WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Little Prince in the Ossuary

00041 <-- Internal Consolidation -->

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#Internal Affairs (3), Camp Roberts

The efficiency of "Instruction" increased the fewer subjects there were. That was why Gyeoul made Yura work even on weekends. Training that tested both her physical and mental limits, which she endured through gritted teeth.

Right now, it was shooting practice. Eight large targets lined up in a row at a distance of ten meters. Each target had ten numbers written on it. Among them, the ones to shoot were multiples of seven. This was shooting while moving, and she couldn't stay in one spot for more than three seconds.

Multiples of seven, multiples of seven. Yura muttered to herself constantly.

Gyeoul pressed the stopwatch and blew the whistle.

"Hey you fucking whore! A slut like you shouldn't have been born! Fuck, why were you even born! Don't you feel sorry for your parents?! Or is your mom a whore cunt too?!"

A middle-aged man stuck close to Yura, pouring out all kinds of curses. He even shoved her roughly. Yura bit her lip. Bang! Her first shot missed. Immediate re-shot, re-shot, re-shot. She fired four shots and walked two steps before aiming again within three seconds. The trembling crosshairs. The man was still shouting. The smell of his breath was terrible. Yura felt confused. Was 42 a multiple of seven? Her heated head felt fuzzy, thoughts wouldn't progress. She fired. Leaving behind uncertain aftermath, she moved on.

Next target. Her shaking eyes rapidly scanned the entire target.

19? No. 25? No. 63? Seven times nine. Right. I should shoot. Did I shoot? Did I miss? Again... ah, three seconds!

Gyeoul moved in step with her, scoring as he went. It was a system that started at 100 points and deducted from there. Points deducted for each miss. Points deducted per second after staying still for more than three seconds. Points deducted for shooting wrong numbers. Points deducted for not shooting correct numbers. When Yura passed the second target, her score had dropped to 79 points.

Click. She ran out of bullets. Yura pulled out the magazine with one hand while reaching for a spare magazine with the other.

"Ah!"

She dropped it. Yura looked about to cry. Gyeoul deducted 5 points. As she scrambled to pick up the magazine, the curses from the foul-breathed man poured down on her like a waterfall.

In her panic, she eventually ran to the next target, leaving two numbers that she should have shot.

Still, she improved little by little. If she had been like that from start to finish, her final score would have been 0 points.

"47 points?"

"Yes. 47 points in 1 minute and 19 seconds. You did well."

"Haah..."

Yura covered her face and crouched down. Her shoulders trembled finely. Sniffle. She wiped away tears with her fingertips. The man who had been hurling all sorts of insults felt terribly sorry.

"Um... I'm sorry, Yura-ssi. You know those weren't my real feelings, right?"

"I know. It's just hard. I'll be okay after a bit. It's not the first time anyway."

Gyeoul sat down heavily beside her. He held out a handkerchief to Yura. She silently accepted it. She pressed it firmly against her eyes to wipe them. The middle-aged man who had been helping with the training also glanced around before sitting down next to Gyeoul. Ahem, hmm! He cleared his throat. Gyeoul smiled and rummaged through his pocket. What came out was a pack of cigarettes. After tapping the bottom, he held it out to the older man. The middle-aged man sighed and pulled one out. When he put it in his mouth, Gyeoul lit it for him.

Sssss! The tip of the cigarette burned noticeably. The middle-aged man held the smoke in his breath, stopping his breathing, and only when it became worrying did he exhale with a whoosh. Then he grumbled.

"I came because I heard I could smoke cigarettes, and without this, I couldn't do this job. They told me to prepare plenty of curses, so I wondered what on earth this was about... The hardest person must be Yura-ssi though. I was honestly scared that Yura-ssi might shoot me."

It was half joke, half serious. The cigarette disappeared quickly. Gyeoul didn't bother responding. What was needed was quiet time. After a few minutes, when Yura's tears had dried, she asked.

"Why do we do this practice?"

Right after, Yura added.

"Um, I don't dislike it at all. I'm just curious... I was thinking that shooting from a distance is more important with guns..."

Then she coughed. Cough cough. It was because of the wind changing direction, making her accidentally inhale cigarette smoke. The middle-aged man moved his bottom with an awkward expression.

Making a gentle smile, Gyeoul said.

"It's training to maintain composure and judgment in urgent situations. Yura-ssi, you're a combat squad leader. When the platoon is organized, you'll become a squad leader. If Yura-ssi falls into confusion in actual combat, it's not just Yura-ssi but the entire squad that becomes endangered. I wanted to prevent that."

"I see..."

Yura rubbed her face dry. She said she would wash and return the handkerchief, gathered herself, and stood up with determination. She slapped both her own cheeks. Smack! And then she hurt alone for a moment. A pair of eyes glistening with different meaning than before. The middle-aged man burst out laughing. Pretending not to notice and acting prim, Yura said.

"I'll work even harder. What's next?"

She ran and rolled hard. The shooting training was also repeated several more times. She endured it well. It was both the potential Gyeoul had "Perceived" in her, the desire to meet expectations, and the effect of reduced consumption through "Instruction."

When dusk fell, Yura was completely exhausted. Gyeoul offered to support her, but she refused. The reason was that she didn't want to show weakness to those around her. It seemed she was more conscious of the eyes of other organizations than the alliance members. It was proof that she understood well the role she would be taking on.

"Oh, looks like something happened?"

The middle-aged man who was walking ahead made a surprised sound.

Near the "Gyeoul Alliance" base, a crowd of people had gathered. They stood divided as if taking sides, pointing fingers at each other and raising their voices. Gyeoul left Yura with the middle-aged man.

"Take your time coming. I'll go ahead."

As he approached, the atmosphere changed drastically.

One side was "Gyeoul Alliance" people. Familiar faces brightened quickly. Cheers burst out.

The other side was Damul Promotion Association people. Gyeoul recognized the shoulders that had been with Hwa-su. When their eyes met, they all showed clear signs of fear. The crowd stirred and retreated. Not only that, but the women, children, and elderly with them were also terrified.

Why did the non-combatants come here?

Two vice-captains who had been stuck between the groups approached.

"Good thing you're here, Captain. We were just about to send someone..."

Yeon-cheol welcomed Gyeoul very much. Sweat was beading on his forehead. Wan-ki also pretended to be calm, but his hands were trembling finely. It was because he had been at the very front as a vice-captain. It wouldn't have been easy for a typical scholar to stand before intimidating hulks. Both vice-captains had demonstrated their sense of responsibility.

Gyeoul asked.

"What's going on here? Could you explain, please?"

Just as Yeon-cheol was about to answer, a boy burst out from a spot close to the Damul Promotion Association side.

"That man took our Mongi!"

He must have been about ten years old. His small eyes were full of tears and hatred. A woman who appeared to be the boy's mother rushed out urgently. She embraced the child and bowed to Gyeoul several times.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

As she tried to back away, Gyeoul stopped her. The mother flinched when his hand touched her. Gyeoul immediately released his hand as a gesture of reassurance.

"Wait a moment. I'd like to hear the story. I won't cause any harm. I promise."

She didn't seem to believe the promise. She just stood there as if nailed in place because she couldn't go against Gyeoul. It seemed she had heard all kinds of rumors about the boy, only the bad ones. Well, she was from the Damul Promotion Association after all.

The boy burst out from his mother's embrace. Gyeoul knelt on one knee to match his eye level.

"Hyung doesn't really know, so what is Mongi? Is it a puppy?"

"It's a puppy! Mom said it's my little sibling!"

He was getting a sense of what happened. Gyeoul asked again.

"I see. But who took Mongi?"

"That man!"

Looking in the direction the child pointed, there was a man with a bewildered expression. The surroundings scattered busily. Gyeoul gestured to the man.

"Come over here."

The man approached with an aggrieved expression. Gyeoul confirmed his name.

"I'm not sure if my memory is correct, but is your name Yu Jae-heung-ssi?"

Then the man's expression brightened.

"That's right, Little Captain. You remember."

He wasn't particularly special. Gyeoul had just tried his best to memorize the names of "Gyeoul Alliance" members. It was one of the tasks for good leadership. Anyway, he seemed to be mistaking it favorably for himself. Gyeoul questioned him.

"Let me ask, did you take this child's puppy?"

He expected either yes or no, one of the two, but a long-winded answer poured out.

"Ah, actually, there's been a bit of a misunderstanding between us..."

People who need to rationalize themselves have long-winded speech. Gyeoul wanted to frown but endured as much as possible. Doing so would have resulted in an even longer excuse.

"So, to summarize."

After listening to the end, Gyeoul cut out the unnecessary parts.

"You took it thinking it had no owner, is that it?"

Jae-heung's face brightened as he nodded.

"That's right. There was a dog wandering around with no people nearby..."

The boy yelled sharply.

"Liar! Mongi was with me! You stole it! You bad bastard!"

"Hey! Calling an adult a bastard, where did you learn such manners!"

Jae-heung shouted angrily. He turned his finger-pointing toward the mother.

"Teach your child proper education! The reason for this mess is because family education is a disaster and you can't even keep track of one dog! A jar that leaks inside leaks outside too. Got it?!"

Murmurs of discontent spread from the Damul Promotion Association side. However, the size was very small. Gyeoul was their pressure stone. The man, Jae-heung, raised his momentum even more. He seemed to believe that being loud meant winning. Gyeoul caught his finger-pointing.

"Huh? Little Captain?"

Jae-heung, whose rampage had stopped, read the room. Gyeoul pulled down his hand, then asked with an irritated face but calmly.

"Let me confirm again. When Jae-heung-ssi took the puppy, there was no one around, right?"

"That's right! So at that time I..."

"Stop there. From now on, please answer as simply as possible."

Jae-heung looked uncomfortable when his words were cut off, but he nodded. Gyeoul asked the mother to cover her son's ears for a moment. It was because he could predict the answer to the next question. However, he couldn't not ask it. If he was going to interrogate.

"So what did you do with that puppy?"

"Um... I also tried to look for the owner a bit, but, you know how it is. Our circumstances are all poor..."

"Keep it short please."

"...I boiled and ate it."

The answer came out in small mumbles. How much must the child have cried when he heard that his pet dog was eaten? The mother closed both eyes tightly. Since she had told the child that the puppy was his little sibling, the mother's attachment must have been considerable too.

"Yu Jae-heung-ssi. You realize that what you've said doesn't match up front to back, right?"

Gyeoul tilted his head. His voice gradually lowered.

"Your words were strange from the start. If there was no one around when you grabbed the puppy, how did this child point to Jae-heung-ssi? What do you think the probability is that a child who doesn't know the situation would point randomly and it would really be the dog thief?"

"Dog thief! That's too harsh!"

"Then should I call you a liar? Or a fraud? Either way, they're types I dislike just as much as thieves. Feel free to choose."

Then the dog thief made a frustrated expression. He put his hand on his waist and stared at the ground in silence for a long time. Eventually, the words he exhaled like a sigh.

"Little Captain-nim, you shouldn't do this."

"What did I do wrong?"

"We're on the same side!"

He pounded his chest saying his insides were bursting.

"I'm not that stupid. I made excuses, so you should take my side accordingly! Huh? Both sides are watching, what is this? How embarrassing. This isn't good for the Captain either!"

"What's bad for me?"

"Who's going to follow a captain who doesn't protect their own side? Huh? Even with something small like one dog, if you push people this hard, later in really important matters, will there be anyone who trusts the Captain... that's what I'm saying."

He shook his hands vigorously and spoke enthusiastically.

"Since it came up, in times like these, does it even make sense to raise a dog? When there's not enough food for people, what's this about dog food? People came before dogs, not dogs before people, right? How can decent people watch that? That makes everyone who sees it feel insulted. Because they have to endure watching that!"

"..."

"Yes. I did do something wrong. But the world has changed. At times like this, with flexibility, huh? You need to clearly decide who my people are and clearly take care of them, then, wow, this person is my captain! That's when you get loyalty. Huh? Isn't that right? So, Captain-nim, let's send those people away roughly and talk among ourselves again. Huh? I'm telling you it's damaging to your dignity."

"You can stop now."

Gyeoul stopped his words.

The child was crying. Even if he didn't hear the part about eating, he was perceptive. Why did mom cover his ears? Why were the expressions of people around like that?

Toward the child and mother, Gyeoul knelt.

"I'm sorry."

Low screams spread without distinguishing sides.

He didn't care. Gyeoul bowed his head so it was close to the ground.

"I apologize on his behalf. I'm truly sorry."

This is driving me crazy, wow really crazy. The one muttering this was Jae-heung standing next to him. Telling him not to do this, that it was damaging to his dignity, he tried hard to make Gyeoul stand up. It was a meaningless effort.

This state continued for a long time. From the stirring Damul Promotion Association side, one man stepped forward.

"Ahem, well, that's enough now, stand up."

Gyeoul answered.

"I'm not apologizing to the 'Damul Promotion Association' right now, but to Mongi's mother and hyung."

"I'm Mongi's father."

"..."

Gyeoul stood up and dusted off his knees. Without even giving a glance, the words thrown at the cause of it all.

"Yu Jae-heung-ssi."

"Wh-what is it?"

"I'll give you a choice."

"A choice...?"

"Yes."

The following words were in a volume that everyone around could clearly hear.

"Either leave the 'Gyeoul Alliance', or take a beating from me. Choose one of the two."

Blinking his eyes, Jae-heung, who doubted his own ears, made a baffled expression.

"What did you say?"

"I'd like to just tell you to leave, but then you'd be killed immediately. That's why I'm giving you a choice. Choose. If you don't choose within 10 seconds, I'll take it to mean you're leaving the alliance."

"No, wait! Wait! Captain! Little Captain!"

The utterly shocked dog thief clung desperately, but Gyeoul was already looking at his wristwatch. It was something he bought at the PX after becoming an officer.

As Gyeoul said, being expelled from the alliance would make survival difficult. Other organizations would have been watching this scene too.

Ten seconds. The already short time felt even shorter subjectively. The moment Gyeoul lifted his eyes from the watch, Jae-heung chose with a scream.

"I'll take the beating! I'll get hit...!"

Gyeoul struck immediately. Teeth and blood flew together.

He hit to look as brutal as possible. The purpose was to make an example of one to warn a hundred. It wasn't to kill, so he held back in his handling. If he hit seriously, death would come in one blow. Moderately, to the point where walking or eating would be difficult for about a week. The coordination of level 10 Close Combat and Insight calculated the optimal intensity and number of hits.

After being beaten for about 3 minutes, Jae-heung cried like a child.

"Shorry, shorry! I didn't know! I won't do it again."

Whew. Gyeoul caught his breath. The stone in his chest had been heating up. He wanted to get angry. Suppressing that urge, he spoke to the dazed Yeon-cheol.

"Please take this person. If you need any medicine, let me know later."

"Huh? Ah, yes!"

Yeon-cheol rushed over urgently. People who usually got along well with Yeon-cheol, and those who wanted to get close to profit from him, quickly attached themselves to help him.

Yura, who had arrived a bit later than Gyeoul and had been watching until now, approached hesitantly and read Gyeoul's mood.

"You're not still angry, right?"

"Do I look it?"

Reassured by the calm answer, she smiled brightly.

"When you knelt earlier, it was cool. I thought, as expected, that's the Little Captain. Don't worry about that strange person babbling about us being on the same side or whatever. When the Captain beat him, my insides felt refreshed. I bet everyone felt the same?"

"Thank you. Go inside and rest."

As she went in, she gave Gyeoul a thumbs up.

Gyeoul was cooling his insides while facing the evening breeze when Wan-ki stood beside him.

"You've been put through something unpleasant."

"Not at all. It was something that needed to happen once. I hope this becomes an opportunity to consolidate our internal affairs."

"I haven't forgotten the Little Captain-nim's inaugural address. I'll give Jang Vice-Captain a heads-up too."

After a moment's pause, Wan-ki said.

"You probably didn't intend it, but it seems that side and ours helped each other."

Among the dog thief's dog-like talk, there was still one meaningful thing.

That raising a dog in these times didn't make sense.

That's right. Not just anyone could raise one. Feeding a pet was a luxury. Therefore, 'Mongi's family' should be seen as having relatively high status within the Damul Promotion Association.

Moreover, why did Mongi's dad only step forward at the very end? The mother came out much earlier.

An event staged to share the consciousness of being 'wronged victims.' In the end, the Damul Promotion Association also wanted to consolidate internally. Especially since Gyeoul's prestige, already hostile, had risen, they would have been even more desperate.

Jae-heung was a fish that took the bait. Of course, since his own selfishness was the cause, there was no room for salvation.

Thoughts immediately became "Teletype" text strings.

Gyeoul commented.

"It was a boring play. I hope there won't be incidents like this after today."

"I'll be careful. I think everyone will restrain themselves since the Captain-nim beat him so well. Ah, may I have a smoke?"

Wan-ki put a cigarette in his mouth. Gyeoul lit it for him.

Footnotes:

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