Chapter 18

RATH 18

TL: Eevee

3. And so the story begins. (2)

#2 Their story: Ria el Nermia’s story

“Kuhk!”

A light strike.

But the intense pain that couldn’t possibly have come from that light strike left me unable to breathe for a moment.

“Damn it!”

“Die!”

“Hoho, how weak.”

The leisurely movements of the hand and the bat.

But at those slow movements, No.1 and No.1000’s strikes which were already faster than most families’ normal knights were easily blocked.

“Speed beats weight, weight beats change and change beats speed. The instructor always used to tell us this when he was discussing swordsmanship. No matter how strong you are it will never hit if you fall behind in speed, no matter how fast an attack it will never matter against a changing, adapting sword, and no matter how unpredictable and variable you are, you will fall with a single heavy strike. And.”

A smirk and a simultaneous slow stretch of the hand holding the bat.

I dodged immediately, but my body had already been struck.

“Kuhhh… how!”

“Haha, brats. I will teach you the instructor’s ultimate truth. If like I said before that there are different styles of swordsmanship, but in the end the strongest one wins! And the winner is justice! If a heavy blow is defeated by a fast one then use a strong and fast strike! If a fast attack is broken by unpredictability then a fast and unpredictable attack! If unpredictability is beaten down by a strength then use an unpredictable and overpowered single strike! If you are fast and strong and unpredictable then you can just flat out beat anyone!”

“Kyaaah!”

“Bullshit!”

Looking at No.1000 who collapsed with a scream, No.1 charged in with a shaking hand but the results were pitiful.

The hand that seemed to move slowly seemed to divide into eight and struck all over No.1’s body.

“Kuhuk, uhuk, aaargh! Wait, a, aaaaaaaaaargghh!”

“Foolish child, brat that has not yet felt the pain of the bat! I shall show thee the truth of life!”

Our senior, who was completely unlike when we first met him now seemed like a demon that worshipped the demon god.

No, something even scarier, his eyes were like a fanatic that worshipped the evil god as he screamed.

“Endure! Endure this paltry amount of pain! If you want to see the limits of life endure this pain and see what lies beyond!”

“Kuk, kuwuk, aaagghh! You crazy asshole! You enduraaaaaaghh!”

“We did. We endured. But beyond, the moment we saw the flash of silver, we were defeated. Those who fall under just the wooden bat have no right to be called our juniors!”

In the fear that momentarily darkened those lunatic eyes, No.1000 and I instinctively took a step back.

“It can’t be… it can’t possibly be!”

“There’s something even higher than that crazy thing?”

“Kuk, li, lies!”

Words that made even the face of No.1, who was getting hit with twelve attacks a second, turn pale.

But our senior, no the monster who had been turned by something nodded.

“That is the reason why you are mere brats.”

We wanted to deny it. But, some kind of vigour, and the determined resolve right in front of our eyes, made all of us keep our mouths shut.

“Do you kids know. Of the pain. The despair. The humiliation!”

“Kuhuk!”

A strong strike. No.1 who let that strike hit home in his belly flew back towards us and caught his ragged breath.

Looking at No.1 look up at him with a twisted face, it seemed the monster felt a lot better.

“Does it hurt? Not for me. So get hit.

“Do you think you will never win? I did too once. But humans are creatures that can adapt as they get hit.

“Among my cohort, I was the weakest. Like the instructor said, I’m an idiot that even lost to an office worker.

“And what should I call you kids that lost to that idiot? Trash? Parasites? Maggots? Now choose. I will call you whatever you want with by big heart!

“Hahaha, Wahahahahahaha!”

Ahh, that person’s already a goner. A devil has already taken over his heart. As I thought that bat was a cursed weapon.

The worst magic weapon that made those hit by it scream in pain and possess the mind of its user! To make that kind of weapon, just what the hell does the instructor do for a living.

Is this why they call an evil organization an evil organization? Is this organization full of these kinds of people?

Is this the reason why the Empire has failed all this time to destroy this organization!

“Bat style, Allegretto movement.(1) Dumdumdumdaboom.”

“Block it, Surtr!”

“Anything, anything but that!”

Along with words that I had no idea of their meaning, an attack came.

I resummoned Surtr as soon as he was unsummoned.

Even if slavery had been abolished from the Empire, this is a summon.

Although it’s spirit abuse to the point where I’d possibly get a letter of expulsion from the Summoner’s Association, since I’m not a member of the Association yet it doesn’t matter.

-Kuuwuuuuuk!

Consecutive attacks rained down on Surtr’s giant body.

But thanks to Surtr’s sacrifice I found the attack pattern!

The ‘dum’ referred to a simultaneous attack with the bat in the right hand and the left fist, the ‘da’ was the bat in the right hand, and the ‘boom’ was a left uppercut.

It was the attack pattern that Surtr’s precious sacrifice found out.

“Then block this. Andante movement, dumdumdaboomda!”

“I have already read through you!”

My predictions were right!

Dodge the attack from the left, then left, right, then left again!

“Not bad for a magician, then try this!”

“I said your pattern has already been seen through!”

“Hahaha, the reason I showed you the pattern was for this! Now take this, Larghetto movement, dum…”

A dual handed attack to begin. Next was…

“Kiduk boomdehruhruhruhbom kidukboomdehruhruhruh!”

“Wha, what? Kyaaaaah!”

Bat and fist assault my entire body. What the hell is dehruhruhruh! To suddenly use that sort of attack!

“Not bad movements for a magician, but stupid, unlike one! Who the hell would attack telling the enemy their attack patterns? The reason I revealed my attack pattern, was so that I could change it!”

“C, coward!”

“Did you not learn? To be called cowardly is a word used when you have been hit with an unexpected attack or weakness. Before you use that word realize the truth that you couldn’t even imagine the enemy’s attack. Despair that you have had your weakness seized by the enemy. And although I hear this a lot as well, this is an evil organization that specialises in rearing villains. Cowardice is one of our virtues, you know?”

“Ah…”

The swing of the bat with a smile struck me square on the chin and my vision swam. Along with No.1000’s faint screams in the distance my vision gradually turned whiter and whi…

“Now the fun can’t end just here.”

Just before it dyed in white the bat struck my thighs and forced my consciousness back to reality.

“De, devil…”

“Hoho, I’m telling you the real devil exists elsewhere.”

At the monster’s smiling face, for the first time in my life I felt the emotion called despair, and this despair continued until the evil organization was destroyed

#3 Their story: A certain empire’s story.

In the current era of the continent, if you asked what country was the strongest, then ten out of ten, a hundred out of hundred, you would only get one answer.

The Karuan Empire.

Currently the strongest superpower on the entire continent. For five years, this empire went through a bitter five-year war against thirteen big and small nations.

And the result was Karuan Empire’s and its allies’ overwhelming victory.

Among the neighbouring nations, the only country that could keep them in check, the Merdeia kingdom had lost over half their military might and in reality there was no longer any kingdom that could possibly pose a threat to the empire’s borders.

And the person who won the most power during that great war, the one who everyone said would take up the right to succeed the throne, but handed everything to her younger brother and was officially retired from court life, the First Imperial Princess, and in her room two people were gathered.

“Howling has accepted the deal, Your Highness.”

“Reia. I’ve planned over ten years for this. That should be perfectly natural.”

The princess elegantly raised the teacup to her lips, and with a smile that would have thrown the palace into a state of emergency and evacuation orders issued had anyone else seen it, said.

“Ten years. It’s been ten years since I had everything taken from me, stolen from me, and beaten pathetically as I cried.”

“Uh, your Highness. There were many causes for misunderstandings in what you just said if anyone else heard that.”

“Cause for misunderstandings? I simply stated what was done to me. The simple truth that had no intent to be misunderstood.”

“Your Highness, Sir Ast simply acting in your best interests.”

“No, that man said he didn’t save me. He said that I was simply saved as I wanted it to be.”

“Even if Sir Ast said it like that…”

“No, that man doesn’t lie. That was the truth. He simply acted on his own interests, and by his actions I just seemed to be saved from an outsider’s perspective. And because of that I’m not acknowledging it. I wasn’t saved. Rather, he was the one that took everything from me.”

“Your Highness…”

“So I need to find him. And he needs to pay the price for what he stole. And if he can’t return it, then he needs to pay it in ways that he can.”

As the gossip mill went, an overlord of blood and iron, the ice-blooded witch.

While others were sharing pleasantries and smiling in social circles, the current expression that the current embodiment of the imperial family that was said to have enjoyed blood and despair in the middle of the great war had on her face was much too anxious, and so the woman named Reia couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“You’re overforcing it.”

“I know.”

“Sir Ast will vehemently reject it.”

“I know. I’ve suffered a lot too.”

“And even if it succeeds the imperial court will flip out.”

“I know. But it’s already done. From that day onwards, father had already acknowledged him, and I’ve already finished talking with my more useful little brother with the agreement of handing him the throne. Should my little brother not have been useful but an idiot, I can just give the throne over to the next useful pawn and replace him.”

“Um, noonim?(2) I came because you called but it is really scary if I hear those things?”

With the quiet sound of the door opening, a handsome youth came through the door saying so with a bitter smile.

“Doesn’t matter. I said it for you to hear anyway.”

“Wow, just how could I live with such a scary elder sister.”

He flippantly said as he approached but there was no change in his expression.

Even though he’d taken the seat of Crown Prince thanks to her backing, at one point, he was one of three who had split court along with his brother nicknamed the King of the North and his sister, the Witch of the Imperial Family.

To the thought that he, who had unofficially taken authority second only to the emperor would be pushed around by his sister would totally

“Do you want me to kill you?”

“I’m sorry.”

…totally thinkable. Overwhelmingly so.

“I’ve said it before, but there’s only one reason I picked you. Simply, I liked you better.”

“Yes, yes. I heard loud and clear. Especially when you gave elder brother minus marks because you didn’t like his face, I know even better. The explanations that if big brother ever found out he’d either collapse clutching his neck or regroup and raise up another rebellion, I still remember fresh as if it was yesterday!”

“Good. At least you know.”

Placing down her empty cup of tea, the princess smiled again.

On seeing that smile the Crown Prince took two big steps backwards but the princess didn’t care, all she did was wait for Reia to refill her teacup before raising it back to her lips.

After a short silence, the princess said.

“So do your job well.”

“Hnng… You gave me a really hard task, big sis.”

“It’s just crushing some cockroaches, no?”

“It’s a skilled cockroach that’s been around since the beginning of the Empire.”

“If you’re going to be the greatest in the Empire then you should at least have the skill for that. Give it all up if you don’t want to.”

“Ah, did I become Crown Prince for this… to be ashamed and suffer…”

The Crown Prince rubbed his eyes with an expression that screamed of tiredness but the princess didn’t even bother to turn his way and simply admired the aroma of the tea.

“Didn’t you make a bargain with Howling, noonim?”

“I did. About keeping the information secret, that is. I never handed over the information, nor did I attack Howling using others as a proxy. However, nowhere in the Geass Roll did it say I wouldn’t end the organization with my own hands.”

“Did you need to destroy them? When all’s said and done, they’ll revive under another name after the dust settles anyway.”

“But, we can destroy that person’s nest.”

Looking at the princess who had a smile that could bewitch almost any man on her face, the Crown Prince had backed all the way to the wall.

“Ah, noonim, it’s scary so could you please stop smiling like that? It’s really bad for my heart so please!!”

“Oh my, there’s no need to be so scared. I’m feeling very good right now?”

“Ha? Can you really say that considering your direct subordinate Sir Reia is shivering in the corner over there? Sir Reia’s trauma’s been triggered again!”

Glancing at Reia who had buried her face between her knees in the corner murmuring something incomprehensible, the princess stopped smiling.

“What, did I ever do wrong.”

“It was at the level where you’d brought out your personal forces, battlemage brigade and advisory staff and ready to go to war at any moment? Everyone who knows something knows of the smile before the massacre during the great war.”

“Eeii, killing people during a war is a one-sided thing, right? You can’t call it a massacre.”

“You meant to say normal, right? It’s totally just my imagination that the reason I heard it as one-sided was that the pronunciations are similar, right?”(3)

“Hm? What? I can’t hear the sounds of a crown prince that got smashed three times by the Merdeia’s Kingdom’s army?”

“Yes, I will keep my mouth shut in front of the great war’s undefeated noonim.”

As if the Crown Prince’s crumpled face pleased her, her hand reached for her teacup again, but it was empty.

Since Reia who would pour tea for her was currently broken and neglected in a corner of the room, thinking it couldn’t be helped, she stood up and stretched.

“Haa~ Listen up, little brother. You can think that what he took as half of the Empire.”

“I know that. The origins of the Empire’s founding. But that is a curse.”

“Yes. And when he dies, it could come back to us.”

“Because that’s how the contract was written.”

“And because of that we need to protect him.”

“For the Empire?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that a lie? No matter how I see it it’s a personal greed.”

“Really. At least 1% of it is for the Empire’s good.”

“99% is for your own interests? At the very least as royalty couldn’t you raise it to two digits noonim?”

“No.”

Having felt a strong sincerity in that final word the Crown Prince shut his mouth.

“1% is a lot as well. To be honest be grateful that I’ve done that much for my role as an imperial princess. It’s been ten years. Because I was weak. Because I was powerless. Because I had no backing. I couldn’t get anywhere near him for ten whole years. If I approached carelessly he would flee. Considering how he’s fearless in the weirdest places he’s also very cowardly in others. He makes two, three, no, ten, twenty getaway holes to escape with. That’s why. So he can’t run away. I’ll break them all. Aside from the ladder that is me, I’ll break all other ladders. To make him realise on his own that I am his safest ladder. So that he can never run away again.”

“What you know about him might not be everything. His name was different as well, wasn’t it?”

“Irrelevant. Whether his name is Ast, or Naruan, or something else. The fact that he stole my fate, my future, my everything and ran away from me doesn’t change. Even if what I know about him isn’t everything, what I already know is plenty. So…”

After a moment’s silence, she turned to the Crown Prince that had been ever-so-slowly approaching her and smiled brightly.

“If you fail, really. I might have to kill you.”

‘I’m really going to die.’

At seeing that smile, the Crown Prince realised that if he didn’t smash Howling to bits, then odds were that he would be the one to be smashed into pieces instead.

Was pondering between Sir or Dame for Reia, considering she’s a woman knight. Chose Sir just because it suits better.

(1) The original used a term which specifically denoted a specific style of drumming used in traditional KR percussion instruments, but I’m like ‘I ain’t trying to translate something with no translation’ and subbed it in for a music tempo which is roughly similar speed. Same with the other music tempo lingo further down.

(2) Noonim = very formal way to address an older sister. (Although I use it sarcastically with mine :P) JP equivalent would be aneue.

(3) Normal = 일반적, One-sided = 일방적. Pronounced very similar, too.

Okay, reader opinion time. Do you want me to directly localise the titles for Korean siblings into western terms (which as far as I know are more or less limited to big/little sister/brother) or do what JP TLs do and retain it as oppa, hyung, noona, unni etc. which are far more versatile and express a lot more than their duller English counterparts.

Also, how many of you guys are here from the original and how many are virgins to this insanity?

: 2