Chapter 60
Chapter 60
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Spreading the Gospel to the Snobby Bitch (13)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Violence isn't always the answer.
Yuseong could agree with that to some extent. Violence wasn't exactly righteous, and it couldn't solve everything.
But do you know what?
"Nothing enforces discipline quite like violence."
"P-People aren't animals, though..."
"On a grand scale, they are. Hell, animals might even be better. When they sense death's knocking, they wise up quick. Humans, on the other hand, keep pushing until they get smacked down. Proof their learning curve's worse than beasts'."
"Th-That's a bit..."
"What? Think I'm wrong?"
"......"
"Let me share a little lesson from my life."
It happened back when Yuseong was in the army.
Right around when Yuseong made private first class, a new recruit showed up.
The guy was so frail, it was a mystery how he'd ended up in special forces. Turns out, he was the son of a two-star general. The old man had shoved his spoiled brat into special forces to toughen him up into a real man.
Special forces weren't some personality camp. What the hell was this? The other guys were beyond baffled—they were outright dumbfounded.
These were elite troops with serious pride. To them, this was straight-up bullshit.
But rank was a bully, and the system unfair. The officers couldn't mouth off to a two-star, so they had to swallow the spoiled punk.
And once training kicked off, the real circus began.
— Why the hell do I have to do this crap?!
He didn't just ignore orders—he flat-out refused.
— Ah, shit! Fuck off! Don't come near me! I'm gonna die! For real!!!
The worst was when he grabbed a cutter knife to his wrist, threatening suicide...
The guy was a social misfit who'd lived cushioned his whole life, so yeah, the army sucked for him. Fine, I get that.
But...
— Uh... Yuseong, can you look after him a bit?
— ......
— S-Sorry...
Dumping a deadbeat on the lowest rank...
Army life had its share of spectacles, but this was next-level.
Yuseong's blood pressure spiked daily because of this idiot, and he'd covered for him dozens of times.
That day was no different.
— ...That punk went AWOL.
On Yuseong's first-class private vacation day.
Yuseong heard the news and had to cut his leave short for a forced return.
Anyone who's served knows what vacation means to a soldier.
The punk got caught, thankfully. Then he pulled another suicide stunt to annoy everyone.
That's when Yuseong stepped up.
— Company commander.
— Yeah, what?
— Give me half a day alone with that punk. Please.
— ...What for?
— I'll make a man out of him.
— ...In half a day?
— Just keep everyone away.
Yuseong dragged the spoiled brat to the back mountain.
The punk immediately threatened suicide at the first sign of trouble.
— Y-You wanna see me die?! Eek!!
— ......
— You blind?!
— Stab there, you won't die.
— Eek...?
— Aim here for fatal blood loss. And that knife's too small. Good luck slashing with that toy.
— Eek...?
As the punk blinked in confusion, Yuseong pulled out a Chinese cleaver he'd borrowed from the kitchen and decided to demonstrate personally.
— Ever been cut by a blade?
People could die from repeated stabs!
That day, Yuseong gifted the punk a lifelong fear of sharp objects.
Afterward, the brat shook at the sight of anything pointy—not just cutters—but he feared Yuseong even more.
— M-My dad's a general! A general! You think you'll get away with this...!
— Snitch to daddy all you want. But today, we're trying something else.
— !!!?
That day, Yuseong made the punk beg for mercy a solid hundred times—no joke.
Next, he beat him until pleas for death hit a thousand.
— Didn't you wanna die?
— N-No...! I-I w-want... t-to l-live...!
— Speak up! Mocking your senior?
— !!!
— No answer? This punk...
— Kughhh!!
That day, Yuseong stopped the punk's heart three times.
No mana back then—how'd he restart it?
— 21st century's got perks. Tons of machines that shock you back to life.
With the right gear, restarting a heart was child's play for Yuseong. He gave the punk five near-death experiences.
Over a month: buried alive, rope-tied, drowned in the river, shoved off cliffs...
He ran all sorts of experiments(?) on the brat.
— So, what experiment today?
— .........
After that, the punk became a model soldier.
Sure, he'd convulse and foam at the mouth if Yuseong approached, but he followed regs to the letter. Cleaning barracks spotless solo? Chef's kiss.
— Hypothetically, if I hear you're slacking after discharge, I'll hunt you down.
— ...
— Don't cry. Breaks my heart.
— I-I'll... be a new man! P-Please... f-forgive me...!
— Don't buy it, punk.
Word later was he'd joined a monastery.
Maybe to dodge Yuseong forever.
With the story wrapped, Yuseong turned to Mirni.
"Get the moral?"
"Uh, well...?"
"Separate those worth treating like humans from the beasts."
"......"
Alicia, whatever sob story that snobby bitch had—irrelevant.
But!
"She had her chance when I treated her like a person. Why should I keep it up if she acts like a beast?"
"......"
"Ideally, she'd end up like that deadbeat."
"......"
"Fainting at my sight, running scared. That'd be perfect."
"......"
"Then maybe I could let her live."
"......"
"...This bitch fainted again."
"L-Luke, i-it's not fainting... Her heart stopped?"
"......This bitch is making death a habit."
"......"
Yuseong clicked his tongue—habits form from repetition, so why this one?—while Mirni pitied the snobby bitch for the first time ever.
After that day, Alicia changed completely.
[Lady Alicia, I can handle the dishes or laundry?]
"N-No! I-I'll do it!"
[......?]
She acted like a green recruit under iron discipline.
Even at meals.
"Why stand instead of eating?"
"...I'll wait till you're done..."
"...Fine."
"......"
"......"
"Gulp..."
"...Damn it, don't hover—eat!"
"C-Can I...?"
"Wanna hear it twice?"
"I'll eat!"
...Not a recruit—a fully trained military dog?
How'd a high elf end up like this? Baffling to shocking.
But that didn't mean...
"A-Alicia, a-are you okay?"
"What?"
"Your health or anything..."
"Hmph, none of your business."
"......"
Her attitude toward others stayed the same.
If anything, more callous?
Especially...
"D-Don't come closer!!"
"...I didn't do shit?"
"I said get out!!"
"......Feels unfair."
Her aversion to men worsened too.
Probably trauma from Yuseong.
Odd part?
'Luke's a guy too—why approach him?'
People wondered—shouldn't she fear her torturer more? But Alicia wouldn't explain.
"Why're you still here?"
"...Hm?"
"Didn't that Jang Chun guy get you a place? So why stick around?"
"...W-Well..."
"......"
"I-I don't know. Trying to leave this house makes me anxious, and straying from you chokes me up. I don't get why I'm like this..."
"......"
...Stockholm syndrome?
Maybe brain damage from beatings? But it felt off for that.
Less empathy, more raw fear mixed with dread of separation.
...Why?
"...Like a dog."
"Cursing?"
"N-No, not cursing... Doesn't Alicia act just like a dog?"
"...?"
"R-Right?"
A loyal dog sticks to its master, obeys blindly.
The master is its whole world.
Yuseong's face twisted at Mirni's words.
"So you're saying..."
"Yeah, looks like Luke... t-trained, uh, no! ...Made that elf bitch submit?"
"......"
"D-Don't look at me like that! I'm serious! Look at her! Acts exactly like it!"
"......"
Baring teeth at strangers, snarling fierce.
Whining pitifully without master nearby.
A dog.
'...For real?'
Alicia's behavior matched perfectly.
Yuseong tested it, slowly inching away experimentally.
Then.
"Wh-Where you going?!"
"......"
"C-Can I come too?"
"......"
What...? Not the reaction I wanted.
...An inexplicable unease rose, creasing Yuseong's brow.
Like he'd raised something weird.