Dragon Poor Chapter 24

Despite the unexpected interest, Sunhyuk nodded at Emma. Though it initially seemed as if she would say a couple more remarks, she briefly stared into his eyes. And that was all. She did not say anything nor even look at him further.
It was neither ignorance nor indifference, but there was no way for him to know why.

"Since it's wartime, alcohol should be prohibited. What would you like?"
"As long as Emma closes her eyes, alcohol wouldn't be… ah, it's a joke. I'm kidding!"

From Emma's sudden gesture of about to kick him out, Jonathan quickly ordered in surprise. Sunhyuk, who had been watching from the side quietly, asked questions as soon as Emma took the order and left.

"But this place looks like an ordinary bar."
"It's not normal. If a pretty lady like Emma receives our order, then is that not extraordinary in itself? Did you expect something else? If you did, I could bring you separately in the evening."

Having reflexively raised his body at his loss, and quickly replied.

"No. That's not it. It's just a bit…"

Seeing the quick-tempered cavalrymen being surprisingly docile, it was very unfamiliar for him. With that question from Hansen, he had responded with a serious face.

"Not just this bar. But the restaurants and pubs in the fortress, the majority of these facilities are run by war survivors. To say precisely, we're not totally strangers."
"Ah…"

It seems that the survivors of the civilians who were swept away in the war were continuing their business in the fortress.

"And amongst those, this store is special. It was us that brought Emma to this fortress. If you were to delve deeper, she's a younger sister of our 3rd Squad?"
"This table here and those plates there, all of it is stuff that we brought back from the ruins."

How could you hate such sympathetic folk like these people. Sunhyuk, feeling the warmth of the cavalrymen, unknowingly smiled from the atmosphere, as the cavalrymen started to blush and cough as they looked away, embarrassed. Then, Emma, who had disappeared behind that hallway, returned and spoke.

"Yeah. So you're making a joke with a sister-like figure?"

It seems it was aimed at Hansen who had joked of taking good care of the youngest.
"That bastard is the type to make such ridiculous jokes with his Noona, so don't worry too much."
"Hansen has a Noona?"
"He does. A sister that's very different from him."
"Well…"

Seeing Hansen chuckling with his missing front teeth, Sunhyuk began to frighteningly imagine the situation, as he paled. Sunhyuk unknowingly sighed, causing Hansen to become angry before being scolded by Emma once again.

"He's a bit different."

Wondering what this meant, he rolled his eyes as the other cavalrymen answered back.

"Doesn't think the same as those other guys. He might look clumsy and frail, but he's a real man. There's no one that can run faster than him."
"Hmph. It's not like his skills are…"
"No. That guy doesn't know such things. He's one who learnt the basics by falling from his horse several hundred times with his own strength. So Emma, I know you're not fond of the other Strangers, but I would like it if you don't view him like that as well."

From Jonathan's earnest reply, Emma shrugged cooly before disappearing once again. In that timespan, the cavalrymen stuffed the food into their mouths instantaneously and rose. Then, taking out their pouches, they began to calculate the bill for their own meals.

"Huh?"

He thought they were paying for the food, but they were putting the pouches on top of the tables. Wondering what they were doing, he was about to ask before Emma appeared and began screaming.

"Again! Again! I knew this would happen!"

"Shit?! Let's run away!"

Giggling, the raucous group left Emma behind and ran away from the pub giggling.

"Take it with you!"
"Where are we going to spend our money? Just take that and take care of your children! And don't trouble your kids!"
"Yaaa! You spendthrift bastards! Should you even be worrying about me?! When you might die any day!"
"That's why! When we leave, it's not like we're going to take it, so we wanted to help Emma spend some money!"

Although the exchange of words between the two sides was coarse, he could feel the honest concern and care for each other. As such, Sunhyuk followed behind the Riders and unknowingly laughed in the end.

What to do. He's starting to like these people more.

Seeing his comrades jump and run excitedly, it was like seeing young children running away, as he laughed once more.

Sunhyuk soon learned the reason of Emma's subtle hostile attitude towards him.

"Recently, due to the fact that the Strangers are not able to perform their roles properly, we suffered a great deal of casualties in the war. It seems that the Strangers are very weak mentally in contrast to their abilities."

Understandably, there were some Strangers that were put into action prior to his own actual battle. But, it seems those Strangers had caused quite a lot of harm to their side by dragging down their comrades' feet. Obviously, the army would try their best to exclude them from their plans, but with the stubbornness of the Royal Family, it was an unavoidable situation.
With how there was no consideration in halting the provision of resources, and support to the Strangers in the future, many of the soldiers in the war died because of the Royal Family, causing a natural resentment to the black-haired Strangers.

"If you had not entered this city with your helmet on, you probably wouldn't have received that much cheering and hospitality."
"Ughh. It's not like I don't understand but…"

Well, those that were talented were promoted in quick succession, while the other Strangers, those lacking potential, were sent to the borders in order to accumulate actual experience, so it was comprehensible why the perspective on Strangers was not that high.

"But, what happened to those Strangers?"
"A third of them are warriors, and a third of them are cowards. As for the rest, at least they act like a human being."

With the mentioning of cowards, his heart automatically felt heavy. Since they did come over together from the other world, he did not feel good about the situation.

Pat.

Locked in thought with a stern face, a hand patted his shoulder causing him to turn his head. It was Clarke and the cavalrymen, who were looking at him full of trust.

Yeah. I can't take responsibility for those guys as well.

In a world which was hard to take care of oneself, he currently lacked the ability and strength to worry about such things. Realizing this truth, a smile arose from his face.

The fortress was peaceful, but the world beyond the walls were not so peaceful. Here and there, small fights arose as the incessant battles continued between the Kingdom of Noctane and the Kingdom of Ardenburg. In Sunhyuk's perspective, it felt like the two nations would soon enter into an all-out war, however, the others thought differently.

"No matter how I look at it, it seems that it's going to wrap up roughly like this."
"Since entering into an all-out war basically means that they should die together. No matter how warmongering those crazy Noctane bastards are, even they wouldn't go that far."

They then continued by reporting that these small-scale wars often occurred every year, and that the largest in scale of fighting would rise; is a gathering of three regiments in force. It was an incomprehensible situation, but with all the residents here nodding, he had nothing to retort.

Clarke then relayed this message to the Captain, that they would return to the garrison after monitoring the situation here for a while. Now, he wasn't worried about surviving, but of having his accomplishments and name made known to the Royal Family, and as such, Sunhyuk was troubled.

However, those troubles were resolved in a way that he had never imagined of.

"According to the Border Patrols, they have discovered tracks of two company-sized cavalry crossing the border. It's probably those Sastanes, as it's only them who would be crazy enough to enter and leave the border as if it were their own homes."

The Captain then reported that the actions of the Sastane Cavalry were compliant, as there were no reports of neighboring villages being attacked.

"Their main goal is probably to fulfill their revenge."
"What do you mean?"
"Their target is us."
"Even if that's the case, would those guys really put themselves into risk just for us?"

With Clarke's shocked protest, Captain Frederik shook his head.

"Until now, they have not lost a single battle between regiments, but they now have been overwhelmed and lost an entire unit against us. They're probably so furious, that they wouldn't be able to sleep…"
"Those bastards had done in so many of our troops…"
"Which is why it is even more vexing for them. Since their pride has been broken."

From the Captain's words, the truth slowly revealed itself. It seems the information that a Heavy Cavalry of the 24th Regiment had completely annihilated a unit of the Sastane Cavalry had been reported to them.

"It's not bad to stay in the fortress like this. No matter if they are Sastanes, they wouldn't be able to loiter around the enemy's camp forever."
"But if that's the case, the damage to the neighboring villages will be…"
"If need be, then we will have to minimize it. There's no greater reputation and honor to a cavalry than defeating the Sastanes. Since the soldiers are no longer fearing these devils. That's why this situation does not need us to minimize the risks. We just have to take care of ourselves."

It was only yesterday when the Commander had asked of him to eliminate the Sastanes, but the current tone of the Commander was completely different, as all of the cavalry began to shout in agitation.

"Are you telling us to hide in fear of the Sastanes?! And even sacrificing the civilians along the process!"

Clarke stepped in front of the Captain and shouted in an oppressed voice, in which the Commander replied.

"If you want, that's what I would be willing to provide. But it seems that you guys have no thoughts of doing so. Am I seeing this clearly?"

The cavalrymen answered, not with their mouths, but with their resolute looks.

"Good. I understand your intent. However, there are contents I need to clarify. If you were to encounter them, do you have the confidence to win again? They are demons that have already swallowed several cavalry units. Those demons are so determined to swallow you, that they have crossed the border. Are you confident of winning against them?"

From the Commander's question, the cavalrymen all turned their heads at once. But it was surprising where the gazes was directed to.

It wasn't the Captain, nor the Clarke who was the actual leader of this group. All of their gazes were naturally drawn to Kim Sunhyuk.

The Commander stared at Kim Sunhyuk's eyes and watched. In that short period of time, he had grasped the attention of all these burly men, as his presence was quite influential.

"The benefits I have attained the last few days weren't little."
"So you have confidence?"

Wondering if it was alright for him, being the youngest to speak, he hesitated for quite a while in front of the rest of the members before speaking.

"If I can estimate the numbers, then we will not lose at least."
"What? You won't lose?"

From Sunhyuk's reply, the Commander burst out laughing.

"I have never seen such confidence in confronting the Sastanes! However, since you have a track record, it's not like I can't believe it either."

The pleased Commander laughed for quite a while. And not suppressing his laughter, he soon called for the military authorities, and began to devise a strategy.

"Ah, you don't have to leave. Since you are the key to victory."

As such, Sunhyuk remained in the place, unlike the other cavalrymen, and listened to the voices of officers and military strategists. It was a very unusual situation for a regular soldier like himself to participate in a meeting with commanders and officers, as even the Captain was quite surprised.

"When I reported this result, there was an uproar from above. From my estimation, you'll probably receive a greater compensation than you initially thought. Who knows, you might receive the title of an Officer. So it's not bad to experience these kinds of settings as well."

Rather than an estimation, it was more of a conviction that he was going to make him one. Looking at the Commander's satisfied face, Sunhyuk frowned.

It seems that this annoying old man had taken a liking to him.

However, whether he pondered it or not, the meeting had already started, as the military officers of the fortress began to give their opinions.

"If we sent out with too many troops, the enemies may completely withdraw. There may never be an opportunity like this again, so we must never let this happen…"
"By sending out such a low number of troops, it might actually cause more harm than good to our side. Our opponents are the Sastanes who have swallowed dozens of our cavalry units."
"No! So are we going to miss out on these Sastanes? No matter how great the casualties are, we must capture them!"

The most problematic factor was the scale of the supporting forces. If there were too many troops, then there was the problem of the Sastanes retreating for their own sakes, and if they were to send out too little, then it would not bring much relief either.

Thus, the Commander presented an answer to that problem.

"I understand your opinions well. I too have pondered over that question, and luckily, I found an answer."

Once the statement was open, the meeting door was frighteningly slammed open as a familiar person entered.

"If you cannot increase or decrease the volume, then you just have to raise the quality."

However, the person that entered had black hair.

TL Afterword: 

Calvis: Round two of Sastanes vs 24th Regiment?! Sweet!

TL Notice: Website was down yesterday, and with me still recovering from the flu, it must be fate that it wanted me to have a break LOL.

PR Afterword:

Sai101: Quite enjoying this world so far…

BM: I refuse to believe that there is no one in this world that has black hair but is not a Stranger. There has to at least be a few descendants of Strangers in the past with black hair.

Translator: Calvis
Proofreader: Sai101,Borderline Masochist

Chapter end