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Hello! Starting from Chapter 1, I’m reposting and will be migrating all the previous chapters from my website on CG. So, bear with me if you’ve already read these chapters, or you can just re-read them again 😉
Enjoy!
Judging by the whistled wind in the air, an endless stream of bullets rolled over their heads. The gunfire noises sounded like a well-sharpened razor slicing through the air. From Yuichiro’s viewpoint, the enemy was most likely ambushing in ten o’clock direction, basing it on where the bullets were flying.
He pointed his AK47, aiming it diagonally from ten o’clock behind a big tree, and squeezed the trigger. A short popping sound soon followed after his action, continued with a tiny spark lit from his gun. At the same time, gunfire originating from the other side of the jungle slightly decreased. Yuichiro wondered if a single person had been killed yet this time around.
“Yuichiro, are you all right?”
At that moment, Oswald rose to his feet after crawling on his hands and knees in the slimy mud. Because of the mud, his brown skin appeared even darker.
Oswald, like him, was a freelance mercenary. Although they had only met a week ago on this battlefield, the soldier always had a friendly disposition and became very open with Yuichiro. When they first met, Oswald extended his right hand with a carefree smile and said, “Please call me Oz. Yuichiro.” Yuichiro also wondered whether Oswald was much younger than himself, who had already turned 37 this year after looking at Oz’s youthful eyes.
“I’m not happy that we lost some of our men.” Two recruits already shot dead. One headshot, while another one in the stomach and
 currently lying in the ditch.”
“Huh
 They’re still carrying guns even if they’re shot in the gut? Well, just let them fight until they die.”
Hearing Yuichiro’s indifferent words, Oswald’s lips twitched as if trying to whistle, but no sound came out. Instead, Yuichiro heard a small voice asking, “Have you figured out how many enemies there are?”
“About four to six of them are hiding in the bushes, shooting at us. If we keep going at them, they’ll run out of ammunition eventually.”
“—We should fall back.”
“If we fall back, we have no other choice but to crush these guys.”
[I’d been walking around in this fucking heat and humidity for a week and a half. Isn’t it a joke to run away now? I wouldn’t get paid a single penny if I didn’t finish this mission. Then, I’d have to work all week for nothing. I never want to go through another week of brazing in this shitty environment anymore.]
“I’m sure you’ve got a hand grenade. Give me one.”
“There are too many obstacles to roll over.”
“I know.”
The bullets from the enemy camp have already stopped. [Are they all dead? Or pretending to be dead?]
Yuichiro looked down at his watch and waited five minutes. After that, he checked if the enemy soldiers were alive or dead.
Oswald smiled bitterly when he saw Yuichiro’s stealthy movement. “I don’t want to turn you into my enemy,” shrugging his shoulders and glancing at Yuichiro.
“Sometimes there are people like you. People like you, who have blurred the distinction between life and death
 Such people usually don’t die in a good way.”
Yuichiro blatantly frowned at those prophetic words.
“Even I can tell the difference between living things and corpses.”
“–That’s not what I meant.”
“So what do you mean?”
“Just because you’re breathing doesn’t mean you’re alive.”
Yuichiro didn’t understand. Like a mad dog, Yuichiro brought the bridge of his nose against the jerk. Oswald’s mouth turned up into a friendly smile. The cheerful smile did not reveal the vileness of a man who makes money by killing people.
“You, why did you become a mercenary?” Yuichiro asked.
“Ke, ke, ke
” Oswald laughed at the back of his throat.
“I’m the one who wants to know. Why did you become one?”
“For the money, of course.”
“Are you willing to give up your life for money?” Yuichiro’s face contorted in response to Oswald’s offensive question.
“I live for money, and I die for money,” he replied aggressively. When Yuichiro thought Oswald would be stumped at his crude response, the man wore a soft smile instead. It was as if Oz was looking at a young child with eyes full of affection.
“Hey, does gold taste good?”
“—What?”
“Is gold beautiful?”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
When Yuichiro looked at him in disgust, Oswald pouted his lips like a child.
“Those who trust in their riches, say the saints, shall fall.”
“—Are you from a religious family?”
“No, but the Bible is interesting.”
‘That is the most incredible entertainment novel tripled with threats of eroticism and violence,’ Yuichiro deemed.
“I don’t need it.”
Oswald shook his head, ignoring Yuichiro’s interject, and pulled out an old Bible from his backpack. The extremely worn red cover of the book suggested that it had been read and re-read many times.
Oswald then sheepishly slipped the old Bible into Yuichiro’s backpack without saying anything and chuckled, displaying his dazzling white teeth.
“It’ll be useful for you.”
Yuichiro couldn’t help but declare, “It won’t be useful even if I die,” and then swallowed his words at the back of his throat. He looked at his watch—five minutes had passed.
Eventually, Oswald and Yuichiro headed toward the enemy’s location and hid behind obstacles right before the area where the sound disappeared.
As they got closer to the enemies, the stench of blood heavily wafted in the air. Slowly, Yuichiro peeked from behind the bushes and saw five men lying on the ground, bleeding, each of them with a gunshot wound.
“Are they all dead?”
Oswald asked. Yuichiro shifted his gaze away from the bodies, pressing his index finger to his lips.
After seeing this gesture, Oswald crouched down and gradually approached the fallen enemies.
From behind, Yuichiro also followed him diagonally.
While pointing his gun at the enemy, Oswald rolled the fallen enemy on his back.
After rolling the second man, he abruptly shouted, “Run for your life! Yuichiro!!!”
Just as Yuichiro turned his eyes toward Oswald’s voice, he witnessed the fallen enemy lying on his back, gripping a pinless grenade on his chest. The enemy, with his lips stained of blood, wore an explicit sneer on his face.
Seeing this, Oswald covered the grenade with his body. At that moment, the grenade detonated with piercing light rays and a deafening roar.
The impact resulting from the explosion reverberated through Yuichiro’s entire body. Almost immediately, he slammed his back onto a large tree nearby; his vision darkened afterward.
Translator’s Notes:
I stumbled upon this novel randomly while browsing through a Japanese e-book website. It has high ratings and after reading the reviews, I decided to pick up this particular novel for translation. Just a heads up, we have a strong MC from the start here. Based on the summary, and the spoilers I’ve read in the reviews, this novel will have angst, romance, politics, and fantasy, all mixed together. And, as of right now, I really don’t know who’s the prospect ML’s either 😅. Well, I think we all can guess it together later in the story. Btw, I would love to hear any comments below!
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