WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Little Prince in the Ossuary

Chapter 64

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Seventh California (1)

Once the camp defense battle had settled, the battalion commander summoned the key officers, company commanders and above. There was one exception. In a room packed with captains and higher ranks, Ensign Gyeoul stood out on rank alone. No one dismissed him for being junior, but a few were clearly uncomfortable.

The battalion commander looked pale. A hangover showed on his face, and he smelled so strongly of stale alcohol it was hard to ignore. He had probably drunk more than usual for Christmas. Pressing his fingers against his temple, he said,

“Report.”

The officers lined up at ease glanced at one another. It was hard enough to understand why he had gathered the responsible officers while crisis response was still underway. Now he was demanding a report with no context. No one could even guess what he wanted. Outside was still urgent.

In moments like this, the senior man got pushed forward. Abel Company commander Captain Markert looked reluctant, but asked anyway.

“Battalion Commander, what exactly are you asking us to report?”

“Everything!”

The battalion commander barked.

“The Operations Officer knows absolutely nothing! What the hell happened here? If he was on duty, he should at least know how the fighting started! It took nearly an hour after contact to barely restore command function! What kind of mess is this?!”

Then he pointed at Gyeoul.

“You. I heard you were first to report the danger. Is that true?”

Gyeoul raised his head slightly and said,

“Yes, sir.”

“Then you know more than that man. Explain what happened from the start.”

The Operations Officer, still being pointed at, looked miserable. His face was red.

The battalion HQ signal operator had been watching the commander for a while now. With communications restored, higher command would obviously be asking for the battalion commander. But he was in no position to answer when he knew nothing, so he had rushed to gather the commanders.

From where Gyeoul stood, the battalion commander was raising his voice on purpose. He wanted clear lines of blame for the confusion, the losses, and the catastrophic loss of control during the defense.

Not my fault. That was the message.

It was so obvious the officers did not hide their displeasure. That only made the battalion commander push harder. A vicious cycle.

Gyeoul did not want to take part in a public execution. Still, he had to answer.

“Yesterday, I was assigned to anomalous signal response duty with Ensign Jeffrey Brown, 1st Platoon leader of Charlie Company. It was primarily a reconnaissance mission, but if the source of the anomalous signal was a 「Trickster」, we were ordered to capture or kill it if possible.”

“I know that part. I heard you brought that thing back alive. Why did you think it was dangerous?”

“The mission was too easy. I strongly felt it had gotten itself captured on purpose.”

“Wasn’t that just your personal feeling?”

“No, sir. The same type we encountered in Atascadero pushed infected babies forward to test our firepower and lure us into traps. This one moved alone, had no trap, and did not resist even after capture.”

“Right. That is strange. Very strange.”

The battalion commander raised his voice again. Gyeoul waited a moment, then continued.

“This could not have happened in multiple places at once. The multiple helicopter disappearances were the same. So I judged that the 「Trickster」 had infiltrated intentionally and requested that the duty commander strengthen base security.”

“And your request was denied?”

“...Yes, sir.”

“The Operations Officer said Charlie Company and part of Abel Company responded first and were already in combat deployment before any order was given, but he does not know why. Were you involved in that too?”

“Yes. I privately brought in Captain Capston and some Abel Company personnel.”

He stressed privately. The message was clear: stop wasting time on blame. At this point, who was going to fault a boy ensign for acting on his own? The battalion commander fell silent.

Captain Capston did not miss the opening.

“Battalion Commander, we should postpone reports. Stabilizing the situation is urgent.”

“Stabilizing? The engagement is already over, isn’t it?”

“Fire is spreading along the riverbank. We need to contain it quickly.”

“There is barren ground between the riverbank and the camp perimeter. The camp is not in danger.”

“It is still dangerous. If visibility drops, our fire support operations will be disrupted. Not only close air support. Even immediate mortar fire will be affected. We also need to prepare for another attack.”

If they could not see where rounds were landing, long-range fire support, starting with mortars, would lose its value. The battalion commander asked,

“You think there will be another attack?”

“Jamming continued through the entire defense. That means at least one more 「Trickster」, possibly several, was directing the offensive. We cannot relax.”

It was a realistic warning. Given how cunning they were, they could strike during the lull after a successful defense. Thick smoke reduced surveillance ability and shortened engagement distance.

The battalion commander still pushed back.

“Isn’t sending troops out in this situation risky?”

This time Bravo Company commander Russell Asher spoke.

“We need to do it to calm internal unrest as well. The water facility across the highway is also at risk. If the fire spreads to the eastern main channel of the Salinas River, suppression will become extremely difficult. We need to move now.”

The Salinas River ran long from the north, then split east and west about three kilometers north of Camp Roberts. The western branch was the Nacimiento River, where the fire had started, and the eastern branch was the Salinas main channel.

The real issue was California’s drought, which had lasted more than a decade. The Nacimiento had survived, but the eastern main channel had dried almost to the bottom. Recent rain had brought back some flow, but only at the level of a local shallow stream. Nowhere near enough to control a major wildfire in the wide forested area formed when the river was still healthy. It meant even with manpower committed, if they were too late, containment would be difficult.

After repeated requests, the battalion commander finally made up his mind. Changing the subject had worked, and his earlier agitation had cooled. Once decided, he issued orders quickly. It was a side of him Gyeoul had never seen.

“Fine. We will deploy refugees. Abel and Charlie will handle it. Abel takes west, Charlie takes east. Company commanders will mobilize manpower at their discretion and deploy troops to protect suppression sites and secure the outer perimeter. Use vehicles as needed. We also recovered a fire engine earlier, in addition to water trucks, correct?”

“Yes, sir. We secured one in San Miguel.”

“Which side should get it?”

“Send it west.”

Captain Capston answered immediately. He did not want to start a tug-of-war with Captain Markert over this. The battalion commander nodded.

“Good. Bravo and Delta handle camp defense and refugee control. Logistics will implement EMP countermeasures and accelerate facility restoration. Move now.”

“Battalion Commander, I have a recommendation.”

One line from the boy officer made everyone pause. Even the battalion commander. He had raised his voice earlier, but never directly at Gyeoul. A sense of psychological debt was still there.

Trying to save time, Gyeoul spoke before full permission was given.

“The 「Trickster」 was not captured only here. You have probably guessed this already, but there were likely attacks at other garrisons as well. Shouldn’t we prepare to dispatch rescue forces, just in case?”

Everyone had overlooked it while dealing with the immediate crisis. Either they had not thought of it, or they were too exhausted and chose not to look.

“Company commanders, step out for now.”

The battalion commander gestured. The company commanders saluted and ran out. In the middle of that, Captain Capston briefly met Gyeoul’s eyes. He was worried about him.

After everyone left, the battalion commander asked the Operations Officer,

“Any reports from places other than headquarters?”

“We received word that Fort Hunter Liggett, Sierra Supply Depot, Barstow Supply Depot, the Marine Mountain Warfare Camp, and Vandenberg Air Force Base are safe. We have no information from elsewhere.”

“What about San Luis Obispo?”

“Communications are down.”

The camp at San Luis Obispo was closer to the city, but had an even larger refugee camp and civilian protection zone than Camp Roberts. Accordingly, it also had a larger stationed force. 「Seventh California」 1st Battalion was there. The battalion commander likely felt a special connection to fellow soldiers in the same regiment.

Even though it was dozens of kilometers away, Camp Roberts was still the closest US garrison to San Luis Obispo. If something had happened there, support would have to come from 「Seventh California」 3rd Battalion here.

The battalion commander shook his head.

“No. They probably just have not restored their comms network yet. That is where the regimental combat team was stationed. They would not fall that easily.”

Gyeoul pointed it out again.

“If it was a surprise attack, we cannot be sure.”

Now the battalion commander sighed.

“Even if that is true, we do not have the capacity. Losses have piled up, and replacements are too few. Considering camp security, the force we can send is limited. Even stretching it, we only have one understrength company. What can one company do against an enemy a regimental combat force could not handle?”

“Better than sending nothing.”

“Hmm...”

After a short pause, the battalion commander waved him out.

“I will review your recommendation. For now, assist Charlie Company. Markert is close with the Chinese groups, so manpower mobilization will not be a problem for him. Capston is not. He needs you there. I will call you separately if needed.”

Meaning if a support force was organized, Gyeoul would definitely be included. Either way, he did not care. He saluted and left.

Thinking back on what the battalion commander had said, Gyeoul realized something. No matter how negligent the man seemed, he had read the camp’s internal power dynamics accurately.

‘Ability and will do not always go together.’

On the way, he saw logistics troops grinding through hard labor. They were repairing electronic equipment, wrapping insulation around every wire, then wrapping them again in foil.

When he reached the refugee zone, several Charlie Company troops were struggling. Corporal Mosel of 2nd Platoon was not especially close to Gyeoul, but looked genuinely relieved the moment he saw him. Last night played a part, and so did the current situation.

“Ensign, good to see you, sir.”

“Still unable to secure manpower?”

“No, that part is solved. The local leaders have been very cooperative. But the mood is bad, and even when we ask why, no one answers. It felt wrong to just leave, so the company commander had me stay behind. If a riot breaks out, we are in trouble, right? I was just wondering if we need to search every tent one by one.”

If everyone was keeping their mouths shut in exactly the same way, that was strange. If he had asked the few he could communicate with and still got nothing, then communication itself was the obstacle. Gyeoul said,

“It will be fine now that I am here. I will find out why. Follow the others first. I will come shortly.”

“Yes, sir.”

After the corporal left, Jang Yeon-cheol approached.

“You are here, Captain.”

Gyeoul read the anxiety on his face.

“Was last night all right?”

“Ah, yes. Thanks to your warning in advance... We informed every organization we could reach, and even hostile groups prepared on their own. Vice-Captain Min also said this incident helped identify a few more plants from other groups.”

That was good news. But the source of his anxiety was still unclear. Gyeoul asked again.

“So what happened?”

Yeon-cheol hesitated, then sighed.

“We were trying to handle it ourselves before you found out, Captain, but...”

“It is already too late. Tell me.”

“...You should see it yourself. I will take you there.”

He led Gyeoul to a tent in alliance territory. A faint groan leaked from inside. That alone was enough for him to understand.

The people inside were startled when they saw him. The woman in the middle, brandishing a weapon and keeping everyone back, froze too. She had been swinging it around to drive people away, then saw Gyeoul and went rigid like stone.

“Captain...?”

Gyeoul looked at the child lying behind her. His limbs were tightly bound, and his mouth was gagged. His skin had darkened to black and blue. Bite marks were clear on his face.

Gyeoul drew his pistol.

“Don’t!”

The woman rushed him with a knife. Gyeoul aimed at her first. The blade stopped within arm’s reach. A beat later, delayed screams rose from the crowd.

Gyeoul looked at her calmly, then lowered the gun.

“Is he your son?”

At that simple question, her throat closed up. She could not speak, only nod. A broken sob escaped her. Over it came the infected mutant’s muffled howl. Gyeoul looked around. There were many strong men, some holding clubs. They had likely tried to subdue her by force, and a few were bleeding from shallow cuts. No one was critically hurt.

A mother really was strong. She had held off that many men for this long. It could not have been brief.

Gyeoul said,

“That is not your son anymore. It is something else inside your son’s body.”

Her grip tightened. He continued.

“You know what I am going to do.”

“No... I can’t. No one touches my child. Touch him and I will kill you.”

Her eyes were half gone. Gyeoul nodded.

“Do it.”

“What?”

“If you want to stop me, stab me.”

「Survival Instinct」 blasted warnings at him through every channel. Nerves prickling, bright red augmented-reality alerts, attack predictions. The odds were fifty-fifty. A fifty percent chance of death.

Objectively, subduing the woman first was the better option. It was. But the stone in his chest was too heavy. Even as he thought how absurd it was to act this way over virtual personalities, how pointless all of it was, even as he thought of his rose, Gyeoul followed his heart.

What does a boy have left besides his heart?

It was not an act. Speaking with genuine sincerity for the first time in a long while, he said softly,

“I will not resent you even if I die. I understand. But I cannot leave your son like this. This is my duty. When I became leader of the 「Gyeoul Alliance」, I promised to protect people.”

“...”

“Honestly, I think this is a mother’s role. But if you will not do it yourself, then I have to. Someone has to close his eyes.”

As Gyeoul stepped closer, the knife touched him again. But he kept walking, and she was pushed back helplessly. Her weakening hand left only a small cut, then recoiled at the bead of blood that formed.

By the time Gyeoul knelt in front of the writhing infected child, she still could not stab him. She clung to him, cried, and pulled, but his center did not shift.

Gyeoul brought the muzzle close to the mutant’s temple. The blade touched the back of his neck. Her hand and the knife trembled like a dry branch in the wind. The tip felt sharp against his skin. After a moment, Gyeoul quietly gave permission.

“I told you. You could stab me.”

The mother collapsed.

Gyeoul pulled the trigger.

============================ Author's Afterword ============================

1. Akku-nim, good work. You had it rough because of the author’s awful jokes.

2. For those who really want rapid mass updates, here is the method. Bring back the reserve stash stolen by the Blood Ravens.

3. A lot of people asked if I signed a publishing contract after changing the cover. I did not. It is fan art Moundu-nim made with pure childlike spirit, that is all.

It was uploaded to the author’s yard on July 9, but I never went into that space at all, so I did not know... Moundu-nim, I am sorry.

There is still no contract. I had a meeting today, and I got to hear many useful things.

4.

Q. DaewangMulgae-nim: @Come to think of it, if you have money, can’t you make a body and enter even in brain-floating mode? Looking at what the Chairman does, it seems fully possible.

A. Technically possible, legally impossible. That is because the Chairman has acquired all rights to that body. The related details will be covered in an intermission.

Q. qoewh-nim: Author! Stop tormenting Gyeoul! Stop creating weird perverts! Stop slipping in dark content like nothing happened!

A. Dear reader! I have not tormented him! I have not created them! There is no dark content!

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