Chapter 233: To Kill the Military State, That Was the Only Thought From the Beginning
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 233: To Kill the Military State, That Was the Only Thought From the Beginning
They say if you save a drowning man, he'll demand your belongings. It's a saying meant to criticize the ungrateful, but if the person chose to drown in the first place, their protest might be justified.
Such was the case with Shiati. Though Historia had saved her life, she unleashed all her pent-up resentment upon her.
She cursed, swore, and raged.
But what cut Historia to the quick wasn't the sharp, calculated barbs meant to wound, but a sincere murmur.
‘Nicholas saw us as ingredients, and Lankart saw us as bugs. But you… you saw us as losers. Untalented, lazy, infinitely weak and inferior compared to you… defeated humans. Heh heh. I guess you were the only one who saw us as human at all.’
They say those on the verge of death speak only the truth before they close their eyes.
Shiati had tried to kill herself, and would have succeeded if not for the interference. Her words carried the weight of undeniable sincerity. Words she would never have dared to say to Historia’s face pierced her now.
‘You know what? We really hated Nicholas and Lankart. But that was it. They were just people to avoid if we saw them. But you? We didn’t even want to be near you. Because when you were around, it felt like I was a failure in life. It made us feel pathetic, that even a hundred of us couldn't beat you alone.’
Busy with the rescue, Historia pulled out corpse after corpse. She had power greater than all the students combined, yet there was so much she couldn't do.
She couldn't stop the flowing river.
She couldn't hold onto the children who had given up on life.
She couldn't find a certain boy in the murky river where faint human shadows drifted by.
The bodies she recovered piled up. Even the few people helping her eventually turned away in horror, just watching. As a drenched Historia prepared to enter the water again, Shiati violently coughed up a lungful of water and laughed madly.
‘But still, compared to the others, you’re a saint. At least you can be hurt! You can feel pain! Right now, more than at any other moment in my life, I’m happy to see you suffer! It means you’re human, just like us! So I hope you hurt more, regret more! I hope you feel as much pain as we did!’
And so, she threw herself into the Resistance, seeking to strike a blow against the Military State.
Historia, now an officer, could never bring herself to capture Shiati whenever she appeared before her. No, she wouldn't capture her.
If she caught or killed her, one of the few survivors Historia had saved that day would be gone. There would be one less person to share the horror and grief of that day…
…In truth, she simply couldn't make up her mind.
The problem she had postponed again and again had finally returned to confront her.
“Huey. Amazing! No matter how hard the Resistance tried, the best we could ever do was assassinate a general. But you captured one of the Six Generals! And alive, at that!”
The dead children of Hamelin had achieved their goal of taking revenge on the Military State.
Nicholas was dead, the Anathema exposed. The Daughter of the Military State was consumed by remorse, and Lankart, once tapped to be the next Mage Marshal, had betrayed the State. Shiati and the few other surviving children became Resistance fighters, burning with hatred.
And I…
“As expected, you're different! You're the Pied Piper who led us at Hamelin!”
Shiati, laughing cheerfully, gave me a friendly smile and asked.
“So, how have you been?”
“I've been fine.”
“Fine? You've been… fine?”
It would be common sense to be happy to hear a friend was doing well, but Shiati was anything but common. In an instant, her smiling face twisted into a terrifying grimace.
“How can you be fine? It was you, wasn't it? You were the one who suggested we go into the water! Thanks to you, everyone drowned themselves. You made people…”
At this point, Shiati grabbed Historia’s shoulder with her prosthetic arm, squeezing hard enough to break it. Historia, who hadn't reinforced her body with Qi, let out a small groan as the fingers dug into her collarbone.
Shiati paid her no mind, her head twitching unnaturally.
“You made them realize this was wrong. That something was off with the Military State. You killed everyone and orchestrated this whole thing, so at the very leeeeast! You shouldn't be fiiiine!”
“I never told them to die.”
“If you didn't tell them to die, does that make them not dead? Is the world a toy that bends to your will? You didn't tell them to die, but they died anyway, so you're not responsible? Then whose fault is this world we're left with?”
Ranting like a madwoman, Shiati let go of Historia and staggered toward me.
“No, Huey. I, who chose to die, lived, and the children who chose to live, died. That's what we decided, but this is what became of us. No, we were supposed to graduate, but they all died! It's all wrong. The dying children cursed the Military State, but this damn country is still standing. Isn't something, something wrong? Then where did all the children's feelings go?”
Where else? They're right here. In you, in me, and in Historia.
“You, who survived because of their deaths… how can you be fine?”
Because I have to live an ordinary life. I've lived peacefully, burying myself in the mundane.
Those who live a peaceful today wish for an unchanging tomorrow. Among the common people content with their small joys, I lived each day faithfully, dreaming of the same routine.
However.
The tomorrow they envision does not include those who died today.
This is why I just wanted to live as a petty criminal.
“I can be fine. The fall of the Military State isn't a goal I'm willing to risk my life for, unlike you.”
“Hueyyyyy!!”
Just as Shiati was about to explode, I continued smoothly.
“But if I don't particularly have to risk my life for it... I might feel like breaking it a little.”
At that, Shiati's face lit up as if a light had dawned on it. The change was dramatic.
In contrast, Historia's expression grew darker. She finally turned her head away.
Shiati clapped me on the shoulder, overjoyed.
“Right! With such a powerful ally and Historia as a prisoner, we've done all we can! What you've done is far greater than anything we've accomplished! I'm counting on you, Huey!”
Then, Shiati suddenly pulled me closer by my ear and whispered, her breath tickling my earlobe.
“Historia is indecisive and full of regrets. The other day, she saw me planting a bomb, but she just ignored me and took the bomb. That's how she is with me, but what about you? If you held her in your arms and whispered sweet nothings, she'd probably give you her heart and soul. Heh heh. Go on, try it! It's always good to have one more weapon to break the Military State, right?”
Giggling, Shiati noticed Tyr watching them with a look of discomfort. The moment she did, Shiati's expression changed.
She swallowed the violent emotions on her lips in an instant. Reason returned to her eyes, which had been gleaming with madness. Her face now composed, she bowed deeply to Tyr and spoke politely.
“It is an honor to meet you, Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka. Forgive my impertinence, but may a mere human offer a word to the great Progenitor?”
Tyr accepted the greeting with practiced ease.
“You have my permission.”
A human who knows her manners. Hmm. Quite different from the attitude she just showed Huey.
Once permission was granted, Shiati spoke, enunciating each word clearly and dispassionately, as if reading a contract.
“I will offer my blood, my flesh, my honor, or my life. All of it. In return, would you destroy the Military State? If needed, I will find other prices to pay.”
Her words, however, were filled with nothing but precisely tailored rage.
“Shiati!”
The princess, who had been watching from behind her guardian knight, cried out in alarm. She even waved her hands frantically, as if telling her to take it back.
Tyr glanced at the princess before replying.
“I understand your will. I, too, have a history of destroying a nation out of intense hatred. However, since neither of us came here alone, shouldn't you speak with your comrades first?”
Unlike with me, Shiati showed no blind rage toward Tyr. She accepted the reasonable suggestion and bowed her head with utmost respect.
“My apologies. I will return shortly once we have consolidated our opinions.”
“There is no need. For now, I am following Huey's lead. Once the negotiations between your side and ours are complete, we will have a better idea of what to do. Let us wait until then.”
For a moment, Shiati's gaze fell on me. But it was only for an instant. She smiled as if that was enough, then bowed politely and stepped back.
The princess, her face a mask of feigned anger, scolded Shiati.
“Shiati! How could you say such a thing so carelessly!”
“I'm sorry, Princess. But it's the easiest way.”
“Offering your blood, flesh, life, and honor! What's the point of toppling the Military State if the one who should enjoy the glory is dead? We're fighting for our comrades!”
“Enjoy the glory? That's too far in the future. A simpleton like me wouldn't know.”
“Shiati!”
The last princess and the first Resistance fighter.
It seemed this kind of scolding back-and-forth was familiar to them. Shiati took the princess's complaints in stride and skillfully soothed her.
“Calm down, Princess. At the very least, I won't let you die before I do.”
“Huuu. Shiati. What I mean is… No, we are guests here. Let's talk later.”
Why is everyone always offering their lives at the drop of a hat…! You can do so much more if you're alive. How irresponsible! Idiot! Fool!
Still fuming, the princess let out a few 'harsh curses' in her mind before resuming the introductions that Shiati had interrupted.
The princess took a small, deep breath.
She smoothed down her long, voluminous, light-pink hair and surveyed the room with clear blue eyes like a lake. The symbol of the royal family was noble, light violet hair, but it was said that an heir with light pink hair would appear as an ill omen.
It may have been a bad omen for the royal family, but it was a stroke of luck for the princess. Because the royals had hidden this fact so thoroughly, she had survived several dangerous situations.
Though the kingdom had fallen, her royal blood still showed in her doll-like features, which would have suited a dress perfectly. However, she was wearing a simple Clothing Packet shirt and skirt, creating a jarring sense of disharmony between her face and her attire. A shawl draped over her shoulders was the only thing that preserved a minimum of dignity.
Projecting the most elegance she could muster from within that disharmony, the princess smiled gently.
“Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Yerien. Yerien Grandiomor. The last of the Grandiomor royal bloodline, and the representative of the Resistance.”
A delicate, soft voice. An elegant posture that only one born to it could possess. A shy smile.
It was an introduction that could make one forget, for just a moment, that the kingdom was gone.
But no one among them was surprised. Few even showed any interest, let alone shock.
I, of course, read their thoughts and nodded.
She was a princess. I know, I've seen her often. She seems much gentler now than back then. Is it because her guardian knight and friend are still alive?
A kingdom falls, and the resistance is led by the last of the royal blood. A common tale.
…As I expected. But if I pass on this information… it would be the same as me killing the remaining children myself. Should I do it?
No one was surprised or overwhelmed by her status as a princess. No one even seemed pleased.
“Woof! Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you! Huh? You, a king?”
…Not a single person, welcomed her.
The princess, who had bowed back to Azzy, waited for the reaction that was supposed to follow… but upon reading their indifferent gazes, she had a realization.
Oh? Am I… actually on the ordinary side here?
The lukewarm reaction to meeting the last princess was, though she didn't show it, inwardly disappointing.
Ah, I shouldn't be like this! Be humble, be humble! I'm just a Resistance member! I can't expect special treatment just because I'm a princess!
Disappointed in herself for being disappointed, she shook her head and steeled her resolve.