Chapter 214: If You’re Going to Tie Someone Up
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 214: If You’re Going to Tie Someone Up
Shei, who had been meticulously tying knots with all her might to prevent any sudden moves from the member of the Six Generals, snapped at my interruption.
“What is it now?”
“Is it really necessary to wrap the rope around her front like that?”
I pointed at the knots Shei had tied.
The Sky Silk was already binding Historia’s arms behind her back, but it was also wrapped around her front. It was a measure to ensure she was completely restrained, with no chance of escape.
But perhaps the bonds were a little too tight. Historia seemed uncomfortable, though for a slightly different reason.
“What are you talking about? What’s wrong with my knots?”
“Well, it’s a little awkward for me to say.”
I fanned myself dramatically as if I were blushing, glancing at Shei as if she were some incredibly bold and shameless person.
As Shei frowned at my suggestive gaze, I covered my eyes with my splayed fingers.
“The way you’ve tied her up seems to… emphasize Ria’s figure. I’m not sure whether to praise your boldness or express concern that my classmate is being harassed.”
“Huh? What is this nonsense you’re both spouting…”
Shei’s gaze followed my fingers, and for the first time, she saw Historia from a more objective viewpoint.
Historia was one of the Six Generals. Ordinary restraints wouldn’t hold her. She could snap steel chains and was prepared to stretch or shrink her own arms to escape if necessary. In that sense, taking extreme care was only natural.
However, perhaps because of that, Shei hadn't paid any mind to the parts of Historia’s body that might have drawn attention if she were a man. Instead, her focus on tightening the bonds had only served to accentuate Historia’s figure over her uniform.
“Ah.”
Ah, right. He sees me as a man. To him, I must look like a total pervert…
The realization finally dawned on Shei, and she let out a short sigh. Historia turned her head and replied teasingly.
“Hmm. So you didn’t even think about it. To be able to do this without a single thought… you’re more lecherous than you look.”
“What! A prisoner shouldn’t be so picky! And besides! I was behind you the whole time, tying the knots, so I didn’t even see!”
She must have realized that anything she said would sound like an excuse. Imagining how she must look from an outsider’s perspective, Shei quickly held up her hands in denial.
“Nobody think anything weird!”
I wasn’t thinking anything weird. I was simply enjoying the sight of my classmate’s embarrassing predicament. My thanks to Shei for providing this opportunity.
“It must be instinct. I understand. But still, to harass my once-dear friend right in front of me… isn’t that a bit disrespectful to me?”
“Disrespectful? What are you talking about?!”
“I could have tied her up better. I think you should have given me the first turn.”
“It’s a good thing I did it, then! I wasn’t having any of the dirty thoughts you are!”
“Oh, that’s right. You did say you were into men.”
“Forget about that already!”
Her mental fortitude reaching its limit, Shei shrieked.
“Then what do you want me to do?! Just let the Gunmaster loose in the middle of us?!”
[Shei.]
Just then, a deep voice emanated from the jet-black coffin lying inside the container. Tyr, who had been taking a nap while the Military State’s attack had ceased, was finally awake.
Shei’s face lit up with expectation at the arrival of an ally.
“Tyrkanzyaka! You say something to him!”
Since the sun hadn’t fully set, Tyr didn’t emerge from her coffin. Instead, she made her voice heard by vibrating the darkness.
[…How indecent. I can hardly bear to watch. Though I have voiced my displeasure with your actions before, I have never had to comment on your conduct. As of today, I must reconsider my opinion of you….]
“That’s not what happened!”
The only problem was that the voice from the coffin wasn’t on her side either.
Assailed from all sides, Shei protested, her voice on the verge of tears.
“I know what it looks like! But I can’t just leave her untied…!”
This male disguise is causing so many unnecessary misunderstandings! I should have revealed myself before he joined us…! No, maybe I should just risk it and show him the bandages on my chest right now?
Ah, that wouldn’t do. It would put me in a very awkward position. I’d have to pretend to be surprised even though I already know everything.
Besides, it’s much easier to get the upper hand on you while you’re disguised as a man. I can’t let you reveal your gender just yet.
I decided to stop teasing her. One must take care of one’s toys.
“It’s fine to loosen her bonds a bit. To be honest, just as you said, Shei, Ria let herself be captured on purpose.”
“See!”
At my words, Shei’s face brightened and she pointed at Historia, before her finger jerked back towards me.
“What? You already knew? Then why didn’t you say anything!”
“Whether I knew or not, capturing her was my achievement, and you kept trying to downplay it. It hurt my feelings.”
“Was that really the reason?! And it’s not like I was wrong!”
Shei growled at me like Azzy, then pointed at Historia with renewed confidence.
“That’s right! I expected as much! You planned to get captured, infiltrate our ranks, and dig for information! But I won’t let you…”
“No, that’s not it. Ria and I made a deal. She agreed to be captured in exchange for information from me.”
Tyr was awake, and the sun had almost set. It was time to start talking about our next move.
I gave Historia a look, and she, understanding my cue, dropped her burnt-out cigarette. Crushing it under her military boot, her playful expression vanished, replaced by a stern one.
“Everything I am about to say is of my own free will and concerns a personal matter. I swear it has nothing to do with the Military State… whether you believe me or not is up to you.”
“…Hmph. Personal, you say. That doesn’t sound like someone from the Military State.”
Realizing she’d been made a fool of, Shei muttered with a pout. Historia shot her a cute little smirk before answering.
“The man the Military State is hunting is named Huey. He was a student at Hamelin Secondary Military School. Huey was my classmate; we were in the same classes for three years. And…”
Historia paused, not for dramatic effect, but to compose herself. The brief silence, however, made Shei and Tyr focus on her even more intently.
After drawing their attention, Historia swallowed the emotions welling up inside her and continued.
“And… during the practical exercises at the end of our third year, Huey killed our other 161 classmates and then himself. Or rather, that’s the official story.”
It was a heavy truth that would have made anyone else fall into a stiff, awkward silence. But for Shei and Tyr, who operated on a global scale, it wasn’t such a shocking revelation.
Shei even scoffed.
“The official story must be wrong, then. He’s alive right here, and I heard all the victims in Hamelin committed suicide by jumping into the river.”
She was, in her own way, trying to defend me.
In a previous timeline, Shei had exposed the Military State’s secrets and worked with the resistance to bring about its downfall, so she was privy to all sorts of classified information.
However.
“…That’s another version of the story.”
Sensing the strange atmosphere in Historia’s heavily loaded reply, Shei fell silent.
“That’s classified information. You must have heard it somewhere. You’re right. My classmates who rebelled against the Military State—or more accurately, against Hamelin Secondary Military School… in their final moments, they marched to the river of their own accord. To any observer, it would have looked like suicide.”
Finishing her sentence, Historia’s piercing gaze turned to me. Her languid eyes held a desire that was less fiery and more like a sharp thorn. She pointed at me directly.
“Only he knows what truly happened. But then he vanished. Everyone said he’d drowned at the bottom of the Hamelin River, and they wanted to believe it. Everyone but me.”
Whipping her head around, Historia looked from Shei to Tyr’s coffin.
“I will hear that story, no matter what it takes. That’s why I willingly became a prisoner, why I’m divulging state secrets to you, its enemies. If you’re listening, Huey won’t be able to lie so easily.”
The more listeners there are, and the more powerful they are, the harder it is to lie. That was Historia’s aim.
However.
[…What a trivial reason.]
The problem was, Tyr and my other companions trusted me far more than she anticipated.
[Do you truly believe that if Huey were to lie to you, I would interrogate him on your behalf? A clever attempt, but you are mistaken. Huey, you need not say a word. Do as you please.]
Historia was clearly taken aback. She couldn’t have imagined that a powerful, ancient being like the Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka would defend me so fiercely.
By allowing herself to be captured, she had put her life on the line. Yet, faced with the possibility of gaining nothing, Historia forced a calm tone.
“Did you seduce the Progenitor too, Huey? Impressive. Maybe the rumors about you weren’t all fiction after all?”
[…Rumors, about him?]
Oops. That piqued Tyr’s interest. Tyr, who should have been pressuring Historia, suddenly went quiet, feigning ignorance.
[…Using my strength in the daytime has left me weary. You all may decide amongst yourselves. I shall rest for a moment.]
How infuriating. She said that, but I knew she was still listening intently.
Shei replied nonchalantly.
“You promised to tell her. So you should.”
I was going to from the start! The way you say it makes it sound like I was planning to break my promise!
Meanwhile, Shei, ever the information fiend, tried to use this opportunity to get more out of Historia.
“Is that also why the Military State started chasing us, even though we have Active Engagement Avoidance?”
“I don’t know. That was Command’s decision. But I doubt it’s completely unrelated. The Pied Piper of Hamelin… that must be the one secret the Military State wants to keep buried more than any other.”
“Over a mere hundred people?”
All eyes turned to Shei. Feeling their gazes, she quickly waved her hands.
“No, a hundred is a lot. But this is the Military State we’re talking about, right? A country where hundreds die from forced labor every day. A death toll like this should be nothing to them. The suicide part is a bit unsettling, though.”
From a humanitarian perspective, it was a cold question, but from the Military State’s point of view, it was a valid one. Historia answered slowly.
“…It’s because of the curse.”
“A curse?”
“I don’t know the details beyond that. That’s why I need to hear it.”
Having deflected the question, Historia glared at me with dark, murky eyes. The obligation to answer had now fallen to me.
“The Pied Piper of Hamelin. To him.”
I had intended to tell them anyway. It wouldn’t do for my companions to be in the dark about why the Military State was hunting us. I just hadn’t had the chance.
Alright. Where should I begin?
Just then, Tyr’s voice, seemingly meant to comfort me, came from the coffin.
[It is fine, Huey. What is a hundred or so lives? Unless one is a fledgling, there are few vampires who have not taken a three-digit number of lives.]
“Uh, Tyr. Saying that is not helping to comfort me, nor is it good for recruiting new vampires.”
[…Is that so?]
As I cleared my throat, Tyr fell silent, preparing to listen. Shei did the same.
“…Woof.”
Even Azzy, who had wandered over at some point, had her ears perked, truly ‘lending an ear’ for some reason. How did this story become something even a dog was listening to?
Among them all, Historia’s gaze was the most intense, boring into me. Her arms were bound, but it likely would have made no difference if they were free. Her sharp eyes and the sheer desperation to know the truth were enough to hold me captive.
The stage was set, the audience was seated. All that was left was for me to tell the story.
I moistened my lips and slowly began to speak.