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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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I was left alone with Yuyoung in the guest room.
Yuren had said she would stay too, but I sent her out.
This was about hearing someone else’s story from someone else’s mouth.
So it was better to have as few people hear this as possible.
Of course, Yuren was involved as the former commander, but considering her personality, I judged it was best if I listened alone.Even approaching this as delicately as possible might not be enough.
Given her personality, she might rush over and slap Bayard on the back in misguided encouragement.
I focused my gaze on Yuyoung.
“If you say you were friends… does that mean you’re not friends now?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“It’s not?”
“…I’m not sure how to explain it.”
Yuyoung’s lips seemed to be getting dry, as she gulped down the water in her cup.
Her eyes were visibly flickering nervously.
It was a bit different from earlier.
When we were negotiating earlier, she had maintained a smile.
But now she was showing various expressions.
Rather, because of that, she seemed more human now than before, which made me feel closer to her.
“Being friends means having a deep bond, but I don’t know about that. She didn’t have such a deep bond with me. So I’d say we’re just maintaining an adequate relationship?”
“So, you were close before, but now it’s awkward?”
“How did you come to that conclusion?”
“Am I wrong?”
“…No, that’s exactly right.”
Yuyoung, who had been glaring at me for a moment, soon sighed and agreed with my words.
From my perspective, it seemed like Yuyoung still had lingering feelings for Bayard.
Had Bayard cut her off?
If even Bayard had cut her off, if that was true, it meant Yuyoung was so hopeless as to be beyond help.
I shook my head.
It wasn’t the situation to make a definitive judgment yet.
It was not too late to make a judgment after listening to more of the story.
Of course, my job would be to find and filter out any lies in the process.
“How did you grow apart?”
“Why should I tell you that?”
“Because I might be able to help.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Yuyoung was giving in much more easily than expected.
Was she really hoping to reconcile with Bayard?
Or did she have some other hidden motive?
I couldn’t be certain yet.
“300 years ago, when we were cubs, we happened to meet.”
“300 years ago?”
“Yes, is there a problem?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I clicked my tongue.
If Yuyoung said they met 300 years ago, it meant Bayard was also over 300 years old.
Well, Cluna was even older than that, so maybe it wasn’t strange?
Yuyoung continued to unfold her story without stopping.
She said that for the sake of friendship between tribes, the 12 tribes send their cubs to a single school called Seodang for education from a young age.
[T/N: Seodang is a traditional korean school from the Joseon Dynasty]
Yuyoung also went to Seodang following this tradition.
The problem was that she was bullied there.
She said it was inevitable since the Rat Clan was physically the weakest.
“But isn’t the Rat Clan the foremost among the 12 tribes?”
“You know, Commander, there are many who envy those at the top.”
“…”
“Of course, not everyone is like that.”
While negative feelings were inevitable when thinking of the future, how could young children know such things?
Of course, now there were strict regulations against bullying, but…
Even up to the time when she attended, much violence and hatred were left unchecked, she said.
In those difficult times, the only one who helped her was Bayard.
This wasn’t unexpected.
Although Bayard had a timid personality, she had the strength to step up decisively when she needed to.
I was sure that was how it would have been.
“You seem calmer than I expected.”
“I thought Bayard would certainly be like that.”
“I see, you trust her completely, Commander.”
“If the commander doesn’t trust their members, who will?”
“It’s a simple thing to say, but difficult to keep.”
At that time, she said, the young Bayard was like a hero from a fairy tale.
She always stood up against injustice and punished children who bullied others with force.
Well, being from the Bear Clan, her physical abilities would not lose to any ordinary beast.
And naturally, Yuyoung became friends with such a Bayard.
“It was very difficult for both of us then, but I think we were able to overcome it.”
“When it rains, the ground becomes firmer.”
“Oh my, that’s one of the Rat Clan’s proverbs. You seem to know it.”
“I picked it up somewhere.”
“Yes, I thought our relationship would only get better.”
She still didn’t know the trigger.
Somehow, their relationship just soured.
What could have caused it?
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.
That was how they grew apart.
And when time passed and they somehow met again, Bayard’s appearance was, how to put it…
The figure she had seen in the past was gone.
Why?
They were already distant from each other.
Yet the reason she kept catching her eye was…
After that, Yuyoung secretly supported Bayard.
Even Bayard’s admission to the Royal Knights was due to her recommendation.
“Of course, I didn’t help her because we were friends. At that time, due to the betrayal of 6 tribes, the blood alliance system of the 12 tribes was greatly shaken.”
“So you included the Bear Clan as one of the new 6 tribes?”
“Yes, it was absolutely not because of Bayard that we chose the Bear Clan. We adopted them as one of the 12 tribes because their strong physiques were useful.”
“I see, I see.”
What’s this?
Looking at her, she seemed to have a slight tsundere side.
In fact, Yuyoung was now blushing and denying it more strongly than necessary.
I almost laughed for a moment, but…
Instead, I forcibly swallowed my smile.
Then I crossed my arms and fell into thought.
If this was true, it meant that Bayard and Yuyoung had been close friends since childhood.
But this wasn’t something I could be certain of right now.
I hadn’t heard the story from Bayard yet.
In the end, I would have to hear it directly from her.
“I’ve heard your story for now.”
“If it’s alright, could you give me a chance to talk with Bayard?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you a definite answer on that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t fully trust your story yet.”
This was something we needed to hear both sides of.
Someone might think of it as friendship.
But for someone else, it could be a nightmare they didn’t want to recall.
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When I went to Bayard’s room, she was talking with Ruby and Clara.
No, it would be more accurate to say she was trying to stop their fight.
Despite always fighting when put together, they would feel lonely if separated, which was an exasperating aspect.
Thanks to that, it was helpful.
At least until I arrived, they had prevented Bayard from having gloomy thoughts.
Of course, instead of being gloomy, she had fallen into a state of confusion.
That was probably better than being gloomy.
Thinking that, I finally managed to separate Ruby and Clara, who had been fighting for a while with Bayard trying to help.
“Finally they separated.”
“Yes… I’m exhausted…”
“By the way, is now a good time?”
“Huh? Yes! If, if I’m alright with you.”
I wondered what she was imagining.
A red blush rose on Bayard’s face.
Surely it wasn’t what I was thinking?
I forced a smile and said,
“I just met with Yuyoung for a moment.”
“Yuyoung…”
“Do you know each other?”
Just as you can’t fill your stomach with the first spoonful, I couldn’t ask directly.
So, I had to ask indirectly.
This would cause less hurt.
“Y-Yes. She was a friend I hung out with in my childhood.”
For now, Bayard recognized Yuyoung as a friend.
This meant Yuyoung’s story wasn’t complete nonsense.
I nodded and said,
“Were you close friends?”
“At least I thought so…”
“What do you mean?”
“S-Somehow our relationship changed for the worse at some point…”
This surprised me a little.
I didn’t expect they would have exactly the same thoughts.
This meant they were really close friends… or so one could say.
“It doesn’t seem very good now though.”
“W-Well… Yuyoung got tired of me and left first…”
“She left first? Yuyoung did?”
“Yes…”
Bayard answered with a gloomy expression.
Thanks to that, I felt a headache coming on.
If Yuyoung’s words weren’t lies, they both thought of each other as friends.
Just something had come between them and twisted their relationship.
Come to think of it, wasn’t it said that the 12 tribes were the next to fall after the Dwarf Republic?
If that was true, it would be related to Yuyoung, the leader of the 12 tribes, and Bayard.
Because Yuyoung still thought of Bayard as a friend.
However, in the original story, all of the Royal Knights were annihilated.
If so, one couldn’t know how Yuyoung might have gone berserk after losing her close friend.
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