Chapter 229: An Ordinary Life (Revised)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 229: An Ordinary Life (Revised)
"I" must live an ordinary life.
But as for what an ordinary life was, she who forced it upon "me" could not answer.
It was only natural. Life itself is ordinary. If life is the entire process between birth and death, what part of it could possibly be defined as ordinary?
Nevertheless, she had to place shackles on "me." After endless questions and answers over a vast expanse of time, she had reached the end of all possibilities and devised a single method.
And that was…
Historia poured out her emotions, but her complaints had a clear limit. And that limit was this:
"I had to scrape and claw my way through the back alleys just to survive…"
The fact that my past was no less unfortunate. Historia fell silent.
Regardless of her emotional hardships, Historia had enjoyed a series of successes, rising to the rank of general. Along the way, she had to carry out countless missions—eliminating the remnants of the kingdom, executing spies, apprehending secret organizations, keeping other nations in check—but in the end, it was the path of a true general. A brilliant career followed her.
And what about me? To survive, I had to work in the back alleys of the Military State, taking jobs that damaged my body, mind, conscience, and sense of lawfulness—emotional labor, physical labor, mental labor, illegal labor, you name it. I hit the jackpot by latching onto one good opportunity, but it still took a considerable amount of time before I was fully established.
"I just wanted to live an ordinary life! It was so hard for an unregistered floater like me to settle down in the capital. It's true I didn't contact you, but… in the first place, a gutter rat from the back alleys living an ordinary life has a hard time meeting a general, let alone one of the Six Generals. There was no ordinary way to meet you."
Everyone has their own reasons for their struggles. Comparing who had the tougher life would ultimately devolve into unsightly whining. Moreover, for two people as different as us in power and status, the very nature of our hardships was mutually incomprehensible.
Historia knew this as well, so she silently conceded.
…I took out the bad mood that kid put me in on Huey. Calm down.
As a proven method for calming her mind, Historia piously inhaled the smoke of a mana herb before bringing up the main topic as if nothing had happened.
"…So. What's your plan? If you say you're going to cross the border and escape, I'm willing to let you go peacefully."
"How would you let us go peacefully?"
"By delaying my report, returning late, and exaggerating your combat strength. The Military State would give up the chase."
"Would the Military State give up? If they were just going to stand by and watch after losing us, wouldn't they have not tried to stop us in the first place?"
The Military State is rational. The Chief Command, its leadership, must be as well. If they were pursuing us, there had to be a good reason for it.
I didn't know that reason. Even when three of the Six Generals were gathered, they didn't know. Historia had chased us for personal reasons, but a quick peek with my mind-reading revealed that neither Sunderspear nor the Mage Marshal knew the Chief Command's true intentions.
They had simply followed orders, vaguely assuming there was a reason.
Well, with the power of the Six Generals, they could have demanded an explanation. But in this vague, misty trust, they all carried out their mission.
"…Whatever the Military State's intentions are, nothing changes. As long as the State is leading an army, they won't be able to catch you if you escape across the border."
"Of course not. Sending an army into another country is called war. Not a pursuit, a war. They wouldn't start a war just to catch us."
Just as I was confidently declaring that they could never follow us…
"…A… war?"
The Regressor's eyes blinked wide. It was the reaction of someone who had forgotten something and was dramatically reunited with the memory. A moment later, her eyes narrowed like a beast encountering an unfamiliar light, and she pressed on in a sharper voice.
"Wait. You said troops were gathering in the Far East, right?"
"Yes."
"Then what happens to the troops that have gathered? What becomes of them?"
"The main forces under the Six Generals… they'll have to disband if their target disappears."
"An entire army corps has gathered on the Meta Conveyor Belt. And they're just going to disband with nothing to show for it? Is that really what would happen?"
Historia trailed off, closing her mouth.
The Military State is rational. It doesn't tolerate pointless losses. In fact, if a loss is certain, it doesn't make a move in the first place.
This is a nation where 'Active Engagement Avoidance' isn't a joke but an official part of the military doctrine. While an army is a force that constantly expends resources in real-time to prepare for contingencies, to have it disperse so futilely would be an extreme and meaningless loss.
That raised a question.
Why did the Chief Command assemble an army corps, knowing it would incur such a massive loss?
It's war.
The Regressor had brilliantly seen through a fact that even I hadn't anticipated.
The corps wasn't gathered to capture us in the first place. They gathered the corps under the pretense of capturing us in order to start a war…! We were the bait!
Was the Regressor always this smart?
I'm a mind reader. I'm just a magician who reads my opponent's predictions and slightly outmaneuvers them. I'm not a creator who makes something from nothing, nor am I a pioneer leading the charge at the forefront of the world.
I'm just an ordinary user who's a little good at utilizing what's already there.
As someone who reads minds, I can only imagine what everyone else imagines. In contrast, the Regressor, her countless experiences of overcoming death not being in vain, saw through the Military State's intentions with just a few pieces of information.
The Regressor who had seemed so lacking, showing off such a high level of intuition…!
It was almost wounding to my pride…
Because in the previous timeline, the first war happened around this time! The Seven Day War, where all the fighting ended in just seven days!
Hey! If you saw it in the last timeline, you should've remembered it sooner! Don't just recall it now!
*
The operation had failed. The Military State had been deceived.
The generals of the Military State, who had moved in perfect unison according to the signaller's orders, felt a great sense of defeat.
No matter how powerful their opponents were, they were only three people and two animals. In contrast, the number of soldiers gathered now was ten thousand. The difference was so vast that even comparing the numbers was meaningless.
On top of that, a unit from the Level 5 elite force, the Bernartern, was on standby. A mighty force, more than capable of waging war, had gathered in the Far East.
And yet… the enemy was nowhere to be found.
The red horse pulling the container stopped running as soon as the sun rose in the east. The Sanguine Horse Ralion glanced resentfully at the sunlight, idly pawed the ground, banged its head against a nearby tree a couple of times, then let out a sorrowful 'Hee-hee-hing~' toward the sky, and vanished.
Ralion had failed to fulfill its duty as a decoy. The only ones pursuing them were three officers accompanied by a communications magic golem.
The red horse was the bait.
According to intelligence gathered by the Daughter of the Military State, Gunmaster Major General Historia, who had infiltrated their ranks herself, the container Ralion was pulling was a decoy to divert the State's attention. Therefore, there was no need to invest significant forces. A single communications golem would suffice.
That intelligence was accurate.
The container was empty, with nothing but one of Historia's uniforms fluttering inside like a flag. The container rattled, weightless, and besides a crude doll, there wasn't even a shadow of a person. It was such a half-hearted decoy that anyone fooled by it would have felt their stomach twist in anger.
The officer successfully completed his mission of verifying the truth and immediately reported back via the signaller.
However… the main force that received the report was in a somber mood.
"…This is bad. The daughter's really been kidnapped."
No matter how long they waited at the Far East Terminal, even after the main force that had departed later than them had joined up, the enemy never appeared.
The corps, having finished their day-laborer experience of opening every passing container, had awkwardly rendezvoused with the main force and were awaiting their next orders.
Sunderspear Patraxion, their leader, felt utterly helpless.
"Losing them is one thing, but our girl getting kidnapped is a big deal. They wouldn't kill her, would they?"
His adjutant, Colonel Gand, answered the question.
"They won't kill her, sir. The Pied Piper of Hamelin is from the same class as Major General Historia, the last survivor of Hamelin. They know each other, so he won't take her life so easily. And…"
"And what? Didn't I tell you not to drag things out? Are you on a blind date with me or something?"
"…Please, stop saying such absurd things! It gives me the creeps!"
"It's your fault for stammering so much that I have to resort to this. So, what is it?"
"Major General Historia… as the Chief of Staff mentioned, there's a possibility she is helping them. Isn't it strange that she sent a coded message that the red horse was a decoy, yet left no other clues? Perhaps."
As a colonel and a warrior, Colonel Gand was cautious, not daring to accuse one of the Six Generals. Instead, he relayed his thoughts to the only person qualified to hear them.
Patraxion understood his meaning and nodded emphatically.
"I thought this daughter of ours was a bit more obedient, but she fell head over heels for some pipe-playing entertainer. Is this what they mean when they say it's always the quiet ones!"
"…Figuratively speaking, yes. What will you do now, sir?"
"We'll have to see what happens. When she gets back, let's check if she has any lipstick marks on her."
Even Colonel Gand, who could distinguish feints from true attacks as if by instinct, had trouble telling his damn master's jokes from his serious statements. Colonel Gand pondered his untrustworthy superior and respected master's words for a moment before asking cautiously.
"…Master. Is that from personal experience?"
"Hey, hey! Don't say things that'll get you in trouble. That was just my wife's baseless suspicion!"
Just then, the Mage Marshal burst through the doors of the temporary headquarters with a dignified stride. Despite having worked day and night with little sleep, she spoke to Sunderspear with the same demeanor as when she had first arrived.
"General Patraxion. An order has come down from the Chief Command."
"What's it say? Did they find our runaway daughter?"
"Hear me out. According to the Chief Command's assessment, they have passed through the Inner Circle and gotten ahead of us. The order is to immediately assemble in the north via the Meta Conveyor Belt."
"The north?"
"Yes. As the Northern Commander, you will take charge of the corps for now."
Sunderspear tilted his head.
He wasn't surprised that they had gotten ahead by going through the Inner Circle. His staff had already mentioned it as a possibility, and Sunderspear had agreed with the prediction. He had even applauded it as a move that hit them right where they weren't looking.
His question was not about that, but about the Military State issuing an order to assemble even in this situation.
"If they're ahead of us, it's already too late, isn't it? Besides, if a large army assembles in the north, the Fallen Dominion on the other side of the border will definitely react, won't they? Ah."
As he spoke, Sunderspear realized the Military State's true intentions.
To track a small number of powerful individuals, you don't concentrate your forces; you disperse them. Like the Empire's inescapable net, the basic strategy is to spread out scouts prepared for death in every direction and slowly tighten the encirclement, using their lives as bait.
But the Military State, even with the advantage of the Meta Conveyor Belt, had concentrated its forces to an excessive degree. What use was a dense army on a narrow road? Only a small number could fight at any given time.
But this question, too, was resolved in an instant.
If the reason for gathering the army was simply to gather the army… then this whole pursuit was an act.
A fierce smile spread across Patraxion's face.
"I see. The Chief Command, those rascals. They're pulling a fun one… They sure know how to use their heads."
If this pursuit was actually a theatrical performance, Patraxion had no reason to feel burdened. He had carried out his mission brilliantly. Now, he had to prepare for a real battle.
However, the Mage Marshal, who had not yet grasped the situation, frowned even more deeply and asked.
"Hm? You see? What do you mean?"
"…Are you sure you're a mage, granny? You seem to be shattering the prejudice that mages are smart all by yourself."
"It is not a prejudice, but a stereotype. Correct yourself."
"If it's a stereotype that you're smart, try to live up to it. It's a good thing, isn't it?"
It took some time to explain it to the Mage Marshal, but in any case, war had been decided.
The fugitives were now off the Military State's radar…
The forces gathered in the Far East. The Military State preparing for war. And us, free from their surveillance.
An empty Chief Command. The signallers, the true identity of the command.
After thinking it over and over, the Regressor made a proposal.
"Let's hit the Chief Command."
As if I had been waiting for it, I replied.
"Sounds good!"