receive more guests now, I have stocked better items than before. It should not be bad for a change of mood."
At the mention of coffee in this mood, Gyeoul thought of the cafe royale Anne used to make for him. After suddenly thinking that he wanted to hear her voice, Gyeoul gave another bitter smile.
"Then coffee for me. Any kind is fine."
When Gyeoul nodded, Min Wan-ki rose from his seat. He stopped Gyeoul when he tried to stand as well.
"Please stay seated. This sort of thing also takes practice."
"..."
When the older director opened the door, a young woman approached and asked what he needed. She tried to make the coffee for him, but Min Wan-ki declined, saying he could manage that much himself. For some reason, the atmosphere felt strange.
A little later, when he returned with a tray holding two cups and a container of sugar cubes, Gyeoul asked him,
"Does that woman help with the work?"
"Yes. The Gyeoul Alliance is now a corporation too, and the administrative work has increased accordingly. Well, she seems to have other intentions of her own."
"Other intentions?"
"There are so few men that even a middle-aged old man like me must seem to have some value as a commodity. For one thing, I have a stable income as a public official, and I also have the armband of being one of Little Captain's close aides."
Putting plenty of sugar into his own cup, Min Wan-ki smiled faintly.
"It is troublesome. If I keep no one near me at all, things become even more bothersome..."
He trailed off, then changed his tone.
"Let us leave the empty talk there. If you are not in the mood, Little Captain, how about simply resting here today before you go?"
"Would that be all right?"
"Our alliance is an organization that ran well enough even when you were not here, Little Captain. The mere fact that you receive regular reports makes the small noises disappear, so this is one of those cases where the form itself has substance. Unless some fairly major trouble comes up, it is enough during ordinary times for you simply to keep us in mind."
It overlapped with what he had once said, that simply showing people the image they wanted was enough.
"More importantly, about yesterday's incident. Even if the details are secret, there is one thing I would like you to confirm."
"What is it?"
"Is it something that could harm us?"
Gyeoul slowly shook his head.
"No. It is not that. Things will get somewhat noisy, but from the alliance's position, there should not be any bad effect. At least, as far as I can tell..."
"I see. That is a relief."
Min Wan-ki tilted his cup. White steam fogged his glasses. Gyeoul also put sugar into his coffee. One, two, three, four... Today, he craved something sweet.
Footnotes:
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