WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 360: A Splendid Invitation (12)
──────
「The departed warriors were a grace granted to us.」
Even near the end of the long memorial ceremony, the president’s gaze still moved naturally, and his voice remained measured.
「When the pitch-black tide of death rose to the very chin of fragile life, at the very moment when any ordinary person would have stepped back, the most honorable among us surpassed their own limits and took a noble, courageous step forward. I ask you. If this nation is truly one nation under God, indivisible, how can their sacrifice not be called grace? How can this not be called salvation carried out by human hands?」
The expression the president had borrowed was part of the Pledge of Allegiance. Religious, yes, but because it was so familiar, it was probably a quotation meant to minimize resistance from people of different faiths.
At the same time, it was also an appeal to the religious forces dividing public opinion.
「That was perhaps the finest beauty a human being can show. That is why I, why we, now feel a loss deeper than words. Because people so noble no longer share the same world with us... But everyone, must grief end as grief alone? We survived in the world they protected... We owe them every moment ahead of us. If we become one in respect for these warriors and continue what they protected, then at least their hearts will remain with us, will they not? Would that not be the most worthy floral tribute we can offer the heroes lying in this cemetery?」
Yes! A fervent response burst from the audience. It came from one of the bereaved, and the president paused briefly to nod toward that person. In that gap, scattered standing applause rose here and there toward the podium. After thanking them again and again, the president resumed his eulogy.
「Allow me to correct myself. The country we live in is the homeland of heroes. Therefore, every effort to protect that homeland, whatever form it takes, will become a fragrant bouquet laid before the warriors’ gravestones. It does not matter whose effort it is. There is only firm solidarity, unbound by differences in skin color or religion. Remember this. Whenever the hardships of the world throw harsh questions at us, the departed warriors will hear, from their own heavens, the answer shouted by the United States of America.」
Applause poured out again.
In the middle of it, Gyeoul felt 「Crisis Detection」 spike for an instant, then settle.
‘A sniper?... Or a bomb?’
Whichever it was, the culprit seemed to have been subdued right before attempting the attack. Gyeoul turned his head and caught the movements of people he guessed were Secret Service agents. Security personnel quietly increased around the seats where Gyeoul and the other Medal of Honor recipients sat as well. Gyeoul loosened his tense body and felt a faint fatigue. He had already been on edge, worried the president might collapse.
「As I stand here honoring noble sacrifice, I realize anew that there is no such thing as salvation given freely.」
The wind blowing through the cemetery shook the president’s clothes.
「We have always proven ourselves worthy. Human work has never been perfect, but even so, we have struggled to overcome many mistakes and fought to protect the right values. We may have walked the wrong road countless times, but we have never lost our desire to find the right one. That is how America was able to endure, to the very end, false beliefs about slavery, the wave of totalitarianism that swept Europe and Asia, the Cold War confrontation that divided the world in half, and even the crisis of the end that has come upon us today. Everyone, were all these victories merely salvation handed to us?」
People shouted no.
「That is right. As the heroes we commemorate today have shown, and as all of you know as well, we must move toward grace through our own free will, our own courage, our own nobility, and our own choices. We must not simply wait. We must not simply hope. We must not think of taking from others... Let us follow in the footsteps of heroes with hearts that mourn heroes. To someone, you yourself will be salvation, and that someone may one day become salvation for someone else... perhaps for you. So long as we live that way, so long as we do not make the heroes’ sacrifices meaningless, so long as this nation does not forget honor, God will favor what we do.」
A phrase engraved on the Great Seal of the United States had been mixed in. In part of the audience, the same standing applause as before rose.
「Finally.」
The president looked over everyone present.
「Finally, I would like to pledge allegiance to the flag with all of you. Would you please join me?」
For a moment, the entire Memorial Amphitheater grew restless. Gyeoul also rose from his seat and faced the Stars and Stripes hung by the podium. From the president’s point of view, it was to the side, and from the audience, it was toward the left, close to the front. With the president leading them, everyone present placed a hand over their chest.
「I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all humanity.」
The phrase for all humanity was not part of the existing pledge.
‘Originally, it was liberty and justice for all... wasn’t it?’
A slight stir passed around Gyeoul. But it was not resistance. It was only natural confusion from hearing something different from what they knew. Depending on interpretation, the “all” in the original text could be limited to American citizens, or it could be seen as all humanity. Usually, the former interpretation held more weight.
After finishing the pledge, the president turned to face the front.
「Thank you, America. Thank you for the freedom of the republic you protect, and for the justice of the citizens you protect. From Maine to California, I pray that the bright stars of the 50 states shine forever. And we who remember the departed warriors will make it so.」
“...”
「That is all.」
Once the memorial speech ended, countless cheers filled the Memorial Amphitheater.
Gyeoul felt that the president, or perhaps his staff, must have struggled a lot while preparing the speech.
‘Mentioning the stars of the 50 states on purpose... must have been a signal to soothe the exclusionary people.’
It would be difficult if he touched too much on the identity of America that stubborn people had in mind. Whatever their leanings, the president had to represent them all.
In any case...
The president had endured an event nearly an hour long without trouble, and the one crisis had passed safely without ever rising to the surface.
“Anne.”
During their travel time, Gyeoul asked Anne.
“What happened just now?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I’m asking.”
She tried to play dumb, but soon checked their surroundings and whispered with a sigh.
“How did you know?”
“From the feeling and the mood.”
“Honestly...”
“If it’s something I shouldn’t know, you don’t have to force yourself to tell me.”
“Mm.”
Anne pressed her temple and let out another long breath.
“It is classified, but more than that, I didn’t want to make you worry for nothing...”
“Then that’s fine.”
Gyeoul backed down easily. But Anne opened her mouth on her own.
“You noticed anyway, so holding back would probably do more harm. Yes. There were bastards who tried to snipe the president and other key figures. We suspect they were from the 「Seven Legions of the Covenant」.”
“From the name, they sound like a religious group. Did they already confess who was behind them?”
“Of course not. They just had distinctive tattoos. It’s hard to rule out the possibility of disguise, but if it is a disguise, then it’s an elaborate one. It wasn’t just a surface imitation. Details an outsider would have a hard time knowing, like the match between the numbers in the dog-tag tattoos on the nape of the neck and Bible verses, or the arrangement of other symbols, were exactly right. We only secured that information through undercover investigations too.”
“The Seven Legions of the Covenant... I have this strange feeling I’ve heard that somewhere. Maybe I saw similar wording during the southern tour.”
“You might have. Even if it wasn’t them, churches on the New Apostolic Movement side share similar expressions. The reclaiming of the seven mountains, the emergence of new prophets and apostles, the building of the temple and the end times, church power’s earthly rule, and so on...”
“Are they part of the Blasphemous League you mentioned before?”
Anne shook her head with a pained look.
“No. They’re a faction that stands opposed to them. We encouraged that conflict too.”
In other words, they had used the tactic of pitting one enemy against another.
“There were some things we deliberately left alone in the process, but it looks like they noticed the undercover investigator’s existence. The information about this incident came out too late.”
“Is that investigator safe?”
“Who knows. We’ll have to find out. Right now, my priority is your... the Medal of Honor recipients’ security.”
“The Bureau must be having a hard time too.”
At Gyeoul’s consolation, Anne gave a bitter smile.
“I know. Before the plague, I still believed we lived in a fairly sensible world, but now that we’re in an age like this, people who seem more suited for the Middle Ages keep popping up.”
Gyeoul remembered the contents of a missionary booklet he had come across by chance in the South. The book, with seven mountain peaks drawn on the cover, called the hordes of variants Joel’s first army, the anointed swarm of locusts, and so on. Its core point was that, to defeat them, people had to form a second army bound together by true faith in the Lord’s presence and follow the new apostles.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Ellsworth, who was a subject of internal caution, had shown no notable movement so far.
“If.”
After thinking for a while, Gyeoul asked.
“If today’s assassination attempt had succeeded... I mean, if the president had died, what would have happened?”
Anne sank into thought for a moment, then crossed her arms and tapped her upper arm with a finger.
“...There would have been no problem with government functions.”
Measures for continuity of government must have been thoroughly strengthened from the moment the plague first spread. If the president died, the vice president would take over. If the vice president died, the Speaker of the House would. If the Speaker died, the next successor in the line of succession would immediately continue the role of head of government.
“But.”
Anne added an explanation.
“They wouldn’t have been able to completely stop citizens’ anxiety and confusion. There definitely would have been some inadequate trash who saw that gap as an opportunity too. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have tried an assassination in the first place.”
It was a prediction within the bounds of common sense.
“Of course, that’s only if they had succeeded.”
She erased the bitterness from her smile.
“It was dangerous, but we stopped it in advance, didn’t we? The Bureau and the Department of Homeland Security aren’t sitting around doing nothing, Lieutenant Colonel.”
“What about the Intelligence Agency?”
“The Intelligence Agency... I’m not sure.”
At that point, a familiar voice cut in.
“You two seem to be having an interesting conversation. Let me join in too.”
Gyeoul looked back at him.
“Agent Talbot?”
“It’s been a while. I told you we’d meet in D.C., didn’t I?”
The pleasant-looking mixed-race Black man smiled warmly. After shaking hands with Gyeoul, he looked at Anne and made a playful sound of surprise.
“Wow, could this be Agent Gibson?”
“...Yes. Good to see you, Talbot.”
“Yes. But this really is impressive.”
Even if it was half a joke, it was admiration from none other than the technician who had handled Gyeoul’s special makeup. Maybe she was a little embarrassed, because Anne shut her mouth tight. Thinking she looked cute despite being older, Gyeoul asked Talbot.
“What brings you here?”
It did not feel like he had come just to show his face.
“For now, I came to deliver pizza.”
“...Pizza? Not as some kind of metaphor, but actual pizza?”
As Gyeoul tilted his head in confusion, Talbot let out a short laugh.
“How have you not ordered even once all this time? It’s free no matter how many times you order. Kowalski checked the order history and felt disappointed too. She wondered if you’d completely forgotten.”
“There’s no way I forgot. But even if it’s free, asking the CIA for pizza is a bit... you know?”
“You have miles accumulated from the price paid in agents’ lives, so there’s no need to feel burdened.”
Gyeoul shrugged.
“So, what’s the real reason you came to see me? Thanks for the food, but I don’t think you came to say hello without any important business when things are this busy.”
“Oh, dear. For some reason, I feel like crying.”
He treated it like a joke, but he did not deny it. Following his cautious gaze, Gyeoul narrowed his brow slightly.
“Is it something Anne... Agent Gibson would have trouble hearing?”
“I have a rough idea of your relationship. You may call her by her nickname comfortably in front of me.”
“I’ll do that. Anyway, your answer?”
At the pressing tone, Talbot hesitated, then gave a subtle nod.
“Officially, I would have to say yes... but, hm, if you wish, you may hear it with Agent Gibson. It isn’t something that would cause problems if the Bureau learned about it.”
“Then...”
“I’ll give you the details after we return to the hotel.”
“...All right.”
Gyeoul rode in an armored vehicle with Anne, and a vehicle sent by the Central Intelligence Agency followed behind. Washington D.C. was a city with an unusually large number of one-way streets, but because the military and police controlled the roads, the convoy was able to take the shortest route to the hotel.
The pizza from the CIA’s front company arrived exactly when they did. It was enough for one Company, so there were many vehicles used for delivery, and many boxes poured out of those vehicles.
“They bake it inside the vehicle during delivery, so it can’t get any hotter than this.”
At Talbot’s words, Gyeoul showed his confusion.
“I thought we’d talk first.”
“It isn’t urgent enough to delay a meal. Or we can take a seat slightly away from the others while eating.”
“At least you’re saying it’s not something that will ruin my appetite?”
“That’s right.”
The former independent company members were bewildered by the pizza delivery they knew nothing about, but at the same time, they reacted with great joy. Since the delivery staff explained that Gyeoul was treating them, every Company member thanked Gyeoul once and took a pizza.
“Thank you for the food, Captain!”
“Thank you!”
“Little Captain is the best!”
“...”
Gyeoul accepted their greetings with awkward silence.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
